Self-Esteem
Directed By: Michael Engler
Written By: Winnie Holzman
Angela and Jordan spend a lot of their day making out in the boiler room at school. On the one hand, this makes Angela feel good now that she's with the guy she's in love with. On the other hand, her grades are suffering as a result (especially in geometry), and at least to Rayanne and Sharon, it seems like Jordan is taking Angela for granted, which Angela comes to realize when he blows her off on what she thought was a date. However, at the end of the episode, Jordan does display affection to Angela.
Elsewhere, Mr. Katimski (Jeff Perry), the new English teacher, wants Rickie to be in the drama club, which Rickie isn't interested in at first, mostly because he doesn't like Mr. Katimski, though he comes around at the end. Also, Graham takes the cooking class Patty signed him up for, and not only does he find out the teacher is unreliable, but the other adult students, particularly Hallie Lowenthal (Lisa Waltz), seem to think Graham knows the most about cooking, so he ends up taking over teaching the class.
This episode contains examples of:
- Accent On The Wrong Syllable: Rayanne dismisses the idea of holding hands as being intimate, as she claims it's not even an "erro-geenous zone". Sharon corrects her ("erogenous"), and claims hands are that way to her.
- Aesop Amnesia: After the geometry midterm gets postponed because the copy machine ate it, Angela swears she's going to be at the review class to prepare for the midterm, so that she won't flunk the midterm, and she won't let Jordan have that kind of power over her. Then Jordan shows up in the hallway, asks if they can go somewhere, and takes her hand.Sharon: Angela, wait! Don't forget...the geometry review.
Rayanne: Forget it. She already did. - Ask a Stupid Question...: When Hallie and Graham are talking about Stefan (their alleged teacher) in class:
- Brick Joke: When Rayanne and Sharon are talking to Angela about her and Jordan, Angela responds that they don't have to be like Kyle and Sharon holding hands while walking down the hallway. At the end of the episode, Jordan signals his willingness to acknowledge his relationship with Angela by holding her hand.
- Call-Back:
- Sharon confirms she's broken up with Kyle.
- Rayanne brings up the fact Angela was concerned about her drinking to justify why she's concerned about Angela's relationship with Jordan.
- Captain Obvious: Rayanne acts like this when she and Sharon are talking about Angela:Sharon: Okay, so what's the deal with Angela and Jordan Catalano?
Rayanne: Here's a thought - ask her!
Sharon: I can't! She'll think I'm checking up on her. So, are they a couple?
Rayanne: From the point of view of what I believe or what she believes?
Sharon: From the point of view of reality.
Rayanne: What do you think?
Sharon: I'd have to say...I think she could really get hurt.
Rayanne: Tell me something I don't know. - Defensive "What?": When Sharon decides to go with Angela to see Buffalo Tom (because she likes them), both Angela and Rayanne stare at her, to which she responds, "What?! I do. You know, I am sick of being perfect. I broke up with Kyle. I have a total right to screw up my midterms."
- Dramatic Pause: Mr...Katimski establishes this...early on as his method...of speaking.
- Foreshadowing: Mrs. Lerner all but throws herself at Mr. Katimski whenever they're together, but he seems unaware or distracted. We find out why later in the season.
- Grew a Spine: For once, when Angela asks Brian to do something (in this case, tutor her in geometry), he refuses, though in this case, it's because he's got too much school work of his own.
- Hypocritical Humor: When Angela asks if Rayanne and Sharon talk about her, they both deny it, claiming they're not friends (even thought they both happen to be concerned about Angela). Sharon then brings up the fact Jordan doesn't want anyone else to know he's going out with Rayanne, and when Angela wants to know how she knew that, Sharon replies, "Rayanne told me."
- Hypocrite: When Angela sees Sharon with Rayanne in the bathroom, and points out Sharon should be in French class, Sharon scoffs, "You should talk."
- Insult Backfire: When Mr. Katimski catches Rickie impersonating him, he not only isn't offended, but asks Rickie to join the drama club.
- Ironic Echo: When Angela ran into Jordan at the dance, he asked her, "Why are you like this?", and when Angela responded, "Like what?", he replied, "Like you are." Angela asks Jordan the same thing when they meet up in the boiler room after the Buffalo Tom concert, and he responds the same way.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Abyssinia (Karen Malina White), Angela's geometry classmate, is like this so her boyfriend won't think she's smarter than him.
- Oblivious Guilt Slinging: When Angela says she's asking Brian to come over so they can quiz each other on geometry, without revealing she's been too busy with Jordan to study, Patty compliments her on her work ethic, and hopes Angela is better at math than she was, not realizing Angela hasn't studied at all.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Played for Laughs when Angela comes home from school smiling, and hugs both Patty and Graham:Patty: Okay, now I refuse to panic just because she's happy.
Graham: Although it is alarming.
Patty: Although it's terribly alarming. - Shout-Out:
- When Stefan, the teacher of Graham's cooking class, doesn't show up right away, Hallie thinks it's either like a Twilight Zone episode, or Lord of the Flies.
- Angela believes Jordan asked her to go see Buffalo Tom with him, and Rayanne and Sharon decide to go along with her to see if she's right.
- In a voiceover, Angela mentions how one of the reasons she finds Sunday nights so depressing is the ticking 60 Minutes watch.
- When Rickie says he refuses to join drama club because he's not someone who joins things, Mr. Katimski calls it a ridiculous response, and compares him to Groucho not wanting to join any club that would accept him as a member.
- Shout-Out to Shakespeare: Mr. Katimski reads Sonnet 130 to his class ("My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun..."), which causes both Brian and Jordan to have a realization about Angela.
- Two Words: I Can't Count: When Rickie asks Rayanne how she was able to get Chinese food delivered to school, she replies, "Two words - Ti-no."
- What the Hell, Hero?: Rayanne calls Jordan out for ignoring Angela at the Buffalo Tom concert:You know you like her. Would it kill you to admit it? Maybe treat her halfway decent. Because, you know, she deserves it. And she's not going to wait around forever.
