#ellen baker

Even when it's Marcus and Max talking to each other, even when Clint is not the one being addressed, he is included in the conversation. If their conversation can be heard, it can be seen.

Not once do they ever use Clint's Deafness against him. No verbal comments are made when his back is turned, no refusing to sign because it's "too much effort". Signing is a natural part of their conversation.

When communicating directly to Clint, Ellen often doesn't even speak. She uses solely ASL and I think that's really important.

Maxine "I mean was it really murder or that bad if he was suffering i'm just saying" Baker

Ellen "Some things I just Think Are Not My Business but if You did it I don't judge You" Baker

Every season the MANG dynamic results in fanfare of making someone out to be the villian, while the prior or subsequent one paints them completely sympathetically. The switch-up towards Max from last season to this one, and the opposite effect switch-up from Abby to Max is confusing. I don't think anyone is intended to look entirely justified or should be crucified. The tendency of fans to have memory loss upon every new season and villianize one then defend them against the other 3 the next...is something. People pick and choose between them to make one look entirely bad, while the other is empathized with. Also, I don't even hate her, but how is Abby praised for being a girlboss for calling Marcus "the better Baker" and dismissing Max's feelings, while Ginny says they "grew apart" and is crucified for "owing her" for the friends she made. I feel like bonds of the members of MANG could go deeper with each other, like Abby and Ginny for instance, but their relationships are so surface level due to the writing that I'm not even interested in any of their dynamics as they are and because of it, the conflicts are hard to sympathize with completely. What I'm saying is I do sympathize and the s3 conflict is believable, but I'm ultimately univested in where they end up; like Ginny and Abby could never be friends again and I wouldn't care, and I like that duo the most (and i came out feeling like this last season...like yeah none of them should be friends). It definitely seems like high-school only relationships (and I don't know if that's what the writers are aiming for or if they're trying to deepen and get you to understand them all so they can grow into real friends).

I'm here (and I've always been here) for Joe, but I feel like they ruined Zion and Paul this season and they didn't need to. It's weird to me how Paul is still regarded as a good guy when to me Paul has always been scharmy and I don't know how people haven't seen it. His proposal was a red flag, but for some reason was seen as romantic. I don't know, but I don't think it's that surprising that a guy who slams a ring on a desk almost (or maybe didn't almost) hit her. Maybe they needed to ruin him more in that way to get it through people's heads who defend him (but surprisingly they're still defending him). Since the Gilmore Girls comparisons are being talked about, Zion has always been a Christopher, but to try to act like that man is worse than Christopher is wild; he's never been a fit partner for Georgia and he's an absent father, but at least I've felt like he cares about Ginny and even Austin who isn't even his, whereas Christopher didn't care and Rory didn't even know who he was when he pulled up on his motorcycle. Some of the stuff they threw in with him this season felt ooc to make Joe the only choice, and I don't think they needed to do that. It's always been clearly Joe, but they messed up the writing last season and it made people look at him like a side character where they rooted for other endgames. It feels a bit unbelievable that he's so straight-laced and he just accepts her murders so easily, even though I do believe he'd eventually accept them; I have feelings on how they developed them basically. Idk, but I'm here for them!

Norah is useless. (any Degrassi fans think Chelsea could handle more from her dramatic storylines?) I definitely like the detail of her period problems if it's for a purpose and brings awareness to something bigger. Samantha is also useless. I don't know the point of making her bulimic or of making her question her sexuality, if she's a character that shouldn't be and seemingly won't be redeemed. Also not here for a Press redemption storyline, just had to throw that in there.

They try to pass off Young Georgia as exceptionally charming and let her get away with too much that doesn't seem believable. How does no one notice Georgia steal? I remember thinking what she gets away with was unbelievable last season, too.

Please don't make Ginny too much like Georgia. Please don't make Ginny murder. Although it's kind of funny that fans complained about Ginny in prior seasons, but I've seen others have this same reaction to not making Ginny like her mom. Either you love Georgia and you want Ginny to be like her or she was fine when she was just Ginny. But if can't be both that you hate her before and think her "character development" is ruining her.