Everybody Hates Chris: 3.20 ‘Everybody Hates the Ninth-Grade Dance’ Recap
May 5, 2008 by Chandra
Original Air Date: May 4, 2008
Brooklyn, 1986
It’s time for the ninth-grade dance at Corleone, but CHRIS has no date. Worse, GREG does, even if he did have to bribe the girl by promising to help her get a B in math.
After a great deal of angst and getting turned down by every black girl in his neighborhood, Chris is hesitantly receptive to Greg’s suggestion that he ask a girl in their class named CARRIE. She’s been there since the school year started, although she somehow slipped under Chris’ radar. Surprisingly, she beats Chris to the punch, asking him if he wants to go to the dance with her first when he brings up the subject.
Meanwhile, JULIUS is swept up once again in another one of UNCLE RYAN’s money making schemes. Before it was a fried bread crust business and then a malt shop selling 32 different flavors of chocolate milkshakes. Now it’s a car dealership with vehicles purchased at auction. Each time, Julius eagerly and naively forks over money to invest because the business plans sound good to him initially.
The first car Ryan and Julius bid on costs them $400, and the mechanic informs them later it will take another $900 to get the car working since it was recently underwater. Thankfully, DREW pipes up that all Ryan has to do is salvage the parts, which should be fine. Ryan does just that and makes a $1000 profit that enables him to pay back Julius, who’s no longer interested in the risk.
Elsewhere, ROCHELLE is busy living her dreams of artistic talent vicariously through TONYA. When Tonya mentions she’d like to start ballet, Rochelle buys her everything she needs — and then some — to excel in the dance form and eventually move to Russia, where Rochelle envisions she’ll become a star ballerina and change her name to Svetlana.
As often happens with children, Tonya quickly grows bored with ballet, until Rochelle threatens to tell Julius about all the money wasted on buying the proper gear for the activity. A little persistence then earns Tonya compliments from her dance teacher.
Back at Corleone, Chris unsuccessfully tries to cope with the pressure of everyone wondering why Carrie, a white student, would want to go to the dance with the only black student in the school. Carrie seems not to care about that at all, but Chris is so consumed with the negative gossip that he pulls out of the date at the very last minute.
A pep talk from Julius before it’s too late helps Chris to see that what others think shouldn’t keep him from experiencing a once in a lifetime opportunity. So, Chris shows up at the dance by himself and finds Carrie there alone, too.
They hang out with each other during the event and even dance together. Yet, any delusions on Chris’ part that they’ll be friends afterwards are quickly dashed. When he bumps into Carrie in the hall the next day and asks if she wants to eat lunch together, Carrie tells him no point-blank. As far as she’s concerned, now that the dance is over, there isn’t any need for them to pretend to be friends.
Ouch!
