Greek – So you’re saying that Calvin can only now start drinking?

Happy birthday Calvin! I find it amusing that a show like Greek will celebrate the twenty-first birthday of one of its main characters. Where’s the significance in the birthday when we’ve watched him underage drink for two years now? It’s like when my wife took me out to Flute Bar for my twenty-first birthday while we were dating … she was only twenty! I celebrated my ability to legally buy alcohol with someone not legally able to buy alcohol.

But the birthday celebration was only half the strange. The other half was the contrived way in which the writers went about getting the eight main characters — Dale, Cappie, Casey, Calvin, Evan, Ashleigh, Rebecca, and Rusty — into the same room. It was about time they had a group hang, and Calvin’s probably the only person who could get everyone together, but how many words have actually passed between Calvin and Casey since the show premiered?

Anyway, if this was somewhere in the middle of the show’s run I’d have been disappointed in the set-up. But considering where we are in the life of the series, I appreciated the colliding of all these many people. It really was long overdue.

I’m creeped out by Ashleigh and Professor Segal (Josh Randall) dating, but I think it’s preferable to anything happening between her and Rusty. Besides, Segal’s supposedly much older — and it’s gross how Bing keeps on kissing up to him — but he looks like he could be in his late twenties, so at least if you’re not thinking about his age it doesn’t seem as gross. The fact that he’s a professor shouldn’t matter to an alumnus … as long as she stops living on campus.

Just as distasteful as Evan kissing up to Professor Segal is the way Casey’s been yapping at Rebecca’s ankles like a little puppy dog. There’s desperation to find someone to girl talk with, and then there’s pathetic. Rebecca is not only a horrible human being, but she’s also done some awful things to Casey personally. It’s about time Casey gets some self-esteem.

It was funny watching Laura (Aynsley Bubbico) throw herself at Daley, and while I don’t really know what to make of her I think Rusty should have taken a second glance at Abby (Olesya Rulin). He’s dated in the “unlikely match” category before, but unlikely is preferable to incestuous. And it would be nice for Rusty to settle into a healthy relationship before the show ends.

When the gang was walking to the bar — awful idea to break in, by the way — did anyone else get a Rent vibe? When Calvin was asking everyone to stop fighting for one night (with music playing in the background) I got a clear picture of the cemetery scene in Rent after Angel dies and Collins yells at everyone for fighting. Was that just me?

My wife, meanwhile, caught a Friends homage when Casey said the aged drink “tastes like feet!” I missed that one!

Once the gang had the chance to splinter off we made some plot progress. Cappie and Dale playing first Jenga and then beer pong seemed to somehow turn into the first chink in Dale’s Omega Chi armor. I’m not sure how or why yet, but it sure sounded like Trip’s been blowing smoke at Dale from the beginning.

I loved Evan telling Rebecca off; that’s a relationship that’s more than run its course. And despite not liking her right now, I’m glad that Ashleigh chose Casey over Rusty. The whole “college relationship” garbage that she rambled on about was stupid, but I think Ashleigh made the mature choice there.

And yet where does that leave us? I still don’t know.

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Feb 15, 2011 @ 17:38 EST5EDT