Thoughts on the November Eps
The release of the November ep descriptions along with Luke’s updated imdb profile helps clear up a lot of the mystery of eps 4-6. For reasons that I’ll explain it seems very likely that Tyrus canons in ep 6 and that TJ actually returns in ep 4.
It’s now clear that most of ep 4 and all of eps 5 and 6 were filmed in a busy jumbled mess during the 5th and 6th week of production. After ep 6 the production schedule becomes much more orderly and Luke’s imdb profile matches with what can we can observe, so he’s in ep 4, 6,7,8, 11, and 13/14 which will likely air as one combined ep, and ep 15. Everything fits quite well and they’re on track to film 26 produced eps which will air as 25 eps by the end of January/early February which matches the S3 budget of $19.4 million.
So in a very pleasant surprise TJ does in fact return in ep 4 and that is almost certainly where the photo Josh posted of himself, Luke, and Sofia on Luke’s first day back on set will take place. Sofia’s hair is pulled back and she’s wearing a whistle around her neck so it’s likely before or after her first practice with her new team. The photo is very similar to the photo Josh posted of the trio on their last day of filming for S2 which was the day they filmed what they thought was an unedited Tyrus look back. I think that the scene in 3x04 will be a callback to that moment but one that confirms Cyrus’ crush on TJ.
The audience needs to hear Cyrus say that aloud at some point before the dirt bike scene in order for it to have any real impact and for the audience to accept Tyrus canoning. It’s also, as I’ve mentioned before, a real point of no return for Disney; the audience won’t want to watch Cyrus have another unrequited crush and letting him crush on two boys but not ending up with TJ would make Disney look homophobic.
Whether or not Terri was able to get permission for Cyrus to actually say he has a crush on TJ or whether she still had to stick to a subtextual confirmation and have Cyrus look back at TJ or have a double look back remains to be seen. My guess is that Terri would have tried to bring Tyrus from subtext to text as soon as Disney gave permission so as to lock them in, especially after they gave permission for a Tyrus look back and then edited it. And Buffy had been with Cyrus every time the show had discussed his crush on Jonah and I don’t expect the show to break that pattern until after Tyrus becomes canon.
I don’t think we’ll see very much of TJ in ep 4, his scenes will serve to re-establish that he’s been redeemed and that him and Buffy are cool so that she won’t stand in the way of Tyrus and once more show that TJ and Cyrus like each other as set up to their plot line in ep 6. Now on to the actual November eps.
3x05: That Syncing Feeling
It’s very odd that the canoe scene isn’t mentioned in the synopsis even though it involves a lot of characters, has been featured quite a bit in the promos, and the ep title is a reference to it. That Andi and Amber are still hanging in ep 7 suggests that they are in sync and that Walker doesn’t show up again until ep 10 and hasn’t been seen since suggests that Buffy and Walker sink. That Cyrus is in a canoe with Jonah was always a sign that it occurs after TJ’s return so it’s ‘safe’ for them to be together since the show has reemphasized that Jonah is not part of the gay story line.
Andi and Celia picking out a wedding cake suggests that the characters are really getting into the swing of wedding planning but hold on to that thought until we get to ep 6. I’m going to guess that Bowie helps his young student tell his father that he doesn’t really want to play guitar and that he’s only been playing because it’s his dad’s dream not his.
Terri personally wrote Cyrus’ two coming out scenes which were the only two eps so far to actually give Cyrus a B story as well as the Tyrus lookback. I’m sure she’ll want to write Tyrus getting together as it’s historic but what convinces me that she wrote this episode herself is that Bowie’s mom is introduced. Almost all the eps that Terri has written herself have heavily focused on Bex and Bowie’s relationship and this ep seems like it’s Bowie’s version of ‘’Mama’’.
Terri herself penned that ep which was the most in depth examination of the aftermath of Andi’s birth as well as the estrangement between Bex and Celia. I think she’ll want to take the lead on introducing Bowie’s mom as she is likely what will delay the wedding until the finale. She’ll love Andi I’m sure but she must have a lot of anger towards the Mack family for hiding Andi’s existence from the Quinn’s and until that rift is healed I don’t think Bex and Bowie will be able to go forward with the wedding. Both the Mack/Quinn family drama and Tyrus are very important going forward for the show and I don’t think Terri could resist launching them forward herself.
That Cyrus is given a B story and specifically mentioned with TJ is a big step forward for the show. We’re no longer trapped in subtext but entering a real textual story arc. And I like that the dirt bike scene is TJ bringing Cyrus to hang out with his friends, it shows that they’re an important part of each others lives. I hope that it puts to rest some of the dumb speculation out there that TJ is somehow ashamed of hanging with Cyrus or of his feelings for Cyrus; that never had any canon basis. In S2 Cyrus got only two B plots, coming out in 2x01 and coming out in 2x13. It looks like in 3a he’ll get getting together with TJ in 3x06 and coming out to his parents by telling them he’s dating TJ in 3x11. I wouldn’t bet on him getting another B plot ep in 3b but we can hope.
Josh was being very honest when he told us that blonde biker boy wouldn’t come between any ships. It’s an interesting choice to make him one of TJ’s friends. That Cyrus ‘faces’ a dangerous situation brings to mind his dancing with danger remark from the muffin scene. Presumably, the danger is related to dirt biking though it will be pretty tame, no one’s getting seriously hurt on Disney.
It’s pretty funny that Disney edited the scene in the promos to make TJ look more jealous than he actually will be. Whatever causes TJ to be upset will carry over into the angsty cafeteria scene but I think their very next scene or two after that will lead to them reconciling and confessing their feelings. Since jealousy seems to be off the table as the cause of the angst I’d guess that Terri will have to go with either the: ‘’I was trying to impress you’’/’’I was so worried about you’’/’’I felt like I let you down’’ route to spark that conversation.
That Buffy and Jonah of all people are getting a C plot shows just how much time Andi will be spending with her family and Cyrus will be spending with TJ. We’ve seen a clip of them at a skateboard shop so I assume Metcalfe either works there because American teachers get paid shit or he’s a skater boi.
Judging from set photos there’s a chance that Cyrus and TJ’s plot and the Metcalfe plot could cross paths towards the end of the ep. This is a total crack theory but I wonder if we’ll get a callback to that skate boarding plot from Mama as Terri does like to recycle her plots except this time it’s TJ successfully teaching Cyrus to ride a skateboard right before or right after they get together. And to make it even more cracked it could even tie in with the dirt bike scene, maybe the cause of the angst is Cyrus not wanting TJ to teach him to ride a dirt bike or he gets someone else to teach him instead.
As to why Disney is only airing these two eps in November I have no idea. The promos keep featuring clips from eps 7,8, and 9 but how far into December is Disney willing to air Andi Mack? IMDB has 3x07 and all the eps afterwards listed as airing in 2019 but I have no idea how accurate that is. And it seems extremely out of character for Disney to end off 2018 by airing the gayest episode of any show it’s ever made when they just aired an edited look back 2 months ago. I’m sure they’ll do some promo for Tyrus shortly before 3x06 airs but it seems unlikely they’ll make a big event out of it.
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