The following may contain spoilers to ABC Family’s Greek episode from as recent as October 14,2008. Do Not read a head if you do not wish to be subjected to possible spoilers.
Recollection, what does it mean and how does it apply more to one situation than to another. At first glance the word seems to indicate an intimate connection to the subject matter at hand. For example, in Xenophon’s Memorabilia, Xenophon recollects the arguments made against Socrates. Xenophon, a student of Socrates, was intimately connected to those events which ultimately lead to the teacher’s death. A student who reads Xenophon, or Plato’s works on the trial and death of Socrates can never recollect the events, but only remember them. This is what lies at the heart of ABC Family’s Greek, which premiered on October 14, 2008. The episode is filled with half truths told by those who cannot actually recollect the past they seem to try and interpret. As a result, mayhem breaks loose and we are left at the end of the episode with broken hearts and confusion.
Finally, after an entire year we are at the cusp of seeing the Zeta Beta Zeta election for President between Frannie and Casey. We get nothing less than the typical political campaign filled with more mud than actual attempts to campaign. Neither Franny, nor Casey actually have first hand knowledge of the events they use to sway the other members of their house. The most important member they attempt to sway is Rebecca, who has become the unofficial leader of the pledge class. At first Frannie tells Rebecca that during spring break Casey slept with Cappie, which the audience knows is false. However, Rebecca can’t know whether or not this is truth as she has no prior knowledge of the incident. Frannie’s lack of recollection allows for the embellishment of the actual events where Casey and Cappie share a brief kiss following Rebecca’s breaking up with Cappie. This issue is only resolved on the surface when Casey finally is forced to come clean and admit that they did not have sex, but rather only kissed. While they did not have sex, Rebecca is still stung that Cappie and Casey shared a kiss–sometimes viewed as more intimate than sex. Casey is able to swing things once again in her favor an hour before the votes when she announces that Frannie was the one who told Nationals about Rebecca’s wild behavior during Spring Break and after. Once again recollection is no where in sight, only the memory of Casey being told by Teagan that it was Frannie who alerted National. Ultimately Ashley is elected president by a write in done by the members of the pledge class. It was Rebecca, the only person intimately connected to politics as a result of her father, that is able to lead the Sorority out of the mud fields of Frannie and Casey and into green pastures with Ashley. By recollecting her past through the memories of Frannie and Casey, Rebecca is able to see the better picture and what is best for not only her, but the whole house.
Likewise recollection is missing in the events surrounding Calvin and Rusty. Calvin, during the ZBZ National Convention week, cheated on his boyfriend Michael. Calvin is plagued by guilt of the deed, which he assumed was alright because of the words a drunk Evan gave him. Evan, who knows first hand what cheating can do in a relationship, tells him to tell Michael before he finds out. Surprisingly, Calvin comes clean and Michael isn’t completely fazed by it and is willing to discuss it later at dinner. During the time, Calvin is searching for a way to get Michael to break up with him, or at least to end the relationship. Finally at dinner Calvin comes clean to Michael that he wants to break up due to apparent differences in personality. Here we see a reversal of what is seen as prejudice when a straight person says it to a gay person. Michael informs Calvin that he is normal, and that Calvin will eventually realize that all gay people are like Michael: into Moroccan food, and drooling over divas. Here we have a case of recollection at play, Michael most likely thinks all gays are the same because he can recollect past relationships that demonstrate that all gays are a like. Calvin can recollect knowing that there are some more like him, having dated Heath for a short time at the beginning of the previous season. Only time can tell who was right and who was wrong in their beliefs about gays.
Finally, Rusty admits to Cappie he has dug out his journal and realizes he has only had one relationship all year, with Jen K. He convinces Cappie to meet him at Dobler’s at four and it is soon revealed he wants him there for a session of speed dating. Rusty, like all people, has placed the bar for what he is looking for at Jen K, his first girlfriend; it is no surprise that his dates fail miserably. While practicing beer pong with Calvin, Calvin suggests that they tell each other what they should do about their problem. Ultimately neither person can make that suggestion since neither has intimate knowledge of what the other is going through. Calvin decides to break up with Michael, and Rusty goes on a date with Jen K. No surprise, the problems which plagued their relationship during its demise still persist when in Jen’s room making out. Rusty is forced to realize through the one person who has shared his first relationship with him, that while she was his first she wasn’t necessarily the one. He is forced through recollection to reconsider his standards for future girls.
Recollection plays a central role in the October 14, 2008 episode of ABC Family’s Greek. It allows for individuals to ultimately reach a decision which has been presented before them at the beginning of the episode. Only through recollection can the characters fully expect to achieve their desired ends, whether or not those ends are what they expected.
