Rise - The Petition - Review + POLL

Welcome back to another emotional episode of Rise. At this point I expect to cry every week, and this was no exception. At the beginning of the episode Lou listens to the radio and the commentators blame him for all of the football team's issues. When he gets to school he notices that ticket sales are up. This is because of a video that someone made. The video is very... graphic. I can definitely see why high schoolers would be interested in "Spring Awakening" after seeing this video. Lou comments that they should take it down, but he and Tracey decide to leave it up for now. They need the ticket sales.

At rehearsal Robbie shows up and apologizes to everyone for leaving rehearsal. He promises that he will do the best he can even though he's not an actor. He seems dejected, and Tracey comments that he's lost his mojo. Lou decides that something has to be done so he takes Robbie to see Coach Strickland. Lou gives Robbie the week off from rehearsal so he can focus on football. I was proud of Lou for being selfless and putting Robbie's needs over the show. Tracey, however, wasn't so happy. She panics because the show begins in nine days.

The video causes more problems as the PTA petitions to stop the show. Simon's dad stops by the school and tells Lou that he is hurting the kids and he will do everything in his power to stop him. Simon sees that his parents signed the petition, and he's upset. He was the only person in the show to have his parents sign it, but his mom says it was a mistake and she will take care of it. Simon's mom confronts his dad, and they argue over Simon and their marriage. His mom says that they do not have a marriage. I was proud of his mom for standing up for Simon. It seems like she is a good person who really loves her kids and wants the best for them.

At practice Robbie does a good job of running the offense and giving the team a pep talk. Coach Strickland gives Robbie the starting job for the game. Robbie decides to stay late and keep practicing. He ends up throwing the football to Gordy, and Coach Strickland even tells Godry that he's doing good work.

While Robbie and Gordy focus on football, Lilette deals with her mom. At rehearsal she notices that Gwen is upset, and Gwen tells her to ask her mom. That night Vanessa tells her that she's still seeing Coach Strickland, and she cares about him. Lilette gets upset and goes to her room. Later Coach breaks things off with Vanessa after they realize that both Gwen and Lilette know about them. Vanessa is upset and asks Lilette for a girls night. Lilette refuses and she and her mom get in a fight. Vanessa storms out and says she needs a break. Listen, I get being angry at your daughter. But Vanessa is the mom. She has responsibilities. She can't just walk out on Lilette.

The friday night game is not going well. It's almost over and the team is in danger of losing the game and their spot in the playoffs. One of the players is injured so the coach sends Gordy in. Robbie throws to Gorday and he catches it and gets out of bounds. On the final play Robbie runs for the end zone. He scores! They win! I really loved this scene, and I was so happy for Gordy. I was happy for Robbie, too, but I was sad that Lilette had to watch on the sidelines. I wish she would have gone to the field to celebrate with Robbie. I want more scenes with them together!

Robbie finds Lou when the game is over and asks him to drive him somewhere. It turns out Robbie wanted Lou to meet his mom. This scene was emotional because as we see Robbie with his mom we also see Lilette going home by herself. She's sad because her mom isn't home. We also see Vanessa driving by herself, and she's still upset.

After the game Gwen tells her dad that she doesn't want to talk to him anymore. Her dad's affair has really affected her, and her relationship with Gordy. She tells Gordy that she wants to slow things down. He tells her that's okay, but I was disappointed. I hope that this isn't the end of their relationship. And even though I love Robbie and Lilette together, I think I can relate more to Gordy and Gwen.

I love this show, but I really need some comic relief. Because not only did we have all of these issues, but we also dealt with Maashous meeting his mom, and Gail realizing that she's probably going to lose him. I about lost it when Maashous told Lou his home was not just some foster home, and Lou replied that Maashous isn't just some foster kid. I hope that Maashous's mom really has cleaned up her act because Maashous deserves to be happy.

Sasha tries to make a decision on what to do about her baby. Once she sees the baby on the sonogram she wants to keep it, but Michael isn't so sure. He's just trying to be a friend, but this is Sasha's decision. I was glad that Michael got Tracey to talk to Sasha. We learned that Tracey was also pregnant as a teenager. She gave up her baby for adoption, and that was the right decision for her at the time. She tells Sasha that she needs to choose what's right for her.

At the end of the episode Tracey is told that the show needs to change and be more appropriate for high school. If she does this then the drama job is hers.

What did you think about this episode? What do you think Tracey will do? At this point do you think "Spring Awakening" will still happen? I want to know your opinions. Discuss below!