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"DON'T TURN AWAY FROM ME!"
— Rick to Sean, Emma and Toby.

Time Stands Still (2) is the eighth episode of Season 4 of the Canadian television series, Degrassi: The Next Generation. It originally aired on October 12, 2004 on CTV Television and on December 10, 2004 on The N. The episode shares its title with the song by Rush.

Summary[]

Rick's public humiliation makes him homicidal, which causes him to come back to school armed with a gun and looking for revenge. As innocent people are caught in his path, the unthinkable happens, and everyone at Degrassi faces fear and tragedy.

Extended Overview[]

Rick heads to Degrassi with his father's handgun in his backpack, despite being given permission to go home by Mr. Raditch until everyone has calmed down and the issue has been resolved. Toby tells him to go home, but he replies saying that this is the one day he wants to actually be at Degrassi.

Rick walks into the cafeteria. Upon seeing Paige approaching him, he reaches for the gun in his bag to get back at her for starting the anti bully campaign. Paige tells him that she thought that the prank was sickening, childish, and out of line. Hearing this, he puts the gun away, says sorry for hurting Terri, and leaves the cafeteria.

Rick decides to forgo his plans and places the gun in his locker. Still covered in paint, he goes into a washroom and begins to clean up. He hears footsteps and hides in a stall. Spinner and Jay walk into the washroom arguing about the prank they pulled earlier. Noticing that Rick is in one of the stalls, Jay falsely blames Jimmy, noting that the the prank would not have had been successful if Jimmy hadn't been the "inside man". Spinner is initially confused by this, although he goes along with Jay in the end once he catches on to the joke thinking it'll lead to a fight between the two.

Hearing this, Rick leaves the washroom and looks for Jimmy, taking his backpack along with him. He finds Jimmy near his locker. Jimmy asks Rick how he's holding up and tells Rick that he's got his back if anyone bothers him again. Much to Rick's disdain in which replies, "You stabbed me in the back. You set the whole thing up." Jimmy initially protests this by saying that he defended Rick. He sees Rick draw the gun out of his bag and asks nervously "Is that real?" Rick ignores him and points the gun at Jimmy accusing him of faking his friendship and that Jimmy "made me [Rick] do this".

Jimmy backs away slowly. As Rick closes his eyes, Jimmy turns and starts running. Rick fires a shot. The bullet hits Jimmy in the back, knocking him to the ground. Other students around the area start running away. Craig, who is nearby, walks down the hall to see Jimmy lying on the floor.

Rick finds Emma with Toby and Sean. He apologizes for kissing Emma. Sean grabs Emma and urges them to go. As they turn away, Rick screams: "Don't turn away from me!" They turn back and Rick approaches them slowly. He accuses Emma of flirting with him and making him think that she loved and cared about him. Because of this, "she made his list".

Sean calmly tries to reason with Rick and tells him that giving into anger will just make his life worse. Rick struggles with this for a moment, but points the gun at Emma saying "It's too late. I've already shot someone". Before he fires, Sean lunges for the weapon. Both Sean and Rick struggle for a moment before the gun goes off. Both Sean and Rick drop to the floor, with Rick having been shot by his own gun. 

The school enters lockdown. Both Parents and Emergency Services start arriving at the school. While they comb the school, Sean is escorted to a room where Toby is being questioned by a detective. Shocked by what has happened, Toby admits to Rick being bullied every day. He refuses to call Rick his friend and repeatedly calls him a psycho instead. 

In another room, Spike and Snake are comforting a visibly shaken Emma. Mr. Raditch enters and asks Snake to look through Rick's emails for warning signs. Snake is enraged by this, and blames Mr. Raditch for the incident since he failed to see warning signs before when Rick approached him earlier. The two proceed to argue, although they stop when Spike intervenes by asking them to stop. 

Hazel, Paige, and other the other juniors take cover in another classroom while the police continue the search. The search concludes with the guidance teacher visiting their classroom. She calls Hazel into the hall to tell her the horrifying news that Jimmy had been shot. Hazel begins to break down in tears as the other students are escorted out of the school by police. 

As Jay, Alex and Spinner evacuate, Jay mentions to Spinner that he thought Rick had shot him. Spinner replies by telling them that Rick had shot Jimmy instead and that someone would eventually find out the events that transpired in the washroom. Jay stops him and tells him that he needs to keep quiet and that they hadn't done anything wrong. Spinner refuses, saying that Jimmy is his best friend and that they might have caused his death.  

The local press approach Craig, who is among the fleeing students streaming out of the school. They ask him whether or not he knew the victim. Craig is flustered and tells them that the victim has a name. The press continue to pester him until Caitlin intervenes and tells them to back off. The press notice Toby leaving the building and approach him next. They introduce themselves and mention that they knew Rick was Toby's friend. They ask him whether or not Toby tried to stop him, to which Toby retorts angrily "What was I supposed to do?" The press asks him whether or not Rick said anything before he died. Toby is visibly shocked by this question and is lead away by his family, indicating that he has just learnt of Rick's death despite being there when Rick was shot. 

Jimmy is taken to the hospital where Hazel, Paige, and Spinner visit along with others. They find out that he is paralyzed from the waist down and are deeply saddened.  

That evening, Toby, Ashley, and their mother go over to the Simpson-Nelsons house to watch the news. Clearly devastated, Spike cannot accept the fact that a shooting has just taken place at Degrassi. Emma comments that Degrassi isn't a "sainthood" - that it's a school. Spike responds by saying that's the point - no shooting should ever have to take place in any school. Snake comes in by saying that they all failed to take Rick's bullying seriously and that Rick hadn't just been simply unpopular. Ashley, infuriated by the shooting (and especially because the victim is Jimmy), says that Rick was only a psycho and a certified freak. Her words upset Toby, who slams the remote on the table and leaves the room. Emma comments that Rick was not simply a psycho; he was Toby's friend. 

In Joey's house, Craig, Caitlin, and Joey watch the story on the local news, as do Sean and Ellie at his house. Hazel and Paige remain at the hospital while a guilt-ridden Spinner cries in his room. The episode ends with Toby going to a growing candlelight vigil at the front steps of Degrassi. He is joined by Emma, and the two tearfully embrace. 


  • This episode is named after the song "Time Stand Still" by Rush.
  • This episode marks the last time that Jimmy walked, because Rick shot him, leading him to being in a wheelchair.
  • This episode marks the second shooting in the Degrassi franchise (first in DTNG). The first was in Showtime (1) when Claude Tanner committed suicide.
  • This is one of three shootings on DTNG. The other two were Danger Zone and Dead and Gone (2).
  • This is the second time someone brought a gun to Degrassi, the first being Claude Tanner, the third being K.C. Guthrie, fourth being Vincent Bell, and fifth being Hunter Hollingsworth.
  • This episode marks the final appearance of Rick, as he dies in this episode.
  • The scene where Jimmy gets shot is used in Aubrey Graham's montage for the season 6 and 7 opening credits.
  • This episode was played on the same day that Dead and Gone (2) premiered, which also had a shooting.
  • Jay and Spinner admit to the prank later on, but they didn't tell anyone Alex helped set it up.
  • Aubrey Graham appeared in a PSA for gun violence prevention that plays alongside this episode during commercial breaks. It can be watched here.

  • Toby: "Raditch is going supernova. He's gonna find out who did this."
    Rick: "And what? Give them detention?"
    Toby: "I'm just saying, I think it'll be cool if you skip the rest of the day."
    Rick: "Toby... this is the one time I actually wanna be at school."
  • Jimmy: "How you holding up?"
    Rick: "Good."
    Jimmy: "Good...kinda surprised to see you this afternoon."
    Rick: "Yeah, I bet you are."
    Jimmy: "I'm really sorry about everything, and if those guys give you any trouble, I got your back".
    Rick: "You stabbed me in the back!"
    Jimmy: "What?"
    Rick: "You set the whole thing up."
    Jimmy: "Come on Rick, I defended you..."
    (Rick pulls out the gun)
    Jimmy: "Is that real?"
    Rick: "This whole time you pretended to be my friend... you made me do this."
    (Rick shoots Jimmy)
  • Rick (To Sean, Emma, and Toby): "DON'T TURN AWAY FROM ME!!"
  • Paige: "Guys, there's been a shooting."
  • Spinner: "Oh Chicken Boy, oh Chicken Boy, I love your wealth of knowledge and I love you."
  • Paige (To Rick): "Look. I know we aren't exactly best friends, but I wanted to say that I...I thought the whole paint and the feathers job was sickening. It was really childish."
  • Rick (To Emma): "I'm glad I found you, Emma. You made my list."
  • Spinner: "We gotta tell them!"
    Jay: "We didn't do anything!"
    Spinner: "Jimmy's my best friend!"
  • Spinner: "Hey Jay listen, Raditch knows, man."
    Jay: "About Jimmy..? Yeah, I'm surprised no one has figured it out yet."
    Spinner: "Dude..?"
    Jay: "Jimmy set the whole thing up perfectly, the way he got all those easy sport questions wrong."
    Spinner: "Yeah, and made sure uh, psycho boy was all alone in the final round."
    Jay: "Never would have happened without a man on the inside."
  • Ashley: "How about full on psycho? Certified freak? The guy made us a lead story on the 6:00 news."
  • Rick (To Sean, Emma, and Toby): "I already shot someone."

  • "Rooftop" by Melissa McClelland


  • v - e - d

    Season Four Episodes

    Ghost in the Machine (1) ā€¢ Ghost in the Machine (2) ā€¢ King of Pain ā€¢ Mercy Street ā€¢ Anywhere I Lay My Head ā€¢ Islands in the Stream ā€¢ Time Stands Still (1) ā€¢ Time Stands Still (2) ā€¢ Back In Black ā€¢ Neutron Dance ā€¢ Voices Carry (1) ā€¢ Voices Carry (2) ā€¢ Bark at the Moon ā€¢ Secret (1) ā€¢ Secret (2) ā€¢ Eye of the Tiger ā€¢ Queen of Hearts ā€¢ Modern Love ā€¢ Moonlight Desires ā€¢ West End Girls ā€¢ Goin' Down the Road (1) ā€¢ Goin' Down the Road (2)

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