Welcome back to Teeny Bopper TV Breakdown! Today we recap Breaker High, episode 13: “Tamira is Another Day.” I know the song I’m about to mention came out six years after this show aired, but if anyone remembers “Tomorrow” by Lillix - “Tomorrow’s just another day…” - that is now stuck in my head. You’re welcome.
We start on the deck, with Tamira trying to work up the courage to give Max a necklace she made for him and venting to Sean about how much she likes him. I guess we’re just ignoring the Cassidy (which I thought Tamira knew about) and the Eric of it all? The Cassidy part we may be forced to reckon with - Sean suggests that Tamira ask Max if he wants to sketch her portrait in Paris, Tamira asks Cassidy if it’s a good idea, and Cassidy immediately goes to Max and asks him (about herself, not Tamira). Welp.
After the theme song, Chef Nigel is being precious about the puff pastry he’s serving in the cafeteria, wishing he was doing real fine dining instead of cooking for high school students on a cruise ship. He did kind of ruin that for himself - back in the ‘70s he punched a more seasoned chef at Le Cordon Rouge after said chef insulted his cooking, and the chef then ripped off his Cordon Rouge ribbon - so he’s hoping this trip to Paris will be a chance for redemption.
Sean and Tamira are walking in a park in Paris when they come across a Black man who asks them for some change. Sean tries to say no, but Tamira hands him a couple bills. He introduces himself as Porterhouse Will, a saxophone player who Sean actually recognizes. Will says he’ll sell Sean an album, but when Tamira asks if he can play his sax for them, he says he can’t because he had to sell it. Something seems fishy.
Also in a park, Max finishes up sketching Cassidy. As she compliments his work, he says, “It helps when you’re really inspired by the subject.” Ooh, flirty.
On a bench, Sean is going through Will’s records, and Will is willing to sell him three albums for $20. Sean asks to come back later with more money, and Will says “You can buy all the albums you want” - again, the vibes seem a little off.
To earn back his Cordon Rouge medal, the older chef wants Nigel to teach a group of tourists. And of course, those tourists are Nigel’s own Breaker High students Alex (who refuses to eat a snail), Ashley (who just wants to shop), Denise (who is so putting this on her Harvard application) and Jimmy (who we know Nigel already thinks is the most unsophisticated after Jimmy asked to put ketchup on the puff pastry at lunch).
Back on the ship, Sean shows Tamira the records he bought, and says since they were first printings he was able to sell them to a collector for a nice little profit. His face falls, however, when Tamira talks about how excited Will will be to get his share - he was definitely not planning on splitting, and the look on Tamira’s face means he has no choice but to do so.
We come back to Le Cordon Rouge and let’s just say the students did not do Chef Nigel any favors, and his hopes of getting his ribbon back are pretty well dashed.
On the ship again, Max and Cassidy are reminiscing about the sights they got to see - the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame (where apparently some nuns yelled at Cassidy for ringing the bells), the Louvre. Max smiles, to which Cassidy teases, “I didn’t think your mouth could do that!” and he responds, “Yeah, well, it can also do this,” and kisses her. Of course, this is the moment Tamira walks up, because she’d planned to confess her feelings for him, and she’s devastated. I would be for her if the whole Eric episode hadn’t happened, but now I’m just confused.
The next day in the coffeehouse, Tamira confronts Cassidy, accusing her of knowing Tamira liked Max and going for him anyway. When Cassidy says she had no idea, Tamira isn’t surprised by that either, saying, “You’re not the center of the whole universe.” Okay girl, pick one. Cassidy shares that she and Max kissed in Egypt too, and now Tamira is questioning their friendship because surely if they were such good friends Cassidy would’ve shared that earlier. From Cassidy’s point of view, if they were such good friends, Tamira should’ve told her she liked Max. And in teen girl land, this must mean that maybe they’re not such good friends after all.
Tamira is moping on deck when Max of all people comes up to her. He’s planning on going to Jim Morrison’s grave and wants to know if she wants to come with him. Tamira says yes and cheers after he walks away - if she’s this convinced that going to a cemetery is the kind of date she thinks it’s going to be, I may have some bad news.
Oh, she really does think this is going further - she goes to Sean and asks what to do about the necklace she made for Max, because if she doesn’t give it to him Max will never know about her feelings, but if she does then Cassidy will think she’s trying to snake in on her boyfriend (and isn’t she?). Sean says she’s letting her conscience get in the way - the other day she had him thinking he was ripping Will off, but then remembered if he didn’t look out for himself, no one else would. Tamira tries to say something about looking out for friends, but Sean shoots back, “Who was Cassidy looking out for?”, which is maybe a little unfair but Tamira takes him seriously.
Tamira is about to give Max the necklace when Cassidy walks up - apparently she’s coming to the grave with them too, which Max conveniently forgot to mention and it is made clear that she didn’t just invite herself along, so never mind about that gift. Tamira fakes sick, calling it a “stabbing pain in the back thing,” and yes, everyone but Max knows what that means.
When Sean comes back to the park, he comes across a man calling Will a bum, and Sean jumps to his defense. Will is appreciative, calling Sean a real friend. Sean says nothing, but his face shows a little guilt.
Nigel has one last chance to teach Alex, Ashley, Denise and Jimmy to cook a French omelet in order to get his medal back, but he tells them they may as well buy egg McMuffins from McDonalds. Alex, Ashley and Denise are about to, saying Nigel never helped them, but Jimmy actually defends him, saying to Denise, “When you were homesick for deep dish apple pie (sidenote: that sounds delicious), who made it for you?” Sure, Jimmy ate it, but that wasn’t Nigel’s fault. Nigel also slips Alex, aka “Mr. Gotta Be Strong,” an extra chicken breast, and he lets Ashley into the kitchen after hours so she can scarf down three extra pieces of banana cream pie. Who knew Jimmy was this observant, but he’s got them convinced to cook.
Back on the park bench, we come upon Will saying, “You got yourself a deal,” and Sean responding, “You promise?” But before we can think of any nefarious schemes, Will says, “Next time I sell one of my albums, I’ll go to the same record collector you did,” so Sean told the truth after all. Sean is also holding a saxophone, which he then hands to Will, and Will starts to play.
In Le Cordon Rouge, Nigel shares his students’ results with his mentor, and the older chef is suprisingly pleased. Unfortunately, when it’s time to try Nigel’s, we get deja vu from the 1970s incident, and the same insults and punches are thrown.
We find Tamira in the park, venting to a mime about how Cassidy could have any boy on the boat, so why did she have to pick the one Tamira liked? If Tamira had only asked Max to draw her a day earlier, she’d be his muse instead. The mime may not be speaking but is very clearly mocking her, so she runs off.
Will is busking in the park and dedicates a song to Sean, saying he has the heart of a jazz man, and my La La Land full circle senses are tingling.
At the cemetery, Cassidy takes Max’s picture and says, “That’s the second time this week you’ve smiled. What’s gotten into you?” He says it must be Paris, and she responds, “Yeah, the City of Love,” after which he takes her hand and kisses her. Maybe gravestones can be romantic after all.
Oh dear, Tamira was on a bench across from them the whole time. She hangs the necklace she was going to give Max on a tree branch, seemingly giving up for good.
Don’t change that channel! We’ll be right back on Teeny Bopper TV Breakdown.
Share this post