Dance Academy's Second Season, Part 4 of 4

This is the final group of recaps for second season of Dance Academy. I don't want to spoil the end, but you should be aware that one of the main characters dies unexpectedly a few episodes before the finale. It's a shame, as when the third season airs, I would have loved to find out what all of the characters do after graduation, and we'll now have no future for this dancer. But, the way some others are changing their paths, who knows where they'll be in an academic year!

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S02E21: It's time for the national round of the Prix, and the students don't do fabulously in the first round. [though everyone claiming bias was annoying.] Sammy's father and brother come to see him perform, and they want to meet his significant other. Sammy asks Abigail to act as his girlfriend for a lunch, but his father later sees him holding Ollie's hand. [wonder how this will play out...] Later, a kid messes with the sound system during Sammy's number, but Christian and Ben lock him in a closet. [there was NOBODY official backstage??] Sammy's father invites Ollie to join Sam on a trip home anytime. [awww!] Christian thinks that Ben is trying to psych him out by flirting with Tara, but Tara enjoys the attention... right up until she thinks Ben's timing might really be to mess with Christian. And, Abigail's mother thinks they should move to New York, so she's shocked when Abigail chooses the fringe show instead of the Prix. [as am I!] Tara, Grace, Sammy, and the cheater make it to the international round.

S02E22: Grace's father is supposed to come to see the international round of the Prix, but he cancels because of business. Christian takes motorcycle lessons but tries to showboat and winds up laying down the bike, hurting his arm. [of course.] There's a rumor going around that fewer third-years are going on tour, so more will be snagging the Peter Pan parts, making auditions fierce. Grace thinks that Zach is pretty much handing her Tinkerbell, so she makes a move on him. He tells her that she's putting more into the situation than is there, so she Grace spins it the other way when she tells Tara that Zach tried to kiss her, asking Tara to tell Miss Raine. [I think I might hate Grace more than Abigail.] Grace is sent back to London.

S02E23: Peter Pan has been cast, with Abigail getting Wendy, Kat getting Tinkerbell, Christian getting Peter Pan, and Ben getting John. Abigail feels she's unsuited for the role, afraid that she's been typecast. She wants to drop the part, but Miss Raine tells her she needs to focus. [no Prix and no spring piece? what would she do with herself, LoL?] She has other things on her mind, though, when she pretends she likes fish when she's asked on a date. She and Sammy skip class so he can teach her about marine stuff.

Meanwhile, Ben is still after Tara, but he starts taking it too far when he wears her bra and makes fun of her. He then throws an ice-skating party for her, though she's starting to think about moving to Russia - the Prix winners will be able to do their final year of training elsewhere.

S02E24: Grace shows up to represent Great Britain in the Prix, planning to do Tara's preferred solo. [hate Grace!] Tara goes to one of the judges and explains that Grace might have taken someone's place on the United Kingdom team by injuring a teammate, but nothing malicious is uncovered. Sammy wants to change his solo to a group piece, but Abigail calls it a gimmick. [it WAS weird.] Shortly before the Prix, however, Sammy is killed in a car accident. [WHAAAT??!?] Christian breaks the news to Tara, who runs to console Kat and Abigail, who kissed her ex-boyfriend the night before. [awww.]

S02E25: The Prix is postponed, Peter Pan is canceled, and classes are optional for the second-years. [it was quite moving to see the kids in mourning dress performing warm-ups.] Abigail auditions with some third-years for a six-week tour, but freaks out because she misses Sammy, her original partner. [I didn't see that coming.] The group of friends talk about Sammy, read his bucket list, and play his favorite songs. We also see flashbacks to Sammy trying to talk his way into the Academy after not making the finals in auditions, and Sammy meeting Kat, then Abigail, then Christian. [I just found these awkward.]

S02E26: Tara has nightmares about the Prix, and asks Miss Raine to remove her from the competition. [I thought this was a major reaction!] Ben is selected as the alternate to compete in Sammy's place, which Abigail supports but Tara rejects. Grace manages to psych out Tara a bit in the contemporary round, but Abigail helps Tara train a different dance for "The Red Shoes," the solo that is Tara's unicorn of sorts. [like that Gone in 60 Seconds reference?] Ben does the piece Sammy would have done, with video of his friends dancing in the background, who then join on-stage. The choreography wasn't approved in advance, so he's disqualified. [how do the kids keep jumping from the audience to backstage to sidestage? all-access passes??]

Though Tara had more heart, Grace wins the Prix and decides to return to the Academy, Abigail goes to Spain with Ethan for the summer, Kat passes her finals and is accepted into second-year (and decides to go to the farm with Tara for the summer), and Christian (now 18!) rides his motorcycle off alongside his father.