Were We Ever?

Jonah, be honest... were we ever?

**Were We Ever?** is the eleventh episode in Season 1 of *Andi Mack.* It first aired on June 16, 2017 to 1.37 million viewers.

## Plot

### Summary

Bex encourages Andi to stand up for herself and challenge an unreasonable new dress code, so Andi, Buffy and Cyrus practice their newfound empowerment and start a protest.

### Full Plot

The Good Hair Crew is walking along the hallways of Jefferson Middle School making plans about the upcoming school picture day. Cyrus is particularly over-excited while Buffy does her best to calm him down. Their conversation quickly comes to an end when they're stopped by the new principal, Dr. Metcalf, to introduce himself.

The principal tells Andi that she is violating the school dress code by wearing leggings to distract other students with her body parts. Andi and her friends complain that they're not aware of any school dress code but the principal gives them pamphlets to read through and dress properly the next day. Andi, Buffy and Cyrus complain about the dress code to Bex. They're not allowed to wear leggings, crop-tops or even oversized clothing. Bex tells them that the dress code is unreasonable and they should protest against it. Cyrus is a little scared of being a troublemaker but Bex and Buffy convince him that it's okay to be a troublemaker when you're fighting for something you believe in. When Andi complains the dress code is like they're living in a prison, it gives Bex an idea for the protest: dress in prison outfits.

The next day, the Good Hair Crew march into the school wearing the prison outfits to protest the unreasonable dress code. Principal Metcalf meets them and sends them to his office. In the office, Andi and Buffy complain that the school dress code is unreasonable and the school should change it. The school has been doing quite well despite not enforcing the dress code. However, Dr. Metcalf refuses to back down, claiming that he was hired as the new principal because the school has been failing. It used to be ranked 3rd in the city but it's now currently ranked number 10. But Buffy argues that it isn't a big difference, given the fact that there are 162 schools in the district. The principal refuses to cave in and forces them to go home and change from the prison outfits or get suspended.

On their way out, they are met by a large group of students also dressed in the prison uniforms, protesting for freedom of dress. This gives Andi, Buffy and Cyrus the strength to defy the principal. Buffy tells Metcalf that if he suspends them, he has to suspend all those other students. And that won't help him achieve the academic success he's looking for. The trio quickly joins the rest of the students in protesting. During the protest, the students ask for freedom of dress, the right to wear leggings and extra-large sweatshirts. Principal Metcalf realizes that he's lost his leverage and decides to go after the person organizing the protest.
Bex is the one handing out the prison outfits to students and encouraging them to join the cause and protest. Principal Metcalf arrives and tries to stop her but she's already given out all the remaining outfits and has got a lot of students supporting her. Bex rides off on her motorcycle as the students cheer her on. Since the principal is new, he doesn't know who the woman is. So, he asks the students to tell him who the woman was. The students refuse to tell him, but after a threat from the principal, Gus caves in and says it was Bex, Andi's mom.

During the protest, Jonah Beck comes over and says it's hilarious, asking Andi what they're doing. Andi explains that they're protesting against the unfair dress code which limits their freedom and treats them as if they're in prison. So, that's why they're wearing prison outfits. Jonah still doesn't seem to get the point of the protest. So, when Andi asks him to join, he refuses. He reminds Andi to meet up with him for the Space Otters Frisbee Team photo. During the Space Otters Team photo, Andi shows up in the protest outfit and Jonah tries to persuade her to change to the Space Otters jersey for the team photo. Andi says that she can't take off the protest outfit until the protest is over because she's fighting for a cause that's very important to her. Jonah argues that Space Otters is very important to him and he wants the team photo to be perfect so that everyone can start taking them as seriously as they take other school sports. Andi tells Jonah that she will put on the jersey for the photo if he can tell her why she is wearing the prison uniform. Jonah doesn't remember because he was preoccupied with the team photo. Andi walks away.

When his turn to take the school photo comes, Cyrus is reluctant because he had been preparing for the photo for a long time but now he has to take it in the prison outfit. He begs Buffy to let him change just for the photo but Buffy refuses. Buffy reminds him that this protest is very important for their freedom. Cyrus goes to take the photo putting on a sad face but Buffy cheers him up by telling him that he should take the photo as a trouble-maker. A rebel. This is all Cyrus needed to embrace taking the photo in the outfit. He and Buffy take the photos with pleasure.

Meanwhile, after getting Bex's contact information, Principal Metcalf calls Bex and Andi into his office. Andi is worried that this will go in her permanent record but Bex tells her that there is no permanent record. He threatens them with their "permanent record" hoping that will push them to end the protest. He has a huge file of Bex's permanent record and a small file of Andi's. Bex and Andi refuse to cave in. Metcalf asks Andi to respect him but Andi tells him that she would respect him more if he allowed them to talk and compromise about the unreasonable dress code. The principal caves in and agrees to Andi's request to talk. Before leaving the room, the wind blows, revealing that Bex's so called "permanent record" file was just a bunch of Sudoku papers. Bex laughs as she walks out.

Bex and the Good Hair Crew go to The Spoon Diner to celebrate their victory for the protest. Jonah comes over, takes Andi aside and asks her to walk with him. He apologizes for not paying attention to what Andi was saying about the protest because he was preoccupied with the Space Otters team photo. He tells Andi that they're retaking the photo the next day and wants her to be there. Andi refuses. In fact she tells him that she is quitting the team. Jonah is shocked.
Andi stands up to Jonah Beck. She tells him that she never really loved Space Otters as he does. She only liked it because of him. Because she did whatever Jonah wanted her to do. Jonah keeps asking her favors - including asking her to help with Amber's birthday gift. And Andi has been doing it anyway without questioning it or standing up for what SHE wants. But after the protest, she now has the courage to stand up for what she wants. Jonah apologizes but Andi tells him that he didn't do anything wrong. She's the one who misled him by making him think that she will do whatever he wants. But not anymore.

Jonah asks Andi if they could still remain friends after she leaves the team. But Andi asks Jonah to be honest: were they ever really friends?

Andi walks away from Jonah, feeling free. Liberated.

## Cast

### Main Cast

Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Andi Mack
Joshua Rush as Cyrus Goodman
Sofia Wylie as Buffy Driscoll
Asher Angel as Jonah Beck
Lilan Bowden as Bex Mack
Lauren Tom as Celia Mack (credit only)
### Recurring Cast

Anson Bagley as Gus
Oliver Vaquer as Dr. Metcalf
### Guest Cast

David Brown as Picture Day Photographer
Tito Livas as Space Otters Photographer
## Trivia

* Principal Metcalf is introduced in this episode.
* The episode looks at the issue of dress codes across schools being made on the premise of avoiding people from being "distracted" from what someone is wearing, particularly boys.
* Bex was seen handing out prison uniforms to students outside the school.

## References

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ [2]