'Undercover High' Season 1, Episode 9 'Busted' Recap: What Are You Fighting For? [SPOILERS]

Intense—that’s what this episode is. “Undercover High”Season 1, episode 9, titled “Busted,” reminds everyone that drama and high school is the real power couple that’ll go on forever. What’s high school without the gossip and the fights? Right now, it’s the typical scenario of most high schools.
In this episode, the adults of “Undercover High” get a first-hand taste of that brutal high school drama. But, there’s more than just fist fights and insult battles. There’s always the question of ‘What are you fighting for?’ Sometimes, finding the answer is the worst battle of all.
Graduation is just around the bright, shimmering corner. But, “Undercover High” never runs out of new people to meet and new issues to greet.

Color Me Suspicious

Graduation being so near might not be the most significant news for Antonio. Right after getting his diploma, the court will be waiting for him right outside the doors. Though she’s one superb lady, Antonio’s mom is more restless than he is. With such vulnerability, she told Antonio’s friends how much Antonio needed their support more than ever. She was hoping they can inspire him. Daniel thinks she’s worried that her son would slip and bypass the court into prison. Day by day, Daniel was growing more desperate to find something Tone could focus on so he could keep out of trouble.
Gloria, on the other hand, is enjoying the last few weeks in school. To her, each day is more entertaining than the other. However, this undercover teacher just has no affinity for art. “Girl, the only thing I can draw is a heart.”, she laughed. “And I’m talking about the fake ones, not like the real ones.”
In her art class, Gloria met Aide, who admitted that she has some attitude and anger issues. She credits it to her brother, who taught her to stick up for herself. “Oh, you know they’re talking about you. Just punch them in the face,” Aide’s brother told her. That’s why fighting was never an issue with her.
In fact, Gloria noticed that one of Aide’s eyes were red. Aide casually replied that she got into a fight with one girl. The match was recorded and posted online. After it spread, Aide said there came a lot of females who didn’t like her. She didn’t want to go to school after that. Gloria was shocked but curious as to why Aide thought she had to do it.
On the other hand, suspicion was growing among the real students. At the start of the program, they were only told that there would be people mingling among them attending the school like they were. But, not one clue was given as to who they are. The students were subtly and slowly trying to corner the “Undercover High” adults.
But, as Dr. New said, if the participants are going to continue being active role models for their students, then they have to hold up their end. They have to finish strong.

“Undercover High” Red Hot Sparks

“What in the world?” was Gloria’s words for the video of Aide wrestling with another girl. Gloria was innocently trying to satisfy her curiosity. But, what she saw left her speechless. In the video, Aide and her opponent were surrounded by a dozen other people. Girls repeatedly kept egging Aide to punch the other girl while bringing out their cameras.
Gloria hit the spot on when she said that kids watch these kinds of videos and praise it. They make it popular. It then becomes the ‘it’ thing. Gloria is worried that Aide is making it her hobby was going to land her in a place she didn’t want to be.
The whole school seemed to agree that it all starts with social media. According to one student, the drama builds up over the web; then it inevitably comes person to person. Dr. New said that discovering the causes and changes in this issue is one thing they want to know. “How has drama changed in high school today?” Dr. New asked.
Meanwhile, Tone is preparing for his real fight. Eli, a kid from Topeka High, challenged Antonio to a rap battle. Again, it all started on social media. Eli was bashing Tone’s song. And when he put up the challenge, Tone had nothing else to say but sure, why not. With confidence, Tone said, “He’s not gonna be nice. He’s gonna walk out of there hurt.” Daniel finally saw a light to his dilemma. This rap battle could be the solution to keep Tone’s focus and confidence up. As one of Tone’s friends said, “Rap music is important to kids my age, so they keep them out the streets and keep them occupied on something productive. They could just focus on the music.”
There’s nothing that beats Lina and Jorge’s detective problem though. In drama class, they met the 16-year-old Anthony. He’s the school’s keen eyes and ears on social media. What Anthony sees, everybody never misses. Now, Anthony has chosen to turn his eagle eyes on Lina. He put his free time into harassing her about her social media. After all, he did say that the most significant issue right now was the undercover participants. It seems that it’ll be his biggest scoop yet if ever.

Supporting Acts Take the Spotlight

Erin’s persistence is noteworthy. She keeps encouraging Michelle to think of what to do for her future seriously. Michelle thinks she’s not great at anything. But, Erin says that it doesn’t have to be that way. However, Erin said believes that the advice she gives to Michelle goes in one ear and out the other. “So, I don’t know how much of an impact I’ll make on her,” she worried.
Erin sought out Dr. New for some advice for Michelle. The principal told her that Michelle had changed a lot since the previous school year. According to Dr. New, Michelle was highly motivated and goal-oriented before. Michelle would’ve been the commander of the corps if not D’Andrei. However, her present circumstances seemed to have sucked her into a dark cloud. But, this time, it was Dr. New handing out hope.
“There’s certain aspects of your personality that really remind me of her.” Dr. New told Erin. “Perhaps what she sees of you today is saying to her, hey I don’t have to be stuck here. There’s some hope.” Honestly, how could anyone not feel a boost in morale after that statement?
For the other students of Highland Park, Tone’s upcoming rap battle with Eli is hyping them up. Tone has been facing the corner wall with the mike in between all week to practice. With no doubt, he’s surely giving it his all. His mom comes in now and then, bonding with him and his friends. “I just wanna keep him encouraged. I want to help him stay on straight and narrow before he goes to see this judge. And that’s why I like his rap.” In one of her visit, she told the boys that Tone told her that he’s going to make a rap for her for Mother’s Day. “We got you.”, Tone’s friend answered with a fist bump.
Aide, Gloria’s new friend, has also been seeing some real support from her friend Camri. Over lunch, Camri told Aide just to stay true to herself. “You’re too pretty to be fighting,” she added. Aide contemplated saying she wasn’t a troublemaker. Camri reached out to pat her arm and said, “You’re just with the wrong people.”
Aide clued her friends in on her plans to transfer. She was looking at a school that she thinks would help her more. Gloria thought that Aide feels distracted by a lot of kids at Highland Park. She believed that this transfer plan is Aide’s way of escaping. But no matter where Aide goes, her famous fights would always follow her. “That’s the kind of stuff that never goes away. It can have a major impact on the rest of your life.”, Gloria said.

Battles Busted

Aide has successfully jumped on a new train of hope. She got into the other school she was talking about. It’s a clean slate. Aide said that she’s going in there, not knowing anyone. And for her, it’s a chance to focus on graduating and becoming a cosmetologist. Aide thinks that it’s the people and the friends that are the distractions. Another motivation spurring her forward is that she wants to be the first to graduate out of her family. Gloria found this to be a relief. This hope is what Aide thinks she needs to be able to graduate. “Aide has a reputation as being this bad girl. It’s hard to escape. But, I hope that she can,” said Gloria.
Along with Aide, Michelle has also finally cut her chains. “I’m out,” she told Erin. Erin paused, but both girls were smiling. A year ago, Michelle had an accident resulting in the doctors having to implant a metal rod in her arm. She had to keep it there for three years. So, she went up to her military superior and told them, “I don’t want to do it anymore.” It was a huge burden lifted from Michelle’s shoulders as she said. When Erin asked if she felt relieved, Michelle joked, “Now, I don’t have to kill people.” It was a huge moment for both of them.
However, the joy of the moment felt quick for Erin, who quickly realized that Michelle hasn’t laid out the next step for herself. She was disappointed. “Michelle came and finally chose to do something else, the right path for herself and still, she has no motivation,” Erin said. She felt that if Michelle didn’t think of at least going to college, she’s going to be sucked up by what’s around her. She concluded that she could advise Michelle the best she could, but the final judgment still depends on Michelle.
For Lina and Jorge, Anthony’s simple facebook snooping turned out to be disastrous. The day after the detective-esque questioned Lina, a photo of the siblings went up on the web with big red letters splashed across saying, “BUSTED.” It had a caption that said, “Sorry not sorry. Should’ve kept your story straight.” Disbelief, worry, and shock were printed clear on the sibling’s faces. As Lina said, she and her brother have invested so much time in the program to help the students. But, the post had already reached the point of no return. They just had to face it.
But, the post wasn’t enough for Anthony. He was sharing his suspicions through his fingers and his mouth. Even in drama class, just a seat away from Lina and Jorge, he was multitasking between class participation and online drama creation. Soon, Lina couldn’t stand it any longer. She confronted Anthony. The simple talk she intended however shipped her and Jorge to the principal’s office. “He was just going off, you guys are fake, you guys are this, you guys are that, and I was just like angry,” Jorge said.
“I was just really heated because I didn’t want anybody finding out this way,” Lina said. Dr. New explained that Anthony went above and beyond. But, he was still an immature kid, not someone the siblings should expect to be at their maturity level. Back in class, except for Anthony, Mr. Kickhaefer discussed the incident. D’Andrei, one of the students, said that he couldn’t care less if Lina and Jorge were actors. Everybody was there to get the high school experience, and it didn’t matter if they were actors or not. Dr. New conveyed this to the siblings. She reminded them that these students were getting to know them as people.
It was hard, she admitted but, it was what they signed up for in “Undercover High.” Jorge said that it was easy to get lost in the pretense but, they were adults and he regretted it. Lina also regretted letting Anthony under her skin saying that it was a poor decision. But, ultimately, they were welcomed back warmly in class. Jorge said, “We just need to keep going. There’s a lot more to do. And I’m not ready to leave. Issues or rumors will come our way but, we’re here for the students and we just gotta remember that.”
For the last battle, Tone and Eli finally met. Tone’s mother believed that this was good for his focus, especially if he won. Their matching shirts was just added support. Antonio was pretty confident himself. His only worry was that the crowd gets hyped with Eli’s big words. On the other side, Eli’s confidence is up too. “I may end Tone’s career tonight. If he ain’t no point, go have a funeral. Simple as that.” he smiled. Highland Park was hyped. With passion, Daniel laid it flat down. “This kid really needs to win in his life right now, and this rap battle could do it for him.”
Eli had the first words down, but Tone shot back blazing. The next few rounds, however, the flames were headed towards Antonio, threatening to burn him out. The court date was hanging over his head. Everybody was holding up their phones and immortalizing the moment online. “This rap battle would live forever in social media,” Daniel worried. In the end, Tone’s one pause sent the win fleeting from his fingers. As Tone’s name was called, the crowd was cheering Eli’s name. “Personally, I don’t believe Eli did better than me but, he won so gotta give him respect.” Antonio conceded.
Still, there was one person in the crowd who was beaming for Antonio. HIs mother knew he did his best and she was very very proud of him. Antonio was upset, but his mother was there for him. It was Daniel who took the duty of verbally worrying about him. “I know that winning meant a lot to him. I’m worried that this loss would take his focus off of something that he was passionate about – rap. This could mess up his momentum, could mess up his focus leading up to the court case. I mean, I pray to God that that doesn’t happen.”
“Undercover High” is down to its last two episodes. But, before it ends, the show is having the adults relive the most anticipated event in high school—Prom. However, no glam and glamour can cover up any battle still brewing. Life keeps going, including all the drama.
“Undercover High” continues on Tuesday, March 13th, with “You Only Go To Prom Twice” at 10/9c on A&E.