The Next Step (seasons 4 & 5)

The Next Step is a 2013 Canadian teen drama series that airs on Family Channel. It is styled just like a docudrama. While the first 3 seasons and seasons 6-present received positive reception, seasons 4 and 5 received negative reception from critics and audiences alike.

Plot

Season 4

After competing at Internationals in Miami, A-Troupe has made a name for themselves in the dance world, putting The Next Step Dance Studio on the map. But their return to Regionals could mean the departure of beloved favourites which would force the team to start from scratch. An influx of brand-new dancers would mean new dynamics and challenges for the studio, and the team must fight harder than ever to make it back on top. Some will succeed, some will stumble, and they will struggle with the question: Is what is best for the team, best for me?

Season 5

Since losing at Regionals, A-Troupe is once again the underdog, but that won’t deter them from getting back to the top. As many dancers leave to pursue their goals and dreams, former dance captain Emily steps in to take control of the studio. But her strict regime isn’t welcomed by everyone and the studio quickly divides into two: Emily’s classically trained dancers, and the self-trained/hip-hop crew led by veteran Michelle. In the end, only one team can make it to Regionals and it’s a full out battle between East vs. West.

Why These Seasons Can't Stand Up

1. A confusing and absurd but promising and interesting plot that has been poorly executed.
   • For example, Riley is made studio head. To begin with, the character can be at most 17, as she is younger than her sister Emily who is 18 in Season 4. Under Canadian law (where the show is set), this would be illegal.
     • Despite this, Riley could have been given an interesting storyline about her struggle. Instead, she was given a love triangle storyline which had already been done with her relationship.
       • In addition, this practically started all of the studio's problems in Season 4, since Riley has never been dance captain nor does she have any qualifications.
     • Riley started to get flanderized and being unlikable in this season and lack her original personality in the first three seasons. Her once-balanced personality becomes overly frazzled and conflict-driven, overshadowing her supportive and relatable traits. As studio head, she’s sidelined from dance, losing much of the dynamic energy she brought to the team, while her focus on managing conflicts and personal drama makes her seem less approachable and multidimensional.
   • The James-Riley-Alfie love triangle is also incredibly forced, due to Riley becoming studio head and the Bangers and Mashups competition which drags throughout Season 4.
     • Also, the Bangers and Mashups competition was used as a method to bring James and Riley back together again, even though the relationship was toxic. A big mistake was giving this plot an entire episode.
   • Emily initially rejecting all the non-technical dancers was irrational given her character development in Season 1.
     • For starters, Emily has long learned to accept dancing that is not her style after losing her dance captaincy in Season 1 instead of just making her dancers do what she wants.
     • Emily also had a love for Hunter and West, who both are hip-hop (a type of non-technical) dancers and has liked hip-hop herself.
   • The aforementioned recycling of Emily and Michelle's rivalry which was only used to fit the plot of the season.
   • Season 5 drags out the story a little too long due to having TNS East and TNS West going against each other which wasn't necessary.
2. The characters make situations dramatic when they shouldn't be.
3. Bad character development.
   • Already bad characters are made even worse as the series progresses.
4. Poor comedy which feels insanely forced, especially when the fact that all the characters are equally as incompetent and melodramatic as the next one is taken into consideration.
5. These seasons lacks the charm that the first three seasons had.
6. Too much romance and not enough dancing, which is what the show is supposed to be about.
7. Stupid "heartwarming" moments.
8. Characters lacking the camaraderie shown by most if not all of the characters from the first three seasons.
9. One big plot hole occurs in the Season 4 finale. In the episode's final scene, we see Riley talking in her confessional "Talking Heads". As she does this, James enters the talking heads area and addresses the camera filming her. While the scene is intended to be cute, it makes the audience ask the question: Do the characters know they are being filmed the entire time?
   • If the characters know they are being filmed, it seems absurd that things they imagine are also being filmed. These include:
     • Michelle dancing with herself.
     • Riley's dream about kissing Alfie.
     • James and Alfie's "The Other Man" duet with James rapping.
10. Another issue is that these seasons start exiting main/major characters with no little to no explanation as to why they left or having abrupt departures:
    • The first of these characters is Abi. Although not a main character, she had a major storyline with Noah in Season 3. Her actress was fired after running away from home prior to the filming of Season 4. While this is understandable, the show decided not to mention her character again, completely ignoring a significant storyline.
    • The first main character this occurs to is Cierra. Cierra does not make A-Troupe in the auditions, but is later given the opportunity to rejoin when Kate offers Riley the position of studio head. However, Amanda gets chosen instead and Cierra does not even get a proper farewell.
    • Cassie and Alfie had very abrupt departures.
      • To begin with, Cassie had no real plot much like Max from Season 3. Her final scene is walking back stage after the Regionals loss, so she doesn't even appear in the scene where her teammates talk on stage.
      • Alfie's final scene was comforting Amy after they had both been dumped by someone they thought loved and him promising to be there for her. He is not seen again until the Christmas special
        • That being said, both Alfie and Cassie's departures can be self-explanatory due to the Regionals loss.
    • At the end of Season 5, this occurs to FIVE main characters.
      • For starters, Daniel and West are exited after Emily and Michelle's firing, but insultingly no-one mentions them.
      • Then, Lola, Josh and Zara are said to have left after qualifying for Regionals. This is literally ALL the explanation that is given for each of them. No solid reason is actually given to their departure, the characters just say that they "left". This is weird, considering there was an off-season where their departures could have been explained.
        • One thing to point out is that Jessica Lord was busy filming other show Find Me In Paris when season 6 was filming. But that dosen't give an excuse that the other characters we're cut with out a good explanation.
          • Unlike Cassie and Alfie's exits, this is irrational. It would not make sense for a dancer to leave the studio after qualifying for the competition they wanted to compete in.
11. While Max definitely had no plot in Season 3, this was just one character to be affected by this. Numerous characters in both Seasons 4 and 5 are relegated to the background and are underused like the aforementioned Cassie. Also, some of these characters were exited after just one season.
12. As stated above, another issue with these seasons is their respective lengths.
    • Season 4 has 40 episodes despite trying to tell the same plot as Season 1. Also, a lot of the scenes feel like filler just used to fill up unnecessary plots but little character development for new characters

Redeeming Qualities

1. The dances are still well choreographed.
2. Characters talent is undeniably strong.
3. The songs are good.
4. Season 6-present is a massive improvement.
5. A lot of new characters are likable in their own ways like Ozzy, Lola, Zara, Amy, Piper and more.
6. Old characters (except Riley) generally stay true to themselves.

Reception

Season 4 received a particularly negative reception, with many fans considering it to be the low point of the series. Much criticism was aimed at the increasingly absurd storylines, overuse of older characters, underdevelopment of newer characters and the 40-episode length. A particular storyline that was panned was a love triangle between the characters of James, Riley and Alfie, as this storyline had already been done in the show's second season between James, Riley and Beth.

While season 5 was considered an improvement over Season 4, was criticized for the short length of 20 episodes. Another criticism was the recycling of the rivalry between the characters of Emily and Michelle, which had previous been resolved.