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I think Trae’s the smartest kid in this school. But I’m not going to sugarcoat it; he is crazy, and he’s not to be messed with. |
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—Student of James A. Mathers High, The Mafia | ||
Trae Ventura (born March 30, 1998) is the main protagonist and narrator in The Savages. Trae was the president and founder of the school clique The Savages, but he leaves his own clique in Season 2. He is a junior student at James A. Masters High School. Trae is the son of hospital receptionist and fashionista Stacey Ventura and rock singer, Terrence Ventura. In the beginning of the series, Trae appears to be the 'top dog' of the school, according to others who know him well. Many students have described him as the smartest of the school, but he's well-known for his numerous affairs with other students, like Dirty Dan Daniels.
Trae is best described as witty, creative and often down-to-earth. There are times where Trae is very idealistic and determined to get what he wants. In The Psychological Warfare, Trae's anger management and diagnosis with Asperger's syndrome is revealed. He relies mostly on The Savages to go against the school's morals and riot. But Trae meets his rival with Joe Bender in the first season when he joins to take over and destroy their dynamic. Trae is often very intelligent and confident, but he also has a secret agenda. He is revealed, in The Beast Unleashed, to be responsible for the infamous video scandal of Brian and Viktor. His motives, in this case, was for pure revenge after Brian rejected a relationship between the two and antagonized Trae for an entire sophomore year.
Trae was originally very close friends with Sydney Prescott, who appeared to be his sidekick in The Savages, and Gina Woods, whom he personally recruited to The Savages. Eventually, he gradually becomes closer to Alex Herrera and Carl Touché, two of the original members in the clique. He also makes Zachary Foxx his protégé in the beginning, and the two develop a romantic interest in each other. Trae is openly bisexual, but many other students have believed that he is gay because of his multiple sexual encounters with other boys. In Season 2's episode The Scarlet Letters, he and Zachary begin dating.
He is portrayed by Quincy Brown and is based on REBƎLReloaded.
Biography
Trae Ventura was born on March 30, 1998 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to hospital receptionist and fashionista Stacey Ventura and famous rock star Terrance Ventura. Stacey and Terrence were married for a year in Los Angeles and got divorced just four months before Trae was born. The two separated due to Terrence's infidelity and having another child with another woman. There were also domestic abuse allegations involved that put Terrence's artistry in jeopardy. Stacey and Trae's half-sister moved back to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her mother and grandmother, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Trae was then born, and he was limited to seeing his father, and Terrance and Stacey fought for custody, and Stacey won the case.
At the age of 3, Trae was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, to which decreased his inability to socialize with other people. Believing that this would affect his life, Stacey tried to help Trae with his education at an early stage, and Trae eventually began to gain a lot of knowledge and he was able to speak. Trae temporarily moved to a suburban area near Philadelphia at the age of 6, and moved back to Philadelphia at age 7. After graduating middle school, he and his mother moved to Seattle, Washington after Stacey is given a house from her grandmother's will.
This is when Trae first attends James A. Masters High School during freshman year. During this time, Trae was mostly isolated from students and his only two friends at the time were Kalleb Banks and Gina Woods. In his sophomore year, he was in a secret affair with Kalleb's half-brother, Brian Gustin. After Trae asked Brian out, he rejected and made a racist comment about dating a black guy. This, in particular, infuriated Trae and Brian, who joined the football team, tormented Trae for the rest of the year. The Savages came about when Rose De Vil wouldn't make the effort to defend Trae for being bullied by Brian, and instead suspended Trae for no reason. Feeling like she broke the rules, Trae became closer to Sydney Prescott, who was once a member of a different clique. She and Trae developed The Savages and teamed up with Nate, the secretary of the group, to start up the latest clique.
Storyline
During Trae's junior year, he comes to the realization that The Savages' popularity has become short-lived, and he encourages the rest of the members, Alex, Sydney, Carl, and Nate, to help him recruit new members in the clique. In this season, Trae is shown to be the narrator that introduces a majority of the cliques in the school. He explains that The Savages are more than just a group, but a movement against the school. He is also convinced to join AP courses in the school because of his intelligence, despite his constant lateness to his classes, but he later rejects. In this case, he recruits Gina and helps her be and act like a 'savage' because of her appearance and innocent, prudish personality. He tentatively adds in Joe, to whom he doesn't seem to trust, and brings The Savages together when his main rival Felix, with his group The Moneybags, continue to antagonize him and his clique. ("The Mafia")
Trae eventually becomes sympathetic towards one of the jocks who is constantly bullied by his own teammates, Zachary, who he accidentally bumped into. Trae then decides to make Zachary his protégé by convincing him to quit the team with open arms in The Savages. This act mostly overshadows his former flame, Dirty Dan, who continues to make a pass at him and convince him that they are into each other. Trae later confronts The Jocks after Zachary has an outburst during the big football game, and he, along with The Savages, defend Zachary. ("The Devil's Protégé")
Meanwhile, Trae continues to guide Zachary when he discovers Brian and Viktor in a compromising position. He helps Zachary understand that every clique has flaws besides The Savages, and seeking revenge on Brian and Vik is the best revenge. However, this plan is overshadowed by Trae's infuriation towards principal Rose De Vil's latest policies. He is part of the school chaos that occurs in classrooms due to these rules, and he encourages The Savages to crash Rose's pep rally addressing these issues. The plan was almost successful, until a video of Brian and Viktor appears on the projector at the assembly, interrupting their performance. Because of this, Trae is the first person sent to the principal's office, when he is assumed to be responsible for the video. ("The Boomerang Effect")
When Rose interrogates Trae and questions if he is responsible for exposing Brian and Vik, he denies it and claims that The Savages didn't have anything to do with the exposure. He warns Zachary that Rose is on to The Savages and convinces him to have an alibi so he wouldn't get in trouble. However, Zachary's anxiety forces him to blame Trae for causing it to happen. The two get into a disagreement about the situation and eventually reconcile. ("The Feminist Manifesto")
Trae, later on, joins Carl and The Savages on a road trip to Portland, Oregon, skipping school and hoping for a break away from the school. Meanwhile, Trae becomes unaware of Joe's tactics, targeting him adn getting him where he wants him. Trae and Joe 'bond' with each other after getting stranded in the middle of nowhere. Trae is under the influence and gets high with Joe. The two later kiss and Zachary catches them in the act. Trae, along with the rest of the members of the group, are chased by Eli, Carl's father's drug lord, and face the police. ("The Wild Ride")
Concerned with Zachary's sudden ignorance towards him, Trae goes into silence after being reprimanded by his mother for lying to him about his whereabouts. Once Brian and Vik's video hits social media, Trae becomes intrigued with who is held responsible. In the end, Trae and Zachary finally break silence and reconcile, and it is clear that Trae is well aware of Zachary's romantic feelings, after asking Alex and Carl for advice. ("The School For Scandal")
Meanwhile, Trae's anger management gets the best of him when Rose De Vil's constant rules, conflicts at home, and the video scandal gets overwhelming. After receiving a D on his essay from Mr. Baxter, he has an outburst with the teacher, forcing him to be sent to Rose's office. Meanwhile, The Savages become concerned with his aggressive behavior, especially after he physically attacks Felix for calling him a "bastard child". This occurs right after Trae comes with the plan to protest and confront Rose face to face about her unfair rules. Because of this, Rose suspends him and he faces confrontation from his mother, who grounds him and takes away his freedom with The Savages. He abides by this by sneaking into Zachary's house, concerned with his depression. He helps Zachary with a panic attack and they later ksis each other. It is later revealed that Trae is diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, hence his temper tantrum after a heated argument with his mother.
Trae later on returns to school with the ultimate plan. He, along with The Savages, demand that Rose gives back their freedom, but when she refuses to, Trae warns her. Trae becomes the mastermind of a violent protest for The Savages, and orchestrates a morning riot to get their voices heard. ("The Psychological Warfare")
In the season finale, Trae's plan to protest becomes successful through vandalism and damage. This, however, becomes the point where Trae and Joe go head to head with each other after Joe criticizes his actions and admits the Savages aren't anything special to the school. After the two fight, along with Sydney and Nate, Trae is saved by Zachary after Joe chokes him. When Joe and Zachary are in a bad position, police arrive and Trae tries to save Zachary until he is shot in the abdomen twice, leaving him unconscious. Trae is immediately sent to the hospital and put in a medically induced coma after losing a lot of blood. Trae eventually wakes up from his coma when Zachary visits him, and forgives his mother.
Later on, Sydney and Zachary discover that Trae is the main mastermind of the video scandal, after Dirty Dan was framed by Kalleb, who also recorded the video of Brian and Viktor himself. Trae appeared in an uncut clip of the incident, where Trae's face appears. ("The Beast Unleashed")
Although Trae is still hospitalized after three weeks in the hospital, the origins of the video scandal exposure are revisited. It appears that Trae and Kalleb collaborated on seeking revenge on Brian and Viktor for good. They transfer the video recordings to a DVD-R and plotted to expose them and interrupt The Savages' performance, as shown in The Boomerang Effect. When the plan succeeds, it immediately backfires when Rose targets Kalleb, who immediately calls Trae to warn him. Trae claims that they both need an alibi to keep from getting a consequence. But, when Dirty Dan eavesdrops, Trae blackmails him into keeping quiet. However, Dirty Dan doesn't cooperate and they decide to pin the video scandal on him by making a fake YouTube account for him to expose Brian and Viktor. Trae also manipulates Dirty Dan into having fellatio to import the videos from a USB drive to Dan's computer.
Brian, later on reveals the extent of their sexual affair that started during sophomore year. He and Trae did not get along, but they had a sexual attraction to each other, having several encounters at Kalleb's home. When Trae admits feelings for Brian, he doesn't reciprocate the feelings and makes a racist comment to Trae that angers him, and later on bullies him. This is the context that motivated Trae to seek revenage, aside from Zachary. ("The Alibi")
Trae, after a month of recovery, returns back to James A. Masters High School hoping to start a new leaf, but flashbacks from the riot take a toll on his mentality. Aside from this, he is oblivious to The Savages's premeditated intervention for him, and is then confronted by the group based on their knowledge of his responsibilities in the video scandal. Sydney tries to 'kick him out' of his group and speaks for the members for losing trust in him, calling him selfish and evil for what he did and what he could have done to the group. As a result of this, Trae calls out the others for being hypocritical for not acknowledging his loyalty to the group. Therefore, he leaves The Savages.
He avoids the clique at all costs despite Alex and Carl convincing him to stay. When he meets the new principal, Jennifer Gordon, he realizes that she knows about his involvement in the video scandal, and blackmails him by using his dreams of becoming a journalist as a path to success.
After seemingly giving in, he reunites with Zachary and later confesses his love for him after remembering what Zachary told him after he was shot. Eventually, the two begin dating, shortly after Sydney accuses Trae of writing scarlet letters in her name. (The Scarlet Letters)
However, Trae comes to terms with his commitment issues, after revealing his inexperience in relationships before dating Zachary. This confusion comes in as Trae is forced to reschedule their first official date, as he prepares to go to Philadelphia for Christmas break. He relies on advice from his mother, and tells her he doesn't want to be like his father, who cheated on his mother before he was born. In order to prove he's willing to change, he performs I Want To Know What Love Is to Zachary, asking him to take steps with him. (The Conflict of Interest)Appearances (12/16)
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Relationships
- Family
- Stacey Ventura (mother)
- Sean Romano (stepfather)
- Terrance Ventura (father, estranged)
- Friendships
Like Alex, Carl is one of Trae's closest friends at James A. Masters High School. Their relationship, although not mentioned in the series, goes beyond The Savages, because Trae's mother and Carl's mother are both close friends. Trae is very loyal to Carl, aware of a troublesome situation in The Wild Ride. Carl manages to defend Trae against Felix after he is shot in The Beast Unleashed.
Gina and Trae have been friends since freshman year of high school, they were both, in the beginning, considered the overachievers at James A. Masters High School, which eventually encouraged Trae to start The Savages. In The Mafia, Trae convinces Gina to join the team, despite her lack of attitude. He helps Gina become more outspoken. He is also aware of Gina's boy troubles, after he warns Alex about trying to date her.
- Romantic
Songs
- Solos
- Duets
- Solos (In a Group Number)
| Season One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song | Episode | Solos with |
| Teenagers | The Mafia | Alex, Carl, Gina, Joe, Nate and Sydney |
| Clique | The Devil's Protégé | Brian and Matt |
| Run This Town | The Boomerang Effect | Gina and Sydney |
| Young, Fresh N New | The Wild Ride | Alex, Carl, Gina, Joe, Lily, Nate, Sydney, and Zach |
| Ready Or Not/Ready Or Not | Alex, Gina, & Lily | |
| Troubeaux | The School For Scandal | Alex, Gina, & Zachary |
- Solos
- Duets
- Solos (In a Group Number)
| Season One | ||
|---|---|---|
| Song | Episode | Solos with |
| Motownphilly | The Roman Holiday | Darrell and Rashad |
| Lady Marmalade | The Rose That Grew From Concrete | Gina, Iesha, Jennifer, Lily, Rose, Stacey and Sydney |
| Takeover (Five To One) - Group Version | The Blackout | Alex, Joe and Nate |
Quotes
Main Article: Trae's Quotations
Trivia
- His ringtone is "Bitch Better Have My Money" by Rihanna.
- Trae is the founder and the first person to join The Savages.
- Trae is the second person in The Savages, after Alex Herrera, to be originally from another state. Trae is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.