Degrassi/Characters/Graduating Class of Season 7

Emma Nelson
Emma Nelson (Seasons 1-9) "Played by Miriam McDonald"

"“I can’t apologize for doing something I believe in.”"

The daughter of Spike Nelson and Shane McKay, and step-daughter of Snake, all from Degrassi Junior High. Emma is highly idealistic with strong opinions and a need to help others. She is an staunch environmentalist, and many of her causes correlate with this. Over the years, she went from gangly and awkward to a very attractive young woman (and some would say, a bad attitude). She was also one of the many students affected by the school shooting in season 4, which left her lost and questioning who she was. In season 5, she developed an eating disorder due to her control issues and trouble at home. Her biggest love relationship in the show was with Sean Cameron, a troubled young man and their relationship went through tremendous highs and lows before apparently breaking it off for good in season 6. In season 9, she dropped out of Smithdale University due to stress and to re-evaluate her future goals. She marries Spinner Mason at the end of season 9, after realizing she loved him. No, really.


 * Accidental Marriage: Later turned real.
 * All Girls Want Bad Boys
 * Compressed Vice: Her anorexia just lasted two episodes, with only a few mentions of it later on.
 * Control Freak: Leading to her anorexia.
 * Disappeared Dad: Her father Shane from Degrassi Junior High is in a home for the mentally disabled.
 * Doomed New Clothes: New white skirt plus first period does not a fun time make.
 * Karma Houdini/Easily Forgiven: Most of her misdeeds are usually glossed over.
 * Green Aesop: She'll give these whether you like it or not.
 * Granola Girl: Not as ditzy though.
 * Heroic BSOD: She got hit with this after Rick pointed a gun at her in the Wham! Episode. She actually participates in an oral sex with Jay in order to distance herself from the trauma.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners (With Manny.)
 * Hypocrite: Has had quite a few hypocritical moments over the years.
 * Intoxication Ensues: In season 8 with marijuana.
 * Last-Minute Hookup: Gets hitched with Spinner at the end of Season 9.
 * No Periods, Period: Horrifically averted: "Shit, did someone stab Emma in the ass?"
 * She's All Grown Up
 * Soapbox Sadie
 * Strawman Political/Author Appeal: She goes from one extreme to the other.
 * Took a Level in Jerkass: starting in season 4, see below example.
 * Weight Woe: Suffered from both bulimia and anorexia.
 * What the Hell, Hero?: Near the beginning of season 4, Emma attempts to rekindle her relationship with Chris Sharpe. Not because she still likes him or anything; it's just because Liberty has shown an interest in Chris and Emma's worried that if Liberty is his next girlfriend, it will make her look bad. Both Liberty and Manny call her out on this bout of bitchiness.
 * Wide-Eyed Idealist

Manny Santos
Manuella "Manny" Santos (Seasons 1-9) "Played by Cassie Steele"

"“Remember when you got your period in class and everyone was laughing in class and you just told them to shut up? I feel like that everyday, like everyone's joking about me and I can't get them to shut up.”"

Manny is Emma's best friend who's been there for her since the beginning. She has a idealistic view of romance, falling hard for Craig Manning in season 2. In season 3, she decided to start dressing provocatively in order to get attention from boys and eventually she gets Craig's attention and they end up sleeping together...despite Craig having Ashley as a girlfriend. Afterward, she discovered she was pregnant and after much agonizing (and being antagonized), she had an abortion. Much of her insecurity regarding her looks and self-worth are due to her oppressive father and Craig being emotionally distant from her during their relationship. Her biggest dream is to become an actress and in The Movie, she lands a role in Jason Mewes's Mewes-sical High. She now lives in Los Angeles but still has time to see Jay.


 * A-Cup Angst: The writers apparently didn't look at Cassie Steele, because she wants breast enlargement in season 5.
 * Action Girl: More of the fight-oriented girls on Degrassi.
 * Be a Whore to Get Your Man: At the start of season three, her infamous makeover was to win over an extra. She later tries to sweep Craig away from Ashley the minute they have a fight.
 * Catch Phrase: "Cuckoo bananas!"
 * The Cheerleader
 * Clingy Jealous Girl: In season 2, where she asked Craig to not speak to Ashley, after their one date, when Ashley is in all his classes.
 * Double Standard: As Manny herself points out, Craig was the one who cheated when they had sex, but whereas he got off scott-free, she gets saddled with the label "slut".
 * Good Bad Girl
 * Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted, with Accidents Will Happen.
 * Freak-Out
 * Heterosexual Life Partners (With Emma.)
 * Hormone-Addled Teenager
 * Hot for Teacher
 * Idol Singer: In her imagination during season 2, she sings a Broadway style number with Craig. In a ball gown.
 * I Just Want to Be Loved
 * Instant Humiliation - Just Add YouTube: After she drunkenly flashes her breasts for Peter who films it.
 * Love Martyr: Was the mistress in Craig's relationship with Ashley, and for the most part always came in second place. More pronounced with her relationship with her professor in The Movie.
 * Mistaken for Racist: by Holly J and Chantay.
 * The Mistress
 * Naive Everygirl: seasons 1-2.
 * Never Live It Down: Season 3 (the thing with Craig) and season 5 (becoming a meme while drunk)
 * Princess Phase: One day she imagines herself as Cinderella with Craig as her Prince. Craig likes her but says that he can't kiss her because she reminds him of his five year old sister.
 * Real Life Relative: Her sister Alex played Craig's little sister, and later gained a regular role in season 11.
 * The Rival: To Paige, for a while. After an all-out Cat Fight towards the end of season 4, they mostly get over it.
 * Satellite Character: seasons 1-2.
 * Teen Pregnancy: Terminated the pregnancy.
 * Weight Woe: Worried about her weight for an upcoming role and purged a couple of times at Emma's suggestion, but stopped before things got out of control.

J.T. Yorke
James Tiberius "J.T" Yorke (Seasons 1-6) "Played by Ryan Cooley"

"“If JT's death has taught me anything, it's that the worst mistakes are the ones you never learn from. And to never, ever take your friends for granted.”"

Earlier in the show's run, JT was the class clown obsessed with female anatomy and sex. He even grew to be one of Degrassi's more popular students in season 3. Despite his childish and immature antics, he was the apple of Liberty Van Zandt's eye. They eventually get together and in season 5, he accidentally gets Liberty pregnant. Neither he nor Liberty handle the situation very well and Liberty gives up the baby for adoption. In season 6, Mia Jones becomes his girlfriend but he still has lingering feelings for Liberty. But unfortunately, he was fatally stabbed by a Lakehurst student before he could confess that he still loved her.


 * Aborted Declaration of Love: He is killed before he can tell Liberty he loves her.
 * Back From the Dead: as a ghost, in the season 9 Christmas mini-episode and a season 6 Tear Jerker webisode.
 * Beta Couple: with Liberty.
 * Break the Cutie: The formerly happy-go-lucky JT accidentally impregnates Liberty, desperately attempts to scrape together the money to support her and their child and works long hours to do it, ends up being coerced into a drug deal by Jay (and ends up immediately throwing up right after, that's how disgusted with himself and guilty he becomes), ends up in the hospital after overdosing on pills (whether it was an accident or a deliberate suicide attempt seems to be up for interpretation), gets dumped by the love of his life as a result of his actions, and just when it looks like he'll get back together with her for good, a psychopath stabs him for no reason. Poor JT's only consolation is that he died in Liberty's arms (not that this was much consolation to her, this moment was the biggest Break the Cutie moment for Liberty).
 * Book Dumb
 * But We Used a Condom: They did, it was just a large-sized one that slipped off.
 * Butt Monkey: The "Comic Relief" version the first few seasons. The "Go Through Hell" version later on.
 * Chivalrous Pervert
 * Cool Loser: Before he becomes popular in Season 3.
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Driven to Suicide: After going absolutely crazy trying to be a good teen father, which included quitting his dream TV job, getting a pharmacy job and stealing painkillers for money. It may have been an accidental overdose though.
 * Dropped a Bridge on Him: Gets randomly stabbed in Rock This Town. Some fans decried this as lame and melodramatic because no one in real life tragically has their life cut short in meaningless violence.
 * Gag Penis: On the other side of the spectrum, JT is insecure about his penis size so much so he uses a penis pump.
 * Heterosexual Life Partners (With Toby.)
 * Hormone-Addled Teenager
 * Hot for Teacher
 * Killed Off for Real
 * No Guy Wants to Be Chased: Resisted Liberty's advances for a long while.
 * Only Known by Initials
 * Opposites Attract: With Liberty.
 * Parental Abandonment: By both of his parents, he lives with his grandmother.
 * Plucky Comic Relief
 * Pungeon Master
 * Retcon: His mother and father are mentioned in the earlier seasons, but in season five he is shown to live with his grandmother, and neither parent appears to be in the picture. No in-universe explanation for this is ever given.
 * Those Two Guys: With Toby, before the Teen Pregnancy storyline.
 * Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
 * Victorious Childhood Friend
 * White Shirt of Death: Happened to be wearing one when he was stabbed.

Toby Isaacs
Toby Isaacs (Seasons 1-8) "Played by Jake Goldsbie"

"“Toby's a geek. He always has been.”"

Toby is J.T.'s best friend, Ashely's step-brother, and nerdy to the extreme. He loves video games, computers, and Anime. When J.T. begins to get more popular, their friendship drifts apart until both characters hit a low in season 4 and season 5. In season 4, his friend Rick shoots Jimmy in the Degrassi hallways and later ends up being accidentally shot and killed by Sean. In season 6, J.T. is killed which pretty much means Toby is unlucky, to say the least. Throughout season 6 and 7, he expressed a lot anger toward Lakehurst High for "killing J.T.," but after time he came to terms with J.T.'s murder. He is one of the more level-headed characters at Degrassi, and doesn't mind the fact he is considered a huge nerd.


 * Adorkable
 * Annoying Younger Sibling (seasons 1-2)
 * The Artifact: He, along with Ashley were a lot more prominent in the first few seasons as Expies of Stephanie and Arthur, but as the show distanced itself from it's roots, their roles shrank.
 * Butt Monkey
 * Comedic Hero
 * Dogged Nice Guy
 * Extroverted Nerd
 * Heterosexual Life Partners (With JT.)
 * Informed Judaism
 * Jewish and Nerdy
 * My Friends and Zoidberg: During his senior prom, he got this treatment from Liberty, Manny, and Emma. "Girls and Toby."
 * Nice Jewish Boy
 * Otaku
 * Out of Focus: throughout seasons 3-7, he played no major role at all, a stark contrast to seasons 1 and 2.
 * Proud to Be a Geek
 * Those Two Guys: With JT.
 * The Short Guy with Glasses
 * Unlucky Childhood Friend
 * Weight Woe: In season 2, trying to make weight for the wrestling team.

Liberty Van Zandt
Liberty Van Zandt (Seasons 1-8) "Played by Sarah Barrable-Tishauer"

"“Liberty sees an opportunity, she goes for it. She’s like a rabid wolverine.”"

A intelligent young girl who skipped a grade and ended up being valedictorian of the class of 2007. Due to her intelligence being higher than her peers, she tends to be socially awkward and pompous of her own achievements. She is very serious-minded and despite this, she falls in love with class clown J.T. Yorke. In season 5, she becomes pregnant by J.T. which caused a lot of strife within their relationship and they ended up splitting. J.T. gained a new girlfriend, but still had feelings for Liberty but was tragically killed before he confessed to Liberty. She ends up attending Smithdale University along with Manny and Emma. Liberty also has a younger brother, Danny.


 * Beta Couple: with JT.
 * Birthday Hater: Even before JT bled to death in her arms outside of her birthday party.
 * Black and Nerdy
 * Broken Bird: Season 5 and 6, after her pregnancy and JT being killed. She slowly pulls herself out it at the end of season 7.
 * But We Used a Condom
 * Control Freak
 * Deadpan Snarker
 * Ditzy Genius
 * Hazel Eyes
 * Her Heart Will Go On
 * L Is for Dyslexia: she suffers from Dyscalculia.
 * Meganekko
 * Out of Focus: seasons 3-6.
 * Opposites Attract: With JT
 * She Cleans Up Nicely
 * She's All Grown Up
 * Smug Snake: Her pomposity was a plot point in several episodes.
 * Spock Speak
 * Stalker with a Crush: Towards JT.
 * The Stoic: with a few Not So Stoic moments
 * Student Council President
 * Sugar and Ice Personality
 * Teen Genius
 * Teen Pregnancy: Gave the baby up for adoption.
 * Token Minority: A would-be token to a sorority she rushed for in season 8 before she figured out their scheme to simply add a black girl for funding.
 * UST: She and Damien had this, despite Damien dating Emma. They acted on it, but got caught and Liberty nearly lost all her friends due to this.

Sean Cameron
Sean Cameron (Seasons 1-4, 6) "Played by Daniel Clark"

"“Classic Sean. When going gets tough, the Sean gets going.”"

A troubled young man who ends up at Degrassi after being expelled from his old school for a violent incident. He immediately gets the interest of Emma, and in season 2 they become an item. He has a tendency to let his anger get the best of him, resulting in a lot of fights at school. In season 3, he breaks up with Emma due to feeling like a hindrance in her life and starts a relationship with Ellie. When Rick shoots Jimmy then turns the gun to Emma in season 4, Sean protects Emma but inadvertently kills Rick in the process. Shell-shocked, he retreats to Wasega Beach where his parents live. He returns to Degrassi in season 6 and reunites with Emma, only to be thrown in jail for a non-lethal hit and run while street racing Peter Stone. After he gets out of prison, he rekindles his relationship with Emma but later joins the Canadian military despite Emma's wishes.


 * All Girls Want Bad Boys
 * Anti-Hero: He's not all for big causes, but he does what needs to be done.
 * Anti-Villain: Yes, both. As a villain, he just wants to hurt Emma, even if he hurts her family in the process.
 * Chekhov's Skill: Remember when Sean was on the wrestling team? See that dude pointing a gun at Emma?
 * Co-Dragons: with Alex, to Jay, with a side of Evil Genius.
 * Dark and Troubled Past: Not so much. According to Degrassi legend, he was so tough he deafened a kid in the ear for messing with him. In truth, he was bullied by the kid until he fought back and punched him in the ear. Also, his parents are almost elderly and his older brother is much older than him hinting at the fact that he may have been an "accident."
 * Delinquent
 * Double Standard: Not Sean himself, but compare the treatment of Sean helping Emma cheat on Peter versus Manny helping Craig cheat on Ashley.
 * Estrogen Brigade Bait: His sexy eyebrows are something of a Memetic Mutation.
 * Even Evil Has Standards: Not so much "evil" as an Anti-Hero, but "Just put the gun down. You're only going to make things worse." And he and Ellie defended Rick when nobody else would.
 * Good Angel, Bad Angel: Good angel in seasons 1-2. After that...
 * Heel Face Revolving Door: He's a good kid, who does some bad things.
 * Heroic BSOD
 * Heterosexual Life Partners (With Jay.)
 * Jerkass Facade
 * Kirk Summation: Gives Rick one last chance to stop the violence.
 * Memetic Badass: In-universe example.
 * My Girl Is Not a Slut
 * Only Sane Man: Except in season 3. And 6.
 * Parental Abandonment
 * Put on a Bus: Twice, the second time it was a Long Bus Trip.
 * Remember When You Blew Up a Sun?: Used repeatedly in the episode after he killed Rick. Averted after his return.
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: In season 4. He also tends to run away from his problems.
 * Shirtless Scene: More than any other character.
 * Troubled but Cute
 * Unlikely Hero
 * Verbal Tic: Says "man" a lot, e.g. "I'm screwed, man."
 * White Gang-Bangers

Damian Hayes
Damian Hayes (Seasons 6-7) "Played by Mazin Elsadig"

"“This should be a contest between equals. But the truth about Damian Hayes is that his charm is all an act.”"

Introduced in season 6, and attended Degrassi in season 7 when his old high school Lakehurst burned down. He was friends with the boy who killed JT, but this is never extrapolated on much. He is a very ambitious guy and is very active in Lakehurst and Degrassi student government. He dates Emma, but later cheats on her with Liberty. He graduates along with the rest of the class of 2007 and attends Banting University.


 * Black and Nerdy
 * Class Representative
 * Shallow Love Interest
 * Smug Snake
 * Spear Counterpart: To Liberty
 * UST: With Liberty.
 * Your Cheating Heart