Characters / Degrassi The Next Generation Season 16 Graduates

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Due to the fact this is a long-running show, this character list does contain unmarked spoilers for the entire series, so please tread lightly or not at all.

Note: Degrassi: Next Class is a continuation of the original series; we are going by the original season numbering. Netflix splits the 20 episode season into two Next Class seasons, season 15 is Next Class seasons one and two, season 16 is Next Class seasons three and four.

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Maya Matlin

Maya Matlin
Played by Olivia Scriven, Season 11-16 (regular)

"I am so sick of people telling me who I'm supposed to be!

Maya is Katie's younger sister and a gifted music prodigy who had to settle for regular band class as opposed to a performing arts school. She was feeling isolated until meets Cam Saunders, a lonely hockey player who later became her first love. But later Cam commits suicide, sending Maya into a tailspin of grief and denial. Maya avoids having to deal with her emotions (and burgeoning feelings for Troubled, but Cute Zig) and dates Lonely Rich Kid Miles Hollingsworth. She reconciles with Zig and she even invites him into her home so he won't be homeless and stop doing gang activity. Eventually, she and Miles break up and Maya was forced to deal with her post-traumatic stress and her love for Zig. Zig and Maya finally start their relationship, after Zig puts his gang drama behind them. However in Next Class, Zig cheats on her due to his insecurity as Maya starts to lay down the foundation to start a music career and she later breaks up with him. But as she starts to make headway into making a career, she along with dozen of other Degrassi students are involved in a horrific bus crash.

In Next Class season 3, Maya survives the bus crash with broken wrists and damaged psyche. She physically heals, but the near-death experience has re-triggered her anxiety and she falls into a depression. She develops in interest in watching tragic news events and develops a friendship with Saad Al'Maliki who takes deeply disturbing photos of her as if she was dead and/or dying. Her friends are put off by her behavior and after feeling like she won't ever get better, Maya tries to commit suicide. Thankfully, she survives the attempt and works towards rediscovering her passion of music and rekindling her friendships, especially with Zig. After graduating, she decides to attend the University of Southern California and join the arts program.

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• A-Cup Angst: She is a late bloomer, and still looks very young. After a rude remark about her chest, she wore Fake Boobs to a band tryout to impress Mo.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Played with in season 13A, she was attracted to Miles's troublemaking personality, until she saw what it comes with, namely a strained relationship with a parent. She tried to steer clear of him, but she is later intrigued.
• All Women Love Shoes: Averted in the Season 12 Promotional gallery. Every female character has two pairs of shoes (to go with the two separate shoot outfits), either fashion boots or heels. Maya is wearing the same black and white sneakers with both her outfits. With her Hot Girl makeover in season 12, she trades in a pair of black boots for red pumps.
• Alliterative Name: Maya Matlin.
• Badass Adorable: She's not someone you should mess with (ask Zoë Rivas), but she can also be a total sweetheart when nothing's riled her up.
• Be a Whore to Get Your Man: She starts dressing skimpier to get boys' attention in order to distract herself from losing Cam.
• Beautiful All Along: Subverted, when she gets her pageant makeover, her boyfriend Cam pretty much dismisses it and thinks she looks ridiculous. Only Zig was the only (straight) male who thought she looked hot.
• Break the Cutie: Her boyfriend's suicide has had a serious impact on her psyche.
• Broken Bird: Maya gained a bit of an edge since Cam's suicide, lashing out against others and being more pessimistic. She got better after some time, but after the bus crash in Next Class season 3, she completely re-enters Broken Bird territory becoming completely despondent to everything besides images of death. After her suicide attempt, she starts to pull herself out of this bit by bit.
• Bungled Suicide: When she decides to commit suicide, she takes several pills and decides to die symbolically on the school bus...only to wake up an hour or so later and stumble around the school before collapsing on the roof. She even laments that she can't even kill herself right.
• Career Versus Man: In season 15, Maya wants to pursue music seriously, and it's coming at a cost with her relationship with Zig.
• Chronic Hero Syndrome: Maya's guilt about Cam's suicide results in her meddling in all of her friends' affairs trying to help them. They don't really appreciate it. In Don't Look Back, her guilt about being rude to Gloria Chin (an Asian Airhead Alpha Bitch) drives her into actually looking for her when she goes missing.
• The Cutie: Maya is kind, friendly, and innocent. Sometimes she laments this, as she wants to look more mature and sexy.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Cam's suicide has affected her deeply, and she tried to ignore it at first before it drove her crazy.
• Death Seeker: Becomes this HARD after meeting Saad and seeing videos on disasters and death in general. She even thinks death is supposed to be celebrated.
• Despair Event Horizon: After being diagnosed with depression for a second time, Maya doesn't feel as if she's getting better. She thinks that her friends and family would be better off without her, leading to her suicide attempt.
• Doom Magnet: Starts to believe that she is one, first with Cam's suicide, then with Adam's fatal car accident, and then the bus accident that left her best friend Tristan in a months-long coma.
• Driven to Suicide: After being diagnosed with depression again and being obsessed over death, she tries to commit suicide by downing a lot of pills. Luckily, she survives.
• Expository Hairstyle Change: After her suicide attempt in season three, she starts styling her hair pin-straight as opposed to her former preppy curls.
• Expy: Maya is in the same role that Emma and Clare were in as the "level-headed innocent main girl;" like the both of them, she's somewhat outcast from her peers due to her interests, she's outspoken and somewhat judgmental towards her friends and others. Unlike the both of them, Maya is less demure in regards to sexuality and relationships (even more so after Cam's suicide) and more hot-tempered.
• Fatal Flaw: Impulsiveness, she lets her emotions cloud her judgment and she's quick to anger.
• The First Cut Is the Deepest: Cam was Maya's first boyfriend and real love until he committed suicide. While she continued to date after Cam, the event completely colors her character from that point on leading her to avoid getting close to Zig and then later trying to commit suicide herself.
• Fish out of Water: Initially with the Rubber Room crowd and then later, they all become friends.
• First Guy Wins: While Zig was Maya's third boyfriend, he was the first guy she meets at Degrassi and the first one she expresses romantic interest in. Years later, in their final episode, they are strongly implied to end up together which is confirmed by Stephen Stohn.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Tori, Tristan, and Zig, she's melancholic (introverted and task-oriented). She's also the melancholic one of the four Rubber Room kids.
• Freak Out: Miles starts acting more self-destructive than usual which sets off her PTSD from Cam's suicide, resulting in reoccurring nightmares. She even breaks into his house to make sure he didn't kill himself. Then has a panic attack after throwing a laptop in front of Zig and Zoë.
• Garage Band: Plays cello in WhisperHug and sometimes sings.
• Girliness Upgrade: She initially was a geeky tomboy who rarely wore anything girly and mostly stuck to music/band-themed clothes, jeans, and sneakers. After Cam's suicide, she starts dressing in more girly, revealing clothes and curlier hair in order to date someone new. Even after she deals with her feelings, she keeps some of the girly style mixed in with what she would normally wear. Next Class season three has her completely change her look after the bus crash with her completely ditching her glasses, her blonde hair is kept long and straight and she starts wearing more skirts and dresses and tighter clothing.
• The Glasses Gotta Go: Her trademark glasses are gone as of Next Class season three, possibly due to her new attitude.
• Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She's the wholesome Ingenue of the current Niner Quartet, with the focus on her being sweet and 'cute as a button.' Her first plot in the series was to give up her plans on the boy she developed a crush on, so he and his ex-girlfriend could get closure.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Maya gets very upset easily, which leads to impulsive actions.
• Her Heart Will Go On: Eventually. Cam still weighed heavily on her mind until she finally comes to terms with it and starts dating Zig.
• Heroic BSoD: After Cam commits suicide. She delayed her feelings about him until they came resurfacing in season 14 with her nightmares. She gets better but, after the bus crash in Next Class season three, she spirals into a depression where she feels numb to everything.
• High-School Sweethearts: Implied about her and Zig after the end of Next Class season four. Word of God confirms this.
• How Dare You Die on Me!: After trying to stay calm and being somewhat in denial after learning Cam killed himself, she unleashed her fury at his vigil about how he was selfish and how he left her behind. This line of thinking is a very common misconception about people who commit suicide.
• Intelligence Equals Isolation: She's a musical prodigy still stuck in basic 9th-grade band class, so she's pretty alone in that area.
• Intoxication Ensues: Induced with a few pot brownies, trying to get out of her songwriter's block and get back into music after her suicide attempt.
• Little Miss Snarker: As she showed Ms. Oh as she voiced (and played) out her frustration in music class. She can also be like this towards her own family. Zoë got the brunt of this when Maya wrote a revenge song about her.
• Master of the Mixed Message: All throughout season 13 with Zig; while she loved him, he reminded her of Cam, causing her to avoid him at all costs and date someone else. And then she used Zig's love for her to make sure he stayed safe in her home.
• My Girl Is Not a Slut: She simply posts a risque music video herself on YouTube, and gets a lot of comments about her being slutty. Zoë takes it to the next level and creates a Facerange page completely lambasting her.
• Nervous Wreck: Downplayed as she isn't completely neurotic, but Cam's suicide sets off her anxiety and she suffers from it throughout her tenure on the show, resulting in her suicide attempt in Next Class.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Bless her, but Maya's desire to help her friends can sometimes make the situation worse or make them mad at her. She tried helping Zig get away from the drug-dealing gang with almost disastrous results and then later she does the right thing by telling Simpson about Tristan and Mr. Yates's affair, but Tristan ends up pissed at her.
• Nightmare Fetishist: She becomes one in Next Class season 3 due to the trauma bus crash combined with her already present depression and PTSD. She and Saad start taking photos of her where Maya plays dead, which Maya claims is her way of dealing with things because she's finding beauty in it. In the end, even though they made her feel something, she still wasn't happy and she attempts suicide as a last resort. What makes this even worse, is that in the moments before she downed the pills, she even seems to be elated and happy that she is finally going to die by committing suicide...
• Official Couple: With Zig, they serve as the big Degrassi couple in the same vein as Snake/Spike, Joey/Caitlin, Sean/Emma, Clare/Eli, etc. At the end of Next Class season 4, their future is Left Hanging but it's all but said that they rekindled their romance.
• Only Sane Man: She's the voice of reason for Katie, whenever Katie has none.
• Perky Goth: After the bus crash, she starts dressing in darker clothing, just like her sister. In her case, though, she isn't always perky.
• Remember the New Guy?: Katie never mentioned she had a sister before her first appearance.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: She writes a revenge song for Zoë after she gets away with bullying her online, and sings it in class, right in front of her, mocking her Fallen Princess status.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: She's now played both sides of this, depending on if we're talking about before or after Cam's death.
  • The Blue to Tori's Red. Maya is less dramatic and more reasonable than Tori is.
  • And the Red to Zoë's Blue. Maya's activities in their fight were outside the system, direct, reckless, and impassioned. To compare to Zoë's level-headed working in (or manipulating) the system.
• The Rival: To Zoë, until they become friendly in season 13.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Maya is the creative and often ignored sister and Katie's the star athlete.
• Stay in the Kitchen: Encountered attitudes like this when she started playing shows in front of bars; it lead her to start calling herself a feminist.
• Stepford Smiler: Revealed as the reason why she suddenly became so happy and normal at the end of Next Class season 3. It was to hide from her friends, her sister, and her mum that she was planning to commit suicide by drug overdose. Unfortunately, this type of happiness is a common warning sign of a person getting close to committing suicide.
• Survivor Guilt: Her guilt from not seeing the signs that Cam was suicidal drives her actions to make sure her friends are well. This comes back with a vengeance in Next Class season three due to the bus crash leading her into a deep depression.
• "Take That!" Kiss: Plants one on Zoë during the season 13 finale. Granted, it's just the forehead but still.
• Their First Time: She loses her virginity to Zig in Teen Age Riot being high on Molly. She regretted it, to the point of avoiding having sex with Zig again until they finally talked about their feelings in #YesMeansYes.
• Teen Genius: A gifted musician, especially with the cello.
• Troubled Teen: Cam committing suicide sends her on this path; she battles anxiety and depression throughout her tenure on the show. The bus accident re-triggers her, leading her to make a suicide attempt in season 16.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Zig since season 12, before they become a couple in season 14.
• Vitriolic Best Buds:
  • With Tori, initially. Later, the two become extremely close. At least, before she kisses her boyfriend. However, after Cam's death, Tori reveals that she wanted to be friends again with Maya even before what happened with Cam, and the two reconcile.
  • Later with Zoë, after they make up in the season 13 finale.
• What the Hell, Hero?: In Thunderstruck, Zoë calls her out on her Protagonist-Centered Morality and stated that for all her prior bitchiness, it all essentially started when Maya started moving in on her relationship with Miles in Paris.

Tristan Milligan

Tristan Milligan
Played by Lyle Lettau (previously credited as Lyle O'Donohoe), Season 11-16 (regular)

"I don't care. I'm not changing; not for you, not for anyone."

Tristan is the younger brother of Owen who aspires to be on top of the Degrassi social ladder. Tristan is brash and snarky and openly gay and makes no apologies for it. Despite his attitude, he is fiercely loyal to his friends. He's also longs for romantic love; he crushed very hard on Miles during a summer semester in Paris and when Miles tells him he was straight, he was heartbroken. He later crushes hard on his drama teacher, Grant Yates. Grant also interested in him as well, and they have a fling until it ends due to Maya bringing attention to the affair. When the fling ended and Tristan realized Mr. Yates was scum, he finds solace in dating Miles, who turns out not to be so straight after all. But Miles came with all sorts of baggage, and throughout their relationship they make up and break up frequently despite their feelings for one another.

In Next Class season 3, Tristan has a traumatic brain injury in the aftermath of the bus crash and is completely out of commission due to being in a coma. And further complicating things are his relationship with Miles and Miles finding solace with Lola. Tristan eventually wakes up and forgives Miles, but he's in a for a long road to recovery. He breaks up with Miles in order to concentrate in getting better and after a few months, he is able to complete rehab.

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• Amicable Exes: With Miles after they break up, Miles even brings prom to him.
• A Friend in Need: Tristan is a dedicated friend to Tori, and even when he was sabotaging her relationship, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: With Miles, firmly established in the first episode of Degrassi: Next Class. He can't stand how much he still cares about him.
• Body Horror: Is part of a bus crash at the end of season 15. Come season 16, he was in a coma for several months and when he wakes up he's very badly disabled and needs a machine to help him speak. Throughout the season, he has severe cognitive problems and issues walking and speaking and even controlling his bodily functions as he accidentally peed on Miles when Miles was helping him up. He ends up not even being able to complete high school but gets an honorary diploma.
• Camp Gay: Lampshaded by Zig in Can't Tell Me Nothing. He's pretty effeminate and campy, but not too stereotypically so.
• Chekhov's Gunman: He briefly appears in Dead and Gone in Bianca and Drew's group during the Freshman Orientation. Later, he's introduced as a main cast member later that season.
• Coming-Out Story: Averted, he's already out when freshman year starts, and so far has not experienced any gayngst, at least within himself.
• Deadpan Snarker: This trait was evident from his Establishing Character Moment in season 11.
• Establishing Character Moment: In his aforementioned first appearance, he rudely interrupts Drew and Bianca and demands to know why he can't get on to Youtube, demonstrating his brash nature.
• Fatal Flaw: Being entirely too enamored by love interests to see their flaws, as well as letting them play with his emotions.
• Foil: To Maya. Tristan's body gets destroyed by the bus crash, while the same happens to Maya's emotional and mental health. The final episode puts a symbolic twist on it when Tristan enters the room where the play is being held right after Maya leaves.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Maya, Tori, and Zig, he's choleric (extroverted and task-oriented).
• Gay Best Friend: To Tori, initially. Later to Maya and Zoë, whom he tries vainly for them to put aside their animosity.
  • When he runs for student council president, he tries to use this stereotype to his advantage, with his slogan being "Everyone's Gay Best Friend". Considering his opponent was also not straight and using a similar slogan, it didn't work.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Tristan is impossibly friendly and wants all his friends to get along, and also have more and more. However, his campy nature can turn off a lot of people.
• I Just Want to Be Loved: He has his friends and family, but he longs for love in a boyfriend.
• Incompatible Orientation: Initially with Miles; Tristan had a crush on him and even kissed him during the Paris field trip. Miles told him he was straight, and Tristan cools his feelings but still admires him. And then this entire trope is subverted when Miles reciprocates the feelings and kisses him later in the season.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: After a major crush on Campbell is thwarted when Tristan realizes Cam's straight, he quickly shifts to setting Maya up with him. Unfortunately, he tried to do this by Playing Cyrano on Maya's Facerange without her knowledge or consent.
  • After he accepts that Miles is straight, he tries to please and befriend him by handing him "steroids" (actually vitamins), so Miles could be a starter on the basketball team.
  • In Season 4, he tells Miles to go to Europe and college without him, not wanting Miles to be held back by Tristan's health issues.
• Large Ham: His audition for Eli's play. Not to mention the actor tends to ham it up, but that's a big part of the character's personality.
• Love Martyr: For Miles; it didn't matter how badly Miles would treat Tristan sometimes, Tristan is still in love with him.
  • Before Miles, there's his teacher, Grant Yates. Tristan is so smitten with him that he overlooks Grant's controlling nature and emotional abuse. Tristan realizes he was played and not so special when Winston reveals that Mr. Yates tried to grope him.
• Morality Pet: Brings out Owen's softer side. At first, Owen doesn't acknowledge Tristan in public due to being embarrassed, but he eventually shows he really does care.
• No Bisexuals: Rudely remarks that Miles can't choose between boys or girls during a student council president debate.
• One of the Girls: Tristan mostly hangs out with Tori, Maya, and Zoe. He's only contrasted with his older brother, a stereotypical Jerk Jock, and later the macho hockey team that sort of picked on him.
• Relationship Sabotage: He was considering it with Tori and Zig due to Tori spending a lot of time with Zig instead of him.
• Remember the New Guy?: Owen never mentioned he had any siblings before Tristan's debut episode.
• The Resenter: Tristan unleashes his fury towards Maya, for reporting Mr. Yates for "dating" Tristan, and basically reveals his jealousy about her perfect life and how she has boys everywhere drooling all over her.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Sensitive Guy to Zig and Owen; loves musicals and drama.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: Tristan is openly gay, campy, and friendly compared to straight Owen's lecherous, frat guy ways.
• Student Council President: Awarded the position in Next Class season one due to being runner-up and Miles being ousted from his position due to breaking campaigning rules.
• Teacher/Student Romance: Tristan is instantly smitten with his new drama teacher Mr. Yates, and fortunately/unfortunately for him, the feelings are requited. The show finally goes there when Tristan and Mr. Grant hook up at his apartment.
• Technician Versus Performer: Tristan is more interested in the artistic/performing parts of acting as opposed to honing his craft with technical work such as writing essays.
• Thinks Like a Romance Novel: When Tristan falls for someone, he falls hard. Then later, reality hits him like a ton of bricks.
• Unexpected Virgin: As revealed in #RiseAndGrind; it was assumed he and Mr. Yates had a sexual relationship previously. He and Miles do have sex at the end of the episode.
• Weight Woe: He starts a body cleanse diet to mainly lose weight, and actually has a mild heart attack when he exercises on an empty stomach. In season 13, he becomes much thinner, but it's not ever mentioned that he still has body image issues.

Zig Novak

Zigmund "Zig" Novak
Played by Ricardo Hoyos, Season 11-16 (regular)

Vince: “You know what your problem is? You always talk yourself out of a good thing like you don’t deserve it.”

Zig is basically a normal teenage guy; he likes girls, skateboarding, and hanging with his guy friends. His family is struggling financially, which he's embarrassed by. While dating Tori, Zig realizes that he has feelings for her friend Maya, which is later complicated when Maya's boyfriend Cam kills himself. He lets Maya have her space, but not before they acknowledge there's something between them. However, Maya decides to ignore Zig in order to avoid dealing with Cam's death. Eventually, she's forced to deal with Zig when they both end up in remedial class aka the "Rubber Room." It's revealed that Zig was homeless after being kicked out of his house after selling weed and being a drug runner for a gang. Maya immediately sets up Zig to live with her and Zig is eternally grateful — until he realizes that he can't run away from gang life. Zig finally puts his gang past behind him and continues to date Maya. But as Maya stays focused on starting a musical career, Zig grows increasingly insecure. Zig lets his paranoia get the best of him and he cheats on Maya with Zoe in a weak moment and they later break up.

In Next Class season three, Zig has found a new girlfriend in Esme. Esme is fun and keeps him sexually satisfied, but her erratic behavior is starting to concern him. After Maya's suicide attempt, Zig tries to help her get back to normal which starts to enrage Esme until Esme hits her breaking point. Zig finally breaks up with Esme for her to get the help she needs. Zig has no major college plans after Degrassi, but he has more than enough time to spend with Maya.

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• A Friend in Need: Zig and Tiny are pretty tight, and when he was convinced not to run away, Zig also wanted to make sure Tiny got help too.
• The Atoner: He feels very guilty about what he said to Cam before he killed himself, and tries to make things right with Maya, Tristan and Tori afterwards. He also wants to make it up to his mother for involving her in his gang activity and also again to Maya for dragging her in his problems.
• Bruiser with a Soft Center: Running drugs for gangs and doing errands for them caused Zig to be tough, and it's shown he's effective at his job in regards to shaking people down. But on the inside, Zig is a sweetheart who can't bear disappointing anyone.
• Crazy Jealous Guy: When Maya starts to focus more on music, Zig's paranoia sets in from being jealous of Jonah, Maya's guitarist to pressuring Maya into sex. Lampshaded by Tiny in Season 4, and Esme plots to use this flaw against Zig.
• Dogged Nice Guy: He really likes Maya and Maya knows, but she ignored him all summer in hopes of getting over Cam's suicide. He doesn't take this kindly.
• Expy: In some ways, Zig was like a younger version of Ross Geller. Because both sensitive characters had blond girlfriends who worked guys that they were jealous of because of the fear of being cheated on, their insecurities and obsessiveness grows to the point the girlfriends become concerned. And then later, when they were separated from their girlfriends, they are quick to assume they cheated on them causing them to be really distraught and vulnerable. Because this, they have later made out with girls that came on to them and as a result, caused their own relationships. Funny enough, both couples even had a similar exchange of arguments of why they broke up:
  Zig: It takes two people to screw up a relationship.
  Maya: Yeah, you and Zoë.
  • Degrassi-wise, he's in the same vein as the two Troubled, but Cute delinquents before him, Sean and KC.
• Fatal Flaw: Insecurity frequently drives his actions.
• Fake Nationality: Ricardo Hoyos is mainly of Latino descent and Zig has a Russian/Slavic background.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With Maya, Tori and Tristan, he's phlegmatic (introverted and people-oriented), as well as with the Rubber Room quartet.
• Gangbangers: While not officially in a gang, he does often hang around gang members and does some of their dirty work.
• Garage Band: Lead singer and guitar in WhisperHug.
• Has a Type: His relationships with Tori and Esme as well as his brief flirtationship with Zoë imply that he has a thing for very feminine brunettes with domineering and often aggressive personalities. Interestingly, Maya, his main love interest and essentially the love of his life, is the opposite of those things.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: It doesn't matter that Maya loves him and Zig has really changed his life around, Zig still thinks he's worthless.
• Informed Attribute: Namely, the fact he's a "bad boy." Season eleven's promo site described him as such. However, in between becoming the new mascot and tweeting that he likes his school uniform, we've seen him do exactly none of that stuff in the show. Jay looks like James freaking Dean by comparison. In season 13, he starts to live up to the title by informing Zoë where she could get prescription drugs and being involved with gangs.
• Innocently Insensitive: He means well but...
  • When Tori was trying out for Power Squad, he was less than helpful and pretty self-centered (he gets better in the end).
  • Later on, he called Cam a psycho the day before Cam killed himself, which Zig now blames himself for.
  • When he dates Zoë, he still gets nude pics from girls which he (mostly) ignores. After Zoë sends him one, he tries to tell her that she doesn't need to see her naked and completely offends her.
• Insecure Love Interest: His insecurity and jealousy is his Fatal Flaw. Zig is very insecure about his relationship with Maya, so much that he's worried that he'll never measure up to a girl like Maya. So much that he cheats on her with Zoe, under the paranoid belief that Maya was fooling around with Jonah whilst they were in New York.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Zig loves Maya and would do anything to make sure she doesn't get wrapped up in his lifestyle with hanging out with gangs and possibly being hurt. He's at the I Want My Beloved to Be Happy point and dumps Maya briefly after they had sex while high and he felt terrible ruining Maya's first time.
• Kirk Summation: Gives one to Tiny when he's holding both him and Maya up with a knife.
• Mr. Fanservice: Especially as of season 13 and 14, with his new ripped physique and sleeveless shirts.
• Nice Guy: He's a decent kid who hates being mean or doing the wrong thing, when he isn't cheating on his girlfriends that is.
• Official Couple: With Maya, they serve as their class' Super Couple. While their future is Left Hanging, it's all but said that they'll get back together.
• Parental Abandonment: His parents kicked him out for selling weed from the convenience store and putting his mom and brother in serious jeopardy. When Maya caught up with him, she saw he was squatting in an abandoned house.
• Perpetual Poverty: His family owns a convenience store, but it's barely profitable enough for them to live on. It's one of his big insecurities, especially compared to his well-off friends.
• Sensitive Guy and Manly Man: The Manly Man to Tristan; likes skateboarding and girls. Then he switches roles with as the Sensitive Guy compared to Tiny.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: A good amount of his wardrobe is sleeveless shirts showing off his muscled arms, something even other characters mention.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Very tall for his age and both Maya and Tori were taken with his looks.
• Team Chef: As part of his gang rehabilitation, he works in a kitchen and takes a liking to cooking and starts cooking for his friends.
• The Cover Changes the Meaning: His rendition of "Zou Bisou Bisou" went over differently than Megan Draper's.
• Their First Time: He loses his virginity to Maya while high on Molly. He was very broken up about it and even dumped Maya briefly because he felt awful about it.
• Troubled, but Cute: Just like the character he's patterned after, Sean.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Compare "Got Your Money"!Zig to "Bitter Sweet Symphony"!Zig. He blatantly interferes with Cam and Maya's relationship, and then tells Cam to step off. He may be softening up, though, because he believes it's his fault Cam killed himself. Zig-Zagged (...) in Zombie when he, among other things, fished Maya's cello out of the dumpster she threw it in in a fit of anger. In season 13, he becomes a bit meaner again, but it's mainly due to Maya moving on to another guy, despite his feelings for her and him giving her space.
• Unresolved Sexual Tension: With Maya since season 12 and then later they become a couple in season 14.
• Trapped in Villainy: His entire arc in season 14 dealt with his gang past resurfacing and trying to keep Maya out of it.
• Troubled Teen: Only starting in season 13 when he's kicked out of his home and is homeless, doing drug running and dirty work for a gang.

Miles Hollingsworth III

Miles Hollingsworth III
Played by Eric Osborne, Season 13-16 (regular)

"...All my life, I've struggled with my own identity. Whether to be want my father wants, or to rebel against it. This has left me afraid: afraid to be labeled, afraid to identify as bisexual. But that is a part of me..."

Miles is the smarmy, trouble-making son of a wealthy businessman-turned-mayoral candidate. He arrives at Degrassi having been expelled from private school ("that fire totally started itself"). He has a terrible relationship with his father; he does want his approval but can't help but act out for his attention. He dated Maya throughout season 13 but the relationship ends after his jealousy over Zig boiled over. After his relationship with Maya blows up in his face, he gets closer to Tristan and they start dating which makes his relationship with his father even worse. Miles's inability to deal with his home life led to him having yet another explosive breakup, this time with Tristan, leaving him alone as his father's abuse got worse until Miles and his siblings confront him and Miles's parents split. After they split, Miles was relived and even thriving...until his parents reconcile. Miles's anxiety boils over and he finds scary ways of managing his anxiety, courtesy of Esme, a girl who was interested in him. Eventually Miles pulls himself out of his spiral, gets back with Tristan and gains an interest in creative writing.

In Next Class season three, Miles is distraught due to Tristan being in a coma due to the bus accident. Miles tries to keep up hope that Tristan will pull through, but as the outlook gets bleaker, he writes a play about the experience to distract himself as well as finding support from Lola, whom he actually has sex with. He confesses to Tristan, who was just happy that Miles was able to find someone to lean on during that time. But they both end up breaking up due to Tristan prioritizing his recovery. After graduating Degrassi, Miles is poised to join the London Writer's Academy over in the U.K., but not before a Euro road-trip with his BFF Winston.

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• Abusive Parents: His father doesn't hesitate to be verbally abusive. His father also constantly compares him to his younger siblings and for him to take an examples from them. And in season 14, he becomes physically abusive when he shoves Miles into a wall, later hits him in the face and throws a mug at him, nearly hitting Hunter.
• All Gays are Promiscuous: Inverted, as he's slept with several girls and made out with countless more, but Tristan is the only guy he's ever been with. Miles being more experienced than Tristan still causes some tension between them though.
• Amicable Exes: He and Maya still remain friendly after their breakup and then later Tristan, as Miles still wanted to make sure he was okay after their breakup and even brings prom to his rehab room.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Despite being adversarial with Tristan at times, he still does like him.
• Big Brother Bully: How Hunter sees him, even after their parents divorced as Mr. Hollingsworth usually kept Miles from bullying him. He does pick on Hunter due to his nerdy interests, but that subsides once Miles sees how it drove Hunter to bring a weapon to school.
• Big Brother Instinct: In the mid-season finale of Season 14, this kicks in hard. See Papa Wolf below. In a darker variation, it's those same instincts that help recognize something is wrong with Hunter in the season 15 finale and help him subtly talk Hunter down from shooting multiple people at the school and himself when Miles takes him home. And then later confessing to his mother that Hunter brought a gun to school, getting Hunter committed to a psychiatric hospital.
• Birds of a Feather: Platonically, with Zoë, to the point that they are almost each other's Distaff Counterpart. Both more or less grew up in the spotlight (Zoë being a Former Child Star and Miles being the son of a politician), both deal with Abusive Parents who refuse to accept their child's sexuality and use them for their own gain ^note  Miles' dad and Zoë's mom even have strikingly similar lines wherein they excuse their abuse with claims of how the did "everything" for their children, only for Miles and Zoë to counterbalance that they never did the one thing that matters, love them, both have a tendency towards dramatics and lashing out when they feel rejected, and both have struggled through drug addiction. While their relationship in season thirteen is largely antagonistic after their breakup, they later grow to understand each other- perhaps because of these similarities- and grow to be close friends.
• Black Sheep: He's the odd man out in his family, which is a well-oiled publicity machine for the patriarch's business/political career.
• Deadpan Snarker: He has a smarmy attitude about everything, mostly due to his privileged background.
• Dating What Daddy Hates: Tristan questions whether Miles is dating him due to genuine interest or just to piss off his father (especially after a newspaper expose comes out in which Miles calls his father a homophobe). After they broke up Miles continued to defend his feelings for him, and they eventually started dating again, proving to everyone that his feelings were always genuine.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Doesn't take to well to people meddling in his issues, even if they're well-intentioned. And in Season 4, he resents being nominated for "diversity spot" at the London Writing Academy because of his bisexuality; stating that he doesn't see himself as a victim or disadvantaged in any way. His English teacher sets him straight on that last part, making him see how his own experiences can help inspire other people.
• Expy: He's already drawing comparisons to Declan, and personality wise he's closer to Peter, complete with the jerkass dad. Later in Degrassi: Next Class, he goes through dealing with medication and having a strange girl take interest in him, like Eli.
• Fatal Flaw: Acting out in order to get attention, along with self-destructive behavior.
• Functional Addict: Though he does suffer symptoms from his blip with substance abuse thanks to Esme, he remains a talented writer and student and the problem isn't mentioned again post-season one.
• Foil: To Zig, initially. Miles is rich, Zig is poor; Miles is smug and extroverted and Zig is a little shy and more humble; Miles is a brazen troublemaker whereas Zig tries to be good despite his circumstances; Miles walls off his emotions and inner turmoil while Zig is in touch with his feelings and expresses them openly. Both characters have expectations they want to live up to (Miles for his father, and Zig for Maya's), and both try to do the good thing at the end.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot: His reaction to Zoe's offer to kiss Grace in "Summer Girls".
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Winston, his best friend from childhood. (Though he isn't heterosexual.) Post-graduation they go on a trip to Europe Miles originally intended to take Tristan on.
• Intoxication Ensues: All throughout #ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin he was high due to drugs given to him by Esme.
• Lonely Rich Kid: He desperately wants the approval of his father, but to no avail. He's a complete outsider within his family and when he catches his father having an affair, his mother just brushes it off.
• Nervous Wreck: In Next Class season 1, when his dad comes back into the family, he starts having panic attacks just thinking about being near his dad. Esme gives him prescription pills to help him deal, and to control.
• New Transfer Student: He transferred to Degrassi after being kicked out of his old boarding school.
• Nice Guy: He's actually a pretty nice guy, despite his sometimes snotty mannerisms.
• No Bisexuals: The first instance of this trope being officially subverted in the series. Miles is at first only shown to date women, but once he starts dating Tristan the latter insists that Miles is “firmly on boys,” and Miles himself refused to identify himself beyond dating who he likes, but Next Class Season Four has him admit that he was hesitant to label himself due to his abusive father and lack of self worth, eventually coming out as explicitly bisexual.
• Papa Wolf: His dad tries going after Frankie and Hunter. Miles isn't having it and physically defends them.
• Preppy Name: Miles Hollingsworth III is pretty preppy sounding.
• Promotion to Parent: He realizes that he's the closest thing to a caring male guardian that Frankie and Hunter are going to have, which forces his Big Brother Instinct and Papa Wolf instincts to kick in hardcore too.
• Red Oni: To Winston; Miles can be hotheaded and prone to acting out when he can't keep his emotions bottled up.
• Romantic False Lead: He was the first roadblock for Zig and Maya as Maya dated him for a bit while she avoided Zig.
• Schemer: He is fond of pulling these, one of his bigger ones was trying to expose his dad as an adulterer.
  • Played for Drama when Hunter brings one of their dad's guns to the Snow Ball with the intent to kill certain people or himself and Miles beats him to it by "swatting"^note making a false report or call to the police, claiming someone is shooting people, which dispatches the police/swat team at the location given in the distress call., putting the school on lockdown and calling him (via Tristan), making sure he knows he's loved.
• Silver Spoon Troublemaker: Even before Degrassi he was this, and got kicked out of his boarding school for his hijinks.
• Troubled, but Cute: In one season, he managed to almost out do Craig and Drew in terms of romantic and family drama. Despite all this, he's still attractive to the ladies and the fellas.
• Troubled Teen: Miles's abusive father drives him to use marijuana and pills to help him cope, something exacerbated by Esme.
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: He wants to get any sort of positive attention from his father, which usually results in him acting out and his bad behavior. Maya finally tells him not to piss his father off, and his father will treat him better. After years of tension, he and his father are in a good place.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Maya unleashes her fury at him after she learns that he made out with Zoë while they were together, and that it was him that left Zoë drunk in the bathhouse to be later found by Luke and his friend. Worse yet, she's really pissed he tried to get Winston to lie about it on the stand. Winston also judges him for this as well.
• The Un-Favorite: His father makes no secret that he appreciates Miles's younger siblings more than him due to their willingness to help with his political campaigns.
• What Did I Do Last Night?: Finds himself sleeping outside the school after a drug binge with no pants and no wallet and a bottle of alcohol he stole from a bar.

Winston "Chewy" Chu

Winston "Chewy" Chu
Played by Andre Kim, Season 13-16 (regular)

"I'll never be cool like Miles or a badass like Zig, so if I'm not even the funny guy then maybe I'm the loser..."

Winston attended Degrassi as a freshman during seasons 11-12, only not to be noticed by anyone. From that point forward, he made it a goal to be noticed and become more popular, alongside his old friend Miles who's going to the same school as him. Winston tries very hard, but still can't shake his nerdy reputation and also is stuck in Miles's shadow. However, there is one girl who is very interested in him — Miles's little sister. They date until Winston cheats on her by kissing Lola and then later Frankie emotionally cheats on him, ending the relationship for good. He then later dates Zoe for a bit before she finally comes to terms with her sexuality. During his senior year, he's placed on student council and along with Goldi Nahir whom he becomes close to. After graduating Degrassi, he goes to Europe with his best friend Miles and is set to attend Banting University.

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• A Friend in Need: Winston usually left cleaning up behind Miles's messes; despite this he's very close to him and cares about his well-being. He tried to tell Miles to work on his issues before even trying to date Tristan and tried to tell Miles that Esme was bad news before coming clean to Miles's mom about his drug use.
• All Guys Want Cheerleaders: He awkwardly admits to Zoe that a cheerleader girlfriend is one of his fantasies.
• Asian and Nerdy: His character bio even calls him a "trivia guru."
• Beware the Nice Ones: Only a few people expected sweet, geeky Winston to be the Degrassi Nudes blackmailer, nearly forcing Zoë to come clean about the scheme.
• Blue Oni: When dealing with his friend Miles, he's usually the rational one trying to talk him down.
• Bromantic Foil: With the Maya-Zoë-Miles Love Triangle underway, he comes off as this. In contrast to Miles's ease and charm, he's very unlucky with the ladies.
• Casanova Wannabe: He thinks he's smooth with the ladies when he is anything but.
• Childhood Friend Romance: With Frankie.
• Dogged Nice Guy: All throughout Next Class with first Frankie in hopes of rebounding their relationship, and then with Zoe but unbeknownst to him, he's being used.
• Expy: His character motivation is very similar to what Dave went through season nine, and both have the same goals of being In with the In Crowd.
• Give Geeks a Chance: Frankie, a popular and beautiful student (not to mention Miles's sister) crushes on Winston hard and they later hook up in a pool.
• Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Miles, his friend since they were children.
• Incompatible Orientation: With Zoe, as he doesn't realize she's using him as her beard.
• I Just Want to Be Special: He wants to be Big Man on Campus and get all the ladies.
• Nice Guy: He regrets this trait of his, but Frankie loves that he's nice and a good guy. At least until they break up and Frankie moves on with Jonah.
• Only Sane Man: With Miles, by the end of season 13, Winston is pretty much over Miles's drama. He was upset with him trying to get him to lie at Zoë's trial to avoid Maya getting angry with him, and was peeved when he saw Miles kissing Tristan. Nothing homophobic, but he was upset with Miles dragging Tristan into his personal drama. Also during "Don't Look Back", he was the only person who wanted to call the police when the teens were busy sleuthing to find Gloria and Maya.
• Out of Focus: In Next Class, he has very few plots to himself. He's a friend to Miles and a love interest to Zoe, Frankie and Goldi.
• Plucky Comic Relief: His attempts at asking girls out and also trying to noticed and general awkwardness place him as the newest Degrassi funny man.
• Remember the New Guy?: He attended Degrassi in season 11-12, not shown or seen until season 13.
• Satellite Character: A lot of his characterization revolves around Miles. He openly bemoans that he's associated with Miles which drove him to get his musical made. He later becomes a Satellite Love Interest to Zoe (before she came out) and then later Goldi.
• Unlucky Everydude: He's more down-to-earth than any other main Degrassi guy and unfortunately for him he isn't popular at school or with the ladies.

Zoë Rivas

Zoë Rivas
Played by Ana Golja, Season 13-16 (regular)

"When I arrived at Degrassi as a sophomore, I thought high school was a competition; to be the most beautiful, the most popular, to score the hottest boyfriend, boy was I wrong...I was scared to show people who I really was because I was afraid that they would reject me...I learned that this world is big enough for all of us to succeed and the only people we should be competing against are ourselves."

Zoë Rivas was an actress from the Show Within a Show West Drive. She attended the Degrassi overseas study in Paris, and later transferred to the school where she made fast enemies with Maya. She has a catty queen bee exterior, but on the inside she's insecure and micromanaged by her stage mom. Throughout season 13 she goes through a spectacular fall from grace, culminating in getting sexually assaulted while passed out drunk at a party. She works her way through the trauma and bravely faces her assaulters in court and prevails when they're found guilty. After the trial, she becomes the leader of Power Cheer, Degrassi's competitive cheerleading team. She rules over the team with an iron first and engages in a money-making scheme using nude photos as a fundraiser. After the scheme falls apart, Zoë finally learns to take responsibility and how to genuinely make friends, including Grace Cardinal who Zoë starts to falls for. Unfortunately, the romantic feelings aren't returned but it makes Zoe realize that she is a lesbian.

In Next Class season three, Zoe is now acting school president and bustling through her senior year. While she's out at Degrassi, at home she's closeted due to her religious and overbearing mother. As she grows closer Syrian refugee Rasha, she gets found out as gay by her mother. Zoe causes a scene at her mother's wedding, yearning for her mom's acceptance which causes her to get kicked out her house and later disowned. Zoe is crushed but later comes to realize her friends are her true family.

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• Abusive Parents: Her mother is emotionally abusive. She is a major Stage Mom and used Zoe's career in order to avoid getting a job herself, and worked Zoe to the point where she abused prescription pills. And then when Zoe came out as a lesbian, she kicks her out and then completely disowns her.
• Academic Alpha Bitch: She's mellowed down a little bit, but she maintains a snarky and sometimes rude attitude to those who scorn her. And she's Valedictorian.
• Alpha Bitch: She acts like this to Maya when they first meet on the way to Paris (without any provocation), and it continues at Degrassi. In season 14, she rules the Power Cheer team with an iron first and starts Degrassi Nudes, a way of making money for Power Cheer by exchanging boob pics.
• Armoured Closet Gay: In Next Class season three as she tries to keep her homosexuality hidden from her mother.
• Attention Whore: Zoe craves positive attention from anyone considering she was fired from West Drive and her mother, despite being loving, uses her as a meal ticket.
• Blue Oni: Zoë plays a cool manipulative Blue Oni to Maya's Impulsive Red (season 13) and then Frankie's Righteous Red (season 14).
• Break the Haughty: All throughout season 13, she goes through a Trauma Conga Line from getting kicked off West Drive, to getting dumped in Paris, to getting threatened in class by Maya, to being dumped again by Drew after they have sex, and finally to being sexually assaulted.
• Character Development: Goes from a catty, Alpha Bitch, pseudo-celeb to a compassionate young woman who is a talented leader and devoted friend.
• Control Freak: She wants the entire Power Cheer under her thumb.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: She's still outwardly rude and snarky but she's much friendlier and open since she came to Degrassi.
• Disappeared Dad: Zoe doesn't know who her father is. Her mom has told her that she had a fling with actor David Sutcliffe when she was an extra on Gilmore Girls and Zoe then went Gene Hunting. It turns out he was not her dad.
• Does Not Like Men: In season 13, she tells Drew (after giving him her virginity only to be dumped shortly after) that her mother tried to warn her not to trust boys. It seems to get somewhat worse after she gets raped by Luke and Neil. In season 14, she dumps Zig after telling him she's tired of being judged and handled with kid gloves. Her resentment against boys grows and she decides to get some revenge by engaging in a Brand X-Snapchat scheme where boys would pay money to see the Power Cheer team naked.
• Drama Queen: Her reaction to Mr. Perino telling her to sit down because class started was to throw a drink at his chest.
• Establishing Character Moment: She struts into French class with the line "Bonjour Bitches," setting up her Alpha Bitch personality.
• Et Tu, Brute?: Way to go, Grace. She has always had a hard time getting truly close to people about anything. When Grace reveals to her that she's straight (the day after they have sex), the poor girl feels quite betrayed.
• Expy: Zoe was originally an Alpha Bitch who become nicer as time went on like Paige and Holly J. Bonus points for falling in love with a tomboy like Paige did.
• Fallen Princess: She was an actress starring on West Drive, but she was fired for being caught abusing prescription medication. Since she's underage, she has to attend school and ends up at Degrassi. After she briefly ascends back up the Popularity Food Chain with Power Cheer, she's back down after she admits her role and is hated for Degrassi's new strict rules.
• False Friend: She acts like a friend to Maya and secretly plots against her behind her back. She's horrified when Maya starts being bullied online, but it turned out she was the one who started the online bullying.
• The Fashionista: She is fashion-forward, especially during summer school in Paris.
• Fatal Flaw: Keeping up a bitchy, harsh exterior to avoid showing vulnerability.
• Fish out of Water: At Degrassi, after spending most of her time on West Drive.
• Foil: A direct one for Maya. Maya is blonde, Zoë is brunette; Maya is part of the Ragtag Bunch of Misfits at Degrassi, whereas Zoë is the Alpha Bitch; Maya is quick to anger and emotional outbursts dealing with conflict, Zoë plays it cool and is manipulative; Maya is more caring about her friends, whereas Zoë prefers to rule over them. Both girls have difficulty making close friends, both are creative, and both dealt with serious trauma while attending Degrassi. Also, Zoe is gay while Maya is straight.
• Gayngst: After initially being terrified of what her Catholic mother would say about her sexuality, Zoe's angst gets even worse after Grace rejects her. She insists to Tristan that her crush on Grace was a one-time product of low self-esteem, and tries to convince herself that her getting turned on by Esme was just incidental. She starts dating Winston, whom she has no interest in, to prove her straightness to herself. Further exacerbated in Next Class season three with her starting a relationship with another girl, then being kicked out of her home when she brings her to her mother's wedding culminating in her mother disowning her.
• Heel Realization: During the fire, Frankie angrily confronts her about all that she's done and Zoë realizes just how much of a Alpha Bitch she's been.
• I Have No Son!: Or in this case daughter. Zoe's mom disowns her by the end of Next Class season 4.
• Incompatible Orientation: With Grace; but this isn't revealed until they had sex and Grace didn't like it.
• Inferiority Superiority Complex: Zoe uses her Alpha Bitch attitude and meanness to hide her insecurity and vulnerability.
• Jerkass: She treats Maya cruelly for literally no reason, and was this to most of the Power Cheer team.
  • She spends all of season 15, pining after Grace and eventually sleeps with her leading to Grace discovering that she's not only straight with zero romantic/sexual feelings for Zoë, but that she also likes Zig. Zoe handles Grace's rejection by fooling around with Zig, videotaping it, and sending the video to Grace, therefore singlehandedly destroying Zig and Maya's relationship and Zoë's own friendships with Grace, Zig, AND Maya.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Pretty much an inevitable transformation for Degrassi villains. By the end of season 13, she starts to warm up to all the people she once treated like crap, namely her and Maya have settled their rivalry, and was also very thankful towards Becky for her help in finding the assailants from the party.
• Karma Houdini: Escapes punishment for setting up the Maya hate page on Facerange, leaving Maya to write a revenge song to her. Her punishment for orchestrating Degrassi Nudes (where she essentially set up a child pornography business and forced/pressured several girls into participating) is just school community service, despite the fact that what she did was very illegal.
• Lipstick Lesbian: Zoe is very feminine, into fashion and makeup, and is a former cheerleader. Goldi even remarks that she doesn't "look" gay. This actually becomes a point of contention in Next Class season 3, as she became sick of people questioning whether she was really gay because she's so feminine. Her mother thought she couldn't be gay because she doesn't dress or act like a Butch Lesbian.
• "L" Is for "Dyslexia": She has it, and is none to happy when her mother tells the principal about it.
• Manipulative Bitch: Controls the Power Cheer squad with an iron fist, and doesn't hesitate to play mind games and manipulate situations so she would come out on top. Ask Frankie.
• Mushroom Samba: It's revealed that she was kicked off West Drive for being caught abusing prescription pills. She takes a bunch of pills after a disastrous day at her trial and starts singing "Defying Gravity" from WICKED during class.
• Operation: Jealousy: A particularly brutal example. After they have sex, Grace tells Zoe that the experience made her realize that she was straight and she crushed on Zig. Hurt by this revelation, Zoe corners Zig (who's reached maximum insecurity about his relationship with Maya) and fools around with him. All while secretly recording it and then she sends the video to Grace.
• Out of the Closet, Into the Fire: After she's found out as gay by her mom, her life gets worse from there, from making a scene at her mother's wedding, being kicked out of her home, and to being disowned.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother kicks Zoe out her home for being a lesbian. And then when it looks like they'll reconcile, Zoe's mother actually has her new husband give Zoe her birth certificate and other documents plus a letter, effectively cutting her out her life. Zoe is crushed but then comes to realize that she doesn't need her mom's toxicity. She burns the letter her mother sent her, realizing that she doesn't need or want to hear from her.
• Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: When making out with Drew in his office, Clare remarks that they're having a Clinton approach to the presidency. Zoë mistakenly assumes they are referring to Hillary Clinton and not her husband Bill.
• Rape Portrayed as Redemption: Played with; she's became somewhat nicer, but she manipulates her way into leading Power Cheer by distracting Becky during a routine, breaking her leg. For there, she forces the girls to participle in Degrassi Nudes, baring their breasts for money, and kicks Frankie off the team and turns the other girls against her for being against it.
• The Big Damn Kiss: Plants one on Grace at the end of "Don't Look Back". Also doubles as a Beach Kiss.
• The Rival: With Maya, at least in season 13.
• Self-Harm: Her denial of being gay and trying to prove she's straight results in her self-harming by burning and scratching herself. What was worse was that she found a self-harm community online that encouraged her.
• Slut-Shaming: She's enduring quite a bit of this, sometimes by her own friends.
• Small Name, Big Ego: So far, the fact that she was a famous actress hasn't garnered her much respect, but that doesn't deflate her unwarranted self-importance.
• Sour Outside, Sad Inside: Zoe tends to be abrasive to most of her friends to avoid asking for any help or appearing vulnerable. Taken to the extreme with her hook-up stunt with Zig that had her on the outs with Grace, Zig and Maya.
• Stage Mom: Her mother sponged off her career for years, and is upset with Zoë for getting fired and having a bad reputation because now she has to work.
• Stepford Smiler: The Alpha Bitch attitude is the image she wants to maintain. On the inside, she's insecure and overworked from dealing with her Stage Mom and abusing prescription pills.
• Student Council President: In Next Class season three.
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: She fills in the sanguine slot that Tori left when she was written out - she's a rival to Maya, spoiled, etc. She is a lot more antagonistic towards Maya than Tori ever was, however.
• Trauma Conga Line: She essentially goes through the same roadblocks Ashley, Paige, Darcy and Katie went through in the first season she is introduced, a new Degrassi record.
• Troubled Teen: She was driven by her abusive mother to work to support them both, which lead to an addiction to pills. At Degrassi, she was thoroughly humiliated and later sexually assaulted. Later, she realizes that she is a lesbian, a revelation that gets her disowned.
• True Companions: At the end of Season 4, after her mother disowns her, she states that her friends at Degrassi are her family.
• Villain Decay: Inevitably happens to her as it does for all the Degrassi antagonists. Her villainy peaks in season 14 when she blackmails Frankie into sending nude photos and then into taking the blame for the Degrassi Nudes operation, but Next Class mellowed her out quite a bit. Now she's part of student council, mostly keeps to herself, and is secretly struggling with her sexuality, using self-harm as a coping mechanism.
• Vitriolic Best Buds: With Maya, after they talk it out in the season 13 finale.
• What Did I Do Last Night?: She gets really drunk at Miles's party and blacks out. Afterwards, she cannot even remember what happened to her afterwards until rumors circulate around the school.

Grace Cardinal

Grace Cardinal
Played by Nikki Gould, Season 13 (recurring), 14-16 (regular)

"My whole life has been people telling me to stay positive! Everyone wants to talk about insane miracle cures, but no one wants to talk about how I'm going to die!"

Grace is introduced in season 13 as part of the "Rubber Room," aka the remedial class. Despite being in remedial education, Grace is is very knowledgeable, wise and intelligent, especially when it comes to technology and computers. Grace has a gruff, sarcastic personality but she is also very helpful and street smart and is willing to help her friends out when they're in a jam. You would first have to prove that you're worth helping to her. Zoë Rivas finds herself falling for Grace, but Grace is straight and reluctant to get close to anyone due to her cystic fibrosis. Her health starts to decline to the point where she needs a lung transplant, causing her to almost give up trying to live until Jonah convinces her to seek treatment. The two begin to date and they stay together after graduating. Grace finally receives a new pair of lungs and is set to attend Ryerson University.

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• Abhorrent Admirer: Grace sees Baaz as this, due to the fact that he's younger than her, quite a bit less attractive and a little misogynist when it comes down to it.
• Ambiguously Gay: Many students at Degrassi assumed she was a lesbian due to her fashion sense, and the fact that she fit in better with her male friends than female ones. She's straight.
• Amicable Exes: Of sorts. Though she and Zoe never dated, they had a both physically and emotionally intimate relationship, followed by a nasty falling out when Grace realized she's straight. However, the two eventually become close friends again.
• Betty and Veronica: Grace is the rebellious, opinionated Veronica to Frankie’s rich and popular Betty.
• Birds of a Feather: With Jonah.
• Book Dumb: Grace is Wise Beyond Her Years, level-headed, gives great advice to all of her peers...and she's in remedial classes. After season 14, she starts to attend regular classes along with everyone else in the Rubber Room crew.
• Closet Key: Ends up being one for Zoe.
• Deadpan Snarker: Very much so, but she'll give you advice with the snark.
• Deus ex Machina: In regards to Zoë's assault, her showing up could be perceived as just a little too convenient.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Grace is tired of people trying to get her to stay upbeat about life-threatening condition.
• Expy: She carries the snarky alt-girl tradition left behind by Ellie and Jane.
• Fatal Flaw: Due to her illness, she keeps everyone, including her friends at a distance.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: With the Rubber Room kids, she is choleric (extroverted and task-oriented); she's knowledgeable about a lot of things, often times is the voice of reason, and somewhat gruff.
• Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind: She is laid back and snarky in contrast to her clothing and piercings. She also crusades for Zoë after her assault to find her assailants.
• Gadgeteer Genius: She demonstrated herself a techno geek, and was able to figure out just how Zoë set up Maya with the bullying Facerange page, as well as do her own investigation on Zoë's sexual assault.
• Hollywood Hacking: She's pretty good at hacking, some of it is portrayed accurately, other times it's a stretch.
• Hidden Depths: Despite her hanging out with the wrong crowd, she is pretty creative and knowledgeable about a lot of things. She also is an avid Food Network watcher.
• Incurable Cough of Death: As part of her cystic fibrosis, complete with Blood from the Mouth.
• Informed Loner: For someone who's "never been close to anyone" and pushes people away due to her illness, she has no shortage of friends and people crushing on her.
• Karma Houdini: She was involved with Degrassi Nudes and set up the network and how to make money from it, and yet she escapes with no legal punishment.
• Miss Exposition: From hacking computer networks, to hacking security cameras, to gang dynamics, is there anything she can't explain for the audience?
• Mistaken for Gay: Her ambiguous sexuality was alluded to a couple of times in season 14 (admonishing Zig and Tiny for being homophobic and neither confirming or denying when directly asked by Maya). In "Don't Look Back" and through Next Class, other people speculate that she's gay due to how she dresses in a Butch Lesbian manner. Grace wasn't sure herself due to never getting close to anyone. Zoe crushes on Grace openly causing Grace to question her sexuality. Grace and Zoe have sex, and the experience makes Grace realize she's straight and reveals that she crushed on Zig.
• Morton's Fork: Currently stuck in this because of her illness. She either accepts a lung transplant operation that would make her live to 27 (with a 50/50 chance of surviving it) or she doesn't take it and she dies when she is 20.
• Motivational Lie: According to her, she has heard every single one regarding her cystic fibrosis, like a cure will be found and she'll live a long, healthy life. She's tired of it, and that's partially why she never told anyone about her CF.
• Not Afraid to Die: She pretends she's totally okay with the fact that her cystic fibrosis will drastically reduce the length of her life, including making people uncomfortable by joking about her own death. After being told she will have less than three years to live without a lung transplant, her reaction reveals just how scared she actually is.
• Not So Stoic: She became self-conscious after Baz's negging attempt about her clothes and demeanor making her seem completely unapproachable. She has a dim view on people in general but didn't want to look completely unfriendly.
• One of the Guys: She hangs out with Zig and Tiny and does the same things they do.
• Only Sane Woman: She's far more level-headed than a lot of her peers, and she knows it, regularly calling people on their nonsense.
• Perky Goth: Her fashion-sense definitely belies her personality.
• Secretly Dying: It seems most of her friends besides Zoë don't know she has Cystic Fibrosis.

• The Big Damn Kiss: At the receiving end of one from Zoë in "Don't Look Back".
• The Lad-ette: All of her friends are boys, and she partakes in the same guy activities they do.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: She's a tough, outspoken Tomboy to Zoe's gossipy Girly Girl. Ironically, Grace is straight and Zoe is gay.
• Trickster Mentor: Grace doesn't lead her friends to the answer with a straight line, especially when she knows they won't listen to that. She got Zig and Zoë where they needed to be by tricking them. Daring Zig to get a home tattoo (so he would man up and say no), and giving Zoë Dumbo's Magic Feather to help her learn Science (because without it she wouldn't try). She even hit Maya with a Secret Test of Character only respecting her for standing up to them.
• Wise Beyond Their Years: She's a lot more mature and smarter than the crowd she hangs with and so many seek out her advice.
• Worth Living For: She has pretty much accepted she's going to die early, she she hates when people try to give her false assurances that she won't. When she finds out she needs a transplant or else she'll die within three years, Jonah tries to convince her to take her chance with the transplant, and Grace reveals she's less afraid of dying than she is of living and being alone. Jonah points out that the next ten years may not have anything to offer her, but that she'll never find out if she dies before then.
• Zen Survivor: She picked on Maya calling her "princess," until Maya made a conscious attempt to fit in with the Rubber Room crowd. Since that, Grace decided she was cool and offers her friendship and advice — stay away from Zig.

Tiny Bell

Deon "Tiny" Bell
Played by Richard Walters, Season 13 (recurring), 14-16 (regular)

"Because no matter how hard I try to get away from this mess, it keeps finding me!"

Tiny is part of the Rubber Room crew, along with Zig, Grace, and Maya. He's good friends with Zig, and helped him out during his time of need by having him run drugs for gangs. Tiny used to be into the gang lifestyle along with his older brother Vince and his problems eventually becomes Zig's. Despite this Tiny is a funny, street-smart kid who's fiercely protective of his friend and brother. In Next Class, his gang problems are behind him and Tiny is taking his education seriously as well as being the object of affection for one Shay Powers. After Degrassi, he is set to attend California Institute of Technology.

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• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Averted with Shay as she decided that she didn't want to date him due to his past as a drug dealer. Played straight with Lola who crushed on him even during his drug running days. Eventually, Shay decides that his past doesn't matter and then they start to date seriously.
• All Guys Want Cheerleaders: Admits this in "Firestarter (Part One)".
• A Friend in Need: Tiny is fiercely defensive of Zig and when Zig is kicked out of his home, Tiny makes the arrangement for the gang to take care of him with Zig also running drugs. Also when Zig has to leave Maya's home, Tiny and his brother take him in.
• A Man Is Always Eager: Has this attitude when Zig was upset with Maya not wanting to have sex with him. He thought Zig should take charge and be "manly." Grace told him that this belief was garbage and schooled both Tiny and Zig on sexual consent.
• Chick Magnet: Was crushed on by Shay, and then later goes out with Lola after Lola confesses she liked Tiny. And then later he and Shay start going steady.
• Four-Temperament Ensemble: In the Rubber Room quartet, he's sanguine (extroverted and people-oriented); he's very jovial and friendly and devoted, sometimes to a fault like with his brother Vince.
• Gangbangers: He was part of a gang, albeit reluctantly.
• Hidden Depths: Tiny is very intelligent and likes science.
• Ironic Nickname: He's the tallest out of his class so he's nicknamed Tiny, natch.
• Male Gaze: Tiny's is a big fan of women with voluptuous figures, particular big butts, according to his Hastygram profile.
• Nice Guy: Even when dealing drugs and being part of a gang, Tiny was jovial and easy-going.
• Only Known by Their Nickname: Everyone calls him Tiny, and initially nothing in the show or press material even hinted at his real name. It was eventually revealed that his actual name is Deon Bell and he is Vince's younger brother.
• Parental Abandonment: His father is in jail, and his mother is on drugs all the time so Tiny lived with his older brother, Vince.
• Ruptured Appendix: He gets appendicitis in "#ThatAwkwardMomentWhen", but Shay convinces him to go to the hospital before it gets worse.
• Satellite Character: Along with being a Satellite Love Interest, most of his motivations and characterizations revolve around his friends and who he's dating.
• Token Minority Couple: With Shay, as they were the only black characters on the show at the time.
• Trapped in Villainy: At first when it was revealed that Zig was doing favors for Tiny's gang, it seemed like Tiny was someone to be feared. Eventually, it was revealed that he was just as trapped as Zig was and mainly deals drugs and does other gang activity just to keep himself alive.
• Troubled Teen: He was stuck doing gang activity to survive, due to Vince.
• Understanding Boyfriend: Tiny is very supportive of Shay and her goals. He doesn't really blink twice after she stains his pants due to her period from sitting in his lap!
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: He means well, but it's definitely not a good idea to tell a gal that her boyfriend will never love her the way he loved/loves his ex. But that's what he tells Esme in reference to Zig's relationship with Maya and it's all downhill from there...
  • He arguably did the same in NC season 1. While Zig was already beginning to cling to Maya and acted defensive when he found out Jonah would be joining her band, Tiny was the one who suggested Maya and Jonah would soon be sleeping together which ultimately led to Zig cheating on Maya.

Jonah Haak

Jonah Haak
Played by Ehren Kassam, Season 14-16 (regular)

"Look, I don't always make the best choices. But I re-committed to God. He's helping me stay away from things that used to tempt me. Like getting fresh..."

Jonah was a teenaged troublemaker. However, he has recently changed his ways and became a born-again Christian. He also subscribes to the Straight Edge philosophy. He's looking for more teens who share his beliefs, but while he's given up his vices, he still has his troublemaker edge. He previously had a band called Prodigal Spoon with Becky Baker, but after she graduates he starts helping Maya with her music. He's still religiously devout and involved in charity and in Next Class, he becomes interested in rich girl Frankie Hollingsworth. However, after Frankie becomes completely obsessed with making sure he's not cheating which ironically causes him to break up with her. He later dates Grace and helps her with her decision on accepting a lung transplant. They stay together and after graduating, Jonah attends the University of Toronto.

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• A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing: At first he seemed like a good Christian guy who was trying to get away from his demons. But then, The Kids Aren't All Right revealed that he's stolen money from Becky to settle an old drug debt.
• Dark and Troubled Past: Jonah reveals that he is a teen dad; during his wild days and hasn't seen his daughter due to his baby mama's parents. The incident scared him straight into discovering religion and becoming straight edge.
• Deadpan Snarker: This side of him comes when he's with Frankie as he gently teased her before they started dating.
• Disappeared Dad: Turns out he's one himself.
• Flat Character: He does have a bit of a personality and a backstory, but compared to everyone else in his class, he's flat. He's mostly used in a supporting role to friends and love interests.
• Held Back in School: As revealed in #TeamFollowBack, he flunked his junior year causing him to be held back.
• Hidden Depths: He is very religious and a Christian.
• Freaky Fashion, Mild Mind: He dresses in typical Punk Rock fashion, but he's also very laid back and understanding.
• Former Teen Rebel: And he's still a teen!
• Mistaken for Gay: By Becky who tries to see if he is when he didn't want to kiss her deeply.
• Nice Guy: He's friendly, snarky, not mean to anyone and gets along with everyone in the cast; he was even cool with Frankie after he dumped her.
• Satellite Love Interest: For two seasons, first for Becky and then later Frankie. He gets a little more depth when he's dating Grace.
• Vow of Celibacy: Has taken one along with being Straight Edge. Averted in Season 4, when he has sex with Grace.
• Walking Spoiler: Throughout season 14, he just seemed like a gentle Satellite Love Interest to Becky. In The Kids Aren't Alright, he's exposed as having stolen $200 from Becky to pay off an old drug debt to a gang.

Esme Song

Esme Song
Played by Chelsea Clark, Season 15-16 (regular)

"You're the only one who ever let me feel normal...like that there wasn't something that needed to be therapied out of me."

Esme may seem like a harmless straight-A student, but underneath her preppy Go-Getter Girl exterior, she hides a darker, erratic personality. She has a pathological need for attention and when she doesn't get what she wants, she lashes out in unpredictable ways. Esme instantly notices Miles and latches onto him while he tries to deal with his father and familial issues. She starts to manipulate Miles into being with her, using sex and drugs in order to keep him compliant. But after Esme pulls an especially deranged stunt to keep Miles with her, he dumps her. Undeterred, Esme then starts to date Zig after he and Maya break up. She thinks she and Zig are made for each other and they can't keep their hands away from other as well. But as Maya re-enters the picture, Esme feels her grip on Zig loosen and she goes insane extremes to keep him by her side. She goes through a complete nervous breakdown as Zig dumps her, missing classes and even hurting Zig. At the graduation ceremony, she has a very public psychotic episode but it does end up with her finally seeking help.

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• Academic Alpha Bitch: Didn't have much popularity due to her damaged girl reputation, but she has the right personality to be one.
• Ambiguously Bi: She immediately recognizes when Zoe is struggling not to check her out, flirts with her, and even kisses her twice. It's currently unclear whether she was attracted to Zoe or was just trying to psyche her out. She was also in a three way relationship with her then boyfriend Zig and Frankie Hollingsworth.
• Asian and Nerdy: A downplayed example. She's a straight-A student, but she's not geeky in personality nor does she have any stereotypically nerdy hobbies.
• Attention Whore: Esme got attention-starved when both Miles and Zig started to emotionally drift away from her. She fakes cutting her wrists to get Miles to spend time with her, and fakes anaphylactic shock when she saw Zig and Maya reconnect.
• Beneath the Mask: She looks like a normal preppy girl but on the inside she's emotionally disturbed.
• Betty and Veronica: Tries to present herself as the sultry, sexually-active Veronica to Maya's innocent Betty.
• Boomerang Bigot: Dishes out a lot of hateful comments about the mentally ill or people from abusive homes, despite having no shortage of mental health issues of her own. This might actually be an example of the projection defense mechanism.
• Color Motif: Early episodes that featured her in something yellow to wear. Which is rather fitting, since the color is associated with jealousy, a broken heart, intense emotions, dying love and extreme betrayal. All things associated with Esme.
• Control Freak: Esme likes to be dominant in all her relationships and can't stand it when her partner strays away, making her use everything from sex, drugs and gifts to keep them near.
• Dark and Troubled Past: If you were to walk in on your mother post-suicide with no idea of how to proceed, followed by your father making YOU the scapegoat, you'd be pretty fucked up too. Whether or not her psychological disorder stems from this is debatable, but it is extremely likely.
• Ethical Slut: Zig-zagged. Esme seems to vary between enjoying sex and being confident in her body to utilizing her sexuality to manipulate people. Her idea to have a three-way with Zig and Frankie is implied to be a desperate attempt at keeping Zig's attention rather than something she's genuinely into.
• Expy: Esme is very similar to what Imogen was before Imogen's character developed into someone completely different. She's sneaky, she's manipulative, and she crushes on a very disturbed handsome boy which echoes Imogen's interactions with Eli. She also has traits of what Leia was originally developed as, a dominant pathological liar.
• Fatal Flaw: She manipulates others to get what she wants, refuses to truly deal with her mental issues, as well as jealousy.
• Foil:
  • For Maya in Next Class seasons three and four, both are going through severe mental health stress but ultimately Maya is receptive to treatment after her suicide attempt whereas Esme refuses to get any help at all.
  • Also a bit of a foil for Shay as they're both great students and work hard, but Esme is more comfortable with her body and sex compared to Shay.
• Freak Out: Especially prone to these, but when Zig dumps her, she goes full-on manic. She tries to start a threesome relationship with herself, Frankie and Zig to keep Zig, tries to use sex to entice Zig into staying with her, fakes an bee allergy attack when Zig starts paying attention to Maya, and then goes so far as to call in a bomb threat to the prom to get him to stay with her and then buys him a motorcycle out of the blue.
• Freudian Excuse: In season 3, she reveals to Zig that her mother killed herself when she was young, and Esme was the one who found her body. And her father blamed HER for it!
• The Friend No One Likes: Zig's friends only talked to her because she was Zig's girlfriend; they were put off by her behavior and reputation.
• The Gadfly: Esme has a habit of teasing and verbally sparring with people, she does this all throughout her relationship with Miles. She also does this with Hunter, Tiny ("Ooh, role reversal...fun!"), and Zoe as seems to know Zoe is in the closet about her sexuality. She also mercilessly teases Shay for her prudish nature.
• Gaslighting: In order to keep Zig from paying more attention to Maya due to his belief he's to blame for her sucide attempt; she persuades him into thinking Maya's suicide attempt was Saad's fault due to his dark photography of her and not stopping her from getting on the roof.
• Girl on Girl Is Hot: Esme initiated a three-way relationship between herself, her boyfriend and Frankie Hollingsworth in order to keep Zig's interest.
• Held Back in School: Despite being a straight A student, being in the current graduating class, and being accepted into Harvard and Columbia (though this may have been a lie) she missed an entire month of school making her unable to graduate.
• Irony: She has an irrational fear of people abandoning her do to her mother's suicide, so she tries to manipulate people into staying her friend/boyfriend when it looks like there going to leave her, but this only gives them more reasons to leave.
• Irrational Hatred: Towards Maya, as she believes Maya will steal Zig from her, it gets to the point where Esme thinks Maya is actually plotting to do so.
• It's All About Me: She doesn't seem to care who she hurts or manipulates in order to get what she wants.
• Ivy League for Everyone: In season sixteen, Esme mentions that she got into Harvard and Columbia, but she's hardly shown studying or having an exceptional talent that would make her appealing to an admissions committee. Averted in that she does actually have a 4.0, but in modern academic settings a lot more is required to secure acceptance.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • In Season 4, Esme calls out the art teacher on the Double Standard about a nude portrait of Esme (a woman) being inappropriate, but a nude portrait of Zig (a man) not being an issue. Granted Esme didn't have the most sympathetic (or even feminist) motivations for her nude portrait, but she's right that the teacher is holding her to a different standard than her male classmates.
  • In general, her comments that a girl can be both sexually active and academically talented.
  • Her paranoia about Zig and Maya isn't entirely off base, Maya did kiss Zig while he was Esme's boyfriend, and Tiny tells Esme to her face that Zig will never love Esme the way he loved Maya.
• Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: She's the Dark Feminine to Maya's Light Feminine.
• Manic Pixie Dream Girl: A dark version of this for Miles; she takes a liking to Miles and they "date" for a bit whilst encouraging him to take prescription meds and follow in her impulsive and destructive behavior, but when he discovers he's become essentially a drug addict, Miles cuts Esme out of his life to get better.
• Manipulative Bitch:
  • As part of her Attention Whore characteristics, she'll do anything to get attention and for someone to notice her. She actually fakes cutting her wrists in order to get Miles to come back to her after he realizes how bad she is for him and she almost convinces Miles to run away with her. It thankfully doesn't work.
  • In Next Class season four, she tries to manipulate Zig into being with her after Maya comes back to school after her suicide attempt. She also tries to convince Frankie to be part of a three way relationship with her and Zig to keep Zig interested in her.
• My Greatest Failure: Her mother committed suicide and her father blamed her [Esme] for it, causing Esme to also blame herself for it. To make matters worse, it's implied that he still blames her to this day. She tries to hide it, but it becomes clear that she still holds herself responsible for failing to save her mother, leading to a ton of self-loathing.
• Never My Fault: Blamed Zig's friends (Especially Maya) for her relationship problems rather then herself.
• Psycho Supporter: Gives Miles her anti-anxiety pills (and other pills he wasn't even aware of taking like ecstasy and horse tranquilizers) and encourages him to skip class, steal alcohol, and steal medication.
• The Rival: Shay, as Esme feels that Shay looks down on her for her reputation.
• Romantic False Lead: For Zig/Maya; she tried her very best to keep Zig with her, to the point of insanity.
• Shadow Archetype: She's very similar to Miles; similar style of dress, same snarky attitude, same scheming methods. But she also embodies his unstableness and need for attention. Also, she is also the kind of person Maya would have become if she let her grief over Campbell's suicide completely consume her.
• Slut-Shaming: She is a frequent victim of this. She's not really put off by it, as she thinks the other students are stuck up.
• Stepford Snarker: She's careful to maintain the image of a callous Alpha Bitch so that nobody can see how damaged she is on the inside.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Fractionally. She's still got the same ill-humor, but seeing Maya almost die humbles her some.
• Toxic Friend Influence: Anyone who's gotten close to her is worse off because of it.
• Troubled Abuser: She lashes out physically and verbally, but it's clear that it comes from a place of deep self-loathing and pain.
• Troubled Teen: She's highly unstable mentally, refuses to seek help for her mental illness and willing to drag other people into her downward spiral.
• Unlikely Hero: In #ImSleep, she (and Zig) find Maya in mid-suicide and she uses what she learned from her late mother to properly preserve her until the ambulance arrives. She even stays at the hospital until it's confirmed that she'll make it.
• The Vamp: The reputation she has with the student body as a "damaged" girl who will put out for anyone. Esme uses her body and various sex acts to have boys fall for her wiles and to stay with her.
• Villainous Breakdown: Has one in #Obsessed when Zig rejects her and in a blind rage accidentally pushes him down a hill. She has another one in the season finale when Zig rejected her again and refused to run away with her.
• Yandere: With both Miles and Zig. She's cute and charming which appealed to the both of them quickly before her fragile mental state came out.

Goldi Nahir

Goldi Nahir
Played by Soma Bhatia, Season 15-16 (regular)

"Is it a mistake when people ask if I'm bald under here? Or think I know about suicide bombers? There are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world, and they're all different."

Goldi is a thoughtful young Muslim activist who wants to change her school, and also the world. She's the head of the feminist club, part of student council and wants to make Degrassi an equal space for boys and girls. But with the Syrian refugees attending Degrassi and anti-Muslim sentiment on the rise, not to mention an attraction to fellow student council member Winston, Goldi feels trapped between her religion and culture and trying to fit in. After a terrorist attack in Brussels, she gets harassed by an angry crowd and has her hijab torn off. After the harassment, she establishes the Muslim Student Association in order to help out Muslim students being harassed. She is accepted into Banting University and also starts to date Winston.

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• Armor-Piercing Question: In #ImSleep, she asks Rasha why she and Zoe never told her they were dating, Rasha reminds her of her homophobic attitude. Goldi tries to deny that she could ever be a homophobe, but Rasha asks if it'd be sinful for her to sleep with Zoe. After a moment, Goldi can only answer via a reference to the Qur'an. Then Rasha tells her that Zoe's mother disowned her for being gay. Safe to say Goldi Didn't See That Coming.
  Rasha: So, who's the real sinner?
• Class Representative: Goldi was the only person running for student council president that didn't treat it as a popularity contest and she cared deeply about the actual issues. She was vice president and she is also the head of the feminist club at Degrassi.
• Crisis of Faith: Admits to Rasha that she's constantly going through one, struggling between engaging in Degrassi's mainly non-religious social scene and practicing Islam. She tearfully rips off her hijab at her breaking point in Season Three, although she eventually begins to realize there are many types of Muslims and there's nothing wrong with the way she is.
• Expy: Very similar to Becky, except she's Muslim and was more open-minded and willing to engage other points of view.
• Extracurricular Enthusiast: Especially with the feminist club, which she eagerly recruits Maya to.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite viewing homosexuality as a sin, she's horrified that Zoe's mom would disown her over it, and vehemently disagrees with the homophobic actions of the police in Syria.
• Gosh Dang It to Heck!: In #ILookLikeA when Winston accidentally sends Goldi an Oomfchat of his penis that was meant for Miles, Goldi can't bring herself to say penis or "dick pic".
• The Heart: While being outspoken about her beliefs, Goldi is still willing to compromise and is friendly and relatively non-judgemental. She half-heartedly adhered to the traditional view of homosexuality in the Qu'ran and the "love the sinner, hate the sin" philosophy until learning Zoe was kicked out due to being gay which changes her mind.
• Holier Than Thou: While still remaining respectful, she thought of Rasha as a "bad" Muslim due to her not strictly adhering to Islamic societal morals like wearing a hijab or touching boys. She gets better.
  • Alongside this, she was once a little homophobic and considered Zoe and Rasha "sinners" for their sexualities. It's only when Zoe's mother kicks her daughter out of the house for being a lesbian that she accepts them.
• Irony: Goldi doesn't want to touch boys, because according to her faith touching can lead to things like kissing or going even further. The person Goldi regularly touches is (unknown to her) a lesbian. Yes, the person she regularly hugs is just as likely to kiss her as some random boy.
• Meaningful Name: Goldi is a Hebrew name meaning a "strong sense of justice."
• No Celebrities Were Harmed: She's pretty much Degrassi's take on Malala Yousafzai.
• Sibling Yin-Yang: With Baaz, who isn't a devout Muslim, rails against "social justice warriors" and takes part in common pick-up artist philosophy.
• Sex Is Evil, and I Am Horny: Downplayed as it's not purely sexual, she starts to have feelings for Winston and tries to pretend that they're Just Friends but to no avail.
• Soapbox Sadie: She cares a lot about social justice and feminist causes; she takes up a crusade to get the girls another bathroom to use and also gets Hunter's gaming club disbanded due to them playing a game that she found sexist.
• Stop Being Stereotypical: She criticizes Saad for not integrating at Degrassi and for his outbursts; saying that his actions "put all Muslims at risk."
• Wise Beyond Their Years: She's a direct response to the stereotypical portrayal of Muslims in the media; Goldi is intelligent, very knowledgeable about social issues, and she is a feminist. She also has no problems with LGBT people at least at first, her main complaint with Zoe is that she won Student Council President senior year and Goldi is Vice President again.