A new generation of Degrassi begins, and we’re taking an in-depth look at each of the characters… Its been on fifteen years and continues to go there.
Drake was on it!
Teenagers can see themselves reflected in the show.
Yeah, whats upHouse of Cards?
You aint got nothing onDegrassi!
So Im here to giveDegrassi: Next Classthe detailed attention it deserves.
So go, go watch!
They finally made Maya a mature character who has goals and ambitions.
That isnt to say she doesnt have flaws.
Even in her own music she accidentally stumbled onto a powerful message that brings her nothing but problems.
Thats one of the big strengths of this season.
It isnt about doing issue plots, its about having conflict that arises from the characters actions.
Now that Hunter has stopped the online harassment, I hope they focus more on Mayas music.
Once he left the show, they needed the new Drew.
He needs attention from Maya, badly.
His insecurity goes through the roof when she cant spend time with him.
Desperate for any reassurance, he asks Zoe and Grace, Am I hotter than Jonah?
Zig, you precious baby.
Plus, needing girl time?
His lowest moment was cheating on Maya, but Ill get into that in the plot section below.
Ricardo Hoyos is easily the strongest actor of the entire ensemble.
Miles had to confront a lot of his demons.
His addiction to drugs was a way of finally holding a mirror to everything hes done.
He no longer has his father to blame for his actions; its all on him.
Horrified by that anger and that Hunter could turn out worse than he was.
Hes now faced with a question that will wrack his guilt, should he reveal Hunter had the gun?
Does Hunter need another chance, or is an intervention needed?
From her first focus episode, Frankie is trying to figure herself out.
The more she learns, the more she secretly realizes she might be outgrowing her two best friends.
Jonah is set to break her out of that.
He wont have time for their hashtags or boy trouble.
Frankie will ultimately have to choose between the maturity of Jonah or the fun of her friends.
What I also like about Frankie this season is that Jonah is making her confront her own privilege.
She has everything and worries about some pointless, in his eyes, drama.
Through Jonah shell end up learning more about the world.
Thats why she chose Jonah over Winston.
Winston would allow her to keep her old life, which is tempting, but ultimately unsatisfying.
She wishes she could go back to her carefree days, but those are gone.
Your actions have consequences and there are some things you cant go back to.
Tristan: #BitchyWhiteGay
Probably my least favorite of the main cast, character wise.
The actor does fine with the material, but were given little reason to care about the guy.
Hes kind of vapid.
This raises another issue.
The factDegrassinever used the word bisexual this season.
This is a problem a lot of television has and I dont get it.
Why cant you just say bisexual?
I know Zoe is struggling with her sexuality so I can understand not labeling herself.
But Miles is advertising it all over his campaign posters.
They can say gay and lesbian fine, so why not bisexual?
Come onDegrassi, youre better than this.
When it doesnt work out, her whole world is crushed.
She still has friends, but she wont be anywhere near as willing to bring up the illness again.
Dont ever assume someones sexuality just because of how they look, people!
Great way of getting a lesson across without beating it over our heads.
Zoe: #NetflixAndLadies?
The cheating thing was dumb.
Didnt I say wed get to that later?
The plot about the guy fromGilmore Girlsmaybe being her dad was dumb.
It seemed like a lame excuse to have a guest star and didnt ultimately matter to her overall plot.
Maybe it was set up for delving more into the relationship with her mom?
When the first girl youve ever liked rejects your affections after sleeping with you?
yo do more with Zoes bisexuality, thanks!
That Gamer Boy and Pink Hair Girl would get together.
While Hunter and Lola never crossed paths, Hunter did become the main antagonist of the season.
His fear comes out in anger; theyre trying to take away the one thing hes good at.
The one thing thats his outlet for the frustrations of every day.
In the real world, hes weak.
In the video game world, hes strong.
This could actually end up being an amazing commentary in the next batch of episodes.
By taking away his gaming, hes lost his one coping mechanism.
He needs something else to offset the anger.
Its just that an ostracized group felt threatened and wanted to fight back.
They did it the wrong way, but it wasnt necessarily because they were gamers.
Perhaps a certain pink haired girl could be the exact friend he needs.
Okay, I know that sounds like crazy shipping, but it could totally work!
Lola would totally see the good in Hunter.
They could both learn about the wider world together.
Make it happen,Degrassi!
(Big thanks to my buddy Ashley for those lyrics.)
Wed finally get to know more about her!
Amanda Arcuri has some serious comedy chops.
Lola is not hard to the world.
She hasnt started growing up so shes more happy go lucky.
Shay: #ButtsButtsButts
Oh I wish we saw more of you, Shay.
Promote this girl to spotlight character status,Degrassi!
My hope is for Lola to propose a threesome.
Not just in a sex sense, but in a relationship.
If her parents cant accept her dating a boy, they certainly wont accept a threesome!
Jonah: #SoFrankHeWantsToKissFrankie
New favorite.
His advice is delightfully blunt and to the point.
This is something that is only briefly touched on, but very important.
Imagine Frankie wanting to connect with him more through social media and he refuses.
Youll just have to get to know me the old fashioned way.
Frankie will constantly make excuses for them and Jonah will hate it.
His above it all attitude may actually be a side effect of his battle with addiction.
When youre recovering from drugs, you have to learn more about yourself then you otherwise would.
Jonah has a deep insight into himself and those around him, more than any other character.
Tiny: #OceanIsTheNotion
Gone is the one note gang member/drug guy from last season.
We get the new Tiny, who has an adorable new love of marine life.
Hes so sweet and caring!
He buys his friends condoms!
Thankfully their interplay is so well done this can be forgiven, mostly.
I hope we get some individual focus on the guy because he deserves it.
His best scene was being confronted by Miles mom during the drug freak out.
Esme: #DrugLord
Esme has no one.
She sees a weakness in Miles and exploits it for her own gain, that being to feel normal.
Around Miles, she could pretend that taking all those drugs wasnt a big deal.
That she didnt need to confront anything.
When Miles rejects her, she spirals out of control.
She needs people to validate her existence and without that, shes nothing.
I wonder if shell try and prey on anyone else.
Baaz: #NewLeader?
Out of the five new characters, Baaz got the least to do.
He was part of the gamer club and thats about all I got.
Seems to be interested in business?
One telling moment for the future of his character could be when he told Hunter off for attacking Yael.
One side note, Im very glad the gaming club wasnt all white dudes.
How easy would that have been?
Bigotry is for more than just white people, guys!
Very interested to find out more about her back story.
He was so serious about that status change!
Thats the big thing with kids these days; it isnt real if it isnt on Facebook.
Very glad we get a gay character that isnt instantly given the ZOMG GAY ANGST plotline.
Very smart to have a girl be part of the harassment of Maya.
Shes demonstrated a slight superiority complex throughout the run, so Id like to see more there.
Simpson: #SNAKKKKEEEEEEEE
Oh yes, Snake hasnt gone anywhere.
After last season I was afraid, but the livingDegrassilegend still roams the halls.
Sometimes hes totally flustered by the kids and others hes dead serious.
When he confronted the gamer club about the trolling?
When he tried to confront Miles only to find out it was a family issue?
Also, digging the beard Snake.
I wonder what Spike thinks about that.
After years and years in teacher school, Degrassi is her first real job and shes over the moon.
She wants to be friends with all the students!
She thinks kids these days love puns.
She is very sad to learn that isnt the case.
She has yet to discover theDegrassicurse, but when she does?Degrassiwill never be the same.
I only make up this backstory because I want to see more of her.
Im very awareDegrassishould be focused on the kids, but give this woman something to do.
At the very least, let her keep making awful puns.
They give me life.
Its an integral part of everyones lives.
Nothing like it existed ten years ago, certainly nothing as wide reaching.
Its a whole new set of challenges that the adults in the series have no idea about.
The kids have to figure it out all on their own.
These plots inform nearly every major story arc at one point or another.
It doesnt come out of nowhere, as ifDegrassijust discovered what social media is.
Its like the people writing the show have actually logged onto snapchat before.
As I mentioned above, Lola and Shays plot found its way into most of Frankies stories.
No storylines feel lost, which means the pacing is solid, especially if youre binge watching.
Youre on the edge of your seat, not sure whats going to happen.
Although really,Degrassishould just ban dances all together.
Nothing good ever happens at aDegrassidance.
You should know this, Snake!
The show doubles down on feminist issues this season and it pays off.
The issue of consent was especially well handled.
When Grace called Zig a rapist, he couldnt handle it.
It serves the dual purpose of demonstrating consent is always needed and sets up the downfall of their relationship.
I guess we have to talk about this, right?
Zig cheating on Maya with Zoe.
This was far and away the weakest part of the season.
It was the biggest leap of logic.
It was the okay, we need to have drama moment.
It doesnt feel true to the character they built up throughout the first half of the season.
Zig is smarter than this.
I wonder if it could have been played differently.
Like Zoe makes a move on Zig first.
He rejects it, but Zoe is smart.
She knows how to screw with his head.
She starts to play on his fears more and more.
She shows him her phone; with all the pictures Jonah and Maya are taking together.
She fills his head with doubt.
Zig shatters another of the bottles, perhaps with his own hand.
Zoe is there to comfort him with the make outs.
I know the idea vilifies Zoe a bit, but she does have that capability.
She would be taking out all the hatred she had for Grace and turning it on Zig.
It was one step away from working.
Oh sure,Degrassihas had some nasty facerange stories before, but this is a whole new level.
This plotline was clearly inspired by Anita Sarkeesian and all the hate she received over her Feminist Frequency videos.
WhenDegrassitackles an issue, they go all in.
Final Verdict on Degrassi: Next Class
Degrassi: Next Classis a triumph.
I cant wait for more.
Bring it on,Degrassi.
Stefan Brogren comes off as the worlds coolest dad with his witty, self-deprecating humor.
I want this guy to do recaps of every show ever.
More of this, kindly!
-Hastygram is the most Degrassi name for a social media account.
-Tristan having a Everyones gay best friend poster is so terrible and yet hilarious.
-I play for all teams.
-Zigs faces are my favorite thing.
When Tiny dumps out the bags of condoms?
-I love that Jonah mentions Maya is smart and talented before he mentions her looks.
-If youre watching through again, pay close attention to the announcements.
There was one about the science fiction club making a major break through in time travel.
WHAT IS GOING ON AT THIS SCHOOL?!
-This is already better than your goat dream.
I dreamt about goats once.
Put that on a T-shirt.
Rating:
4.5 out of 5
