Emma Nelson: An In-Depth Analysis As To Why She Wasn’t Ever A Good Friend To Manny Santos And Liberty Van Zandt – And Why The Ending To Her Character Arc Wasn’t Actually A ‘Happy Ending’

We’ve been talking a heck of a lot lately about friendships and what it means to be a good friend; particularly so in the world of female friendships where women are constantly made to believe they’re meant to compete against one another. And even more so, we’ve been discussing friendships portrayed in TV a lot more; even more than we did romance. And I’d like to discuss this conversation. This time, I’d like to discuss ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’, and I’d like to discuss the friendship that was portrayed between Emma Nelson, played by Miriam McDonald, and Manny Santos, played by Cassie Steele.

There were, of course, many friendships featured on the show throughout its entire run, even starting from ‘Degrassi Kids’ in the 70’s and ending with ‘Degrassi: Next Class’ in the 2010’s. An example of one significant friendship that came after Emma and Manny was Maya Matlin, played by Olivia Scriven, and Tori Santamaria, played by Alex Steele. Alex Steele is actually Cassie Steele’s real-life younger sister, and she also played the character of Angela Jeremiah, Joey Jeremiah’s daughter, as well as Craig Manning’s younger half-sister. But we’ll get to that later.

I grew up watching Emma and Manny’s friendship, and I’m here to tell you that these two were NOT good together. In fact, I’m surprised that they continued to be friends in the first place. Particularly so, I’m surprised that Manny forgave Emma time and time again for being such a terrible friend. That’s not to ever say that Manny was a saint and didn’t mess up, but at least she owned up to her mistakes, whereas Emma did things to Manny that were unacceptable and unforgivable. That’s just the nice, PG way of putting things into perspective. Nevertheless, despite having their own share of differences throughout the show, they still remained the best of friends, which I personally believe set the wrong message for young viewers, like myself at the time, on setting boundaries with your friends.

Emma and Manny first met when they were at daycare, and it’s presumed that even after so many years of not seeing them on-screen – since 2009, more like – that they’re still friends to this very day in adulthood. We were first introduced to them in 2001. They were already best friends by then. In the very first episode, Emma is introduced as the main character, with Manny being her sidekick. Emma is the daughter of Christine Nelson, better known as Spike, who first attended Degrassi in the 80’s. She had Emma at the age of 16. Emma was fathered by Shane McKay, but he wasn’t present in her life. He initially wanted to be in Emma’s life, having to prove so to Spike, but was involved in an accident that left him intellectually and developmentally disabled. With that said, Emma grew up never knowing her real father. She eventually met him without the slightest remission from Spike, and realized thereafter why her mother did what she did. Despite not having a constant father-figure in her life for many years, she found it in Archie Simpson, better known as Snake, who eventually marries Spike. Emma and Snake get close, and she eventually calls him ‘Dad’.

Manny’s parents are very strict with her, particularly her father, and she often finds solace and comfort in Spike when she needs true parental support. When her father finds out that she used the credit card he gave her for emergencies only to pay for a boob job, he calls her a slut and kicks her out of the house. She moves in with Emma and her family, and she lives there for an entire year while being estranged from both her parents. She initially wanted to get the boob job to enhance her chances of getting more opportunities in acting. She didn’t end up getting the boob job, but was estranged from her parents nonetheless.

A lot happened between the two friends in the year that Manny lived with the family. But this isn’t where the story of exactly why their friendship was toxic began. Of course they had their disagreements from the very beginning when we first met them. They fought just like all pre-teens do. Their friendship truly became problematic, however, in season 3. It was when Manny found out she was pregnant and decided to have an abortion. Emma, is of course, the product of a teen pregnancy, so she had her own biased opinion the matter, and it was that Manny should keep the baby. Manny knew she didn’t want to keep the baby, and begged for Emma’s support. But she didn’t give it to her. In fact, as soon as Manny told her of her decision to abort the pregnancy, Emma angrily said, ‘No, you can’t!’ and stormed off, leaving Manny to be on her own. Emma was supportive of Manny, but her condition was that she’d keep the baby. As soon as she found out it wasn’t in the cards, she bailed on the person she claimed to be her best friend.

The only person that was there for Manny unconditionally was Spike, and that was because she was in the same exact situation as her when she was pregnant with Emma. Unbeknownst to Emma, Spike considered getting an abortion too. Emma was actually overjoyed by the news of Manny’s pregnancy. She was eager to be an ‘auntie’ to the prospective baby, and even planned for Manny and Craig, who impregnated Manny, to babysit her half-brother, Jack, who was a baby at the time. It was Emma’s plan to get Manny to agree with her that she should keep the baby. Craig also wanted Manny to keep the baby, and insisted that she it was in her duty to keep it. That was when Emma intervened and told Craig to leave Manny alone, and told him that it didn’t matter what he or she thought was the right thing for Manny to do. It was Manny’s body, and therefore, her choice. Craig left the two girls in despair. Manny tearfully thanked Emma, but it was evident that Emma wasn’t actually being the supportive friend that she should’ve been. As Manny thanked her, she rolled her eyes and left her to be. Manny going to the abortion clinic wasn’t where shown, but clearly, she didn’t have anyone to go with her; certainly not Emma or Craig.

This was a heartbreaking two parter episode for me to watch; even more than Lola’s storyline of her having an abortion after a one-night-stand with Miles, her friend’s brother whose boyfriend was in a coma. She was too ashamed to tell her friends, or anyone else for that matter. She attempted to go to Miles for support, but he didn’t want to have anything to do with her, and told her to take a bus to the appointment she made without realizing what the appointment was. All she wanted was for Miles’ support in her decision, but she couldn’t even get that because he was deliberately avoiding taking responsibility for his actions because of the guilt he felt for cheating on his boyfriend. She didn’t feel she could tell her friends either because they made their stances on the abortion fairly clear – that it would be murder.

Luckily, however, Lola had Yael to unconditionally support her; without any judgement or needing any explanation. Yael wasn’t even someone who Lola would consider to be a close friend; a classmate at best. It was only after Yael showed her support through her abortion and even came to her to the clinic that they became as close as they did. And Lola showed Yael the same amount of support when she was going through a gender identity change and she realized she was non-binary and started going by ‘they/them’ pronouns. Her friends, unlike Emma with Manny, realized their wrongdoings and told her that had they known what Lola was actually going through, they would’ve supported her no matter what. Unlike Emma with Manny, they called her brave for sticking by her decision to abort, and celebrated with her. Emma, of course, would never celebrate Manny’s decision. She made it clear to her she didn’t agree with her, as well as that she didn’t support or celebrate her in her decision. The fact that she defended her against Craig didn’t change that. In fact, it only showed that she supported Craig because, as she said herself, she agreed with him that Manny should keep the baby.

The tables were turned when, 3 years following Manny’s abortion, Emma had a pregnancy scare after her first time with Sean, her first love, and she considered having an abortion if the pregnancy turned out to be true. This entire situation ended up just being a pregnancy scare as she got her period later on, but it really put things into perspective as to what kind of person she really is, as well as what kind of person Manny is. Emma is the type of person who is only supportive of Manny, or anyone for that matter if she sees fit or if her support benefits her; whereas Manny supports Emma, as well as others she cares about unconditionally. She still supported Emma through her pregnancy scare even though she didn’t give her the same support. She also supported Darcy through the aftermath of her rape. She and Peter, Darcy’s boyfriend, were the only ones that knew of what had happened, and Manny had kept Darcy’s rape a secret following her suicide attempt because she knew that’s what Darcy would’ve wanted.

And speaking of Peter, both Manny and Emma have had a history with him. It was during the time that Manny lived at Emma’s house with her family when she was estranged from her parents. Despite being estranged from her parents, Manny still aspired to be an actress. Peter, her schoolmate, invited her to a party where she got drunk, and he filmed her getting undressed. Thereafter, after she didn’t do as he told her, he sent the video for the entire school to see. At the same time, Emma was in a secret relationship with Peter, and even though she knew exactly what he did to the girl she claimed to be her best friend, she still continued to date him, and happily at that.

Emma started developing an eating disorder following the stress of her parents’ separation. She started purging and stopped eating. And because she saw an opportunity as Manny was still trying to get herself noticed by casting directors, she took down her friend with her and got Manny to do the same. When Manny decided to stop, Emma became enraged, told her she was dating Peter to deliberately hurt Manny, and had the audacity to blame her for her eating disorder. Many was utterly hurt by Emma’s actions, and yet, she was still there for her and aimed to help her. She even went as far as getting Peter to be on the same team as her in getting Emma the help that she needed. They planned an intervention for Emma with Spike and Snake. Emma, of course, put all the blame for her problems on Manny, and, out of anger, started packing her things for her to move out. That was when she had a breakdown that landed her at the hospital.

Not much was ever mentioned of Emma’s recovery from her eating disorder in the aftermath of her hospitalization, but it was revealed that she took up knitting as a stress relief. This was something that she saw her biological father do years prior when she met him. She was still dating Peter at the time, and they were very happy together. Manny, just as she always has, supported their relationship despite his revenge porn against her, and acted like it never even happened to begin with. Things were only good in Emma and Peter’s relationship until Sean, Emma’s first love and on-and-off boyfriend since grade 7, came back for her after spending 2 years in a different city to heal from the infamous school shooting that landed Jimmy, aka Drake, bound to a wheelchair. Peter saw right through Emma’s connection and chemistry with Sean and felt threatened by him. So to separate the two, he planted drugs in Sean’s locker, which not only got him expelled from school, but landed him in jail.

Emma continued dating Peter. She refused to believe that he had anything to do with Sean getting expelled, as well as with him getting arrested. It was Manny who figured everything out and put two and two together when he put a beautiful mask in Emma’s locker for her to wear at the school dance. That was when she finally broke things off with him. Let that sink in for a second here. Emma broke up with Peter when she realized that he planted drugs in her first love’s locker, but was still in a happy relationship with him after he orchestrated revenge porn on the girl she claimed to be her best friend, and she knew about it. Not only that, but she blamed her best friend for her own problems that she got herself, as well as her best friend, into. Years later, when Emma and Manny were in college, Manny needed a ride to Los Angeles from Toronto to make it to an audition. Her only option was to ask for Peter help. When he hesitates to help Manny, Emma reminds him of what he did to Manny, and he smirks…proudly. Of course he didn’t learn anything. He just treats women like objects. I just found it hilarious that Emma was the one that reminded him of his wrongdoings when she was the one who happily dated him while knowing of his wrongdoings. That’s something that a two-faced, fake person would probably do. But who am I to know?

That’s not to ever say that Manny was a saint. She wasn’t. She made her own share of mistakes, when she encouraged Emma to have a house party to celebrate Liberty’s that turned deadly as Liberty’s ex-boyfriend who she was still in love with was stabbed to death. The difference was, however, that Manny always learned from her mistakes, and she never treated those she loved with disrespect. She never belittled or made another teenage girl feel less than. That was all Emma; and it was all Emma in regard to Liberty. She couldn’t fathom what people would think of her had they found out that her ex-boyfriend and classmate, Chris, dated Liberty right after her. So when she found out that Chris liked Liberty, Emma went ahead with a plan to sabotage the situation. Manny was sure to call her out, and the two even ended their friendship for a while thereafter, which personally, I think was something that should’ve stayed that way.

Liberty always seemed to have been the outsider out of the friends group throughout the years. She was never quite as accepted by neither of her peers. The most notable thing that happened to her throughout her time at Degrassi was her getting pregnant, just like Manny. Unlike Manny, she kept the baby, but only because she pretended like it wasn’t happening until it was too late for her to even be able to make the decision to abort, much like Jenna did in later seasons. What happened to her thereafter was even more tragic. The person she loved was murdered, and she was the last person he saw before he died. They weren’t together, but they were just about to admit their feelings for one another just before he died. Liberty had a difficult time moving on with her life. She didn’t feel like she belonged anywhere with anyone. She started developing feelings for a fellow student. There was only one problem – he was in a relationship with Emma. When Emma found out about it, she was mad at Damien, her boyfriend, but she showed even more anger and dissatisfaction in Liberty, as she considered her to be her friend and couldn’t believe she’d hurt her that way.

All I could do as I watched the entire storyline unfold was ask myself, ‘WHY?!’. Why couldn’t Emma believe Liberty could do such a thing, and was she really angry that she was the cause of Damien’s cheating or was it that she couldn’t believe Damien could like Liberty in the same disgusting way she couldn’t believe Damien could be attracted to Liberty? Nevertheless, Emma and Liberty made up, and so did Manny. Manny was the one who figured out that Liberty and Damien were hooking up behind Emma’s back, and she, by being the better friend than Emma was to her, called Liberty out on it, and she didn’t converse with Liberty thereafter unless she knew Emma forgave her.

The trio graduated Degrassi and started college together. Emma and Manny claimed that the three of them were best friends, but I really beg to differ. Emma certainly had her preferences. Liberty seemed to have felt that she was the outsider of the group too. So much so that she joined a Kappa Kappa Gamma women’s fraternity at her college. All she wanted was to feel like she belonged. She finally felt that she found it, until she found out she was a token addition as they needed someone who was Black. None of the young women there wanted her to be part of the club simply because they liked her for the person that she was.

We didn’t see much of Liberty thereafter, which left her storyline of belongingness fairly unfinished. But at least we know she was there at Emma and Spinner’s wedding, which by the way, came out of absolute nowhere. In a nutshell, Emma wasn’t ever presented as inherently evil, but rather as someone who evolves and experiences significant struggles. This made her a complex and flawed character rather than a consistently ‘good’ person. She was known for her activism and involvement in various causes, but also experienced trauma and developed mental health issues, which certainly affected the entire course of her life. She was depicted as having flaws and making questionable decisions that can be seen as contradictory to being a good person and friend.. To break it down on a more thorough level:

• Prioritizing personal needs over others: Emma’s actions most times prioritized her own feelings and well-being, even when they negatively impacted others. For instance, her pursuit of justice against Sean and his friends, while seemingly well-intentioned, could be interpreted as a way to satisfy her own need for control and validation, rather than truly helping the victims themselves. 
• Inconsistent behavior and emotional outbursts: Emma’s character showed a range of emotional responses, including anger, fear, and anxiety, which could sometimes lead to erratic or hurtful behavior, just as her reaction to Manny trying to help her through her anorexia struggle, which led to her panic attack that landed her in the hospital. Her outbursts during certain scenes, particularly when feeling insecure or threatened, can damage relationships. 
• Dealing with difficult situations in a way that isn’t always kind or understanding: Emma’s struggles with issues like PTSD and anorexia further complicated her portrayal. While she grappled with these challenges, her reactions could be seen as impulsive and sometimes caused harm to those around her. 
• A focus on being seen as “good” can overshadow her actions: While Emma is known for her activism and ‘cause girl’ persona, her actions are not always in line with her ideals. Her romantic involvements and reactions to situations could sometimes clash with her image as a morally upright individual. 

Emma Nelson was l original protagonist in ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation. Young fans were meant to love her and root for her. And we did. We truly wanted her to succeed. She was the passionate environmentalist/protestor with a girl next door personality. She always fought for what she believed in, even if no one else agreed with her. She was dedicated to any cause she fought for, and a lot of it, at least in her mind, was for the greater good. She had a ‘good girl’ image throughout the seasons, but she wasn’t always so innocent. She didn’t want to be seen as innocent, and some of the bad decisions she made were based off of that. She had her ‘go there’ moments, which was always shocking. But despite all of this, no matter what mistake she made or what breakdown she had, she pulled through all of it. She made sure to get back up 10 times harder. She had a high level of strength in her.

This particular blog entry might be perceived as a ‘I Hate Emma Nelson’ type of blog post, but it’s really not. We all live and we learn. We all grow to become better people. With age, comes wisdom; or so I hope. I hope that she’s now a better friend than she was when we saw her. I hope that she’s a better person than she was when we saw her. I hope that she now makes much better decisions than she did when we saw her. I hope that she’s now healed and made a full recovery. This is not a ‘I Hate Emma Nelson’ type of blog post by any means. I wish her nothing more than the very best in life.

I think the biggest misconception about Emma’s character was that she always needed to be perfect. But she wasn’t. It was clear that she wasn’t. We saw Manny learn and grow from her mistakes, but not Emma, and we judged her for it. But we also forgot how old she was. When we last saw her as the show’s main protagonist, she was 19, maybe 20 years old. It’s still the time for a woman to learn and grow. It’s still the time for a woman to be the better version of themselves. It’s still the time for a woman to learn who she is as a person and redefine herself. And yes, Manny was the same age as her. But Manny was a lot more mature than her. Being estranged from one’s parents at such a young age will do the trick. With that being said, I don’t think that Emma and Manny should’ve been friends. Manny deserved better. And I don’t think that Emma and Spinner should’ve gotten married. Many would argue that she should’ve married Sean, but I don’t think that she should’ve gotten married to anyone. She should’ve gotten more time for herself to work on her self-worth, self-growth, and self-acceptance. I don’t think that she was quite there yet in the end. Instead, I would’ve loved to see Manny get married to her boyfriend, Jay. She, unlike Emma, was fully ready to get married, and so was Jay.

When we last saw Emma and Spinner, we saw that they were still happily married, but that’s just not how I would’ve written her off. It’s true that Emma was very misunderstood and overly hated. But if we’re honest, ‘Degrassi’ wouldn’t have been the same without her. We watched her grow up on this show. She went through some crazy storylines, but it was always interesting. And she wasn’t an all-bad character. She showed herself to be a good person too; like when she was the only one who was kind and empathetic to Rick when he was endlessly bullied by practically the entire school after he came back following him being abusive to their friend. She genuinely cared about her friends and tried her hardest to help them, even when it was difficult. Sometimes, her kindness wasn’t genuine, but she did the best she could with what she had (and didn’t have). I just personally wish we saw a different ending to Emma’s arc. And Manny’s. And Liberty’s. They all deserved better than what they were given. And many fans of the entire ‘Degrassi’ franchise agree with me. While she achieved some success, like graduating high school and pursuing higher education, her story often lacked the joyful resolution many fans would have hoped for. Her struggles with trauma, mental health issues, and relationships, along with the overall lack of long-term happiness, contribute to the feeling that she deserved a more positive outcome. To break it down more thoroughly:

• Significant Trauma: Emma experienced a range of traumatic events, including being held at gunpoint and dealing with the aftermath of a stalker, which significantly impacted her emotional well-being. 
• Mental Health Struggles: She grappled with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anorexia nervosa, highlighting the serious challenges she faced in maintaining her mental health. 
• Relationship Difficulties: While she had romantic relationships, they often lacked a lasting sense of happiness and fulfillment, with her relationships with Sean and Toby being particularly turbulent. 
• Lack of Long-Term Joy: Despite her achievements, Emma’s story often felt overshadowed by the challenges she faced. Her struggles with mental health, relationships, and trauma left her story lacking the sense of lasting happiness many fans would have hoped for. She often based her happiness on whoever she was dating at the time.

With that being said, I don’t believe that Emma’s ‘Degrassi’ ending was a ‘happy ending’. Instead, it was the continuation of the long-lasting trauma she was experiencing in her life. Yes, Emma and Spinner were happy on their wedding day. And yes, they did have a good life together thereafter, though it seemed as though Spinner still had more of a connection with Paige, his high school ex, than he did with his own wife. But the truth of the matter is that Emma’s life had previously been marked by several struggles and disappointments, which contributed to a sense of unresolved issues.