No Drake, but still a lot of drama: A look at the 'Degrassi' reunion
There's nothing like a good reunion to make you nostalgic for the high school you didn't go to.
On Friday, Netflix blessed teens (and teens at heart) across the globe with a new season of Degrassi: Next Class. And in that glorious new season, there's a whole episode dedicated to nostalgia called "#ThrowbackThursday" a.k.a. one epic Degrassi Community School reunion.
Yep, they're back, and for an alumni weekend no less. Of course the special reunion falls during a very dramatic time at Degrassi, with racial tensions at an all-time high. But the festivities -- and drama -- must go on.
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Here are some things we noticed from the fifth episode of Season 2.
Peter is the cool older alum
So Peter (Jamie Johnston) actually makes an appearance in a lot of episodes this season. He becomes Maya's (Olivia Scriven) mentor and the one who hires her as an intern the recording studio he works at.
We learn that Peter is still friends with Sav (Raymond Ablack) and Spinner (Shane Kippel).
Jimmy doesn't feel the Degrassi nostalgia
Sadly, Jimmy (a.k.a. Drake a.k.a. Aubrey Graham) was missing. He must have made it big pursuing a music career. Started from the bottom now we here.
Also absent from the reunion: Darcy & Mia
These two had a lot of conflict, some of which stemmed over a shared love for Peter. There's a whole Degrassi Wiki page dedicated to their feud.
During the series, Darcy left for Kenya, breaking Peter's heart. Mia also left Canada, jet-setting to Paris to be a full-time model.
In real life, Shenae Grimes (the actress who played Darcy) and actress Nina Dobrev (Mia) both ended up landing gigs on popular CW shows.
Dobrev was the leading lady in The Vampire Diaries and Grimes starred in the 90210 reboot.
Liberty is still quite the activist
Liberty (Sarah Barrable-Tishauer) is now in law school (killin' it, of course). She arrives at alumni weekend greeted by an enthusiastic but stressed-out student body president Tristan (Lyle Lettau).
Also happening: A good ol' fashioned hallway sit-in, held by Lola (Amanda Arcuri) who was protesting the suspension of boyfriend Tiny Bell (Richard Walters).
Liberty immediately asks to join. Obviously.
Paige & Marco are BFF goals
There's not much more to say about this other than the funniest, sassiest BFF duo is back and dishing unsolicited advice to the next class.
The next class loves Craig as much as the last class did
Craig (Jake Epstein) was always good at serenading the masses. Everyone -- seriously, everyone -- swooned whenever he sang.
Guess time doesn't change much. During the reunion episode, Craig goes up on stage to play a song he will perform at the reunion show.
Tristan, student body president, loves every minute. Don't we all.
Some couples still going strong
It's pretty adorable that Spinner and Emma are married, happy and very in love. In the reunion episode, Spinner even calls Principal Simpson (who is played by executive producer Stefan Brogren) dad. In a later episode he reveals they are even house hunting (how adult!).
And yes, in case you were wondering: Emma (Miriam McDonald) also joined in the protest at the Degrassi reunion.
"That’s heavy and I love your passion," she tells Lola. "You know I went topless for a protest when I went here." Once an activist always an activist.
Lola later calls Emma "that lady" when describing her to another Degrassi student. Ah, youths.
Holly J. Sinclair: The definition of type A
Sorry Tristan, no one runs Degrassi quite like Holly J. Sinclair (Charlotte Arnold). She judged every move Tristan made when it came to planning the weekend festivities, proving her type A personality never went away.
Degrassi has remained a place where it's OK to make mistakes
When Frankie (Sara Waisglass) is wandering the hallways with clear angst, she bumps into Paige and Spinner.
The two give her some sage advice.
Paige: "You can’t run from your mistakes hun."
Spinner: "I did a lot of dumb stuff — I got a boner in class, I kind of cheated on you (Paige), kind of got my best friend (Jimmy) shot."
Paige: "If you’re going to make mistakes, this is great place to do it as long as you learn from them ... If you’re a good person, Degrassi always seems to give you a second chance."
Spinner: "Or third or fourth or fifth."
So true.
Topics Netflix
Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
