Degrassi: The Next Generation/Emma Nelson

Emma Nelson
Degrassi: The Next Generation
Actor	Miriam McDonald
First Appearance	1x01 - Mother and Child Reunion (1)
Last Appearance	6x19 - Don't You Want Me (2)
Series Billing	Billed: seasons 1-6
Episode Count	114
Notable Episodes	2x19 - Fight for Your Right

Basic Information

Emma Nelson was born in June 1988. She is known as the school's "cause girl" because she has arranged many protests and boycotts for various causes. She has evolved from a good, simple character to a complex one over the course of the series; since season 1, she was a fairly undramatic character, having only a few dramatic experiences, until in season 4 when she was held at gunpoint by classmate Rick Murray and has an off and on relationship with Sean Cameron

Character History

Emma began to care about the social aspect of school when she took an interest in Chris Sharpe, and especially in Season 4 when she began making older friends such as Jay and hanging out at the ravine, a drinking and hookup spot for Degrassi teens.

Season 1

Emma was one of the only main characters of the series to appear in the two-part pilot, "Mother and Child Reunion." Serving both as a reunion special for the old Degrassi cast and a new spin-off beginning, the plot in these two episodes alternated between the old cast's issues and Emma's meeting with her supposedly young online crush, Jordan. Jordan turns out to be a man in his 40s attempting to film and rape Emma, who is rescued by Spike and Snake thanks to Manny, J.T., and Toby.

In "Coming of Age", Emma had her first period embarrassingly at school. Manny, who noticed the leak, helped her friend by locating a pair of gym shorts to wear for the rest of the day. After being teased by J.T. and Toby, Emma announces her dilemma and starts a petition for the school to install a tampon dispenser in the girls' washroom.

Throughout season 1, Emma and Sean were clearly interested in each other. Their first date ends horribly when Emma has Sean dig through the trash for her missing wallet which turns out to be in her pocket. Embarrassed, Emma runs home, and they do not get to see the movie. However, the next day, Sean talks to Emma, and they begin a relationship. This ends when Sean pushes Emma to the ground when she attempts to intervene during a fight with Jimmy.

Emma became the main feminist character at Degrassi. She accused the Spirit Squad of being "sexist," and chided Manny for wanting to try out, although her true motive was that she was afraid that Manny would become popular, and effectively ditch her. Eventually, she supported Manny. Emma also started to favour the animal rights organization, PETA.

Season 2

When Snake and Spike begin dating, Emma becomes annoyed by Snake's sudden presence in her life, but eventually warms to their relationship and later showed enthusiasm when they became engaged. When Spike discovers she is pregnant she considers an abortion when Snake states he is not ready to have children. When Emma learns of her mother's condition, she tells Snake and the two resolve their issues and are wed. During the wedding, Sean and Emma rekindle their relationship, though Sean's paranoia causes him to feel her parents look down on him.

Emma's protesting continues in season 2 against the use of genetically modified food in the school cafeteria. A boycott against the food ends badly with a food fight and Emma is suspended for a week for continuing to argue with Mr. Raditch.

Season 3

After Emma was mistaken for Snake's biological daughter at school, she developed a desire to meet her biological father, Shane McKay. After asking Spike about him and getting nowhere, Emma decided to find him herself by using the Internet. She then skipped school along with Craig to search for him. After a series of missteps, Emma and Craig finally found him at a home for the mentally disabled, and it is later revealed that after dropping acid and jumping off a bridge during the original Degrassi Junior High series, Shane landed on his head, causing permanent brain damage, and he was placed in a home by his parents. After Emma and Shane's emotional reunion is cut short by a nurse, Emma gives him her address so he can write to her. Forced to call Joey for a ride home after missing the last train, Emma faces her irate mother. While Emma was angry at her mother for lying to her, she eventually came to see that Spike was just trying to protect her.

While a pregnant Spike was at home, Shane unexpectedly arrived at the house and upon realizing that he was not part of Spike and Emma's lives anymore, he went into a violent rage that sent Spike into labour. Emma eventually discovers her labouring mother, calms Shane down, and calls Snake for help. Emma's half-brother, Jack, was born healthy and happy.

Later in season 3, Emma, dealing with the revelation that Snake had recently been diagnosed with leukemia, as well as being an active member of the environmental club and having the pressures of having to watch the baby, had little time for Sean. Feeling neglected, Sean began taking up with Jay, his girlfriend Alex, and Towerz. Emma was less than pleased with Sean's affiliation with this group of thugs, but wrote it off long enough to make out with Sean in the ravine while they were supposed to be clearing it of trash. The romantic moment was cut short by fellow volunteer Kendra, who quickly ran off after discovering the two. Emma, however, was embarrassed, and got back to work, leaving Sean annoyed. Afterward, Sean confronted Emma about being too uptight, upon which Emma called Sean "pathetic" for hanging with people like Jay. After a heated argument, Sean walked away furious. Trying to reconcile the relationship , Emma was shot down by Sean and gave up on their relationship, leaving Emma crushed. To add insult to injury, Sean helped his new friends steal Snake's brand new laptop so that Jay could get an intake for his car.

While rebounding from her relationship with Sean, a new student named Chris Sharpe caught Emma's eye. With the help of Manny, she dressed up to see him at a rave that Chris was DJing at. The two flirted, but were interrupted by Chris's furious girlfriend, Melanda. After arguing with his girlfriend, Chris returned to Emma, where they talked and eventually kissed. However, Emma quickly decided that it was wrong to date a guy who was already taken, so she apologized and ran off home.

Episodes later, it was learned that Chris and Melanda had broken up, so he began to date Emma. The relationship went well, however Emma was still upset over her breakup with Sean, who now had a new girlfriend. To seek revenge on Sean, she gave Mr. Raditch an anonymous tip that Sean and Jay were stealing various things from school property. Although Emma only suspected them of stealing these things, she over exaggerated the story, which then lead to a search of Jay's car for stolen goods. After nothing was found by police, it became obvious to Sean that the "anonymous tipster" was Emma, and he shouted at her, which landed him in detention. The idea of getting Sean into trouble delighted Emma, so she went to tell Chris of the news. However, when she did, he became upset that she was still seeking revenge on her ex. The two later reconciled and they continued their relationship for the remainder of the school year.

Manny's new look and personality put Emma off; she thought Manny was cheapening herself for popularity and told her as much. Manny was appalled that Emma would refuse to support her the way Manny had always done for Emma. The two continued to be friends, however, until Emma walked in on Manny making out with Craig, who was dating Ashley, on Emma's bed. Manny later called Emma a "prude princess" and Emma retorted that she did not want to be friends with "the school slut". When Manny becomes pregnant, Emma tries to support her. But when Manny decides to get an abortion], it sickens her. Manny and Emma would mostly remain distant at best until late in season 4.

Snake's cancer took a toll on everyone in Emma's family. Then, while doing some work on the computers after school with J.T., Emma discovered Snake's will. Convinced Snake's chemotherapy had failed, Emma buckled under the overwhelming stress. Alex, who had been tormenting Emma since her breakup with Sean, offended her, causing the typically mild-mannered Emma to engage her tormentor in a violent cat-fight in the halls of Degrassi. Later, Emma discovers Snake's chemo had put his cancer in remission.

Season 4

Emma and Chris broke up over the summer, but he wanted to work things out with her and get back together. Liberty suddenly developed a crush on Chris, which Emma soon found out about. Because she was unsure of what people would think, Emma prevented Chris from dating Liberty, who later found out of her scheme and confronted her about it. It was later revealed that Chris did not have an interest in Liberty.

As Emma entered 10th grade, she became friends with Paige and her friends. When Rick returned to Degrassi, she and Paige thought up ideas to make Rick's life hell and force him to leave Degrassi. After protesting for "Students Against Violence", Emma and Paige were able to make the school body despise Rick. In an attempt to buy forgiveness, Rick approached Emma with a cheque for $500 for the cause. This caused Emma to pity Rick, although she denied it in the public eye. To prove to her new friends—and specifically Paige—that she was not softening towards Rick, Emma purposely tripped Rick at The Dot, causing him to spill coffee over himself. Rick then became angry, so Jay began to beat him up. A guilt-ridden Emma then intervened and stopped the fight, and her actions caused her to lose her new friends.

After saving Rick from bullying, Emma, along with Toby, became Rick's only friends in the school. Rick eventually developed a crush on Emma, however she struck his advances down brutally. After being tarred and feathered on television during a 'Whack Your Brain' contest Degrassi had against a rival school, Rick came to Degrassi with a gun. After shooting Jimmy, he attempted to shoot Emma for not accepting his crush on her, but Sean stopped him and, in the struggle, Rick was shot and killed with his own gun.

On a particularly rough day after the shooting, Emma ditched class with Sean, Sean's new girlfriend Ellie and Jay to drive up to Wasaga Beach, where Sean's parents lived. Emma seemed to be reconnecting with Sean when he announced he was moving back home with his parents, effectively ending his relationship with Ellie.

In the aftermath of the shooting and Sean's departure, Emma became melancholy and isolate, distancing herself from everything in her life (it could be inferred she was suffering a small case of post-traumatic stress disorder).

Even though Jay was still dating Alex, he took a liking to Emma, who had recently discovered that girls could "earn" coloured bracelets for performing various sex acts down at the ravine, particularly with Jay. After turning Jay down one night (but illegitimately earning a bracelet anyways), Emma eventually gave into Jay's advances and performed oral sex on him one night. Emma later finds out that she has contracted gonorrhea and is humiliated by the news. She later tells her parents and some friends of her disease, and is comforted by Manny and new friends, Darcy and Chante.

Season 5

At the beginning of season 5, Emma developed a crush on a new boy, Peter. However, he seemed more attracted to Manny than Emma. At a party, Manny got drunk and flashed her breasts to Peter, who filmed them and later emailed the video to the entire school after she rejected him. When Emma discovered this video, she knew who had taken it, and was furious at Manny for doing such a thing, and upset with Peter for taking advantage of Manny. After Manny's parents kicked her out, Emma took pity on her, and allowed her to move in with her.

Later, Peter began flirting with Emma, who initially rejected his advances because of what he did to Manny. Confused about her feelings toward Peter, she planned a revenge with Manny that would involve Emma seducing Peter at a party, stripping him, and taking embarrassing photos of him with her camera phone. However, the plan backfired when they made out in his room, and she realized that they had more in common than she once thought. The couple begin dating afterwards.

After the premiere of movie, Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh, Peter and Emma snuck into the empty theater to be alone. There, they discovered Snake and Ms. Hatzilakos (Peter's mother) kissing. At home, Emma confronted Snake, telling him that she did not know if she would tell Spike or not. Emma later told her mother of Snake's actions, which inevitably led to Spike kicking Snake out of the house. Emma was upset by this, and so both herself and Manny attempted to move Snake back into the house. After several unsuccessful attempts, Snake wooed his wife (by singing to her in front of a crowd in a mall), promised to never cheat again, and moved back in.

When Snake left, Spike and Manny became more dependent on Emma to help around the house. After Manny begged Emma to help her lose weight so she could fit in her jeans again and so she could get an agent, Emma put both of them on a strict diet. They successfully restrained themselves for two days, then gorged themselves on moussaka after Emma invited Snake over in an unsuccessful attempt to reunite him with her mother. Emma was upset that they had undone all their dieting so quickly, and convinced herself and Manny to get rid of it by vomiting.

One day, after catching Manny in the school hallway eating pizza, Emma tries to get Manny to purge it up in the bathroom, but Manny explains that she reached her goal weight and thus no longer needs to diet. An exasperated Emma left the bathroom, but soon became disoriented and fainted. After waking up and having an unpleasant encounter with Ms. Hatzilakos, Emma was found by Manny, cutting out pictures of thin models from magazines as a form of thinspo. Manny then voiced her concerns of Emma's eating habits (or lack thereof), so Emma promised to eat more often in the future. However, she then began secretly purging herself after each meal and keeping up with her food diary. Manny later finds this diary and threatens to tell Spike about it, so in an attempt to shut her up, Emma reveals her relationship with Peter to Manny, who then discontinues her concern for Emma who responds with an equal amount of distaste for her former friend. However, soon Peter begins to notice Emma's odd behaviour and soon talks to Manny about his concerns. The two then inform Spike and Snake, who stage an intervention to help Emma. Unprepared by the sudden questions, Emma undergoes a starvation-induced panic attack, which leaves her unconscious. She later wakes in a hospital, she is diagnosed as being anorexic, and she goes to rehab.

Season 6

After the school shooting, Sean left Degrassi for a while, but soon returned. After an illegal street race, Emma and Sean managed to escape the cops and then made out, despite Emma's relationship with Peter. At school, drugs were found in Sean's locker. He accused Peter, but Emma denied Peter's role in the crime. Sean was later involved in a hit-and-run, which occurred during a race between himself and Peter. When Sean went to Emma for help, she told him that she did not care about him. As a result, Sean turned himself in to the cops. Emma is later informed by Jay about Sean's troubles, and that he is going to court. Emma then attempts to raise money for a proper lawyer for Sean's case, by, at the school costume dance, selling raffle tickets, without permission,but fails and finds a public defender instead. After discovering that it was Peter who planted the drugs in Sean's locker, she breaks up with him.

Emma and Sean later become close once again, and finally decide to have sex while Emma's parents are away for the weekend. The same weekend, however, Manny plans a party at Emma's house, so Sean and Emma's plans are halted. Emma becomes intoxicated at the event and spends the night throwing up. Sean is understanding about the situation and even finds it comical. That same night a Lakehurst student stabbed J.T. in the back. At the hospital, a nurse tells Toby (who lied as being J.T.'s brother) that his aorta was punctured and that he died.

Manny's parents also want her to return back home, so she moves out of Emma's house. Emma became angry at Manny, who acted as if J.T.'s murder had never happened. Emma is later confronted by Snake and admits that she's upset that J.T. is dead and angry because everyone is moving on. Snake points out that everyone is angry but that she cannot turn that anger towards Manny. Emma and Manny later reconcile.

Sean and Emma's relationship has been going perfect and they begin to have sex. However, trouble comes when Snake runs into Emma and Sean buying birth control at a drug store. Emma tells her stepfather that she and her mother had "the talk" already, but Snake gets angry because he is never included in these types of discussions. Emma attempts to talk to her stepfather, but he refuses to listen.

A few days later, Emma delivers a presentation in Snake's class about women and sex and how men, when confronted with sex, cannot handle it at all. She mentioned that all guys have this ideal of women being perfect pure angels but as soon as they did anything remotely sexual they were instantly sluts. After seeing her presentation, Snake tells her that he was just trying to look out for her and was worried about her getting pregnant while still in high school like her mom did, or catching another STD.

Soon, Emma suspects that she's pregnant from Sean. When she learns that Sean had different plans after high school, she becomes really angry and after him asking her what's up several times, she confesses to him that she might be pregnant. After several tests, Emma learns that she's not pregnant. Sean leaves for basic training soon after.

Season 7

Emma shows anxiety when she had not hear from Sean or the university she had applied to, and she only worries more when Manny implies that Emma is rather predictable. After learning of energy drink Purple Dragon's model search for their product, Emma shocks everyone when she tries out, and furthermore is accepted. She enjoys the attention of being one of the sexy spokeswomen for the product at Degrassi, but is disgusted after receiving several inappropriate and sexist comments from several men. After attempting to fight back against the men's behaviour, she's told that it's part of the job and that she must get used to it by Natasha, Emma's superior at Purple Dragon. She also mentions that while wearing the Purple Dragon dress, she is to sell the product and keep her mouth shut. After furthermore being insulted of her weight by Natasha, Emma later takes a stand against the energy drink at a sports rally, and strips nearly-nude to prove her point. As a result, Emma is penalized with several detentions for violating the dress code, but Purple Dragon continues its sponsorship deal with Degrassi, however their marketing policies have since been changed.

When Sean came back, they did not get back together. However, Sean does ask Emma for a new photo showing a possible spark between the two.

In the season finale, Emma finds out that Liberty was making out with her latest boyfriend Damien during their Senior Prom whilst everyone was in the pool by Toby. Liberty is left distraught after everyone finds out, and it wasn't until she delivered her Valedictorian speech that Emma, Manny, and Toby forgive her. Emma tells Liberty that she dumped Damien and that she isn't ready to throw away six years of friendship. They hug, and after they received their diplomas the four of them visit J.T.'s memorial, and Toby leaves the graduation cap on the memorial.

Memorable Moments

got in a fight with Alex during season 3.

Trivia

Emma Nelson is the only student attending Degrassi Community School who appeared in the original two series.

Quotes

"I'm glad I have your 'respect or whatever.'"