The fact that spinner got expelled, cancer, shot, and married and Kendra wasn’t there for any of it never sat right with me. It would’ve been nice to see her be there for spinner through all that. They could’ve had a cute sibling relationship like Alli and Sav
I wish we had gotten some closure for Terri too. She was so close with Ashley and Paige, and had that whole plus size modeling plot, but we never heard anything about her after she was hospitalized from Rick. Yet he got to go back to Degrassi and finish his arc?
It also makes sense for her to change schools. She was attacked by a person from Degrassi and was hospitalized... Her parents made the right decision there. But also, Rick's comeback even makes sense to the entire "shooting inside the school" plot, because they'd never be able to bring any other character into being so bullied to the point of shooting other students... Or, they'd have to make an even worse Peter character solely for this, so it would be kinda unrealistic...
Jahmil French was such a compelling actor, and the way he just disappeared mid season was so disrespectful. At least with Hazel, the other main character who got missing, we had the graduation to at least offer some sort of explanation. Poor Dave. RiP Jahmil.
It's worth mentioning that a majority of the characters that ended up in the black hole were characters of color, which goes to show you these white writers didn't know what they were doing and just wanted diversity without actually doing something about it. Oh and also RIP Jahmil French 🙏😔
I tend to rewatch Degrassi a lot and I agree with Andrea. They had Hazel as the supportive best friend/sidekick for YEARS she deserved better. As a kid I would’ve loved to see more from Hazel and Jimmys relationship and Dave deserved to at least graduate especially after losing Adam
@@vault1021 true I feel like their story could’ve had so much potential. It’s like they got together, he got shot, he developed feelings for Ellie and they broke up. THE END. I was over the Ellie/Jessie storyline real quick
I really would've loved to see Dave and Wes graduate in their class; and it's crazy how a main character like Dave was black holed!! You were spot on about Leia...poor girl, I always pitied her for some reason every time she came on the screen lol.
I always wish we had gotten to see Terri’s reaction to the shooting. Maybe popping up to visit Jimmy in the hospital. And also, Jimmy’s reaction to Sean being the one to take down Rick.
Especially because Adam's death was hinted at before with Dave driving and texting nearly hitting Allie. I really wish we got to fully see Dave's reaction to Adam's death
Spinner actor actually talked about Kendra exit. He said that some higher up on the show simply didn't like her character which is why we never saw more of her.
Derek was such an insufferable prick. Correct me if I’m wrong but i don’t think he ever got punished for beating up Jane. It honestly took me a while to realize Wesley wasn’t in the show anymore. We should’ve gotten to see Dave graduate that wasn’t fair at all. Also Hazel deserved better. Most of the black female characters on this show deserved better.
yesss you're so right for referring to hazel as black-holed. i absolutely agree. the fact that four of her high school friends all live together and go to college and never really mention her (neither do jimmy, spinner, or anyone who knew her) is just so gross like so many characters got brought back for one-episode appearances in the season after they left the show. it happened with leia & holly j. why not give her at least one episode of visiting her friends and family over a holiday or something? the disrespect is unreal
Something that always bugged me after rewatching seasons 1 through 13 was that Claire was Darcy's little sister while Darcy was on the show but after she left, they made it seem like Claire was an only child. Not to mention that so much happened to Claire in the later seasons (Cancer, pregnancy, etc.) but Darcy who you think would show up for isn't around.
You forgot Nadiya, Kendra’s best friend in season 2; Chester in season 6; and Jack Simpson, Emma’s younger half brother who was basically black holed as a toddler by the middle of season 7, and the writers didn’t even bother to enroll Jack into Degrassi for Next Class.
i remember nadia! but i didn't really watch season 1. and those other characters are just super-side filler characters so i don't think the audience really cared what about happened to them (at least i didn't) lol.
I wouldn't count Jack. He was causally mentioned occasionally and I don't think the writers wanted to do any storylines with him. It would have been cool to see him become a character because by the time Next Class started he was a teenager
Okay but Claire's sister was only there long enough to "fix" spinner, get raped, accuse Simpson and then poof off to Africa, and they straight up just never mentioned her again like...Claire was literally the main character for the entire last part of the show. At least say "oh she's fine" or "oh she's comming home for christmas" or "She's absolutely devastated that our parents broke up"
@@nysclips I would count Chester mainly because 2 main characters liked him at once and he was just used as a device to make them fight...but he was not only their new classmate but also Emma's new neighbor at the time, right? That's what makes him disappearing altogether so weird to me, but I guess maybe his family moved away just as quickly as they came in 😆
I never thought of Hazel as a black hole character before until I realized you brought up some excellent points in this video. It would be strange that Paige would never mention her best friend again. I know some people lose touch after high school but Paige was still friends with Spinner and Alex and later roommates with Marco and Ellie. She should have at least got a mention. Andrea Lewis clearly had acting range as seen in the heritage episode but unfortunately they didn't give her much to work with. She was Paige's minion for years until she became Jimmy's girlfriend. I agree that Dave's exit made no sense. He had storylines outside of dating. He showed a lot of character growth and maturity over the many years he was on the show. The scene where he breaks down about that girl he had the affair with getting hit by the car is so well acted. Dave Turner deserved better, at least a graduation. Personally I hope he ended up getting a main role on West Drive and pursued an acting career after he won that contest. It would have been a cool throw back if somehow he was mentioned when Zoe came around. RIP Jamil French Derek was the worst by season 8. His abuse to Jane was taken too far. Most characters are redeemed or become better or at least sympathetic but Derek was the opposite. I guess it's realistic in a way but I do agree it's weird how he disappeared after being on the show with so many storylines. Kendra was mentioned once by Toby that they broke up over the summer. It still doesn't really explain her disappearance though since she was one of the main characters sister. Spinner would mention Kendra in some episodes she wasn't in before her disappearance. After that they acted like she never existed. That interesting that the actress real life brother was in an episode in the later seasons.
I always think it's a little.... weird... whenever writers say they have taken a character as far as they can go or whatever. Like, that is basically just an admission that they aren't creative enough or not good enough writers to come up with something exciting for a character.
I just think that’s BS. I definitely think there was some favoritism that went on when it came to writing for certain characters. They sidelined characters, yet can come up with a dozen storylines for other characters. For example it makes no sense to me why Claire had so many storylines back to back .
@@destinyn63 Exactly. They could come up with the most ridiculous back to back storylines for some characters (e.g. Claire who went from cancer to unwanted teen pregnancy in a love triangle without even a day off)
Hear me out...what if Wesley had gotten Drew's storyline in season 11. Imagine if sweet, goofy Wes is the one who saves his girlfriend from being assaulted and accidentally killed someone. I don't think that his character had reached his full potential, I think that the writers didn't know how to properly divvy up storylines. It's Degrassi, no one should be exempt from a storyline that "goes there".
It was incredibly disrespectful to Jahmil French. The writers were planning to kill off Dave and Jahmil repeatedly tried to refuse the storyline saying it was disrespectful to character. The actress that played Adam decided to leave the show so they switched the storyline. I guess the writers were still upset so Dave was still written out after.
Who cares. Characters in these soap opera type shows get killed off all the time and it's not up to the actor to make the decisions. If it's in the script that's the way it is.
I think Wesley was way too pure and wholesome for Degrassi, and I don't mean that in a bad way. He was definitely one of the most likable characters in the entire franchise even if you did find him boring, he was basically written out before the drama of Degrassi got to him, and I'm glad that happened.
I think Arlene, Hunter's crush, is a good fit for this list. Her character was just dropped for new class and it felt like they were setting her character up to be further explored. I also feel like they could've done more with Wesley. He had just gotten. His first girlfriend so maybe they could've given him more storylines with that.
arlene was black holed because devyn nekoda got a lead role on the show backstage! arlene was just going to be hunter's girlfriend so of course she'd go for the lead role instead ahaha
So what? She wanted to be treated like one of the guys and couldn't handle it. Girls shouldn't play on boys football teams period! Derek didn't do anything wrong, she brought it on herself.
@@nysclipsyeah, I honestly feel that Emma’s storyline about her body issues could have gone to Hazel. And I would’ve loved it if they came up with a storyline where Hazel gets fed up with being casted to the side for either Paige or Jimmy.
Honestly Dave getting black-holed and Connor being the one who gets a finished storyline was not something I saw coming when their trio (Dave, Connor, & Wesley) was first introduced. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with Connors growth as a character throughout the seasons, but Dave had SO much potential. I always wondered if maybe it was a budget issue, and they had to just kick characters out when they had too many cast members, but honestly I’d rather see them complete the storylines of the characters they have before the bring in new ones 😅
I tend to forget Kendra existed because she disappeared pretty early on and after that she never is mentioned by anyone who would be close with her at all. *Rolls neck crack knuckles and proceeds to type* They did Hazel so wrong. She was in six seasons and it took until season 2 for her to get her own episode and it was her being a bigot towards a Muslim when she was Muslim herself. They had Andrea Lewis is of Jamaican decent playa Somali who was embarrassed she covered it up by pretending to be Jamaican and the end Hazel revealed she was Somali and Muslim and that's the story line she got centered around her. She was written to be a terrible singer even though the actress can sing, then the other thing they wrote to be homophobic. She dealt with her boyfriend being shot and the only storyline that included her was her getting caught surfing porn. All of her white friends got multiple storylines. I also thought there was going to be a friendship between Hazel and Manny especially after she lit into Paige whole feud that Manny and Paige were having. I feel so bad for Andrea Lewis. Derek Haig oh boy you know they kind of planted the seed he was going to be a bully in the episode that he slips underwear in Danny's bag and Danny gets framed and accused of stealing and the episode where he basically is looking down on Jimmy for being a coach in a wheelchair, so the seeds were planted but we missed them somehow. I am not sure if they were intentional or not. Then he beats up on by slamming into lockers and kicking in the stomach on school grounds and there didn't seem to be any consequences for Derek doing that to Jane. Okay this may be a far stretch but something about him looks evil and gives white supremacy vibes. I know shouldn't be using those terms but that's how I feel. Also I pray that bastard got expelled. Bleu Chessex is another character I tend to forget about because I guess he didn't have that big of impact except maybe helping Holly J be a nicer person. I thought Leia and Derek were going to go out but whew lord she was boring and a pathological liar. I just remember her lying and doing ballet and being tricked by Chantal into breaking up with Danny but honestly it worked out for the best. Welsely Bettencamp was wasted potential, I mean he had that tall red head as his love interest, he was super smart, and he had so much potential but like a fire sparkle he fizzled out. I don't hate or like him I am just thinking he is a what if character Rest In Peace Jahmil French, Dave was a mixed race character that was phased out for another light skinned character named Dallas. Their names start with D, they both were best friends with Drew, they're athletic and they were Ali love interests. Dave was transphobic and learned to be more accepting and Dallas was homophobic. The only different is that Dallas was a teen father
It's worth noting that Dave before being black-holed was missing from a several episodes where you'd expect him to be with his classmates. He wasn't present to help Clare with the paper and most notably, he wasn't present at K.C.'s farewell.
id also say that tori santamaria was kind of black holed. She played Angela craigs little sister in the early seasons and she was cassie steeles sister in real life. She had alot of storylines in s12 but then they just booted her in s13 to make room for stupid characters like zoe, miles and winston. They did mention her moving away but like? dumb.
It’s kind of weird that Spinners adopted sister Kendra, just miraculously mysteriously disappeared without an explanation. Like after she disappeared, it’s like she never exist at all. As nobody seem to mention her again, not even her adopted big brother ever mention her at all. After she just gone on the show all of a sudden.
I'm rewatching Degrassi TNG and I wish Kendra had more screen time like she could've been an entrigal part of the cast and Spinner's life. I enjoyed the time that she was on for. And don't even get me started on how they made Angela become Tori like having Craig's little sister be at Degrassi would've been a great way to keep it all connected but Next Class felt so distant
Did my boy Dave dirty really hate the writers for that. I mean if there is no stories to give characters like Dave and the others mentioned then at least bother to send them off instead of pretending they never existed it just shows production’s incompetence. I can only imagine how these actors felt about just basically being told that their story is over and there is nothing left for them.
yes in the episodes about the I Hate Holly J Club there’s a point where it shows some of the comments being made towards her with one being from him like that it’s a death threat or some crazy thing so him being expelled with that being his last episode has a lot of credence to me
I genuinely believe a lot of these characters were never written back in again because of lack of viewer interest. Degrassi gave me the vibe of where: they’d release an episode or 2-parter, get the global audiences opinion on it, and decide from there. This seems like a show that does a lot to stay relevant.
Hazel wasnt black holed she just graduated and she probably went to a far away college where she wasn’t lingering around and that seems to set the precedent for characters later in the series. If you graduate and you’re never mentioned again, that’s basically getting closure for your character. I do agree she should’ve gotten more stories.
Angela..Craig's sister could have literally taken Alli's role...since she too was born in 1996😒 even with joey s absence she could have stayed with simpson since he was like her uncle💁🏽♂️
The actress that played Angela is actually Manny's real-life little sister and she comes back in later seasons as Tori. It never made any sense to me why they didn't just bring Angela back in place of Tori.
Truest statement I’ve ever heard. Weeks would pass and you would ask where is this guy at then someone would tell you oh he got expelled or his parents moved
Wesley was like Toby, only funnier. I think they could have done something with him. Nerd characters can be explored and given dimension. His interest in skateboarding isn't really a " nerd" thing. He even got a girl through that sport, and yes it is a sport, even if it is not a school team. He played the flute and was briefly in a band, a good band in fact. This kid was well rounded, not just a nerd. He was socially awkward for sure, and maybe we could have gotten into the reasons why.
My Theory about Kendra could've been about that she transferred schools. But she transferred to a Prep School in the United States. She did have talents in show, so she got recruited for Hockey by the Coach at the Prep School. Recruited on a Full Ride Scholarship. I mean, that would explain why she wasn't there for Spinner due to the fact she was in Prep School focusing on her Studies, New Friends, and her Hockey Career. Probably even stayed in the United States just to stick with her life there. I don't know if there was ever any mention of relatives in the states, so I decided to say that the Masons had relatives nearby for Kendra to stay at over the summer or breaks. Kendra was a scholar athlete at the Prep School and succeeded there.
@@nysclips I could've sworn it was Derek. Johnny had straight hair when it was short and I thought I saw curls but it wasn't a super close shot, it was kind of an zoomed out view.
I'd argue that Toby was the biggest example of the black hole. He got downgraded to guest star out of nowhere only to stop appearing the moment he graduated (aside from a cameo that barely gave an indication of his future, even though we got to see other characters experience college and work life). While he did participate in important subplots during his last period on the show, one of them was the one with Holly J., which went nowhere and felt like a waste of time. Not what you'd expected from one of the few people that appeared in the very first episode (something that implied that they were supposed to be the truly main characters).
Still upset about Dave RIP Jahmil French. Me and my friends were always had running joke when we broke up with an ex saying they got black holed in season (whatever age we were at the time)
leia was a completely pointless character but she was in more episodes. she became anyas best friend while larping for several episodes and then she was dannys girlfriend for a while as well. she had a storyline where she was lying to impress dannys friends as well.
The reason Kendra left was because the show pretty much gave up on Tobey’s character. Despite being a OG character the show kind of just gave up on the character the last few season he was in. He basically acted as a side character. I feel the only reason they didn’t write him off was because he was OG next gen and the writer were reluctant to write of two main characters having already killed of JT by that point. So they basically made him a side character only around to help other characters storylines . He really had no real storylines in his later season, The storyline he did have were one off storylines that last a episode at most and were usually more about someone else them him.
dave got less and less storylines and they really messed his character up just to push more story for dallas. There was no reason for Dave and Alli to stay apart after she decided not to go to MIT but all of a sudden has more time for everything. Also a main story point for Dave early on was that he couldnt sing a note and they used autotune and he hated it. But then all of a sudden hes an amazing singer and has a staring role in Romeo and Jules? I thought that was so dumb.
I do have an issue when it comes to writers saying they use characters to their full extend. When there are certain characters who get storyline after storyline. They could have done bullying storyline with Wes. I 100% agree with you on everything esp on Jahmil French. I do believe Jahmil left the show in not very good terms, I do rmr Jahmil French posting on twitter that he should have taken ass kissing lesson instead of acting lesson, that comment was like when season 13 was in the works.I am sure that was aimed at Degrassi creators. Since when a fan ask him if he was still in Degrassi, he said he was off to bigger and better things.
@@pleaseshutup7053 Nothing is said about him being expelled and where was that because it surely wasn't in the last scene we see him in which was right before the end credits.
i dont know if its a theory or if the writers did confirm it but i read somewhere that dave disappeared in s13-14 bcs he got a bigger part on west drive (the show he won a guest role for in a talent show in an episode)
wesley was a good character and he was one of the only friends that connor had and accepted him for who he was. I could see the reason them letting him go because connor was absent for that long period. they could have kept him around longer. Around season 12 and 13 they really lost their way with stories and too many characters being introduced. The whole france era was super stupid and boring.
I know you don't like her but Jack Jones (girl who dated Imogen) was also balck holed. She was Class of 2015 but was never seen again after Class of 2014 graduated.
I'm still so pressed about Wesley cause why tf they get rid of him cause I liked him a lot. I truly think that was a waste of a character when they had other characters nobody liked. I disliked Dave and Wesley could've taken his place in these storylines and yes I hate that Dave gets removed but he was a terrible character no matter how much I loved his actor.
I haven’t finished Degrassi so the part who is Dave might be coming up soon cause I’m on season 12 at the moment, but it’s sad to hear that because I had a love-hate relationship with his character and he definitely became very likable at the end of the show so it sucks that they just kicked him off
To a certain degree Spike was black holed, considering Snake kept showing up without ever talking about his home life. Bruce was black holed with only a mention that he would not graduate - not that he had fully dropped out. If you count Next Class, Jack Jones is not brought up at all and is treated to have never existed.
i feel like her time on the show was just done and it didn't need an explanation. emma wasn't there so there wasn't really any point of spike being there. and the focus on simpson at that point was about him being the new principle! so i feel like spike didn't really need a write-off story. but i can see how people would wonder what she's doing while simpson holds things down at degrassi
Baby the way Hazel threw her hat up at graduation in the most nonchalant way i knew she was over that character and show 🤣💀🎓👩🏾🎓
lmaooo i don't remember that imma have to rewatch that episode
@@nysclips please do! She was the only one not excited about it 😅
I noticed that too. 🤣
@@bredrew1990 Glad I'm not the only one lol
@@dizzybabe707 She was like "I'm done with this show." 😂
The fact that spinner got expelled, cancer, shot, and married and Kendra wasn’t there for any of it never sat right with me. It would’ve been nice to see her be there for spinner through all that. They could’ve had a cute sibling relationship like Alli and Sav
I'm pissed they let him back in. Like no.
Why did it piss you off? He made amends
@@oooh19 He got a student shot. There's no excuse for that.
Darcy too though.
@@chaosspy6723 how was he supposed to know that rick would shoot someone? he should’ve never gotten rick mad at jimmy but the shooting is all on rick
I wish we had gotten some closure for Terri too. She was so close with Ashley and Paige, and had that whole plus size modeling plot, but we never heard anything about her after she was hospitalized from Rick. Yet he got to go back to Degrassi and finish his arc?
they mentioned a few times how she went to another school but yeah she definitely deserved better!
@@nysclips I'm sorry, I guess I missed those moments!
I think it was from a deleted scene where they mentioned she transferred.
@@lindseycassella3015 nope it was in the show
It also makes sense for her to change schools. She was attacked by a person from Degrassi and was hospitalized... Her parents made the right decision there. But also, Rick's comeback even makes sense to the entire "shooting inside the school" plot, because they'd never be able to bring any other character into being so bullied to the point of shooting other students... Or, they'd have to make an even worse Peter character solely for this, so it would be kinda unrealistic...
Fun fact Leia chang left the show because she was accepted to Harvard
wow!! good for her i completely forgot to research her and blue because i just did not care about their characters enough lol. thanks for that fact!
@@nysclips it wasn’t her character. Her actress in real life got accepted to Harvard. The commenter worded it weird
@@MG-bt2xs I think she knows what they meant (not in a rude way u can’t really tell my tone when typing)
@@MG-bt2xs i knew they were talking about the actor haha thanks tho!
Jahmil French was such a compelling actor, and the way he just disappeared mid season was so disrespectful. At least with Hazel, the other main character who got missing, we had the graduation to at least offer some sort of explanation. Poor Dave. RiP Jahmil.
It's worth mentioning that a majority of the characters that ended up in the black hole were characters of color, which goes to show you these white writers didn't know what they were doing and just wanted diversity without actually doing something about it.
Oh and also RIP Jahmil French 🙏😔
Nobody misses Derek. (I don't mean the actor. He's good. I meant the CHARACTER).
Here’s the link to your pointttttt th-cam.com/video/TcKjYHDY9dE/w-d-xo.html
Yes, Marc is a good actor, and seemed like a pretty good guy from the documentary.
Pretty hilarious too that his last lines were that he was going to bring the rope to Holly J. My guess is that he got expelled for "making threats".
Zero tolerance
I tend to rewatch Degrassi a lot and I agree with Andrea. They had Hazel as the supportive best friend/sidekick for YEARS she deserved better. As a kid I would’ve loved to see more from Hazel and Jimmys relationship and Dave deserved to at least graduate especially after losing Adam
Their relationship was at least more interesting than Ellie/Jessie’s workplace love dilemma 😴😭
@@vault1021 true I feel like their story could’ve had so much potential. It’s like they got together, he got shot, he developed feelings for Ellie and they broke up. THE END. I was over the Ellie/Jessie storyline real quick
I was saddened to hear of Jahmil French's passing in 2021.
I really would've loved to see Dave and Wes graduate in their class; and it's crazy how a main character like Dave was black holed!! You were spot on about Leia...poor girl, I always pitied her for some reason every time she came on the screen lol.
That's what I'm saying
I always wish we had gotten to see Terri’s reaction to the shooting. Maybe popping up to visit Jimmy in the hospital. And also, Jimmy’s reaction to Sean being the one to take down Rick.
Dave getting written off was criminal.
very!
Especially because Adam's death was hinted at before with Dave driving and texting nearly hitting Allie. I really wish we got to fully see Dave's reaction to Adam's death
Spinner actor actually talked about Kendra exit. He said that some higher up on the show simply didn't like her character which is why we never saw more of her.
interesting
Derek was such an insufferable prick. Correct me if I’m wrong but i don’t think he ever got punished for beating up Jane. It honestly took me a while to realize Wesley wasn’t in the show anymore. We should’ve gotten to see Dave graduate that wasn’t fair at all. Also Hazel deserved better. Most of the black female characters on this show deserved better.
all facts! and no derek was not really punished
@@nysclips Because the Shep was principal. He was as abominable a character as Derek.
yesss you're so right for referring to hazel as black-holed. i absolutely agree. the fact that four of her high school friends all live together and go to college and never really mention her (neither do jimmy, spinner, or anyone who knew her) is just so gross like so many characters got brought back for one-episode appearances in the season after they left the show. it happened with leia & holly j. why not give her at least one episode of visiting her friends and family over a holiday or something? the disrespect is unreal
FACTS
Something that always bugged me after rewatching seasons 1 through 13 was that Claire was Darcy's little sister while Darcy was on the show but after she left, they made it seem like Claire was an only child. Not to mention that so much happened to Claire in the later seasons (Cancer, pregnancy, etc.) but Darcy who you think would show up for isn't around.
well shenae was very busy with 90210 so she probably wouldn't have come back anyway. but yes she definitely should have been mentioned.
You forgot Nadiya, Kendra’s best friend in season 2; Chester in season 6; and Jack Simpson, Emma’s younger half brother who was basically black holed as a toddler by the middle of season 7, and the writers didn’t even bother to enroll Jack into Degrassi for Next Class.
i remember nadia! but i didn't really watch season 1. and those other characters are just super-side filler characters so i don't think the audience really cared what about happened to them (at least i didn't) lol.
I wouldn't count Jack. He was causally mentioned occasionally and I don't think the writers wanted to do any storylines with him. It would have been cool to see him become a character because by the time Next Class started he was a teenager
Okay but Claire's sister was only there long enough to "fix" spinner, get raped, accuse Simpson and then poof off to Africa, and they straight up just never mentioned her again like...Claire was literally the main character for the entire last part of the show. At least say "oh she's fine" or "oh she's comming home for christmas" or "She's absolutely devastated that our parents broke up"
I heard Jack was planned to have his own arc after the 4th season of next class, but it ended up getting canceled instead of renewed.
@@nysclips I would count Chester mainly because 2 main characters liked him at once and he was just used as a device to make them fight...but he was not only their new classmate but also Emma's new neighbor at the time, right? That's what makes him disappearing altogether so weird to me, but I guess maybe his family moved away just as quickly as they came in 😆
I never thought of Hazel as a black hole character before until I realized you brought up some excellent points in this video. It would be strange that Paige would never mention her best friend again. I know some people lose touch after high school but Paige was still friends with Spinner and Alex and later roommates with Marco and Ellie. She should have at least got a mention. Andrea Lewis clearly had acting range as seen in the heritage episode but unfortunately they didn't give her much to work with. She was Paige's minion for years until she became Jimmy's girlfriend.
I agree that Dave's exit made no sense. He had storylines outside of dating. He showed a lot of character growth and maturity over the many years he was on the show. The scene where he breaks down about that girl he had the affair with getting hit by the car is so well acted. Dave Turner deserved better, at least a graduation. Personally I hope he ended up getting a main role on West Drive and pursued an acting career after he won that contest. It would have been a cool throw back if somehow he was mentioned when Zoe came around. RIP Jamil French
Derek was the worst by season 8. His abuse to Jane was taken too far. Most characters are redeemed or become better or at least sympathetic but Derek was the opposite. I guess it's realistic in a way but I do agree it's weird how he disappeared after being on the show with so many storylines.
Kendra was mentioned once by Toby that they broke up over the summer. It still doesn't really explain her disappearance though since she was one of the main characters sister. Spinner would mention Kendra in some episodes she wasn't in before her disappearance. After that they acted like she never existed. That interesting that the actress real life brother was in an episode in the later seasons.
Hazel was mentioned in season 6 by Ashley of all people when she saw a drawing of her in Jimmy's scrapbook or whatever it's called.
I always think it's a little.... weird... whenever writers say they have taken a character as far as they can go or whatever. Like, that is basically just an admission that they aren't creative enough or not good enough writers to come up with something exciting for a character.
I just think that’s BS. I definitely think there was some favoritism that went on when it came to writing for certain characters. They sidelined characters, yet can come up with a dozen storylines for other characters. For example it makes no sense to me why Claire had so many storylines back to back .
@@destinyn63 Exactly. They could come up with the most ridiculous back to back storylines for some characters (e.g. Claire who went from cancer to unwanted teen pregnancy in a love triangle without even a day off)
this is very true
Hear me out...what if Wesley had gotten Drew's storyline in season 11. Imagine if sweet, goofy Wes is the one who saves his girlfriend from being assaulted and accidentally killed someone. I don't think that his character had reached his full potential, I think that the writers didn't know how to properly divvy up storylines.
It's Degrassi, no one should be exempt from a storyline that "goes there".
that would've been so great. yeah they should've given him something dramatic as a turning point for his arc it would've been interesting
I just thought Wesley could have been the nerdy guy that learned about himself and high school. He could of grown as a person on Degrassi IMO
He could have grown like Conor did.
i haven't made it to adam's tribute episode but I did look up dave on the degrassi wiki only to find out his actor passed away in 2021 :(
It was incredibly disrespectful to Jahmil French. The writers were planning to kill off Dave and Jahmil repeatedly tried to refuse the storyline saying it was disrespectful to character. The actress that played Adam decided to leave the show so they switched the storyline. I guess the writers were still upset so Dave was still written out after.
WHAT? 😡I have some problems with these writers lol. He deserved so much better.
Who cares. Characters in these soap opera type shows get killed off all the time and it's not up to the actor to make the decisions. If it's in the script that's the way it is.
I hate the way they did hazel fr like she could have been so much
Spinner and Kendra only talked like twice. And they had so much potential especially with her being adopted.
I think Wesley was way too pure and wholesome for Degrassi, and I don't mean that in a bad way. He was definitely one of the most likable characters in the entire franchise even if you did find him boring, he was basically written out before the drama of Degrassi got to him, and I'm glad that happened.
Hazels character definitely deserved more than what the writers gave her
Dave was my favorite. They literally had a huge show storyline featuring Dave with the Romeo and Jewels storyline
I think Arlene, Hunter's crush, is a good fit for this list. Her character was just dropped for new class and it felt like they were setting her character up to be further explored.
I also feel like they could've done more with Wesley. He had just gotten. His first girlfriend so maybe they could've given him more storylines with that.
arlene was black holed because devyn nekoda got a lead role on the show backstage! arlene was just going to be hunter's girlfriend so of course she'd go for the lead role instead ahaha
@@woahmorganx i freaking loved that show too
@@nysclips me too! it was so good and deserved a third season 😩😩
After Derek helped beat up Jane, I was done caring about him.
he did't even help, he STARTED it, lmao
So what? She wanted to be treated like one of the guys and couldn't handle it. Girls shouldn't play on boys football teams period! Derek didn't do anything wrong, she brought it on herself.
One of Emma’s or Paige’s storylines could’ve went to Hazel tbh
right!
@@nysclipsyeah, I honestly feel that Emma’s storyline about her body issues could have gone to Hazel. And I would’ve loved it if they came up with a storyline where Hazel gets fed up with being casted to the side for either Paige or Jimmy.
Eggbert the egg from DJH was more relevant than Blue Chessex and Leia Chang.
What was also funny is they had these characters in the opening credits and they had little to no screen time.
Honestly Dave getting black-holed and Connor being the one who gets a finished storyline was not something I saw coming when their trio (Dave, Connor, & Wesley) was first introduced. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy with Connors growth as a character throughout the seasons, but Dave had SO much potential.
I always wondered if maybe it was a budget issue, and they had to just kick characters out when they had too many cast members, but honestly I’d rather see them complete the storylines of the characters they have before the bring in new ones 😅
I tend to forget Kendra existed because she disappeared pretty early on and after that she never is mentioned by anyone who would be close with her at all.
*Rolls neck crack knuckles and proceeds to type* They did Hazel so wrong. She was in six seasons and it took until season 2 for her to get her own episode and it was her being a bigot towards a Muslim when she was Muslim herself. They had Andrea Lewis is of Jamaican decent playa Somali who was embarrassed she covered it up by pretending to be Jamaican and the end Hazel revealed she was Somali and Muslim and that's the story line she got centered around her. She was written to be a terrible singer even though the actress can sing, then the other thing they wrote to be homophobic. She dealt with her boyfriend being shot and the only storyline that included her was her getting caught surfing porn. All of her white friends got multiple storylines. I also thought there was going to be a friendship between Hazel and Manny especially after she lit into Paige whole feud that Manny and Paige were having. I feel so bad for Andrea Lewis.
Derek Haig oh boy you know they kind of planted the seed he was going to be a bully in the episode that he slips underwear in Danny's bag and Danny gets framed and accused of stealing and the episode where he basically is looking down on Jimmy for being a coach in a wheelchair, so the seeds were planted but we missed them somehow. I am not sure if they were intentional or not. Then he beats up on by slamming into lockers and kicking in the stomach on school grounds and there didn't seem to be any consequences for Derek doing that to Jane. Okay this may be a far stretch but something about him looks evil and gives white supremacy vibes. I know shouldn't be using those terms but that's how I feel. Also I pray that bastard got expelled.
Bleu Chessex is another character I tend to forget about because I guess he didn't have that big of impact except maybe helping Holly J be a nicer person.
I thought Leia and Derek were going to go out but whew lord she was boring and a pathological liar. I just remember her lying and doing ballet and being tricked by Chantal into breaking up with Danny but honestly it worked out for the best.
Welsely Bettencamp was wasted potential, I mean he had that tall red head as his love interest, he was super smart, and he had so much potential but like a fire sparkle he fizzled out. I don't hate or like him I am just thinking he is a what if character
Rest In Peace Jahmil French, Dave was a mixed race character that was phased out for another light skinned character named Dallas. Their names start with D, they both were best friends with Drew, they're athletic and they were Ali love interests. Dave was transphobic and learned to be more accepting and Dallas was homophobic. The only different is that Dallas was a teen father
It's worth noting that Dave before being black-holed was missing from a several episodes where you'd expect him to be with his classmates. He wasn't present to help Clare with the paper and most notably, he wasn't present at K.C.'s farewell.
id also say that tori santamaria was kind of black holed. She played Angela craigs little sister in the early seasons and she was cassie steeles sister in real life. She had alot of storylines in s12 but then they just booted her in s13 to make room for stupid characters like zoe, miles and winston. They did mention her moving away but like? dumb.
I didn’t mind them adding Miles or Zoe, I really like Miles. But, they should’ve kept Tori.
@angelnyambio5704 miles turned into a great character in the end. But at the time they just added like so many new characters that were so unnecessary
@@SuperAwesome19 oh yeah, they were and no offense to Winston and the others, but I totally forgot about them. Winston, especially.
@angelnyambio5704 I forgot all about him until I rewatch and I was like oh ya
@@SuperAwesome19 Ohh, that makes complete sense.
Hazel move to America to attend a HBCU (Howard) that's the story I made up for her lol!
It’s kind of weird that Spinners adopted sister Kendra, just miraculously mysteriously disappeared without an explanation.
Like after she disappeared, it’s like she never exist at all. As nobody seem to mention her again, not even her adopted big brother ever mention her at all.
After she just gone on the show all of a sudden.
I'm rewatching Degrassi TNG and I wish Kendra had more screen time like she could've been an entrigal part of the cast and Spinner's life. I enjoyed the time that she was on for.
And don't even get me started on how they made Angela become Tori like having Craig's little sister be at Degrassi would've been a great way to keep it all connected but Next Class felt so distant
Did my boy Dave dirty really hate the writers for that. I mean if there is no stories to give characters like Dave and the others mentioned then at least bother to send them off instead of pretending they never existed it just shows production’s incompetence. I can only imagine how these actors felt about just basically being told that their story is over and there is nothing left for them.
Not only these black hole characters but also.... why was Chantay at Degrassi for sooo long?
yes in the episodes about the I Hate Holly J Club there’s a point where it shows some of the comments being made towards her with one being from him like that it’s a death threat or some crazy thing so him being expelled with that being his last episode has a lot of credence to me
Derek went on to become Jack Harlow.
I genuinely believe a lot of these characters were never written back in again because of lack of viewer interest. Degrassi gave me the vibe of where: they’d release an episode or 2-parter, get the global audiences opinion on it, and decide from there. This seems like a show that does a lot to stay relevant.
Hazel wasnt black holed she just graduated and she probably went to a far away college where she wasn’t lingering around and that seems to set the precedent for characters later in the series. If you graduate and you’re never mentioned again, that’s basically getting closure for your character. I do agree she should’ve gotten more stories.
Angela..Craig's sister could have literally taken Alli's role...since she too was born in 1996😒 even with joey s absence she could have stayed with simpson since he was like her uncle💁🏽♂️
The actress that played Angela is actually Manny's real-life little sister and she comes back in later seasons as Tori. It never made any sense to me why they didn't just bring Angela back in place of Tori.
thank god derek was blackholed he was nothing but stress
Dave was a significant character.
Man the Dave one still stings
Yeh
I mean, wasn't that like real school? People started school and then just dissappeared one day, and no one knew why.
Savage but true shit girl I i didn’t think about that
Truest statement I’ve ever heard. Weeks would pass and you would ask where is this guy at then someone would tell you oh he got expelled or his parents moved
I love your videos! You don't push any agendas. Your videos are informative, fun, and a breath of fresh air!
aw thank you sm!!
I wish leia had plot lines about ballet and dealing with dancing as a teen.
Stopped watching back in the day when Eli and Claire broke up… I had no idea Dave didn’t make it to graduation 🤦🏾♂️
Wesley was like Toby, only funnier. I think they could have done something with him. Nerd characters can be explored and given dimension. His interest in skateboarding isn't really a " nerd" thing. He even got a girl through that sport, and yes it is a sport, even if it is not a school team. He played the flute and was briefly in a band, a good band in fact. This kid was well rounded, not just a nerd. He was socially awkward for sure, and maybe we could have gotten into the reasons why.
Wes was cute though as well
Rip Jahmil French, I watched the whole show and I liked a lot of the characters but Dave was my favorite
Blue was just a guy for us to say "who?" whenever we would see him in the intro.
My Theory about Kendra could've been about that she transferred schools. But she transferred to a Prep School in the United States. She did have talents in show, so she got recruited for Hockey by the Coach at the Prep School. Recruited on a Full Ride Scholarship. I mean, that would explain why she wasn't there for Spinner due to the fact she was in Prep School focusing on her Studies, New Friends, and her Hockey Career. Probably even stayed in the United States just to stick with her life there. I don't know if there was ever any mention of relatives in the states, so I decided to say that the Masons had relatives nearby for Kendra to stay at over the summer or breaks. Kendra was a scholar athlete at the Prep School and succeeded there.
I thought Derek graduated with the rest of his class, he even took a picture with danny
RIP jahmil 🙏❤️😭🙏
Blue Chessex sounds like a name for a horse.
Derek is briefly seen talking to Danny at graduation with the class of 2009 and one of them says something like "Man why am I talking to you"
that's Johnny
@@nysclips I could've sworn it was Derek. Johnny had straight hair when it was short and I thought I saw curls but it wasn't a super close shot, it was kind of an zoomed out view.
Marc Donato is underrated.. look up his credits he done some good work
i'd like to check out some of his other work
@@nysclips pay it forward watch it, it's good
And he tried to humanize his character of Derek. The writers just didn't give him much to work with.
Love this how they wrote off a lot of characters part 2
I'd argue that Toby was the biggest example of the black hole. He got downgraded to guest star out of nowhere only to stop appearing the moment he graduated (aside from a cameo that barely gave an indication of his future, even though we got to see other characters experience college and work life). While he did participate in important subplots during his last period on the show, one of them was the one with Holly J., which went nowhere and felt like a waste of time. Not what you'd expected from one of the few people that appeared in the very first episode (something that implied that they were supposed to be the truly main characters).
Still upset about Dave RIP Jahmil French. Me and my friends were always had running joke when we broke up with an ex saying they got black holed in season (whatever age we were at the time)
Same I was shocked when I heard about this
leia was a completely pointless character but she was in more episodes. she became anyas best friend while larping for several episodes and then she was dannys girlfriend for a while as well. she had a storyline where she was lying to impress dannys friends as well.
Honestly, she really was just a replacement for Kendra. They should’ve brought back Kendra
The reason Kendra left was because the show pretty much gave up on Tobey’s character. Despite being a OG character the show kind of just gave up on the character the last few season he was in. He basically acted as a side character. I feel the only reason they didn’t write him off was because he was OG next gen and the writer were reluctant to write of two main characters having already killed of JT by that point. So they basically made him a side character only around to help other characters storylines . He really had no real storylines in his later season, The storyline he did have were one off storylines that last a episode at most and were usually more about someone else them him.
dave got less and less storylines and they really messed his character up just to push more story for dallas. There was no reason for Dave and Alli to stay apart after she decided not to go to MIT but all of a sudden has more time for everything. Also a main story point for Dave early on was that he couldnt sing a note and they used autotune and he hated it. But then all of a sudden hes an amazing singer and has a staring role in Romeo and Jules? I thought that was so dumb.
I do have an issue when it comes to writers saying they use characters to their full extend. When there are certain characters who get storyline after storyline. They could have done bullying storyline with Wes. I 100% agree with you on everything esp on Jahmil French. I do believe Jahmil left the show in not very good terms, I do rmr Jahmil French posting on twitter that he should have taken ass kissing lesson instead of acting lesson, that comment was like when season 13 was in the works.I am sure that was aimed at Degrassi creators. Since when a fan ask him if he was still in Degrassi, he said he was off to bigger and better things.
This is exactly how I felt... especially with how they did Dave. Grear video!
I never knew that guy was Kendra’s brother in real life!
I'm sure Dereks last scene was actually at the end of that episode where he teases Holly J about hanging her with a rope, not the cafeteria scene.
you're right
The theory is, he got expelled for making that comment.
@@scottmcneely1927 Makes sense, too bad the show didn't bother to actually making it a thing than making this dude vanish off the face of the earth.
He got expelled for bringing the noose you can hear on the intercom in that scene Derek haig report to the principals office
@@pleaseshutup7053 Nothing is said about him being expelled and where was that because it surely wasn't in the last scene we see him in which was right before the end credits.
Ashley did mention Hazel when she got back together when Jimmy when she got mad that Jimmy drew a picture of Hazel and not her
Season 2 episode 5 (#ThrowbackThursday) of Next Class I spotted Derrick in the back when Frankie was performing he looked the same just had a goatee
Derek was just an extra in next class? Lol
@@richardr3511 yup! Kinda like a blink if you miss it kinda thing
i dont know if its a theory or if the writers did confirm it but i read somewhere that dave disappeared in s13-14 bcs he got a bigger part on west drive (the show he won a guest role for in a talent show in an episode)
You forgot abt Darcy! Like her parents got divorced, and her sister got cancer, but she still didn't come home from africa! 😅
Tell ‘em why I never even realized all these like almost main characters literally disappeared I genuinely never noticed
Me**
RIP Dave😢😢💔
I love how Sully’s ridiculous ass wasn’t even mentioned. I understand that he was a bit of a glorified side character but he SUCKED.
who is sully LMAO
@@nysclips the guy Manny sort of dated after her glow up. Looked like a water buffalo and acted like an ass.
They should’ve pulled the trigger on Wesley & Anya.
wesley was a good character and he was one of the only friends that connor had and accepted him for who he was. I could see the reason them letting him go because connor was absent for that long period. they could have kept him around longer. Around season 12 and 13 they really lost their way with stories and too many characters being introduced. The whole france era was super stupid and boring.
Yea season 13 was irritating to watch especially when Zoey was introduced I hated her with a passion and clare was annoying as hell.
Yayyy. So good to see you!
i'm glad to see you too!
I know you don't like her but Jack Jones (girl who dated Imogen) was also balck holed. She was Class of 2015 but was never seen again after Class of 2014 graduated.
The sad thing about the actor of Dave Turner he actually passed away in a lot of people think it was his choice
You forgot about Chris 😭
I agree with hazel & Kendra
Everybody else was either boring annoying
I'm still so pressed about Wesley cause why tf they get rid of him cause I liked him a lot. I truly think that was a waste of a character when they had other characters nobody liked. I disliked Dave and Wesley could've taken his place in these storylines and yes I hate that Dave gets removed but he was a terrible character no matter how much I loved his actor.
I haven’t finished Degrassi so the part who is Dave might be coming up soon cause I’m on season 12 at the moment, but it’s sad to hear that because I had a love-hate relationship with his character and he definitely became very likable at the end of the show so it sucks that they just kicked him off
What about Miss Kwan? Was she blackholed?
Mia daughter was adorable. I would of loved seeing more screen time. Maybe the real family could of made a camio appearance or something.
Lea only got one storyline . We're shes a compulsive lying bad girl . Id leave too .
Anya BORED ME TO DEATH!!
To a certain degree Spike was black holed, considering Snake kept showing up without ever talking about his home life. Bruce was black holed with only a mention that he would not graduate - not that he had fully dropped out. If you count Next Class, Jack Jones is not brought up at all and is treated to have never existed.
i feel like her time on the show was just done and it didn't need an explanation. emma wasn't there so there wasn't really any point of spike being there. and the focus on simpson at that point was about him being the new principle! so i feel like spike didn't really need a write-off story. but i can see how people would wonder what she's doing while simpson holds things down at degrassi
@@nysclips Or maybe Snake got smart and divorced her.
You forgot ab Terri, Keisha, and Jack tho 😭
Chester from season 4 literally vanished without a trace
he was more of a filler character that i only remember from like 2 episodes so i didn't care for an explanation on what happened to him LOL
Derek was expelled for bringing the noose in the scene you can hear on the intercom Derek haig please report to the principals office
That’s the unofficial reason why he was black holed
@@dannigro8794 I would have loved to seen a Derek plot about him getting expelled
Kendra deserved better
6:29 he reminds me of Winston lol
Where is so and so? We don't talk about that..... hitting your head on a rock takes a lifetime to recover from? Yes.......