Hey, Zit Remedy Stans! Welcome to Grading Degrassi, the column dedicated to what would be my guiltiest pleasure if I believed in that kinda shame. Here, I (re)watch and rank every episode of every season of every series of the Degrassi franchise. We’re three series in folx, and we’re just getting started.
That’s right: we’ve covered The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High and now we’re moving on to Degrassi High, babes! Speaking of moving on, we’re now on the cusp of the ’90s, friends. Degrassi High premiered on November 6, 1989, and the first season finale was on February 13, 1990.
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Here are all 15 episodes of Season 1 of Degrassi High, ranked from worst to best:
(Spoilers, of course.)
“Natural Attraction” (S01E12 )
Recap: Heather (Maureen Deiseach) doesn’t want her twin sister, Erica (Angela Deiseach), to date again. Why? ’cause she might get pregnant and have an abortion again.
Reasoning: It’s just all the slut-shaming. I get that Heather has a right to feel guilty for being with her sister for the abortion, but umm, girl.
“Stressed Out” (S01E15 & (S01E16)
Recap: It’s the end of the year again. Snake (Stefan Brogren) finally passes his driver’s exam, but more importantly, Ms. Avery’s (Michelle Goodeve) up to her shenanigans again!
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Reasoning: Yes, we teachers are people, but there’s a line, and you, Ms. Avery, have crossed it one too many times. Good riddance. (Also, Spike (Amanda Stepto) is grateful to Ms. Avery? Get out of here.)
“Little White Lies” (S01E08)
Recap: Diana (Chrissa Erodotou) plays the “bad girl” by smoking, drinking and sneaking out to parties. Meanwhile, Snake, Joey (Pat Mastroianni) and Wheels (Neil Hope) go to a strip club.
Reasoning: Degrassi High did nothing to critique the boys’ objectification of these women. It is possible to do that without stigmatizing sex work. Alas…
“Just Friends” (S01E07)
Recap: L.D. (Amanda Cook) discovers she has leukemia. Heather and Wheels learn that making out with friends isn’t the best idea.
Reasoning: This episode was just OK; that’s why it’s right in the middle of the pack.
“Sixteen: Part 1” (S01E09 & S01E10)
Recap: Michelle’s (Maureen McKay) dad continues to be a racist jerk about her boyfriend, Bryant (Dayo Ade). So she moves out. Meanwhile, no one ever give Joey and Snake a driver’s license. Please.
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Reasoning: LOL at Michelle’s constant shock at the cost of apartments. In all seriousness, I really liked the hard line that Michelle drew regarding her relationship with Bryant. I just had difficulty believing her dad would make such a 180 to where he’s helping to fund her own-her-own lifestyle.
“Nobody’s Perfect” (S01E06)
Recap: Spike and the Irish bloke Patrick (Vincent Walsh) go on a date, and Kathleen’s (Rebecca Haines-Saah) boyfriend, Scott (Byrd Dickens), repeatedly abuses her.
Reasoning: It’s well done, but so hard to watch — SO violent. I don’t think this level of violence was necessary to show, and it detracts from the storytelling. Sometimes, showing reality is essential; sometimes, you’re just making trauma porn.
“Everybody Wants Something” (S01E05)
Recap: Joey, Snake and Wheel’s band make a music video for their one song, and Erica learns that Liz (Cathy Keenan) has been harassing her for having had an abortion.
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Reasoning: I’ve had that darn in-world band Zit Remedy The Zits’s song stuck in my head all summer.
“Breaking Up Is Hard to Do” (S01E03)
Recap: Michelle’s mom is leaving her dad, but why? (‘Cause she had an affair!)
Reasoning: I mean, really, who could blame her? She was married to a racist tool, but oof — the feels. Part of me wants to start being more objective about my rankings and not basing them on how much they resonate with me, but also — it’s my list?
“Dream On” (S01E04)
Recap: Oh, Arthur (Duncan Waugh). He’s got quite the crush on Caitlin (Stacie Mistysyn), who, rather than crushing on her boyfriend Joey, has her eyes on Claude (David Armin-Parcells).
Reasoning: First up, y’all must know his name is not “Clawed” but “Clode.” And he has a goatee. I didn’t think they made hipsters back then. (Shhh, I know his name is French.)
Basically, it’s just good to see Arthur. He doesn’t figure into this season much, but ah, what a sweetie.
“All in a Good Cause” (S01E11)
Recap: Claude and Caitlin go on a date to protest nuclear missiles by spray painting the missile factory. Caitlin gets caught, but Claude doesn’t ’cause he runs and leaves her behind.
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Reasoning: “Pigeons are people, too,” is an actual line multiple someones wrote, directed, spoke and edited into this episode.
“A New Start” (S01E01 & S01E02)
Recap: School’s back! Lots of people to see and meet, but the most important thing is that Erica is preggo! She’s not ready to be a mom, so she gets an abortion.
Reasoning: Heather is really mean about it and later regrets accompanying her sister to the clinic, but at the end of the day, she supports her sister in her choice, which is to get an abortion. (A teenager getting an abortion on television 33 years ago!)
Not everyone was ready for this; PBS, its US Broadcaster, changed the ending, soooo. This episode is not the only time Degrassi has dealt with abortion or censorship around the decision to do so.
“Testing One, Two, Three …” (S01E13)
Recap: Joey learns he has dysgraphia and wants to drop out of school. Claude refuses to support Caitlin at her court hearing. And an entire science class cheats, but the teacher gets the last laugh.
Reasoning: I was pleasantly surprised to see anything about a learning difference on Degrassi High, much less dysgraphia. It’s also great to see Joey get this diagnosis since we’ve been following him for four seasons. Also, Caitlin coming in with more epilepsy rep with her: “I have epilepsy; that doesn’t stop me.” Get it.
*Note: Joey directs the r-slur at another character in this episode.
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“It Creeps!!” (S01E14)
Recap: Lucy (Anais Granofsky) wants to be a filmmaker, so when Mr. Walfish (Adam David) gives her a chance to make her “feminist horror film,” she runs with it. Meanwhile, Shane (Bill Parrott) is out of rehab and wants to make amends with Spike.
Reasoning: Feminist horror or feminist fantasy? In all seriousness, Lucy’s slasher film wouldn’t pass the low-low bar of the Bechdel test since there’s only one woman in it. But a bunch of guy characters from Degrassi High die comically bloody deaths, so that’s fun.
How unseriously the boys took the film while they were making and watching it was heartbreakingly real, but the final moments, when Lucy’s movie scares them, are delicious. They don’t exactly apologize, but Lucy knows she won.
This first season of Degrassi High had its highs and lows. When it was good, it was good (like when Maya Goldberg (Kyra Levy) calls her friends out on their hypocritical ableism). And when it was bad, it was mostly meh. If nothing else, Degrassi High is more adult than the previous two installments in the franchise. It’s also interesting how much less involved the parents are in their lives, especially since that’s not the case in the later series of the franchise.
Final grade for Season 1 of Degrassi High: B+
Grading Degrassi will be back later this month with the rest of Degrassi High! See you then!
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