Degrassi: True Beauty
We all know every character in Degrassi has a dark side, if they didn't, well, they wouldn't be on the show. There is no Degrassi with perfect people, seeing as there is no high school with perfect people. But given the faults they have, which one will be the true beauty? It's time to see.
Gavin "Spinner" Mason
One of the few characters who has stayed true to Degrassi TNG since season 1, we have been lucky enough to see Spinner change so much throughout the years. We could probably name a hundred times Spinner has said or done something wrong, but it doesn't mean he's a terrible person. He has flaws, but at least he admits to not being perfect. Before we get on to the real hardcore thing's he's done, let's start from the beginning, season one, when he was a little tyke trying to rule the school.
S1: Remember the days he was infatuated with Terry then Paige, not Jane then Emma? Ah, the days. Although he does nothing to terrible in season one, let's not forget when he gives his last ADHD pills to Jimmy to help him improve his basketball game. Trying to be sweet and help a friend? Maybe. Not a smart move? Definitely. His rambunctious act in the audience, where he mooned the whole gym, is a reminder how thankful we are he continued taking his pills afterwards. There's nothing to terrible to say about him right now, but is he a shoe in for the True Beauty? Not so much.
S2: The season that ends in terrible fake tans, and a psychopathic Craig, no doubt it was full of adorable Spinner, and not so adorable Spinner. Remember Kendra? It feels like it's been years since we last heard of her, probably because it has. (Question: If she's his adopted sister, why was she not at Spinner's wedding? Lame!) I think we can all remember Toby's obsessive crush on her and her Manga, and Spinner's reaction towards the "young love". His constant threatens towards Toby weren't so cute. But in the end, he realizes he has to deal with it, if Kendra was happy with Toby, well, who was he to crash on them? He wasn't swayed so easily though, Toby had to muster up a lot of courage to face the then-bully Spinner. He must have really loved Kendra, I think I'd die if I had to stand up to Spinner back then. He wasn't exactly the nicest of all the kids in town. Which brings us to our next Spinner dilemma… his lack of money. Him being poor is definitely not a terrible attribute, but how he deals with it is. He hung out with Jimmy, his best friend, and when Jimmy brought his new MP3 player, he had "lost it" awfully easy. Spinner's fault, of course, and Jimmy found out. Right now, Spinner, it's not looking to good for you. At least you avoided skin cancer when you decided not to go in the tanning bed. Well, when you were too freaked out to go in anyway. (By the way, Emma's by far the better blonde for Spinner.)
S3: A crime of love, well more like a disaster of love, Spinner tried so hard to get Paige a locker in a better place. He did some bad things to get it, but is it so terrible if it's for his girlfriend? The answer. Yes. Sorry Spinner, minus one for you this time around. But it was awfully thoughtful of you, I guess. What happens next won't be so easily forgotten, his homophobia. Instead of being supportive like Peter was of Riley, the roles are switched: Spinner gets upset by Marco coming out to him. Between hitting him in the face with a volleyball, writing "Marco is a fag" on the bathroom wall, and feeling less than sympathetic after Marco gets gay bashed on the street, could Spinner ever be forgiven for being such a jerk? Luckily Marco was so nice, if it was me I would have at least thrown a punch or two at him, he definitely deserved it. Not only was he homophobic, but Spinner also wasn't the best advice giver. When seeing Craig cheating on Ashley with Manny, he was impressed, not mad at him. Craig was just "sampling" girls, in his eyes. The next part of the story can be controversial, was he a good guy for sticking up for his friend Terri, or just plain cruel? After putting Terri in a coma, Rick isn't exactly a popular kid, especially not in Spinner's mind. Outside school, Spinner threatens him but luckily Rick is saved by his mom before Spinner does any more emotional, or physical, damage. Here's a cute Spinner moment: Marco's crushing on Dylan, Dylan's crushing on Marco, who's the matchmaker? Spinner. He puts aside his homophobia to help his friend in need of love. Aww!
S4: Spinner finally gets a car, the one he's been saving up for since season three. Not very long after, he has no car again. Of course, this was courtesy of Paige's rage over Dean. But, that's a different story for a different time. In the beginning Spinner takes the blame for the damages, but then Paige confesses and does the best of her ability to pay for the car. This leads to a not so nice Spinner, who takes advantage of her. (I know what you're thinking, but as you know, I don't mean it in that way. So far it's been PG.) Probably one of the most entertaining of Degrassi fights was between Spinner and Craig, over Manny. When Paige finds out she's less than thrilled, and eventually their relationship breaks off. When Rick returns to Degrassi, Spinner and the crew are less than happy. It wasn't until the "Whack a Brain" competition when things between Spinner and Rick really heated up. Spinner, Jay, and Alex pull a prank involving Rick looking like a bird in front of the school, causing Rick to go haywire. Hearing Rick in the bathroom, Jay and Spinner make a pretend conversation about how Jimmy pulled the prank. This conversation leads to the school shooting, which leads to Jimmy being confined in a wheelchair and Rick committing suicide. Out of guilt, Spinner tells Jimmy and Principle Hatzilakos (or Mrs. Hotsauce, as Spinner and JT used to call her) the reason for Rick's outburst, and it leads to him being friendless, and his and Jay's expulsion from school. Drunk, Spinner tries to apologize to Jimmy, but Jimmy refuses to forgive him. Spinner then tries to steal Craig's car, but Jimmy stops him, saying Spinner was dead to him already. As if he wasn't in enough trouble already, him and Jay break into school and tear everything apart. He almost burns the school down, but fortunately is stopped by Jay. He then goes back to Degrassi to sign up for summer school.
So far, Spinner isn't looking good. Will his redemption from Friendship Club be enough? Or is it game over? Also, Ashley Kerwin is the next victim. Next Fanfiction: Thursday night at 10:00/11:00 central. Hehehe.
****PS, there is no particular order of characters. If there's any character you want to see after Ashley, comment, although I intend on going through every character who's ever been in Degrassi. (Maybe not Snake, Spike, and Joey though, they have awfully long lives…)