Emma Nelson
Emma was first introduced in the Degrassi High episode Pass Tense when her 14 year-old mother, Christine “Spike” Nelson, went into labour during the year 8 graduation dance.
First line: Mother and Child Reunion - “Read it again, Manny”.
Last line: The Rest of My Life -“When I gamble, I only bet on a sure thing”.
In the Pilot episode of season 1, Emma meets up with her internet pen pal Jordan. Jordan claims to be in High School but Emma realises - when she meets him at the hotel - that Jordan is in fact in his 40s. He attempts to film himself raping Emma but lucky for her, Emma’s friends managed to hack her email and tell Spike that she was in trouble. Jordan is moving his hands up Emma’s legs when she hears her mum yelling out for her in the hall. Emma screams to let her mum and Snake know where she is, bites Jordan’s hand, and manages to get out safely.
Spike marries Snake in season 2 and he is now Emma’s step-father. She is not particularly pleased to have her teacher as a parent but comes to accept it with time.
She hits it off with Sean Cameron when she asks him to dance at the school dance and he accepts. They date on and off throughout seasons 1-3.
After performing oral sex on Jay Hogart, Emma contracts gonorrhea in season 4. When Rick returns to Degrassi, Emma makes his life hell to start with but they become a teensy bit closer when they are on the quiz team together. After getting covered with paint and feathers, Rick kisses Emma but she rejects him. Rick returns to school with a hand gun and attempts to shoot Emma but Sean grabs the gun and after a second of Sean and Rick trying to take the gun, the trigger is pulled and Rick is killed by his own gun. As a result of having a gun pointed straight at her, Emma develops post traumatic stress disorder.
In season 5, Emma and Manny go on a strict diet in order to get better bodies. Manny backs out after realising how dangerous it is but Emma refuses to eat at all. Emma does eat some of Snake’s infamous lasagne but later makes herself throw up in order to not put on any weight. After not eating for days, she collapses in the school hallway and ends up in hospital.
In season 6, Emma leaves her then boyfriend, Peter, for Sean and even has a pregnancy scare. Sean then leaves for Afghanistan with the army which causes them to break up. During that same season, Manny convinces Emma to have a party whilst her parents are out of town. After JT is stabbed by Drake at the party, Emma has a hard time dealing with the fact that she had lost one of her best friends.
She starts dating Damian in season 7 until he cheats on her with Liberty. She graduates in that same season and attends Smithdale University with Manny and Liberty. The three girls share a dorm with Kelly (a male) who Emma begins dating throughout season 8.
She goes on a cycling tour in season 9 and reveals that she is no longer vegetarian but in fact vegan. Kelly dumps Emma due to her being to controlling.
Emma takes a break from University and in the movie Degrassi Takes Manhattan, she returns to Toronto and gets a job at the Dot which she manages to set on fire while taking Spinner’s shift. Emma, Spinner, Manny and Jay go to a casino to try to comfort Spinner after his break up with Jane and - after getting drunk and winning over $2,000 - Emma and Spinner get married. After much deliberation they decide to stay married and have a celebration and recommit their vows.