‘Degrassi’: Emma and Sean Should End Up Together, Agrees Miriam McDonald
Degrassi: The Next Generation ran for more than 10 seasons and featured a remake, Degrassi: The Next Class. While the Canadian teen drama show tackled various topics, one storyline always kept viewers interested. Many longtime fans of Degrassi believed the romance between Emma and Sean was real and should have continued, and it seems actor Miriam McDonald agrees.
Miriam McDonald played Emma Nelson on ‘Degrassi: The Next Generation’
Miriam McDonald played Emma, the daughter of Shane McKay and Christine Nelson. Emma was born during season 2 of Degrassi: Junior High and was a class of 2007 graduate of Degrassi Community School.
Emma was the only youth on Degrassi: Next Generation to have had her background shown in the earlier series. She is portrayed as an outspoken, responsible, mature idealist and environmentalist. She earned the nickname “cause girl” for always arranging boycotts and protests for various causes.
Emma evolved throughout the show from a one-dimensional character to a complex one. She went from the undramatic good girl to having a few difficult experiences that affected her life greatly.
Her storylines included her suffering from social anxiety and PTSD after classmate Rick Murray held her at gunpoint. She also contracted gonorrhea after having oral sex with Jay Hogart. In season 5, Emma received an Anorexia Nervosa diagnosis, which McDonald feels was wrongdoing on the producers’ part.
According to Us Weekly, McDonald revealed to her co-star Cassie Steele that she felt the episode wasn’t done justice; it was a massive issue for her. McDonald said, “They know that my sister passed away with a very serious eating disorder, so I think that the small way that the episodes glossed over it were, in my opinion, almost a disservice.”
McDonald further stated that she struggled with food while filming the first few seasons of the teen drama. “For those episodes, it’s not something I’ve really talked about, my experiences with an eating disorder of my own — having gone through it personally I just really wish that more could’ve been done with them.”
McDonald agrees with ‘Degrassi’ fans who think Emma and Sean should have ended up together
Degrassi explored the characters’ friendships and romantic relationships. However, no connection was as hyped as the romance between Sean and Emma. While the two were always on and off, they had good chemistry and cared for one another throughout the show.
When Degrassi ended, fans were pissed off. Many said the show dropped the ball on Sean and Emma. It is worth noting that Emma ended up with Spinner, which made fans even angrier.
McDonald recently addressed the concerns, agreeing that her character and Daniel Clark’s character, Sean, should have ended up together. She said, “They were such like a cute endgame couple on the show and they had like that romance and love and they had a great tragedy, but they had a very special connection.”
What has Miriam McDonald been up to since the show ended?
Degrassi: The Next Generation ended in 2010. While McDonald held the lead role, she was also working on other projects, including She’s Too Young, Blue Murder, The Poet, Devil’s Diary, and Naturally Sadie. When the show ended, McDonald appeared on XIII: The Series in 2012, playing Sasha.
In 2013, she appeared on Lost Girl and Orphan Black as Anita and Madison, respectively. McDonald appeared on Wolves as Haley and reprised her role as Emma Nelson in Degrassi: Next Class in 2014. In 2018, she appeared on A Veteran’s Christmas playing Marnie Radcliffe.
