(6) A Degrassi Essay Series About Rick Murray

 See the last five preceding blog posts for more.

Part 4

Spinner, Alex, and Jay react as Rick reveals that he vandalized their cars (4x07).

We've covered a lot of ground so far: Rick's motives for returning, what the principal could or couldn't have done, and students' reactions to his return. After learning the details about Rick's abuse towards Terri and learning that he basically gets off from suffering any consequences, we have a better understanding of why Rick had many enemies. In part 2, we started with Emma's initial interactions with Rick as he made his reappearance in "Mercy Street". We will now take a closer look at other characters and their motivations for their behavior towards Rick. This post is reserved only for the students who antagonized Rick.

Spinner

Spinner and Jimmy decide to torment Rick on the way home from school (4x07).

Spinner has an obvious personal motivation to antagonize Rick, but he goes through a remarkable character arc. Spinner was the one, along with Paige, to find Terri lying on the ground unconscious. I can only imagine what thoughts must have flashed through their minds; their own versions of how Rick landed Terri in the coma. That's something that will stay with them for the rest of their lives, though this event might be overshadowed with what's to come in season four, dare I say. In "Don't Dream It's Over", Spinner sees Rick sitting in his mom's car and confronts him, and he rears up to punch him, but Paige intervenes, quickly followed by Rick's mother, who pulls Spinner away from her son. A moment later we see him retreat, and Paige pursues him. In this moment he's sobbing, saying he's "just like [Rick]", but Paige insists that he's different. It's one of the first times we see a vulnerable side to Spinner, who's either been portrayed as a dense bully or Paige's loyal boyfriend wrapped around his girlfriend's finger. Anyone who is able to extract such a tender moment from Spinner is bound to end up being resented by him, which I believe the seeds for Rick had been planted as early as the end of season three. When Paige and Spinner's relationship takes a hit in season four, with the drama of the Dean trial and Paige crashing Spinner's car into her rapist's car, the previously softened, dull Spinner returns to his bullying roots, which is only amplified when Paige splits from Spinner. He soon joins forces with Jason Hogart, embracing full antagonist mode in the plotline against Rick. Originally he takes part in the ribbon campaign as a way to avenge Terri's injustice, but soon it just becomes a favorite past time of his, along with Jay, to torment Rick. It's not like anyone would come to his defense, at least anyone who could fight him off. He gets a rude awakening when he realizes in season four that his actions have consequences, not only for himself, but for those he cares about. Gavin Mason hits the ground hard this season, and it will take more than just apologies to bounce back from this.

Paige

 Rick confronts Paige about what happened last year (4x04).

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Paige, like Spinner, found Terri lying on the ground out at the park with Rick hovering over her unconscious body. As Spinner runs to grab his phone for emergency services, it's Paige that reaches down to touch the back of her friend's head, only to get a handful of blood. That's something that stays with you for life: the stuff of recurring nightmares. Her motivation, like Spinner's, is personal. She collaborates with Emma to bring justice to her friend, but, unlike Spinner, she doesn't go as far as bullying Rick, though she fully believes in the power of social ostracization. This is different from her usual mean girl vibe: this is justified in her mind. Rick needs to be punished for what he did, and no one seems to be doing anything about it, so why not take matters into her own hands? We see her tease Rick right before he goes on stage for the Whack-Your-Brain finals (4x07), but the matter in which Rick replied to her taunting (quick and witty) lets the viewers know this isn't the first time she had given him a hard time, though her meddling of Rick never becomes physical. Paige is a dynamic character, and we see that, when Rick is publically humiliated in front of the entire school, she has a conscious and expresses her empathy for Rick when she encounters him in the cafeteria after it happened. She even goes as far to acknowledge that they aren't on the greatest terms, yet she didn't let that stop her from reaching out to Rick. It's in this instance that we are reminded of the power of words. Just by expressing her sorrow, Rick felt seen and heard, and he almost went back on his plan to seek revenge for his mortification. This is what I like about Paige's character, which makes her fun to watch in scenarios like these. She knows when it's time to make jokes and when it's time to be serious. She's emotionally intelligent. We see similar interactions in earlier seasons, where she tries to relate to Ashley about having a gay family member, when she consoles Emma who gets her period in class, or the time when she reminds Manny to ask the right questions before engaging in intercourse.

Alex

Alex tells Rick that "Nobody wants [his] guilt money" (4x07).

Alex Nunez has been a background character all of season three, only playing the role of Jay's girlfriend, but in season four, she's given some dimensions. Initially she appears to be joining the bandwagon of antagonizing Rick (episode 4x04), but then we get a glimpse of her true motivations during her conversation with Emma. In this scene, Rick walks up to Emma and wants to donate a check of over five hundred dollars to her fundraiser. For a fleeting moment, Emma considers it, but Alex appears on the scene and snatches the check out of Rick’s hands, telling him no one wants his guilt money. Rick tries to reason with her, but Alex shuts down that conversation immediately, causing a discouraged Rick to walk off. Emma asks for the check, but Alex tears it to ribbons. Before Emma can accuse her of not caring about the campaign, Alex insinuates that Emma doesn't know anything about it. "You ever ice your mom's lip? Bandage her up? Lay awake at night listening to her cry?" It's in this chilling scene do we learn that she has experienced domestic abuse first hand through her mother. Punishing Rick is her own way of avenging what her mom's boyfriend(s) did to her. She’s more than just Jay's chick. She is deeply concerned about women’s welfare when it comes to relationship abuse, yet another reason why it was a travesty to have the scene with her and Marco talking to Raditch deleted. Once again, we get to learn more about who Alex really is when she pleads with the principal to reconsider letting Rick back into the school. We start to see that there are layers to this girl.

Spinner's, Paige's, and Alex's motives are relatively straightforward and easy to understand. This next character is harder to peg. His motivations are even more difficult to understand than Emma's.

Jay

Jay, wearing Rick's glasses, mocks his speech patterns outside of The Dot (4x04).

Degrassi's resident "bad boy", Jason Hogart ceases any opportunity to wreak havoc on the lives of any Degrassian. While I'd love to say his motive for coming after Rick was for "kicks and giggles", I would like to play devil's advocate for a bit, especially considering that his own girlfriend has had experience with domestic abuse. Maybe she talked to him about it. Maybe Jay visited Alex's house a number of times and had seen it for himself. Maybe he had to protect Alex from the collateral damage that her mom's boyfriend(s) would inflict. We don't know the dynamics of their relationship this early on in the series, so it is hard to confirm. Either way, Jay shows no mercy for Rick as he is the character that jumps Terri's ex at the Dot, drags him to the back alley, and punches him in the gut. He is also the one that is shown throwing Rick against a locker in episode 4x06 "Islands in the Stream" with ease, which gives the audience the feeling that Jay has done this to Rick many times before.

Unlike, Spinner, Jimmy, Paige, and even Alex, who at some point either experience a change of heart towards Rick, feel bad that he was humiliated on stage, or feel guilty about the school shooting, Jay shows no remorse for what he did as being one of the three accomplices in setting up the paint and feathers alongside Spinner and Alex. In episode 5x10, "Redemption Song", a year after the shooting had taken place, Jay says that they "did the world a favor" to Spinner after the latter asks the former if he ever thought about what happened with Rick. It's his reaction to the tragedy that forces me to believe that he didn't really care about getting justice for Terri or the fact that anyone else got hurt. He never goes into an explanation about what he means, either. They "did the world a favor" by humiliating Rick on stage? Lying to him later about Jimmy being the culprit? Indirectly getting Jimmy shot? Perhaps Jay means that they aided in unmasking Rick's true nature of violence, and to half of the Degrassi fans, Rick never truly changed, so to them this is true, though I doubt anyone agrees that this was done in favor of anyone. In the wake of tragedy, everyone loses.

Even in the beginning when everyone was united in the campaign against Rick, Jay was the only one to make a mockery out of the situation. Even as the others detested Rick, no one was seen outright making fun of him (except maybe Spinner). To everyone else, this was serious business. He even got himself expelled from school, and by the looks of things, he never cared or tried to return. If you also take into consideration all of the other characters he would persuade into doing things, they almost always end up worse off than before. We see this with Sean, who would go on to steal Snake's laptop (3x06); J.T., who decides to steal drugs from the pharmacy at which he's employed and sell them to dealers on the street (5x08); Spinner, who lies to Rick about Jimmy being responsible for the paint and feathers prank and winds up indirectly responsible for Jimmy's fate (4x08); and Emma, who Jay preyed upon while she was in a state of shock after the tragedy in order to get her to perform oral sex on him (4x14). Hell, the first time we're introduced to Jay is in season three when he calls Paige's brother Dylan "Homo-chuk" (episode 3x04), a reference to him being gay. Given his resume of ruining characters' lives (although only two of these instances occurred before the Rick conflict), it's hard for me to believe that he cared about any justice being served. All of the evidence points to the contrary. Rick was just the perfect outlet for his bullying urge since no one would rush to the kid's aid after what he did to Terri. Jay was just doing what Jay does best: stirring up trouble. In this way, he's similar to an arsonist: he sets the fires and watches them burn.

Jay, stealing Rick's glasses (4x04).

(5) A Degrassi Essay Series About Rick Murray

 Originally posted on Tumblr. See the preceding installments for more.

Part 3c.

We left things off on sort of a cliffhanger in 3b. Still on the subject of Daniel Raditch, we answered two questions related to him, which I've included below alongside my corresponding responses:

1. Could Raditch have prevented tragedy from happening? (Yes, he could have and should have.)
2. Could Raditch have prevented Rick from returning to school in the first place? (Unfortunately, no.)

For those of you that are wondering, "What do you mean Raditch couldn't keep Rick away? He put her in a coma!" This is why this essay exists. In part 3c, and this will be the last of part 3, we will look at Rick's abusive history with Terri in detail in order to better understand why Mr. Raditch couldn't just prevent Rick from enrolling in classes at Degrassi. Four factors come into play here: (1) lack of evidence; (2) no witnesses; (3) the locations of Rick's abuse; and, most importantly, (4) Terri's failure to report the abuse as it was happening. In this essay, in order to examine the details in which the abuse occurred, I will be recapping events that occurred in episodes "Whisper to a Scream" (3x08), "Never Gonna Give You Up" (3x10), and "Don't Dream It's Over" (3x17). Buckle up, buttercups: this is going to be a long one, so make sure you carve out some time to read.

How it Began

 Our introduction to Rick's character happens way back in episode 3x08 "Whisper to a Scream". He is portrayed as the shy but endearing hopeless romantic who is also Terri's love interest/secret admirer, the latter unbeknownst to Terri at first.

Rick anonymously tapes roses to Terri's locker for her to receive. Even though Terri wants Rick to be her admirer, she doesn't believe that he is due to her own insecurities. Finally, she waits after school to find out who's leaving her roses, and...her wish comes true! It's Rick! They kick things off pretty quickly, and by episode 3x10 "Never Gonna Give You Up", they are officially dating. The writers did a stellar job at gradually revealing Rick's true nature to the audience. Bit by bit we see his layers unravelling: from him being threatened by Terri and Jimmy's friendship; to him ordering for Terri at the Dot; to him insisting that Terri should listen to his stage directions and not Jimmy's even though Jimmy is the director. Finally, half way through 3x10, we see Rick's true colors. 

The Abuse

The following events all take place in episode 3x10 of Degrassi

Incident #1

After Terri takes Rick's poor advice (or a poor interpretation of his advice: whichever), she embarrasses herself on stage the day of the final performance, and everyone laughs at her. We then cut to Terri and Rick walking home behind an alleyway. Rick seems to have forgotten about what happened to Terri at school, but Terri hasn't. She's short with him in this scene, curtly asking him to talk about how, thanks to his pointers, she was mortified in theater class. Rick seems annoyed here and doesn't think there's anything to discuss. Terri continues, saying that she "looked like an idiot...because of [Rick]."

Rick, offended by her tone of voice, takes matters into his own hands quite literally. He grabs Terri's wrist and twists her arm around. He proceeds to tell her, as he's squeezing her, that he doesn't like her tone and that it makes him feel stupid. We then cut to a shocked and frightened Terri pleading for Rick to release her hand.

Details:

On or off School Grounds?: Off

Any physical Evidence?: Yes: the bruise on Terri's wrist.

Were there additional Witnesses?: No

 Incident #2

Terri approaches Rick in the gym as he's striking the set for Marco's play. It's the day after Rick assaults her for the first time, and they have since made up. She asks for his permission to go to Paige's girls exclusive party. Rick then slaps his girlfriend across the face after she tells him he's being crazy for not wanting her to go without him: a boy. I can attest that he is definitely being unreasonable here.

Details:

On or off School Grounds?: On

Any physical Evidence?: Yes: the cut on the corner of Terri's mouth

Were there additional Witnesses?: No

Incident #3

Terri is storming home from Paige's place when she encounters her boyfriend along the way. Rick apparently wanted to profess his love for her, which was the reason why he waited for her to get home, or so he claimed. Then we learn the real reason why Rick was lying in wait for Terri: he wants to set a rule that only applies to her. If she agrees to his terms, she can only see her friends during school hours. Terri ignores this, walking past Rick and saying that she needed some time to think. Rick accuses her of wanting to leave him, which Terri denies. She claims to love him, but says that he's suffocating her. This is when Rick pushes Terri into the cardboard wall back first. After this incident, Terri has finally had enough of being pushed around, and she dumps Rick on the spot.

Details:

On or off School Grounds?: Off

Any physical Evidence?: Inconclusive, though we can infer that her back had been bruised

Were there additional Witnesses?: No

We can conclude that Terri told her friends all about Rick as the final scene in this episode shows her talking to Jimmy and Hazel in the halls. There seems to be a happy ending here. Yeah, Rick is crazy and abused Terri, but she broke up with him, and if Rick tried anything, her friends would come after him in a heartbeat. It was clear that Terri felt safe around her friends and wasn't worried about Rick, especially after she made it clear that she wasn't just going to take him back after all that he did. We learn in episode 3x17, however, that her own dad was left in the dark about Rick's abuse, let alone the principal. It's great that Terri found comfort in confiding into her friends and that she handled the situation quite well for a fifteen/sixteen year old girl, but this should have been the time where she informed some adult in her life about what Rick had done to her. Nonetheless, the bruises fade, the only evidence that proved that Terri was abused, and life goes on as if she never met him. 

The Weekend Trip

A few months later, the Grade Ten Circle is having a weekend getaway. Paige’s folks are out of town and left her the car keys, and so far it's a double date with Paige/Spinner and Hazel/Jimmy. That Saturday, all four friends are at The Dot when, to their dismay, Terri catches up to them...with Rick right behind her. What was presumably the day before, Rick apologized to Terri after class for his behavior and said that he missed her. His delivery was convincing enough for Terri to take him back. After all, Terri didn't want to be the fifth wheel on her friends' roadtrip.

While Rick and Terri are dining off separately, the other four deliberate on whether or not they should include Rick on the road with them. After a brief discussion, the group decides it's best to keep their friends close and their enemies closer, concerned about Terri's welfare if they leave Rick behind without any of them being there to look out for Terri, who would most likely stay behind if Rick did. Spinner was actually the first one to suggest this, which I was both impressed and touched by. Spinner has always had a soft spot for Terri it seems, and in the scene at The Dot, he was the one being the most tactful about the situation rather than letting his feelings about Rick get the better of him. This is probably the one time in the entire Rick arc where Spinner thinks with his head instead of his fists.

The party of four is now six, but that doesn't stop Paige from being hostile. When they arrive at the park, Rick sits on the front of Paige's van and encourages Terri to do the same, but Paige rudely tells him that she'd rather not have him do that. Rick insists that he's not causing any damage to the vehicle, but before their little spat can continue, Terri warmly invites Rick to sit on the picnic bench with him. He relents, sliding off the vehicle and accepting Terri's invitation. You can see all the other guys, who were just sitting on the bench seconds before, move away once Rick saunters over. The message is clear: no one outside of Terri wants him there. We can see Rick is mildly aggravated by the time he joins Terri, yet his girlfriend consoles him and tells him not to worry about Paige.

Unfortunately this isn't the end of their feud. We cut to a later scene where Rick momentarily separates from Terri to join Spinner and Jimmy, who we see tossing a frisbee back and forth between each other. Paige uses this opportunity to sit and talk to Terri. She gently urges her to come hang out with Hazel, but Terri politely rejects the offer. Then Paige extends an invitation for her to hang out with the girls later that evening, but Terri is receptive of Paige's real motives this time and insists that there's nothing to worry about. At this point, Paige ditches the pleasantries and cuts straight to the chase. "So what, you've just forgiven Creep Boy for beating you up?" She says to Terri. Terri then says that Rick apologized for what happened before. "Of course!" Paige retorts. "His type always does so they can...get another shot in at you."

Rick, of course, overhears the ordeal. It's not like they were exactly whispering. He comes out from behind the van and immediately gets into it with Paige, telling her she's a vicious backstabber among other things. They go back and forth for a bit, until Paige goes in for the kill, hurling the worst insult in her arsenal for Rick at Rick. "Well I'd rather be that than a psycho!"

We can see that she hit a sensitive spot with him. He storms off into the woods but not before kicking Paige's van in the process. Everyone around them has stopped what they were doing as they watch Paige and Rick yell at each other. Once Rick is out of sight, Terri stands from her seat and confronts Paige. She takes sides with Rick, saying that she's tired of Paige pushing her around and telling her what to do.

"Fine." Paige says. "If I'm such a bad friend then go after him. Go!" Ironically she proves Terri right: Paige is telling her what she should do yet again. This leads us to the fourth and final incident.

Incident #4

Terri catches up with Rick, and she finds him...pulling up cinder blocks? Kicking the dirt and pacing in a circle? It's a little strange, I must admit. He's taking out his anger on the soil...for now. Terri apologizes about Paige and politely asks Rick to calm down. Surprisingly he cooperates, then continues to say that he's happy that they're back together. After their small display of affection, Terri encourages Rick to come back, holding his hand and moving back from where they came. In the same instant, you can see Rick closing his fingers around Terri's hand, refusing to go back to the main group, insisting instead that they walk the other way.

Terri isn't interested. "It's really far." She says to Rick, and she's probably right. There's a reason why they drove all the way out to the park. It's completely reasonable to not want to walk back into town, but Rick doesn't see it that way. "She called me a psycho." Rick jerks Terri back towards him, his tone tight. Terri is frustrated that Rick isn't seeing the big picture. "That's just Paige being Paige." She tells him.

The old Rick resurfaces, and he holds Terri in place with a vice grip, his hands now squeezing both of her elbows. "And that makes it okay? Do my feelings mean nothing to you?" I'll try not to reenact the whole scene, but Rick's anger continues to escalate, he accuses Terri of choosing Paige over him, and refuses to let Terri go as she tells him that she wants to return to the group. Rick is so angry that he's stuttering over his words. "You c-c-can't leave, do you understand?" He says in a shaky voice.

"Rick, you're hurting me!" Terri says, and she appears afraid.

Rick yells at Terri in his second most infamous moment. "You're not going. You're not! NOT! NOT!" He pushes her back as Terri is trying to pull away, and their combined forces cause Terri to fall to ground, her head crashing back against a cinder block, which knocks her out cold. When Terri doesn't move, Rick's anger is replaced with panic and alarm. Eventually Paige and Spinner make their way towards the two, and Rick, panicking once he sees the pair, runs off deeper into the woods, leaving his unconscious girlfriend behind.

Details:

On or off School Grounds?: Off

Any physical Evidence?: Yes. Her head injury.

Were there additional Witnesses?: No: not at the moment of impact.

Here's a Recap of what Happened:

Number of times Rick abused Terri: 4

Number of Times Terri sustained physical injuries: 3/4

Number of times the abuse happened on campus: 1/4

Number of times there was a third party to witness the abuse: 0/4

What's the Point?

We reflected on Rick's history of abuse in detail to prove that there wasn't much that Raditch could do to prove that Rick was a danger. It all comes down to there being no evidence that holds up, no witnesses, and the locations of most of the abuse being off campus, especially the coma incident. The closest any third party comes to being a witness is with Paige and Spinner; however, they only showed up after it happened. They correctly fill in the gaps in their minds about what went down before they arrived, but unfortunately having a strong hunch isn't enough to prove that someone is guilty of aggravated assault. The biggest reason why Raditch couldn't pin Rick to his crimes is the fact that the victim, Terri, did not advocate for herself, which appears to be a major plot hole. I believe it has everything to do with the fact that the writers were done with Terri's character, and they used this storyline as a way to write her character off. 

The principal's jurisdiction begins and ends at school, which means that anything that happens outside of Degrassi is not his responsibility. True, we the viewers have seen what Rick is capable of. Terri's friends know what he's capable of, but they have no evidence to support their claims. It's one thing if the victim is coming forward; it's another thing if only the third party is coming forth. The only way they can prevent Rick from returning to the school is if they can prove he is guilty of aggravated assault, which would convict him, thus preventing him from enrolling in classes at Degrassi. 

Alas Terri did not report Rick because she physically could not report Rick as she was in a coma. If her head injury didn't knock her into unconsciousness, there was a great opportunity for Terri and her father to go to the cops, report him, resulting in Rick getting this crime on his record, thus preventing Raditch from enrolling him in the following academic term. Sadly, that's not how the events played out. Because both Terri and her friends failed to get adult help when they found out she was being abused by her boyfriend, there was no intervention until it was too late. Terri's recovery was prioritized over ensuring Rick suffered any consequences, which makes sense. It also appears that Terri's dad never went to law enforcement from what we've seen on the show, which again, seems unlikely given how upset he was to learn that Rick had struck his daughter many times before. Again, this is probably due to the fact that the writers were done with Terri storylines after this. My prediction is that Rick's parents helped Terri's dad pay for any necessary expenses surrounding Terri's injury to smooth things over. I also imagine Rick's parents to be the kind of people who had connections in high places and pulled some strings in order for their son to avoid any institution time. Sadly it is Terri who gets the short end of the stick as she is the one most affected by the aftermath above any and all of her friends. It's noble for them to advocate on her behalf, but there truly wasn't much Raditch had to work with in order to keep Rick out of Degrassi. Like we learned in a deleted scene, Terri, the person whose life was most threatened by Rick's presence, no longer went to Degrassi. If this were straightened out in an actual episode, I feel like fans would have more closure about why Rick could return to school. We'd still be enraged that Rick got away with aggravated assault, since his only consequences seem to have been taking therapy sessions. We don't truly know about Rick's socioeconomic status, but if his parents can afford him therapy, it's safe to assume that he comes from a decently privileged background.

An Alternate Solution

That's not to say that there wasn't anything Raditch could do. He could have had a meeting with Rick and his mom, explaining to both of them that if he were to continue his education at Degrassi, he would be at odds with the other students. He could have expressed to the Murrays that he may have had a harder time getting on with his pupils because of last year's events. He could have also sat down with the students who opposed Rick and sympathized with their feelings, clarifying that he understood where they were coming from, even if he was going to allow Rick to enroll in classes at Degrassi. Something as simple as taking the grievances of his students seriously, coupled with threatening disciplinary action if they decided to harass Rick, would have been a step in the right direction and could have prevented this tragedy from happening. Though while he certainly wasn't principal of the year, I don't believe that Raditch is to blame for letting Rick return to Degrassi, which is beyond unfair, but, unfortunately, life is never fair.

(4) A Degrassi Essay Series About Rick Murray

 Originally posted on Tumblr. See Preceding parts 1, 2, and 3 for more

Part 3b.

In the last installment, we looked at Raditch's role in the tragedy and asked whether or not he could have intervened in Rick's predicament to potentially stop tragedy from befalling Degrassi.  

We were set to explore the answers to the following questions (paraphrased below):

1. Could Mr. Raditch have prevented tragedy from happening? 

2. Could Mr. Raditch have stopped Rick from returning to Degrassi?

If this is your first time visiting my essay series, please start with part one. If you're only interested in the topic of Daniel Raditch, start with part 3a, the first installment where we look at the principal's part in Rick's story.

In the last most recent post, we focused on question one as we analyzed a moment in the show where Rick went to the principal numerous times for help in "Time Stands Still Part 1". This comes up another time in part two of this episode, aka, episode 4x08, which we will take a look at here in 3b. Note: this is the fourth essay in a series of essays on this topic, so while this is an extension of the conversation about the principal, the blog title will reflect the actual entry number of the essay in the series (so 3b is technically the fourth entry in this series, and 3c will be the fifth entry, etc.). 

The Adults Are Fighting

This scene occurs after the tragic events take place. We see that the school is on lockdown. We see our beloved Degrassi, a place that the viewers grew to love for the past three seasons, swarmed with police cars, ambulance trucks and the S.W.A.T. team. Students are forced to stay in the classrooms, and parents are barred from entering the school until the lockdown is over. In one scene, we cut to the M.I. lab where we see Christine Nelson, aka Spike, consoling her teenage daughter, Emma, who is traumatized by what happened. Snake is pacing around the room, awaiting further instructions from law enforcement, his superior, etc. We watch as he sits at the table with his wife and stepdaughter, and a second later, a police officer opens the door for the principal to walk in. Snake is already on the defense after Daniel addresses him by his first name, "Archie?" When the principal calls a teacher by his first name, you know it's serious business.

"No, I am busy here if you haven't noticed." Snake retorts. Raditch apologizes but goes on to ask him if he could get into Rick's email and look for any possible warning signs that could have stopped what he did, a request forwarded by him from law enforcement. This visibly upsets Snake, and he makes a snarky remark about how "the groundbreaking 20/20 hindsight policy" only comes into play after it's too late. He then concedes and stands from his chair to do what he was asked to do, but Daniel refuses to let Snake's comment slide. Biting his bottom lip, he follows Archie to remind him how he has "seven-hundred students and a teaching staff that [he's] responsible for everyday." He then tells Snake not to "get on [his] case because one kid overreacted to some...spilled paint." Snake yells back at him that Raditch personally spoke to Rick twice in the past two days, asking him if he listened to the kid. Raditch insists that he did, but Snake doesn't believe him, doubting that he remembered a word that Rick said to him. Snake, raising his voice, then goes on to say "This tragedy, Dan it could have been prevented if YOU hadn't--" but Spike cuts him off before he can finish. Of all of the conversations that get interrupted, this one felt like the biggest crime of them all. Come on, Emma's mom, let them hash this one out!

Let's address what Snake said to Raditch. According to him, Rick came to the principal twice in the past two days. That's on average once a day, which are pretty frequent trips to the principal's office to make as a student. I mention in part 3a how it can be difficult for kids to come forward and open up about being victims of bullying. For Rick to have spoken to the principal on average once a day meant that he was in some serious trouble and was looking for outside help. Compare that to what Raditch said to Rick in 4x07: "Richard, I've told you time and time again. It takes two to tango." In this one instance where Rick seeks out help, and Snake's reference of how the principal spoke to him twice in the past couple of days, the audience can infer that Rick has visited Mr. Raditch way more than twice, as "time and time again" implies Rick spoke to Raditch at least two other times before we finally see him make his third trip. For the principal of the school to dismiss Rick three times at minimum is appalling. After this scene, the audience can safely conclude that the school staff was neglectful when it came to handling Rick's situation, especially the head of the school. In short: the answer to question one? Could Mr. Raditch have stopped this from happening? Yes.

A Gray Area

Let's now explore the second question: could Raditch have prevented Rick from returning in the first place? This one is a tougher question to answer, as this one will call for us to explore Rick's history in detail. In my last installment, I mention a deleted scene in which we see Marco and Alex, student council's president and vice president respectfully, confront Mr. Raditch about allowing Rick to continue his education at Degrassi. Alex insists that "he's a danger...especially to girls", and she's not wrong here. Raditch replies, "...until a student is actually charged [for any crime], he or she will continue to study at my school. Like it or not." Before this exchange, Marco reminds Raditch that Rick put Terri in a coma, to which the principal replies, "To my knowledge, no student has been charged with putting another student in a coma." It's unfortunate that this scene gets cut from the series because, judging by the characters' outfits and the dialogue, this was originally meant to be in the episode "Mercy Street" (4x04). We learn a couple of key details here. For one, we learn that Terri transferred to a private school presumably to get away from Rick. We furthermore can confirm that Rick and his family were never charged for the coma incident that he caused. 

Rick Murray Escapes the Law?

The whole ordeal is still a mystery to the fan base. After seeing how shocked and angry Terri's dad was in the season three's "Don't Dream it's Over", it's easy to assume that he would take action immediately against the Murrays, yet filing a lawsuit isn't cheap. I don't know all of the odds and ends of Canadian law, but maybe it was hard to make a solid case against Rick due to lack of evidence, though I can't understand why. If Terri had died from hitting her head against that cinder block, officials would surely be forced to open an investigation surrounding the details of her death. Then again, her body would belong to the coroner's office, and they would be able to pick up traces of evidence that Rick was responsible for her condition by conducting an autopsy on her body. Of course, I'm speaking on hypotheticals at this point, which will do us no good here. Terri lived from the incident, so what little evidence that pointed to Rick would have disappeared. There were also no witnesses to Terri's fall except for Rick himself; remember Paige and Spinner showed up after the fact and found Terri already lying on the ground unconscious. At the end of the day, Degrassi focuses on teen drama: it's not a police show, a hospital or a courtroom drama as YouTuber "You'veGotKat" points out in her video essay (Which you can watch here). The show's focus is on the teens and how they deal with the issues around them. Rick getting in trouble with the law was just another barrier to keep the writers from exploring the shooting plotline. After the actor, Ephraim Ellis, was featured in three episodes in season three, the writers decided that he had the chops to pull off such a serious storyline about a troubled teen resorting to gun violence, so they wrote his character back into season four, who originally appeared to have been "run out of town on a rail" after he hurt Terri, as Ellis would state in multiple interviews and podcasts.

So we looked into how Rick Murray escaped the law, thus giving him the ability to return to Degrassi, but let's get down to the question: could Raditch have stopped him from returning? As unfortunate as this may be, the principal had no jurisdiction to keep Rick Murray away. It's true that the principal was receptive to the students' animosity towards him and was aware of the fact that Rick put Terri in a coma, but this is only based on the words of a student. For all he knew, this could have been a vicious rumor or a misunderstanding on the matter, and, as he states in the deleted scene, since Rick wasn't charged with anything, he had no criminal record. Marco and Alex probably wouldn't have had to talk to Raditch if Rick had gotten into legal trouble, but unfortunately, he didn't. In order to understand why this is the case, we will have to look back at season three during the multiple instances when Rick inflicted abuse onto Terri. There's plenty to go over, so I will save that for the next chapter. Watch out for 3c!

(3) A Degrassi Essay Series About Rick Murray

Originally posted on Tumblr. See preceding parts 1 and 2 for more.

Part 3a

Here's my head canon of season 4's events: Rick returns to Degrassi; the school ostracizes him via Emma’s campaign; Rick is tormented everywhere he goes; Emma puts an end to Jay's ballistics once the violence against Rick gets out of hand; Rick would learn his lesson and never lay a finger on another girl again; and everyone leaves him alone while he completes his tenth grade year for the second time.

But this is Degrassi. The drama never ends. Drama is inherently messy. And that ending is too tidy for drama.While Emma made it clear that she wasn't going to torture Rick in the halls, this memo doesn't reach the other characters. There are three in particular who constantly take jabs at him: Spinner, Jay, and Jimmy. At this point, pushing him around is just for sport. Whether or not Rick deserves it, whether or not you feel sorry for the kid, one has to wonder: where are the teachers when all of this is happening? Has anyone reported this to the principal?

In part 1 we discussed why Rick returned. In part 2 we discussed what motivated Emma to protest against Rick. Here in part 3, we will explore another popular talking point in the Degrassi fandom: Principal Daniel Raditch. Any time his name comes pops up, fans tend to explore the answers to the two following questions:

1. Could Mr. Raditch have stopped tragedy from befalling Degrassi?
2. Could he have prevented Rick from returning in the first place?

Usually question one also encompasses question two, but for the sake of argument, I will address these separately as they are two different things. Mr. Raditch is such a huge part of this conversation that the next three uploads will be dedicated to exploring his role in this tragedy, which will be called parts 3a, 3b, and 3c respectively. Parts 3a and 3b will be used to answer question one, and 3c will explore the answer to question two. This is part 3a, so we will have a closer look at question one: could Raditch have stopped tragedy from befalling Degrassi?

An Unproductive Conversation

Could Mr. Raditch have stopped the school shooting? We the viewers learn that Rick has sought out help multiple times based on two different scenes from the show. The first instance is from episode 4x07, the first half of the two-parter episode titled "Time Stands Still". About a quarter of the way into part one, we see Rick making a visit to the principal's office and asking him to intervene in the Whack-Your-Brain predicament that he was recently forced to face. Earlier that day, Mr. Simpson decided to draft Jimmy onto the trivia team last minute after Heather Sinclair fell ill with mononucleosis. At this time, Jimmy Brooks is still giving Rick a hard time at school, and he'd be damned if he let that jock taint the only thing he has going for him at Degrassi that doesn't feel like hell on earth! Raditch is already short with Rick in this scene as he rummages through papers and moves back and forth in the office. "Do I look like I have time for a chat, Richard?" He barks at the student. Fortunately Rick isn't discouraged yet. He goes on to tell the principal that Jimmy "doesn't like [him], and he has no qualms expressing it." Rick doesn't name drop here; he simply refers to Brooks as "a member of the Whack-Your-Brain team".

Choice of Words?

A Youtuber who goes by NotaVampyre uploaded a video about this exact conversation and brought up an important point: Rick's wording in this scene as he's asking for help...he is being extremely vague. At first he starts off direct after Mr. Raditch asks him why he wants to chat. He says that Jimmy is harassing him. When Raditch asks how, that's when Rick gives his vague response. You can make a case that the principal is aware that Rick was at odds with a large number of kids at school, especially if we refer to the deleted scene where Marco and Alex ask him to reconsider letting Rick return to Degrassi, arguing that "he's a danger...especially to girls" as Alex Nunez would put. Unfortunately, the principal is wrapped up in whatever office task he has in front of him, and Rick's concerns are brushed off hastily.

"Richard, I've told you time and time again: it takes two to tango," he tells the boy. It's from this quote that we learn this probably isn't Rick's first trip to the principal's office. Or second. Probably not even the third. The principal goes on to say that he suggests that Rick tries harder to get along with the other student and to come back if anything serious happens. He dismisses the subject immediately after, leaving no room for any more questions Rick has leftover. The student receives the message loud and clear from Raditch: he is left to face this problem on his own.

More Could Have Been Done

The principal could have, and should have, done his due diligence; it could have potentially saved lives. Rick, however, should have also been more ingenious in his approach. Nonetheless, I can understand why Rick wouldn't want to open up about his suffering. I imagine it's much harder for teen boys to admit that they are victims of bullying than it would be for teen girls. Not only is it humiliating for him, though the same could be said about a girl, but there is also the feeling of being emasculated that is unique to the male experience. Men are socialized and hardwired to be tough and competent enough to fight their own battles; any other action or reaction would be perceived as weak and feminine, two things that men neither want nor are expected to be, especially the more masculine he is. I think this is partially the reason why Rick didn't express plainly the ways in which he had been harassed, though not necessarily because he is masculine in the traditional sense, especially since it's been presented in the show that he isn't. Rather, his pride and his eccentric, flowery language prevented him from being completely transparent. I like that the writers decided to give a distinct speaking voice to Rick's character. In this instance, however, Rick's vocabulary works against him as he's not being clear in what he wants from Mr. Raditch. Was this done on purpose? I think we can infer that it was to make the tragedy more tragic.

Even if Rick did come forward, the principal would still have to meet him halfway. Perhaps the other part of the reason why Rick didn't open up about the torment is that he had little expectations for the principal to take action. As we mentioned before: this isn't Rick's first visit to Raditch's office; maybe Rick had told him about a specific incident, such as being shoved against the lockers, before the moment we saw in 4x07 and had gotten nowhere. Maybe deep down, Rick knew nothing would come of confiding into an authoritative figure and didn't bother himself with the details of what was happening to him. Alas, these are only my speculations. We really never know how many times Rick attempted to get outside help, though we can infer that it was at least two. We never know what all Rick told the principal about the bullying he had been facing, thus we the audience are forced to fill in the gaps yet again and make our own deductions about what happened.

Remember, this is only 3a. We still have 3b and 3c to talk about Raditch. The rest of this conversation will be addressed later. Have anything to add? Let's chat in the comments. I'm open to discord, but let's keep it respectful.

(2) A Degrassi Essay Series About Rick Murray

 

See the preceding Part 1 for more.

Part 2

Oh, Emma, Emma, Emma. It's difficult to continue this Degrassi story without bringing up our little "Mary Sue" and her role in Rick's return. In this essay, we will discuss what motivated Emma to campaign against Rick, the pros and cons of that same campaign, and Emma's and Rick's social standing after the protesting dies down. Emma's character contributes more to this story arc, but for now we will focus only on her actions in "King of Pain" (4x03) and "Mercy Street" (4x04).

It's Easy to Mind your business...if you have Business

Most fans find Emma's intervention in this plot line quite irritating, wondering what would motivate her to suddenly interact with the upperclassmen. If we refer back to episode 4x03, "King of Pain", we would recall that her current classmates have unofficially stopped talking to her because of how she felt about her ex-boyfriend, Chris, showing interest in Liberty Van Zandt. Her lines in that episode have become infamous. "What are people gonna think of me if Chris goes out with Liberty next?" Manny Santos, Emma Nelson's BFF, who was first on board the "Emma and Chris reunite" train, was taken aback by Emma's...well, let's call it condescension. Anyway, word gets back to Liberty, and, to quote her words, Emma is "dead to [her]." Since Manny takes sides with Liberty, Manny and JT are dating, and since Toby is friends with J.T. (though not for very long here: more on that later), that leaves Emma completely friendless in time for this season's festivities. I doubt that the boys of the friend group care about the ladies' petty squabbles about the Chris ordeal, but since J.T.'s girlfriend is friends with Liberty, and they all hang out, it would just be awkward for them to include Emma in any of their social engagements at this time.

Now that we've established her social status, let's get back to Emma's involvement in the return of Rick Murray. Miss Nelson quickly learns from Paige and Spinner about who he is and what he's done and ceases the perfect opportunity to flex her cause girl muscles. I'll give her credit where it's due: she's bold, driven, committed, and smart. She may have let the glow up get to her head, and so what if she thinks that she's better than Liberty? At least she didn't put a classmate in a coma! She actually is better than this guy. She takes it upon herself to do whatever it takes to get this abuser out of her school. Of course, it's wrong to hurt others, but if she were successful with this mission, she would win the approval of Paige and her clique. What could be cooler than that? Definitely not Liberty's hot tub!

The Cause

Collaborating with Paige and Marco, Emma manages to organize a ribbon campaign at school that is against domestic violence on the surface, though truly, it is an anti-Rick campaign. Somehow harassing a student in school, regardless of what he did before, is not considered breaking the rules. "We wanna pressure Rick. Make his life hell," Emma would go on to explain to Sean Cameron after he asks about her true motives behind launching this crusade. Either Emma doesn't know what the word "pressure" means, or she didn't foresee how the students of Degrassi would interpret the word. The campaign combined with Paige's popularity status means that everyone knows Rick, hates him, and wants nothing to do with him. Now, because of Emma, Rick's identity is out, and the student body feels a sense of duty to make this guy suffer the consequences of his actions. It's not like the principal was going to do anything about it anyway (more on that later).

The Effect

The fact that this happened is both good and bad. On one hand, Rick was reminded of the simple fact that his actions have consequences. Everywhere he went, he was greeted with hostility. Going back to my argument in part 1, here at Degrassi, he wouldn't be granted the luxury to slip back into his old, abusive behaviors. While I believe that Rick was sincerely repentant this time around, it wasn't enough for him to just want to "bury the hatchet" with Paige and friends. He made a student suffer because of his unchecked rage and almost killed her. Wanting to change is a good starting point, but he had to prove to everyone that he was different from last year, and students had no reason to believe that he was. Degrassi's opposition to his presence was a reminder that what he did couldn't be swept under the rug and forgotten about. He didn't just hurt Terri; he wounded her community as well. Just showing up and declaring that he's changed simply won't cut it.

On the other hand, getting the entire student body involved was a bit extreme, as not everyone knew Terri or even cared about her. Students like Jay Hogart were simply tormenting Rick for their own amusement. Jay loved to wreak havoc, and Rick was an easy target. No one was going to go out of their way to defend the guy, so why not have some fun? Treating Rick poorly on school grounds is one thing, but to heckle him at the Dot? Sure, it's a popular hang out spot for Degrassians, but they don't own the establishment, and Rick should be free to dine wherever he wishes. It's not like he's causing any trouble by ordering a cup of coffee. After Rick got jumped by Jay behind the Dot, Emma realized that her crusade had gone too far, and stopped the students from attacking him before he became severely injured.

Emma's involvement in Rick's plot, though it initially seemed to come out of left field, was necessary in order for Rick to see the error of his ways and to know what it felt like to be physically assaulted. After considering the events that happened to Emma in "King of Pain", the episode that preceded "Mercy Street", it makes perfect sense that she would take up a new cause at Degrassi in an attempt to be accepted and appreciated by a new group of friends. When fans look back at Rick's story, they usually view these episodes in a vacuum, forgetting about the buildup that came before the episode of Rick's return, and as a result, they are confused and annoyed about Emma's seemingly sudden involvement.

The Result

While Emma might not have meant for her campaign to take such a violent turn, I think after episode 4x04, Rick understood that he had to work extra hard in order to earn the rapport and acceptance of his classmates. He is sadly mistaken, however, that they are interested in his change of heart to begin with. Ironically, at the end of this episode, both Rick and Emma are social outcasts: Rick for putting Terri in a coma, and Emma for publicly defending him. Both were seeking approval from their peers, and neither of them received it in the end. In a sense, they are both on the same side against the student body, whether Emma likes it or not.

A Degrassi Essay Series About Rick Murray

Deja Vu? You might have seen this essay series if you're a part of the Degrassi Subreddit. That platform is designed for you to engage in discussions and debate with other redditors, which is why I like it, but there isn't much of a demand for blog posts. I created this blog so my posts have a better home. This will be part one of a lengthy essay series about one of Degrassi's most infamous recurring characters named Rick. 

Part 1

I like seeing a shift in tone amongst Degrassi fans, specifically to the reaction of Rick Murray's eight episode arc spanning seasons 3 and 4 of DTNG. From what I've gathered, the overall fanbase has shifted from having sympathy for the character, which I can understand considering what he did, to demanding to know why Rick didn't just pack up and go to another school after the incident he caused. In this essay series, I will cover popular fan discussions regarding the arc of Rick Murray, such as the inquiry upon his return, Principal Raditch's failure to act as his students expressed concerns about Rick, and other characters' interactions and reactions towards him.

Unfortunately, a lot went on after the coma incident and before Rick’s return off-screen, but it is some of the most important information that would answer a lot of questions. Did Mr. McGregor press charges against the Murrays? Was there a settlement? How extensive was Rick’s therapy, and for how long did he attend? Could they not prove that Rick was guilty of aggravated assault? Was there no physical evidence that could pin him to his crimes? Considering that Rick was able to continue his education, we can accurately guess the answers to a lot of these questions.

Most fans think tragedy could have been avoided if Rick had simply started over at a different school. I mean, it’s Toronto. Surely they aren't short on the number of schools in the city. I guess for Rick, it was either the devil he knew or the devil he didn't know. There are a few who do think it was better (at least before tragedy struck) for him to reset at Degrassi, though more for the sake of the students' safety rather than for Rick’s comfort. If Rick went to another school, it would benefit him greatly. No one would know about the abuse he inflicted on Terri, that is, assuming no one in this other school is affiliated with Terri. The only way anyone could receive any kind of information about Rick's history would be to ask the kid himself. Even after this inquiry, Rick would still have the ability to downplay his abuse or flat out deny that it even happened since his peers would have no proof that he did anything wrong, so there would be nothing anyone could do about it. Diving deeper into this hypothetical scenario, Rick, attending this non-Degrassi school, would have the opportunity to slip back into old habits since no one would hold him accountable or punish him for what he did to Terri. He would be more of a danger to women, assuming he would begin dating again at this other school, which is extremely likely. His problems aside--and they would be set aside in this scenario--Rick is portrayed as the shy, charming, yet eccentric, hopeless romantic. He would easily attract women, especially if they're unaware of how he treated his ex. At another school, Rick's abuse problem wouldn't go away: some other poor girl would simply fall victim to him.

Alas Rick made the decision to return to Degrassi. In his mind, he's hoping for his pupils to forgive and embrace him. Whether he is determined or delusional, it does take some strength of character to go back to a place where potentially an entire class of students will detest you. Rick chose redemption over comfort, the path of most resistance. Whether or not someone would return to a school under these circumstances is up for debate. Would you really want to go back to a community where you nearly killed a well-known and well liked person, or would you be eager to get as far away from it as possible? Nonetheless, Rick's presence at Degrassi makes for good drama, and that's what this franchise is all about.

I believe that Rick realized he could have failed in his quest for forgiveness, and that if he did, he could at least avoid Marco, Paige, Spinner, and Jimmy, and instead center his social life around his new peers: the class of '07. Repeating a year has its benefits: if Paige and pals rejected his apology, he could at least make nice with the grade ten students, right?

That's where Emma comes in and throws a wrench in things... (continued in part 2)

Welcome!

 I've tried my hand at blogging years before, but it felt like I was forcing myself to write. For some reason, I felt like it was a requirement for me to write about all that went on in my life, but that's just not my cup of tea. I much prefer to write about my interests, especially media outlets like books, television shows, movies and video games. I'm a big fan of civil discord and bridging the gap between our differences as humans. That isn't to say I won't include any cool life stories: I just find my life to be painfully boring to include in any blog updates at this time. I mean that in a positive way, mind you: life is pretty alright.

That being said, I will tell you a little about myself: I attended college for over half-a-decade, had a political transformation not once but twice. What I believed ten years ago may not be what I subscribe to in the present day. I looked back on my old blogs and posts and cringed at the things I was writing about at the time--that's how big of a change has occurred in my thinking. I wish I had the guts to leave them up, but I experienced so much second-hand embarrassment from my past self that I decided to delete my old blogs, so if you've seen any of my old stuff, I am so sorry.

If you're a fan of Degrassi, you might like this page. My content will primarily be devoted to my essays regarding the popular Canadian teen drama series, but it won't be exclusive to that. I have the bulk of these Degrassi essays up on my Tumblr account, and I tried to launch my series in the Degrassi Subreddit community, but I feel my blogs are best suited for a blogger platform--go figure, right?

The title of my blog is inspired by fictional characters such as Rick Murray, Yugi Mutou, and Angela Delvecchio, all who were teens in their designated shows/movies who have one thing in common: they were the unpopular kids who struggle(d) to find acceptance from their peer groups. Not all of them are innocent, but they all are relatable in that were all underdogs in some way or another. These are the characters in fiction who have had the biggest impact on me as a teenager coming of age back in the day. If this sort of thing intrigues you, then I hope you find what I have to say intriguing.

Warm regards,

Chellie Spinelli