Declan from Degrassi Sucks; Let Me Count The Ways

[@maggiedk]

Oh my god, THANK YOU for talking about the fact that Declan literally assaulted Holly J. The fact that the show didn't acknowledge that that's what happened is so upsetting to me and I can't believe people don't talk about it more.

[@sweetgeo96]

Right? Holly J literally said "No" even if she didn't it definitely clear how uncomfortable she was and still a no ugh I hate Declan

[@NotAVampyre]

I think the show was acknowledging it even though the characters weren't. The way it's shot isn't romantic, as if the camera is telling the viewer this isn't okay, regardless of what Holly J thinks. How she reacted unfortunately matches how situations like that were often thought about the time, but you're also right that it would have been better for the show to take a firmer stance on it. Help viewers to understand that no means no. It's one of the few places Degrassi ends up not ahead of the conversation.

[@sweetgeo96]

@NotAVampyre True she did talk to Fiona and said something like "UI can't tell you because you're his sister " which is really sad

[@NotAVampyre]

Very much so. Holly J seemed so committed to idea that "it wasn't that bad" that she was pre-assuming Fiona would agree or somehow telling her would cause more harm disproportionate to what Declan did

[@sweetgeo96]

​@@NotAVampyre Absolutely 😢 Poor Holly J

[@shannonfilialunae1359]

Fiona is just the better Coyne sibling 🤷🏼‍♀️😆

[@kelsey1467]

the sister always seems like the better one and gets more focus like liberty and becky honestly dannys good i just feel like liberty gets more focus

[@NotAVampyre]

Man, poor Danny. I liked him

[@katie8629]

I don't love Fiona either tbh😂 she's a bitch in her first season until she becomes friends with Holly J, then she's alright for a couple seasons but her bratty personality really shines through again in season 12 and overall she's just eh. However Declan is definitely still worse!

[@charity9660]

They both seem pretty wild to me. Bad in their own ways. We got to see Fiona do better and grow. They got rid of dude. So we don’t know if he got help and grew into a decent human being.

[@NotAVampyre]

wouldn't be surprised if he stayed the same

[@bigfatstacks857]

when spinner punched him i felt like i won the super bowl 😭

[@Tardcore]

One of the best scenes will always be spinner knocking him tf out

[@NotAVampyre]

Classic

[@SPDcru]

I always thought it was weird messaging to treat Declan's coercion toward Holly J as a "misunderstanding" type plot and not have his character be held accountable. I guess the show writers didn't want to taint his character since he was one of the attractive popular characters, but if my child self felt uneasy about it when it aired, despite having a crush on his character, that's not good. Degrassi has always had some weird, questionable plots though (like didn't Sav have a thing with Ms O??)

[@NotAVampyre]

I don't think it was trying to "not taint" Declan because this is how I and many others thought of SA at the time. This was how manu of us viewed the conversation, and though I'd have preferred Degrassi take a stand for enthusiastic consent, they did a good job of capturing what people felt at the time. That somehow what happened with Declan and Holly J "wasn't THAT bad".

[@devonmunn5728]

Degrassi ran into the same issue with Drew and Katie's sexual encounter under very murky circumstances. Also to a lesser degree Imogen abusing Eli which never really was fully fleshed out

[@prescott0913]

Oh you chewed him up 😂😂😂 love to see it

[@NotAVampyre]

XD thanks! It was kinda fun to just be merciless on a character for once. Usually I'm defending a character in some way, but nah, Declan sucks.

[@KitsuneRokaku]

I didn't like Declan but I love Landon as an actor. His roles seem to be more diverse than his Degrassi run. Is he the greatest actor? Not really but it varies depending on the day. The hate for Declan seems warranted but Landon shouldn't be blamed for the role he played. He's just doing his job.

[@NotAVampyre]

Oh of course. None of my hate towards the character extends to the actor. If anything, I applaud him for making Declan so believable. I think he did a good job of playing Declan.

[@KitsuneRokaku]

@@NotAVampyre Exactly. Declan's character consistency should be owed to Landon. He saw the script and rolled with it. True professionalism.

[@SPDcru]

no one is blaming the actor, it's the writing that makes his character questionable. He did his best with an underwritten character but at the end of the day, he's still kind of unlikable.

[@NotAVampyre]

Unfortunately Declan isn't an under written character. He's very well written and consistent. It's just that Declan as a person is bad. Not his actor or quality of writing.

[@sadiejuliano]

he’s so damn good in hemlock grove.

[@amwfan88]

Thank you for this video! It honestly really troubles me that so many people want Holly J and Declan to be endgame. And it really bothers me that people actually like Declan as a character.

[@NotAVampyre]

Thanks! I do think Declan plays an important role in the show and understand why people get charmed by him since the actor pulled him off very well and added charisma to the character, but I also agree that he should not be end game with Holly J. Hopefully he actually does growing eventually, but it might not be in him to even think he needs to.

[@SuperSara924]

I’m glad in the last decade people have started to understand SA can be coercion and not always flat out r**e. I never really liked Declan, but after that episode he really rubbed me the wrong way and I was only like 14/15. He never respected holly j, she was just objected to obtain to him and I feel like that episode proved it

[@jensendsflowers]

I feel like Holly J and Declan’s relationship was too quick and serious. It felt like unlike other Degrassi relationships.. got so much screen time so early. They were portraying a fairytale and it felt very unrealistic for high school students. I like Fiona and Declan but I didn’t like the inclusion of these rich kids in the show… it took Degrassi in the direction of any other teen drama. Now I think they were trying to recreate Chuck and Blaire.

[@NotAVampyre]

Unfortunately, I've seen a few relationships irl that were immediately serious and seemed perfect, but then over time revealed how toxic they actually were. And, I think Degrassi showed it well. The best remembered parts of those relationships are always at the start where you feel like everything is perfect, or that you can easily ignore the less than perfect part. Declan and Holly J was intense on a larger scale because wealth was involved.

[@oooh19]

Well miles family was wealthy too also the Eclare relationship was too much but a lot of the audience liked the relationship drama 🎭

[@tamara_diamonds422]

@@oooh19. Clair was rich. Not Eli. And Miles was not a snobby spoiled rich kid like Declan was.

[@christinamcrfan2345]

1:37 finally some recognition for my girl voula!! Wish she was on the show longer

[@NotAVampyre]

Same! I loved her!

[@shimmershine6902]

We needed like…character progression. An arch. Growth. _Something._ I was more interested in the peanut butter girl from the Degrassi High episodes than I was in Declan.

[@NotAVampyre]

Man, I like peanut butter girl too. She was interesting

[@drethethinker6418]

Honestly I didn't wanna see anything from Declan 😂 I feel like he served his purpose by being who he was

[@shimmershine6902]

@@NotAVampyre When she went from eating a jar of peanut butter > eating a box of Dipps granola bars

[@NotAVampyre]

I can't remember for the life of me what her name is, but I swear it starts with T

[@JP-pp2tn]

yeah he didn't really get to much growth sadly, only thing they did was have him stop seducing dumb girls like jane to cheat on their boyfriends

[@lilspookymama]

No because i got so excited seeing this posted. Amazing content as always!!!

[@NotAVampyre]

Thank you!

[@paulae4033]

I love that you published this today because I saw a tiktok that said Declan and Holly J relationship was superiour to the Sav and Holly J relationship and its like Declan is one of the worst degrassi boys.😊

[@NotAVampyre]

Yuck. Yeah uh nope! there's a reason Declan and Holly J aren't on my top 10 couples but Sav and Holly J are.

[@drethethinker6418]

Rotfl Sav and Holly J had one of the most mature relationships in the entire series.

[@HenshinHeroesMedia]

@@NotAVampyre I didn't get the romance, but around declan came around, I never got the appeal. Not the actor's fault but he wasn't my fave and was forgettable at times. Sav was better and I prefer him and holly j, even if it broke the girl code with anya.

[@reeses_unicorn]

No means no and it should always be respected.

[@drethethinker6418]

I feel like from a male perspective that should be the case but we are so miseducated and there are so much nuances to the adult world and courtship, like consenting non-consent. And so many people have traditional mindsets where they believe "no" means I'm a lady playing hard to get. Our culture really need restructuring at least in the US

[@taynixdoomslug]

​@DreTheThinker no means no. with cnc that's established beforehand

[@thxwanderer]

I agree with so much said here EXCEPT Declan's treatment of Peter. Why in the hell would I feel bad for Peter, out of all people?😂

[@NotAVampyre]

I'm bothered about the why Declan mistreated Peter. Like, Peter karmicly deserved it, but I wont stand for class based abuse lol

[@thxwanderer]

@@NotAVampyre (I'm so mad I never get notifs for anything). I totally agree with this reasoning, but I won't lie, I did enjoy the bullying for what it was. I never really thought about the why when I was watching those episodes as they came out. But I also don't agree with class based abuse.

[@Markaylaa0]

Textbook definition of a creep tbh lol

[@NotAVampyre]

Yup. The writers really captured the essence of this sort of person.

[@rinisonline4312]

honestly the fact that sav and holly j weren’t endgame literally eats away at me

[@NotAVampyre]

I get why they weren't, but they were so good together!!

[@lindawilliams1933]

Not me.

[@fawnedcan4215]

In a way, I wanted holly j to find someone waaaay better since she did go to Yale after graduating

[@NotAVampyre]

She likely did. Most high school relationships don't last after high school anyways

[@JP-pp2tn]

sav and holly were good, but i honestly wanted them to make spinner and holly j a couple

[@danielleblakeman7066]

I loved Declan so much when I was younger... I was like Claire I just thought he was hot but when I rewatch I'm like... hmmm

[@jdgx95]

i got into degrassi very late but his whole character struck me as idk a plot device? like he was terrible nudged other characters forward in terms of plot...then kinda vanished ...even with a character like peter that isn't great but actively tries to get better .. TRY being the keyword i honestly forget declan is a character ...its like if a gossip girl villain got lost and ended up in degrassi

[@NotAVampyre]

He did well helping other stories along. Unfortunately I can't write him off as just a part of the story since I know guys like him do exist. Some people just don't grow or think they need to be better.

[@devonmunn5728]

That's just Degrassi's MO. If they felt like they used a character enough they drop them like a hot potato

[@sweetgeo96]

Yeah Declan was always so boring to me even before season 10 with what he did to Holly J I never cared the only Coyne to me is Fiona I literally forget she has a twin

[@NotAVampyre]

Haha it is easy to forget

[@sweetgeo96]

@@NotAVampyre Right!!

[@chaosspy6723]

Why did they give fiona holly j's storyline? The poor little rich girl thing only works so many times at once.

[@NerdyReviews921]

I never got the appeal of Declan, TBH. Like yeah he’s good looking and rich. But like, what else is there? At least Fiona had story arcs and character development. Whereas, Declan was just there to be a fuckboy who kinda got off on just trying to get what he wants because that’s what he’s used to.

[@NotAVampyre]

Sometimes it's fun to watch unabashedly evil/dubious characters, especially when the actor makes them charming. It's not an appeal I feel either, but I kinda get it.

[@NerdyReviews921]

@@NotAVampyre I mean, I get it too, but personally when it comes to men, once a dick, always a dick. No amount of charm is going to change my mind on that lol

[@pleaseshutup7053]

Declan was awesome in the drama sense he just showed up and caused problems

[@soph7550]

Declan always gave me the impression that he thought he was better and could just get away with anything because he's so rich. Fiona (post-NY disaster, of course) was surprisingly down to Earth given the family's privilege. Declan, though... entitlement!!

[@NotAVampyre]

Fiona had son snobishness, but it wasn't as integral to how she viewed the world as it was to Declan. She could learn whereas Declan so far could not.

[@kelsey1467]

i wonder if declan works as a foil to holly j a rich kid who didn't really change and holly j did although that could be me reading too much into it

[@NotAVampyre]

It's an interesting idea. I'm not sure, but it sounds cool

[@oooh19]

Holly J’s family was rich then struggled

[@lindawilliams1933]

I think they just found a way to damage him and Holly J. to make Sav look good. It didn't work for me and I was mad. He had no problem pleading his case to his parents about Holly J. But could never do it with Anya. How they didn't know Anya would have been a scholar.

[@NotAVampyre]

I mean... did you watch my video? The reason why Declan and Holly J didnt work wasn't something that came out of nowhere. It was always apart of his character.

[@lindawilliams1933]

@NotAVampyre Yeah, but she still fell for him.

[@quantasium]

Remember, Degrassi tries to follow the mainstream and looks for what’s popular with teens (especially teen girls). In the late 2000s, it was rich, preppy white guys because shows like Gossip Girl and 90210 were very popular. Degrassi followed that trend by introducing the character Declan.

[@NotAVampyre]

I think you misunderstand. I'm not condemning Degrassi for introducing Declan. If anything, I applaud them for fleshing him out so entirely that he's realistic and unfortunately is recognizable as a type of person who exists irl.

[@quantasium]

@@NotAVampyre I wasn’t trying to be argumentative and I apologize if I came off that way. I was just saying that I knew that Declan was going to be a arrogant, rich d-bag when he was introduced. A lot of the rich guys on the other shows were not very good people either. I do agree that he was a well fleshed out character though.

[@usernameispat]

i love ur commentary on the degrassi characters.

[@NotAVampyre]

Thank you!

[@nikkinitrogen]

I was in a relationship with a guy who looked and acted like Declan as the episodes were coming out of Declan and Holly J getting together, so I definitely romanticized the hell out of him and them together way more than I should have and it made me miss so many red flags of the relationship I was in at the time. Even to this day, they're one of my favourite ships. It's illusory truth for me at this point, can't shake it. But like... right off the bat, you're bringing up how condescending he was with Peter... The guy who leaked a drunk minors nudes and only got a slap on the wrist, is a drug addict, and who attempted to shame Darcy into having sex with him before and after her assault. If anything, I think picking on Peter is a GOOD thing.

[@NotAVampyre]

But, he didn't pick on Peter for any of those reasons. He picked on Peter for simply being lower class and dating Mia.

[@nikkinitrogen]

@@NotAVampyre which is deffo valid, but I don't hold it against Declan because Peter did the same thing to other people when he first joined the show. I'm not going to sneeze at Declan for delivering karma. I agreed with your other points though. Wild how many red flags I missed when I was younger.

[@manband20]

I feel like a major reason why they never pulled the trigger on Declan being a full villain is the same reason why they never pulled the trigger on Peter becoming a full villain. They needed a 1st/2nd string "handsome male lead" for the show and they didn't want to ruin a potential teen boy idol for the younger female fans to gawk at and write fanfics about on the forums to keep the show alive. That honestly was one of the biggest problems with Degrassi is they almost never pulled the trigger on people being a true "main villain" in the seasons except in rare cases like Esme and Luke Baker, but even Esme was a tragic villain who just needed meds and therapy and wasn't just an outright asshole. I wrote this massive Reddit post a few years ago rewritting one of the worst storylines in the entire show (Degrassi Nudes... god what a mess) as a thought experiment and imo it worked out extremely well and still holds up years later to notorious imposter syndrome suffering me. All I had to do was add in a heinously villainous character and making them be behind everything who was then subsequently was written off after everything that happened instead of ruining character development. Point is: villains are good. Giving them redemption arcs and ignoring what made them such bad people harms the show. (If you have ten minutes to read the reddit post and have any thoughts on it, please feel free to share because I might use the building blocks of this fantasy booking storyline for a future book of my own haha) www.reddit.com/r/Degrassi/comments/g1v7rw/fixing_the_degrassi_nudes_storyline/

[@NotAVampyre]

I think I very much disagree. Putting a "main villain" into Degrassi makes Degrassi stop resembling real life. Even real world villains can be complicated and seem okayish in other contexts. No one is all evil or all good. We're all different shades of both, some leaning more to one side than the other. That's why I hate Declan so much. He's real. I've known and heard of people like him. Folks who in one light seems pretty alright, but then you struggle to weigh the very real evil he's done/could do again. I love him for how much he loves his family and how chill he was about Clare's crush, but I hate him for his self centered world view and how he doesn't see others as people with rights to their own autonomy. That's why I struggle to hate Rick. He does alot of evil, but I also empathize with his desire to just learn and move on, even though he ultimately chose not to. Hell, I bet if we spent more time with Luke, I'd have conflicting feelings about him like Becky did (though of course what he did to Zoe would always tip the scales). Having a big bad pull the strings for bad things happening in the show stops it from being about real people and how they can make mistakes. It's not ruining character development to have them still mess up after supposedly being "redeemed", as if growth and change only happens in one direction. Fact is that some people take a long time to really learn lessons and others may struggle to healthily apply the lessons they learned. That's why I find it very believable how long it took Zoe to lose her mean girl tactics. It's difficult to unlearn how you've been living your life for years, especially when it's rooted in trauma (I don't doubt Zoe was that way because of being a child actor and how her mother treated her with conditional love). Of course Zoe would struggle to cope with difficult situations and resort to her old ways when people aren't giving her what she wants. Unfortunately, she had to learn via the consequences of her actions that she needed to cope/deal in other ways. And some people just don't learn. They can act like one of the goodie goods in some moments while still being villainous in others. That's why I don't trust that Declan and Owen are okay people. Any growth they had seems accidental and not lessons they actually learned. It wouldn't shock me to hear they continued to be awful in the ways that made me hate them early on in the show before they stopped being portrayed as antagonists.

[@azzz7279]

the Canadian Chuck Bass of Degrassi

[@MalloryNewcomb]

What an immature character: I remember that whole dubious consent plot line. As an adult I’m like wow you really don’t respect her dude. If y’all are meant to be together just show her that with your actions: be there for her expecting nothing in return and if you guys are so meant to be, she would see it to. Naw fam 🙄

[@joshshipp2979]

Declan wasn't in much though it was only in season 9 and season 10 part 1 but he wasn't on much after that but Fiona I loved her better she's beautiful ❤

[@joshshipp2979]

Declan was a jerk for getting with Jane in season 9 whenever she was still with Spinner but Jane wasn't right either she decided to cheat on Spinner with Declan

[@oooh19]

Wait isn’t Peter wealthy though? His dad at least. He got a fancy car for him

[@sweetgeo96]

He is yes but not as wealthy as the Coyne's Peter I think is almost Hollingsworth rich?

[@NotAVampyre]

His dad's got money, but the Coynes are on another level socially and wealth wise.

[@chaosspy6723]

Ngl Mia was stupid for dating Peter. He ruined the lives of 2 other girls (Manny and Darcy) and she had a daughter to think about.

[@NotAVampyre]

I don't think she knew about thay stuff. I wonder if she did

[@ryabenson4322]

How did he ruin darcy??

[@chaosspy6723]

@Rya Benson Setting her up with that creep that followed her and her sister home. He practically digitally pimped her out to a creep, and pics are forever.

[@rachellelopez8461]

Just saw your top 10 fav couples of degrassi and I hope you make a top 10 would have been couples. Like couples who hooked up but didn’t end up dating

[@NotAVampyre]

I might consider it in the future, but tbh making ranked list videos is very hard for me. My brain just doesn't naturally think that way, so it felt a bit like pulling teeth to make the couples vid. Actually, if the Degrassi YT channel didn't make such a horrendous top 10 couples video, mine might not have ever gotten made.

[@MikeyTheCartoon]

I wasn’t really of fan of Degrassi, but 11 year old me just thought Declan was this cool guy who knew how to charm women. I really only watched episodes that had him in it, even after he became a reoccurring character. Then they made him into this desperate creep in his last two episodes and it just kinda ruined it for me.

[@NotAVampyre]

But he was always a creep. They didn't turn him into one as I demonstrated in my video

[@CountryReba]

I think the 2 worst non-main characters characters in the whole series is Derrick and Dave.. they both did so much hateful stuff

[@NotAVampyre]

Hey, at least sometimes Dave learned and grew.

[@sweetgeo96]

Dave is a main character... and he actually genuinely good he unlearned his transphobia and learned from it he apologise and became friends with Adam

[@CountryReba]

@@sweetgeo96 but he tased Wesley for clout

[@MalloryNewcomb]

1:21 Oh my word I LOVE Live action Peter Pan!!!

[@NotAVampyre]

Yay me too! I actually made a video about part of why it's so great (really it's worthy of those hour long dissections, but idk if I have the words to write it) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWmbq6Ftlp6qibc

[@MalloryNewcomb]

@@NotAVampyre 😌 I saw that and I believe it’s on my Watch list. It’s so obscure for most people but when I remember every once in a blue moon… #wrecked

[@NotAVampyre]

Man, it's crazy to me that it's considered obscure, but then again I might have a skewed idea of obscure when it comes to Peter Pan.

[@abbyj8680]

I know I'm super late, but if you happen to see this, there are 2 Degrassi-related topics that I'd LOVE to see you talk about if you have the chance: 1. The Alli/Leo relationship. I'm tired of the narrative I see in the fandom that "Alli is too smart to get into an abusive relationship"...whether people see it or not, that idea contributes to victim-blaming. 2. The storyline with Darcy's MyRoom page. I've seen people argue that Darcy's behavior in those episodes came out of nowhere, when in my eyes, it's a very clear representation of Darcy being sexually repressed.

[@charity9660]

I thought he wasn’t that bad compared to some of them other whackos 😂

[@nicollettes4665]

I know I should hate Declan but the charm is blinding me lol. He is still one of my fave characters.

[@NotAVampyre]

That's how I feel about Eli at certain points

[@jakecardwell74]

Number 1: His eyebrows

[@NotAVampyre]

But they're beautiful

[@sailorsister211]

Another Declan's jerky moment, that I feel like a lot of people dismiss since Fiona wasn't really much of saint when she was introduce esp to Holly J. However I found it very cold of Declan, that during the summer in Manhattan, to cut Fiona out, to spend more time with Holly J. Yes I know Holly J was only there for the summer and he was his gf that he was in love with. However Fiona was his sister and best friend, they were all each other have for years. As someone who struggles with makig friends and having my sister as my best friend. I did felt bad for Fiona, she never shown to have any friends other than Declan. He could have still had a summer love with Holly J and have some brother and sister time with Fiona. Just like in any relationship, you have to have some time to spend with friends and family.

[@NotAVampyre]

To my memory, he only cut Fiona out when she became too much for him to manage, I.e after he realized she wasn't going to try to make nice with Holly J. After Fiona kissed Declan so that Holly J would be scared away, Declan was in over his head and needed outside help. He realized Fiona needed more help than him just being a good brother.

[@sailorsister211]

@@NotAVampyre True but look at it from Fiona's POV from the beginning Declan never had any intention to spend time with Fiona. He even told Fiona that his plans his entire summer with Holly J. Imagine being in her situation if your best friend, once they got into relationship, they have zero intentions on hanging out with u. My guess is that since Fiona has been against all Declan's relationship is maybe bc Declan started to ditch her for his gfs. Unlike Declan, Fiona has always struggle making friends and building relationship with ppl. It doesn't help she moves around a lot, so Declan was probably not only her twin brother but her one and only best friend. I do believe if Declan had try to make time for Fiona and included her his plans with Holly J maybe Fiona would have made nice with Holly J sooner. Fiona did started to form a friendship with Holly J the beginning in s10, when she was with Bobby. Even before the abuse, I don't believe Fiona ever had feelings for Bobby but she felt less lonely with him. I do know its not Declan responsibility to babysit Fiona but I do believe even if your nice loving relationship, you should always make times with friends and family. At the end no one wants to be 2nd choice.

[@NotAVampyre]

don't forget though that Fiona basically put all of her social interaction on Declan. She didn't have friends of her own and wasn't interested in growing or branching out. She was fine to burden Declan with being her only friend and basically wanting him to cut out his own relationships just to spend time with her. And it wasnt something she did with only Holly J. In New York, it's revealed that she pushed away all of his previous girlfriends because she wanted Declan all to herself. She didn't want him to sometimes prioritize other relationships or want spend time with others. She wanted to monopolize him because she was more comfortable with him being her only friend.

[@dyev7096]

Declan was a popular character but I never understood why. He's rich and suave I guess, but he didn't really do anything for me lol

[@dylanjohnson3346]

Yeah agreed only thing keeping him in dont care for instead of dislike is hes a good brother. Speaking of his sister its funny shes my fav lol

[@baymoo]

I liked him with holly J but him single and having that bachelor mentality made me hate him, so when he left, I didn’t have any real emotion nor did I care.

[@yvesus7]

omg you’re back!! 🤭

[@NotAVampyre]

^_^

[@cxrs4097]

I don’t like Declan, but I can’t say i completely agree, I do not think Declan was a good person; but good people and good characters are different. I think Rick is a good example of this. Even though the show actively demonized him, as they should have, the character was essential and had a purpose. Declan, while not a good person, was purposely there to make Holly J a better person, and to do so they had to first make Declan a bad guy as well. They tried with Blu to make Holly J a better person, but that was quickly shot down because it did not work, so they turned Blu into a bully for a couple of episodes. Holly J needed another chaotic neutral to match her personality. Declan’s treatment of Peter was extremely deserved. Yes, Declan may have thought he was treating Peter unfairly, however, that is exactly how Peter treated everyone else around him. Peter used his money and power to expel kids from school, got away with being an accessory to murder, evaded child pornography charges, blackmail, etc. If any character from Degrassi sucks, it’s Peter. Peter had no purpose in the show other than being an antagonist to any women that came into contact with him. I completely agree with everything else, but going to the assault, i don’t like the way Declan reacted to it, however, i think that was the point. Holly J was the first character in Degrassi to not process their assault immediately, which is definitely something I will praise the show for. Some people (me included) take years to realize what happened to them was assault, and especially considering it was someone so close to her, like most cases of SA are, and it taking place towards the end of her senior year, her not acknowledging it in her last few episodes in the show makes a lot of sense to me personally, as someone who has gone through something similar. Degrassi has always been rooted in reality, and there’s nothing more real than that. Yeah, Declan is a bad person, but he made Holly J one of the best characters in Degrassi.

[@acl0227]

THANK YOU!!! I thought I was the only one. I always found him to be a condescending, first class jackass. I was honestly so happy when Spinner punch the crap out of him in Degrassi Takes Manhattan

[@NotAVampyre]

Hahaha yeah, I always feel a level of satisfaction when Spinner punches him too

[@RyRyBrxt]

I hate myself for still liking Declan cause I know I shouldn't but I just do. I did ship him and Holly J and thankfully that ship has sailed but I still like him from his good moments. I truly give my liking of him to the actor though because that character is just deplorable.

[@NotAVampyre]

I don't think that's something to hate yourself over. You see the appeal in the character while not ignoring the problematic parts.

[@alwayssmiling9395]

Declan was a character that just never interested me. I found myself rolling my eyes 90% of the time that I saw him on screen and indifferent for the other 10%. From the very first episode he appeared in he was just there to me.

[@shanecoolbaugh]

Love the way you say his name 🤣

[@NotAVampyre]

I don't even know how I say it lol

[@shanecoolbaugh]

@@NotAVampyre just the tone is perfect and had me rofl 😆

[@NotAVampyre]

XD

[@ninashewchuk8976]

The fact that the writers brought in someone was bland as Declan to destroy Spinner and Jane's relationship is borderline offensive. It's also hilarious how hyped his character was in season 9 when he ultimately added nothing to the show while Fiona got pushed aside until he left, and then she ended up becoming one of the most enigmatic, beloved characters in the entire franchise.

[@NotAVampyre]

I really wouldn't call Declan bland. Despicable yes, but not bland. I can totally see why Jane would be enticed by him, but still ultimately not want to stay with him.

[@drethethinker6418]

Great video. Imo the best things about Declan are related to other characters. 1.) I think he made Sav and Holly J stronger and help display the maturity of what they had especially considering I know many guys who in Sav's position would have labeled Holly J a cheater and split. Sav and Holly J are such amazing characters, and how they handled Declan shows it. 2.) Declan also complimented Fiona and Holly J's stories, growth, and the relationship between the two. Holly J and Fiona had one of the best friendships and without Decs we wouldn't have had that. He also shows that while some, like Holly J and Fiona grow, other stagnate and remain constant. Stories need people like this for realism. Even Sav grew into his own over the years but Declan is an important character for that reason. Even if he is forgetable.

[@NotAVampyre]

Exactly. Not everyone has a character arc or growth. Some people just stay the same, for better or for worse

[@margaretdiaz6043]

I was so hyped to see this video because yes I don’t get his hype in the show like he legit assaulted holly j and I think just cause he was rich he was seen as a good match but idk holly j deserves the best and honestly I would have loved her and Fiona anyway

[@eva_art_0533]

Finally I hated Declan. He always gave me the icks especially in his last couple episodes

[@NotAVampyre]

Yeah, the end of his time on the show just capped off everything wrong with him as a person.

[@Cynchronicity7]

Mark Hamil and (Oh! Aphrodite!) Jason Isaacs! Be still, my heart!😍🥰

[@NotAVampyre]

Ah, someone who can relate!!

[@LordJudgement1818]

i enjoyed declan because the show needs someone like him to be well rounded.

[@NotAVampyre]

Ugh unfortunately there's guys like him irl

[@LordJudgement1818]

@@NotAVampyre unfortunately

[@Amy_V423]

I couldn’t stand Declan, Declan+Holly J, OR like anything revolving around with him 😑 He simply was overrated and underwhelming as a character. Landon Libroin? Love him! Great actor.

[@NotAVampyre]

His actor definitely did a good job performing the character.

[@mramos1126]

Degrassi the next generation jumped the shark with Declan.

[@NotAVampyre]

Howso?

[@mramos1126]

@@NotAVampyre he was more of a plot device. with his wealth it makes some story lines more convenient .

[@NotAVampyre]

I don't think I see what you're getting at because I feel like the character was written and fleshed out enough that I could see him as being able to exist outside of the show (unlike Blue or Kelly), and his wealth was integral to explaining/showing how selfish of a person he is. He's use to having power and being able to pay off his whims, something that wouldn't have developed if he were a man of humbler means.

[@sailorsister211]

I don't condone assault at all and Spinner should have handled it better by using his words, for his sake since punching a rich entitled high school white boy could have gone bad for him. However, it was very satisfying to see Declan getting punched. Looking back the episode of Declan trying to win Holly J's heart is very cliche. You did bring up a good point about Declan trying to buy Holly J. He never really ask her if that was what she wanted. He did it for Holly J to put him first, you see a huge difference when Fiona would open her wallet for Holly J, since never expect anything in return, maybe the one time she felt lonely. I so agree with the love lockdown. He even played the victim in the episode. Like confronting her about what happened at her workplace while she was on the clock and had customers. Then getting upset when Holly J refuses to talk to him at that moment. First of all, work is not the place to sort out this thing. Then left her a note saying he was out of her life forever when she just refuse to have to talk to him when she was working. Kinda like when a kid threatens to runaway from home when they don't get what they want.

[@sipurpashot4208]

What i love him

[@jojocircus9818]

i wish we got more derek storylines. he had a lot of potential to grow

[@NotAVampyre]

Or at least more to see how/why he became the person he did. What happened to his friendship with Danny and such?

[@jjthepikazard212]

i hated him from the moment i saw him. i couldn't finish season 9 the first time bc i hated him sm (still my least favorite season)

[@joeyisstrong]

I thoyht I was the only one that hated that little notch

[@liallialcroc]

i love your degrassi content!

[@NotAVampyre]

Thank you very much!

[@kelsey1467]

is miles declan done better

[@NotAVampyre]

Wouldn't say he's done better because that suggests Declan is a bad character. Miles is a better person than Declan

[@Carolina-761h]

@@NotAVampyre I think they meant that Miles was written better not that he’s a bad person?

[@NotAVampyre]

I think so too, and that's what I'm disagreeing with

[@oooh19]

I’m thinking Miles reminds me of Macaly Culkin a bit idk why but just a little bit

[@gradis13]

Declan it's the worts.

[@alexacampo8293]

Peter sucked too. He deserved getting a hard time from Declan.

[@lindawilliams1933]

I didn't like Declan with Jane. the writers messed him and Holly J. up. But I'll take him over Sav any day.

[@NotAVampyre]

Whys that? what's wrong with Sav?

[@lindawilliams1933]

@@NotAVampyre Sav was needy and boring and he fell in love with everyone around him and when they dump him, he acts like they were the problem. It' was all about him and never the girl.

[@tutsebhatu6495]

ye hes a creep

[@9roselove9]

Ma’am you better stop lying! Holly j took her clothes off bc she wanted to. It was not assault. She could have left and she chose to stay. Period

[@NotAVampyre]

I take it you're not up to date on the concept of enthusiastic consent and consent under duress. Her eventually giving in to Declan is not the same as her saying yes from the start. It's very clear Holly J wouldn't have made that decision if Declan listened to her when she said nothing would happen between them.

[@jayfree4979]

I had the biggest crush on himmmm and still do ugh I know I hate me too lol

[@NotAVampyre]

Haha it's okay. that's how I am with Eli.