The Dumbest Reasons You Hate Maya

Maya is often cited as one of the most annoying and disliked characters on Degrassi, and often for poor reasons as NotAVampyre explains.
Disclaimer: Some clips have been mirrored due to YT trying to run ads.
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[@ChristineTheHippie]

One thing that bothers me is when people criticize how Maya handled Cam’s issues. How can people expect thirteen year old girl should know what to say to someone who’s depressed when so adults don’t.

[@foxcharin]

Looking back on that, it’s clear that she had depression.

[@justsomegirlwithoutamustache]

what about dating the guy that enabled cam to kill himself and came in-between cam and maya's relationship when she told him she didnt want it

[@NotAVampyre]

You're giving Zig too much blame and credit.

[@justsomegirlwithoutamustache]

NotAVampyre cam chose to kill himself but Zig contributed to his mental health deteriorating. Zig got off easy for what he did and so did everyone else on Cam’s hockey team. Maya also fully blames cam and doesn’t take zigs actions into account as well as barely even caring about the death of her boyfriend. Also please explain how I give Zig too much blame because he DID come in between Cam and Maya’s relationship (which maya told him to not interfere with) whilst cheating on his girlfriend and he indirectly told Cam to kill himself the next morning. Not to mention he hates people feeling bad for cam

[@NotAVampyre]

He literally didn't say Cam shouls kill himself. Just to get out of Maya's life, and he himself confirms he never meant for Cam to die. There's also the fact that at the end of the day, Cam made the decision to die. Zig only happened to push him over the edge. Cam was so close to it already it honestly could've been anything unless Cam got serious help. The narrative of "people who commit suicide are just mistreated" isn't helping anyone and distracts from the things going on in Cam's head.

[@arleynesandoval1076]

Something that bothers me is when people get mad at Maya for doing the right thing. For example the Tristan teacher situation was clearly wrong But people in the comments section were so annoyed by her. She protected a friend from making a giant mistake that he should have thanked her for. Seemed like some of the people either didn't like her budding in (which to some extent I get, I am a little peeved at her character sometimes) or they were thinking it was a legit love story and Maya ruined it.

[@arleynesandoval1076]

It was so gross to me. Or maybe its BC in older than the intended audience.

[@dyev7096]

Yeah like what was she supposed to do? Keep quiet and support the pedo relationship? I think Tristan demonstrates well how hopeless being a gay teen is. You have nobody to go for, really.

[@conlon4332]

It did bug me when she did that. I know it's difficult but I'm pretty sure she promised to keep it a secret and then told. My problem was less that she told and more that she made a promise she couldn't keep. I'm pretty sure she said she wouldn't tell and then did. She shouldn't have lied to Tristen that she would keep his secret if she wouldn't. She should have explained to him at the time when he told her why she couldn't keep it a secret, rather than saying she would and then betraying him. She betrayed his trust by doing something she said she wouldn't. She shouldn't have said she wouldn't. That really was my biggest problem with all that.

[@ArtIsDrawing]

@@conlon4332 ok whatever snowflake. sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do even if its wrong. other way, she helped him.

[@NotAVampyre]

Hey, no need to start namecalling in a quiet discussion where people are voicing differing opinions. I also won't have namecalling in my comments.

[@hitmonkey3602]

I think Maya is a great character, her arc from the Cam romance to graduation is one of the longest arcs in Degrassi and if you look at her flaws as all coming from her having her first boyfriend killing themselves I think she comes across as one of the more interesting Degrassi characters.

[@AikoMonsimutaGamauri]

You should definitely make a video on Degrassi deaths and how they effect characters later in the series (example: JT)

[@NotAVampyre]

That wouldn't be a bad idea! Especially because the fallouts tend to be overlooked and they're mostly very well written.

[@ArkhamArtist27]

Finally someone defending Maya instead of hating on her. You made some excellent points. She is such an amazing character one of the best leads Degrassi has had in years

[@parisbarnes2820]

Shay for sure. I know people hate her for being I.e a goody_toe shoes but why can't a degrassi character actually be mindful of their actions (most times) and not want to get into trouble, or be rude or mean

[@NotAVampyre]

I actually did a video on Shay explaining why people are wrong for saying she has no character.

[@aldcbossladies4462]

My main issue with Maya is she's really self-righteous. She has the same savior complex that Emma and Clare had. The difference between the two being Emma faces her problems, and Clare at least recognizes that she causes her problem, Maya doesn't. She was this way before Cam and Cam only exascerbated it.

[@NotAVampyre]

Can you list some examples? Maybe it's just been a while since I've seen them, but I don't recall Maya refusing to face her problems.

[@foxcharin]

I also wanna understand how she is self- righteous.

[@justsomegirlwithoutamustache]

I agree

YES. I don't like Emma and hate Clare because of that, is like the show sets the to be always right no matter what and have this perfecly planned mistakes that they deal with flawlessly so they can say they had issues too. Maya is the next Clare in that matter, is like everyone loves them (within the show) and if you don't you lack empathy or something.

I don't think I dislike their characters tho, meaning the depth of it or how well-written it is, I just dislike the PERSON so much

[@AB-xj3rc]

My biggest problem is she got with Zig, after he tipped Cam over the edge. This always felt wrong to me.

[@NotAVampyre]

It's one of those situations where he didn't truly mean to tip Cam over. All he wanted was Cam out of Maya's life. Not for him to die. It's hard to say if he was purely motivated by wanting to be with Maya, or if he legit didn't think Cam was a good guy after how violent he got during floor hockey. Even still, I doubt Zig would've said something like that if he knew what was really going on in Cam's head. So, I can understand why Maya was able to look pass this. Plus, it was still Cam's decision to do it.

[@parisbarnes2820]

Me to

[@sweeety969]

Regardless of why he did it, it was a super shitty thing to do.

[@vmkblaster1]

He still treated her like shit and damaged her and Miles

[@NotAVampyre]

@@vmkblaster1 He did get better tho. And the ultimate reason for Miles and Maya's breakup was still Miles' decisions that were unrelated to Zig.

[@Xplreli]

I love Maya's character. Her, Zoe and Miles are all really developed. They are relatable and have the the most interesting story lines out of the Next Class bunch.

[@mayavines8875]

Other than Maya, I've seen a lot of collective hate (or annoyance rather) for Emma and Clare, and those reasons are pretty similar to why some people hate Maya (i.e. always in other people's business, always shown a lot in the show, etc.) Ashley is another character that gets a lot of hate, which frankly, I never quite understood why people can't stand Ashley lol. She's not my favorite character either, but I wouldn't say I hate her character. I've also seen my fair share of hate toward Peter or Mia. But the hate that kinda bothers me is the one toward Hazel, Chantay, and Marisol, who just so happen to be the Black, gossipy sidekicks to the popular mean girls (Paige, Holly J, and Katie respectively). I wish the show actually allowed their characters to do more and have more screen time instead of just becoming a stereotypical Black best friend. And the actress who played Hazel, Andrea Lewis, explained her resentment toward the show for not doing enough to allow their Black characters to be as three dimensional as they had the potential to be. This is why she feels like Hazel (and Chantay and Marisol) got a lot of unwanted hate from the fans because their characters never did much. However, I see that Degrassi has improved with developing their Black characters, and I hope they can continue to do the same for other characters of color :)

[@NotAVampyre]

I think some fans have an issue with "good guy" characters having flaws and not always doing the right thing. Ashley is pretty apt. She's mostly good, but also rather selfish and of herself. I'm glad we had Ashley because of the role she played, painful moments and all. Marisol I feel was getting more towards breaking away from "token Black bff", but you're right about lumping your black character into that stereotyle being an actual criticism. Much of the reason people hate Hazel and Chantay from what I've seen is that they were just there. Always sort of in the background or as a supporting character. I get the feeling folks wouldn't have minded them dropping off into the void since they didn't get to do much.

[@PlayfulFruitLPer]

Did ya'll forget how Ashley made passive aggressive remarks to Terri all of season 1, insulted all her friends, made out with Sean cheating on Jimmy. Then in S2 when she earned forgiveness, still cheated on Jimmy for Sean then lost everyone then became goth. She outted Manny to the whole school for being pregnant, badmouthed Rick in front of Toby who was struggling, acted wild when it turned out her dad was gay, removed Jimmy's rap from her song... She was always making awful choices.

[@sweetgeo96]

I'm sick of hate towards Clare it's not fair, I get everyone has opinions and I respect that but she has gone through alot since season 8. First with her sister leaving for Kenya, then season 10 her parents fighting and getting divorce, Season 11 rolls around she broken up with Eli and started dating Jake then their parents got married quickly and she has to deal with that, season 12 she gets sexually harassed but that creep Asher that justice been scary and tramaising, then a few months later on the summer she gets cancer months later she gets pregrant and a misscarrige less in a year and yet some people still hate her for dumb reasons. Ps I love Clare shes one of my fave charcters

[@Raw-Beauty21]

I get that Claire has been through a lot but she still does things to others(which are mainly people that she claims are her friends) that are very off putting. Examples: Nowhere to Run- Claire just dismissed Alli's concern for Dave not texting her back and even called her problem "pedestrian". And poor Alli later found out that Dave cheated on her and had to confide in strangers(Katie and Marisol) because Clare, her alleged "best friend" wasn't there for her. So I can't say I blame her for kissing Jake. But she was all up in arms about her mom marrying Jake's dad and was so wrapped up in her own life(as usual) that she didn't even realize that her best friend was actually going through something and needed her at that time. Hero Vs. Villan- Alli's "girl talk" about whether or not to have sex with Dallas is dismissed by Claire who says that she's "not in the mood" for it. Alli even said that she was always there for her when she needed girl talk but Claire was once again absent in Alli's time of need. Firestarter(1)- Claire pretty much implies that Jenna as a "trashy teen mom" when she was pregnant and insists that she wasn't like that. Like, Claire get over yourself. You are not a perfect angel so just stop. She also seemed to have a superiority complex and thought she was all holier than thou. My heart went out to her when she developed cancer and then suffered a miscarriage(I actually had to skip over that segment of the episode) but that stuff doesn't dismiss her behavior towards her alleged loved ones. And these are not minuscule things that she did either!

[@realemmcee]

I feel like most of the hate for Clare comes from Eli stans who think he is a perfect angel and every time he does something wrong it's always the other person's fault.

[@sweetgeo96]

emm cee I agree ie season 10 drop the world when he was being obsessive and prossesive people were blaming Clare

[@NotAVampyre]

I personally love Clare, but you're right. She does a lot of terrible things. The one that'll always bother me is that she didn't seek to apologize to Ali until she needed her help with the school paper. Even still, I appreciate the stories told through her, and her relationship with Eli will always be my favourite for how intersting it is to watch and disect.

[@NotAVampyre]

Clare is also a character who gets some unfounded hate, but she does earn some of the things people say. She is very "holier than thou", and struggles to put other's troubles before her own. Still, Clare is one of favourite characters too. I find her eternally interesting and very relatable to me personally.

[@onlyloversleft555]

"A beautiful emo boy with a wonderful smirk"😄 Eli is my favorite character mainly cause he's funny, sarcastic and kinda crazy. But I love him. Sorry I know this video was about Maya but I couldn't help myself.

[@lemondrizzlecake7766]

You make such an excellent point when you say that just because we don't like a character as a person (i.e. we wouldn't want to be friends with them in real life) it doesn't mean they're badly written as characters, and actually the opposite is true! I completely agree with you thta Maya is a very well written character, and although she was never my favourite I enjoyed her time on Degrassi. Some stories better than others, but I overall really liked her arc. Really cool channel, by the way, I just subscribed and I'll probably go back and leave a few comments on some other videos of yours. Keep doing what you're doing, because it's awesome!

[@NotAVampyre]

Thank you very much, and I'm glad you like my work!

[@tcc17301]

Going off of Maya’s life not being perfect, her mother is very sick, yes she was getting better but I can’t imagine what it was like when she was young. And her father was never there. Yes I get some characters have worse home lives but Maya’s was far from perfect.

[@milenaioana]

Thank you! I see so many people saying they hate maya or that they wouldn’t care if she died and i just don’t understand why. She is such a well-written, complex character. I know she did a lot of dumb stuff but it seems like people forgot that after season 12, everything she did was because of cam. He had such a big influence in her life, and she probably feels guilty for not saving him and that’s why she’s always trying to solve everyone’s problems. I love the build-up to her depression, which is also one of my favorite storylines, though i wish they wouldn’t have gotten rid of it so fast, ‘cause in season 4 it feels like it never happened. Overall, i really like maya and i wish they would have more characters written this well, aswell as storylines that are slowly building up over a bunch of seasons.

[@NotAVampyre]

I don't really agree that season 4 didn't address her depression. Sure, it didn't spend as much time on it as I would've liked (thanks Netflix format), but they still delved deeply into it. Mainly how her friends are dealing with her depression and post suicide attempt. We see people tip toeing around her, fearing pushing her over the edge. We also got to see Maya try to figure out what she wants now and realize she's not the worst at everything (i.e. SoCal Art). Not just that, but learning to enjoy things she once loved again like music and song writing.

[@Raw-Beauty21]

I agree that Maya's character was very well written and complex. And yes we all know that suffers from depression and PTSD but it doesn't mean that we just have to excuse EVERYTHING that she does. Just like NotAVampire had mentioned her breaking into Miles' house just to "check on him". Before that, she actual hacked into his FaceRange page and saw his post to tris about want to kill himself(which was just a figure of speech) which is what prompted her to break into his house in the first place. Like, who does that?! She became obsessed with helping people and the forceful way she went about it came across as meddling. NO one likes a meddler! Period! Let's take a look at Tristan's relationship with Yates. Yes it was wrong for obvious reasons but Maya came across as trying to help just to make herself feel better and not because she was "oh so worried" about Tristan. I get she's been through a lot but it doesn't mean that we're obligated to like her. This makes me think of Esme. She has definitely suffered some trauma but it doesn't negate that fact that she abuses and manipulates people.

[@CutterHistorical]

"She became obsessed with helping people and the forceful way she went about it came across as meddling. NO one likes a meddler! Period" She might compared to Emma on that point, i wrote on Reddit that I wasnt sure if it was a fair assessment to compare Maya and Emma cause of their issues but it was justified

[@NotAVampyre]

I think the comparison stops at them being meddlers. The two had very different reasons for being this way, even if they peeve fans and others for it.

[@stephsux]

i would love to see you talk about how much hate zig gets! i think some of it is justifiable, but other times the fandom blows it way out of proportion and dont cut him any slack

[@NotAVampyre]

That might be a video down the road. He can be such a meat head, but his heart is in the right place. I think a lit of the hate again stems from making poor choices and also his role in Cam's death, which I feel he gets too much flack for.

[@krtheluna332]

Maya was one of my favorite characters in Degrassi Next Class (which was how I was first introduced to the show). And when I found out that she was first introduced in DTNG season 11- I was so happy! Also her character and story arc was something i could connect to. and undertands.

[@MiniMeags]

My biggest issue with Maya is that they full on fucked off her cello. Like they made her play guitar and ditch her cello. The fact she played the cello reminded me that she wasn’t just some basic bitch.

[@celindareyesproductions5243]

I'm so glad that someone has finally defended Maya! Now I will say that Maya was never my favorite character but I do think that she was always unfairly overly hated. Maya's depression definitely is the root of a lot of the decisions she makes, and Cam's death really messed her up psychologically. However I also feel that Maya is a natural caregiver. She wants to help her friends because she feels a need to protect them. I think this was made more intense by Cam's death however even before that you see that Maya is willing to sacrifice things she wants (like starting a relationship with Zig, even though eventually they did cheat with each other), or hanging on to friendships that aren't very healthy (like starting a "friendship" with Zoe in order to make Tristan happy...I also don't like Maya & Tristan's friendship, but that's a discussion for another day). Basically I feel like the flaw that people hate Maya for the most is the fact that she always interferes in her friend's lives & I think that this although this is ampilifed by her depression & PTSD, it's also a part of who she naturally is & this makes her a very caring friend because she loves her friends so much that she's willing to go overboard to try to make them happy. It's not a very healthy trait when mixed with her mental health problems but I definitely think it explains a lot about Maya's actions.

[@dyev7096]

I like Maya! Sure she had her annoying moments, but one of my favorite characters in the last few seasons

[@SUPERSTAR3333333]

I absolutely love Maya too. I think she's similar to Emma in the sense that she pretty much always TRIES to do the right thing, but very often fails or even makes things worse. But still, she pretty much always tries her best...which I think is DEFINITELY worth a lot. Like you said, sometimes she does just flat-out do the wrong thing, but everyone does sometimes. I think it's important to show her learning ways to help, vs. what's not helpful. People give both her & Emma crap for always "sticking their noses into people's business" or "thinking they know better" and yes, they could definitely respond to certain situations in better ways. But most of the time, their hearts are in the right place. & I may be biased because I see a lot of similarities between myself & both of them--physically and personality-wise--but either way, I think their stories are very important to tell and I think it's important to try & see things from Maya's point of view. And obviously, her whole depression storyline is incredibly compelling, accurate, and relatable. I like how you explained that part especially. Good video 🤗

[@NotAVampyre]

Thank you very much! !

[@kelsey1467]

I have a question do you think maya was wrong in not pressing charges agentist zoey for cyberbullying her to me maybe it would of caused her to become a better person

[@michellesakura1]

Maya is a bit selfish at times but overall I liked her character

[@notwerkinginthishouse8634]

Define selfish? But yeah,she was selfish to Grace when they needed to record a song,but she was depressed and toxic for Grace to deal with,Grace had a condition to deal with

[@katiefedele1813]

The guy in the bar wasn't even a jerk. People go to bars to see a live band yes, but people often talk during live performances. The band should just keep playing in that situation. He's right. She CAN'T tell him to stop talking on the phone.

[@NotAVampyre]

She can't tell him to stop, but you are being a jerk if you're in a small bar and talking loudly on the phone while starting to overpower the music. Nothing was stopping him from going outside. Yes they should've kept playing, but that's not to say he wasn't being rude to them and the other patrons.

[@teamberserkion8436]

Next Class was my first exposure to Degrassi as a series and i've seen Maya as the main character and is my favorite character

[@NotAVampyre]

@Trinity Gilreath That is very reductive and simply an incorrect read of the whole situation. It wasn't just that Miles almost kissed Zoe while dating Maya (the fact he was drunk is not an excuse. You need to be black drunk to truly not have awareness of your actions, and Zoe was the only one who could qualify on that). On top of the kiss that Winston had to convince Miles was a bad idea, Miles threw the party to get back at his dad after promising Maya a night alone together and then lied to her and tried to get Winston to commit perjury so she wouldn't find out. All of this was about her and Miles. Zoe getting raped at the same time as all of this going on does not diminish the fact that Maya couldn't trust her own boyfriend. If she was really making Zoe's assault about her, then she would've blamed Zoe for "seducing Miles".

[@conlon4332]

Yeah. I don't really like Maya, but I don't blame anyone or think there's anything wrong with the writing. I just don't really like her.

[@MrBlockparty57]

Despite watching degrassi for years i nevee interacted with its fandom. I did not know Maya wasnt very well liked. Shes on of my favorite characters.

[@NotAVampyre]

That's very much like me most of the time. I got into Degrassi, but never really the fandom. Sometimes I try to familiarize myself with other people's ideas on the show, but it's not really a point of interest. I never really found myself belonging in the Degrassi fan community

[@jjthepikazard212]

pretty much the only characters in degrassi that i absolutely hate are declan & peter

[@junie1017]

Anyone else remember the scene in the Degrassi movie "Don't look back" where Maya babysat kids who used a Ouija board and the first three letters they spelled out was "Cam"? The look on Maya's face shows she definitely want over what Cam did.

[@lilymundi7546]

I think Ali is really interesting I'd love to know your thoughts on her losing her virginity so young and the hardships that followed

[@lilymundi7546]

I'd also like to hear your thoughts on the love that Fiona gets causeI honestly I thought she wasn't the greatest I found myself annoyed by her and not rooting for her

[@NotAVampyre]

I'll see if I can work Ali into something. I don't have anything in particular to say on Ali and her sexual history....but I might find something. Fiona wasn't the best as a person, but I liked her storylines and how she was used to explore certain topics like alcoholism and exploring her sexuality. Her sexuality is something I'll discuss in a future video.

[@lilymundi7546]

Thank you so much for replying can’t wait for more Degrassi content ❤️

[@gmcnabb174]

i personally disliked maya my first time watching next class but i thought she was a really well-written character, especially after i watched TNG(i watched next class first). i think she is often not the most likable of characters(my personal opinion) but when you look at what she went through, especially regarding cam and his death, her actions make a lot of sense and i think the trauma of his death followed her through next class, even though it wasn’t acknowledged(probably because a lot of people hadn’t watched TNG first). i still didn’t like her, but rewatching next class after having seen her previous story arc made me reevaluate my hatred of her, since her actions make a ton of sense in the context. edit: also she is a really realistic portrayal of depression which i don’t see often

[@lindseycassella3015]

Maya was a really well written character.

[@mynnanelemans9917]

What is your opinion on Maya's relation with Miles? I personally loved them together but your so good at explaining and expressing your points with Degrassi so i was curious.

[@NotAVampyre]

I thought they were good for each other in a lot of ways, but Miles and how he would react to his dad was too toxic for Maya. Everything revolved around upsetting Mr. Hollingsworth, even after Miles agreed to stop caring about him and focus on Maya. He was displaying reckless behavior too close to Cam, but Miles couldn't really stop at the time because his dad was still in his life. It's unfortunate, but they were good together for a brief time.

[@mynnanelemans9917]

@@NotAVampyre thanks for reacting and yea your right... I think Maya and future Miles so like season 4 of next class would have workt. But i think Zig fits the best with Maya.

[@eternalgamer2521]

Her worst trait is that she doesn't know how to mind her damn business.

[@fizzy249]

Yes!! I really like Maya, I relate to her a lot. And I understand the hate towards Clare but I still love her. I see Frankie get a lot of hate too and she's one of my favorites from Next Class. I never liked Emma, though.

[@NotAVampyre]

[@JBabyLeather]

Never liked Zig at all, tho I was upset about everyone teasing him about being exploited. When he gets the job as a “model” and everyone laughs at him. I thought it was really crappy to do.

[@rayneannair8378]

0:03 YEESSSSSS Eli is the best character

[@Addie-dh1qd]

Even in next class she was effective by Cams death I believe. When the bus got into a crash it effected her too and brought up Cams death again because she felt like the reason Tristan was in the hospital was because she existed so like that brought up memories of Cam . She also brought it up when she was taking pictures with Saad. I love your videos tho

[@danielleblakeman7066]

I was so mad when Maya got with Zig because of the way he treated Cam

[@justsomegirlwithoutamustache]

Same here. It’s like accountability doesn’t exist in her brain

[@VaguelyPeach]

Maya is one of my favorite next class characters❤❤❤I really love Esme too. It would be awesome if you made a video about what you think about Imogen. I really hated her when the Eli stuff was going down. But she later turned out to be one of my favorites. I don't hate her anymore when rewatching that part.

[@NotAVampyre]

I never could hate her. She was fun, which is what got me to love Eli and initially Esme. I might make one about something interesting I noticed about her, but we'll see.

[@notwerkinginthishouse8634]

@@NotAVampyre I felt how Esme felt but I didn't like her She was very toxic for Miles,Frankie and Zig and how she judged Maya bc of the suicide attempt and when she faked that she couldn't breath,but this is just the show,so,what do I know

[@samthegoblin8907]

i think seasons 13 into next class portrayed her into the “annoying” and “intruding” character because no one else knew how badly cams suicide affected her and her later relationships

[@luistorres513]

Looking back, I really felt terrible for the way I would judge Maya and hate on her. I mean I know It's just a show and she was never real but now that I'm older, I finally see and realize that she was never a horrible person. The way she reacted after Cam's death was completely normal and everyone grieves in their own way. She was so young at that time and I'm sure she didn't know how else to be. Plus, everything she went through only made her wanna help the people she loves and I now see that she was actually such a genuine and caring character

[@davontekh]

Maya was cool it allowed me to see a character go through an illness. I also suffer from...

[@jadethegemofficial]

I have always loved Maya's character she is awesome :)

[@uhhswifty]

Maya and zig are the best ever

[@sweeety969]

What's the general stance on Riley and Zayne?

[@NotAVampyre]

From what I've seen, Zayne isn't well liked because people saw him as being borderline abusive to Riley and continually trying to force him out of the closet. Not sure about Riley. Personally, I didn't have an issue with them, but will keep a close eye on it during my rererewatch.

[@cokebenni]

Did you know the actress that played Angela Jeremiah Craig’s sister also played Tori Santa maria

[@NotAVampyre]

Yeah, it was cool

[@purpleprincess4881]

I agree I don’t like maya but I don’t think she’s a bad character

[@gordongordonicus]

can you do one about Frankie i hate how there's always so much hate towards Frankie and i feel like so many people dislike her

[@NotAVampyre]

I'm not sure I have a good angle on her to make a video about her. She's a very messy character with good points but also alot of bad. I don't thing I have anything really interesting to say.

[@belowthedot8903]

I think Spike is also a character that I feel gets hated for dumb reasons.

[@hostileX7]

Very few characters in the original show got properly fleshed out, including Spike. Despite her overall impact on the show, most of her development was off screen and left to interpretation. Just so happens the majority of fan's opinions on Spike are wrong 😊!

[@NotAVampyre]

Tbh, I don't think so. Hinting to things and expecting the audience to pick up on it doesn't make those hints untrue. There's alot you can say/story you can tell without having to put a camera on every single scene or line of dialogue. That's part of what I love about Degrassi as a whole. Often times the show lets the actors' reactions and performance speak rather than have them explain in words everything the character is feeling and thinking. It comes from a place of understanding and loving the characters and letting them react as those characters would. It's something I adore Next Class for too, even though I wish they didn't need to condense so much story into so little time.

[@belowthedot8903]

I think the real issue might be in that Degrassi is written and structured in a way that benefits from a more abstract way of analysis, but a lot of viewers, especially those who weren't inclined to like certain characters anyway, decide to take the concrete and face value approach instead.

[@foxcharin]

I just found this video and wow, I totally agree. I loved Mayas character and especially her development throughout the show. It really goes to show that even the happiest people can have something lying underneath.

[@nancyaneke1346]

I appreciate how objective you are. Degrassi is a very good teen show.

[@kimberlyrr1480]

I actually liked maya for a long time when I first watched the show but after rewatching a few times I started to dislike her bc she's so dramatic....then again so is every character on this show😂

[@justsomegirlwithoutamustache]

I liked her until she started dating Zig. 😂

[@notwerkinginthishouse8634]

Maybe Maya put nose to other people's problems but I still loved her,I found myself in her It was getting a little on nerves when she got drunk bc she was sad bc of Cam,when she told Zoe why she needs to steal everyone from her,like she owes them and when she was worried about Miles,but I guess all of this makes sense bc of her family,society and Cam? And.this is jusf the show

[@invadertifxiii]

whats pr

[@NotAVampyre]

Pr? I can remember what I said, but likely public relations?

[@mtaimry]

im gonna strat using "depression brain".

[@NotAVampyre]

It's a really useful and accurate term! Can't remember where I heard it... I don't think I made it up

[@mysticalkeyblade759]

What’s the name of the beautiful emo boy and who is Cam? Why did he kill himself?

[@NotAVampyre]

Eli. Cam was a chronically depressed person who had a variety of other problems that culminated to his suicide, and you really need to watch season 12 to fully grasp his wonderfully told story.

[@jonjay2909]

You do have some points and i do think Maya does get a little too much criticism but i have my problems with the character too. For one i never invested in the character like any of the other main girls like Emma and Clare, i really dont find her interesting because i dont think anything truly makes her stick out against the others. Another reason and im not gonna trash the actress who plays Maya but i never thought she was that good or had a performance that made me think ok she was right for this role, i think shes just one of those actors that are bland and dont bring more to their role than what is on the paper. The closest time the actress impressed me was when she was going through her depression and she smashed her moms mirror i think and didnt even care i thought ok this is a realistic portrayal of someone with depression and built anger and shes doing good. And third i just sometimes dont like her reactions to some things. Her thinking what Cam did was selfish not wanting to be the dead guys girlfriend is fine but the way she kinda made it about herself like he broke up with me by killing himself thing and kinda being selfish in her own way after that just kinda turned me off from the character. And there are other Maya reactions i dont like either but ill have to rewatch to remember what i didnt like about the way she reacted.

[@NotAVampyre]

Yeah... none of these ring true to me at all. Can't really make you like someone you don't tho. Frankly, all of Olivia's acting as Maya has been superb, especially in the aftermath of Cam's death. How she screams that she hates him really conveyed the storm of emotions Maya had yet to let out at that point. Maybe it is selfish to view his suicide this way, but it's so understandable and you can't ignore the personal effects such an event has on a person. Suicide doesn't happen in a bubble. There are people left behind who somehow need to keep going. I like that she was written with flaws. As I stated in the video, if a character acts perfectly all of the time, then they are boring to a fault. Again, I dislike Esme as a person, basically for similar reasons you don't like Maya, but that doesn't prevent me from liking the character and her place in the narrative.

[@jonjay2909]

Angelisa Hassan I get the point of the video and yes everyone has flaws but there a difference between flaws and almost being unlikable to me. I was never really even that interested in the character anyway when she first got introduced and little stuff she has done over time has just turned me off from the character Maya and has made her one of my least favorite main girls. Nothing personal and I get Maya is very nice but Maya does not interest me.

[@NotAVampyre]

It's fine to not like the character as a person. My main point for this video is that she's not poorly written and these reasons people use to say so are invalid.

[@Raw-Beauty21]

I just noticed that Maya mentioned that her song only had 400 views when Vijay cover of it had thousands in season 2 ep. 8. But back in season 1 ep. 7 everyone was acting like her song went viral which caused some producer to invite her to New York. My question is: If she only had 400 views(which is like having 10 nowadays) then how is it that the producer in New York just happened to find it online? I mean, she should've had way more views than that if that was the case.

[@NotAVampyre]

I have a feeling the only way the producer found her video is by old fashioned word of mouth. Someone in his circle mentioned it to him, it caught his eye, and so with the idea that he might've stumbled onto greatness he invited Maya to show him what else she has. And to be frank, 400 views is a lot and very hard to come by. Especially in the KZbin world when you're a musician. For someone just starting out like Maya, this is really viral. You are .001% of 1% if you get trending viral, so we really can't use that as a metric here.

[@Raw-Beauty21]

Idk it still seemed a little far-fetched to me that a music producer who was all the way in NYC(another country) just happened to find it or whatever rather than some local producer in Toronto. That would've made more sense to me. I honestly believe that it was just poor writing.

[@NotAVampyre]

I get the sense from Degrassi that going between Toronto and New York is a fairly common thing. Sure a lot of work is involved, but they're not too far off that it seems impossible. You also get the sense the producer wasn't committing to considering Maya because of how he phrased the invitation. He didn't pick a date or even confirm it with Maya. He just said to stop by next time she's in town.

[@Masood.Wafayee]

I dislike Maya because she’s very basic and I am more into complex.

[@NotAVampyre]

Basic how?

[@khadraabeeb5007]

omg I feel so bad for Maya how zig tells to maya about he and zoe hooked up

[@NotAVampyre]

It's best he said something, but it was a terrible thing for him to do to her

[@khadraabeeb5007]

Omg yes u are so right

[@vanessarivers6747]

Maya was never a favorite. (I recently just finished rewatching the entire TNG and next class) But I have caught myself rolling my eyes and wanting to fast forward some of her scenes cut she was annoying me. One I can think of off top my head was her panicking over miles not answering her calls or talking to her and for whatever reason she went to his house and freaked out. She thought he'd died. Or he'd kill himself. Like I get it. The writers were great at showing she still and always will have trauma over cams death. But at this point miles and Maya had drifted apart and were hardly even "acquaintances" so I found myself screaming "JUST LEAVE HIM ALONE!"

[@NotAVampyre]

That's really the point though. Anxiety doesn't really follow reality. It didn't matter that she and Miles had little to do with each other by that point. The only thing that mattered in her mind was that Miles was a suicide risk. I think the show did a good job demonstrating how that kind of anxiety just derails your life and needs proper intervention because it harms you and those around you. I cringe every time I watch her break into his house, but I'm glad it's there otherwise the story would've been incomplete.

[@InabaIno]

I relate SO much to Maya, Shay, and Clare. It sucks because they are hated by sooooo many. :(

[@allyestrada4438]

I understand why she was the way she was, but what annoyed me was that she was involved with everyone’s business. The whole Miles/Zig love triangle got tired after a while. She was so fickle about her feelings for both of them

[@NotAVampyre]

The thing is the love triangle wasn't because Maya had feelings for Zig at that point. It's because she felt she had to save him from the gang and was afraid Zig would push her away if she rejected him, and Zig didn't care she was with Miles.

[@katrinarossi2443]

I honestly really liked Katie she needed more air time

[@katieryan1188]

Maya is one of my favourites

[@JBabyLeather]

Not a Maya fan myself. Not a hater, but she’s never been a top character for me. Mostly because I really disliked how she handled the VeeJay situation. Here she is as a songwriter and musician and someone is inspired by your music enough to do a cover of it. Just about any musician would be honored and over the moon about that. He did his own version and take on it, so not copying her, and also credited her and likened her original, so totally not plagiarism or stealing. In fact, she only found out because she got a big check from KZbin about it. Because he linked her, more profound her, and she made a bunch of money. She SHOULD have been over the moon grateful for this and could have made friends. Instead she turns into a Karen and gets upset with him, in a way that too me honestly felt very homophobic. I can’t quite explain, but the whole exchange and how she said it just really made my stomach turn. Yeah, it really bothered me. So, not a fan of her.

[@invadertifxiii]

i love this description and analysis. the onoly thing i had against her was the feminist bit when she came after the gaming club

[@NotAVampyre]

why's that?

[@macyg]

Agree 100%

[@Liv-hx9xx]

Maya is my favourite character and Zaya is my #1 favourite ship, also zig is fine af at 7:47 - 7:49

[@smolvaporeon]

I think Darcy gets a lot more hate than she deserves, specifically when it comes to the importance of her and Spinner's relationship early on. I felt she was extremely good for Spinner and a huge step in helping Spinner forgive himself after the shooting, it's not something I've ever really seen anyone point out.

[@NotAVampyre]

Darcy gets hate?

[@smolvaporeon]

@@NotAVampyre I've noticed on reddit that she gets quite a bit and if I remember correctly, several years ago on tumblr as well. Although, I was never super active in the fandom on tumblr, so my memory of it is pretty foggy.

[@NotAVampyre]

Ah I see. I tend not to involve myself in the reddit or other fan discussions, so I tend to be out of the loop for common notions regarding the show. I can kinda see Darcy getting hate especially for early seasons.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

For me, Mia gets a lot of hatred that's over the top, simply follow dating JT. People acted like she had no right to grieve from him and that she stopped them getting back together.

[@NotAVampyre]

Do people really think this? I don't understand the logic

[@pikachick222]

Mia got a lot of hate over the whole modeling storyline in season 8. I don't think it had anything to do with Mia as a character mostly because at that point the "let's make everyone at Degrassi famous" shtick was getting a bit out of control.

[@NotAVampyre]

I'm gonna have a look over about that, because I think the perception suggests more people became famous than actually did

[@pikachick222]

NotAVampyre the make everyone famous was a bit exaggerated. In season 6 and season 7 Mia had really good storylines that I wished that were built upon in season 8 (The trials and tribulations of being a teen mom , her past relationships at Lakehurst Holly J, Jane,and Lucas). It was disappointing that they tossed that out so she can be a glamorous lead character. Worst of all at the time Degrassi was being touted as this realistic portrayal of teen life . Having high end modeling scouts show up at random high school fashion shows doesn’t sound realistic to me.

[@ChristineTheHippie]

@@pikachick222 I agree. I wish they'd kept those arcs. The modeling arc job felt lazy. The teen mom arc was much better interesting

[@gracebediako1666]

Why I hate maya and zig because he sees maya as game to her. Every time maya is in relationship he has mess it up. Once he got her he uses her.

[@CadeD679]

I never like Maya. It wasn't fair of me, but, I couldn't help it. She just looked like somebody I knew. A snobby, arrogant little know it all who annoyed me to no end. It wasn't the character's fault. It certainly wasn't Olivia Scriven's fault. But, I couldn't help it.

[@chloee3105]

I agree with like the first 7 secs of this video

[@NotAVampyre]

Why just that bit?

[@chrisakokoh9118]

I love Maya

[@NotAVampyre]

She's cool

[@amc8314]

Would it be easier to just not watch episodes with characters fans hate? And watch the ones where it has the ones they love? It's a long series pick and choose. Or would it be easier to complain to the writers writing the characters fans hate? It is scripted show. So. Just saying. Make life easier and watch content that makes us happy. I'm commenting to the fandom not you. Your videos are great.

[@itskatiemydudes1541]

i love maya!!! she’s one of my favorite characters

[@Aster_Risk]

I don't hate the writing for this character. It's fine. I have sympathy for her, but I don't like her much.

[@NotAVampyre]

That's fair

[@howtoaca7504]

Great video!🙂❤

[@karlieduncan1869]

You are so rude to Maya she is not annoying she no one hates her if you do then that's just rude you're supposed to be kind to others Yoder isn't everybody saying that now so choose kind not hate

[@NotAVampyre]

Are you referring to me?

[@lucianohenrique4801]

I know that people may hate me by this , but I need to say it : as a 17 year gay man I know how Tristan felt about Yates situation , and I say that Maya was wrong , but Tristan was wrong after we knew that Yates tried to grope another guy , I think that Tristan would had apologize to Maya , I Know how hard is to see everyone happy and dating meanwhile you only have yourself

[@emmamorgan3140]

I saw this video and it was recommended for me personally Maya is one of my favorite characters.

[@NotAVampyre]

Awesome! !!

[@ryanciani3324]

nobody hates maya. shes the sweetest person and an incredible

[@NotAVampyre]

Again, I made this video to respond to the real people I've encountered who do hate her. You may love her, but that doesn't represent everyone in the fandom or who watches the show.

[@reinhartdagr8108]

Her actor is bad, simple. Not seeing the talent.

[@NotAVampyre]

Not so simple for me. Look at any scene where she needs to cry. Golden stuff there

[@hostileX7]

Haters gonna hate 😜!

[@NotAVampyre]

Wish they wouldnt

[@justsomegirlwithoutamustache]

They are if you only reduce them down to that

[@elguapo951]

People who say Eli’s their favorite character make me so mad. Like have you ever heard of Derek or Joey????? Even if we are talking about next gen m we all know Ali and her brother were the best

[@NotAVampyre]

TBH I'm not huge Derek or Joey fans. They're fine, but I'm more connected to Eli. Alli and Sav were great, but still don't quite top Eli, though he still isn't my favourite.

[@funboi2024]

My issue with Maya is how shes the quintessential yt manic pixie girl. Also the show validated that her mental health mattered more than esmes. The way they treated Maya when she waa depressed and messed up was not the same. She felt like she was better than everyone. Even in her pain

[@NotAVampyre]

Explain your reasoning? As explained here, I'm not sure how 'manic pixie dream girl' applies to Maya except in how she attempts and fails to be that for people in seasons 13-14. tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ManicPixieDreamGirl You're also ignoring a huge different between Esme and Maya: we got to see Maya's recovery stage but not Esme. Esme's friends knew there was something up with her that made her act differently from others, but didn't know how serious it was or the kind of help she really needed. Actually, Esme is more comparable to season 3 NC Maya when she was pushing away and hurting her friends due to her illness. People stopped being upset with Maya for her actions after she started treatment for depression and everyone knew what was going on with her. There's no reason to assume Esme would've been entirely alone in the never to be seen season 5.

[@thepowermasterisafilmgobfa5638]

s

[@NotAVampyre]

?

[@thepowermasterisafilmgobfa5638]

was gonna write something but was busy

[@NotAVampyre]

Then why make a comment if you didn't have the time to say something?

[@thepowermasterisafilmgobfa5638]

i was about to start but then i pressed confirmed by accident instead of cancel

[@NotAVampyre]

Ah okay. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I'm trying to prevent people from detailing my comment section by posting nonsense, and this post seemed like that. But it's actually an understandable (and common) accident.

[@cll27]

Her character like Clair focused too much on relationships

[@jazzamaral5858]

i actually loved her i never understood why everyone hated her so much

[@bestabothworldz2766]

I love her she reminds me of me... My favorite female character from the series

[@niya989]

I love maya I think that’s why I hate degrassi next class because they try to make her seem so selfish when she never really grieved cam properly or got over the trauma of her boyfriend killing himself. I also dislike the fact that all of her “friends” turned their backs on her I mean I expected as much from Tristan but the whole zig thing made virtually no sense he loved maya since their first season.

[@NotAVampyre]

How did they make her seem selfish in Next Class?

[@niya989]

NotAVampyre I said they tried to make her seem selfish. In the first 3 seasons she gradually started losing her friends with the excuse of her being “selfish”. For example her and graces friendship in season 2

[@NotAVampyre]

She only started losing friends for real in season 3 when she pushed them away due to depression. The season 2 example comes from exploring the awkwardness of one of your best friends also being friends with your ex, and she was being a bit selfish in that. She wasn't wrong to want to keep distance from Zig, but she was wrong to try to stop Grace from hanging out with him.

[@niya989]

NotAVampyre but she wasn’t actively trying to keep grace from being his friend she was trying to distance herself from him. In season 2 she was losing friends as well.

[@MiniMeags]

All the 3 main girls of TNG/C I can not STAND half the time

[@jaronhaynes3763]

Who? Honestly I probably agree because main characters in shows tend to annoy me.

[@yoongisyana5521]

It pissed me off how she always gets way too deep in everyone’s business.

[@NotAVampyre]

I mean, yeah that was really annoying and lead to uncomfortable events, but there was a narrative reason for it as I pointed out in the video.

[@jessicalynch222]

I LOVED maya

[@elikabolo2817]

that feminist story line was actually really annoying

[@NotAVampyre]

Annoying how?

[@elikabolo2817]

@@NotAVampyre because if feminism is equal how come they took the guy bathroom and the video game that hunter and his friends where playing didn't objectifie domesticated abuse it was just a game

[@NotAVampyre]

Equality isn't strictly about numbers. It's about recognizing each sex's needs within reason. Something everyone seems to forget is that that bathroom really wasn't being used by the boys except for as a private place to poop because NO ONE GOES THERE. In contrast, every girl's bathroom is always packed with a line, often making the girls have to choose being late or having to hold it in. The plain fact is that boys are quicker restroom users and that bathroom would be better used for the girls to relieve the crowding. The boys don't lose anything exceot possibly having to poop with someone else in the bathroom. And it was never a question of normalizing domestic violence. It was violence in general against women. It's noticeable that the "bad guys" in the game were all heavily coded to be women, which is concerning. However, the gaming club being disbanded cannot be blamed fully on the feminist club. When they brought up their concerns, Hunter didn't show the reasons why they had to play that game. Instead he got defensive and verbally violent. He made his position impossible to defend with the PTA. This isn't to say Goldie was right. Just that Hunter poorly represented the Gamer Club and the legit criticisms of the Feminist Club's points

[@elikabolo2817]

@@NotAVampyre ok you said hunter got violent as you can see later on in the season's that is something hunter is incapable of controlling, however what hunter said to goldi is unacceptable but hunter had a point everyone gets scared in high school not just women or girls for that matter goldi also said that the game might be a trigger for women who have been abused not just girls get abused for that matter and probably till this day maybe craig is still traumatic about the situation with his dad

[@NotAVampyre]

As I said, Hunter had good points, but context matters. His valid arguments were mired in insults and verbal attacks, poisoning any value his words had in the eyes of the feminist club. The problem wasn't so much that the Game Club was wrong. It's that they chose the wrong spokesperson. In the state Hunter was in, he could have never properly defended the club or the game.