Cassie Steele and Miriam McDonald reunite for a Degrassi Q&A!
The two came together on Instagram Live this Sunday to answer some popular fan questions they've received, discussing their most challenging storylines and who the show's endgame couples should've been.
Cassie says her fave bf was Craig, even though she liked Manny/Jay as an endgame couple. Meanwhile, Miriam tactfully says Emma and Spinner should've just remained friends, and that she wanted Em and Sean to be endgame.
They also talk about storylines that should or could have been done, and Cassie says it would have made sense to her if the writers decided to make Manny bi.
You can check out the full vid below, and I've put more fleshed out highlights behind the cut.
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A post shared by Cassie Steele (@cassandrasteele)
Their most challenging storylines:
Cassie says it was her abortion storyline in Accidents Will Happen and her "aspiring actress" storyline in Venus. The two recall how one of the casting producers (in the show, not IRL) told Manny she needed to "dump the rice and beans" because she wasn't stick thin. Cassie points out the racial nature of that comment.
Miriam says it was her eating disorder storyline in Our Lips Are Sealed, and adds that she wished the writers fleshed out that storyline a bit more. That's something the two point out throughout the IG Live - that certain plotlines could have been more developed, although Miriam says it's tough to touch on so many issues.
What was it like to perform such brutal lines toward each other?
As I'm sure many of you Degrassi heads can recall, Manny and Emma have an iconic exchange at the end of Against All Odds, where Manny tells Emma she doesn't want to be friends with a "stuck-up prude princess," while Emma responds by saying that she doesn't want to be friends with the school slut.
Cassie is confused by this question, because she thinks all the brutal stuff was said toward HER. (LOL.) Cassie says her "stuck-up prude princess" line toward Emma was weak, and at the time, she thought Manny could have said even worse things toward her.
When Cassie went back to real high school, things sucked, because people would repeat back that line to her.
Endgame couples and how Miriam feels about ending up with Spinner, and not Sean:
Miriam says she's always been a Sean/Emma fan, and it would have been amazing if they ended up together. However, Daniel Clark ended up leaving at one point to pursue other things. She wishes that Spinner and Emma ended it as friends, and that Sean should have returned from Afghanistan and reconnected with Emma.
Cassie says she loves Jay and Manny. When she was younger, she really loved Craig and Manny, even though the relationship was volatile, and they had such intense chemistry. But she and Mike Lobel vibed very well, and had a fun time on the set. She says you can see that in their scenes.
Fave boyfriends
Later on, Miriam reemphasizes her love for Semma by saying that Sean was her fave boyfriend, but Cassie says that Craig was her favorite boyfriend. She actually had a crush on Jake Epstein, and was always saying weird things around him. One time, she accidentally bit his finger.
Manny's abortion episode being banned in the U.S.:
Cassie felt very disappointed that it didn't air; says it was cutting edge at the time, and was her heaviest episode. Says those harder storylines are the ones that you need to tell.
The JT-Manny-Emma-Toby foursome:
The two talk about that bond and how they all eventually drifted apart from each other. Cassie says it was realistic that the crew didn't stay intact, and that they would've held each other's storylines back given that Emma and Cassie dealt with more mature issues.
Cassie related to Ellie
Cassie talks about how much she related to this character, and how she felt like an outcast. She was always saying weird things and "making an idiot of herself." She went through a lot growing up, and would've loved to do more mental health storylines, like when Craig discovers he's bipolar.
Later on in the vid, she mentions Manny could've been bi. She says they had that potential backstory there because of the way men treated her, and she might've decided that she was done with them. But regardless of her backstory, she says Manny was very up for things in general, and if she had met the right girl, she would have gone for it.
What the two would do if they were in high school now:
Cassie says Manny would be on TikTok, while Miriam says it depends on which "version" of Emma we're talking about. She says younger Emma would probably have some type of Save the Dolphins campaign on Instagram.
Miscellaneous bits:
They talk about how the ravine was a real place, the hairstyles/outfits they wore on the show, what frozen food they are. Cassie would be frozen chicken wings, with both agreeing that Cassie would definitely be a meat. Meanwhile, Cassie says that Miriam is an ice cream or frozen yogurt.
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Cassie says her fave bf was Craig, even though she liked Manny/Jay as an endgame couple. Meanwhile, Miriam tactfully says Emma and Spinner should've just remained friends, and that she wanted Em and Sean to be endgame.
They also talk about storylines that should or could have been done, and Cassie says it would have made sense to her if the writers decided to make Manny bi.
You can check out the full vid below, and I've put more fleshed out highlights behind the cut.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Cassie Steele (@cassandrasteele)
Their most challenging storylines:
Cassie says it was her abortion storyline in Accidents Will Happen and her "aspiring actress" storyline in Venus. The two recall how one of the casting producers (in the show, not IRL) told Manny she needed to "dump the rice and beans" because she wasn't stick thin. Cassie points out the racial nature of that comment.
Miriam says it was her eating disorder storyline in Our Lips Are Sealed, and adds that she wished the writers fleshed out that storyline a bit more. That's something the two point out throughout the IG Live - that certain plotlines could have been more developed, although Miriam says it's tough to touch on so many issues.
What was it like to perform such brutal lines toward each other?
As I'm sure many of you Degrassi heads can recall, Manny and Emma have an iconic exchange at the end of Against All Odds, where Manny tells Emma she doesn't want to be friends with a "stuck-up prude princess," while Emma responds by saying that she doesn't want to be friends with the school slut.
Cassie is confused by this question, because she thinks all the brutal stuff was said toward HER. (LOL.) Cassie says her "stuck-up prude princess" line toward Emma was weak, and at the time, she thought Manny could have said even worse things toward her.
When Cassie went back to real high school, things sucked, because people would repeat back that line to her.
Endgame couples and how Miriam feels about ending up with Spinner, and not Sean:
Miriam says she's always been a Sean/Emma fan, and it would have been amazing if they ended up together. However, Daniel Clark ended up leaving at one point to pursue other things. She wishes that Spinner and Emma ended it as friends, and that Sean should have returned from Afghanistan and reconnected with Emma.
Cassie says she loves Jay and Manny. When she was younger, she really loved Craig and Manny, even though the relationship was volatile, and they had such intense chemistry. But she and Mike Lobel vibed very well, and had a fun time on the set. She says you can see that in their scenes.
Fave boyfriends
Later on, Miriam reemphasizes her love for Semma by saying that Sean was her fave boyfriend, but Cassie says that Craig was her favorite boyfriend. She actually had a crush on Jake Epstein, and was always saying weird things around him. One time, she accidentally bit his finger.
Manny's abortion episode being banned in the U.S.:
Cassie felt very disappointed that it didn't air; says it was cutting edge at the time, and was her heaviest episode. Says those harder storylines are the ones that you need to tell.
The JT-Manny-Emma-Toby foursome:
The two talk about that bond and how they all eventually drifted apart from each other. Cassie says it was realistic that the crew didn't stay intact, and that they would've held each other's storylines back given that Emma and Cassie dealt with more mature issues.
Cassie related to Ellie
Cassie talks about how much she related to this character, and how she felt like an outcast. She was always saying weird things and "making an idiot of herself." She went through a lot growing up, and would've loved to do more mental health storylines, like when Craig discovers he's bipolar.
Later on in the vid, she mentions Manny could've been bi. She says they had that potential backstory there because of the way men treated her, and she might've decided that she was done with them. But regardless of her backstory, she says Manny was very up for things in general, and if she had met the right girl, she would have gone for it.
What the two would do if they were in high school now:
Cassie says Manny would be on TikTok, while Miriam says it depends on which "version" of Emma we're talking about. She says younger Emma would probably have some type of Save the Dolphins campaign on Instagram.
Miscellaneous bits:
They talk about how the ravine was a real place, the hairstyles/outfits they wore on the show, what frozen food they are. Cassie would be frozen chicken wings, with both agreeing that Cassie would definitely be a meat. Meanwhile, Cassie says that Miriam is an ice cream or frozen yogurt.
Source