Red and Black: Craig and Ellie
Title: Red and Black
Author: moirariordan
Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation
Pairing: Craig Manning/Ellie Nash
Spoilers: Up to What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?, season seven.
Email: downopheliadrowns@hotmail.com
Red and Black
A Craig and Ellie Manifesto
Rather than regarding this rather strange piece of writing I’m about to regale you all with as an essay, I’ve instead come to view it as a true manifesto, the actual name of this community. A manifesto is, quite literally, a public declaration of intentions and principles (Wikipedia is a useful tool, my friends), and if nothing else, I am very dedicated to my principles and intentions regarding the Degrassi fandom. As you read this, I’d like you to keep in mind the intense personal attachment that I, and many others, have to these characters - and by extension - the Craig/Ellie ship. How can you not attach powerful connotations to your OTP? It’s inevitable - whether you’re a fair-weather shipper or not, to Ship is to Love. And to Obsess, Discuss, Analyze, Freak Out Over and generally Spend Way Too Much Time Thinking About.
Whatever your feelings on the fandom or the Crellie ship - or the characters, Craig and Ellie or others, involved - I want you to keep the word manifesto in your head very firmly. The word itself implies formality and importance - but to a particular individual. To me. This is my manifesto. I post it here in an attempt to let others in on my way of thinking, on my opinions and my views. So yes, it is biased - as all of these lovely little manifestos are - but with good reason, and with the evidence that I've seen in canon. This, my dear readers, is a summarization of a huge part of my history as a fandom’er and a fanfiction writer, and I hope that you can glean at least a little of the affection and devotion that I feel for Craig, Ellie and their ship.
Why Do I Ship?
My discovery of Degrassi came, as many of my fandoms did, by accident. The-N, the network that airs Degrassi: The Next Generation, plays the Degrassi promos to death - and then some - and sometime around season two, I gave into media pressure and watched an episode to see what all the hype was about. I wasn’t immediately intrigued - kind of annoyed, actually - by what is essentially, a glorified after school special.
Degrassi is a lot of things, but let’s be realistic here. It’s good, but it’s not…great. A lot of this has to do with the fact that it is an ensemble show, and it does deal with a ridiculous amount of characters. Therefore, things like plot holes and characterization weaknesses are rampant. I was originally attracted to the ideas of the characters presented rather than how they were really portrayed on the show - because let’s face it, the acting? Not really Emmy material. Even now, well into its seventh season, Degrassi is hit-and-miss at best. I still can’t watch Miriam McDonald say anything without wanting to smack some genuine emotion into her - but I digress.
I fell in love with Craig first, for some very obvious and shallow reasons. One - he was adorable. Two - he was a photographer (yeah, remember that? Before he started singing and he was just the awkward kid who took photos of everybody? Word up). Three - he was by far the least annoying actor on the whole show (can we say overacting. Anyone?). And it certainly didn’t hurt that his first appearance on Degrassi came in the form of a double-episode, the season premiere of season two - When Doves Cry, one of the better ‘let’s-address-that-life-changing-dramatic-issue-in-an-hour’ episodes that the show has attempted. Jake Epstein’s (Craig) acting was commendable, even then at fourteen-ish. He convinced me to stick around.
Ellie came next. She was a bit character at first, introduced slowly by way of small seemingly unimportant scenes that slowly graduated into an actual character arc. Degrassi actually does this very well - Darcy Edwards was introduced the same way, as was Danny Van Zandt, Marco del Rossi and others. She was originally the token alt-chick (every teen drama needs one), but the reason I liked her so much was her oh-so-refreshing bluntness, with an underlying layer of insecurity that just got me right here. *points to heart* Sweet, really.
So the very beginnings of my Crellie history? What started me on this crazy road to this rambly essay that I’m sure you’re all reading very carefully? I shipped them cuz I liked them. Pure and simple - my favorite female character and my favorite male character, no matter how ridiculously UC they were at that point.
What really cemented this as a ship for me (more so than Sellie, which I had a brief love affair with but abandoned after a bitterly disappointing mid-season finale in the form of Back in Black) was the community of the fandom. One Crellie story posted and automatically I found dozens of like-minded people - or just people, really, who were all, “hey. Craig and Ellie? Huh.” So let me take this moment to thank every single person who has reviewed, dissected, beta’d, gushed over, yelled at, printed out and read during class (I totally did that too), fangirled, concrit-ed or generally paid any amount of attention whatsoever to any of my stories. You guys make the fandom for me, and that is pretty damn chill.
All right, that’s out of the way. Now let’s get on with the actual argument, shall we?
Timeline: Let’s Break it Down
Let’s start with some background. Craig Manning was introduced in season two, whammying us with a killer storyline - child abuse. Who doesn’t love a juicy child abuse story, eh? The stepson of Joey Jeremiah (Degrassi old-timer, esquire), Craig is the son of Julia (Joey’s deceased and never-been-seen-before wife) and Albert Manning (sick son-of-a-bitch). Straight from the introduction of the show, Craig is a heavy character. Fear of intimacy, orphan, living with a stepfather that he’s met maybe twice before, and the daddy issue to end all daddy issues. Plus, I’d imagine, some pretty nasty bruises.
Let’s contrast that against Ellie, who isn’t a stranger to the issues herself. Her mother is an alcoholic that drinks anything and everything in the house, and she’s got an absentee father, who disappeared into the army, never to be seen again. (Maybe Ellie’s mom drank him?) She struggled with self-injury and (most likely) depression, and dresses real weird. Okay? Okay.
Seems like they could maybe sorta relate to each other, a little? Don’t you think? No? All right.
The romantic history for these two crazy kids is, as it always is on a teen drama (shouldn’t Degrassi have its own genre by now?), varied and slightly sordid. The first relationship we see for these two would come in season two/three, with Ellie and the ever-lovable Marco del Rossi.
It’s like Will and Grace, Except…Not
Classic story. Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy. Boy and girl go out. Boy starts liking other boys. Girl forces a confession out of boy. Boy and girl pretend to go out to keep other boys from finding out. Oh no, wait. I was reading from my LOGO fairytale book. Sorry.
The Marco and Ellie relationship was incredibly sweet and somehow incredibly not at the same time. These two together are Degrassi gold - sweet, sarcastic, caring and truthful - everything you could ever want in a friendship. It’s like Wallace and Veronica without the murder cases, or Willow and Xander without all the demons.
But. Marco is gay. We all know this. Going through that is tough normally, but it just becomes so much worse when you’re that young, and Ellie being thrown into the mix as the cover-girlfriend wasn’t doing anything but hurting them both. Not to say that Marco was in the wrong for asking her to continue or, or Ellie was in the wrong for suggesting it in the first place, just that it was, you know. A bunch of general wrong.
Ellie has huge issues with intimacy. She’s defensive and sarcastic and she tends to push people away, and none of this started to show until after her relationship with Marco. Not to say that it’s in anyway his fault - in fact, Marco is probably the most stable relationship she’s ever had or ever will have - but that it was damaging on a long-term scale.
But overall, almost irrelevant to our point, here. Let’s move on.
The Ship That Had No Point
Ellie’s major relationship for the earlier seasons was her affair with Sean Cameron, resident bad boy and Emma’s personal GI Joe doll. I take issue with this ship (Sellie) for several reasons, the most important one being that I used to like them.
It came out of nowhere in the Breakfast Club episode (aka Take On Me) in season three and at first, it seemed like a pretty cool idea. Ellie and Sean were the club outcasts - Sean being in the midst of his mid-high-school-crisis, stealing laptops and DVD players and wearing baggy pants and knit hats and whatnot, and Ellie being…well, not really an outcast. More like a willing wallflower.
But the big problem with Sean and Ellie quickly became apparent - there was no problem. They were bubblegum fluffy and cotton candy rainbows - except cooler, because Sean lifts weights and gets into fights. Grr.
There was no depth, no chemistry, no real feeling. What issues they had were solved in 22 minutes and were pathetically normal from the get-go (Sean dissing Marco-the-human-security-blanket. Sean throwing parties. And…yeah, I think that’s it. Ellie getting a ferret?) and the only real problem that they did come up against caused them to break up (with some compulsory ILYs, no doubt). Not only was the writing horribly boring, but Stacey (Ellie) and Daniel (Sean) couldn’t light a match together, let alone inflame viewers with the fires of their passion. And…feeding him lunch, Ellie? Really?
And then there was the convenient timing of the relationship - Sean bouncing off another Emma-breakup, gloriously self-destructing with the help of the ever-present Jay, and Ellie coming off of her big SI reveal with Paige. Neither of them were in any place to have a relationship, and the biggest draw to each other was basically, acceptance.
Sean: Do I scare you?
Ellie: No.
Wow. That’s so romantic in a real Jerry Maguire, “you complete me” sorta way that’s only really romantic until you think about it a little. As in, not at all.
It was sweet. It was comforting. But it wasn’t very real. They had no real connection to speak of, no shared experiences, and judging from the bare-minimum screen time and quick break-up they received, the writers knew that too. It was a transitional relationship that was based on need, which is hardly a nice base to build your epic love story on.
Cranny and Crash and the Storyline That Never Ends
Craig’s romantic history is one for the record books. His love-triangle storyline with Ashley and Manny was the driving story arc for season three, and reached into seasons four and five as well. The season where the storyline hit its peak is well-regarded as the best season of the show - and I have to admit, in terms of acting? The scenes that Cassie Steele (Manny), Jake Epstein (Craig) and Melissa McIntyre (Ashley) all had together were among the most real and intense of the whole series. But in terms of what this storyline meant for the characters, it definitely wasn’t pretty.
The facts are these - Craig and Ashley started dating fairly soon after Craig joined the show. After a season or so of a relationship, Craig’s eyes started to stray…specifically, to Manny Santos, who he had previously had one date with. The two started an affair behind Ashley’s back, which was full of clandestine hugging and googly eyes and making out in ice rinks, until of course, Manny started to get itchy, and Ashley found a bracelet and the whole thing basically blew up in Craig’s face. On Christmas, no less. Welcome to Degrassi.
So, after that punch-in-the-gut paragraph, what’s your opinion of Craig, exactly? I wouldn’t guess it’s good. But let’s look between the lines a little to see what exactly his motivations were.
Craig and Ashley are lovely together, honestly. For the most part. But Ashley isn’t without issues herself. She’s just a teeny bit needy, and a lot more demanding, and the result? She pushed Craig to admit things that he wasn’t ready to admit, and pushed him right out to Manny. Of course, Miss Santos had been on the edge of her seat waiting for that very thing to happen, but that’s besides the point. But the main root of Ashley and Craig’s problem has always been that he just can’t give her what she needs.
Craig: Ash, you know that it’s hard for me…
Ashley: Wrong, Craig. You can’t say it because you don’t really love me.
Craig looks hurt, then shakes his head and storms off.
Hookay, someone needs a chill pill. This is the story of Craig and Ashley, people. She pushes, he tries to push back, she pushes harder and BAM. Fight and/or break up.
Manny and Craig never quite fit together too smoothly, either. Manny’s showed her naiveté in believing that she could essentially steal Craig away and immediately, everything would be fairytale perfect. She was also very manipulative in the way she maneuvered Craig in the beginning, saying all the right things and taking advantage of the right moments in order to arrange events to her liking. Really, the whole thing was a little sleazy from the beginning, but the double-episode Accidents May Happen pretty much cemented the death of any hope for a happy Cranny ending whatsoever.
The required teen-pregnancy storyline came as we all knew it would, and Manny turned up pregnant in the midst of the Cranny/Crash blow up. The episode ended with an abortion on Manny’s part, much to the dismay of Craig, who, in an absolutely heartbreaking scene, begged Manny to keep the child. His pleas fell on deaf ears, however, and Manny ended up going through with the abortion.
Now, this might be just my opinion, but you cannot get past something like this. Especially when you take into account that they are approximately fifteen years old. You don’t even know who you are when you’re that young, how are you supposed to deal with something like that? To make it through an event that traumatic at that age unscathed is impossible - and to keep a relationship going? Unheard of. For me, that was when Cranny died, end of story. Of course, the writers didn’t see it that way, for whatever insane reason - but I digress. Sheesh, I haven’t even gotten to the canon Crellie yet. Bear with me, guys.
The Ghost Over Craig’s Shoulder
To understand why Craig acts the way he does in relationships, you have to look at the only real relationship he had for years - his father. So many people forget that until he was fourteen, Craig lived alone with his abusive father - a demanding, needy man who treated his son irrationally and unfairly. (Sound familiar?)
Another factor to take into account is that Craig was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in season four - but the signs of this were evident long before. Craig has always been impulsive, a little bit irrational and prone to quick, jerky attitude changes. Hey, wait a second -
Dr. Manning: Listen. There was a message on the machine today.
Craig: For me?
Dr. Manning: No, for me. From Joey Jeremiah. Any thoughts, any ideas on why he might be calling?
Craig shakes his head no.
Dr. Manning: You didn’t call him?
Craig: (nervously) Dad, come on. Why would I call Joey?
Dr. Manning: (angrily) Why would your mother leave a surgeon for a used car salesman, Craiger? I mean, the mysteries of the universe are infinite to me.
Craig: (definitely nervous now) Well I didn’t…I didn’t call. Promise. I’m not um, I’m not like Mom okay? So, uh…you gonna call him back?
Dr. Manning: (abruptly calm) Now, why would I do that?
Yeah, this is a lot creepier when you see it, trust me. But you get the point. No wonder Craig’s bipolar. He grew up thinking this was normal behavior:
Craig walks into his darkroom, finding it completely trashed. His dad walks in behind him.
Dr. Manning: Are you looking for something?
He holds up Craig’s notebook with the pictures of Angie and Joey.
Craig: What are you doing?
Dr. Manning: Are you looking for something? Are you looking for something?
Craig: What are you doing? What are you-
He starts hitting Craig with the notebook and knocking everything around.
Dr. Manning: Are you looking for something? I work my ass off for you!
He throws Craig onto the floor and starts kicking him.
Dr. Manning: What do I get? What do I get in return? I get to do this! (kicks him) I get lies. I get this!
Throws a chair at him, then leaves angrily.
Wow. Yeah, that’s functional.
See, love for Craig has always been conditional. If he’s good, then he gets rewarded. If he isn’t, then he gets beat up. It was like that for the majority of his childhood - and something like that has long-lasting effects, primarily on someone’s relationships. Where do you learn how to treat women, if not from your father? And I can’t imagine Albert Manning was the type to respect anyone but himself.
Coming out of that environment, Craig was obviously very resentful of his father. He wanted to get as far away from it as possible - but at the same time, he couldn’t escape that kind of attitude. His behavior in relationships constantly echoes his behavior in his relationship with his father - his focus is forever on the here and now, instant gratification. He never thinks ahead, because to him, the only thing that matters is avoiding the next punch. So to others, it might seem as if he’s a selfish kid who is too immature to consider the consequences of his actions (which he is, on one level), but in reality he’s just trying to mold his instincts, as screwed up as they are, to a healthy, functional relationship. Which is virtually impossible.
There’s one scene I’d recommend watching if you really want to get down to the gut of Craig’s character. In the season two episode Dressed in Black, Craig and Ashley perform a scene for drama class in which they slant a new take on a scene from a Shakespearean play. While all the other groups viewed the scene as a comedic, rom-com type of interaction, Craig and Ash interpreted it as an abusive relationship. Craig throws Ashley around the stage dressed in his father’s clothes, and immediately after it ends he jumps back, ripping off the glasses (his dad's glasses) and staring at them in confusion. It’s a scene that hits you in the gut - and shows off Melissa and Jake’s formidable acting chops. Ironically, it’s more intense than any of the relationship-heavy scenes that the two have performed - but that’s just my opinion.
And the Redhead’s Issues Are…?
Ellie wasn’t much better off in the parent department, as we already know. She also doesn’t handle stress much better than Craig does - but while Craig freaks out and runs away from home (long story), Ellie turns her distress inward, rather than outward. She cuts herself, as we discover in the season two episode Whisper to a Scream.
Ellie: I don’t need help!
Paige: Then show me your arm.
Ellie: …there’s nothing wrong with me!
Paige: Then show me your arm! (Ellie turns away) Ellie. Ellie, please, please. Show me your arm.
Ellie turns around, shaking, and slowly pulls up her sleeve, revealing cut marks all up and down her forearm. She starts to cry, turning her face down and away from Paige.
Oh, Ellie. You just want to hug her.
After this, she enters therapy in attempt to stop, but we continue to see signs of her struggling with it - such as her habit of wearing rubber bands around her wrists and snapping them against her skin, a sort of nicotine patch-style way of dealing with her urge to injure herself.
Ellie is the opposite of Craig in many ways - she’s defensive where he is offensive, she blames and punishes herself where Craig tends to shy away from blame and shove it onto others. She hides behind sarcasm and is extremely protective of her emotions, which makes her a hell of a lot harder to read than Craig, who wears everything unabashedly on his sleeve. For instance, it’s a well-known canon fact that at the beginning of season five, Ellie is firmly crushing on Craig, yet she never actually says it. She lets Marco state it for her, and furthermore, in her one attempt to actually make a move, she never actually comes out and says it, either. The closest she comes is (if you’re wondering, the ‘her’ in question is Manny):
Craig: Ellie, wait! What the hell’s going on?
Ellie: You tell me! You’re the one who called her. You’re the one who sat there drooling over her all night like some perv! …and this, this isn’t me, okay? I don’t dress up!
Craig: …I’m flattered?
Ellie: Don’t be! (quickly, to her feet) This is for the gig. It doesn’t mean anything.
Craig: Ellie. We do group (therapy) together. You’ve seen me down in the gutter. Lower than low. Lower than I want anyone else to see me. That’s why you’re my friend. My really good friend.
Ellie: (sneeringly) So glad I could be there for you.
She starts walking away.
Craig: Ellie!
Ellie: (shortly) Bye. See you in group.
Oh, just a little bit passive-aggressive, there, Elle. And that’s the paradox with Ellie. She’s vulnerable and prickly, she’s warm and friendly and wonderful, but pushes you away the second you get too close to the nerve. And can you blame her? Her mother’s a drunk, her father’s permanently off-screen. She’s used to taking care of herself. Her main priority is survival - and saving face. And so to her, the prospect of opening up and actually showing how she feels? Is terrifying.
Trust me on this. I am someone who can empathize with Ellie on so many levels that it’s a little eerie, and I can tell you from experience - Ellie’s problem isn’t that she doesn’t want to be close to Craig. It’s that she can’t bring herself to.
Okay, Are We Getting To the Actual Ship, Yet?
So, we’ve already seen a bit of canon Crellie in the quote that I used above. But let’s start from the beginning. In late season four, Craig and Ellie started to become closer - and when I say ‘closer,’ I mean, they actually had scenes together where Ellie wasn’t sneering at him from behind Ashley’s back. They started to become - dare I say? - friends. This is especially evident in the episode Secret, the first time that either of them are remotely genuine with each other - and in doing so, are a hell of a lot more understanding of each other’s situations that either of them ever were with any of their significant others:
Ellie: Craig. I used to cut myself.
Craig: I know.
Ellie: And what’s bizarre is that I’m always gonna be a cutter. Even if I don’t do it for years, it’s still me.
Craig: Well…that sucks.
Ellie: It just - it just is. It doesn’t matter how I feel, or how anyone else feels.
Craig: (takes a deep breath) …I’m bipolar. And apparently…it doesn’t matter if I think that sucks, either.
Ellie: I think Kurt Cobain was bipolar.
Craig: Yeah.
Ellie: If he had just accepted it, maybe it all would have been different. …and Nigel, from group, manages okay.
Craig: He seemed cool.
Ellie: He is! You should come back.
And he does. Of course. But see, the most significant thing about this conversation is that this is the first time that Craig admits to anyone that he has bipolar disorder. Ever. If you’ve ever had anything that you were embarrassed, scared or ashamed of, you know what a big step that is. And the fact that he did that with Ellie, someone he barely knew at that point? Says a little something about how easily they relate to each other, doesn’t it?
And, she convinces him to come to her therapy group - which is really what cements their friendship. Obviously, talking regularly about everything crappy that’s happened in both of their lives is bound to bring them closer together - and immediately cuts away all the bullshit between them. How can you be anything but real with someone who knows all your secrets? It’s impossible.
And that is really what the base for Craig/Ellie is. Yeah, they have a lot in common. They both like music. They’re both way too sarcastic. They both had bad luck in the parent lottery. They both struggle with intimacy - but all of that, I’m sure, they could find with other people. The root of what they are as a couple is how unafraid they are with showing their true selves to each other. And when you take into account their history and background, that’s a pretty amazing thing.
They also are pretty sweet at the sexy banter and sweet gestures. He gives her drumming lessons and they have tickle fights. They do sweet things for each other, and yeah. It’s adorable and bittersweet, because hey! Writers! They could be awesome together! Ugh.
But one of the most pivotal things about their relationship is that they are essentially unselfish with each other. In mid-season five, Craig gets an opportunity to play a showcase that could win him an opportunity to go to Vancouver to work toward his music career professionally - and Ellie is the one that gets him to go for it:
Craig: This isn’t about me. This is about the band. Ellie, we were gonna do this together! Cut our own album, sold out shows, a Juno, a Grammy…
Ellie: Craig, I can’t drum.
Craig: Yes, you can!
Ellie: No, I can’t, and Marco’s not much better on bass, and Jimmy wants to paint… Leo, God face it - he only wanted you. We were just excess baggage. Craig, I really think you should go to the showcase tonight just like this. You and your guitar. I really think you could win.
Craig: Okay. Let’s say I do play at the showcase and I do win. That means leaving. What about Manny, or Joey and Angie?
Ellie: Don’t worry about them. They’ll manage. They’ll be fine.
Craig: What about you?
Ellie: I’ll wave goodbye, cuz I have to. …Craig, go to that club and knock them dead. For all of us.
Aw. Seriously, folks. This is what loving somebody is about. Putting what’s best for them ahead for what’s best for you - and Ellie shows us how it’s done, here.
And this is what really bites about my Crellie experience - they dangle the hook in our faces here, showing us what amazing, pheonomenal potential these two have, and then just rip it away. Bye, Craig. Have fun in Vancouver. God, I hate television writers sometimes.
So, Where Are They Now?
Well, I could make this long-ass thing even longer and explain in detail everything that happened after Craig left for Vancouver, everything that happened when he came back, but I won’t subject you to it. The only thing that’s really relevant to our discussion here is the status of Ellie and Craig’s relationship as it now stands - at least to my full knowledge of Degrassi canon, which I admit, isn’t the most up-to-date.
In the double-episode What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?, it is revealed that Craig, while in Vancouver, has developed an addiction to cocaine. (Crellie shippers around the world: Goddammit!) I could go into a long discussion on why this is actually very believable for Craig’s character, and why it was inevitable that he would eventually develop an addiction to something, and why he’s never going to be able to deal with himself sober, but I think by this point you’re all tired of my psychoanalysis, so let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
Craig comes back, and Ellie finds the cocaine. To get out of the blame, Craig blames it on Manny, and kisses Ellie. She kisses back (despite her assholey, Radio Free Roscoe reject boyfriend) until she discovers that it is, in fact, his coke, and tries to get him into therapy. He agrees to come, but chickens out, which is when Ellie realizes that tough love is needed here, and sends him off to rehab in Calgary with Joey, rejecting his attempts at apology and reconciliation.
Ouch. Yeah.
But see, the only thing this whole drama tells us is that again, Ellie is putting Craig’s needs before her own. There is no way that she’s not completely, ass-backwards in love with the guy at this point, especially with that telling kiss and how quickly she believes him when he tells her that it’s Manny’s coke. But yet again, she waves goodbye because she has to. He has to recover on his own, otherwise he’ll just keep falling off the wagon - and who knows this better than Ellie, the daughter of an addict, herself?
It’s relevant here to look backwards at Ellie’s relationship with her mom - particularly in season two/three, when Ellie leaves her mother’s house, refusing to have anything to do with her because of her out-of-control alcoholism. Only when Ellie is absolutely sure that her mother is clean does she return home - taking to so far as to ‘test’ her mother by calling her over in the middle of the night to check to see if she’s sober. And now, with Craig? She’s doing the same thing. Leaving him, letting him pick himself up off the floor. And while the status quo might not seem too promising right now (especially with Degrassi canon getting weirder and weirder as the producers become more and more desperate to avoid getting cancelled), I believe, along with the many other Crellie shippers, that the only place they can from here go is up. Eventually, Craig will come back. And eventually, he’ll pass her tests.
Pieces to the Puzzle
The bottom line is that despite how little canon there is on them, Craig and Ellie are the most genuine, real couple there is on this series. They have the most believable build up (as in, they have some build up at all) and they relate to each other in a way that neither of them can relate to anyone else.
And see, with a couple with so little canon evidence, the only thing to rely on is characterization, which is why this essay is so heavy on the shrink parts. If you look at what these two characters have been through, and the way they act around each other versus how they act around everyone else, really, there is no other option. They have what the other needs, they compliment each other and fit together.
They have not been treated very well by canon, at all, however. As Degrassi nears the end of its seventh season, the characters become more and more unrecognizable - especially to those of us who have been around from the beginning. If I told you some of the spoilers I’ve heard for the finale episodes, I’m sure you’d - well, let’s not go there.
But the best part about Crellie has, and will always be, the fandom. This couple was a ship long before these two characters even spoke to each other - and it was carried completely by the fans, who saw everything about these two characters and believed wholeheartedly how wonderful they would work together. I’ve always believed that shipping an unconventional pairing makes you even more passionate about a ship than when you like a conventional one - because you’re on the defensive from the start. You have no evidence to back it up, so you have to be extra protective of what evidence you do have. And so of course all UC shippers are radical. It’s the way we roll, baby.
So let’s hear from a few of those very radicals - the fans. After all, this may be an absolutely biased manifesto, but I’m not the only one who is this passionate about this ship, after all.
What is there to say about Crellie? They just fit. What I love about them the most is that they posses all the qualities that their other relationships lack. Ellie adores Craig on a scale equal to Manny, yet she’s not afraid to stand up to him like Ashley. But, she’s not a naïve doormat like Manny or a controlling bitch like Ashley. (Excuse my language, I just really hate her.) As for Craig, he respects her in a way he didn’t with the other girls he dated. He came close with Ashley, but he still held a lot back from her which caused a lot of their initial problems. He confides in Ellie, and he wasn’t willing to risk their friendship in WPA. As much as I, and every Crellie shipper, wanted him to choose her, I get why he didn’t. Being attracted to her freaked him out, and he would have rather had her for a friend than as just another ex-girlfriend. He let her help him whenever he really needed it. That’s something Sean couldn’t do. -sacred_lullaby
I think they look lovely together and I think they have enough similarities and differences that they balance each other out. They just seem...right. More right than Ellie and Sean did, because while that was kind of hot, it wasn't as real. -anglichanka
Crellie just has a bond that other shippers don't neccesarily have. They've both seen each other at really low points in each others lives, but still like each other regardless. -zombiechick815
I adore this ship, they're innocent and sweet yet dark and needy. The two of them get each other and it shows in the smiles but at the same time they are so much the same that they live to push each others buttons. They are both so stubborn and I love it. -connery_is_bond
Stacey Farber said it best: "Ellie is madly in love with Craig, and they have so much in common. They have the same interests and common values -- I think they belong together." And they do. Ellie is the only person outside of Joey who hasn't bailed on Craig when times got tough, and I mean really tough. She loves him so much and puts his well-being ahead of her own. So many people in the world need people like Ellie in their lives. She's "seen him in the gutter", she knows all his secrets, but doesn't hold any of them against him. I think that blows his mind a little bit. I really believe he was telling the truth when he said "I've felt that way for a long, long time" about being in love with her. She gives him the support that he needs in a friend. He holds their relationship in very high regards and I think he sees in her what he wants to see in himself. He loved Ashley too much, Manny not enough, but Ellie just right. I don't think he's scared to be just himself when he's with her. His big insecurity (his bi-polar) his not an issue with Ellie. Ashley cared too much, Manny didn't care enough, Ellie knows. She knows him and she sees the person underneath. She knows he's okay and he needed someone to know that. -_kathrynnn
And speaking of fans, there is a plethora of goodies to look at if you want to get into the Crellie side of the Degrassi fandom. Definitely check out Degrassi-Boards.com, it has a Crellie discussion thread and a great community of Crellie fans and writers. Also check out Fan Forum and the Crellie discussion there, as well, and the crellie community here on LJ.
Here, also, is a list of links to my favorite Crellie authors, and a few essential Crellie fics that everyone in the world should read:
- Kelly123 ('In Love With the Moonlight', 'Wait, Wait, Wait', 'Champagne Between Friends,' and more)
- KC-Chick ('Chase the Whale Along the Run', and more)
- DoubleL27"> ('Do What You Have to Do')
- Frank-da-Rabbit ('Surrender')
- always krissy ('Confirmation')
- Tears of Mercury ('Warm')
- Kitty Kat ('.XO.')
- Christy January ('Happily Never After,' 'Five Points,' 'Finding Faith,' 'Addicting You,' and more)
- The Crellie C2 - basically, the biggest list of Crellie fics in one place. Peruse at your discretion. ;)
And, since I can't help pimping myself: My profile. I've, um. Written a...few.
Many thanks to starsprite22, who provided some of the transcripts of the episodes I quoted from. Also thanks to my dear friend ladalove, who helpfully looked this over before I posted, and also - to everyone and anyone in the Crellie community. You guys are amazing, and you made this fandom worth it. I practically grew up writing Crellie fiction, and I would not be the person or the writer that I am today without these two fantastic characters - and all you guys. So from the bottom of my heart - I thank you.
Author: moirariordan
Fandom: Degrassi: The Next Generation
Pairing: Craig Manning/Ellie Nash
Spoilers: Up to What's It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?, season seven.
Email: downopheliadrowns@hotmail.com
Red and Black
A Craig and Ellie Manifesto
Rather than regarding this rather strange piece of writing I’m about to regale you all with as an essay, I’ve instead come to view it as a true manifesto, the actual name of this community. A manifesto is, quite literally, a public declaration of intentions and principles (Wikipedia is a useful tool, my friends), and if nothing else, I am very dedicated to my principles and intentions regarding the Degrassi fandom. As you read this, I’d like you to keep in mind the intense personal attachment that I, and many others, have to these characters - and by extension - the Craig/Ellie ship. How can you not attach powerful connotations to your OTP? It’s inevitable - whether you’re a fair-weather shipper or not, to Ship is to Love. And to Obsess, Discuss, Analyze, Freak Out Over and generally Spend Way Too Much Time Thinking About.
Whatever your feelings on the fandom or the Crellie ship - or the characters, Craig and Ellie or others, involved - I want you to keep the word manifesto in your head very firmly. The word itself implies formality and importance - but to a particular individual. To me. This is my manifesto. I post it here in an attempt to let others in on my way of thinking, on my opinions and my views. So yes, it is biased - as all of these lovely little manifestos are - but with good reason, and with the evidence that I've seen in canon. This, my dear readers, is a summarization of a huge part of my history as a fandom’er and a fanfiction writer, and I hope that you can glean at least a little of the affection and devotion that I feel for Craig, Ellie and their ship.
Why Do I Ship?
My discovery of Degrassi came, as many of my fandoms did, by accident. The-N, the network that airs Degrassi: The Next Generation, plays the Degrassi promos to death - and then some - and sometime around season two, I gave into media pressure and watched an episode to see what all the hype was about. I wasn’t immediately intrigued - kind of annoyed, actually - by what is essentially, a glorified after school special.
Degrassi is a lot of things, but let’s be realistic here. It’s good, but it’s not…great. A lot of this has to do with the fact that it is an ensemble show, and it does deal with a ridiculous amount of characters. Therefore, things like plot holes and characterization weaknesses are rampant. I was originally attracted to the ideas of the characters presented rather than how they were really portrayed on the show - because let’s face it, the acting? Not really Emmy material. Even now, well into its seventh season, Degrassi is hit-and-miss at best. I still can’t watch Miriam McDonald say anything without wanting to smack some genuine emotion into her - but I digress.
I fell in love with Craig first, for some very obvious and shallow reasons. One - he was adorable. Two - he was a photographer (yeah, remember that? Before he started singing and he was just the awkward kid who took photos of everybody? Word up). Three - he was by far the least annoying actor on the whole show (can we say overacting. Anyone?). And it certainly didn’t hurt that his first appearance on Degrassi came in the form of a double-episode, the season premiere of season two - When Doves Cry, one of the better ‘let’s-address-that-life-changing-dramatic-issue-in-an-hour’ episodes that the show has attempted. Jake Epstein’s (Craig) acting was commendable, even then at fourteen-ish. He convinced me to stick around.
Ellie came next. She was a bit character at first, introduced slowly by way of small seemingly unimportant scenes that slowly graduated into an actual character arc. Degrassi actually does this very well - Darcy Edwards was introduced the same way, as was Danny Van Zandt, Marco del Rossi and others. She was originally the token alt-chick (every teen drama needs one), but the reason I liked her so much was her oh-so-refreshing bluntness, with an underlying layer of insecurity that just got me right here. *points to heart* Sweet, really.
So the very beginnings of my Crellie history? What started me on this crazy road to this rambly essay that I’m sure you’re all reading very carefully? I shipped them cuz I liked them. Pure and simple - my favorite female character and my favorite male character, no matter how ridiculously UC they were at that point.
What really cemented this as a ship for me (more so than Sellie, which I had a brief love affair with but abandoned after a bitterly disappointing mid-season finale in the form of Back in Black) was the community of the fandom. One Crellie story posted and automatically I found dozens of like-minded people - or just people, really, who were all, “hey. Craig and Ellie? Huh.” So let me take this moment to thank every single person who has reviewed, dissected, beta’d, gushed over, yelled at, printed out and read during class (I totally did that too), fangirled, concrit-ed or generally paid any amount of attention whatsoever to any of my stories. You guys make the fandom for me, and that is pretty damn chill.
All right, that’s out of the way. Now let’s get on with the actual argument, shall we?
Timeline: Let’s Break it Down
Let’s start with some background. Craig Manning was introduced in season two, whammying us with a killer storyline - child abuse. Who doesn’t love a juicy child abuse story, eh? The stepson of Joey Jeremiah (Degrassi old-timer, esquire), Craig is the son of Julia (Joey’s deceased and never-been-seen-before wife) and Albert Manning (sick son-of-a-bitch). Straight from the introduction of the show, Craig is a heavy character. Fear of intimacy, orphan, living with a stepfather that he’s met maybe twice before, and the daddy issue to end all daddy issues. Plus, I’d imagine, some pretty nasty bruises.
Let’s contrast that against Ellie, who isn’t a stranger to the issues herself. Her mother is an alcoholic that drinks anything and everything in the house, and she’s got an absentee father, who disappeared into the army, never to be seen again. (Maybe Ellie’s mom drank him?) She struggled with self-injury and (most likely) depression, and dresses real weird. Okay? Okay.
Seems like they could maybe sorta relate to each other, a little? Don’t you think? No? All right.
The romantic history for these two crazy kids is, as it always is on a teen drama (shouldn’t Degrassi have its own genre by now?), varied and slightly sordid. The first relationship we see for these two would come in season two/three, with Ellie and the ever-lovable Marco del Rossi.
It’s like Will and Grace, Except…Not
Classic story. Boy meets girl. Girl likes boy. Boy and girl go out. Boy starts liking other boys. Girl forces a confession out of boy. Boy and girl pretend to go out to keep other boys from finding out. Oh no, wait. I was reading from my LOGO fairytale book. Sorry.
The Marco and Ellie relationship was incredibly sweet and somehow incredibly not at the same time. These two together are Degrassi gold - sweet, sarcastic, caring and truthful - everything you could ever want in a friendship. It’s like Wallace and Veronica without the murder cases, or Willow and Xander without all the demons.
But. Marco is gay. We all know this. Going through that is tough normally, but it just becomes so much worse when you’re that young, and Ellie being thrown into the mix as the cover-girlfriend wasn’t doing anything but hurting them both. Not to say that Marco was in the wrong for asking her to continue or, or Ellie was in the wrong for suggesting it in the first place, just that it was, you know. A bunch of general wrong.
Ellie has huge issues with intimacy. She’s defensive and sarcastic and she tends to push people away, and none of this started to show until after her relationship with Marco. Not to say that it’s in anyway his fault - in fact, Marco is probably the most stable relationship she’s ever had or ever will have - but that it was damaging on a long-term scale.
But overall, almost irrelevant to our point, here. Let’s move on.
The Ship That Had No Point
Ellie’s major relationship for the earlier seasons was her affair with Sean Cameron, resident bad boy and Emma’s personal GI Joe doll. I take issue with this ship (Sellie) for several reasons, the most important one being that I used to like them.
It came out of nowhere in the Breakfast Club episode (aka Take On Me) in season three and at first, it seemed like a pretty cool idea. Ellie and Sean were the club outcasts - Sean being in the midst of his mid-high-school-crisis, stealing laptops and DVD players and wearing baggy pants and knit hats and whatnot, and Ellie being…well, not really an outcast. More like a willing wallflower.
But the big problem with Sean and Ellie quickly became apparent - there was no problem. They were bubblegum fluffy and cotton candy rainbows - except cooler, because Sean lifts weights and gets into fights. Grr.
There was no depth, no chemistry, no real feeling. What issues they had were solved in 22 minutes and were pathetically normal from the get-go (Sean dissing Marco-the-human-security-blanket. Sean throwing parties. And…yeah, I think that’s it. Ellie getting a ferret?) and the only real problem that they did come up against caused them to break up (with some compulsory ILYs, no doubt). Not only was the writing horribly boring, but Stacey (Ellie) and Daniel (Sean) couldn’t light a match together, let alone inflame viewers with the fires of their passion. And…feeding him lunch, Ellie? Really?
And then there was the convenient timing of the relationship - Sean bouncing off another Emma-breakup, gloriously self-destructing with the help of the ever-present Jay, and Ellie coming off of her big SI reveal with Paige. Neither of them were in any place to have a relationship, and the biggest draw to each other was basically, acceptance.
Sean: Do I scare you?
Ellie: No.
Wow. That’s so romantic in a real Jerry Maguire, “you complete me” sorta way that’s only really romantic until you think about it a little. As in, not at all.
It was sweet. It was comforting. But it wasn’t very real. They had no real connection to speak of, no shared experiences, and judging from the bare-minimum screen time and quick break-up they received, the writers knew that too. It was a transitional relationship that was based on need, which is hardly a nice base to build your epic love story on.
Cranny and Crash and the Storyline That Never Ends
Craig’s romantic history is one for the record books. His love-triangle storyline with Ashley and Manny was the driving story arc for season three, and reached into seasons four and five as well. The season where the storyline hit its peak is well-regarded as the best season of the show - and I have to admit, in terms of acting? The scenes that Cassie Steele (Manny), Jake Epstein (Craig) and Melissa McIntyre (Ashley) all had together were among the most real and intense of the whole series. But in terms of what this storyline meant for the characters, it definitely wasn’t pretty.
The facts are these - Craig and Ashley started dating fairly soon after Craig joined the show. After a season or so of a relationship, Craig’s eyes started to stray…specifically, to Manny Santos, who he had previously had one date with. The two started an affair behind Ashley’s back, which was full of clandestine hugging and googly eyes and making out in ice rinks, until of course, Manny started to get itchy, and Ashley found a bracelet and the whole thing basically blew up in Craig’s face. On Christmas, no less. Welcome to Degrassi.
So, after that punch-in-the-gut paragraph, what’s your opinion of Craig, exactly? I wouldn’t guess it’s good. But let’s look between the lines a little to see what exactly his motivations were.
Craig and Ashley are lovely together, honestly. For the most part. But Ashley isn’t without issues herself. She’s just a teeny bit needy, and a lot more demanding, and the result? She pushed Craig to admit things that he wasn’t ready to admit, and pushed him right out to Manny. Of course, Miss Santos had been on the edge of her seat waiting for that very thing to happen, but that’s besides the point. But the main root of Ashley and Craig’s problem has always been that he just can’t give her what she needs.
Craig: Ash, you know that it’s hard for me…
Ashley: Wrong, Craig. You can’t say it because you don’t really love me.
Craig looks hurt, then shakes his head and storms off.
Hookay, someone needs a chill pill. This is the story of Craig and Ashley, people. She pushes, he tries to push back, she pushes harder and BAM. Fight and/or break up.
Manny and Craig never quite fit together too smoothly, either. Manny’s showed her naiveté in believing that she could essentially steal Craig away and immediately, everything would be fairytale perfect. She was also very manipulative in the way she maneuvered Craig in the beginning, saying all the right things and taking advantage of the right moments in order to arrange events to her liking. Really, the whole thing was a little sleazy from the beginning, but the double-episode Accidents May Happen pretty much cemented the death of any hope for a happy Cranny ending whatsoever.
The required teen-pregnancy storyline came as we all knew it would, and Manny turned up pregnant in the midst of the Cranny/Crash blow up. The episode ended with an abortion on Manny’s part, much to the dismay of Craig, who, in an absolutely heartbreaking scene, begged Manny to keep the child. His pleas fell on deaf ears, however, and Manny ended up going through with the abortion.
Now, this might be just my opinion, but you cannot get past something like this. Especially when you take into account that they are approximately fifteen years old. You don’t even know who you are when you’re that young, how are you supposed to deal with something like that? To make it through an event that traumatic at that age unscathed is impossible - and to keep a relationship going? Unheard of. For me, that was when Cranny died, end of story. Of course, the writers didn’t see it that way, for whatever insane reason - but I digress. Sheesh, I haven’t even gotten to the canon Crellie yet. Bear with me, guys.
The Ghost Over Craig’s Shoulder
To understand why Craig acts the way he does in relationships, you have to look at the only real relationship he had for years - his father. So many people forget that until he was fourteen, Craig lived alone with his abusive father - a demanding, needy man who treated his son irrationally and unfairly. (Sound familiar?)
Another factor to take into account is that Craig was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in season four - but the signs of this were evident long before. Craig has always been impulsive, a little bit irrational and prone to quick, jerky attitude changes. Hey, wait a second -
Dr. Manning: Listen. There was a message on the machine today.
Craig: For me?
Dr. Manning: No, for me. From Joey Jeremiah. Any thoughts, any ideas on why he might be calling?
Craig shakes his head no.
Dr. Manning: You didn’t call him?
Craig: (nervously) Dad, come on. Why would I call Joey?
Dr. Manning: (angrily) Why would your mother leave a surgeon for a used car salesman, Craiger? I mean, the mysteries of the universe are infinite to me.
Craig: (definitely nervous now) Well I didn’t…I didn’t call. Promise. I’m not um, I’m not like Mom okay? So, uh…you gonna call him back?
Dr. Manning: (abruptly calm) Now, why would I do that?
Yeah, this is a lot creepier when you see it, trust me. But you get the point. No wonder Craig’s bipolar. He grew up thinking this was normal behavior:
Craig walks into his darkroom, finding it completely trashed. His dad walks in behind him.
Dr. Manning: Are you looking for something?
He holds up Craig’s notebook with the pictures of Angie and Joey.
Craig: What are you doing?
Dr. Manning: Are you looking for something? Are you looking for something?
Craig: What are you doing? What are you-
He starts hitting Craig with the notebook and knocking everything around.
Dr. Manning: Are you looking for something? I work my ass off for you!
He throws Craig onto the floor and starts kicking him.
Dr. Manning: What do I get? What do I get in return? I get to do this! (kicks him) I get lies. I get this!
Throws a chair at him, then leaves angrily.
Wow. Yeah, that’s functional.
See, love for Craig has always been conditional. If he’s good, then he gets rewarded. If he isn’t, then he gets beat up. It was like that for the majority of his childhood - and something like that has long-lasting effects, primarily on someone’s relationships. Where do you learn how to treat women, if not from your father? And I can’t imagine Albert Manning was the type to respect anyone but himself.
Coming out of that environment, Craig was obviously very resentful of his father. He wanted to get as far away from it as possible - but at the same time, he couldn’t escape that kind of attitude. His behavior in relationships constantly echoes his behavior in his relationship with his father - his focus is forever on the here and now, instant gratification. He never thinks ahead, because to him, the only thing that matters is avoiding the next punch. So to others, it might seem as if he’s a selfish kid who is too immature to consider the consequences of his actions (which he is, on one level), but in reality he’s just trying to mold his instincts, as screwed up as they are, to a healthy, functional relationship. Which is virtually impossible.
There’s one scene I’d recommend watching if you really want to get down to the gut of Craig’s character. In the season two episode Dressed in Black, Craig and Ashley perform a scene for drama class in which they slant a new take on a scene from a Shakespearean play. While all the other groups viewed the scene as a comedic, rom-com type of interaction, Craig and Ash interpreted it as an abusive relationship. Craig throws Ashley around the stage dressed in his father’s clothes, and immediately after it ends he jumps back, ripping off the glasses (his dad's glasses) and staring at them in confusion. It’s a scene that hits you in the gut - and shows off Melissa and Jake’s formidable acting chops. Ironically, it’s more intense than any of the relationship-heavy scenes that the two have performed - but that’s just my opinion.
And the Redhead’s Issues Are…?
Ellie wasn’t much better off in the parent department, as we already know. She also doesn’t handle stress much better than Craig does - but while Craig freaks out and runs away from home (long story), Ellie turns her distress inward, rather than outward. She cuts herself, as we discover in the season two episode Whisper to a Scream.
Ellie: I don’t need help!
Paige: Then show me your arm.
Ellie: …there’s nothing wrong with me!
Paige: Then show me your arm! (Ellie turns away) Ellie. Ellie, please, please. Show me your arm.
Ellie turns around, shaking, and slowly pulls up her sleeve, revealing cut marks all up and down her forearm. She starts to cry, turning her face down and away from Paige.
Oh, Ellie. You just want to hug her.
After this, she enters therapy in attempt to stop, but we continue to see signs of her struggling with it - such as her habit of wearing rubber bands around her wrists and snapping them against her skin, a sort of nicotine patch-style way of dealing with her urge to injure herself.
Ellie is the opposite of Craig in many ways - she’s defensive where he is offensive, she blames and punishes herself where Craig tends to shy away from blame and shove it onto others. She hides behind sarcasm and is extremely protective of her emotions, which makes her a hell of a lot harder to read than Craig, who wears everything unabashedly on his sleeve. For instance, it’s a well-known canon fact that at the beginning of season five, Ellie is firmly crushing on Craig, yet she never actually says it. She lets Marco state it for her, and furthermore, in her one attempt to actually make a move, she never actually comes out and says it, either. The closest she comes is (if you’re wondering, the ‘her’ in question is Manny):
Craig: Ellie, wait! What the hell’s going on?
Ellie: You tell me! You’re the one who called her. You’re the one who sat there drooling over her all night like some perv! …and this, this isn’t me, okay? I don’t dress up!
Craig: …I’m flattered?
Ellie: Don’t be! (quickly, to her feet) This is for the gig. It doesn’t mean anything.
Craig: Ellie. We do group (therapy) together. You’ve seen me down in the gutter. Lower than low. Lower than I want anyone else to see me. That’s why you’re my friend. My really good friend.
Ellie: (sneeringly) So glad I could be there for you.
She starts walking away.
Craig: Ellie!
Ellie: (shortly) Bye. See you in group.
Oh, just a little bit passive-aggressive, there, Elle. And that’s the paradox with Ellie. She’s vulnerable and prickly, she’s warm and friendly and wonderful, but pushes you away the second you get too close to the nerve. And can you blame her? Her mother’s a drunk, her father’s permanently off-screen. She’s used to taking care of herself. Her main priority is survival - and saving face. And so to her, the prospect of opening up and actually showing how she feels? Is terrifying.
Trust me on this. I am someone who can empathize with Ellie on so many levels that it’s a little eerie, and I can tell you from experience - Ellie’s problem isn’t that she doesn’t want to be close to Craig. It’s that she can’t bring herself to.
Okay, Are We Getting To the Actual Ship, Yet?
So, we’ve already seen a bit of canon Crellie in the quote that I used above. But let’s start from the beginning. In late season four, Craig and Ellie started to become closer - and when I say ‘closer,’ I mean, they actually had scenes together where Ellie wasn’t sneering at him from behind Ashley’s back. They started to become - dare I say? - friends. This is especially evident in the episode Secret, the first time that either of them are remotely genuine with each other - and in doing so, are a hell of a lot more understanding of each other’s situations that either of them ever were with any of their significant others:
Ellie: Craig. I used to cut myself.
Craig: I know.
Ellie: And what’s bizarre is that I’m always gonna be a cutter. Even if I don’t do it for years, it’s still me.
Craig: Well…that sucks.
Ellie: It just - it just is. It doesn’t matter how I feel, or how anyone else feels.
Craig: (takes a deep breath) …I’m bipolar. And apparently…it doesn’t matter if I think that sucks, either.
Ellie: I think Kurt Cobain was bipolar.
Craig: Yeah.
Ellie: If he had just accepted it, maybe it all would have been different. …and Nigel, from group, manages okay.
Craig: He seemed cool.
Ellie: He is! You should come back.
And he does. Of course. But see, the most significant thing about this conversation is that this is the first time that Craig admits to anyone that he has bipolar disorder. Ever. If you’ve ever had anything that you were embarrassed, scared or ashamed of, you know what a big step that is. And the fact that he did that with Ellie, someone he barely knew at that point? Says a little something about how easily they relate to each other, doesn’t it?
And, she convinces him to come to her therapy group - which is really what cements their friendship. Obviously, talking regularly about everything crappy that’s happened in both of their lives is bound to bring them closer together - and immediately cuts away all the bullshit between them. How can you be anything but real with someone who knows all your secrets? It’s impossible.
And that is really what the base for Craig/Ellie is. Yeah, they have a lot in common. They both like music. They’re both way too sarcastic. They both had bad luck in the parent lottery. They both struggle with intimacy - but all of that, I’m sure, they could find with other people. The root of what they are as a couple is how unafraid they are with showing their true selves to each other. And when you take into account their history and background, that’s a pretty amazing thing.
They also are pretty sweet at the sexy banter and sweet gestures. He gives her drumming lessons and they have tickle fights. They do sweet things for each other, and yeah. It’s adorable and bittersweet, because hey! Writers! They could be awesome together! Ugh.
But one of the most pivotal things about their relationship is that they are essentially unselfish with each other. In mid-season five, Craig gets an opportunity to play a showcase that could win him an opportunity to go to Vancouver to work toward his music career professionally - and Ellie is the one that gets him to go for it:
Craig: This isn’t about me. This is about the band. Ellie, we were gonna do this together! Cut our own album, sold out shows, a Juno, a Grammy…
Ellie: Craig, I can’t drum.
Craig: Yes, you can!
Ellie: No, I can’t, and Marco’s not much better on bass, and Jimmy wants to paint… Leo, God face it - he only wanted you. We were just excess baggage. Craig, I really think you should go to the showcase tonight just like this. You and your guitar. I really think you could win.
Craig: Okay. Let’s say I do play at the showcase and I do win. That means leaving. What about Manny, or Joey and Angie?
Ellie: Don’t worry about them. They’ll manage. They’ll be fine.
Craig: What about you?
Ellie: I’ll wave goodbye, cuz I have to. …Craig, go to that club and knock them dead. For all of us.
Aw. Seriously, folks. This is what loving somebody is about. Putting what’s best for them ahead for what’s best for you - and Ellie shows us how it’s done, here.
And this is what really bites about my Crellie experience - they dangle the hook in our faces here, showing us what amazing, pheonomenal potential these two have, and then just rip it away. Bye, Craig. Have fun in Vancouver. God, I hate television writers sometimes.
So, Where Are They Now?
Well, I could make this long-ass thing even longer and explain in detail everything that happened after Craig left for Vancouver, everything that happened when he came back, but I won’t subject you to it. The only thing that’s really relevant to our discussion here is the status of Ellie and Craig’s relationship as it now stands - at least to my full knowledge of Degrassi canon, which I admit, isn’t the most up-to-date.
In the double-episode What’s It Feel Like To Be A Ghost?, it is revealed that Craig, while in Vancouver, has developed an addiction to cocaine. (Crellie shippers around the world: Goddammit!) I could go into a long discussion on why this is actually very believable for Craig’s character, and why it was inevitable that he would eventually develop an addiction to something, and why he’s never going to be able to deal with himself sober, but I think by this point you’re all tired of my psychoanalysis, so let’s get to the nitty-gritty.
Craig comes back, and Ellie finds the cocaine. To get out of the blame, Craig blames it on Manny, and kisses Ellie. She kisses back (despite her assholey, Radio Free Roscoe reject boyfriend) until she discovers that it is, in fact, his coke, and tries to get him into therapy. He agrees to come, but chickens out, which is when Ellie realizes that tough love is needed here, and sends him off to rehab in Calgary with Joey, rejecting his attempts at apology and reconciliation.
Ouch. Yeah.
But see, the only thing this whole drama tells us is that again, Ellie is putting Craig’s needs before her own. There is no way that she’s not completely, ass-backwards in love with the guy at this point, especially with that telling kiss and how quickly she believes him when he tells her that it’s Manny’s coke. But yet again, she waves goodbye because she has to. He has to recover on his own, otherwise he’ll just keep falling off the wagon - and who knows this better than Ellie, the daughter of an addict, herself?
It’s relevant here to look backwards at Ellie’s relationship with her mom - particularly in season two/three, when Ellie leaves her mother’s house, refusing to have anything to do with her because of her out-of-control alcoholism. Only when Ellie is absolutely sure that her mother is clean does she return home - taking to so far as to ‘test’ her mother by calling her over in the middle of the night to check to see if she’s sober. And now, with Craig? She’s doing the same thing. Leaving him, letting him pick himself up off the floor. And while the status quo might not seem too promising right now (especially with Degrassi canon getting weirder and weirder as the producers become more and more desperate to avoid getting cancelled), I believe, along with the many other Crellie shippers, that the only place they can from here go is up. Eventually, Craig will come back. And eventually, he’ll pass her tests.
Pieces to the Puzzle
The bottom line is that despite how little canon there is on them, Craig and Ellie are the most genuine, real couple there is on this series. They have the most believable build up (as in, they have some build up at all) and they relate to each other in a way that neither of them can relate to anyone else.
And see, with a couple with so little canon evidence, the only thing to rely on is characterization, which is why this essay is so heavy on the shrink parts. If you look at what these two characters have been through, and the way they act around each other versus how they act around everyone else, really, there is no other option. They have what the other needs, they compliment each other and fit together.
They have not been treated very well by canon, at all, however. As Degrassi nears the end of its seventh season, the characters become more and more unrecognizable - especially to those of us who have been around from the beginning. If I told you some of the spoilers I’ve heard for the finale episodes, I’m sure you’d - well, let’s not go there.
But the best part about Crellie has, and will always be, the fandom. This couple was a ship long before these two characters even spoke to each other - and it was carried completely by the fans, who saw everything about these two characters and believed wholeheartedly how wonderful they would work together. I’ve always believed that shipping an unconventional pairing makes you even more passionate about a ship than when you like a conventional one - because you’re on the defensive from the start. You have no evidence to back it up, so you have to be extra protective of what evidence you do have. And so of course all UC shippers are radical. It’s the way we roll, baby.
So let’s hear from a few of those very radicals - the fans. After all, this may be an absolutely biased manifesto, but I’m not the only one who is this passionate about this ship, after all.
What is there to say about Crellie? They just fit. What I love about them the most is that they posses all the qualities that their other relationships lack. Ellie adores Craig on a scale equal to Manny, yet she’s not afraid to stand up to him like Ashley. But, she’s not a naïve doormat like Manny or a controlling bitch like Ashley. (Excuse my language, I just really hate her.) As for Craig, he respects her in a way he didn’t with the other girls he dated. He came close with Ashley, but he still held a lot back from her which caused a lot of their initial problems. He confides in Ellie, and he wasn’t willing to risk their friendship in WPA. As much as I, and every Crellie shipper, wanted him to choose her, I get why he didn’t. Being attracted to her freaked him out, and he would have rather had her for a friend than as just another ex-girlfriend. He let her help him whenever he really needed it. That’s something Sean couldn’t do. -sacred_lullaby
I think they look lovely together and I think they have enough similarities and differences that they balance each other out. They just seem...right. More right than Ellie and Sean did, because while that was kind of hot, it wasn't as real. -anglichanka
Crellie just has a bond that other shippers don't neccesarily have. They've both seen each other at really low points in each others lives, but still like each other regardless. -zombiechick815
I adore this ship, they're innocent and sweet yet dark and needy. The two of them get each other and it shows in the smiles but at the same time they are so much the same that they live to push each others buttons. They are both so stubborn and I love it. -connery_is_bond
Stacey Farber said it best: "Ellie is madly in love with Craig, and they have so much in common. They have the same interests and common values -- I think they belong together." And they do. Ellie is the only person outside of Joey who hasn't bailed on Craig when times got tough, and I mean really tough. She loves him so much and puts his well-being ahead of her own. So many people in the world need people like Ellie in their lives. She's "seen him in the gutter", she knows all his secrets, but doesn't hold any of them against him. I think that blows his mind a little bit. I really believe he was telling the truth when he said "I've felt that way for a long, long time" about being in love with her. She gives him the support that he needs in a friend. He holds their relationship in very high regards and I think he sees in her what he wants to see in himself. He loved Ashley too much, Manny not enough, but Ellie just right. I don't think he's scared to be just himself when he's with her. His big insecurity (his bi-polar) his not an issue with Ellie. Ashley cared too much, Manny didn't care enough, Ellie knows. She knows him and she sees the person underneath. She knows he's okay and he needed someone to know that. -_kathrynnn
And speaking of fans, there is a plethora of goodies to look at if you want to get into the Crellie side of the Degrassi fandom. Definitely check out Degrassi-Boards.com, it has a Crellie discussion thread and a great community of Crellie fans and writers. Also check out Fan Forum and the Crellie discussion there, as well, and the crellie community here on LJ.
Here, also, is a list of links to my favorite Crellie authors, and a few essential Crellie fics that everyone in the world should read:
- Kelly123 ('In Love With the Moonlight', 'Wait, Wait, Wait', 'Champagne Between Friends,' and more)
- KC-Chick ('Chase the Whale Along the Run', and more)
- DoubleL27"> ('Do What You Have to Do')
- Frank-da-Rabbit ('Surrender')
- always krissy ('Confirmation')
- Tears of Mercury ('Warm')
- Kitty Kat ('.XO.')
- Christy January ('Happily Never After,' 'Five Points,' 'Finding Faith,' 'Addicting You,' and more)
- The Crellie C2 - basically, the biggest list of Crellie fics in one place. Peruse at your discretion. ;)
And, since I can't help pimping myself: My profile. I've, um. Written a...few.
Many thanks to starsprite22, who provided some of the transcripts of the episodes I quoted from. Also thanks to my dear friend ladalove, who helpfully looked this over before I posted, and also - to everyone and anyone in the Crellie community. You guys are amazing, and you made this fandom worth it. I practically grew up writing Crellie fiction, and I would not be the person or the writer that I am today without these two fantastic characters - and all you guys. So from the bottom of my heart - I thank you.