Christine "Spike" Nelson | A Degrassi Character Retrospective

THIS VIDEO WAS MADE IN 2021. PLEASE READ PINNED COMMENT FOR CORRECTIONS.
Today we look at who is honestly one of Degrassi's most respected, yet underrated and underwritten characters of all: Christine "Spike" Nelson.

Spike is a character that gained fame (or infamy) on Degrassi Junior High for getting pregnant at the age of fourteen. She became an icon amongst viewers of the show and a spokesperson for teenage pregnancy. However, despite being one of the most loved characters of the original Degrassi television series, she was not only a side character, but unfairly relegated to the sidelines. Spike is a character that could have had bigger potential, and pretty much all of the problems fans may have with Spike (acting, writing) could have likely been fixed by giving the actress more to work with and the character more to do. This video tackles how actress Amanda Stepto became Spike, the character's timeline, the real life impact of the character, a couple scenes where she's in the wrong that I thought she was in the right, her sidelining, and more. I meant to make this video much longer than it is but there were bits I cut out entirely (such as discussing possible alternate storylines, 'what-if's) that I might save for an "addendum" or part two.

CHAPTERS:
(00:00) - Introduction
(03:21) - The Origins Of Spike
(6:57) - The Recap Of Spike (SKIP IF YOU ARE ALREADY FAMILIAR, THIS SECTION IS REALLY LONG)
(21:25) - The Impact Of Spike
(23:44) - Understanding Spike
(30:24) - The Repco Syndrome
(32:27) - "Amanda Stepto is a bad actress" (and I am a bad editor)
(34:31) - In Conclusion
(35:39) - Closing Statements