Welcome to Late Night Retro Television Reviews, a feature where we review some of our favorite and least favorite shows of the past!  On Sunday, I will be reviewing the Canadian series, Degrassi: The Next Generation, which aired from 2001 to 2015!  The series can be streamed on YouTube and Tubi.

This week is Degrassi at its best and most important.

Episode 3.8 “Whisper to a Scream”

(Dir. Philip Earnshaw; originally aired November 12th, 2003)

Ellie is dealing with more than any teenager should have to.

Her father, Colonel Nash (Daniel Lévesque), is deployed overseas, leaving her to take care of her self-centered, alcoholic mother (Kirsten Kieferle). Ellie is up for an internship with Caitlin Ryan, but to get it she’ll have to beat out none other than Paige. Despite the fact that Paige starts wearing glasses to look smarter and “accidentally” spills a drink on Ellie’s shirt, Ellie still manages to get the internship. “I guess she really did feel sorry for you,” Paige says.

The internship is Ellie’s dream job, but now she has to balance it with school and taking care of her mom. Her grades struggle. The ladies in the front office start giving her nasty looks whenever she comes in for a late slip. Whenever the stress gets to be too much, Ellie cuts herself.

This episode is difficult for me to watch. For a time, Degrassi was advertised as the show that “goes there,” and this episode has always hit close to home for me. When I was much younger and blaming myself for my parents’ divorce and the fact that my mom usually had to work more than one job to support me and my sisters, I used to manage my stress in much the same way Ellie did, though I was usually too afraid of scars to actually break the skin. Cutting is a sensitive subject, and not one that is easy for other people to understand or for people who cut to really explain. This episode approaches the subject with intelligence and sensitivity, and Stacey Farber gives a commendable performance.

To the show’s credit, Ellie does not magically get over being a cutter in just 20 minutes. Even after her former rival, Paige, sees the scars on Ellie’s arms and encourages her to talk to the school counselor, Ellie isn’t suddenly better. In a future episode, Ellie will admit, “I’ll always be a cutter,” regardless of whether she’s actually cutting or not. It’s one of those honest moments that sets Degrassi apart from most other teen shows.

I should admit that when Ellie cuts herself, she does so with a drawing compass, and it’s obvious that the point is very dull. This was apparently done on purpose to keep the episode from becoming a “how-to” video. I can understand that. Degrassi shows the dangers of cutting, but it doesn’t shy away from admitting that it also provides an outlet for Ellie’s stress.

This episode’s B-plot is important as well. Someone has been leaving flowers at Terri’s locker. Terri fears that her secret admirer is Toby, and Toby doesn’t help things by saying stuff like, “I don’t know, am I?” Fortunately, it turns out that Toby is not her secret admirer and is just acting weird because he’s trying to test whether or not she has ESP. Instead, Terri’s secret admirer is cute, shy Rick Murray (Ephraim Ellis).

Considering Rick’s ultimate legacy as a Degrassi student, it’s always a bit surprising to be reminded that, in his first appearance, he just came across as a sweet romantic. “Awwww! He left her a poem!” When you already know that Rick is destined to (1) put Terri in a coma and (2) shoot Jimmy in the back, it completely changes how you react to Rick’s courtship of Terri.

Next week, Emma’s back and she’s trying to move on from Sean. Yeah, good luck with that!