This year I’m planning on doing an “In Defense Of” series in which I choose a Degrassi character who is controversial in the Degrassi fandom and write about why they are a great character. And who better to start with than Tristan Milligan? Tristan is a character who went through a lot during his time on Degrassi. He was always the kind of character that people had very strong feelings about, but since the end of Degrassi: Next Class I personally feel that the fan hatred towards Tristan has only intensified. A lot of people don’t like Tristan because of the way in which he lashes out at other characters. Hopefully this post will help to bring some compassion and understanding to people who feel like they can relate to Tristan.
As a little disclaimer, this post is not meant to shame or criticize anyone who doesn’t like Tristan. We all bring our own experiences and points of view when watching Degrassi, and therefore we all have different interpretations of the characters and storylines. I firmly believe that this is what makes Degrassi so beautiful.