An Ode to JT & Liberty
JT and Liberty (aka Jiberty) was a ship from the hit 2000s show Degrassi: The Next Generation. Out of all the couples we see on the show, this one is my to favorite mostly due to the potential of their dynamic.
This couple went through alot in their formative years, but they had a sweet beginning. What drew me into them was their dynamic was passionate and loving. It was a simple friends to lovers arc, but from their first moments on screen you could tell that they had chemistry and a lot in common. But as much as I love them the show didn't handle them well and due to the racism and bias within the writing, stagnanted any possible growth they could've had. While this is a shrine dedicated to them, it's also dedicated to what could've been. It doesn't help that JT will never get to have his bowl of oatmeal.
Some of my favorite scenes of them is their time directing the Dracula play, their first kiss, Liberty dreaming of JT after his death and thinking about their futures, even when Liberty found JT on the side of the road. I love my parents!
Liberty Van Zandt
Liberty Van Zandt is many things. Smart. Loyal. Sarcastic. Overachiever. Jokester. Competitive. So much of Lib's personality felt relatable to me especially as a young black girl in middle school. She experienced bullying from her peers for her simply existing and being slightly eccentric, if even that. I really want to shine light on her because out of all the messiness and craziness that shined through many characters, Liberty never got that chance to be explored in more nuance as certain charecters.
Whenever I think of Liberty I think of the possible storylines that the writers could've focused on early on in the show like her blooming friendship with Ashley or a possible on-screen friendship growth with Manny. The writers push her to the sidelines and would sometimes only bring her into an episode to be made fun of or to say how "ugly" she is. Instead, we could've seen the actual bloom of her relationship with JT, them becoming friends and him apologizing for his mistreatment of her and growing closer. THe writers simply skip all of this development and move it offscreen or simply don't even bother to explore it. Liberty is one of the few black prominent characters in these early seasons yet she is treated like some throw away character. Also, getting into the pregnancy storyline. Sooooo much could've been done there with her and JT's relationship, her feelings about the pregnancy, her and JT's breakup, dealing with his death, giving up her baby for adoption. So much of this is brought up and then completely discarded. Mind you, her pregnancy was one of the season's biggest storylines and they make her birth a freaking b-plot!!! I do have to give it to the writers though, some of the small moments between them were always the cutest. I loved seeing them in the background of scenes dancing with each other or simply talking.
James Tiberius Yorke
JT is a bucket full of potential that never saw the proper development. He was very much relegated to the comic relief character until they decided to kill him. Whenever I look back at his character I feel upset that he didn't get to tell Liberty he loved her. Just a second too late and he died before he could. Though, I will never get over him trying so hard for him and Liberty's baby, how much he tried to provide for them. I will say that his treatment of Liberty in the beginning of the series and after their breakup was terrible, though I fully blame the writers for that. One scene I wish the writers never cut was the scene of JT giving Liberty a kiss on the cheek during the party at Ashley's house while he was on "e" lmao. It was sweet and led the viewers to know that he did actually replicate her feelings too.
