The love triangle between Craig Manning, Ellie Nash and Manny Santos formed in the fifth season of Degrassi: The Next Generation. Craig was in the center of the love triangle.
Love Triangle History[]
Season 5[]
In Weddings, Parties, Anything, Craig, Ellie, Marco and Jimmy were practicing in his garage. He became annoyed when Jimmy started to play a guitar solo in the middle of his singing and cut the performance short. Jimmy criticized Craig's decision to try and get the band a gig at a wedding, which he considered lame. He, Jimmy and Marco began arguing but they were interrupted by Ellie banging her symbols. She told that they would get nowhere by criticizing each other and Jimmy conceded that weddings were gigs. After Jimmy and Marco left, Craig thanked Ellie for backing him up. She told him that she enjoyed playing with him and then said that she meant the band. He complimented her on drumming but she told him that she still needed help. As he showed how to improve her funk drumming, they seemed to be growing closer. The next day at the car lot, a potential customer, Diane, told Joey that her ex-boyfriend's band was supposed to play at her sister's wedding and she had found no one to replace them. Joey introduced her to Craig and invited her over to his house to see the band audition.
At school, Marco asked him what they happened with Ellie after he and Jimmy had left. Craig told him that he gave her a drumming lesson and they watched a DVD. He said that 90% of his troubles in life were caused by girls and, as such, he intended to be a monk for the year, focusing on nothing other than school and the band. In therapy group, Craig said that he owed his recovery to Ellie as she had been "incredible" and thanked her for all her help. When Joey commented that Ellie was a nice, cute girl, Craig said that she was merely a friend who was a girl. Joey told him that he knew from personal experience that there was no such thing.
After Diane hired the band for the wedding gig, they went to the Dot to celebrate but Marco and Jimmy left so that Craig and Ellie would be alone. Ellie thanked Craig for giving her the drum lesson and he again thanked her for all her support. He did not realize that Ellie was flirting with him. When Manny came in, Craig beckoned her over to join them. Ellie was very annoyed at this. The next day, Marco, describing himself as Craig's "best friend in the whole world," asked him how the date went. Craig denied that it was a date as "monks don't date." He claimed that it was just friends hanging out and mentioned that Manny had joined them. Marco said, "Cue the romantic train wreck." On the day of the wedding, Ellie wore an attractive black dress and Craig was so distracted that he let go of the large speaker that he and Marco were lifting, causing it to fall on Marco's toe. Manny then arrived wearing a turquoise dress and Craig became even more distracted. He explained to the band that he had invited Manny along to help them. Ellie, once again very annoyed by Manny's presence, said, "Yeah, very practical roadie costume."
Before the gig, Craig confided in Marco that he found both Ellie and Manny attractive and had no idea what to do. During the performance, Craig invited Manny on stage to play the tambourine and Ellie became so angry that she threw one of her drumsticks at Manny's head. When Manny accused her of it, Ellie remarked that she was surprised that she could even feel it through all her hairspray. Ellie stormed out and Craig followed her, asking what the hell was going on. She said, "You tell me! You're the one who called her, you're the one who sat there drooling over her like you were some perv." She then told him that her outfit was not her as she did not dress up. When Craig said that he was flattered in an uncertain tone of voice, she told him not to be as it was for the gig and that it did not mean anything. Craig said that she was a really good friend who was always there for him and that she had seen him in the gutter where he did not want anyone else to see him. Ellie, who was very hurt, sarcastically said that she was glad to be of help and told him that she would see him in group. The next day, Craig and Manny began a new relationship.
In Together Forever, Craig and Ellie were hanging out in his garage discussing what they would do with their money when Downtown Sasquatch was discovered at the Northern Sound Showcase in two days time. Craig wanted to buy a car while Ellie planned to invest it and perhaps buy a condo. Craig accused her of being boring and began tickling her. Joey came in and told Craig that Manny was on the phone for him. Craig said to tell Manny that he was studying. When Joey pointed out that it did not look like studying, Craig sarcastically said, "Thanks, Mom."
At the Showcase, a record producer named Leo Davies was impressed by Craig's vocals but claimed that the band's sound was a little rough. In spite of this, he offered to manage Downtown Sasquatch and Craig accepted immediately. The next day, Craig gave Ellie a drumming lesson but Manny arrived in the middle of it and accused him of caring about nothing but the band. She said that it appeared to be all about Ellie and stormed off. Craig followed her, leaving Ellie alone.
In his garage the next day, Ellie told Craig that the Showcase was too good an opportunity for him to pass up. She said that she could not drum, Marco was not much better on bass and that Jimmy was more interested in painting and that Leo had only seen them as excess baggage in the first place. Craig told her that, if he did win, he would mean leaving Toronto and worried about what would happen to Manny, Joey and Angie in his absence. She said that they would be manage and be fine. When Craig asked her if she would be okay without him, she responded that she would wave him goodbye because it was what she had to do. Craig won the Showcase. Before he left for Vancouver, Ellie gave him a hug. As Ellie walked away, Craig looked after her longingly. In spite of this, he was delighted to be going to Vancouver as his dreams had come true.
In High Fidelity (2), Craig returned to Toronto to surprise Manny. She said that she missed him and that she could not believe that he came. Craig told her that he would not have missed the Class of 2006 graduation for the world. He waved at Ellie, who gave him an awkward look before averting her gaze.
Season 6[]
In What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost? (1), Craig returned to Toronto to perform at a music festival. Manny met him at the airport and half-jokingly lamented that she had not seen him in months and that he never called. They kissed and Craig said that he wished that he could stay longer than a few days. He told her that they should go to Marco and Ellie's house as they were planning a welcome home party for him. Several hours later, Craig played a song for Marco, Ellie, Jimmy, Spinner, Dylan and Jesse which he wrote on the Vancouver ferry. When Ellie mentioned that she loved the allusions to Herman Melville, Manny glared at her but Craig failed to notice. Ellie asked him to play another song while an even more annoyed Manny pointed at her watch. Craig again failed to notice and continued playing his guitar.
The next morning at Degrassi, Craig apologized to Manny for forgetting to help her run lines for her upcoming audition for the teen drama West Drive. He encouraged her by telling her not to doubt her instincts. That afternoon, they returned to Marco and Ellie's house, where he was staying while in Toronto, and Craig told them that Manny had nailed her audition and they were looking at a future acting legend. Manny admitted to Craig that she felt a buzz from auditioning and wished that she could do it again. Craig said that he felt the same way during his gigs.
Manny went to Craig's gig with Emma and Sean and happily told them that she and Craig had reconnected since he had come back to Toronto. However, she was annoyed by the presence of Ellie, whom she derisively referred to as āCraig's shadowā and āSmelly McSnootypants.ā Manny then went backstage and was extremely disturbed to find Craig snorting cocaine in his dressing room. Emma noticed the change in her mood but Manny shrugged it off. After Craig performed his new song āDrowningā, Marco told Craig that it was awesome and Ellie referred to him as a genius. She then asked him if that was why he had asked her about drowning allegories the previous month. Craig was delighted that Ellie understood him so well and gave her a hug. Craig went over to Manny to see if she was alright as he could tell that she was upset during his performance but she lied to him and said that she was fine.
The next morning, Emma saw that Manny was upset and she admitted that there was a problem with Craig but did not say what it was. Emma told her that she had learned from her relationship with Sean to accept a guy's flaws and advised Manny to do the same. After school, Manny visited Craig at Marco and Ellie's house and told him that she was uncomfortable with his drug use. He told her that he took it to boost his self-confidence before performances but had only done so twice. After she told him that she did not get the part on West Drive, Craig commiserated with her and invited her to the dinner party that Ellie was throwing in his honor that night. Manny joked that Ellie would probably poison the food if she knew that she was coming. Craig said that she needed to get over Ellie but Manny claimed that she was intimidated by Ellie's intelligence. Craig tried to comfort Manny by assuring her that while she was not book smart like Ellie, she was ābrilliant in every other way.ā
At the dinner party, Ellie, Jesse and Craig discussed Rosseau's work. Manny tried to contribute but the conversation was over her head. Craig told her that he was an 18th Century philosopher and that Ellie had sent him one of his books while he was on the road. The conversation turned to Carl Jung's view that everyone had, in Marco's words, āmassive complexes.ā Ellie joked that she had no neuroses, of course, but Manny countered, āReally? Because I thought being constantly rejected by guys would mess you up, Ellie.ā A visibly annoyed Ellie responded, āYeah. Yeah, I feel bad that I take time to meet guys who actually like me. In fact, I donāt know how I made it through high school without having my breasts shown online.ā Manny ran out upset. Craig followed her but pointed out that Manny had started it and asked why she could not just get over Ellie. Manny said that it was because Ellie made her feel inadequate and asked Craig to give her some coke to boost her confidence. After getting high, they returned to the dinner party where they proceeded to laugh hysterically when Manny knocked over a glass. The next morning, Ellie brought a cup of coffee up to Craig's room and found a bag of coke. She confronted him about it but he lied to her, claiming that it was Manny's.
In What's It Feel Like to Be a Ghost? (2), Ellie was preparing to interview Craig about his life as a musician for The Core. She mentioned to Jesse that she had found the coke on Craig's bedroom floor and was annoyed when he assumed that it belonged to Craig. She told him that Craig had claimed that it belonged to Manny, whom she described as a ātoxic influence.ā However, Jesse was not convinced. He told an excited Ellie that he had arranged for her to interview Taking Back Sunday and they kissed. Craig then entered the office, telling Ellie that he did not have time for the interview at the moment as he had to clear out Joey's garage since he and Angela were moving to Calgary. Ellie said that she would help and assured Jesse that she would be on time to interview Taking Back Sunday.
In Joey's garage, Ellie interviewed him and he confided in her that he had expected everything to be the same when he returned but all of his old friends were moving on. Ellie said that she would always be there for him. She then received a text from Jesse, who told her that Taking Back Sunday were waiting for her. She brought Craig along and introduced him to the band, who asked him to perform the following night during a break in their set. Before she could continue her interview with Craig, he left to tell Manny. Much to Jesse's annoyance, Ellie was also unable to finish her interview with the band due to Craig's presence. Jesse again told her that Craig was a drug addict and said, āYou know what's really wrong? The fact that Craig keeps crapping on you, and you keep going back for more!ā
In Marco and Ellie's house, Manny suggested that they go see a film or get a bite to eat but Craig instead wanted to snort more coke. She said that she felt horrible after taking it the previous night and never wanted to do so again. Craig angrily told her that the last two days had been the best of his life and he did not want her to ruin them. Manny realized that he had chosen drugs over her and promptly dumped him. As she left the house, she met Ellie and sarcastically told her that Craig was all hers. Ellie accused Manny of giving the drugs to Craig but Manny retorted that Craig had lied, which was what drug addicts do. Ellie again confronted Craig about his drug use and got him to admit that he was an addict. She convinced him to attend group therapy with her to discuss his problem and he agreed. The next day, he turned up at the clinic but did not enter the meeting room.
That evening, Ellie visited Craig backstage and he told her that he could not attend the group therapy session as something had come up. She began to go through his things and found more drugs. She threatened to call Joey and bring an end to his rock star lifestyle. He asked her why she would do that to him but she replied that he knew why. Craig kissed her and told a delighted Ellie that he loved her. She said that she loved him too. He responded, āSo donāt make me stop. Please. I need it. Donāt call Joey.ā She pushed him away and called him a bastard, having realized that he would say or do anything to get his hands on more drugs. During his performance, Craig got a nosebleed as a result of his drug use as a horrified Ellie looked on and he finally realized that he had a serious problem.
The next morning, Ellie gave Craig an airline ticket and told that he was on the 11am flight to Calgary, where Joey was waiting for him. She said that Mr Simpson was there to make sure that he got on the plane. She walked away and began crying but Craig ran after her and said, āEllie, I know I messed up, badly, but I am glad for one thing. I was finally able to be honest with you. I meant what I said and I felt that way for a long time.ā She told him that it was beside the point as he needed help. Craig then suggested that they meet up after he got out of rehab but Ellie dismissed this by saying āGoodbye, Craigā before walking away, heartbroken.
In Rock This Town, Ellie made a smart comment about Manny stress eating at Liberty's party. Manny told her that she did not have time for her jokes. Ellie instead apologized about what happened with Craig, which seemingly resolves their conflict. She told Manny that even though she was "so incredibly pissed" at Craig, she still thought about him and worried about him a little. Manny admitted that she felt the same way. Ellie commented, "He really messed with us" before leaving. They had no interaction after this which leaves us to assume they are still on good terms.
Timeline[]
- Start Up: Weddings, Parties, Anything (505)
- Ended: Rock This Town (611)
- Reason: Ellie and Manny ended their conflict since Craig hurt both of them.
Trivia[]
- They were all friends with Marco Del Rossi.
- Manny had a conflict with Craig's ex-girlfriend and Ellie's best friend Ashley Kerwin.
- This is the third love triangle to involve both Craig and Manny, the first being the one with Emma Nelson and the second being the one with Ashley.
- They all had problems with one of their parents: Craig's father Albert Manning beat him, Ellie's mother Caroline Nash's alcoholism led her to cut herself and Manny's father Joseph Santos was extremely controlling, though he later became much more understanding which led to a dramatic improvement in his relationship with Manny.
- They were all members of Downtown Sasquatch, though in Manny's case only temporarily.
- Craig wrote songs about both Ellie and Manny: "Red-Headed for Trouble" and "Rescue You" (Ellie) and "Thong Girl, Wrong Girl" (Manny). Both "Red-Headed for Trouble" and "Thong Girl, Wrong Girl" were included on his album Of Two Minds.
- They all worked on Kevin Smith's film Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!: Craig wrote a song for it while Ellie and Manny both appeared in it.
- This is the first of two love triangles to involve both Craig and Ellie. The second involved their mutual friend Jimmy Brooks.
- Ellie and Manny both made their final appearances in a movie special: Ellie in Degrassi Goes Hollywood and Manny in Degrassi Takes Manhattan.
