The conflict, friendship, and one-sided attraction between Emma Nelson and Rick Murray occurred over the course of Season 4 in Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Conflict History[]
Season 4[]
In Mercy Street, when Rick returns and has to repeat his tenth grade year because of his departure, everybody is still mad at him for what he did the previous year. The other students feel that he should not be in school, but Mr. Raditch disagrees. Paige Michalchuk and Emma begin a silent protest with orange ribbons, which leads Rick to find himself the victim of violence. When Jay Hogart was beating up Rick in the same spot where he hurt Terri MacGregor twice, Emma realized this had gone too far, and that what she did was wrong. She defended him before Alex Nuñez joined in. Emma then goes against the protest and talks to him the day after, leading them to become acquaintances. Rick also developed a secret crush on her afterward.
In Islands In The Stream, Toby Isaacs and Rick have a bet of who can get the most kisses from girls. They tell Emma about the bet and she gives both boys a kiss on the cheek. Rick later reveals to Toby that he has a crush on Emma.
In Time Stands Still (1), after Jimmy Brooks is put on the Whack-Your-Brain team, Rick wants to quit because he doesn't want to deal with Jimmy bullying him, but Emma convinces him to try to make up with Jimmy and that he's smart and that they need him. Rick then decides to do it. After making up with Jimmy, Rick, Emma, Toby and Jimmy get ready for the event. After making it to the finals, Rick tells Emma that it's all for her and holds onto her, but Emma becomes confused and has him let go. After winning the final round, yellow paint and white feathers suddenly drop on Rick and everybody in the audience laughs. Rick runs out and Emma goes after him. She tries to comfort him, and Rick, in the moment, grabs her and tries to kiss her, but Emma pushes him away. Rick told Emma that he thought that she loved him, to which Emma tells him that she just felt sorry for him and proceeds to tell him to get a clue and walks away. This leaves Rick heartbroken. He then decides to bring a gun to school.
In Time Stands Still (2), Rick heads to Degrassi with his dad's handgun in his backpack, despite being given permission to go home until everybody has calmed down and the issue has been resolved. After shooting Jimmy, Rick finds Emma with Toby and Sean Cameron. Sean tells Emma and Toby that they have to get away from Rick, but Rick yells at them to not run away from him. Rick tells Emma that she just played with his feelings and that she made it to his list. Sean tries to convince Rick just to put the gun down and that everything will be ok. Rick tells him that its too late and that he already shot Jimmy as he points his gun at Emma. Sean grabs the gun and tries to grab it out of Rick's hand, though Rick is shot and dies in the process.
Trivia[]
- Emma started a ribbon campaign to get Rick out of Degrassi, though it eventually turned into bullying.
- Emma only became friends with Rick because she felt sorry for him.
- Rick had a crush on Emma and thought that Emma liked him back, until she rejected him.
- Though Rick intended to shoot Emma, she felt terrible about his death, especially after having to watch him die.
- Emma’s ex-boyfriend, Sean, shot and killed Rick in self defense to save Emma.
- They were both friends with Toby Isaacs.
- They both had a conflict with Paige Michalchuk.
- Rick had a conflict with Emma's future husband, Spinner Mason.
- Emma mainly began this conflict since her new friends had a bad past with Rick after he abused Terri MacGregor.
- They were both on the Whack Your Brain Team.
- Rick was the second friend of Emma's to have had a crush on her, the first was Toby. With both boys, Emma didn't return their feelings.