The friendship between Manny Santos and Liberty Van Zandt began in the first season of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
Friendship History[]
Season 1[]
The two are first seen together in Family Politics along with Emma, Toby, and J.T.
In Basketball Diaries, Manny and Liberty's homeroom watches Ashley on the morning announcements. J.T. comments to that Ashley's outro joke wasn't bad. Liberty interjects that it was her joke that she wrote in after she found it on the net. Emma says Ashley gets all the credit for all the work Liberty does and that she should talk to her. Liberty says she's upset that everyone thinks Ashley is so clever when she's just reading her words and Manny adds that a monkey could do that. Later, when telling Ashley she wants to do the job after threatening to go on strike, she says a monkey could do the job of reading the cue cards. Ashley eventually lets Liberty try it out for herself.
In Secrets and Lies, when Liberty covers for J.T.'s paper airplane prank, Manny comments that Liberty is acting weird. After J.T. agrees to be interviewed by Liberty, Manny starts a "J.T. and Liberty sitting in a tree" chant with Emma. Later, Liberty asks Emma and Manny if it would be something if she and J.T. became the new Jimmy and Ashley. Manny says "Yeah, something" sarcastically. When Emma insinuates J.T. doesn't like her back, Liberty asks if J.T. doesn't like her. Manny says he's a boy and adds that they don't know what's going on in his head.
In Rumours and Reputations, Emma tells Manny she saw Liberty being touched by Coach Armstrong. Manny says he's a physical guy and maybe she got the wrong idea.
Season 2[]
In Relax, Liberty is the manager of the girls' hockey team, which Manny is on. When Manny is injured, Liberty insists that she continues to play which causes a short conflict. Manny, alongside the other players, soon forgive Liberty for her demanding way of leadership.
In Take My Breath Away, Liberty excitedly asks Manny what happened on her date with Craig. After Manny tells them that by the end of the date she knew he was the one. Liberty then asks if they're boyfriend and girlfriend. She says no, but that she doesn't think she has to. Later, she describes her date with Craig as "magical" to both Emma and Liberty. Later, Manny says she wishes their date had ended better and Liberty asks why. Manny tells the story of how Craig didn't kiss her. Liberty and Emma are both encouraging about it. Liberty mentions how Craig has her favorite two qualities, passion and punctuality.
Season 3[]
In Accidents Will Happen (2), Liberty was present in the cafeteria when Ashley Kerwin announced that Manny was pregnant with Craig Manning's child.
Liberty asks if Manny is going to the semi-formal.
In Our House, Liberty asks Manny if she's going to the semi-formal. Manny says no and adds that no one wants her there. Liberty disagrees and manny says it better not just be Liberty who wants her there. Liberty then hints to Manny that J.T. will ask her to the formal.
Season 4[]
In King of Pain, Manny realizes that Liberty has a crush on Chris Sharpe and shows it to Emma. The next day, Manny reveals to Emma that Liberty and Chris have a date, and compares Liberty to a rabid wolverine. After Emma tells Manny that she is embarrassed over what people will think if Chris goes out with Liberty after her, Manny tells her that is the meanest thing she has ever heard, and later explains Liberty what Emma said, who ends her friendship with Emma.
Manny and Liberty look at each other after Emma boasts about coffee with Paige.
Liberty looks back at Manny.
In Mercy Street, Liberty invites Manny, J.T and Toby over to her place for a first-year hot tub party and Manny brings up Emma. Liberty calls Emma a backstabber and is still mad from when she was jealous of her and Chris. They are shown clinging their drinks together in hopes for a more mature school year. They are then shown shocked when Danny pulls down J.T.'s swimming trunks. Manny tells Liberty that her relationship with J.T. isn't working out so well and Liberty asks if she wants to break up and Manny is unsure. They are then shown in the washroom as Emma brags about hanging out with Paige in an attempt to make them jealous. Manny and Liberty look at each other, annoyed after Emma's comment. Later, Manny talks with Liberty at their lockers and Manny asks why J.T. won't leave her alone. Liberty reminds Manny that J.T. is her boyfriend. She adds that if that's how Manny feels about J.T. then they need to break up. Manny refuses saying she can't because it'll kill him. Liberty tells her they can't go on like this and tells her to do it before leaving. She turns back in time to look at Manny matter-of-factly when J.T. comes up and asks if Manny wants to go to his house after school.
In Voices Carry (1), Manny, J.T, and Liberty are all involved in the Drama Club. When Liberty says her script for the play is embarrassing, pedestrian, and reputation-killing, Manny says it's unlike her to say that because she'd irritating and stubborn. J.T. adds that Liberty is self-confident, talented, and brilliant and walks off. Manny and Liberty smile at each other when Liberty repeats that J.T. called her brilliant. When J.T. and Liberty are forced to re-write their vampire play, they change it to a Degrassi musical, which Manny refuses to do. Manny tells Liberty to convince J.T. to come back and brainstorm ideas for another musical.
In Voices Carry (2), Manny, along with the rest of the drama club, refuses to do J.T. and Liberty's play that mocks Principal Raditch.
In Secret (1), Liberty is helping to direct the play that Manny is in. After rehearsal, Manny invites Emma along to hang out with her and Liberty that night, but Emma turns down the offer.
In Secret (2), Liberty tells Manny that she can't believe has to be in the play since Amy was sick, and that she is nervous.
In West End Girls, Liberty and J.T. give Manny her ballots to vote for King and Queen of Prom.
Season 5[]
In Venus (1), Toby, Emma, Manny, Liberty, and J.T. walk into school together.
In Foolin', Manny, Liberty, Emma, J.T., and Toby all go out to see a movie together. After J.T. makes a job about his and Liberty's sex life to Toby, Liberty overhears and dumps soda down J.T.'s pants. Manny is in the background, surprised. Later, Emma, Manny, and Toby are staring at J.T. and Liberty talking to the police officers while in class.
In Turned Out (1), Manny, Emma, and Liberty consider that J.T.'s after school job as a children's entertainment host is talented.
In The Lexicon of Love (1), Liberty is excited for Manny when she makes her acting debut.
In Our Lips Are Sealed (2), Liberty is in class with Manny and Emma.
In High Fidelity (1), Liberty criticizes Manny's play, saying it is a "mess" and historically inaccurate. Manny tells her that she is an actress and it is being creative. After Manny gets into a fight with Darcy, Liberty is shown laughing.
Season 6[]
In Rock This Town, Manny convinces Liberty to let her throw her a birthday party, which is really a party to help Manny get over her recent break-up with Craig Manning. Manny goes to a lot of issues to help set Liberty up with Damian Hayes, but he is more interested in Manny instead. Later, at the hospital, after J.T. was killed, Manny, Emma, and Toby all hug Liberty, who is in shock about hearing the news of his death.
In The Bitterest Pill, Manny and Emma are worried about how Liberty is handling J.T.'s death. Manny convinces Toby to not tell Liberty right away that J.T. was still in love with her.
Season 7[]
In We Got the Beat, Liberty is at Manny's Philippine Debut.
In Bust a Move (2), Manny and Liberty both attended the Purple Dragon Mystery Concert at Smithdale University where Craig Manning was the surprise musical guest.
In Don't Stop Believin', Manny hugs Liberty after it is announced that she is valedictorian.
In We Built This City, Manny, Liberty, and Emma have an all girls plus Toby hug before the prom when they realize they're all going their separate ways soon. At the prom, Manny notices Liberty and Damian sneaking off to be alone, which she later confronts Liberty about at the pool. She tells Liberty to wait to tell Emma that she cheated with her boyfriend, as to not ruin the best night of Emma's life, but Toby reveals the secret instead since Damian was bragging about it to him. Both Manny and Emma are mad at Liberty breaking their ties with her. Manny, Emma, and Toby do not forgive Liberty until she breaks down crying in her graduation speech about how special friends are for the journey together. They're reconcile, and place a graduation hat by J.T.'s memorial at the school.
Season 8[]
In Uptown Girl (1), Manny, Liberty, and Emma arrive to Smithdale University with each other, excited for the beginning of a new point in their lives. Manny and Emma were supposed to room together, though there was a mix up in the housing arrangement, and Liberty and Manny were assigned rooms on the same floor, while Emma was not. Feeling left out, Emma went back to housing and changed the rooms, without asking Manny and Liberty's opinion on the matter, and got it so the three were roommates alongside Kelly. Manny and Liberty were upset with the change since Emma do not consider their emotions in the matter, but they get used to the change.
In Uptown Girl (2), Emma began to feel lonely because Manny and Liberty were off, busy with new activities, while she just hung around their dorm room. Kelly convinced her to put herself out their to new money, and the two squirt Manny and Liberty with water guns when they were on their way to apologize to Emma for making a big deal about the room change.
In Didn't We Almost Have It All, Liberty is all set to join her mother's sorority, but when a new sorority approaches her with more options but higher prospects, she tries to prove to everyone that she can handle the party lifestyle. Manny and Emma tell Liberty that she should still be herself and shouldn't change for the sorority. After drinking too much one night, Liberty and her new friends go streaking through campus. The next day, Liberty wakes up in a hospital due to alcohol poisoning and had to have her stomach pumped. Manny shows her a picture of her and her friends streaking through campus in the newspaper.
In Touch of Grey, when Emma was passing around the pot brownies for the floor olympics, Emma was all high and Manny and Liberty were worried. They sat her down and explained that marijuana is not good, but she just laughed and ran off.
Season 9[]
In Degrassi Takes Manhattan, Manny and Liberty attend Emma and Spinner's wedding.
Trivia[]
- They were both pregnant at one point, though Manny had an abortion.
- Manny gave Liberty a party on her birthday to boost her confidence.
- They both had relationships with J.T. Yorke and Damian Hayes.
- They were both friends with Emma Nelson and Toby Isaacs.
- They were both female and non-white in the Degrassi franchise before Chantay/Leia, Zoë/Keisha, and Shay/Goldi.
- Manny was the first one to find out about Liberty's affair with Damian.
- Both seem to have had a dislike for Holly J. Sinclair at some point, though Manny had a bigger conflict with her.
- Both girls revealed themselves on camera: Manny took her shirt off while Peter Stone was filming her and Liberty went streaking while being snapshot. Both were also intoxicated during those moments.
- Toby had a crush on both girls, though they didn't return his feelings.
- They both graduated in the Class of 2007.
- They were seen in the Season 8 opening credits together with Emma Nelson.
- They have both been romantically involved with someone who was already in a relationship: Manny with Craig Manning, who was dating Ashley Kerwin, and Liberty with Damian Hayes, who was dating Emma.
- They went to Smithdale University together.
- They were both members of the Degrassi Drama Department and the Degrassi Hockey Team.
- They both attended J.T.'s funeral and memorial service at Degrassi in The Bitterest Pill.
- They were two of the six characters on Degrassi: The Next Generation to be followed after their graduation.
- Manny used to babysit Liberty's younger brother Danny Van Zandt, who later developed an unrequited crush on her.
- They both appeared in Kevin Smith's film Jay and Silent Bob Go Canadian, Eh!.
- They both made their first appearances in Season 1: Manny in Mother and Child Reunion (1) and Liberty in Family Politics.
- They both auditioned to be a Purple Dragon Model in Hungry Eyes but got turned down.
