The season opens with Degrassi welcoming Syrian refugees Rasha Zuabi and Saad Al'Maliki; Rasha, a hijab-wearing Muslim lesbian, quickly integrates, shares the prayer room with the Queer Straight Alliance, removes her hijab, and begins a secret same-sex relationship with Zoe Rivas that culminates in Zoe bringing her to her mother's wedding against explicit wishes, leading to Zoe being kicked out. Goldi Nahir's storyline directly confronts stereotypes around Muslims and suicide bombers, debates Quranic views on homosexuality, and explores personal choices around hijab and faith in a non-Muslim society. An episode is even titled "#Woke," and creator Linda Schuyler explicitly discussed humanizing the refugee crisis and introducing Rasha as a liberal Muslim lesbian refugee to explore authentic teen emotions around these issues.