Marilyn Daniel

Marilyn Daniel is a minor protagonist in Moriah Blake. She first appears in the first season episode Bonfire, where she is presented as Rickey's homecoming date. At her first appearance she is in eighth grade and attending Moriah Blake Middle School. Marilyn is first cousins with Steven Daniel.

Character Description
Marilyn was born in 1997, putting her in the Class of 2015. She is thirteen when the show begins and seventeen when it ends. Unlike most of the characters, her parents are still married. Marilyn dyes her hair occasionally, and begins the show with it dyed a bright blond, giving her a more youthful appearance than in later seasons. She is shown to have a close friendship with Audrey Dereks at the beginning of the series.

Interests
Marilyn—despite an obvious intelligence—allows herself to act the part of the "dumb blond," especially around Rickey, who she has strong feelings for. She often employs such social media devices as Facebook, Snapchat, and Twitter. Patrick cites Marilyn as one of the only two girls under twenty who have claimed to be "100% heterosexual."

Character bio
Little information is given regarding Marilyn's life before the beginning of the show. It is hinted that she and the Donovans knew each other prior to high school. She and her family have a close relationship with the Derekses, although this is never fully explored. Despite their first-cousin relationship, Marilyn and Steven hardly ever socialize, and the fact that they are cousins was not revealed for a long time.

Marilyn came to Moriah Blake High School in 2011, at the start of the fourth season. She left a year before her graduation, after the events of the Moriah Blake Massacre, as she, like many of her classmates, could not handle the emotional state of the school.

Relationships
Although both Dave and Devin are said to have liked Marilyn at one point, she is only involved romantically with one character throughout the series: Rickey. Their on-off relationship is often used as a plot generator. Originally, she was a Rickey's mistress while he was dating Kelsey, who had threatened suicide if he ever broke up with her. He finally calls her bluff, and in Party at Ashley's, Marilyn decides that the breakup is her perfect moment. However, Rickey is not interested in being in a relationship, and Marilyn continues to have a one-sided romance. This comes to a climax in the Season Seven episode Prospective Buyers, when Rickey gives her one chance to reignite their romance. She fails, and he angrily tells her that he doesn't care if she continues making herself miserable, as long as she doesn't drag him into it.

Massacre and Beyond
During the Moriah Blake Massacre, Marilyn was hiding in her classroom, as everyone was instructed to do. She emerged when it was her class's turn to exit the building and run for cover. She escaped with no injuries, but wasn't emotionally capable of finishing out the school year. She leaves permanently in the Season Eight episode Marilyn's Leaving, in which Rickey finally expresses how much he appreciates her, at the prompting of Tom Woodsmith.

Beliefs
Marilyn has never shown a political or religious preference. Like nearly all the characters, she supports gay marriage, but does not feel the need to express this opinion constantly like other characters.

Basis
Although her appearance and name were taken entirely from a friend of the creator's, Marilyn bears little resemblance to the real-life Marilyn Daniel in terms of personalities.