Unpopular Opinions: The Cheese Stands Alone

[JaggedLilPill]

My UO is I thought Brandon had a right to be upset with Susan for taking that job in Washington. Now, his reaction - to continuously yell in her face "You took the job? You took the job?!" - was wrong. However, if it had been me, and I had been offered an internship that would help me in the long run, but I turned it down in favor of spending the summer with my partner, and then they turned around and accepted an offer, yeah, that would piss me off.

 

And IIRC, Susan was pretty whiny about Brandon possibly taking the internship. I get that her opportunity was a good one, too, and she had applied before getting together with Brandon, but it was still shitty. Especially since she was making him feel guilty. 

 

And I hate having to defend Brandon, but, Susan, not cool.

[atlanticslide]

I agree. Him yelling into her voice so pointedly like that was seriously creepy and had shades of domestic abuse to me, but I don't blame him for being mad. I would be beside myself with anger if my significant other guilt-tripped me into turning down a great job and then turned around and took a great job themselves. That said, Brandon's an idiot for even turning down the Boston (was it Boston?) job to begin with, so he does hold a good bit of responsibility for that situation himself. He could've stood up for himself more, talked to Susan about why she was so insecure about him taking that job, worked out a compromise, but he just gave it up like a doof.

[SoupThrower]

David could have done so much better than Donna. Clare and Val have better futures with him. Heck even Brenda would have been better than Donna.

 

S4 and S5 Clare was the best Clare then she turned into Kelly like and she became worse as she dated Steve while he grew as a person.

 

Tracey had the right to be jealous. She was the only one that really treated Brandon well unlike Kelly and Susan.

 

Brandon mellowed out after end of High School and that's the best Brandon. Also rewatching it and I used to hate him but now I kind of like him which is opposite to the podcast. 

 

Noah is a legend just keeping Donna away from David. 

 

Celeste was the best gf for Steve

 

David cheating on Donna was something that made the show better. It was kind of lame with the whole David can't have sex with Donna blah blah blah story line. 

 

Dr. Martin is the creepiest parent in the whole series. He watched David and Clare do it. 

 

David should have gone with Valerie instead of staying. 

[ridethemaverick]

My UO is that Kelly didn't stop being fun in college. Fun Kelly died in highschool after she got with Dylan. I think SOD was the beginning of the end and the guilt and self loathing Kelly ultimately felt (once she actually had Dylan) are what flipped the switch for good.

Brandon was a reprieve, maybe. That someone "good" wanted to be with her probably made HER feel good again, but that also made her ACT "good" and we got stuck with saint Kelly.

[FozzyBear]

My UO is that Kelly didn't stop being fun in college. Fun Kelly died in highschool after she got with Dylan. I think SOD was the beginning of the end and the guilt and self loathing Kelly ultimately felt (once she actually had Dylan) are what flipped the switch for good.

Brandon was a reprieve, maybe. That someone "good" wanted to be with her probably made HER feel good again, but that also made her ACT "good" and we got stuck with saint Kelly.

That's an interesting theory. I could see that. The priss did start to get dialed up with Dylan and the starting of her saving (being controlling to a scary degree) everyone period.

My UO has always been that Dylan initially choose Kelly over Brenda because he thought he was getting the uncomplicated, spunky, slightly shallow Kelly. After Brenda that must have seemed really attractive. I remember one of the things they bonded over senior year was having zero interest in all the college madness. I think he thought of Kelly as another poor little rich kid content to float through life with him and wanted that ease after all the high maintenance drama of trying to fit into Brenda's life. Then Kelly had her intellectual awakening in college and became 1000 times more uptight than Branda ever was and Dylan and Kelly started to crash and burn.

[scarynikki12]

My UO has always been that Dylan initially choose Kelly over Brenda because he thought he was getting the uncomplicated, spunky, slightly shallow Kelly.

 

I agree and will add that Jackie was part of the choice.  Dylan was sick of Jim by this point and (correctly) knew that Jackie would let him and Kelly do whatever they wanted once they were a couple and that would have been tremendously appealing as well. 

 

I also believe that one of the reasons Dylan held out as long as he did before actually choosing wasn't because he was truly torn about who he loved or wanted to be with.  I've always thought that he continued to love Brenda but wanted the drama free relationship that Kelly seemed to offer (and I agree that the relationship with Kelly ended up being far more dramatic than the one with Brenda).  I think he realized this while Brenda was in Paris and just didn't know how to make it happen without being the bad guy.  Brenda offered him that golden opportunity when Reek showed up but then he made the mistake of going straight to Kelly which ignited Brenda's DylanJealousy and made her not only want him back but actually pursue him.  And then we got all of the Triangle Shenanigans.  I think that Brenda not showing up to Jack's party was probably the only chance Dylan would have to actually end that Triangle and that's why he chose then versus another time. 

 

I also believe that Dylan realized pretty early on that a relationship with Kelly was going to be just as dramatic as the one with Brenda, and regretted choosing her (he should have just chosen himself like Kelly "did"), but had also invested so much time in Making A Choice that he felt he had to commit to her and prove that the Triangle was worth it. 

[FozzyBear]

I actually think it's pretty realistic for people of that age to feel like they have to be in love because they created so much chaos to be together. Kelly and Dylan both hurt someone they loved so they had to justify it somehow. I could totally see teenagers needed to be each other's one true love after a situation like that. And that need following them into adulthood even though their relationship rarely ever worked.

[WhosThatGirl]

Do I think Dylan probably realized he didn't really want to make a choice and he wanted to "choose himself" ? Probably. But I agree with everyone else that he had to make a choice because the three of them had made such a big deal about the whole thing. But I think Dylan made a bigger deal with his, "I will tell you my choice on New Years" bs.   And I also agree that is is realistic for them as teens to think that that all the drama they caused as obstacles that are meant to show that they belong together or something.  But I do think or hope that people would grow out of it at some point, but the reboot told us that apparently these three never do tire of the triangle. 

Edited October 25, 2015 by WhosThatGirl

[SoupThrower]

Dylan dug himself a hole and ruined Brenda for that season. She was always pining over him and it's like get even and steal David from Donna or at least do something productive like play some sport, build a boat, get a job, or play the piano. 

 

That was just really messy and really skippable. 

 

UO - Season 3 is really kind of dull. David's music? Oh god.

- Steve being his manager - Yeah...

- Donna being Donna - Yeah....

- David and Donna virginity storyline that carries over....

- Rick and Brenda's terrible accent and Donna being a 'model' - ...

- The triangle - Dragged on too much

- Andrea's university woes - Yeah....

 

The only interesting thing was Brandon gambling and even then...

[WhosThatGirl]

Yeah, Brenda was pretty annoying after Kelly and Dylan became a thing, but I do kind of feel for her. No one was on her side during that whole thing. Not even her brother. I always remember the episode where Brenda finds the diary and then the episode flashbacks to the 60s and instead of going on some trip with the gang, she stays home and Brandon gives her crap about it, and it's like, I get why she is trying to not put herself into a situation where she probably would have no fun. I feel like she started to break away from the group at the time and even the one year she was in college with them, it never felt like she was still part of the gang really anymore. In college, it took less than ten seconds for the gang to believe that rumor about how she got the lead role in the play. As much as Brenda was annoying, I always felt for her because it seemed like she never really had a true person to count on in the gang and that kind of makes me sad. 

[fireice13]

Yeah, Brenda was pretty annoying after Kelly and Dylan became a thing, but I do kind of feel for her. No one was on her side during that whole thing. Not even her brother. I always remember the episode where Brenda finds the diary and then the episode flashbacks to the 60s and instead of going on some trip with the gang, she stays home and Brandon gives her crap about it, and it's like, I get why she is trying to not put herself into a situation where she probably would have no fun. I feel like she started to break away from the group at the time and even the one year she was in college with them, it never felt like she was still part of the gang really anymore. In college, it took less than ten seconds for the gang to believe that rumor about how she got the lead role in the play. As much as Brenda was annoying, I always felt for her because it seemed like she never really had a true person to count on in the gang and that kind of makes me sad. 

I totally agree with this. I felt for Brenda when she didn't fit in back in Minnesota and then when she got back to BH, she didn't fit in there anymore. I never understood why Brandon wasn't on her side senior year with the whole triangle. I did feel sorry for her and I think that's one reason why I always preferred her to Kelly, especially after everything Kelly did and she still thought she was better than Val (who I also preferred!).

[SoupThrower]

Well I guess Donna was the closest friend she had. Steve was Brandon's friend, Andrea was Brandon's friend, David was closer to Kelly since siblings, Kelly in Brenda's mind stole her boyfriend, and Dylan was dating Kelly. So yeah there was really no one...which leads me to this UO

 

Brandon was a better sibling to Valerie (minus the making out part) than Brenda and maybe vice versa. They felt more like siblings I guess.

 

Also back on Brenda, maybe Brandon just didn't want to stir pot or be involved. I don't think anyone else did because it was so weird maybe because Brenda broke up with Dylan which started the whole thing, maybe Brandon got sick of being involved (lol) after the Baja stuff. I actually have no idea maybe the writers couldn't be bothered, didn't care or didn't think about it. 

 

This is a terrible UO but Ariel saved David's character in the show. My issue was that we had David and Donna where he wants to sleep with her and she doesn't want to sleep with him and it was just going on and on and on. So him cheating on her as horrible as it is saved him and gave him crabs. Also allowed him to meet Clare which is really an underrated couple. It allowed him to be funny and got him away from Donna for a while and allowed him to interact with other characters. You can all smite me with your responses. 

Edited October 27, 2015 by SoupThrower

[AndySmith]

I also believe that Dylan realized pretty early on that a relationship with Kelly was going to be just as dramatic as the one with Brenda, and regretted choosing her

 

I don't see that at all. He probably realized that yes, they're all teenagers and regardless of who he chose, there would be drama. But any drama with Kelly would have just been with her and her alone. With Brenda, there would be all the Brenda drama plus all that extra crap with Jim. Jackie wouldn't interfere so much in his relationship with Kelly. He loved both women but things would be a little easier with Kelly.

 

I loved season 3. That and the next 2 seasons are probably my favorite era of the show.

Edited October 27, 2015 by AndySmith

[SoupThrower]

Yeah agree on the parent thing. That would have played a major part. It was basically Jim who decided to Brenda or Kelly thing I guess. 

[Earmuffs Mom]

My UOs:

 

I hate the way the girls were styled for prom - I hated Brenda's hair, I thought Kelly was entirely too washed out with the white dress, and Donna's big cross necklace was just too much.   I also despised the fact Brenda settled for a date with boring, bland Tony Miller and moped all night.  I would have loved to see Brenda bring Rick, even if just as a friend, to watch Dylan's tiny head explode.

[scarynikki12]

The drama with Kelly was internal, not external.  Specifically, it came from her insecurities.  Once she officially became Dylan's girlfriend, she was almost always jealous of his choice to remain friendly/friends with Brenda.  I think it stemmed from Kelly's awareness of the fact that Dylan hadn't hesitated to cheat on Brenda as soon as an opportunity presented itself.  With her best friend at that.  Kelly had every reason to believe that history would repeat itself and I think she believed Brenda was vindictive enough to try and return the favor by stealing Dylan back.  Brenda wasn't, of course, as she didn't pull any such stunts and even stopped Dylan from putting the moves on her when she returned from Minnesota in season 4 but Kelly didn't know about that and her insecurities were so great that I don't think anything would have been enough to stop them.  She was far more secure, if increasingly self righteous and dull, when she started dating Brandon.  I think that if Dylan's interest in Kelly had started only after Brenda broke up with him (as they initially led her to believe), then I think there would have been far less drama from Kelly. 

 

In college, it took less than ten seconds for the gang to believe that rumor about how she got the lead role in the play

 

And weren't Steve and Laura the ones who started the rumor in the first place?  And then Kelly ran with it?  I haven't watched those episodes in a while but I feel like Donna was the only one who refused to believe them.  I could be wrong on the details but I do remember that one of the gang started the rumor and then everyone treated it as gospel.

 

I think what Brandon was supposed to be doing during the Triangle and play shenanigans is remain diplomatic due to having close relationships with all sides but this would have been one of those times when his braying could have been used for good.  I hate it as much as anyone but it would have been nice to see Brandon take a minute and chew out Dylan for cheating on Brenda (though I don't know if anyone other than Dylan, Brenda, Kelly and David ever knew about the Summer of Deception, so maybe Brandon could have yelled at him for dicking both girls around or something) or go off on Steve for even entertaining the rumor with no actual facts supporting it.  I appreciate that he told Brenda that it didn't matter to him if the rumor were true but Steve was still the one telling it to anyone who would stand still and needed to be told to shut it. 

 

Finally, I love Val.  If it weren't for her and Tiffani's portrayal, I wouldn't have watched past season 4 and I quit after she left.  Val was so much fun and, as much as I do enjoy her messing with Kelly, I wish they hadn't been written as MORTAL ENEMIES! for most of her time on the show.  It just became annoying and mostly from Kelly's side.  I always thought Kelly's judgement of Val's "incorrect" reaction to her father's suicide and the pot smoking to be exceedingly dumb.  First of all, Miss 4 Semesters of Abnormal Psych (which means that she failed the class three times, so Shut UP Kelly!), people react to trauma differently and, second, Val smoking pot on occasion, while illegal, was nothing compared to Brandon driving drunk, David's "crystal meth" addiction, or yours and Colin's coke addiction.  I get that this was an era where All Drugs Are Bad With No Exceptions, and Kelly was the mouthpiece but, still, shut up!  I did like that Val ended up being the only one who was never addicted to anything even with her occasional use of pot.  I like to think that the producers knew perfectly well that Val smoking pot was no big deal and this was their way of being subversive about it.  Anyway, I think Kelly's reasons for hating Val were just dumb and that Val hating Kelly was her being reactionary. 

 

Man, Kelly really went downhill after she started dating Dylan.  He should have stayed with Brenda and then we could have kept fun Kelly.  What a bastard.

[ridethemaverick]

I agree that Brenda wasn't vindictive enough to steal Dylan back but she did needle Kelly quite gloriously when Kelly and Dylan came over for dinner after Jack died. Dylan said it was great to eat a home cooked meal and Brenda says something like "you can always come over Dylan. Remember, this is home." And then she shot Kelly the shadiest look. It was beautiful.

I'm sure that didn't help Kelly's existing insecurities lol.

[SoupThrower]

Yeah I don't know why Kelly hated Val but whatever. Must have annoyed her more that Val dated Dylan, was interested in Brandon, dated Steve, dated Colin and dated her brother. 

[AndySmith]

I can understand Kelly not liking Val. It wasn't so much what Val did but how she went about doing it. The smoking up and cheating on Steve with Dylan while acting Little Miss Innocent. Yes, it would have made more sense coming from Donna, say, than Kelly (given her own history), but I can understand her initial dislike of Val, which escalated mutually as the show went on.

 

And I say this as someone who loved Val.

 

First of all, Miss 4 Semesters of Abnormal Psych (which means that she failed the class three times, so Shut UP Kelly!)

 

Given that Val joined them at the beginning of their sophomore year of college, I'm not sure how Kelly would have had 4 semesters of that class anyway.

 

And weren't Steve and Laura the ones who started the rumor in the first place?  And then Kelly ran with it?  I haven't watched those episodes in a while but I feel like Donna was the only one who refused to believe them.

 

Well, it was Laura actually. Steve just kind of went along with it, and the rest of the gang did, besides Donna and Dylan.

 

Though, to be honest, given the way it all went down, it isn't that shocking that people assumed that about Brenda.

Edited October 28, 2015 by AndySmith

[ridethemaverick]

Ah, that reminds me. UO: I never thought Val cheated on Steve. They were never exclusive and hadn't even slept together yet (which was Steve's real issue, imo). I mean yes she lied a lot which was shady but I never understood why the gang thought Steve was so wronged or that he had a special claim to Valerie.

[AndySmith]

Besides the fact that, if she wasn't doing anything wrong, she should have been upfront about it?

[SoupThrower]

Well yeah Brenda made it suspicious. She flunked her audition and went to the director's house who has a rep. So it isn't hard to put two and two together considering how bad she wanted that part. At least Brenda ended up in good terms with all the characters in the end. What's with that scene with David and Brenda in the hospital in the end of S4.

 

Donna was what I thought was worse. Like Steve and Val, you didn't know that they were a couple (well I didn't know) but Donna with Griffin and Ray then David and Cliff, then I guess David and Noah to a certain extent.. No one gives her strife about it. I mean if I was David and I found out that my gf was dating another guy and was cheerful when he rocked up, I would just move on and break up with her. Donna can't do any wrong apparently and that irked me.

 

Also what irked me about Donna is that we get David jealous that she was with Griffin, Ray, Cliff, Joe and Noah but we rarely got the other way around. I doubt Donna wouldn't be jealous of Clare and Valerie dating her ex-boyfriend but apparently she wasn't. That irked me so I guess I think it's an UO.

 

Another UO - I think David and Brenda would have been really good friends or more if they gave them more time together in scenes.

Edited October 28, 2015 by SoupThrower

[ridethemaverick]

Besides the fact that, if she wasn't doing anything wrong, she should have been upfront about it?

But everybody was down on Dylan at that point after the scene he made at the Martin's event. I agree that she was very shifty and shady about it all but I also just don't see what she did that was so horrible. It really wasn't any of their business that she was hanging out with Dylan.

[AndySmith]

It wasn't that she was seeing Dylan, its that she was seeing him and Steve at the same time.

[ridethemaverick]

Right but she and Steve weren't exclusive. It appeared to me that he was in the process of trying to woo her (get in her pants).

Maybe I'm a bit biased because I always found Steve a bit creepy and entitled when it came to women. Anothet UO I suppose.

[AndySmith]

They weren't, but all of that running around behind people's backs while trying to maintain an innocent image wasn't a good way to start out with people, I guess.

[SoupThrower]

Speaking of Valerie. Who would have thought she would have the most stable relationship in S8 with David. Imagine coming from all that with all that double crossing and drama to be in the most stable relationship of that season. 

 

UO I kind of irks me when all the guys get called out for cheating (David on Ariel, Brandon with Emily and Emma, Steve with Crazy Laura, Dylan with Kelly) while not many girls (Kelly & Donna) get called out on it. Kelly did hook with her best friend's boyfriend, then her boyfriend's best friend and then her boyfriend's best friend. Donna cheated on David with Cliff, cheated on Noah with David and then whatever after that. I don't know it irks me.

[gesundheit]

UO I kind of irks me when all the guys get called out for cheating (David on Ariel, Brandon with Emily and Emma, Steve with Crazy Laura, Dylan with Kelly) while not many girls (Kelly & Donna) get called out on it. Kelly did hook with her best friend's boyfriend, then her boyfriend's best friend and then her boyfriend's best friend. Donna cheated on David with Cliff, cheated on Noah with David and then whatever after that. I don't know it irks me.

Donna never got called out on a single thing the whole series, pretty much, even when she was cheating on Noah with that married dude (and this wasn't some kiss or hookup like Brandon/Emily or Dylan/Kelly or David/Nikki or Brenda/Ric or some of those other transgressions, our little Saint Donna was sexing this guy up in front of roaring fires on romantic getaways).

 

Helps to have daddy behind the scenes to make sure all the dialogue about your character only talks about how beautiful and wonderful you are even though nothing onscreen bears that out!

 

My UO: damn right Kelly hated Val! I know Kelly's personality was pretty insufferable during that era of the series, but why on earth wouldn't she hate her? Val was a hell of a lot of fun to watch and I really enjoyed her, but seriously, Val schemed against and lied to Kelly and her friends for years. It was annoying to watch on TV, but if these were real-life people? Wow.

[SoupThrower]

Donna never got called out on a single thing the whole series, pretty much, even when she was cheating on Noah with that married dude (and this wasn't some kiss or hookup like Brandon/Emily or Dylan/Kelly or David/Nikki or Brenda/Ric or some of those other transgressions, our little Saint Donna was sexing this guy up in front of roaring fires on romantic getaways).

 

Helps to have daddy behind the scenes to make sure all the dialogue about your character only talks about how beautiful and wonderful you are even though nothing onscreen bears that out!

 

 

I was watching TV a while back and the 2nd episode I remember seeing of the show was the episode with Clare, David and the handcuffs and when that Griffin guy said that Donna was beautiful. I was like what? It wouldn't be UO because I guess everyone thinks Donna is beautiful cause Tori. 

 

Anyway she was saying no to Griffin but makes out with Ray. I thought something was weird. Moreso than Griffin telling David to not wait up. 

 

I mean I've said this a lot but my UO like main one is that David was a better character when he wasn't dating Donna. 

Edited November 17, 2015 by SoupThrower

[Shangrilala]

I don't think this is necessarily an unpopular opinion, but I've never liked or understood the pairing of Donna and Ray and don't understand why they couldn't have kept Donna and Griffin together.  If they wanted to give an abusive relationship storyline they could have done it with Donna and Griffin.  If they wanted to show her friends not loving her new boyfriend, they could have.  The only missing element would have been the disapproval of Felice and Dr. Martin, but they could have created that tension in some other way.  I don't believe for 1 second that Donna Martin would have chosen somebody like Ray over Griffin.  Furthermore, Griffin and his "don't stay up" line didn't make him an asshole.  Hoping to woo Donna into bed doesn't make Griffin an asshole.  It makes him a 19 year old fraternity guy. Donna.

 

Sorry, Donna, but no support here.  If you weren't willing to have that conversation with Griffin early on, then don't get pissed off at him for trying.  

 

Huh.  Not unpopular, other than the fact that I think Griffin would have been a much better long-term boyfriend than Ray Pruitt, who was a waste of space, unattractive, and an asshole.  

[AndySmith]

Is it just me, or is a lot of this less unpopular opinions, and more stuff people didn't like?

[Lisin]

I think UOs tend to be dislikes, because I think when you dislike something that it seems like everyone else likes that makes your dislike for it an unpopular opinion. I do see a ton of UOs here that are also likes though. It just depends on how you phrase it I think. 

[sidekickgirl]

My unpopular opinion is that I liked when Kelly and Brandon got together.  I really felt like they belonged together -  I haven't gotten to "Saint Kelly" in my re-watch yet, but I do also remember wishing that Kelly and Brandon had ended up together at the end of the series. I hope grown up me doesn't mess with young adult me -- I don't want to hate them!

[FozzyBear]

My unpopular opinion is that I liked when Kelly and Brandon got together. I really felt like they belonged together - I haven't gotten to "Saint Kelly" in my re-watch yet, but I do also remember wishing that Kelly and Brandon had ended up together at the end of the series. I hope grown up me doesn't mess with young adult me -- I don't want to hate them!

I liked Kelly and Brandon as a couple too. I thought they really clicked together. I also thought they were a good example of the rare times a show like this has a couple get together because they DO want the same things. I get it, TV shows need conflict and doing a opposites attract thing is an easy way to get there, but it's also nice to see the occasional couple that actually would work in the real world. Kelly and Brandon were extremely well suited to each-other at that point. They had similar values, goals, and temperaments. I always imagined them ending up together in the long run instead of Kelly and Dylan. I especially loved them during Brandon's collegiate political career. They were both actually really well suited to bring a political couple. I could have easily pictured then getting married and moving to DC.

Edited November 17, 2015 by FozzyBear

[SoupThrower]

Is it just me, or is a lot of this less unpopular opinions, and more stuff people didn't like?

 

It blurs a lot in every genre I guess. Also depends how you see it. 

 

Anyway while Val was the hottest character. I always found majority of Season 5 Clare the most attractive female in the whole cast not just that season but before and after. I know it's weird but yeah. Never thought any of the other girls were special except Jennifer Grant in S3 and S4 and Tiffani in Season 6 for a while but I don't know but Season 5 Kathleen/Clare for most of the season was oddly very attractive.  

 

Also the best hairstyle in the whole show imo was David's short hair in season 6. Dare I say better than Brenda's bangs.

 

And lastly I like Brandon being a dick. I saw Call me Fitz first, so I checked this show way after, so that's why I like Brandon being a dick throughout the show even though he mellowed out. So I get why people hate Brandon or get irked by him but I find it kind of endearing. Also they should have had one of the character be an athlete or got one. I mean Brian played basketball, Jason loved hockey, basketball and racing and I don't know about Ian and Dylan but no athletes was kind of lame. 

[AndySmith]

Yeah, but saying random things doesn't necessarily make then unpopular as an opinion.

 

Now, saying something like "I loved Noah, he was the best character in the entire show's run" or "I think Jim's treatment of Brenda versus how he treated Brandon wasn't hypocritical, it was justified", those actually work, since they run counter to what most people think.

[MyAimIsTrue]

 Ray Pruitt, who was a waste of space, unattractive, and an asshole.  

 

And a terrible singer in my opinion (unpopular or otherwise).

[SoupThrower]

Yeah, but saying random things doesn't necessarily make then unpopular as an opinion.

 

Now, saying something like "I loved Noah, he was the best character in the entire show's run" or "I think Jim's treatment of Brenda versus how he treated Brandon wasn't hypocritical, it was justified", those actually work, since they run counter to what most people think.

 

Fair. You got a point there. 

[TigerLynx]

I liked Brenda with Rick and Stuart, and wished the writers had kept them around.

 

I don't know why anyone would want to date Dylan or Brandon.  LP and JP are pretty to look at, Dylan had the brooding loner thing going on in High School, and Brandon was the cute new boy, however, not even taking into account the cheating, jerky attitudes, and self-righteousness, these guys were not fun.  They don't like to dance, or attend school functions, or the list was endless.  What teenage girl, or 20 year old college student, would want to put up with that all the time.  They want to have some fun.  Dylan whined about having to go to school dances, but acts like Brenda has committed a crime because her parents are not okay with their 16 year old daughter running off with her 16 year old boyfriend to Mexico.

 

I wonder if Mexico would ever have happened if Jim and Cindy treated Brandon like they did Brenda.  Brenda was wrong, but I could see why she would resent having rules to follow when Brandon did whatever he wanted.  Brenda got lectures, Brandon got high fives.  If Brandon had had the same restrictions placed on him that Brenda did, and had gotten the same response when he broke the rules that Brenda did, then I would place the blame for Mexico solely on her.  However, Jim and Cindy set up a situation where they didn't treat their children equally, and then wondered why their daughter rebelled.

 

I'm glad Susan chose the job.  Usually in these situations (TV, movies), the girl doesn't do what she wants and stays with the guy, or follows the boy to wherever only to have him dump her for someone else, and ends up regretting giving up her dreams because, of course, the guys dream is always more important.  {face palm}

Edited November 19, 2015 by TigerLynx

[MyAimIsTrue]

I wonder if Mexico would ever have happened if Jim and Cindy treated Brandon like they did Brenda.  Brenda was wrong, but I could see why she would resent having rules to follow when Brandon did whatever he wanted.  Brenda got lectures, Brandon got high fives.  If Brandon had had the same restrictions placed on him that Brenda did, and had gotten the same response when he broke the rules that Brenda did, then I would place the blame for Mexico solely on her.  However, Jim and Cindy set up a situation where they didn't treat their children equally, and then wondered why their daughter rebelled.

 

I only have a sister, no brothers, but friends of mine with brothers have often said the rules were different growing up as a lot of restrictions and rules were placed on them while the boys got to run free.  I suppose that sort of reality even creeps its way into TV fantasy land.

[Maherjunkie]

 

I think Jim's treatment of Brenda versus how he treated Brandon wasn't hypocritical, it was justified

Please explain.

 

I liked Brenda with Rick and Stuart

Why Stuart?  I feel bad for him but felt he would be a bad match eventually.

[gesundheit]

Please explain.

Why Stuart?  I feel bad for him but felt he would be a bad match eventually.

I think they meant that it's popular opinion to say that Jim favored Brandon and was more lax with him than he was with Brenda. So to say Jim was being fair and even-handed with both kids (or even favoring Brenda) would be an UO.

 

I'd kind of agree on Stuart. I mean he wasn't the greatest, but honestly the show gave every other character multiple great loves and went out of their way to make any non-Dylan pairings for Brenda fall on their face, which led to Brenda looking pretty pathetic in that she could flat-out never move past her high school boyfriend. On the other hand, the writers were hedging bets at the time since they knew they were always about to write Brenda out of the show. Point being that they wrote Stuart right under a bus and I wish they hadn't.

[TigerLynx]

Why Stuart?  I feel bad for him but felt he would be a bad match eventually.

 

 

Because originally he was a guy who liked to do the same things Brenda did, and she was having fun with him.  I feel like they rushed Brenda and Stuart into getting engaged, and turned him into a jerk just so they could have Brenda pining over Dylan again.

 

It's the same reason they gave Rick a personality transplant.  They couldn't have Brenda moving on and being happy with a guy who liked her, and who it would be perfectly believable Brenda would find attractive, want to spend time with, and have her go, "Dylan who?"

 

I don't know anyone who has pined over an ex for years.  They might be upset or hurt when the relationship ends, but they move on.

[AndySmith]

 

I think Jim's treatment of Brenda versus how he treated Brandon wasn't hypocritical, it was justified

Please explain.

 

Basically, most fans think Jim was a hypocrite in how he treated Brenda and Brandon. He would be much harder on Brenda when she screwed up, versus being somewhat more lenient (ok, a lot more lenient) when it came to Brandon's screwups. A good example was the teens and sex. Brenda and Dylan having sex causes him to explode with righteous anger. Brandon has sex with his ex-girlfriend from Minnesota in the Walsh household, and gets an "attaboy!" reaction from Jim.

 

So, for someone to say (and i wasn't, I was just listing it as an example) that Jim's unequal treatment of the Walsh twins wasn't a bad thing and/or wasn't hypocritical and/or Brenda deserved it and/or etc? Would be a somewhat UO here.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

I'm not sure how (un)popular or even talked-about this is, but I've noticed a theme in this show that drives me nuts: the "sexy" consumption of fruit. There is more than one scene in which Dylan is on the couch with Kelly, or in bed with (Kelly or Brenda? I can't remember), and they're slurping on strawberries or watermelon full-volume, talking with their mouths full, as though it's some indulgent, sensual experience and not just bad manners and torture for viewers with misophonia. Lucinda once fellated a strawberry to try to seduce Dylan, and I think I remember David and Clare also going to town on some watermelon at the beach apartment. (Clare was always slurping or smacking her lips on something, so it's hard to keep straight. God bless Kathleen Robertson, but her mouth was my least favorite character in the college years.) 

 

Anyway, when you watch enough random episodes you start to notice the pattern. I'm curious whether it's the same writer(s) coming up with these scenes, or just a bizarre coincidence. In any case, I think it's disgusting! But I still love this ridiculous show; I just have to mute a lot of scenes.

[MyAimIsTrue]

 ( God bless Kathleen Robertson, but her mouth was my least favorite character in the college years.) 

 

Her nose was mine.  I don't know how she was able to breathe with something that pointy and narrow.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

The nose was definitely a runner up!

[Lisin]

Her nose was mine.  I don't know how she was able to breathe with something that pointy and narrow.

 

Her eyes aren't the same size either. I didn't notice it until my boyfriend at the time pointed it out and now I can't unsee it. 

[teapot]

 

 

It's the same reason they gave Rick a personality transplant.  They couldn't have Brenda moving on and being happy with a guy who liked her, and who it would be perfectly believable Brenda would find attractive, want to spend time with, and have her go, "Dylan who?"

 

 

 

When Brenda locked the car, (I can't remember the specifics of where they were exactly, hopefully you all remember what the hell I'm talking about) Stuart was just completely beyond frustrated  (Mr. teapot shares that characteristic, girllll, I know...) and I think that she idealized that Dylan probably would've been somehow romantic or creative or, more likely,  just broken into the damn car....

 

With Rick, I feel like it's common to date the exact opposite of your ex as the rebound.  So I think I get where she was at regarding those two.

[MyAimIsTrue]

Her eyes aren't the same size either. I didn't notice it until my boyfriend at the time pointed it out and now I can't unsee it. 

 

I remember noticing wonky eyes during a particular season's opener when Kathleen held up "one" finger with an arm motion to the side.