It's freshman orientation in The Union with all twenty of the new students at Pennbrook. Cory and Topanga are making out on the couch since they have no shame. Angela wants to make out with Shawn, but he wants to spend this time meeting new people, which is the complete reverse of what we would expect. A cute girl named Cameron approaches Shawn, who then introduces Angela as his friend, but quickly corrects himself, causing Cameron to walk away. So now it's awkward.
I will say that it's nice to see Cory and Topanga acting like normal teenagers instead of Hollywood soulmates.
Angela isn't gonna quickly forgive Shawn for his "friend" comment, and it sounds like she might want to break up since Shawn's so interested in "meeting new people".
Elsewhere, Cory is still afraid of the co-ed bathroom (a fear born in the previous episode). Nothing comes of it though, it's just setting the groundwork for later. And there's a funny little bit where both Topanga and Shawn are impressed by the body of a muscular guy who walks in to take a shower. Back in The Dorm, Cory learns that Shawn and Angela have indeed broken up.
Shawn's wearing that shirt again. We've talked about Shawn wearing the same shirts a few times already, and now that I think about it, it makes sense. Shawn's too poor to have an expansive wardrobe. I doubt anyone on the show put that much thought into it, but it'd be nice if they did.
Anyway, it looks like we're going to be dealing with Cory The Relationship Expert Matthews today. Topanga joins the scene and defends Shangela's decision, but Cory continues his "They shouldn't break up! They should be like us!" routine. He specifically said he wants them to "be like us", conveniently forgetting that both he and Topanga went out with someone else not that long ago. What a preachy hypocrite.
In class, Eric, Jack, and Rachel have a surprising new classmate, Mister Feeny.
The class's teacher, Dean Bolander, shows up with her no-nonsense attitude, causing Feeny to immediately develop a big ol crush on her. She assigns group projects to the class, so Eric calls dibs on Jack, while Feeny and Rachel team up.
Meanwhile, Cameron and Shawn are occupying The Dorm with a rubber band on the doorknob.
Angela shows up explains that she's fine with it, that Shawn can do whatever he wants, but of course Cory isn't going to let that stand. He tries to convince her that she shouldn't be so calm and accepting of this breakup, finishing with "I'm just trying to be a friend." That sets off the fireworks though, as Angela responds with "Let's not kid ourselves, you and I were never really friends to begin with." Cory is left speechless, and I think we all have to agree with Angela here. This is one of those rare dramatic moments that's actually supported by history. And perhaps that's part of why we never cared about her as a character. Cory is our gateway into the show, so if he doesn't care, why should we?
Topanga: "How many times did you pull her aside and talk to her?"
Cory: "Eight hundred times."
Topanga: "Not once, Cory."
I really like that Topanga is straight up calling him out on this. Drama supported by what we've actually seen on the show, that is a treat.
Eric is showing off his karate skills to Jack before class begins, and I went ahead and made it the new background because it's hysterical and we were due for a new one. Dean Bolander arrives and starts class, asking for volunteers to present their project. Feeny volunteers, even though Rachel is terrified of going first. The topic of the projects is basically Nature vs. Nurture, and Feeny takes the stance that we might expect.
Feeny: "Free will determines behavior, and not one's environment."
That's got Shawn Hunter written all over it, doesn't it? That's the theme of the entire Shawn-Feeny arc. And I'd say it's one of the most predominant themes of the entire series. When a Boy meets the World, it's less about what the World does, and more about how the Boy (or girl) reacts and adapts to it. So yeah. I like that Feeny's still sticking to his guns.
However, it is clear that environment does play some role, as Feeny cannot help falling into his old teaching patterns, going so far as to treat Dean Bolander herself as if she's his student. Rachel is able to overcome her environment, gaining the courage to speak to the class, but only to explain Feeny's inability to overcome his environment, calling him out for acting like he's the teacher. Interesting development, and Feeny's not really sure how to respond.
Cory: "Who sent ya these balloons? Oh look, I did."
As you can see, Cory is intent on proving to Angela that they are in fact friends. Look at that ancient ass iMac on her desk in the bottom left, boy those were some times.
She doesn't want to deal with Cory's bull shit though, and I don't blame her at all, so she escapes to the shower since Cory's afraid of the coed bathroom. He's finally able to conquer that fear though, because he's "more scared of losing you". This strong desire to be Angela's BFF isn't exactly supported by history, but it is supported by the character. This is just the kind of thing Cory would do, based on everything we know about him. Doesn't mean it's logical, but it is justified.
Cory: "You know he's never gonna find anybody as good as you."
Angela: "You don't even know me."
KA-TRUUUUUUUTHHH
Ladies and gentlemen that was the sound of a truth bomb exploding, dropped from the fighter jet of Ace Pilot Angela. Damn, shut-down of the century. The best part is that Cory admits it, and asks for a chance to get to know her. Angela explains that it's too hard to be friends with Cory when she's still got feelings for Shawn. They back and forth for a while and eventually Cory wears her down.
Angela: "I don't want him to stop searching for who he is because he feels sorry for me."
That's one of Angela's best lines so far. Very mature. Shawn wants to meet new people and have his space, and she doesn't want to stand in the way of that. I think Cory is fundamentally unable to understand that concept, but he agrees to keep her feelings a secret, even from Topanga. So now that they've got their Secret of Enduring Friendship, they're going to try to be real friends.
We bear witness to the conclusion of Eric and Jack's presentation, as Eric summarizes with "Watches... chocolate... cheese... Ladies and gentlemen we give you the Swiss. Thank you." It's hilarious, but Jack is back to doing his "this guy is such an idiot, poor me" faces and gestures. Class ends and Dean Bolander explains to Feeny that teachers never stop being teachers, and advises him to apply for a teaching position at the university. Convenient. We can see the sparks starting to fly between Bolander and Feeny, prompting Eric to give the most elaborate Feeny Call of the series.
Will Friedle is a fucking genius. Matthew Lawrence back there is having a real hard time keeping his laughter contained. Obviously there's more than what's in the gif, but it's too long and it doesn't really translate to text... Anyway, that Feeny Call is amazing, and it looks like Feeny's gonna be back to teaching. During the credits, Cory, Topanga, Angela, and Shawn are all brushing their teeth at the same time. Cory and Angela are BLATANTLY smiling and winking at each other, it looks really stupid and obvoius.
Plot: 1.0 - Drama supported by history. Thumbs up. Feeny makes his way back to center stage.
Character Development: 1.0 - Cory and Angela are friends, Shawn is still at war with his hormones, and Feeny is going to be a teacher again.
Humor: 1.0 - Eric is fantastic, of course, but everyone else kinda fell flat. I was gonna go for .75, but that Feeny Call is just too good.
Life Lesson: 0.5 - "Free will decides behavior, and not one's environment." I like that they included that and still talked about how environment does inevitably have some effect. I would have liked it if that also could relate to Cory's half of the episode, but there isn't really anything to tie it to. Maybe that Cory won't let the environment of the breakup stop him from being friends with Angela? It's kind of a stretch.
3.5 out of 4.0. There's really nothing wrong with this episode except Cory's behavior. He is a bull seeing red when it comes to friendship, he's goes really hard. But like I said earlier, that's just who Cory is.
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