Re-watching Felicity: Seasons 1-2

One of us has seen two seasons of Felicity and decided to finish it, but first wanted to watch seasons one and two again. That task is complete, and here are the thoughts. There are spoilers after the jump, because this show is so old. For those of you who haven't seen it, we recommend it if you like love triangles, are currently in college, liked the parts of Alias when Sidney wasn't spying, and enjoy talking about your feelings. This isn't our favorite show in the world, but certain episodes and moments are dynamite.



Old kids and other complaints
It's kind of funny to watch this show in its first seasons, because none of this kids look 18-19. They look around 24. But that's commonplace on TV. The guys on this show are pretty hot. We even liked Greg. We also don't like how slowly the plots progress on this show or how series it can get. The voiceover can be annoying, but it's so true to the character that we can't totally hate it. We just hate it a little. Also, we despise the songs in the opening credits, even in season three when they change it. It's better than the "oohs" though.

The cringeworthiest thing in the land
We almost gave up on this show in the first episode when Felicity moved to New York City because of a guy she barely knew. Not only that, but she TOLD HIM that she followed (stalked) him upon their second meeting. Their. second. meeting. VOMIT. But then Felicity realizes that Ben was only the catalyst for a much-needed change, and that she really had other, underlying reasons for breaking free.

Also, Felicity stops being clingy once she dates Noel and then Greg. We also forgave her because it's easy to admire how honest she is. She feels what she feels and doesn't ever hide it. If Felicity has a problem with you, wants something, or has her feelings hurt, she lets you know. We'd like a friend who is that open and honest about her feelings.

Good themes
In its first two seasons, this show grapples with the definition of real friendship, the urge to break away from your parents expectations and control, divorce, school pressure, cheating, and pregnancy. It all works and reflects what college kids go through. Even though it's an old show, it doesn't feel dated.

Ben and Noel are ridiculous, but if pressed, we're team Ben
We think Ben is both hotter and marginally less flaky. Noel waffling between his season one girlfriend, Hanna (Jennifer Garner) and his current girlfriend, Felicity, was extremely unattractive. Then he runs off with Javier's cousin. He doesn't know what he wants.

Yeah, Ben flaked in the beginning of season two because Sean warned him that he wasn't mature enough for the relationship, but usually he's straightforward and honest about his desires and feelings. He's not afraid to tell Felicity to get away from him when she gets too crazy, and he fought really hard to take her from Greg, laying his pride on the floor. If that's not impressive in a 19/20-year-old guy, we don't know what is.

Julie, rape victim and adopted kid
We know the Julie character leaves, because the actress had family stuff, in the third season. This is a real shame, because we connected with that character more than most of the characters on this show. Watching her find her birth mom was devastating, especially since her mom just wanted to keep Julie a secret and initially denied being her bio mom. Coward.

Julie's rape in season one was socially right-on. It showed the incident happening on a relatively benign date night and the young man being truly confused as to what happened. It's a good portrayal to show, because a lot of guys (including the recent rapists in Ohio) picture rape as someone jumping out of the bushes or using physical force. But most rapes aren't like that. They are a little more grey-area, for the guy, but they are still rape. Storylines like Julies should be in entertainment more. This show was ahead of its time.

The Box Episode
We all should have seen LOST coming after JJ Abrams came out with this episode mimicking the style of The Twilight Zone. It was fun, deep, a little scary, and had the perfect ending.

The Hair
We liked her haircut. Haters gonna hate. Keri Russell is, and has always been, gorgeous. The short hair just highlighted her flawless face. We're glad they let it grow back though. It was definitely good in the short-term.

The Therapist and Meghan and others
We like Sean, but our favorite character in the first couple of seasons have to be Felicity's anti-social, Wiccan roommate and the therapist who tells Felicity to get her head out of her ass. The therapist wisely tells Felicity to take an internship rather than follow Ben back to California. In the end, she does, and it's awesome. It seems like Ben feels more comfortable with the relationship when Felicity lives her own life and doesn't tag along after him.

Meghan is just hilarious in every way. We loved her becoming more of a main character, slowly. We also like that Elena is a main character and a blunt rock for Felicity. We like her ambition and think she's pretty funny. This show doesn't have that lack of diversity problem, because it treats Elena like a character and not like a token. JJ Abrams tends to do really well with female characters and minorities. He writes a full character for them and it works. W

Liberal leanings, and affirmation for the waiting
We don't approve of the show going so obviously liberal when it had Felicity jump into school politics. We appreciate the show portraying Felicity as strong, opinionated, and willing to take a stand, but the show didn't give much of the other side. Heck, this blogger agrees with Felicity on her stances regarding birth control and affirmative action, but neither of us like when a show treats an opinion like it's the universally accepted, only progressive opinion to have. It just got preachy.

However, we admire the show's affirming Tracy's decision to stay a virgin until he was married. Showing a guy waiting, and being super awesome, personality-wise, is supportive of a group that is increasingly marginalized and mocked in this sex-obsessed culture.

One character we despise
We don't like Javier. He's aggravating and stereotypical and that episode where he asks Felicity to marry him is a complete waste of time. Skip it. We do, however, love Richard. The comic relief in this show really works.

Season one grade: B+
Season two grade: B