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Danielle Fishel
It's Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and Will.
Will Friedle
Friedle from Pod Meets World.
Danielle Fishel
Are you a small business owner launching a company or dreaming of starting one?
Will Friedle
Then check out season three of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories from Ruby Studios and Intuit QuickBooks.
Ryder Strong
Join hosts Austin Hankwitz and Janice Torres as they talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their businesses.
Danielle Fishel
You don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys.
Ryder Strong
Listen to Mind the small business success stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Danielle Fishel
Ya girl loves her some jewelry. And for the record, I'm your girl. So imagine my excitement when I found out that I get to talk to you about Pandora Jewelry. Every piece from Pandora is crafted with meaning, love and exquisite artistry. Whether it's sparkling lab grown diamonds or vibrant enamels, engravings or iconic charms, there is no better place than Pandora to express what's in your heart. Pandora makes sure your jewelry is a celebration of you with hand finished designs and playful cuts that make everything unique like it should be. Shop Pandora today in store or online@pandora.net every day is a chance to be love. Let Pandora jewelry remind you that love starts with you.
Janice Torres
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Austin Hankwitz
Bring spring to your door with Target Circle 360. Get all you need for Easter hosting Spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle 360 from Easter Basket goodies to fresh florals. Getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms. Applies to orders over $35.
Will Friedle
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Danielle Fishel
Oh, that's a mouthful, but that's because it packs a lot in. Earn unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases with it, big or small.
Ryder Strong
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Danielle Fishel
Let's say it together. The active cash credit card from Wells Fargo.
Will Friedle
Learn more@wells Fargo.com ActiveCash terms apply.
Ryder Strong
We've talked about this. I think off mic mostly, but I, you know, when you're a parent, you, you like a lot of parenting. You're trying to put yourself in your kids shoes and be like, what was I like when I was that age? And how, you know, how, you know, if there's a problem or if there's something, you know, like, what did I feel and how can I relate to it? And try and have the conversation with Indy around that. And then time and time again, I smack up against the realization that I'm not raising myself, I'm raising a very different person. In fact, I am raising Mr. Will Friedle pretty explicitly.
Will Friedle
I'm so sorry. What's his brand of cigarettes? What's Indy's favorite brand of cigarettes?
Ryder Strong
But I mean, like, it's actually been very helpful and healthy to recognize this. And I've even come to you, Will, We've had multiple conversations where you've given me great advice because you're like, oh, no, no, no, here's what he's thinking. And you're exactly right. And I'm able to like, reorient my way of thinking because, you know, yeah, he wants to just get a laugh, just entertain. He wants to be a voiceover actor. You know, all the things. Like there's time and time again. So I came home yesterday, I was traveling and there's a, you know, like, no one's home. I come home to an empty house and there's just the, the normal detritus of parenting and what's been happening while I've been gone on the tables and.
Danielle Fishel
Everywhere, and I find the sheet of detritus.
Will Friedle
I like you.
Ryder Strong
I find this, I find this sheet of paper In Indy's handwriting that's all like crumpled and you know, but it's just like this weird list and I'm like, what is this? And I read it and you know, the first line is, I believe I am funny. I am certain I am funny. And it goes on. I'm like, what is, is this like a. Is this some sort of therapeutic, like self help, self help thing? Like he needed to like write down something. Did Alex tell him, like, you know, you're funny, let's. Or is this a poem? Like, is it, you know, some sort of. I don't know, is it a cross stick? What is going on here? I'm trying to figure it out. And then when Indy and my wife get home and you know, I asked them about it, I. I get the. The true story, which is much more. Oh, I'm raising Will Friedle. So Indy had to write sentences that use that week's spelling words. And that week's spelling words were. Believe. Certain.
Danielle Fishel
Certain.
Ryder Strong
Extremely.
Will Friedle
I am extremely funny.
Ryder Strong
That works perfectly. Let's see. Direction, measure, explode. So I'm going to read you what Indy wrote for his spelling. I believe I am funny. I'm certain I am funny. If you look at me, you are looking in the direction of a funny person. I am especially funny. I am extremely funny. It's important that you know that I'm funny. If you measure how funny I am, I would explode. Piece by piece. You find out I'm funny. I'm probably funny. With your knowledge, you know I'm funny.
Danielle Fishel
Oh my God.
Ryder Strong
I was like, okay, you win, India. Yes. That is. It just gets funnier the more it goes on.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
Like you did. You did the assignment. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Danielle Fishel
That's what you say. You have to come up with original sentences for each one.
Will Friedle
And the only one I disagree with is probably. They're probably fine.
Ryder Strong
Right? Because it was retracting at the end there. He's backing off a bit. Yeah. No. So I have a teacher parent conference this afternoon. I can't wait to talk about this.
Danielle Fishel
Yes, that'll be great.
Ryder Strong
Hopefully she has a sense of humor and finds this hysterical.
Will Friedle
Can I ask a very important question?
Ryder Strong
Yeah.
Will Friedle
Were all the words spelled properly?
Ryder Strong
Perfectly.
Will Friedle
Okay, what could she complain about? Exactly. You know, I mean, come on.
Danielle Fishel
What could the teacher.
Ryder Strong
I'm like, indy, brilliant. You did it. You did. And funny did the assignment.
Will Friedle
And it's all. It's all spelled properly.
Ryder Strong
Exactly.
Danielle Fishel
And you showed personality in it. Which, you know, which, to be honest, a bunch of other kids are probably just like and filling out some boring stuff. Stuff with words, maybe not spot.
Ryder Strong
It's much more like young Ryder Strong, right?
Danielle Fishel
Who.
Ryder Strong
Who probably wrote like a very intense poem about especially.
Will Friedle
I am especially upset.
Ryder Strong
I am especially sad.
Will Friedle
Especially sad. I am extremely in my modeling maudlin. I. I can admit something here that I don't think I've ever. I know I've never admitted publicly, but I. I will do it here, because why not? Mr. Brooker's class. Fifth grade is when spelling bees really started and I cheated. And now, to this day, time to revoke your degree. I can't spell.
Danielle Fishel
That was it.
Will Friedle
That was the beginning. I went, seriously? It is. I am a awful, awful speller. And it's because I used to be able to glance down at a little list I. I had written up and I could cheat on my spelling bee. Don't cheat. Kids.
Danielle Fishel
Kids.
Will Friedle
Q, I, D, R, E S. Kids. Cause it cannot spell at. It's my worst. I remember when I passed in my first script to my friend George, I said, oh, I. I apologize for the spelling errors. This is before spell check and all that stuff. I think I typed it out. And he wrote, hey, just look at yourself in the mirror and say, I'm not a speller. I'm a writer. And so I was like, hey, that's a nice way of saying you're an idiot. Learn how to spell.
Ryder Strong
It is true, though, that spelling is one of those things that just kind of doesn't matter that much anymore.
Will Friedle
No.
Danielle Fishel
Right. Spell check.
Ryder Strong
Yeah, it's just. What I mean, it's good to know, good to practice. But if you. Who cares, right?
Will Friedle
I like to apologize to Mr. Brooker, by the way. My first male teacher and the first teacher ever saw smoke.
Danielle Fishel
Whoa. Whatever.
Will Friedle
Exactly. Don't tell me teachers can't change your life, by the way. I was like, oh, he's really enjoying that Camel.
Ryder Strong
That looks fun.
Danielle Fishel
Does he smoke in class?
Will Friedle
No. God, what year do you think I was born?
Ryder Strong
Even a teacher smoking where students can see him is pretty.
Will Friedle
I think. Daniel, I know, but Danielle, I think, sees me as the teacher smoking in class. And then we did nuclear bomb drills, like under the desk.
Danielle Fishel
1945. It was 1945. And I don't know. Weren't you around when people smoked on planes?
Ryder Strong
I did smoke on planes. Are you kidding me?
Danielle Fishel
I smoked on planes.
Will Friedle
Yeah, I smoked on planes. I remember Shiloh on his way to.
Ryder Strong
Amsterdam, just ditzing funniest.
Will Friedle
Oh, but that's the thing. So I'm with Ryder's brother Shiloh, and It's the funniest thing in the world. So you're in a big metal tube and half the plane is smoking in the back and half isn't smoking and non smoking somehow.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Will Friedle
And so I'm smoking a cigarette, no problem. Bunch of people around me smoking a cigarette. Shiloh lights a cigar and people walk back and they're like, what do you think you're doing? Like, you've taken it a step too far.
Danielle Fishel
Friend too cigar.
Will Friedle
He's like, oh, sorry. He puts out a cigar and I'm like, smoking a cigarette. Like, how dare you? What are you thinking?
Ryder Strong
Yeah, my experience with the smoking section in a plane is very, very much in line with my father, the King Strong. That's how they get you model, which was. We saved a lot of money, my first trip to Europe when I was 5 years old by buying tickets in the smoking section of the. So like my first memories of being in a plane or sitting in the smoking section while people walk back. That's what they used to do. They would walk back to the smoking section to stand there and smoke. Well, me and my brother just like.
Danielle Fishel
Oh my God, I've never been on a plane where anybody was able to smoke.
Will Friedle
Really? No. That makes sense because by the time you were a little older, you could only do it internationally and that I think that only lasted a year or two when I was 17 or 18 and then that was done. Like you couldn't do that anymore because why would you. Yeah, no, I mean, it's like, it's awful.
Danielle Fishel
I do remember smoking and non smoking in restaurants though and being like, oh yeah, we'd like to sit in the non smoking section. And then literally like the booth behind you is part of the smoking section.
Ryder Strong
Working its way towards you.
Will Friedle
Like what? Yup, I remember that. Oh God. As a smoker sitting and going to airports and you have the, the glass box with 50 people in it and it's just a giant smoke filled cloud and you're just. And it's just. Oh God, I'm so.
Ryder Strong
I remember such a huge debate with your brother Greg when they outlawed smoking in bars. And he was like, no, this is ridiculous. And I was like, no, man, it makes perfect sense. You shouldn't. And he was like, no, that's why you go to a bar. You go to a bar to drink and smoke. So by saying you can't smoke in a bar, you're taking away my freedom. And we got into it. I was like, oh, let me guess.
Will Friedle
I can hear my brother. What's next? No drinking and then no talking.
Ryder Strong
Right.
Will Friedle
I remember. I guarantee you that was one of his arguments.
Ryder Strong
And he was like, I remember. I was, like, trying to come up with the right metaphor. I was. Or analogy. Because he kept saying, like, no, it's my freedom. It's my body. I can do what I want. You choose to come in the space. I'm like, no. It's more equivalent to, like, somebody because of secondhand smoke. It's more equivalent like you having the right to, like, walk around with a hammer and keep pounding other people, like, smashing their knees. Like, that's the. Oh, I have the right.
Will Friedle
You.
Ryder Strong
You came into this bar. I can hit you in the knee with my hammer. It's a bar.
Will Friedle
In all fairness, if the bar is called Hammer knee bar.
Ryder Strong
Hammer knee bar.
Will Friedle
You got to kind of keep that going.
Danielle Fishel
Everyone's favorite bar, the Emmer knee bar. Welcome to Pod Meats World. I'm Danielle Fischl.
Ryder Strong
I'm Ryder Strong.
Will Friedle
And I'm Will Friedle.
Danielle Fishel
For our listeners, we know that firing up old Boy Meets World episodes is a surefire formula for some happy nostalgia.
Will Friedle
Which we could all use these days.
Ryder Strong
Whether it's my middle part haircut, my.
Danielle Fishel
Middle part haircut, or me standing near their middle part haircut, we all want.
Ryder Strong
To be reminded of a time when.
Danielle Fishel
Things were simpler, when we had home phones and listening to a sublime CD after school made you feel like a million bucks.
Will Friedle
Well, we have a more personal way for our listeners to bring back some more of that happy nostalgia home movies.
Danielle Fishel
But in 2025, since none of us have a VCR, it feels like they're lost forever.
Will Friedle
I still have a vcr. Well, with legacy Box, you finally can do something about it.
Ryder Strong
You can digitize these trapped memories, whether VHS or camcorder tapes, film reels, or photos. You just throw them in the legacy box and send it in.
Will Friedle
Then they professionally digitize it all by.
Danielle Fishel
Hand in the US and get it back to you. Easy to watch and share, especially now that every legacy box comes with 90 days free access to legacy box cloud.
Ryder Strong
They've been around now for 10 years, and they've helped over 1 million families relive their wedding days, baby's first steps, and middle part haircuts.
Will Friedle
Just go to LegacyBox.com meetsworld. To get an incredible 50% off and 90 days free access to Legacy Box.
Danielle Fishel
Cloud, go to LegacyBox.com meetsWorld.
Ryder Strong
That's LegacyBox.com meetsWorld. You'll thank us later.
Danielle Fishel
This is Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong, and.
Will Friedle
Will Friedle from Pod meets world.
Danielle Fishel
For many, the American Dream means starting your own business and working for yourself.
Ryder Strong
If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you'll also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.
Danielle Fishel
In every episode, hosts Austin Henkiewicz and Janice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business and tackled the hurdles and challenges that come with being your own boss.
Will Friedle
From tracking money in and out to.
Danielle Fishel
Cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys.
Ryder Strong
Listen to Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin Hankwitz
Bring spring to your door with Target Circle360 get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day delivery Through Target Circle 360. From Easter basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms. Applies to orders over $35.
Danielle Fishel
Ya girl loves her some jewelry. And for the record, I'm your girl. So imagine my excitement when I found out I get to talk to you about Pandora Jewelry. Every piece from Pandora is crafted with meaning, love and exquisite artistry. Whether it's sparkling lab grown diamonds or vibrant enamels, engravings and iconic charms, there's no better place than Pandora to express what's in your heart. Pandora makes sure your jewelry is a celebration of you, with hand finished designs and playful cuts that make everything unique like it should be. Shop Pandora today in store or online@pandora.net every day is a chance to be love. Let Pandora Jewelry remind you that love starts with you. Watching TV in 2025 is hard. I find myself brainlessly scrolling through a handful of different streaming services, thousands of options and still nothing to watch. But I've got the help we need. DirecTV is a better way to watch whatever you want to watch. It gives you a more seamless experience. Experience finally ditching the confusion and frustration of searching for something that interests you. Because DirecTV makes it easy and hassle free, you'll have more time to watch and less time. Wondering if you need to start a brand new baking show? DirecTV takes all your live TV and apps and puts them on one home screen. So say goodbye to entering passwords every time you or your kids need to find their favorite shows. You can search for a title across apps without ever having to leave DirecTV. Imagine how much time that saves. Especially because my passwords are all between 25 and 50 words long with special characters and DirecTV personalizes content with you in mind. For example, let's say you love 90s sitcoms. I have a feeling you do well. Your favorites and new recommendations will be on the home screen waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. What are you waiting for? Sign up for DirecTV today@directv.com Welcome to today's episode recap. It is season six, episode eight, you're married, you're dead. It originally aired November 13th, 1998. The synopsis to prove he can still fit in with the rest of the guys, Corey goes to a nightclub filled with scantily clad waitresses and loses his engagement ring. It was directed by Jeff McCracken. It was written by Gary H. Miller. Quite a few guest stars this week, but before I jump into them, anybody want to talk about their overall thoughts? No. No one. No one wants to.
Ryder Strong
I have a feeling Will's going to hate this episode, but I'll let him speak.
Will Friedle
Go ahead.
Ryder Strong
It plays on the men, women trope thing that we've talked about a lot on the show that you really just. So I just assumed it because it really does lean into that. That's like the whole point of the episode. Yeah. No, I mean, I don't know. This episode felt very weird to me in that it felt like. It felt like somebody had written a draft of an episode that was, you know, very clearly like, Topanga is upset that Cory goes to a, you know, essentially a strip club or Hooters. And then they kind of backed off of that by, like, having Topanga be very understanding. And so like, I feel like in the rewrite, it kind of. It's like almost like everything the characters are saying is going against the actual plot. And so it was just felt kind of forced in a way. And then some of the jokes felt rushed. I don't know. Something felt off. It felt like this was a bad tape night for some reason. I don't know what happened, but, like. Cause it is pretty funny. Ben's very funny. Like, Cory being anxious is very funny, but it just didn't land in certain parts for me. So I kind of want to Go back and, like, even if we just live with the script as it is, I feel like we could have done better as a team. Acting wise, performance wise. It just felt off in some way. Way. It's interesting that it was directed by McCracken, who Usually, I feel like the performances are so on point with him, and we are just in it no matter what the writing is. And in this one, I felt like a lot of us weren't in it. Besides the guest cast, I felt like a lot of us weren't in it. So I don't know. That was my problem with the episode overall.
Danielle Fishel
Valid. Will.
Ryder Strong
Yeah.
Will Friedle
This ranks up there with arguably the worst episode for me of the series for every reason. It's not just that trope, which is there, but it's also the bad. You know, I'm sorry, but they're. They're trying to do a Harley Joey impression with the two people that come in.
Ryder Strong
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Will Friedle
So Sean's in throughout most of the episode. They don't. He runs in at one point to follow Angela to finish a conversation that they never show.
Danielle Fishel
Nope.
Will Friedle
The cleavage thing we've seen before. Corey wearing an engagement ring is stupid. This was the entire episode I thought was idiotic. This was. And there are people. Oh, they're so harsh in the show. I know. Tv. This was not it. This was a bad episode of television all the way around. That's my. That's what I think about this episode.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah, I agree. I, I. You want to know what makes me the most angry of all of the things? I agree with everything both of you said. I agree, writer. It feels like all of us were not in it. And I think it's because at the time, we probably felt like it was bad. And I, as I mentioned in the episode, when my soul left my body, I can see I am vacant. I can't stand it. And I am furious that they put the words. Well, as long as there's women willing to. To dance like that, there will be men to see them in Topanga's mouth.
Will Friedle
Yep.
Ryder Strong
So true.
Will Friedle
Yep.
Danielle Fishel
How dare you. Yeah, how dare you. Who did not say if that's an argument we need to make. Because the men in the room also want to say, hey, it's not just us. You have to be responsible for it too. Since it's, you know, how could we stop ourselves if that's an argument? If that's a point you want to. To get in there, you better find someone else.
Ryder Strong
Right.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Put it into Penga's mouth. And for Angela and Topanga. To have that conversation where we are shaming women.
Ryder Strong
Yeah. Yeah, I know.
Danielle Fishel
It disgusted me.
Ryder Strong
It's interesting that now that you say that, I'm like, oh, right. They could have easily had Angela be the voice of that and Topanga. Because when Angela gives that speech in the shower, like, where she's going into the shower and she's like, you know.
Danielle Fishel
You must be damaged.
Ryder Strong
Right. That actually could have been Topanga's perspective, which would fit more with her character. And then maybe she would, you know, the other woman would be like, no, it's not that. Like, that. Come with me, Topanga. So they could have actually kept the storyline and still been more true to Topanga's point of view. Maybe. But, yeah, it's. It's. Yeah.
Will Friedle
This is bad. This was just a bad.
Danielle Fishel
It's bad.
Will Friedle
A bad episode. By far the worst episode of season six. And I think it's arguably up so far.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Will Friedle
And. And arguably up there for my least favorite episode. There's nothing about this episode that I liked. Literally nothing about this episode that I like. Even the guest stars, who. The acting was fine. Yeah, but that's just the Charlie and Joey. You can't come up with two with a different trope. Then literally Harley and Joey again, That's. That's all you're gonna give us. I mean, my God, it was. Yeah, this. This was. This didn't do it for me at all.
Danielle Fishel
So our guest stars, we have Phil Buckman as Gambling Dan. Phil appeared in a ton of 90s TV, including Major dad, Weird Science and Grace Under Fire, and movies like An American Werewolf in Paris and A Very Brady sequel. He is still acting, and he was just seen on the Pit. And then we have Dana Dews is as Eric's waitress. Dues appeared on Step by Step. And in the sequel to Mannequin, Mannequin on the Move.
Will Friedle
Ooh, Mannequin two. This time it's personal.
Danielle Fishel
Love it. We have Tammy Adrian George, who plays waitress, and she showed up in a lot of great stuff. Movies like Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion, Starship Troopers and Bratz, and TV shows like Deep Space Nine, Heroes, and Big Time Rush. She is now a popular pilates coach with 34 years of experience.
Will Friedle
Damn.
Danielle Fishel
I mean, she was doing Pilates for years. When we take this episode.
Will Friedle
Yeah. When the people were still pronouncing it Pilates, that's how long ago that was.
Danielle Fishel
Pilates.
Will Friedle
Exactly.
Danielle Fishel
And then we have Claire Salstrom as Joan. Claire also appeared on Silk Stockings 7th Heaven, and she was in six episodes of Saved by the Bell, the New Class. And she recently hosted a web series called People and Pups, all about adorable dogs and the people who love them. Will could have been on that show.
Will Friedle
I could have totally been on that show.
Danielle Fishel
Why weren't you asked to be on that show, Will?
Will Friedle
That's a really great question as a.
Ryder Strong
Dog, because we've discovered that Eric is.
Danielle Fishel
He could go either way.
Ryder Strong
He could go either way.
Will Friedle
I am extremely versatile. I am astoundingly versatile.
Danielle Fishel
Yes. I am probably versatile. Versatile.
Ryder Strong
If you look in the direction of me, you are seeing a versatility.
Will Friedle
You're My versatility would make me explode.
Danielle Fishel
Then we have Audrea Tener as Terry. She's a familiar face. She's from movies like the First Wives Club, Bad Moms and the Artist, as well as a bunch of TV shows including Friends, Jag, Greek, and Swat. She is still working.
Will Friedle
Does she only do shows with one name?
Danielle Fishel
Yes. Friends, Jag, Greek, and Swat. Okay, that's it. That's making sure in her special skills, it's weeding out shows with more than one name.
Will Friedle
More than one. I did Boy Meets World once.
Ryder Strong
Never Again.
Danielle Fishel
Never again.
Will Friedle
Swat, Jack.
Danielle Fishel
And then we have Shaun Weiss appearing as Louis. This was a bit of stunt casting. Sean is globally known as Goldberg in the iconic Mighty Ducks films. He also played Josh Birnbaum in the cult Disney movie Heavyweights. And nowadays he's doing standup comedy with a lot of focus on his sobriety, which he has been publicly speaking about since 2022. He will return as Louis later this season.
Will Friedle
He also was starred with me in my first ever thing I did on camera. My first ever television show was the first guest, the first friend actor I ever had was Shaun Weiss. I was 12 years old, he was 9 or 10. And we did a cop show in New York called True Blue.
Danielle Fishel
You guys were cops?
Will Friedle
No. Can you imagine? Yes, we were cops. It was 21 Jump Street. If it was in elementary school.
Danielle Fishel
This is a good pitch.
Will Friedle
It's not so bad. It's 11 Jump Street. No, no. Yeah. So he was my first ever buddy on the set with Shaun Weiss when we were little kids.
Danielle Fishel
We are interviewing him later, so we'll be sure to ask him a few questions about that as well. This is Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and.
Will Friedle
Will Friedle from Pod Meets World.
Danielle Fishel
For many, the American dream means starting your own business and working for yourself.
Ryder Strong
If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you'll also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.
Danielle Fishel
In every episode, hosts Austin Henkiewicz and Janice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business and tackled the hurdles and challenges that come with being your own boss.
Will Friedle
From tracking money in and out to.
Danielle Fishel
Cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys.
Ryder Strong
Listen to Mind the small business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin Hankwitz
Bring spring to your door with Target Circle360 get all you need for Easter hosting spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day delivery Through Target Circle 360. From Easter basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit target.com circle or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms applies to orders over $35.
Danielle Fishel
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Will Friedle
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Danielle Fishel
So jumping into our recap. We are in Corey and Sean's dorm. The room feels different. A little darker, a little moodier. Sean is playing poker with three other guys and he confidently plays places ten bucks into the pile. The most smoldering of his competitors, referred to as gambling. Dan, who also looks to be about 40 years old.
Ryder Strong
I was gonna say sure he showed up. I was like wow, okay, we are.
Will Friedle
He's a 19 year college student.
Ryder Strong
It's like, it's like not only is he like Harley in everything he says and all of his. Prof. You know, but also just that there's a guy who's clearly just yep.
Will Friedle
And he even looks like Harley. It's just yeah, it was strange to see him like this because he was a. A famous 80s and 90s television guest star. And he always had this really well known long hair. Like, he looked like Anthony Kiedis from Chili Peppers. And so to see, I was like, oh, that's right.
Ryder Strong
He cut his hair off.
Danielle Fishel
Well, he takes a good look at Sean's face to determine his next move. Louie, Gambling Dan's jumpy sidekick, the J to his Silent Bob, keeps chiming in. He wants to know Gambling Dan's plan. After a deep stare, Dan thinks Sean's got nothing and lays his money down too. Louis Hype mans his friend Deshawn. You've got nothing, you loser. But Sean reveals his cards.
Will Friedle
It's Joey.
Ryder Strong
And also the New York thing. It's like that New York vibe.
Will Friedle
It's like Joey.
Ryder Strong
Yeah.
Will Friedle
Give us a different trope. I mean, anything. Anything different.
Ryder Strong
I mean, maybe they really were like, let's just bring it back. Like, let's. You know, they wanted it to be familiar. Yeah. They wanted it to be comforting. And I don't know. It's a lot. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
I don't know. Well, Sean has got three kings. Louis gasps. Oh, no. Gambling Dan. This has never happened before. Dan shakes his head in shame and admits, nice hand, Hunter. Maybe I did misread you. Shawn thanks him. But Sean's still lost. Gambling Dan reveals a flush. Sean is stunned as Dan pulls down the pot. He likes the way Sean plays. They should hang out more, Louie.
Will Friedle
And now Gamblin. Dan's gonna take your ears.
Danielle Fishel
He's gonna cut off your ears.
Will Friedle
Cut off your ears for the pot.
Danielle Fishel
Like, oh, do we ever. Gambling Dan is a student, or is he just an old dude who comes to gamble?
Will Friedle
We never. We never do.
Danielle Fishel
We don't really ever know.
Will Friedle
Yeah, we don't. And his name is Jim. That's the weird thing is he goes by Gambling Dan, but. But, yeah, it was just. It. No, we never established that.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah. So Louis agrees. Yeah, I like you too, Shani. I was rooting for you. Louis asks, maybe you'll join us later at Clevage. Quite a college club name.
Ryder Strong
I didn't remember this at all, but I laugh out loud. I was like, cleavage. As in cleavage. I was just really ahead and I was like, that's funny. That's a good take.
Danielle Fishel
I do love the name.
Ryder Strong
Oh, best joke of this episode.
Danielle Fishel
Well, because, yeah, in my mind, one of the reasons none of this really works is that I kept thinking, like, in any other show, this is supposed to be a strip club, but the Fact that it's called cleavage makes me think it's actually supposed to be more like a Hooters.
Will Friedle
It is. It's supposed to be Hooters. That's exactly what it's supposed to be. And it's supposed to be women walking around with cleavage written right on their head.
Danielle Fishel
Right. Okay. Just then, Corey opens the door and gasps. What's this? My best friend and my roommate hosting a poker game in our room without me. Gambling Dan sneers, it's the Major. I thought you were out with your virgin support group. Corey admits, the other guy dropped out.
Will Friedle
Good joke. Funny.
Danielle Fishel
Good joke. Yeah. On his way out, Dan tells Sean they'll see him tonight and Louis ads, and don't bring nobody. As he gestures towards Corey, now alone, Corey asks, what's going on? At seven, Sean casually mentions that a bunch of them are going to a club. Club. Corey's hurt. I suppose a bunch of us didn't think to invite me either. Sean figured he was busy with Topanga. Corey scoffs, well, pal, it just so happens I'm free tonight. Topanga's busy. Sean says this proves his point. Everything he does is based on Topanga. Corey reminds him he's engaged, and Sean admits, sometimes I wonder if that ring's not through your nose. Corey holds up his hand. It's right here, pal. But perhaps his best friend is secretly jealous of her. Sean shakes his head. He's not jealous. It's just whenever he's doing something with the guys and he says, hey, I'll bring Corey along. Gambling Dan says, no, not Corey. He's married. He's dead. Corey says he doesn't care what Gambling Dan thinks. But shortly after, he wonders, why does he call me the Major? Sean explains, it stands for Major Wuss. He says, if there was a Whipped magazine, you'd be the centerfold. Corey retorts, first of all, there is a Whipped magazine. I didn't subscribe. Somehow they found me again.
Will Friedle
Funny joke.
Ryder Strong
Some of the. Yeah, Corey gets some funny jokes in this episode. I mean, like, his constant, like, overconfidence and then undermining himself is, you know, it's great. It's that. That aspect of it is. All the asides are pretty funny. I thought so.
Will Friedle
Now I have a question. How so? We know they do the scripts in advance. They're obviously, they're arcing out. Well, for most seasons, they're arcing out what they're supposed to do, and then they're writing the scripts and they're going from there. But we also know that when a joke or something works, it tends to appear in the next week's script. Yeah, we've seen that before. Eric CACKLING they tried that. It was in the next script. So they obviously couldn't have planned ahead for that. Right. So how much of this do you think? Maybe one of the reasons that it felt so, I don't know, disjointed, is because Ben has been so funny playing the neurotic guy in the last few episodes.
Danielle Fishel
It's been a great Cory season now.
Will Friedle
They're hugely great Cory season that. Now are they rewriting the scripts to write more beats like that? And so they're doing it kind of, wow, this is funny. We gotta rewrite next week's script as fast as possible. And maybe it's faltering a bit because it's like, my God, Ben is killing it. Let's make him even more neurotic. Throw that into the script. And then the script feels like it's rushed. I mean, is that a possibility?
Danielle Fishel
My only argument against that point is that whenever we've had the writers on and we talk about it, it doesn't actually seem like the scripts are written in advance. It seems like they throw around ideas and they come up with something, and then two people, you know, or one person goes and kind of like puts a great outline together, and then it's. It's really done.
Ryder Strong
My feeling is, when you said that, Will, I was like, oh, right. This was. This sounds like a pitch for now. We're in college and Corey's engaged. What can we create stories out of that? And it was like, oh, what? What's. What. What? How can we have a situation where it's. It is in conflict to be engaged and to be in college? And they were like, oh, he goes out to the. He goes out with the guys. And because he's married or because he's engaged, it's in conflict with that. And that seems like a good idea. But then you get into the weeds of it, and you're like, topanga probably would be fine with that. Shawn would. All the characters don't kind of fit that situation that well. So that's why I feel like they're writing against the very plot that we're living in. And that's why it just feels like, especially the second half of this episode, I was like, there's no problem here, like, Topanga going, like the. Like, the anticipation that Topanga's gonna show up at the strip club or the. At Clevage. I was like, she already Said, it's fine. There's no problem here. So then they have to create the, like, oh, it's the. It's the ring. And then it's like.
Danielle Fishel
But that. That.
Ryder Strong
That. Even that. Like, why would she be. You know.
Will Friedle
But a lot of it didn't make sense. The. The joke was, are you gonna tell Topanga you're going? And he's like, well, if it's out of my hands. But then he doesn't tell her he's going, so then he has to tell her later. But you just said you were gonna tell her. Just none of it made sense to me.
Danielle Fishel
I mean, also the tushy dance.
Will Friedle
Oh, don't. Don't. That never happened. I'm Yasmine. I'm beliefing that.
Danielle Fishel
Okay, I'm bleeding. I'm leaving that out.
Will Friedle
Okay, I'm bleeding that from my memory. That never occurred. That is being bleefed, just so you know.
Danielle Fishel
All right, I'll bleef it with you. I'd like to bleed this whole episode. I did bleef this episode before it aired.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Zero memory.
Will Friedle
Me, too. Zero nothing. I remember none of this.
Danielle Fishel
Sean, smirk. I'll tell him that tonight at Cleavage, Corey's jaw drops. Club Cleavage, where the women parade around in little outfits that barely cover their most private of situations. And Angela's letting you go. Shawn reminds him he's not with Angela anymore, but Corey says he is. Sean stands firm. I am not Yentl. Corey argues that he should be. Sean says, even if I was, if I want to go someplace, I'd go. Corey decides, well, I want to go, too. Shawn laughs at the thought. Cory Matthews at Clevage. You blush at the beach. Corey gets serious. Listen, I don't want to be excluded from all these things just because I'm engaged. But Shawn feels it's deeper than that. He broke up with Angela, but Corey is still with Topanga. They're just in completely different situations now. Corey doesn't care. He demands you tell Gambling Dan that the major is going. Shawn wonders what he'll tell his fiance. Corey declares, I will tell her what I want to tell her when I choose to tell her. Or I will tell her, or I won't. It's all up to me. Shawn raises an eyebrow. So you're gonna tell her? Corey shrugs. It's out of my hands.
Ryder Strong
Did you guys see the bus? Oh, yeah.
Will Friedle
Hell, yeah.
Ryder Strong
The first thing I saw. Right? Yep.
Will Friedle
First thing I saw. First thing I saw.
Danielle Fishel
Oh, I love it. I was too busy thinking about how disgusting it was. That you put your filthy shoes. All right. On top of your bed. Oh, God. I watched you do that, and I was so grossed out. I was like, first of all, it's.
Will Friedle
Also the only thing in character for Sean in this entire episode.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
I just love that we never noticed, like, the details of the production design that they were putting the bus. It follows me everywhere.
Danielle Fishel
That is so cool. I love that.
Will Friedle
The celery poster should be somewhere.
Ryder Strong
It should always be.
Will Friedle
Yeah, the celery poster should be somewhere, but. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Well, when we get our tattoos, it'll go with us forever.
Will Friedle
Don't. Don't joke. You joke. You're playing with my emotions. You'll never do that.
Danielle Fishel
We're at the boy's apartment. Rachel's in the kitchen typing at her computer. The guys try their best to quietly and quickly sneak past her, but without glitch glancing in their direction, she asks, where are you going? Jack nervously responds, you have no right to judge us. I have to point it out. It's the first time we get a storyline that isn't just about you two competing for her affection.
Will Friedle
For her affection. Yeah. Well, now we're.
Danielle Fishel
It took eight episodes and they're finally doing it, but they finally gave her something. They gave her a little bit of backstory, something that's going on for her in her school. She has to write her own goal. She. We should see her being studious and smart. So mayn't have much to do in this episode.
Will Friedle
But she was good.
Danielle Fishel
Yes.
Will Friedle
I thought she was one of the people that stood out in this episode, frankly, as grounded and real and hitting the beats where the rest of us weren't. And it was. I thought she was very good in.
Danielle Fishel
This episode, frankly, completely agree with you. She is a. A very high point in For Whatever is a bleached episode for me.
Will Friedle
Yep. Agreement. Agreed.
Danielle Fishel
Jack nervously responds, you have no right to judge us. Eric adds, yeah, why are you asking so many questions? We're not hounding you about what you're doing. She responds, I'm doing a midterm paper on the influence of women on male bonding. Eric concludes, there isn't any. Males were bonding on this planet long before women arrived. Rachel sighs. This paper is worth half my grade. I've been praying to come up with a specific case that I can observe, but so far I haven't. Eric gets defensive again. Look, we're just going out, okay? We're men doing what men do. Quite frankly, I'm tired of all the scrutiny, the badgering, the nitpicking. It's gotta stop. Jack has his back. Don't ask us when we're coming back either, because quite frankly, it's none of your business. Eric agrees. Because we're in college now. You're not the boss of us. The boys high five in the doorway, and Eric taunts are on their way out. Neck, neck, neck, neck, neck, nag, nag. They slam the door in a smile.
Will Friedle
So, I'm sorry, is. Is the connecting thread then, between the A story and the B story? Men have an assumption of what women are going to think about their life. When in reality, if they just sat down and spoke to the woman, they would realize that the women really aren't thinking what they think they're thinking. Is that what it's supposed to be?
Danielle Fishel
Good question. I hadn't thought of that.
Ryder Strong
I don't know. Her papers on the effect that women have on male bonding.
Danielle Fishel
Right.
Ryder Strong
Which is a weird subject. Okay, so.
Will Friedle
But it's also, like, she doesn't care. Rachel's not going to care that they're going to Hooters for dinner, but they care.
Danielle Fishel
Which. Which is the point of her paper, which is like, you know, if you're. If you're just with your bros, right? And then one of them brings their.
Will Friedle
Girlfriend, it changes the whole dynamic.
Danielle Fishel
It changes the whole dynamic. You're like, I'm not going to talk the way I would normally talk. I don't want to share that story about the girl I met last week. Because, like, like, I talk about it with my bros differently than I would with a woman present. And so same thing that, like. Because if it. If it's no big deal for us all to be at Club Cleavage, why doesn't Corey just invite Topanga, I'm going to cleavage tonight? Or, like, why wouldn't he and Topanga on a date night go to cleavage? But it's because Topanga wouldn't want to be at a place like that. Right?
Ryder Strong
There's also.
Will Friedle
But shouldn't that be the story then? Shouldn't they be saying. Shouldn't they just be walking out, not trying to sneak past her? And they're like, hey, we're going to cleavage. And she's like, oh, great, I'd actually like to join you. And that then changes their.
Danielle Fishel
Well, because, you know, she's not gonna like it. And you don't wanna feel judged. You don't wanna even. It's a little bit like, she's your mom. I don't.
Will Friedle
Right.
Danielle Fishel
Let's sneak out without her knowing where we're going. Cause if we Tell her where we're going. Then she's gonna say, why would you guys go there? And then we're gonna feel bad about it. And then we're not gonna have as much fun as we would if we didn't have that judgment on us.
Ryder Strong
But then there's also the other thing, which is the effect that the women at Clovage have. Have on male bonding, which is a positive influence. Right. It's like. It's like there's other types of women who make male bonding possible. It's like we're not just going to play poker with our bros and talk about women. We're going to go ogle half naked women. And those women have an influence, right? So. So there's a. There's. There's two different types of women. There's the virgins and the. And right. And they both affect male bonding. One negatively and one positively.
Danielle Fishel
Oh, my God.
Ryder Strong
None the twain shall ever meet. Right? There's no other. There's no other way that women can affect male bonding.
Danielle Fishel
That's kind of the world view of.
Ryder Strong
The show is that there's only. There's moms, perfect moms and perfect wives who would never be scantily clad and they intrude on male bonding. And then there's women who are willing to be scantily cloud who positively affect male bonding. And. And they have to be two different types of women. They can't be the same. They really can't. It's like the most horrifying image is Topanga in the cleavage thing because that would threaten this worldview that destabilizes everything. Very weird.
Will Friedle
It is weird.
Danielle Fishel
Okay, well, Will, that was a great question, Ryder. Thank you for putting that in perspective for us. They slam the door and a smile crosses Rachel's face. She looks at the sky. Thank you. Jack and Eric are now in the hallway talking about Rachel's nerve, trying to make them feel guilty about going out. Eric blames it on a woman's intuition. They sense when a man's about to do something fun and they try to spoil it. Jack confidently agrees it ain't gonna work on us. But when the elevator doors open, his demeanor quickly changes. Maybe we shouldn't go. But Eric pushes him into the elevator anyway. And then we are at Club Cleavage. Sean and Corey enter and see girls walking around in sports bras and tiny shorts. This is the boy Meets world version of an upscale Hooters. Sean checks out the ladies. That's something you don't see every day. Corey innocently remarks. Yeah, look An Audi. You know, if the doctor had just tied a neater notch. Sean cuts him off before we get to the guys. Could you age up about 30 years? I was trying to understand that. Are you calling him a child? Yeah, because he's talking about. As opposed to calling. I thought maybe. Okay. Immature. I was thinking maybe. Isn't it the opposite, that he's like an old man and you want to, you know, like, I. In my mind, it's like we think of Corey as being the old dude.
Will Friedle
Right. But that then he should have come in and been like, my God, she's gonna catch her death wearing that. Just something wears a sweater. Does she need a scarf? My God, mittens. Yeah, exactly.
Danielle Fishel
Then Louis spots Corey and shouts out, hey, look, it's Mr. Topanga Lawrence. Gambling. Dan, who has one of the waitresses sitting on his lap, salutes Corey. What's up, Major? Corey responds, you're not nice. Dan sarcastically asks if this is too much action for him. Corey's angry. You didn't get enough love as a child, did you? Louie encourages Dan to beat him up, but Dan refuses. I'm sure his wife does that for him already. Corey reminds everyone he isn't married. He's engaged. He points to his ring finger. So nuts to you to.
Will Friedle
What man wears an engagement ring? Is that a thing that I just don't know about?
Danielle Fishel
No.
Will Friedle
Thank you.
Danielle Fishel
And I actually love the idea that Corey, the old man who's obsessed with marriage, would love the idea of a ring in this situation. For this episode. However, it should have been mentioned way earlier when he's talking about the ring with Sean. Sean could have been the person to say, what man even wears an engagement ring? And for Corey to say, it's so pretty. Why would I not have, you know, for him to acknowledge it with Sean. Something where we get the sense that he wanted it.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Like, why does she. Why is she the only one who gets to wear one? Or for purposes of the story, it doesn't seem completely out of character that Topanga would believe. Well, why am I the only one who has to wear a symbol of my relationship?
Will Friedle
Right.
Ryder Strong
If you don't possess me.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
You don't own me.
Danielle Fishel
We belong to each other.
Ryder Strong
Yes. So we both wear rings.
Danielle Fishel
If you would like for me to wear a ring, ring would. Let's get your ring as well. And we will both just wear rings. And then Corey could have the thing of, like. But nobody else wears them. And it really separates me. Like, then Topanga would have had some sort of hand in this where he could have felt like this thing she asked me to do, while it makes sense, does separate me and ostracize me from the guys. But in this situation, it's even weirder because she goes, you're the one who said you wanted it.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
So it's just another thing that just kind of like, I don't know, could have been. Could have been more in character. One of many different ways and. And. And just wasn't. Sean knows he's not helping himself. Dan asks what kind of a guy wears an engagement ring. Sean tries to explain Corey's just not like everybody else. He's unique. He marches to the beat of a.
Ryder Strong
Different drummer, which is finally, Shawn. Yes, exactly what he's always felt about Corey, which is like, I love this guy. I was like, why Shawn would ever be insecure about Corey is just driving me insane. It's like Shawn should be insecure about himself. That's great. That speaks to going to college and all of this. But to put it on Corey like he does in so many scenes so far in this season, is really just not cool.
Danielle Fishel
I know. Know.
Ryder Strong
It's. Yeah.
Will Friedle
Sean is completely different, and I know why. And we'll get to it. Well, we'll get to it. In this episode. I know what they were going for. It's. It's partially that you've checked out. You can see it like. Like both you and Daniel. You can see the deadness. That is part of it. But there's also. They. They address it here. And I was like, oh, my God, you've got to be kidding me. But that's what they're going for.
Danielle Fishel
Okay, Louis size. What does that mean? I hate it when people say crap. I don't care. Get. Shawn simply states he's a good guy. But Corey says he doesn't need Shawn to defend him. Dan smirks. Well, he's here. That's a start. Then a new waitress makes her way up to the table and notices Corey right away. She sits on his lap. You're new here. Haven't seen you before. Corey immediately looks at the ceiling, avoiding eye contact with the girl or her body. I'd like a hamburger and French fries. Shawn wonders why he's looking at the ceiling. And Corey explains. Because I'm uncomfortable is why. Sean pushes his head to face the girl. Girl. Corey smiles at her. Hi. How you doing?
Will Friedle
Did you notice, though, he's not looking at her, but his arms around her waist. And he's holding on to her waist.
Danielle Fishel
Right, like you figured it would be.
Will Friedle
Like he'd have his head, but he's not. He literally has his hand around her. He's holding her, but he's not looking at her. And I was like, oh, that. He shouldn't. He shouldn't have been touching her in any way.
Ryder Strong
Right. It would be funnier if he's just like, yeah, exactly.
Will Friedle
He's got his arm around her waist, and he's like his hands on her hip. And I was like, oh, that's. That's not what they were going for.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah, Dan notices. I think she likes you, Major. Because as we know, every woman who has ever seen Corey likes him.
Will Friedle
Loves.
Danielle Fishel
Loves. Corey wants to get to know him. Corey gets bashful. She doesn't like me. She doesn't even know me. The girl giggles at Corey. I do like you. She asks Danny where he's been hiding him and Danny, by the way, Danny. They even named the Harley character.
Will Friedle
Oh, my God, you're right, Danny. That's right.
Danielle Fishel
Dan explains. He doesn't get out much. He's married. Corey laughs. No, I'm not married. Don't listen to him. I'm just here for a hamburger and possibly the beverage of my choice. The girl asks, if you're not married, why are you wearing a ring? He explains, it's an engagement ring. And the girl figures it out. Oh, this is a bachelor party.
Ryder Strong
Corey tries to turn when that happens. That's funny, because now Corey's in it, you know?
Danielle Fishel
Exactly.
Ryder Strong
Now, Cory probably could have just ended there because I was like. The girls descending on him is enough of an image. But we got to get Eric in there so we have, like, all this extra reiteration of the same things we've already just talked about.
Will Friedle
Okay.
Ryder Strong
Yeah, I was rolling my eyes at, like, how are we shoehorning this plot?
Will Friedle
Like, it's just.
Danielle Fishel
Corey tries to correct Dan, but the waitress has already alerted her co workers. We got a bachelor party. They all come running over and yank Corey out of his seat and tickle him.
Will Friedle
Well, you've never been to a bachelor party, Danielle, in all fairness.
Ryder Strong
Lots of tickling.
Will Friedle
Yeah. If you've never. Never been in the tickle circle. Come on.
Danielle Fishel
Oh, my God. God.
Will Friedle
Come on.
Danielle Fishel
Okay.
Ryder Strong
Terrifying.
Will Friedle
What?
Danielle Fishel
I'm. You're on. You're on. Warning.
Ryder Strong
What am I.
Danielle Fishel
Am I cross?
Will Friedle
Am I crossing that line?
Danielle Fishel
You're. You're about ready to say one of those things that you say where then I go, now I can't unhear it, so.
Will Friedle
Oh, like bumping uglies. Yeah, Daniel's favorite.
Ryder Strong
Bumping uglies. In the tickle circle.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Will Friedle
Yes. That's it.
Ryder Strong
Oh yeah.
Danielle Fishel
I have full body body chills right now from how grossed out I am from both of you. Stop it. Just stop it. He has to shout. Girls, this isn't necessary. You're all wonderful and special in your own individual ways, but you're smothering with me. With your. He glances at one of the girls chests. Oh, cleavage. Now I get it. Sean encourages him to enjoy. It's just fun. Corey agrees. Then asks their waitress. Waitress. What bad could come from it, Right, Topanga? And then suddenly the waitress is replaced with Topanga and tiny shorts and a crop top. He points and screams, engaged. Wrong. Must poke eyes out.
Ryder Strong
The real you don't remember this.
Danielle Fishel
You don't remember doing this at all one bit. I didn't remember it either. No. And I think. I think for me it's probably blocked out because I was probably. I was probably so uncomfortable.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
So she didn't look comfortable. No.
Will Friedle
Is that sports bra with cleavage on it? One of the things you wish you saved from the set?
Ryder Strong
Put it on for fun every once in a while.
Will Friedle
Of all the things you could have had.
Danielle Fishel
All the things. I look back and think about bringing that home.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
I didn't trade that out for one of my home sports bras, believe it or not.
Will Friedle
Interesting.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah. The real waitress watches on with horror as Corey grabs a fork and brings it close to his eyes. Thankfully, Sean stops him eye poking bad. If Dan sees you bail, there's no way you or I will ever be able to repair the damage to your reputation. Corey whines. But maybe he's right. Maybe I am just Mr. Topanga Lawrence. Shawn sighs. Will you just take the ring off? It's strangling you. Corey looks over at Dan and Louie hitting it off with yet another woman. So he does it. Corey takes off his ring. The two walk back to their table and Corey takes one last look at his ring and places it on the napkin dispenser.
Ryder Strong
And again. All right. This is also the end of a scene like, yep, we're done. Like we've gone through it. But then we have to have the extra beat.
Danielle Fishel
Keeps going. I know. We need this 11 page scene.
Will Friedle
It takes off the ring and puts it on. Put it in your pocket.
Danielle Fishel
Everybody puts you to do it. Everyone knows when you are at a cleavage place, you put your ring in your pocket.
Will Friedle
My God.
Danielle Fishel
But he's weighing out some second thoughts. I don't know about this. I want to be one of the guys. But if I have to take my ring off. I don't feel like I belong here. I don't feel like you belong here. I don't even feel like Eric belongs here. Right on cue, we hear Eric yell from one of the nearby tables, hey, nurse, how about some chow? Corey admits Eric probably does belong there. Over at Jack and Eric's table, Jack admits, I don't know why we thought we had to sneak out. This is just a harmless college town gathering place. Eric agrees, but he's convinced Rachel would see this as a lowlife den of iniquity. Then a waitress comes and sits on Eric's lap. He casually orders a tuna on white with the corners cut off and served in triangles the way his mommy does. Says the girl nods without hesitation and he thanks Tiffany. On her way to the kitchen, Eric returns to Jack. She'd think this place would be frequented by the degenerate scum of the earth, you know? On cue, Corey walks up. Hello.
Will Friedle
Hello. Oh, this next speech of Corey's is my favorite thing of the episode. It didn't save anything, but I loved it.
Danielle Fishel
Eric asks what he's doing here and Corey questions him. Why does it strike you odd that one such as me would be found in a place such as this?
Ryder Strong
Such as me. Just like, awkward.
Will Friedle
He's the best at that. Oh God, he is the best at that.
Danielle Fishel
The best. Eric asks if Topanga knows he's here and Corey plays it off. What does it matter? I'm with the guys tonight. Then he turns the question on them. Does Rachel know you guys are here?
Ryder Strong
Why would Rachel have any.
Danielle Fishel
Who would ask that?
Will Friedle
The girl you met once who's our roommate?
Ryder Strong
Yeah, like really?
Danielle Fishel
Jack laughs we don't care what Rachel thinks. She's just our roommate. Roommate. Eric wonders why he'd even ask a question like that. And Corey admits, well, she looks surprised to see you. And then it's revealed that Rachel is sitting at the table next to them.
Ryder Strong
Surprised to see them.
Will Friedle
Oh yeah, good question.
Ryder Strong
She literally came there to seek them out. I know she doesn't look study them and studying them. So why is Corey's line to reveal her? Because she looks surprised should be because she's over there looking at you. It's fine. Like what she.
Danielle Fishel
So she followed them right here.
Ryder Strong
Right.
Danielle Fishel
But this is the first time we're getting to see what her reaction is to finding out where they went. So even though it doesn't make sense story wise, she's surprised. Like, I cannot believe my 2. She is having the judgment of them that they're afraid she's going to have, which is like you guys came to cleavage.
Ryder Strong
But that's not when they reveal her, she's just kind of looking at them and writing down notes and it's like.
Will Friedle
Well, they also didn't see the 6 foot tall redhead on this at the seat and a half away from the.
Ryder Strong
Table they wouldn't recognize. Remember the last episode? You were like yeah, Magic. Coming home to that.
Will Friedle
Yeah. It's like what the yeah.
Danielle Fishel
She greets them and asks if they're having a good time. Jack winces not and Eric finishes his sentence anymore. This is Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and.
Will Friedle
Will Friedle from Pod Meets World.
Danielle Fishel
For many, the American Dream means starting your own business and working for yourself.
Ryder Strong
If you're a small business owner, launching a company or dreaming of starting one, then you'll not only want to make sure you're using a platform like Intuit QuickBooks, but you'll also want to check out season three of Mind the Business small business success stories from iHeartMedia's Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks.
Danielle Fishel
In every episode, hosts Austin Henkiewicz and Janice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business and tackled the hurdles and challenges that come with being your own boss.
Will Friedle
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Danielle Fishel
Cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys.
Ryder Strong
Listen to Mind the Small business Success Stories on the iHeart Apple app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
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Bring spring to your door with target circle 360. Get all you need for Easter hosting Spring get togethers and more with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. From Easter Basket goodies to fresh florals, getting everything the same day is easy. Open the Target app and bring the magic of the season to your door with unlimited same day Delivery through Target Circle360. Visit or the Target app for more details. Subscription required. Same day delivery is subject to terms applies to orders over $35.
Danielle Fishel
Ya girl loves her some jewelry and for the record, I'm YA Girl. So imagine my excitement when I found out I get to talk to you about Pandora Jewelry. Every piece from Pandora is crafted with meaning, love and exquisite artistry. Whether it's sparkling lab grown diamonds or vibrant enamel engravings and iconic charms, there's no better place than Pandora to express what's in your heart. Pandora makes sure your jewelry is a celebration of you, with hand finished designs and playful cuts that make everything unique like it should be shop Pandora today in store or online@pandora.net every day is a chance to be love. Let Pandora Jewelry remind you that love starts with you. Watching TV in 2025 is hard. I find myself brainlessly scrolling through a handful of different streaming services, thousands of options and still nothing to watch. But I've got the help we need. DirecTV is a better way to watch whatever you want to watch. It gives you a more seamless experience, finally ditching the confusion and frustration of searching for something that interests you. Because DirecTV makes it easy and hassle free. Free. You'll have more time to watch and less time wondering if you need to start a brand new baking show. DirecTV takes all your live TV and apps and puts them on one home screen. So say goodbye to entering passwords every time you or your kids need to find their favorite shows. You can search for a title across apps without ever having to leave DirecTV. Imagine how much time that saves, especially because my passwords are all between 25 and 50 words long with special characters and DirecTV personalizes content with you in mind. For example, let's say you love 90s sitcoms. I have a feeling you do well. Your favorites and new recommendations will be on the home screen waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. What are you waiting for? Sign up for DirecTV today at directv.com.
Janice Torres
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Danielle Fishel
Then we're back in the dorm hallway. Cory and Shawn are walking to Their room. And Shawn has a big smile on his face. I think tonight was good for both of us. It really put you over the hump with the guys. Corey breaks it to him. This may come as a bombshell, but that guy Dan is a jerk. Shawn defends him. Jerk is normal. This is what single guys do in college.
Ryder Strong
Jerk is normal.
Danielle Fishel
Jerk is normal.
Ryder Strong
This.
Will Friedle
And this is the thing that they're trying to show about Sean. And this is the change. If you're not in a committed relationship, you end up with the wrong people, the wrong friends. You're a worse friend to Corey. You're a worse. You are going down the wrong path because you are single.
Ryder Strong
You should not have broken up with.
Will Friedle
Angela and stabilizer everything that's happening because you did. You're a worse friend to me. You're hanging out with jerks. You're lying to Angela.
Danielle Fishel
You think you are normal bad.
Will Friedle
You treat women bad because you're single. You are. Are bad. Look what's happening, Sean. It's like drugs. It's like they're going, look what. Look at the path you're headed down because you broke up with Angela. Oh, my God, look what's happening to your life.
Ryder Strong
And I was like, relationship. Get back into the fold of.
Will Friedle
Because look what's happening.
Ryder Strong
You're hanging out with people like.
Will Friedle
Like Dan, and you're going to places like. You don't belong there either. Sean, he says at one time, like, it's a restaurant. And so it's just. It's so I was sitting there going, going like, this is. This is absolutely absurd. Where you're in college and you're single, you broke up with your girlfriend. Look what's happening to your life.
Danielle Fishel
You go down the garbage. Yes.
Will Friedle
It's like, oh, my God. It was so blatant in this episode.
Danielle Fishel
I was like, wow, you're right.
Will Friedle
I can't believe this is. The thread they're going with is without Angela, he's might as well be doing heroin right now. He's like, oh, my God.
Ryder Strong
And that's just to set up what I'm sure will happen. I mean, it's. The end of the episode is like, Sean's miserable without Angela. His whole life is falling apart. He needs stability.
Will Friedle
Yes. It was that when it was just so blatant. This one, where it's like, oh, my God, you've got to be kidding me. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Corey, questions. So is this what you broke up with Angela for? To hang out with guys like that? This is what you want? Sean clarifies no I want you to let me live. I'm my own man now, and I don't have to answer to anybody. I go wherever I want to go. And then Topanga and Angela walk up, giggling amongst themselves. Angela asks where they've been, and Shawn quickly answers. Movie Babe 2 Pig in the City.
Will Friedle
I laughed. I was like, oh, my God. We talk about it.
Danielle Fishel
Topanga pouts Corey. You and I were supposed to see that together. We cut to Corey, who has nervously pressed himself up against the wall, utterly speechless. Sean assures her that he'll go again. It was a great movie. But he can't stop rambling. It's funnier than those mouses. But Corey calmly jumps in. We went to cleavage. Sean finishes his lie, mentioning he doesn't like little pink pigs. Angela crosses her arms.
Ryder Strong
I do like little pink. Yeah, no, I said that. I. You know how I like little pink pigs. Which is. Okay. A surprising little joke of consequence.
Danielle Fishel
A little Corey joke. Sean finishes his lie, mentioning he does like little pink pigs. Angela crosses her arms. You should. Cause you are one. Uh.
Ryder Strong
Oh. Why?
Danielle Fishel
Meanwhile?
Ryder Strong
Because you went to a restaurant. Yes.
Will Friedle
You're a single guy who went to a restaurant. You're awful.
Danielle Fishel
Well, like we were talking about when. We're talking about later in the scene in the bathroom, this. The idea that there are some people, women, men, whoever, some people who just feel like going, you can go anywhere to eat. You're not going there because the wings are so good. You're going there because you want to flirt with a woman and have her sit on your lap, and you want to stare at a scantily clad person.
Ryder Strong
And that makes you a bad person.
Danielle Fishel
Makes you a bad person.
Ryder Strong
Right. Right.
Danielle Fishel
There are. That is just. There are people who feel that way.
Will Friedle
Have you had the wings at Hooters?
Danielle Fishel
No.
Will Friedle
They're phenomenal.
Danielle Fishel
Okay.
Ryder Strong
But interestingly, like, where my brain goes, there is then the woman who defends the place. Right. The woman who comes out of the shower and says, oh, it's fine. She can't be a waitress there. She has to.
Danielle Fishel
She has to be the cook.
Ryder Strong
Because if she were a waitress there.
Will Friedle
There she would be back.
Danielle Fishel
Exactly. And when she came out and when she came out and I. I was.
Ryder Strong
Like, oh, yeah, we're gonna have a little nuanced point to destabilize this. This divide. But no, she's gonna maintain.
Danielle Fishel
I make so much money. I don't have a single. I don't have.
Ryder Strong
This is how I pay for college. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
I don't have any student loans. I pay them all off. Right? And Topanga, be like, great. Thank you. This is a. This is a good perspective. Let me go with you.
Will Friedle
No, no.
Danielle Fishel
She's a cook.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
Wow, that is so intense. All the way.
Danielle Fishel
Yes. Shawn tries to tell Angela, it's just a restaurant. She walks to her door, and Shawn keeps pleading, hello, drama queen. We're not going out anymore. Remember? We're just friends. Angela gives him a fake smile. You're right. You can go wherever you want. And with that, Shawn follows her into her room.
Will Friedle
I can't wait to see that scene.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah, that's gonna be great.
Will Friedle
No, I meant in this episode. Is it not?
Danielle Fishel
In this episode, we never follow up on that.
Will Friedle
He calls her a drama queen. They're in the middle of a fight. He follows her into the room, and that's just the end.
Danielle Fishel
And then that's just the end. Yep.
Will Friedle
Copy that.
Danielle Fishel
And then we're out in the hall. Now alone, Topanga asks corey, can we go inside and talk about this? Corey nervously responds, no, I'd prefer to talk out here because the light is so lovely and you look so lovely. So I think we're gonna stay right out here. And then there's a slight optical flip where the boy's door flies open, and Topanga flings Corey into the bedroom. All these physically domineering women, he admits, or, here is fine. Now, inside, she simply asks, why, going back to your point Will, that we never see that scene with them. Why doesn't Sean just say, hey, drama queen, we're not going out anymore? And then she goes into the room and closes the door, and he goes up the hallway, and their argument isn't resolved.
Will Friedle
That's it.
Danielle Fishel
Why do we. I know that you want us. They want us to be alone in the hallway, but, like, why do you have to go into the room? And then we never know what happens with that.
Will Friedle
Yeah, it didn't make any sense. Also, I felt like Sean calling Angela drama queen as kind of like, in a rude term was really out of character and rude. And that's to show she's not in your life anymore. You're turning into a whole different person.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah. It's so unnecessary. He could have easily just been like, I don't know why you're hurt. We're not even a couple. Like that alone is fine to call her a drama queen. I don't understand Shawn.
Ryder Strong
Well, I mean, I think they're trying to set up with the last beat of the episode where it's like Shawn is missing Angela and he just can't Admit it to himself. But that's even stronger if you see him being like, I'm fine. Cool. Yeah, let her do her own thing. And then the last beat is like, actually, I am a little bothered by this.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
But instead it's like, gotta have it both ways all the time.
Will Friedle
It's. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
So Topanga simply asks, why? And Corey raises his voice, before you say anything, I just want to state that as a man, I am entitled to certain rights and privileges. Topanga knots. I understand. Corey continues his declaration. So as a man, I went with other men and did man things because I do not want to be thought of by those men as. How do I put this delicately? Topanga answers, whipped. Corey shouts. You could at least let me say it. It's actually a clever joke.
Ryder Strong
As much as I hate the idea that.
Will Friedle
She finishes, yeah, yeah, very funny joke. Darn it.
Ryder Strong
Yeah, yeah. I wish he hadn't played it, like, yelling and angry. But if you had just been like. If you just let me say it, it would have been even funnier. Because I know, you know, if he had played it whipped, basically, it would.
Danielle Fishel
Have been even funnier.
Will Friedle
But this is.
Ryder Strong
This is a joke.
Danielle Fishel
This is a joke.
Will Friedle
They've been going through. They've been doing different versions of this. I mean, she. She proposed.
Danielle Fishel
Yep.
Will Friedle
Then she was gonna put the ring on. He's like, can I at least put the ring on your finger? She is now talking and finishing his sentences. They are setting it up to where, you know, she obviously, quote, unquote, wears the pants in the family, which is such a stupid thing, but it's. Yeah, it's weird. Dynamic.
Danielle Fishel
Topanga sighs. I'm not mad at. At you. Corey guesses. But you're disappointed. Topanga clarifies. I understand your need to be one of the guys. The only thing that's important to me is that we are always honest with each other. Okay. Corey isn't sure what to think. You're not just being understanding now, but actually harboring bitterness and resentment that'll fester over the years until one day you hack me apart in my sleep. Topanga says, no, that would be wrong. Corey nervously laughs it off. I mean, you don't go around hacking people people. Topanga calmly shakes her head. No, you don't. Corey wants some more clarification. You think of me as my own man, so I can do anything I want. Topanga answers, I trust you, Corey. Do whatever you want. But Corey questions, what if I don't wanna. She insists, then you don't have to. Corey shouts Good. Because the food is no good and the service is just crazy. Topanga agrees. If you think that's what's best. Corey's giddy. He leans back on the bed with open arms and a huge grin. Now come here and give me some sugar. Disgusting.
Ryder Strong
But also, this is. To me, this is the end of the episode. She's literally saying, like, so what was she upset about? Yeah, the dishonesty that he didn't tell her, which fair might not have just happened, but also might have just not happened. Like, right. He didn't call her before he went to clage. So he did not. So he didn't necessarily do anything wrong. But just tell me. Or I guess they lied.
Danielle Fishel
They lied about where they were.
Ryder Strong
Did tell the truth. I mean, Corey did tell the truth, so there's no problem. And now, like, the fact that he took the ring off ends up becoming the problem.
Danielle Fishel
Correct.
Ryder Strong
And that's where I'm like, why? Just. Yes, it's a. It's a. Yeah, it's conflict. A conflict. Looking for characters to make that conflict work, as opposed to a natural conflict arising from who these characters are and what the situation is.
Danielle Fishel
Correct, correct, correct. Instead, Topanga just walks out of the room. Through his now pained smile, Corey asks, what else is new? Then Louis appears in the doorway. Gambling Dan wants to see him. And then Gambling Dan just walks up past Louis. Corey points out the obvious. He's right there. You pigeon. Louie can't believe it. He just called me a pigeon. Dan breaks it to him. He is a pigeon. Louis accepts this new title. Dan tells, it's a good joke.
Ryder Strong
What does he say then? It's true. I'm a pigeon from now on. But that was pretty funny.
Danielle Fishel
Dan tells Corey, he was the man tonight. He was jealous when the girls crowded him. And he admits he was wrong about Corey. Dan even admires the fact that he finally stopped wearing that stupid ring. Corey stares at his hand in true horror. My ring. Then we see a quick flashback to Corey setting his ring down on the napkin dispenser and cleavage. Snapping back to reality, Corey says, I gotta stop looking to the past. I need to look to the future. Which doesn't make any sense in this context.
Ryder Strong
Context.
Danielle Fishel
He does need to look to the past because he needs to go. He needs to figure out where he put his ring.
Will Friedle
Put his ring.
Danielle Fishel
And then he did.
Ryder Strong
And then, like, the image is. Is so horrifying that he's like, I. I just want to look into the future and then see some. You know.
Danielle Fishel
Then we flash forward Cory Is peacefully asleep, only to wake up and find Topanga at the foot of his bed. He smiles, but quickly realizes she's holding a hatchet. Corey screams in panic.
Ryder Strong
Is it a hatchet or is it like a.
Will Friedle
It's a giant meat cleaver.
Ryder Strong
Meat cleaver. And that is. That is sharp shot over your shoulder looking down at Corey with the cleaver coming up in giant. Oh, that's pretty great framing.
Will Friedle
So McCracken.
Ryder Strong
Yeah, that's so fun.
Danielle Fishel
I was like, that's pretty much misery.
Ryder Strong
Yeah, exactly.
Danielle Fishel
Now back in the present, he admits the future is also no good. And then we're in the co ed dorm bathroom. This is my least favorite scene of any scene I've ever seen ever in the history of the show. Especially for Topanga and Angela.
Ryder Strong
Well, also like having a conversation about whether women should be able to like, undress themselves for men's entertainment while in robes and undressing yourselves. And talent actors. What? What like, what, what is like? We like. It was. It's such a weird, like, doubling tripling of like confusing messages that I was like, so it's okay for us as a TV show to make a scene where women discuss the value of women. It was just like my head just exploded.
Danielle Fishel
I was like doing it for cleanliness. Holiness writer.
Ryder Strong
But why is a TV show, oh, so weird? Oh my God, this hurts my head. Hurts my head.
Danielle Fishel
Angela sitting on the bed. Because really, you think, okay, well, where else would they have done this? They would have needed. They could have done it in the dorm. Well, how would that girl have heard the conversation? So it has to be. Absolutely.
Ryder Strong
But we'd want to see them in their. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Looking good in the robes and the things.
Danielle Fishel
Well, it would. Yeah. Okay. Angela's sitting on the bench talking to Topanga, who's getting out of the shower. You think just because you were all understanding, Corey's not going to go back to that place. Topanga is certain. I know he won't. It was a one time guy thing and it's over, Angela. Sigh. I bet Sean's back there right now with all the other pervs.
Ryder Strong
So this is all taking place in one night when my clothes hadn't changed at the end of the episode, I was like, this is insane. Like the amount of cramming that we had to do to make it make sense that it's all taking place in one night. Cuz like Eric and Jack are still there, Rachel still there. We go back there, you come, we do the tushy dance, Then we all Go back to the student union. It's like. It's like four in the morning by the end of this episode. And all of this has happened in the course of one night. You guys take a shower and then.
Danielle Fishel
Right, and then I get. Put on new clothes.
Ryder Strong
Put on new clothes and then go back.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
Make the decision to follow the woman who works there back to.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah, let's go there now. Even though I showered for bed, you.
Ryder Strong
Were upset that Corey would ever go back there the same night. The same night to get the ring.
Janice Torres
Of course.
Danielle Fishel
I know. Of course not.
Ryder Strong
If it makes any sense.
Will Friedle
Okay, wait, can you go back a little bit? I have a question. Did they. Because I. I tried. I watched it a couple times and I didn't understand if this is what they were saying. Saying. And I'm sure I'm wrong. I'm sure this is not what they were saying. But didn't they. Did they make it seem like Topanga came at Corey in a certain way to manipulate him into never going back to Kas? Yes.
Danielle Fishel
That's the other thing is that it was a. It was a psychological trick. If I just act like, listen, I didn't miss that. You.
Ryder Strong
You are free to do whatever you want. But I know. Well, because you know what is actually right.
Danielle Fishel
Well, I don't say that he comes to it on his own, but by the way, I could see very much that Topanga already knows. This is not the kind of place Corey is comfortable.
Will Friedle
Right.
Danielle Fishel
Show to Sean. Sean knows that Corey's. He says you blush at the beach. So the idea that Topanga would think. I can see how peer pressure got to you. And so if every now and then you've got to go to a strip club to be one of the guys, then. Then that's okay with me. I. I understand. I. I don't want. I don't want you to feel like you don't fit in with your friends. And he goes, well, he says, well, what if I don't want to?
Will Friedle
Right?
Danielle Fishel
And she goes, then you don't have to. And he goes, great, cuz the food is terrible and. And the service sucks. And she goes, then great, then that's your decision. I'm happy you made it. So it isn't that it's actually a trap crap. But she does want to. No. Sell it. It's a little like when you're talking to a kid and you go, he doesn't really want to do this thing anyway. But if I act like he can't do it because he's gonna Bother me, then he's gonna want to do it. So I'm just gonna say, honey, it's up to you. You're your own person. You can make your own decision, and then see where he falls. But yes, the way it is written here, Angela's like, and so you think that because you didn't come down hard on him, that somehow psychologically tricked him. But it wasn't really a trick. Cory just said, I truthfully am not comfortable there.
Will Friedle
But that was my problem. It wasn't what Topanga did in the Topanga Cory conversation. It was the way Angela then addressed it to her, like, hey, good job. Make. You know, tricking him into not wanting to go back is what it sounded like.
Danielle Fishel
Which is exactly the argument I had about whether or not it was a trap episode.
Will Friedle
Right.
Danielle Fishel
The writers write it both ways.
Ryder Strong
Yes.
Danielle Fishel
Topanga, in this situation, what Topanga said earlier is not a trap. Corey says. He say. He just repeats what he says to Sean in Club Cleavage. I don't really like it here. I'm not comfortable here. If I have to take off my ring, maybe I don't even belong. He says that to her. And then in the next scene, Angela's like, so you think you. You think you pulled a fast one on him? And Topanga goes, sure did.
Will Friedle
But you didn't.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah, but you didn't.
Will Friedle
Yeah. Cuz we have that. I mean, sue and I have that. Where she. She could say to me, you want to go to a strip club? Go. Because she knows the most uncomfortable place I will ever be in my life is a strip club. But she wouldn't be. She'd be doing it with a smile going like, you know, you're going to hate it. It wouldn't be like, oh, I'm doing it to see. Because I know that, you know, there's no. They tried to make it sound like it was underhanded aft after the fact.
Danielle Fishel
Yes.
Will Friedle
Which was weird.
Danielle Fishel
Exactly. Which is just. I don't appreciate. Again, it's the throwing of Topanga under the bus for really no reason.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Corey. They could have had the exact same conversation. Angela could have said, so you really think Cory's never going to go back there? And Topanga could have said, it's the least Corey place in the whole world. He, you know, like, that's. That's not what he likes. I know. He just wanted to fit in. I don't think he'll ever go back again. And we could have had the exact same thing without it needing to be that. I did some psychological.
Will Friedle
Psychological moo woo is my new favorite thing.
Danielle Fishel
But yeah. Topanga size. I guess as long as some women choose to wiggle around half naked, there will be men who go to see them. Angela argues women don't choose to work at a place like that, that they're forced into it by circumstances. This POV by both of us sucks.
Will Friedle
Sucks.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah. Is it. Is it possibly true for some people? Absolutely. Are there some people who, who, who do feel like my circumstances. This is the only thing. Blah, blah, blah. The idea that two women would sit here and say, no woman, woman in her right mind would ever do this because it's what she wants to do.
Will Friedle
Right.
Danielle Fishel
It. It's just gross.
Ryder Strong
But that's, but that's not even as bad as the fact that the woman who rebuts that argument is like, I'm not, I'm not.
Danielle Fishel
I'm not fancily glad. Yeah.
Ryder Strong
Right.
Danielle Fishel
Exactly. It gets even worse.
Ryder Strong
It's because that is the biggest cheat to me of like, wait a minute. If she's going to say, look, you don't have your worldview, you is too. Too much of a binary. The reality is it's somewhat in between.
Danielle Fishel
Yep.
Ryder Strong
But then to have her fit into the binary still and be like, actually, I'm only a cook because I would never. It's like, that is so insulting to both sides of this equation. Like just.
Will Friedle
Yes. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Then another woman pops out of the shower and butts in. I work there. Topanga's surprised. Joan. You do Joan.
Will Friedle
Not Joan.
Danielle Fishel
Not Joanie.
Will Friedle
Not Joan. Saint Joan of Arc. No.
Danielle Fishel
Joan. Yeah. Because I need. Angela holds up her hand and tells her to stop. You need go no further, my sister. I know the profile. Broken home, years of abuse, then a child out of wedlock, forcing you into financial chaos and a life of degradation and sin. Angela walks into a shower and closes the curtain dramatically. Joan reveals, I'm a cook.
Will Friedle
So if she was one of the waitresses, it was.
Danielle Fishel
The story could have been true.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
Angela's point of view.
Danielle Fishel
Right.
Ryder Strong
But this doesn't even fit Angela to have that point of view. Like, I know doesn't fit her care.
Will Friedle
Neither of them are, are, are are saying, you know, some women are just strong and that's what they want to do and that's their choice. No one has that opinion.
Danielle Fishel
No one understands that maybe it's one of the jobs where you make a ton of money and that is a choice. Like, it's just. But. And fine. Make Topanga and Angela not understand it. Make them not understand it. Let it be a conversation for them. Let it be where Topanga's argument is like Corey, you know, blah blah, blah. And Angela could even say, you know, it would my experience. You. You don't do that because you want to. I don't. You. You must be forced into it. And further Joan, to come out go. Actually I. I do it because I've worked a bunch of other jobs and nothing pays me as much money. And I'm. The hours are flexible. I get to have my days to myself. Whatever. Whatever it is about it that she loves. Love music.
Will Friedle
I work with my friends. All my. We're such good friends here. We're super close.
Ryder Strong
We.
Will Friedle
I mean.
Ryder Strong
But also, by the way, if this conversation is a standin for sex work. It's not even sex work. It's not even stripping. It's literally working at a restaurant where you're correct sexy. Which is by the way, what a lot of actresses.
Danielle Fishel
She even says it's more than what you wear on the beach. She could say, I actually. I. I actually wear more clothes than I'm. Than I would become. I would. I even wear less clothes than you could become.
Ryder Strong
A nuanced position without having to be a full on like one extreme. But we don't. We can't do it. Our show cannot accept that world, that reality.
Will Friedle
But it's also writer. What you just said makes so much sense. Where it's like, so then were all of these actresses, should they have turned down the role playing the waitress on Boy Meets World because they're doing exactly the same thing.
Ryder Strong
Should the women who are in this scene not be wearing their. Their robes and towels like this woman who's actress who's coming out like our show is literally doing the thing that it is then trying to argue women should not to do. Yeah. Or that if you only do because of desperation and degradation, self degradation like that is. It's. That's what my head just exploded during the scene.
Danielle Fishel
Yes.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Topanga explains. Angela's a bit sensitive these days. Is this place really that bad? Joan insists it's harmless. The girls wear more than you'd see them wear at the beach. Joan offers. I'm on my way to work right now. You want to check it out? Topanga nods. Yeah, I'm kind of curious to see what Corey finds so fascinating. Even though Corey just told her.
Ryder Strong
Yep.
Danielle Fishel
He doesn't like it.
Ryder Strong
No. He does it to bond with the guys.
Danielle Fishel
And she knows he's doing it because he needed to bond with the guys. So why is she like, well, what does he find so fascinating about this place? It's.
Will Friedle
It's like they're writing it scene by scene. Forgetting the last scene we just shot.
Ryder Strong
Yes.
Danielle Fishel
Why doesn't every Time say I want to see what Shawn finds so fascinating about the scene And Topanga, Angela and Joe go together to get a burger because.
Will Friedle
Because Sean is already down the path of the devil. You can save Corey at this point if you figure out what's going on, but you can't until until Angela's back in his life. You can't save Sean.
Danielle Fishel
Wow. Yeah. This is Danielle Fishel, Ryder Strong and.
Will Friedle
Will Friedle from Pod Meets World.
Danielle Fishel
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Ryder Strong
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Danielle Fishel
In every episode, hosts Austin Henkowitz and Janice Torres talk to small business owners about how they've grown and maintained their business and tackled the hurdles and challenges that come with being your own own boss.
Will Friedle
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Danielle Fishel
Cutting through the complexity with an all encompassing platform like QuickBooks, you don't want to miss these inspiring stories of small business journeys.
Ryder Strong
Listen to Mind the Business Small business Success Stories on the iHeart app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.
Austin Hankwitz
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Ya girl loves hersome jewelry and for the rest, record I'm your girl. So imagine my excitement when I found out I get to talk to you about Pandora Jewelry. Every piece from Pandora is crafted with meaning, love and exquisite artistry. Whether it's sparkling lab grown diamonds or vibrant enamels, engravings and iconic charms, there's no better place than Pandora to express what's in your heart. Pandora makes sure your jewelry is a celebration of you with hand finished designs and playful cuts that make everything unique like it should be. Shop Pandora today in store or online@pandora.net every day is a chance to be love. Let Pandora Jewelry remind you that love starts with you. Watching TV in 2025 is hard. I find myself brainlessly scrolling through a handful of different streaming services, thousands of options and still nothing to watch. But I've got the help we need. DirecTV is a better way to watch whatever you want to watch. It gives you a more seamless experience, finally ditching the confusion and frustration of searching for something that interests you. Because DirecTV makes it easy and hassle free, you'll have more time to watch and less time wondering if you need to start a brand new baking show. DirecTV takes all your live TV and apps and puts them on one home screen. So say goodbye to entering passwords every time you or your kids need to find their favorite shows. You can search for a title across apps without ever having to leave DirecTV. Imagine how much time that saves, especially because my passwords are all between 25 and 50 words long with special characters and DirecTV personalizes content with you in mind. For example, let's say you love 90s sitcoms. I have a feeling you do well. Your favorites and new recommendations will be on the home screen waiting to be discovered. And enjoy. Enjoyed. What are you waiting for? Sign up for DirecTV today at directtv.com.
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Danielle Fishel
Well, we're back at Club Cleavage. Rachel is still sitting at a table with her notebook. I don't understand. We've been here all night and it's like you two aren't having any fun at all. We reveal she's sitting with Jack and Eric, who both have girls sitting on their laps. But their faces show no signs of happiness. Eric admits, frankly, we are appalled by what's going on here. Jack tells the girl sitting on him. Ma'am, I'm not a chair. Rachel assures them, don't let me stop you from having fun. I'm just observing for my paper, that's all. The waitress on Eric's lap wonders for Jaeger's class. Rachel realizes that's why she recognized her and reveals the topic of her paper. Women and their influence on male bonding. Eric clarifies there isn't any. Then she tells his waitress to cover up. He's trying to eat. She pinches his cheek and leaves him be. Rachel begs them to stop it. All her paper will say is that two guys that she's getting to know very well are inhibited in the presence of their female roommate from behaving normally in a male oriented environment. Jack agrees, thanks to you, we understand women a lot better and hold ourselves to a higher standard for morality. Rachel beams. Really? Eric agrees. Yeah, really. Ever since you moved in, we learned this new mature maturity and every time you're around, we're reminded of it. I would like to add here that when men on the Internet or anywhere say things like, I have a daughter and so I'm going to.
Ryder Strong
I couldn't possibly be.
Danielle Fishel
I couldn't.
Ryder Strong
You know what?
Danielle Fishel
I have a wife.
Ryder Strong
And therefore the worst offense I've ever heard.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
Yes.
Danielle Fishel
That to explain it. Because I really think that some men feel then really shocked when somebody goes, ew, don't, don't say that.
Will Friedle
Sure.
Danielle Fishel
Your relation to another woman shouldn't be the thing that makes you realize their humanity.
Ryder Strong
Yes.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
You're recognizing one type of woman.
Danielle Fishel
Correct.
Ryder Strong
My daughter, my wife versus the other type of woman. The whore, prostitute, stripper, sex worker. Like that. That divide is the problem. Like if you don't see. You see one person, one type of woman as a, as a human being worthy of your disrespect.
Will Friedle
The other one humanizing an entire. Yeah.
Ryder Strong
It's like. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
And that is what you guys say in the scene. Well, it's hard for us to degrade women because now when we look at women, we also think of you. Yeah. And you've ruined that for us. You're ruining. You're actively Ruining it for us now.
Will Friedle
Well, we saw that with Corey. When he looked at the waitress, he saw Topanga and he was like.
Danielle Fishel
Meanwhile, all he apparently wants from Topanga is to see her give me some shit.
Will Friedle
Yeah, it's like starting when you meet somebody and they start their sentence with, I'm not a racist, but no offense.
Danielle Fishel
That what's coming next is very offensive to be awful.
Will Friedle
Yep, yep, yep.
Danielle Fishel
Rachel is flattered and Eric nods, you should be. Now get out. It's time for the tushy dance. She laughs and tells them to enjoy themselves before leaving. Then we see Corey frantically run into the establishment. He asks the hostess, which way is the lost and found? She points over there, next to daycare. Corey then notices his waitress from the other night. She calls him the groom.
Ryder Strong
That night? Not the other night, earlier that night. Right?
Will Friedle
That's right. From two hours ago, right?
Danielle Fishel
Yes. Corey notices his waitress from earlier in the evening. She calls him the groom and figures he had such a good time he had to just come back for more. Corey explains that he's back because he left his ring behind, which happened to magically slip off during the festive evening they spent together. The girl wonders if it's in this drawer with all the other rings that happened to come off. Then she dumps dumps hundreds of wedding bands onto the the table. Corey quickly sifts through the pile of rings and a voice sounds over the bar speakers. Ladies and gentlemen, Cleavage presents its world famous tushy dance. Everyone gathers in the middle of the room, including Eric and Jack, and the girls start holding their butts and synchronized dancing, a routine the boys seem to know by heart. Then Corey exclaims, my ring. I found it. He jumps up and down with joy, now making his way into the center of the dance floor where all the girls are around him, shaking the their butts. He joins in, shouting, everything worked out. My tush touched hers. He blissfully celebrates and doesn't notice Topanga has walked into the club. As Topanga glances around, Chef Joan proves there's nothing shocking here. But then Topanga spots her fiance and her jaw drops to the floor. She makes a beeline toward Corey, who's now doing some sort of Macarena with a woman. She asks what he's doing, shocked to see her. Corey stops dead in his tracks, but the waitress behind him grabs his arms and moves them to the music. Topanga points out that he's tushy dancing and Corey says, I am not. And Topanga rightfully shouts, I'm looking at you.
Will Friedle
How does Tanga know it's called the Tushy dance.
Danielle Fishel
I hear it over the speaker. Did I when I weren't there yet?
Will Friedle
No, you weren't there yet. Did anybody else also think someone was going to bump into Corey? He was going to drop the ring. It was going to fall on the ground. It was going to be him, like rooting on the ground for the ring.
Danielle Fishel
That's.
Will Friedle
That's where I thought this was going.
Danielle Fishel
That probably would have been better. Corey says it's not him. Better?
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
And urges the woman to get off of him. And that's when Topanga notices he isn't wearing his ring. Why he found it. Why didn't he immediately put it back on? Corey tries to explain himself, but Topanga just takes the ring from his hand and walks away. Then later, at the student union, Cory walks in and sees Angela. She points him in the direction of the fireplace, where Topanga is sitting alone, staring at Corey's engagement ring.
Ryder Strong
Beautiful little fireplace.
Will Friedle
I was going to say the fireplace in the spot. I didn't remember that at all.
Ryder Strong
It's cool.
Danielle Fishel
He tells her there's a perfectly logical reason for what happened. Topanga says she'd love to hear it. Corey assures her she's going to laugh. I didn't go back to that place tonight to do the tushy dance. I only went back because I left my ring on the table and I had to go get it back. Topanga asks, why would you take off your ring? Corey explains, because they were calling me the Major. There are some places where a guy goes where he feels uncomfortable wearing a ring. And most guys don't even wear a ring before they get married. And even some married guys don't wear rings. Topanga reminds. Reminds him, I never asked you to wear an engagement ring. You saw mine and said, pretty, I want one. Corey argues, that's because I didn't expect all the men to hate me for it, but they really do. I stick out at every place they go to poker games, steam baths, fights. Topanga asks, don't you understand the conflict here?
Ryder Strong
It's like, I know. Because then she says, you I have the choice to have the thing or to have the ring. So then she could easily say, since since you don't want to wear the ring ring, that's fine.
Danielle Fishel
Don't wear it.
Ryder Strong
Don't wear it like. Like you.
Danielle Fishel
That's why I'm saying, if. She said, listen, Corey, we agreed that if I was going to wear a ring, you were going to wear a ring. And if the Problem is looking like you belong to somebody. Maybe you shouldn't belong to somebody.
Will Friedle
That's fair.
Danielle Fishel
Then it'd be a. Then it'd be a conflict.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
So? And some married guys don't wear rings. Oh, so you're already. We're not even married yet and you're already telling me you don't want an obvious symbol of marriage on your hand? Topanga asks. Don't you realize the people you so desperately want to be accepted by would probably rather have what you have?
Ryder Strong
All people just need to be in just one relationship.
Danielle Fishel
Stable relationships.
Will Friedle
That's what they need. You cannot be happy and single. They do not work in the Boy Meets World universe.
Danielle Fishel
No. Wow. Corey's confused. What do I have? Topanga rules. Her eyes. Me, she clarifies. I mean, someone who cares about them. That's all the ring is about, Corey, that I have. Somebody that cares about me. But I care about you, whether you want to wear the ring or you don't. Corey pushes back. If I want to play poker, I'm playing. Topanga nods. Go play. He continues. And if I want to play me a little touch football on the field with the boys, I'm playing. Topanga encourages him again. You go and run real hard. And Corey continues, and if I want to take my ring off. Topanga cuts him off. No. You either wear the ring or you don't. He asks why? And she explains. Explains, because I have feelings, too, Corey. She holds out the ring toward him, and at the same moment, Dan, Louie and Sean come waltzing in. Dan announces, hey, Matthews, poker game, my room. Dig this. You're actually invited this time. Louie is excited. And now they're going to play poker. What time is it?
Will Friedle
And he must be a student because they. Because he says, my room. So, the local motel.
Danielle Fishel
Louie is excited. This is great. There's two poker games on the same day. I get my allowance check from my mom.
Ryder Strong
So we played poker.
Danielle Fishel
Went to the.
Ryder Strong
Went to the strip club. Went back to the strip. Oh, my God.
Danielle Fishel
Came back home, went back to the strip club. Now we're back and playing.
Will Friedle
And now Tuesday.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah. And Topanga's probably going to take two more showers.
Will Friedle
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Dan laughs.
Ryder Strong
Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Ironic, isn't it? As the two walk away, Shawn joins Cory and Topanga at the fireplace. Corey asks his best friend, you still hanging out with those guys? Sean shrugs. Yeah. It's either that or sleep. You coming tonight? Corey smiles. Yeah. Save me a seat. But he adds, but if I don't show up, it's probably because I'm Having a better time with somebody else.
Will Friedle
That's when I said, okay, that's super ambiguous. We need four people for poker. Are you coming or are you not coming?
Danielle Fishel
Correct. I need to know also.
Will Friedle
This is kind of.
Danielle Fishel
This is a good opportunity for you to say, go. Go be with the guys in the room.
Ryder Strong
Keep the ring on. Yeah, just.
Danielle Fishel
You're good there. Go. Go. Go sit and play poker with your bros instead of sitting here with me at the fireplace. I've showered and I'm ready for bed, so you can shower again. Corey sits back down with Topanga, and she smiles. He takes the ring from her hand and slips it back onto his finger. Sean watches on and says, good for you guys.
Will Friedle
Good.
Danielle Fishel
Corey reminds him, you know, Sean, you're always invited to hang out with us. Sean nods. I know. Then he turns and sees Angela at the pool table. He sighs and walks right past. Past her. Then Angela sadly watches him leave. Corey and Topanga notice the exchange and are sad to see the current state of their relationship. Their horrible lives, because they're not together.
Will Friedle
Looks like you're walking away from happiness, my friend.
Danielle Fishel
Wow. Again, there's no tag.
Ryder Strong
Yeah. This is probably the most ideologically twisted episode of Boy Meets World in that it's twisting itself around all these different concepts that don't work against each other or with each other, and it's, like, trying to do it all. And it just is a confusing mess of.
Will Friedle
From.
Danielle Fishel
Yeah.
Ryder Strong
From scene to scene. Like, it is. It's.
Will Friedle
I have to bleeth this one because I was honestly thinking. I was like, okay. I get. People come for us sometimes, and they're like, hey, you guys are looking at it from the lens of now. Or you're being overly harsh in the show. I don't know how anybody could watch this episode and defend it in any way, shape or form. This is just a bad episode of television. It's not just a bad episode of Boy Meets World. It's a bad episode.
Ryder Strong
There's no internal logic all the way around.
Will Friedle
It's just bad. Yeah.
Danielle Fishel
Well, thank you all for joining us for this bad episode.
Ryder Strong
Yes.
Danielle Fishel
Of Pod Meets World. You can join us for our next episode recap, which is season six, episode nine, Poetic License, an ode to Holden Caulfield.
Ryder Strong
Oh, God. We're here.
Danielle Fishel
We're here.
Ryder Strong
I'm sorry. This is the poetry.
Will Friedle
Yes. Sean's poetry. What rhymes with can't wait?
Danielle Fishel
Originally aired November 20, 1998 as always, you can follow us on Instagram. Pod Meets World Show. You can send us your emails. Pod meets worldshowmail.com and we've got merch.
Will Friedle
If I measured M e e S u T R e d the amount of merch I had, I would explode. E X Y P O l d e.
Danielle Fishel
Podmeatsworldshow.Com will send us out.
Will Friedle
We love you all. Pod Dismissed Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle and Ryder Strong, executive producers Jensen Karp and Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge of production Danielle Romo, producer and editor Tara Sudbaksh, producer Matty Moore, engineer and Boy Meets World superfan Easter. Our theme song is by Kyle Morton of Typhoon and you can follow us on Instagram @podmeatsworldshow or email us at.
Danielle Fishel
Podmeatsworldshowmail.Com Ya girl loves hearthsome jewelry and for the record, I'm YA girl. So imagine my excitement when I found out that I get to talk to you about Pandora Jewelry. Every piece from Pandora is crafted with meaning, love and exquisite artistry. Whether it's sparkling lab grown diamonds or vibrant enamel engravings or iconic charms, there is no better place than Pandora to express what's in your heart. Pandora makes sure your jewelry is a celebration of you with hand finished designs and playful cuts that make everything unique like it should be. Shop Pandora today in store or online@pandora.net every day is a chance to be love. Let Pandora Jewelry remind you that love starts with you. Hey Janiece Torres here and I'm Austin Hankowitz. We're the hosts of Mind the Business Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio and Intuit QuickBooks. Catch up on seasons one and two and join us for a brand new season of the podcast as we talk to small business owners about how they manage and grow their businesses with the help of platforms like Intuit QuickBooks.
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Listen to mind the Business small business success Stories on the iHeartRadio app, Apple.
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But it only comes out once a week. For happiness. Every night.
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Pod Meets World: Episode 608 – “You’re Married, You’re Dead” Summary
Release Date: April 10, 2025
Host/Authors: Danielle Fishel, Will Friedle, and Ryder Strong
Podcast Description: Relive the iconic moments of "Boy Meets World" as Danielle, Will, and Ryder rewatch each episode, sharing memories, behind-the-scenes insights, and fan-favorite stories.
In Episode 608 titled “You’re Married, You’re Dead,” the hosts delve into one of the more controversial and critically panned episodes of "Boy Meets World." Originally aired on November 13, 1998, this episode features Corey attending a nightclub, leading to a series of events that the hosts scrutinize for its handling of gender dynamics, character development, and overall storytelling.
Ryder Strong opens the discussion with a gut reaction to the episode's reliance on traditional gender tropes:
"It plays on the men, women trope thing that we've talked about a lot on the show that you really just..." [18:27]
Will Friedle echoes Ryder’s sentiments, labeling the episode as one of his worst:
“This ranks up there with arguably the worst episode for me of the series for every reason.” [19:53]
Danielle Fishel concurs, expressing frustration with the episode’s messaging:
“I agree with everything both of you said. I agree, writer. It feels like all of us were not in it.” [19:55]
The hosts dissect the episode's plot, highlighting inconsistencies and forced narrative choices.
Ryder Strong points out the disjointed nature of the script:
“Some of the jokes felt rushed. I kind of want to go back and, like, even if we just live with the script as it is, I feel like we could have done better as a team.” [18:27]
Will Friedle criticizes the trope usage and character actions:
“They’re trying to do a Harley Joey impression with the two people that come in.” [20:10]
“That was the entire episode I thought was idiotic.” [20:19]
Danielle Fishel expresses disdain for how the episode handles female characters:
“It disgusted me.” [21:24]
“Because as long as there's women willing to dance like that, there will be men to see them in Topanga's mouth.” [21:24]
The episode attempts to explore Corey and Topanga’s relationship dynamics amidst new social pressures, but the hosts find it lacking.
Ryder Strong discusses Corey's struggle with fitting in while being engaged:
“I have a feeling we're writing against the very plot that we're living in.” [37:08]
Will Friedle highlights Corey's internal conflict and the superficial handling of his engagement:
“There's nothing about this episode that I liked. Literally nothing about this episode that I like.” [22:32]
Danielle Fishel contends that Topanga’s actions undermine her character’s integrity:
“She just walks away, giving in to the flawed narrative that destabilizes everything.” [84:13]
The episode features several guest stars whose performances are examined critically by the hosts.
Will Friedle reminisces about past collaborations and evaluates their effectiveness in this episode:
“He is a very good character, but it's just the Charlie and Joey trope repeated.” [23:01]
Poker Game in Corey and Sean's Dorm Room
The hosts critique the believability and execution of the blackjack scene, noting Sean’s out-of-character actions and Gambling Dan’s over-the-top demeanor.
Corey’s Interaction with Women at Club Cleavage
Corey's uncomfortable encounters and Topanga’s confrontation are dissected for their clichéd approach and lack of genuine character development.
Topanga and Angela’s Confrontation
A pivotal scene where Topanga and Angela discuss Corey's actions, leading to unresolved tension, is highlighted as poorly executed and inconsistent with the characters' established personalities.
The episode attempts to tackle themes of masculinity, commitment, and societal expectations but fails to deliver a coherent message.
Ryder Strong questions the episode’s underlying message about male bonding and women’s influence:
“Is there any connecting thread then, between the A story and the B story?” [42:31]
Will Friedle critiques the simplistic portrayal of single men and the dichotomy between "good" and "bad" women:
“It was just a bad episode of television all the way around.” [20:43]
Danielle Fishel points out the problematic binaries presented in the episode:
“There are two different types of women. There's moms, perfect moms and perfect wives who would never be scantily clad and they intrude on male bonding.” [45:39]
The hosts note several structural flaws, including inconsistent pacing and unresolved plotlines.
Ryder Strong observes the overloaded timeline within the episode:
“All of this has happened in the course of one night. You guys take a shower and then... Make the decision to follow the woman.” [75:17]
Will Friedle highlights the lack of continuity and logical progression:
“This is just a bad episode. It's not just a bad episode of Boy Meets World. It's a bad episode.” [100:07]
Danielle Fishel underscores the absence of meaningful resolution:
“Why doesn’t every Time say I want to go... Are you coming or are you not?” [98:50]
The hosts unanimously agree that “You’re Married, You’re Dead” stands out as a misstep in the "Boy Meets World" series. They lament the missed opportunities for deeper character exploration and coherent storytelling, ultimately deeming the episode a confusing and ideologically flawed piece of television.
Will Friedle sums up the episode's shortcomings:
“This is just a bad episode of television. It's not just a bad episode of Boy Meets World. It's a bad episode.” [100:07]
Danielle Fishel adds frustration over the episode’s portrayal of women and relationships:
“The writers write it both ways. Topanga simply walks out of the room... It's just another thing that just kind of like, I don't know.” [78:38]
Ryder Strong finalizes the critique by emphasizing the episode's lack of internal logic:
“This is probably the most ideologically twisted episode of Boy Meets World... It just is a confusing mess.” [83:43]
“This ranks up there with arguably the worst episode for me of the series for every reason.”
– Will Friedle [19:53]
“They’re trying to do a Harley Joey impression...”
– Will Friedle [20:10]
“I agree with everything both of you said.”
– Danielle Fishel [19:55]
“The experiences of women in this episode are just gross.”
– Danielle Fishel [78:38]
“This is just a bad episode of television.”
– Will Friedle [22:32]
“The writers write it both ways.”
– Danielle Fishel [78:38]
While "You’re Married, You’re Dead" aimed to address complex themes within Cory and Topanga’s evolving relationship, it fell short in execution, leaving the hosts of "Pod Meets World" disappointed. The episode serves as a reminder of the challenges in balancing character integrity with thematic exploration, especially in beloved series.
For fans looking to revisit or understand the intricacies of "Boy Meets World," Pod Meets World continues to offer insightful and honest recaps, ensuring that each episode is remembered and analyzed with both nostalgia and critical thought.
Note: This summary omits advertisements, intros, and outros as per podcast policies to maintain focus on the episode's core content.