I’m surprised you didn’t mention the episode he snapped on Corey for not treating him like a brother anymore. In that episode he revealed how isolated he was in his own family for years.
This. That and the episode (he shows a clip of it when Eric is talking about art) where Cory/Eric find out that their dad treats each of them differently to fill a need: Corey for more deeper/meaningful conversations and Eric for more sporty things. To me both of those episodes really illustrate the core of Eric's issues and it's honestly unfortunate that he never really got a proper final arc BMW.
To be fair at least they addressed this. Well they address it when he goes to college He says “ you guys didn’t treat Eric like this” and Amy said “does he know we’re here,let’s go.” Examined it sounds cruel but it’s not much different than everybody loves Raymond. Parents will often seem to favor a kid. Usually the one who needs more guidance
From what I remember from that scene only the mom seemed to be effected by Cory leaving mostly out of mom worry but was able to calm down when she found out Eric would still be there to look out for him.
@@NationalSportsEntertainmentNSEThis is part of the reason I decided to only have one kid. Needless to say, I was not the favored child, I was mostly invisible or the parentified child for my younger brothers. And unfortunately favoritism is kind of natural, there isn't much you can do about it - but to blatantly show it is so warped.
“You were the first born so I let you get away with more.” In my experience, that’s totally backwards. My parents were much stricter with me than with my little brother, and I’ve seen other people say the same thing.
I think this varies depending on whether the *parents* were only/first/middle/last born children also. Their perspective and experience will inherently shape how they approach their own children. It seems like Alan went into parenting Eric wanting to be the "cool" dad whose son really liked him and he didn't want to ever be the bad guy and it made him less of a parent. Eric saying he thought he and his dad were "friends" even shows that perfectly imo. This seems to be most common with families where there's only one kid, and it would make sense that they only expected to have Eric, and the plan got messed up by there being more kids that Alan actually had to parent, but it was too late to go back and "re-do" the first one now that he's learned more about parenting.
I think that is generally most common in RL. But I agree with jijitters, and BMW went a different way story telling wise. When a parent has a child very young and is closer in age to that child, sometimes they try to be like "the cool older sibling" type, and don't "parent" and discipline as much as they should.
Got to meet Marsden in person last year. He's a genuinely nice guy. He actually doesn't know why he was written off the show other than they just opted to not continue developing his character. He was and still is the best of friends with Will and was on set nearly everyday even after being written off just to hang out with the cast.
Jason was my favorite actor as a kid. I think “Eerie, Indiana” was the first show I saw him in and I thought he was so cool in that and his voice was pretty unique, so I’d notice him when he’d do voice work like in “Hocus Pocus”.
Funny enough, I just watched an episode of Star Trek that had Marsden's voice as the deaceased child of a crazy Starfleet Professor. I heard it and instantly said "oh my god that's Max Goof!"
I cried a little at this video because of that moment i've done some private tutoring in the past, and kids out here really do deserve so much better in terms of the world they're born into and the way their parents treat them...
So did I :-(. I really would've liked a proper sequel to BMW but GMW wasn't as bad as people said, I loved the Shawn arc finally getting happy as well, and how Corey and Topanga having Riley actually hurt him
Man "Boy meets World" was one my brother and I's favorite shows growing up! My bro passed in 2021 and this video really struck home! Just let me go back to the horrible 90's couch and give him hug.
@@theundeadafro8565 I finished the sky island arc recently and the mini three episode noland history got me. The part where they kill a snake/god. I avoided OP because it was so daunting to watch all the eps. I'm about 250 in so far.
Ngl Eric’s life trajectory was honestly HUGELY impactful in my own understanding of how you have to work in school to escape your circumstances. I really appreciated that he was rejected from college rather than just got through.
it honestly seemed quite toxic to me like how everything went wrong for him due to toxic relationship, bad parenting, people not being able to understand and looking down on him and him not being able to get into collage. so that the life lesson you get out of that of " gotta do your homework" seems kinda like it completely miss the point.
@@riynu7774 idk man growing up in a home where I experienced abuse/neglect and didn’t have a guardian to warn me that actions have consequences at least a TV show gave me some perspective
Another big Eric episode everyone sleeps on is the cleaning the garage with Cory and why Eric was so angry and broken hearted by Cory. It never really gets resolved either which is more heart breaking.
Another one to mention would be him scamming his way into giving Cory the best wedding he could. Like everyone sleeps on how he pulled off a huge lie to give his bro an amazing wedding. The reception was a bit of a bust, but the ceremony is the important part.
Or the one where Cory wants to go sky diving with his dad because Eric does but then Eric is upset he doesn’t have as intellectual of a relationship as they do
Recently on Pod Meets World(Watch along Podcast feat Topanga, Eric, and Shawn), Will talked about what happened with Eric, why he became a goof. He said that after a couple seasons Michael and the writers allowed Will to freelance more, particularly they really liked it when he went off script when Feeny's niece was in town, and wanted to see more of it. So Will started doing crazier and crazier things til it got to a point where it became a challenge between him and the writers on who can make Eric the goofiest.
Yup I saw that PMW episode too and that is the real reason. Kind of funny how people come up with theories based on show content all the time when in reality most of these decisions are based on reasons behind the 4th wall by the actors or directors or producers on a whim.
Yeah I thought his whole goofiness is because of Will's performance. He is good at playing a goofball. But people are taking it too seriously to dissect what is really going on.
I thought the title was referencing Will Friedle as a person not Eric as a character and I was heartbroken (it's cool yall Will irl is doing well :). Poor Eric, no one protected our vulnerable himbo
Jason Marsden and Will Friedle would independently go on to be some of the most recognizable voice actors for decades. I had no idea Jason was on Boy Meets World.
@@caseyjc5 I wouldn't say he was minor on Step By Step, I remember the later seasons they added him to the shows title card intro, he went from being JT's friend to Dana's serious boyfriend.
I met Will Friedel at a comic con. I made a Eric doll (like the one Eric made for Feeney). He thought it was great. Easily my favorite celebrity interaction.
@National Sports Entertainment NSE He really is so sincere. He came back, but never fully for live action roles. I think it'd be great to see him reprise his role as a Eric in a standalone comedy-drama where the show takes a more serious look into his personality & feelings!
I think the modern take for Eric could be untreated ADHD. He constantly seeks stimulation, he's impulsive, he struggles with structured and "boring" activities but thrives in preferred activities...the surreal moments could even be a reflection of a super active imagination and internalized world building. Since it's really a show from Cory's pov his portrayal could be an exaggeration of how the world sees him
I was legitimately about to type out this comment right here lol Looking back now all I see is a poor baby with untreated ADHD and absolutely no support where its needed. With the right support he could have accomplished those goals a lot easier.
WHOA I just realized I grew up to be Eric, seems like the natural progression of someone who didn't get diagnosed as ADHD/Autistic until adulthood because I relate to this SOoOo much
Eric as neurodivergent makes *a lot* of sense, too. he struggles with standardized education (which is mostly made up of arbitrary rules and trivia), while his relationships are all shallow because people only ever seem to want to interact with the mask. so his focus is already pretty shot, which he has none of the vocabulary to articulate or tools to mitigate, and whenever he does try to care about something or someone he can't get taken seriously anyway. you're right; that's *way* more relatable than Cory
@@MulberryDays Awesome thank you YeS my jaw hit the floor seeing this character for the first time in decades because it really reflects how my life has gone since then haha I started to dress as a clown to relieve stress, I realized people expect exactly what I'm capable of when I look like that so now I throw on a nose and wig every time I leave the house which is probably what Eric would be doing today HAHAHA :D
Same! I've never seen boy meets world, but I watched this anyway... And struggled massively because so many of these traumas read like a description of my life... Except the adopting a kid and going crazy bit... that's where I got diagnosed!
Eric started out as a Zach Morris type swagged out playboy. As the show went on he began to develop into a goofball. That trip Eric took with Corey to Pottstown is when his character started to change. This was the first time he felt accepted and not judged. He was using Pottstown as an escape because he didn't want to face reality back home in Philly. Eric's character suffered from having "tears of a sad clown". He would mask his true feelings of loneliness & self doubt with humor in order to avoid reality.
Dude, this is the type of deep dive on Eric that I never knew I wanted. It always bugged me how his character changed so much, particularly in the final season, but I haven't been able to express the reasons why. Your video summed everything up perfectly.
Actually, you really do make a good point. It’s weird how he went from the handsome, popular guy to kinda a crazy, lunatic at the end. I never really thought about that. Maybe the writers didn’t really think about his overall story and development and just used him as comedic relief during a lot of heavy topics like you mentioned at a part in the video.
I posted a long comment but I actually think they did it because they needed to establish a Shawn as a smart guy The way they 180s Shawn what is so unrealistic I think they had to dumb down Eric so Shawn appeared not to drastically go from almost illiterate to tortured genius artist.
@@NationalSportsEntertainmentNSE To be fair, Shawn (and Eric) were both untapped potential. NEITHER of them ever really studied or tried at school, and while Eric was goofing off, Shawn was napping and skipping classes. It's honestly surprising given NO effort on their parts, they were able to get C's some of the time and pass High School. Ya, they both definitely had dumb moments where they said things, but intermixed in those same seasons, they would say very profound insightful things that pointed to an overall innate higher level of intelligence, just lack of motivation on both parts, and Shawn not having a good enough support system.
I always felt bad for Eric. He was well not the brightest but he had the biggest heart. A great brother. Yet he got less love because the whole older brother syndrome. Which unfortunately happens to a lot of older siblings. They went with Cory when he went off to college. But when Cory mention that they didn’t do the same with Eric they said what don’t tell him we were here. Most parents are the most excited sending their oldest off to college. They were good parents, to Cory. They weren’t great with Eric. Heck I feel like they cared for Shawn more who wasn’t their actual son.
10:00 this hits me deep. Eric needed guidance and received little. When he hit maturity enough to realize his circumstance it was too late. I really wanted to go to college too. I went, but my parents got sick and i was was forced to drop out in year one. There are things i could have done to prevent the downfall but I was a child and my support was struggling on their own. The show seems to pose this moment as a learning moment to not slack off in school, but honestly I think it shows that there needs to be more support for young people during this critical time in their development. Not sure where the support should come from but recognizing the need is a start.
Exactly. There are a lot of things that people don't want to discuss about how lacking in progress and sometimes unwittingly cruel in its reflections of our lives most of 90s TV shows were.
Thank you for sharing this. As a parent who got sick with Covid as my children were finishing school, going to college, and not having the support I thought we had, this really hits home.
But doesn't that just extend childhood meaning that we would then need to extend it even further because now we have even older people who don't know how to do all of this stuff on their own? There has to be an age in which your life is up to you. And it doesn't really matter what year we put that age at. Whenever that happens people are going to struggle because they've never had to do it before. Expecting help when your first on your own is silly. And it's detrimental. Because how are you supposed to learn to do it on your own if you've always had someone helping you do it? Failure is the best way for human beings to learn.
Eric actually was enlightened like the buddha in the last season, he realized that his life as well as everyone's is actually inconsequential and every one takes things far to seriously. he no longer has expectations for himself or the world to change, he accepts the joys that he is able to experience, and the evils that come to him are nothing more then a cosmic joke to be laughed at. He has rid himself of all obligations and criticism so he can do things on a whim, the journey is more important then the outcome or the goal.
Exodus 3:14 And God (Jesus) said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you. John 5:46-47 Jesus(God) said For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”. John 8:24 Jesus(God) said Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” John 14: 6-7 Jesus (God) said to him, “I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”. John 8:58 Jesus(God) answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” Matthew 24:35 Jesus (God) says “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 satan, who currently rules this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is God. Revelation 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Good take, I agree. I liked this video, but I didn’t like the insults. I always loved his character and felt like even when he was “crazy” he had a wisdom to him and he might have been challenged in some ways but I didn’t just see him as a complete idiot.
I really loved your breakdown of his arc. High schooler who is a naïve ladies man and ends up in toxic relationships and has a mental breakdown about finishing high school and failing to get into college. He becomes disconnected from reality but is supported by a job from his father, eventually his father pushes him out and he gets series and gets into college. College is challenging but he starts to thrive and discovers passions and talents. He has an emotional and traumatic experience and disconnects even harder from life. And it's not a happy arch but boy meets world never really strayed from the unhappy ending and his experiences are relatable to people and his performance is amazing comedy acting. I know this is just a recap of your video i just enjoyed it so much i wanted to summarize it Also the girl meets world arch has him as a presumable successful mayor of a small town do to his ability to listen to people. It is so nice to have the tommy story come back around to a happy ending. (just hearing you recap the plot points makes me tear up)
Well if you watch the show it's basically giving us life through Coreys prospective. So I think young Corey sees Eric as cool and everything but as Corey gets older he sees Eric differently
I would like to point out that the mayor thing seemed to be a comedy bit. The town as shown on the sign on the lectern is "St. Upidtown," which if you remove the period and push it all together spells Stupidtown. I've, of course, never seen Girl Meets World and don't know if there was a place called St. Upidtown in the show, but my guess is probably not, given the whole arc was a ploy to make the other candidate look good. Edit: St. Upidtown was a place in the show, I was wrong, as another comment pointed out; however, I still think it was a calculated joke to have something so close to spelling "Stupidtown."
@@ogdensbeard it’s very much a joke that it’s stupid town. One character calls it that. But the show also emphasizes Eric’s talent at empathy and does discuss his mayorship in a semi serious manor as being successful because of that. The outfit is also a call back to the flash forward episode in the original series.
The parents on the show were really horrible, especially the dad. He showed more emotion and compassion towards Shawn and Shawn’s friend who was being abused by her dad then he ever did for Eric.
Man, finding out that Tommy came back in the sequel series to support Eric has legit got me teary-eyed. I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks Eric's arc in the show is the saddest one of all.
I always found him as a sad guy who never could find the girl he wanted though it's all he thought about. Even worse than Shawn's situation because he's younger than Shawn and he could still find a girlfriend longer than him. Also I feel like his own parents never cared about him as much as his siblings like you said which is probably the main reason why he pushed himself to be a stronger (mentally) person. And even though he moved in with Jack later he still seemed to not care about him as much as Eric cared about him. Bottomline is Eric never had someone to truly care about him and help him with life. He's just a poor guy with barely any true family to care for him. Although when Morgan was on the show she really noticed when he was gone and cared for him.
Yes, it was really sweet how Morgan cared for Eric. I wish they could've shown their relationship a bit more. I think his mom and dad both loved him, but at least his mom took him seriously at times. She basically had to force her husband to value their firstborn' desires and potential.
Holy cow that was so deep. I was not expecting such a deep dive into Eric's psyche and how the relationships and events around him led to him becoming what he became. In a show that, as you said, doesn't always follow continuity, the change of Eric really did have a continuity all its own when you break it down the way you did. Everything you said really were good explanations for how he changed the way he did, but didn't grow over the seasons. And yeah, it was really sad. 😔 Awesome work on a great show! 👍
Eric was and still is my favorite character on BMW. Aside from his relationship with the family and Jack, I think one of the core relationships is Eric and Mr. Feeny. There are many moments that showed Feeny and Eric being genuine friends; even with his goofy antics I think Feeny appreciated Eric's uniqueness over Cory/Topanga/Shawn. I also hate that they abandoned the plot him being a weatherman, something Eric was good at and liked doing.
Yeah, I kind of felt like Mr. Feeny gave up on Eric in a way that he didn't with Corey, but he did legitimately seem like he was just friends with Eric.
I always felt like he should go back to being a weatherman too. I will say though, while he is still kind of insane in GMW I really could see him as a small town politician. There are a lot of episodes that show he's good at working with people and cares about helping people solve their problems. So I could see him as beloved slightly eccentric mayor or Smallsville.
The episode of GMW where Eric reunites with Tommy always chokes me up. And you can hear the emotional voice cracking in Will's voice when he says "Tommy?" Sadly, GMW never reached the levels of awesome BMW had. I watched BMW last year in 2021 and it still holds up today because it respected the audience and knew we could handle the realistic topics it threw at us such as domestic abuse, alcoholism, parental death and teachers abusing their power of authority. GMW was too chicken to ever tackle anything like this.
I just assumed it was mirroring Boy Meets World's earlier seasons in terms of low stakes drama (and in that regard, was actually more adult and darker than Boy Meets World's first 3 seasons). Had the series gone on, I assumed it would have gotten darker and higher stakes -- which it seems the creators and Disney knew was the plan, because that's why they canceled it (its audience was progressively not matching the audience of the rest of Disney shows).
My favorite scene of Eric is and will always be the one where he just says to Corey, "We're brothers, we have to love each other, but that doesn't mean we have to like each other"
Me and my older brother always talked about how they changed eric from cool brother to just flat out bugged out but hilarious, its refreshing coming from another bskck man as well
I always thought of it as him being depressed. I know a couple people that were really smart but when they were going through some dark things they started acting super happy, goofy, saying and doing stupid things for attention...because they didn't know how to deal with things and when they told people they were depressed most people would get uncomfortable and distance themselves from them. So they instead just crank up the silliness and hope someone will just ask 'Are you okay'.
I honestly don't mind that they made Eric the joke of the show. It kept everything lighthearted, but he was never an idiot. It just made the moments he was serious, mean that much more. People are like this in real life. For example, Robin Williams was intentionally over the top, but deep down, had many sorrows he was dealing with. He was not an idiot, but brought joy to others through humor. Personally, I like to see Eric's character as that. Not someone who was dumb, but realized that the joy in life was by makings others laugh.
Interestingly enough, My wife, who has never seen BMW due to her being raised in India; actually noted the same thing. We watched all the seasons, and by the end of it, she mentioned how disappointed she was in Erics story.
I think GMW gave Eric a good ending. One thing you forgot to mention is that at some point, Eric left NYC(maybe right after Shawn did 10 years prior as they were roommates in their NYC apartment). During this time, he came across a small town near the Canadian border called St(Saint) Upidtown. In his first return in GMW, he has already been elected Mayor of St Upidtown due to his ability to listen to people and help them come together to solve problems.Most town mayors in the US do not have term limits for their 4 year terms, so if he left NYC around a decade prior, then he would be on at least his 3rd term as Mayor. Eric mispronounced the name of the town, so his family and friends assumed he was joking when he said he was now the Mayor of "Stupidtown". You also forgot his second appearance in GMW, in which Cory has him come to New York to help resolve a fight between Riley and Maya. If you pay attention to that scene, it mirrors an earlier scene from season 1(or 2) that shows him speaking to Cory's class about the challenges of high school(things like peer pressure). The GMW episode where he helps Riley and Maya understand why they are fighting ends with the teaser for the Senate Primary Episode(eric likely joined the party to get staff and more support for the town). After Eric wins, he returns to meet with Jack, who is now a junior exec in his Stepfather's company and now estranged from Rachel. In this episode, Jack's reply to Eric is indicative of an interesting aspect of his character as he rhetorically asks Eric "Still an Idiot Genius?" indicating that Eric may be autistic, a savant or both(as indicated by his understanding and appreciation of art during the museum scene from BMW that you referenced). While Eric clearly still misses Rachel, he appears to be a much better place in his life as by becoming mayor and then Senator, he has found what he missing: helping those who were unseen the way he was unseen. He mentions being elected Mayor "after the landslide", meaning a literal landslide occurred and he helped encourage people and get them to cooperate, despite what must have been a corrupt city government. Eric, in effect became an accidental activist and then an accidental politician, being elected in an electoral landslide after the literal one. Voters felt he was representing the people and taking actual efforts to address their needs and concerns. In the episode where he reconnects with Jack, Jack is there as a lobbyist from his stepfather's company to choose that company over his more environmentally responsible competitor for a government contract.(Jack's stepfather likely counting on Jack's friendship to get Eric to make a rare exception). Eric likely found St Upidtown as it reminded most of the small town with the diner he and Cory had visited during their summer trip after Eric failed his SAT the first time. Back then he wanted a simpler life away from the stresses of all of his failures and the people he had become disconnected from, either due to circumstances or by choice. After BMW, he left sometime after Shawn did, but does make an effort to stay in touch and visit(we know this because Augie recognizes him and he tells Jack that he makes sure to know what all of his friends are doing, so this would also be the case for his close family). I do wish we could have introduced a love interest for Eric, since Rachel returning was not possible(what happened with Maitland Ward has been well documented by name as she has been in no way shy about sharing her story in recent years).
Eric finally seeing Tommy after all those years, turned my eyes into faucets watching that episode. I love Eric Matthews so much, he's one of the first himbos I fell in love with.
This is why he's always been my favorite character. He was so complex. The arc is sad but at least there's a happy ending in Girl Meets World where he reunites with Tommy and gets elected as governor of New York 🥲
I never thought of Eric's character story like this before. I'm one of those few original viewers who actually liked Girl Meets World and thought Eric's character on their was hilarious. But just when you think there's nothing in his brain, he comes out with an intelligent observation. One of my favorite characters. Thanks for this episode.
Eric was my favorite character on BMW growing up. Now that you break down how isolated and lonely Eric's character is in the show, I can see why I related to him so much as a kid. I myself was usually ignored and passed over for my sibling and would use humor to mask the pain I felt and to get attention once in a while.
Great video! As a 40 yr old, Boy meets World was a show I watched on a consistent basis. This was a very enlightening and thought-provoking episode ,you did a really really good job.
Maaann, I've been talking to my friends about this for YEARS!!!! I actually didn't watch GMW because of Eric. It really made me sad. I didn't know they brought Tommy back. I had to pause the video and cry for like 7 mins. fr. it's like that time Mr. Rogers jumped on stage because he saw the little kid from waay back and forgot about the cameras... This started years ago when one of my friends asked "what show do you watch even though you hate it?" My answer was that boy meets world was not funny and it made me sad.. i even felt bad for the bad guys. everybody just seems.. trapped. it's like the characters know that they are characters and have only limited agency. like Eric was CHOSEN to be the fool. Even if he rap is ass off, blast off, and had outstanding qualities, he can never have.. it. Whatever it is. Money, success, family, friends,.. hope. so you act out, or act in, only showing your potential when you forget that you're predestined to fail, only for the failure to remind you, with the familiar look of disgust, dissapointment, and disproval, that your lot in life has been chose. The "happy" ending, is knowing that just one, anyone, remembers you with kindness, and fondness. To be seen for what you could be, or should be, if we weren't trapped in the characters that were forced to play. "All the world's a stage, where's the trap door, slackjaw"-MF DOOM (paraphrasing Willie Shakespeare)
I thought the change was originally made to emulate other sitcoms, like Family Matters, which became known for their comedic relief character, Steve Urkel. Also... no one can mention Boy Meets World without me remembering my first television crush as a child... Danielle Fishel. I mostly watched the show to yell at Cory Matthews and all the stupid mistakes he kept making concerning his relationship with Topanga.
Watching this show as a kid really scared me about college. I'm from canada and there's not as great a push for kids to go to college. No SATs no sororities or fraternities so seeing that anxieties of american kids in school was really eye opening to me. I really feel for the young people trying to discover themselves.
I'm so glad you mentioned the GMW episode where he reconnects with Tommy -- I cried so much during that episode, and again just now watching the clip (thanks a lot! 😉)
Fuck me, you just showed me clips from a show I have never seen before but you explaining the emotional context behind them made me cry. I have a shitty relationship with my dad and Idk why but after having a shitty weekend going home and meeting him once you were the one who really brought me over the edge to cry about it. Thank you so much it was cathartic.
What an insightful analysis into one of my favorite characters from one of my all time favorite shows as a child. I couldn't agree more, Eric's family really just pushed him into the background while putting all their energy into Cory and Topanga. Two thumbs up👍👍
Eric is my all-time favorite 90s character. I often considered him to be "playing Hamlet," as I call it. The scenes like the art museum and such show that the goofball was a facade that hid the pain. Like Hamlet, he too ended up shifting from feigning insanity to genuine insanity by the end of his story arc.
ooo I love a good Shakespeare comparison. And the fact he played Hamlet in the show, pretty great too. I'm pretty sure it was also depression that eventually made Hamlet mad, losing his father, his love, his friends. and cousin, and likely his Kingdom. He lost everything. And Eric lost a lot too - his belief in himself, romances, his best friend in HS. I think both of their madness ultimately came from grief, never fulling recovering from their loss because they never got the help they needed.
Man I forgot about how much I loved this show. I was super annoyed* that he regressed after Tommy, I was really rooting for him by that point. It made the last season something I didn’t watch as much. *I wasn’t thinking about it from a story perspective, but a writing choice. I was big on writing at that point in my childhood
Thank you for this video. I was specifically searching CZcams for Eric’s arc because I always thought it was weird how he spiraled. He’s always been my favorite because he’s funny and I can relate to him.
The character of Eric feels like about how we would’ve approached mental health challenges in the 90s. No diagnostic language or buzz words, just a family trying there best to love someone who was challenging an different through their joys and mistakes.
@@gmc5618 yeah no one is doing that. But ok. Based on the video and my memory it does seem like that’s what they were trying to do. It was a different time. But o really think you are misusing the dictionary definition of stigma.
@@gmc5618 also you make an assumption that all mental health awareness is linear over time and gets better. There’s always progress and regress. For example it’s wonderful that sexuality made its way out of the Dsm and we no longer call it substance abuse which implies drug use is a moral failure. But there’s plenty of things that were positive about the past for example as I point out modern american culture tends to rely on diagnosis to explain everything and in other cultures that doesn’t happen and there’s actually less stigma and more room for difference.
Not “would’ve approached mental health challenges in the ‘90s”,but DID. I was a teen in the ‘90s and that’s how it was. Glad now at 40 I have correct diagnoses and am not written off as ‘difficult’ or ‘weird’ or ‘crazy.’
Just stumbled onto your content. This was such a great breakdown of one of my favorite characters. As a kid I remember seeing these drastic changes in him and never understood why. Thanks for bringing a lot of clarity!
Damn bro just shattered my favorite character as a kid this is some heart breaking shit man damn it I didn’t need to see all this before I sleep now I gotta go watch bs to not think about Eric life after the show ended
It’s typically known as Flanderization, I think it’s a term that came from the Simpsons originally about Flanders character where he became more and more Flanders like. Eventually it happened to all the characters and seems to be inevitable to a certain extent as a symptom for when a show is going on too long and the creative well has run dry.
Wow, this was incredible! I always disliked that they made Eric into a total clown (and to me the Season 7 antics never really landed because they were SO over the top). But this reading of it really make me see it in a new light. Definitely vote YES to more Boy Meets World videos :)
Jokes aside, I'm glad you took a serious look at the character. Boy Meets World in general is actually a pretty deep show, they dealt with some heavy stuff. I cried when he closed the door, man, that look in his eyes tore me up when I first saw it.
Eric was my favorite character (other than Topanga obviously)...he was always the character to give me a good laugh every episode and I always envied his awesome hair.
Will Freidle had an amazing Are You Afraid of the Dark episode. He outshone every other actor on that show. Also enjoyed when he joined a miniature painting tutorial series on CZcams.
I used to be a Nickelodeon child, so this whole arc reminds me of how the character of Spencer Shay was treated on iCarly. Also both of them are very neurodivergent-coded (I see my own ADHD & my autistic friends in their character traits)
I have no intention of watching the show and didn't grow up with it, but I appreciate the in-depth character analysis you shared. It's a good arc from what you show here
im not sponsored by Bass Pro Shops lmao i just think they're really crazy and thought i'd mention it lol
Oh yeah I’ve been there
Ya gotta love the effort
All this BASS PRO SHOP talk has now gotten me curious. 🌱
Rack railroad is the hardest to say.
@@BobMinelli go to the Memphis pyramid
I’m surprised you didn’t mention the episode he snapped on Corey for not treating him like a brother anymore. In that episode he revealed how isolated he was in his own family for years.
This. That and the episode (he shows a clip of it when Eric is talking about art) where Cory/Eric find out that their dad treats each of them differently to fill a need: Corey for more deeper/meaningful conversations and Eric for more sporty things. To me both of those episodes really illustrate the core of Eric's issues and it's honestly unfortunate that he never really got a proper final arc BMW.
@@davidrosensin7985 Lol when they’re skydiving and Mr. Matthews just jumps out the plane when he Eric gives that insight
Sad ass episode.
@@davidrosensin7985 YESSS!!! Both of those episodes stand out because I rarely if ever have seen sibling dynamics explored in that way in a sitcom
Exactly. The man was neglected and is probably clinically depressed and dissociative and no one he loves cares
I remember the last episode Cory’s parents were in tears about Cory moving to NYC but barely acknowledged Eric moving there too. So sad
To be fair at least they addressed this. Well they address it when he goes to college
He says “ you guys didn’t treat Eric like this” and Amy said “does he know we’re here,let’s go.”
Examined it sounds cruel but it’s not much different than everybody loves Raymond. Parents will often seem to favor a kid. Usually the one who needs more guidance
From what I remember from that scene only the mom seemed to be effected by Cory leaving mostly out of mom worry but was able to calm down when she found out Eric would still be there to look out for him.
@@NationalSportsEntertainmentNSEThis is part of the reason I decided to only have one kid. Needless to say, I was not the favored child, I was mostly invisible or the parentified child for my younger brothers. And unfortunately favoritism is kind of natural, there isn't much you can do about it - but to blatantly show it is so warped.
They both needed guidance. This was obvious.@NationalSportsEntertainmentNSE
@@NationalSportsEntertainmentNSE
Eric went from a lazy guy with a good heart, to someone who would feel right at home in “”It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia”.
Eric and Charlie would be best friends so fast
Both shows based in Philly too
I’m not sure why I’m even watching this because I’ve never watched the show, but you’ve made me really feel for Eric. 😢
Now that's a crossover for the ages
Plays with Squirell is probably one of Franks bridge friends
“You were the first born so I let you get away with more.”
In my experience, that’s totally backwards. My parents were much stricter with me than with my little brother, and I’ve seen other people say the same thing.
Agreed. I remember being indignant when my younger brother was allowed to cut his own fingernails way younger than I was.
Me but I’m the baby of the family..
I think this varies depending on whether the *parents* were only/first/middle/last born children also. Their perspective and experience will inherently shape how they approach their own children. It seems like Alan went into parenting Eric wanting to be the "cool" dad whose son really liked him and he didn't want to ever be the bad guy and it made him less of a parent. Eric saying he thought he and his dad were "friends" even shows that perfectly imo. This seems to be most common with families where there's only one kid, and it would make sense that they only expected to have Eric, and the plan got messed up by there being more kids that Alan actually had to parent, but it was too late to go back and "re-do" the first one now that he's learned more about parenting.
I think that is generally most common in RL. But I agree with jijitters, and BMW went a different way story telling wise. When a parent has a child very young and is closer in age to that child, sometimes they try to be like "the cool older sibling" type, and don't "parent" and discipline as much as they should.
Yep.
"Loose one friend..... loose all friends.... Loose your self..... Nothing else seemed to matter" I feel that to this day.
Lose*
Legit think of that scene every few months ever since I was a kid
Lose one of those o’s
@@thegargoylecumeth7932 um...that's pretty strange, dude.
@@RythymBeast maybe you're the one who's strange for not receiving such a strong feeling from the wise words of Plays With Squirrels
Got to meet Marsden in person last year. He's a genuinely nice guy. He actually doesn't know why he was written off the show other than they just opted to not continue developing his character. He was and still is the best of friends with Will and was on set nearly everyday even after being written off just to hang out with the cast.
Huh, I just was wondering about this yesterday! Thanks for satisfying my curiosity about it :)
That's crazy. To see him there and not think to bring him back.
Jason was my favorite actor as a kid. I think “Eerie, Indiana” was the first show I saw him in and I thought he was so cool in that and his voice was pretty unique, so I’d notice him when he’d do voice work like in “Hocus Pocus”.
Yeah 😀 though, his character was a total dangerous menace to the Boy meets World plus even girl meets World Fictional universe
Funny enough, I just watched an episode of Star Trek that had Marsden's voice as the deaceased child of a crazy Starfleet Professor. I heard it and instantly said "oh my god that's Max Goof!"
I cried my eyes out at that GMW episode where Tommy tells Eric he was thankful and understood why he did what he did by not adopting him.
I cried a little at this video because of that moment
i've done some private tutoring in the past, and kids out here really do deserve so much better in terms of the world they're born into and the way their parents treat them...
I totally did the same thing! It was all cheesy nostalgic fun until Tommy showed up and broke me!
Man I was in near tears 😢😂😂😂
So did I :-(. I really would've liked a proper sequel to BMW but GMW wasn't as bad as people said, I loved the Shawn arc finally getting happy as well, and how Corey and Topanga having Riley actually hurt him
That was a tear jerker for sure
Man the phrase “bozo who doesn’t take anything seriously because he’s depressed about his life” hits close to home
Isnt that the truth?!
Bozo who wasn't taken seriously decides to stop taking things seriously and is subsequently criticized for it ... Feels bad man
I hear you guys …
😩 tears of a clown
It didn't hit home until you made that connection..damn..it hurts. Lol
Morgan barely being in the show was hilarious because there was actually two of them
Man "Boy meets World" was one my brother and I's favorite shows growing up! My bro passed in 2021 and this video really struck home! Just let me go back to the horrible 90's couch and give him hug.
lost mine in 2020 and same
That scene with Tommy is so heartbreaking. A gut punch to the inner child in all of us
Watch the drum island arc of one piece. It hurts.
@@aw98000 cultured man
@@theundeadafro8565 I finished the sky island arc recently and the mini three episode noland history got me. The part where they kill a snake/god. I avoided OP because it was so daunting to watch all the eps. I'm about 250 in so far.
@@aw98000 keep going man, the show just keeps getting better
@@theundeadafro8565 I'm currently in dressrosa and they're finishing up the first round of the fight tournament for the flame flame fruit
Ngl Eric’s life trajectory was honestly HUGELY impactful in my own understanding of how you have to work in school to escape your circumstances. I really appreciated that he was rejected from college rather than just got through.
Exactly this. BMW had characters that felt real and relatable. Looking back on it now as an adult I can apricate the life lessons it taught.
it honestly seemed quite toxic to me like how everything went wrong for him due to toxic relationship, bad parenting, people not being able to understand and looking down on him and him not being able to get into collage.
so that the life lesson you get out of that of " gotta do your homework" seems kinda like it completely miss the point.
Same here
Definitely
@@riynu7774 idk man growing up in a home where I experienced abuse/neglect and didn’t have a guardian to warn me that actions have consequences at least a TV show gave me some perspective
Another big Eric episode everyone sleeps on is the cleaning the garage with Cory and why Eric was so angry and broken hearted by Cory. It never really gets resolved either which is more heart breaking.
I should have mentioned that episode tbh. I think it was a glimpse into how sad Eric really was in s7
Another one to mention would be him scamming his way into giving Cory the best wedding he could. Like everyone sleeps on how he pulled off a huge lie to give his bro an amazing wedding. The reception was a bit of a bust, but the ceremony is the important part.
Or the one where Cory wants to go sky diving with his dad because Eric does but then Eric is upset he doesn’t have as intellectual of a relationship as they do
The episode where Cory put in his old retainer after years of it just sitting there.
I remember that one
Recently on Pod Meets World(Watch along Podcast feat Topanga, Eric, and Shawn), Will talked about what happened with Eric, why he became a goof. He said that after a couple seasons Michael and the writers allowed Will to freelance more, particularly they really liked it when he went off script when Feeny's niece was in town, and wanted to see more of it. So Will started doing crazier and crazier things til it got to a point where it became a challenge between him and the writers on who can make Eric the goofiest.
what episode?
Yup I saw that PMW episode too and that is the real reason. Kind of funny how people come up with theories based on show content all the time when in reality most of these decisions are based on reasons behind the 4th wall by the actors or directors or producers on a whim.
Yeah I thought his whole goofiness is because of Will's performance. He is good at playing a goofball. But people are taking it too seriously to dissect what is really going on.
Yep, he talks about it in several interviews
That Tommy storyline broke my heart! Even when I was young I noticed he changed immensely following the storyline.
I thought the title was referencing Will Friedle as a person not Eric as a character and I was heartbroken (it's cool yall Will irl is doing well :). Poor Eric, no one protected our vulnerable himbo
Wull did have a rough middle of it (check out his Between the Sheets interview) but I concur in the initial confusion!
I thought the same thing. I almost teared up for Terry McGinnis
Yea I was about to jump into the comments to defend him. He was the goat on Batman Beyond.
@@eon001 homie also voiced the blue beetle on another Batman show as well, dude nailed it.
same
Jason Marsden and Will Friedle would independently go on to be some of the most recognizable voice actors for decades. I had no idea Jason was on Boy Meets World.
Jason was also a minor character in other family sitcoms like Step by Step and Full House!
@@caseyjc5 Completely forgot he was on Fulll House until I read this.
Jason and Will met and became best friends because they both auditioned to play Eric on BMW ☺️
@@caseyjc5 I wouldn't say he was minor on Step By Step, I remember the later seasons they added him to the shows title card intro, he went from being JT's friend to Dana's serious boyfriend.
@@caseyjc5 hell yeah!
I met Will Friedel at a comic con. I made a Eric doll (like the one Eric made for Feeney). He thought it was great. Easily my favorite celebrity interaction.
It’s sad that social anxiety was the reason he retired. He seems like such a positive guy
@National Sports Entertainment NSE He really is so sincere. He came back, but never fully for live action roles. I think it'd be great to see him reprise his role as a Eric in a standalone comedy-drama where the show takes a more serious look into his personality & feelings!
Love that!
i need a terry mcginnis doll screaming 'Bruce? Bruuuuce! Bruuuce!' when you pull its string.
omg I think I saw pics and memes of that on reddit! That's so awesome! I want an Eric and Mr. Feeny doll #lifegoals
I remember fawning over Eric but as his character went on, I just couldn't help feeling heartbroken bit by bit
As a person who had ADHD discovered as an adult. This is the kind of story arc of a person with an undiagnosed neurodivergence.
real shit
This hurts
I peeped that too
Ugh fr
This
I think the modern take for Eric could be untreated ADHD. He constantly seeks stimulation, he's impulsive, he struggles with structured and "boring" activities but thrives in preferred activities...the surreal moments could even be a reflection of a super active imagination and internalized world building. Since it's really a show from Cory's pov his portrayal could be an exaggeration of how the world sees him
I was legitimately about to type out this comment right here lol Looking back now all I see is a poor baby with untreated ADHD and absolutely no support where its needed. With the right support he could have accomplished those goals a lot easier.
unrelated, but is your profile picture the cover art of _Yeah Right_ by Vince Staples?
This actually makes a lot of sense.
He doesn't thrive at any activities
@@Freud_Mayweather guess you didn't watch the part of the video that explains he did
I didn't even realise the falling out with Eric is the last time Jason is ever seen! I've seen every episode....HOW did I not realise that?!
WHOA I just realized I grew up to be Eric, seems like the natural progression of someone who didn't get diagnosed as ADHD/Autistic until adulthood because I relate to this SOoOo much
Eric as neurodivergent makes *a lot* of sense, too. he struggles with standardized education (which is mostly made up of arbitrary rules and trivia), while his relationships are all shallow because people only ever seem to want to interact with the mask. so his focus is already pretty shot, which he has none of the vocabulary to articulate or tools to mitigate, and whenever he does try to care about something or someone he can't get taken seriously anyway.
you're right; that's *way* more relatable than Cory
@@MulberryDays Awesome thank you YeS my jaw hit the floor seeing this character for the first time in decades because it really reflects how my life has gone since then haha I started to dress as a clown to relieve stress, I realized people expect exactly what I'm capable of when I look like that so now I throw on a nose and wig every time I leave the house which is probably what Eric would be doing today HAHAHA :D
Same here. I wasn't the handsome ladies man but I did grow up to be Eric.
Same! I've never seen boy meets world, but I watched this anyway... And struggled massively because so many of these traumas read like a description of my life... Except the adopting a kid and going crazy bit... that's where I got diagnosed!
@@Calmrecordings I know right, it's spooky but also a massive relief to feel seen like that :D his videos are always super thoughtful and revealing :)
I love that he doesn't really realize how smart he is in certain things (as opposed to those around him)
Eric started out as a Zach Morris type swagged out playboy. As the show went on he began to develop into a goofball. That trip Eric took with Corey to Pottstown is when his character started to change. This was the first time he felt accepted and not judged. He was using Pottstown as an escape because he didn't want to face reality back home in Philly. Eric's character suffered from having "tears of a sad clown". He would mask his true feelings of loneliness & self doubt with humor in order to avoid reality.
Dude, this is the type of deep dive on Eric that I never knew I wanted.
It always bugged me how his character changed so much, particularly in the final season, but I haven't been able to express the reasons why. Your video summed everything up perfectly.
A Boy Meets World channel isn't the worst idea in the world...
👀👀
i could seriously do a video for each character's arc. I really like Alan's arc too
@@T1J Please 🥺
Can they be Christmas presents every year? Cuz family or whatever
@@alien5589 omg love that idea
Actually, you really do make a good point. It’s weird how he went from the handsome, popular guy to kinda a crazy, lunatic at the end. I never really thought about that. Maybe the writers didn’t really think about his overall story and development and just used him as comedic relief during a lot of heavy topics like you mentioned at a part in the video.
I posted a long comment but I actually think they did it because they needed to establish a Shawn as a smart guy
The way they 180s Shawn what is so unrealistic I think they had to dumb down Eric so Shawn appeared not to drastically go from almost illiterate to tortured genius artist.
@@NationalSportsEntertainmentNSE To be fair, Shawn (and Eric) were both untapped potential. NEITHER of them ever really studied or tried at school, and while Eric was goofing off, Shawn was napping and skipping classes. It's honestly surprising given NO effort on their parts, they were able to get C's some of the time and pass High School. Ya, they both definitely had dumb moments where they said things, but intermixed in those same seasons, they would say very profound insightful things that pointed to an overall innate higher level of intelligence, just lack of motivation on both parts, and Shawn not having a good enough support system.
I always felt bad for Eric. He was well not the brightest but he had the biggest heart. A great brother. Yet he got less love because the whole older brother syndrome. Which unfortunately happens to a lot of older siblings. They went with Cory when he went off to college. But when Cory mention that they didn’t do the same with Eric they said what don’t tell him we were here. Most parents are the most excited sending their oldest off to college. They were good parents, to Cory. They weren’t great with Eric. Heck I feel like they cared for Shawn more who wasn’t their actual son.
Eric telling Tommy he can’t adopt him breaks me till this very day lmao
10:00 this hits me deep. Eric needed guidance and received little. When he hit maturity enough to realize his circumstance it was too late. I really wanted to go to college too. I went, but my parents got sick and i was was forced to drop out in year one. There are things i could have done to prevent the downfall but I was a child and my support was struggling on their own. The show seems to pose this moment as a learning moment to not slack off in school, but honestly I think it shows that there needs to be more support for young people during this critical time in their development. Not sure where the support should come from but recognizing the need is a start.
College can help for future life but isn't the be all and end all.
Exactly. There are a lot of things that people don't want to discuss about how lacking in progress and sometimes unwittingly cruel in its reflections of our lives most of 90s TV shows were.
Thank you for sharing this. As a parent who got sick with Covid as my children were finishing school, going to college, and not having the support I thought we had, this really hits home.
But doesn't that just extend childhood meaning that we would then need to extend it even further because now we have even older people who don't know how to do all of this stuff on their own? There has to be an age in which your life is up to you. And it doesn't really matter what year we put that age at. Whenever that happens people are going to struggle because they've never had to do it before. Expecting help when your first on your own is silly. And it's detrimental. Because how are you supposed to learn to do it on your own if you've always had someone helping you do it? Failure is the best way for human beings to learn.
With how I see colleges now it seems like you dodged a bullet 😂
Eric actually was enlightened like the buddha in the last season, he realized that his life as well as everyone's is actually inconsequential and every one takes things far to seriously. he no longer has expectations for himself or the world to change, he accepts the joys that he is able to experience, and the evils that come to him are nothing more then a cosmic joke to be laughed at. He has rid himself of all obligations and criticism so he can do things on a whim, the journey is more important then the outcome or the goal.
hence his name in the future “Eric Plays With Squirrels” lmao
Be like Eric
Bro yes - this is canon now imo
Exodus 3:14 And God (Jesus) said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM'; and He said, 'This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: 'I AM has sent me to you. John 5:46-47 Jesus(God) said For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”. John 8:24 Jesus(God) said Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.” John 14: 6-7 Jesus (God) said to him, “I AM the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, then you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”. John 8:58 Jesus(God) answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I AM!” Matthew 24:35
Jesus (God) says
“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
satan, who currently rules this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is God. Revelation 21:8
But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars-they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Good take, I agree. I liked this video, but I didn’t like the insults. I always loved his character and felt like even when he was “crazy” he had a wisdom to him and he might have been challenged in some ways but I didn’t just see him as a complete idiot.
I really loved your breakdown of his arc.
High schooler who is a naïve ladies man and ends up in toxic relationships and has a mental breakdown about finishing high school and failing to get into college.
He becomes disconnected from reality but is supported by a job from his father, eventually his father pushes him out and he gets series and gets into college.
College is challenging but he starts to thrive and discovers passions and talents.
He has an emotional and traumatic experience and disconnects even harder from life.
And it's not a happy arch but boy meets world never really strayed from the unhappy ending and his experiences are relatable to people and his performance is amazing comedy acting.
I know this is just a recap of your video i just enjoyed it so much i wanted to summarize it
Also the girl meets world arch has him as a presumable successful mayor of a small town do to his ability to listen to people. It is so nice to have the tommy story come back around to a happy ending. (just hearing you recap the plot points makes me tear up)
gotta give props to the writers of the show!
@@The_SOB_II thanks
Well if you watch the show it's basically giving us life through Coreys prospective. So I think young Corey sees Eric as cool and everything but as Corey gets older he sees Eric differently
I would like to point out that the mayor thing seemed to be a comedy bit. The town as shown on the sign on the lectern is "St. Upidtown," which if you remove the period and push it all together spells Stupidtown. I've, of course, never seen Girl Meets World and don't know if there was a place called St. Upidtown in the show, but my guess is probably not, given the whole arc was a ploy to make the other candidate look good.
Edit: St. Upidtown was a place in the show, I was wrong, as another comment pointed out; however, I still think it was a calculated joke to have something so close to spelling "Stupidtown."
@@ogdensbeard it’s very much a joke that it’s stupid town. One character calls it that. But the show also emphasizes Eric’s talent at empathy and does discuss his mayorship in a semi serious manor as being successful because of that. The outfit is also a call back to the flash forward episode in the original series.
I swear Tommy showing up in GMW will NEVER fail to make me cry
The parents on the show were really horrible, especially the dad. He showed more emotion and compassion towards Shawn and Shawn’s friend who was being abused by her dad then he ever did for Eric.
Remember what Alan said in American history x? Terrible guy
Eric and Jack's friendships is one of the cutest, most wholesome friendships I have ever seen though:)
No, his defining characteristic in the earlier parts of the series is not him being girl-crazy, its him being totally f@cking hot.
Anyway, so it does ultimately have a sort-of-happy ending - he gets to be a Senator, which is good (for him).
the whole series tbh lol
He was a himbo. Hot, dumb, girl-crazy. Not unusual to have one in these shows.
Oh jeez , another alphabet warrior fawning over young boys . Watch out guys .
He was cute asf in the later seasons too, just more mature looking.
Man, finding out that Tommy came back in the sequel series to support Eric has legit got me teary-eyed. I'm also glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks Eric's arc in the show is the saddest one of all.
Not getting into college was a huge thing for kids. College was a milestone in life
I always found him as a sad guy who never could find the girl he wanted though it's all he thought about. Even worse than Shawn's situation because he's younger than Shawn and he could still find a girlfriend longer than him. Also I feel like his own parents never cared about him as much as his siblings like you said which is probably the main reason why he pushed himself to be a stronger (mentally) person. And even though he moved in with Jack later he still seemed to not care about him as much as Eric cared about him. Bottomline is Eric never had someone to truly care about him and help him with life. He's just a poor guy with barely any true family to care for him. Although when Morgan was on the show she really noticed when he was gone and cared for him.
Yes, it was really sweet how Morgan cared for Eric. I wish they could've shown their relationship a bit more. I think his mom and dad both loved him, but at least his mom took him seriously at times. She basically had to force her husband to value their firstborn' desires and potential.
Younger than Shawn? I think you meant to say the opposite.
Holy cow that was so deep. I was not expecting such a deep dive into Eric's psyche and how the relationships and events around him led to him becoming what he became. In a show that, as you said, doesn't always follow continuity, the change of Eric really did have a continuity all its own when you break it down the way you did. Everything you said really were good explanations for how he changed the way he did, but didn't grow over the seasons. And yeah, it was really sad. 😔 Awesome work on a great show! 👍
Right? I forgot that I loved this show, and next thing I know I’m holding back tears at work listening to this.
Eric was and still is my favorite character on BMW. Aside from his relationship with the family and Jack, I think one of the core relationships is Eric and Mr. Feeny. There are many moments that showed Feeny and Eric being genuine friends; even with his goofy antics I think Feeny appreciated Eric's uniqueness over Cory/Topanga/Shawn.
I also hate that they abandoned the plot him being a weatherman, something Eric was good at and liked doing.
Yeah, I kind of felt like Mr. Feeny gave up on Eric in a way that he didn't with Corey, but he did legitimately seem like he was just friends with Eric.
I always felt like he should go back to being a weatherman too.
I will say though, while he is still kind of insane in GMW I really could see him as a small town politician. There are a lot of episodes that show he's good at working with people and cares about helping people solve their problems. So I could see him as beloved slightly eccentric mayor or Smallsville.
Eric was a good teacher though
I like BMWs too
The episode of GMW where Eric reunites with Tommy always chokes me up. And you can hear the emotional voice cracking in Will's voice when he says "Tommy?" Sadly, GMW never reached the levels of awesome BMW had. I watched BMW last year in 2021 and it still holds up today because it respected the audience and knew we could handle the realistic topics it threw at us such as domestic abuse, alcoholism, parental death and teachers abusing their power of authority. GMW was too chicken to ever tackle anything like this.
GMW was too concerned w/ making Maya this scapegoat and Riley a perfect angel to be even close.
I just assumed it was mirroring Boy Meets World's earlier seasons in terms of low stakes drama (and in that regard, was actually more adult and darker than Boy Meets World's first 3 seasons). Had the series gone on, I assumed it would have gotten darker and higher stakes -- which it seems the creators and Disney knew was the plan, because that's why they canceled it (its audience was progressively not matching the audience of the rest of Disney shows).
Eric, personally, is one of the most relatable characters I ever come to witness.
This *has to* be the saddest arc in sitcom history, this was straight up depressing 😢😢😢
This is like when I realized that Ben Katz was severely clinically depressed, and his dad, Dr. Katz Professional Therapist, never realized it either.
Dr Katz was just too specialized in neurotic comedians to diagnose his muli-talented son
OMG, we need a Dr. Katz retrospective.
I like Dr. Katz!
That just sounds like a terrible therapist and innative/absent father.
My favorite scene of Eric is and will always be the one where he just says to Corey, "We're brothers, we have to love each other, but that doesn't mean we have to like each other"
That specific scene when Eric gets into college really gives me goosebumps hearing the studio audience lose their shit always cheers me up.
Eric was all so precious to me 😭
Favorite character throughout the whole series
Me and my older brother always talked about how they changed eric from cool brother to just flat out bugged out but hilarious, its refreshing coming from another bskck man as well
As someone with mental health issues, I see "loopy Eric" as a long manic episode. It's not unheard of, and I hope Eric got help
I always thought of it as him being depressed.
I know a couple people that were really smart but when they were going through some dark things they started acting super happy, goofy, saying and doing stupid things for attention...because they didn't know how to deal with things and when they told people they were depressed most people would get uncomfortable and distance themselves from them. So they instead just crank up the silliness and hope someone will just ask 'Are you okay'.
“I hope Eric got help” lol I mean, just because you thought the character was experiencing mania, doesn’t mean that’s actually what was happening.
@@isitoveryet9525 That’s why my comment says that’s how I see it
@@Starbits7 💯💯💯
I think this is why Eric became my favourite character. He had the most character development in the show
it says on imdb that will and jason are/ were bestfrinds and were each others bestman at their weddings. in like 2004.
I love this. Thanks for posting it.
He deserved better. The character AND the actor. Him in Girl meets World was probably the best part.
I honestly don't mind that they made Eric the joke of the show. It kept everything lighthearted, but he was never an idiot. It just made the moments he was serious, mean that much more. People are like this in real life. For example, Robin Williams was intentionally over the top, but deep down, had many sorrows he was dealing with. He was not an idiot, but brought joy to others through humor. Personally, I like to see Eric's character as that. Not someone who was dumb, but realized that the joy in life was by makings others laugh.
Interestingly enough, My wife, who has never seen BMW due to her being raised in India; actually noted the same thing. We watched all the seasons, and by the end of it, she mentioned how disappointed she was in Erics story.
I think GMW gave Eric a good ending. One thing you forgot to mention is that at some point, Eric left NYC(maybe right after Shawn did 10 years prior as they were roommates in their NYC apartment). During this time, he came across a small town near the Canadian border called St(Saint) Upidtown. In his first return in GMW, he has already been elected Mayor of St Upidtown due to his ability to listen to people and help them come together to solve problems.Most town mayors in the US do not have term limits for their 4 year terms, so if he left NYC around a decade prior, then he would be on at least his 3rd term as Mayor. Eric mispronounced the name of the town, so his family and friends assumed he was joking when he said he was now the Mayor of "Stupidtown". You also forgot his second appearance in GMW, in which Cory has him come to New York to help resolve a fight between Riley and Maya. If you pay attention to that scene, it mirrors an earlier scene from season 1(or 2) that shows him speaking to Cory's class about the challenges of high school(things like peer pressure). The GMW episode where he helps Riley and Maya understand why they are fighting ends with the teaser for the Senate Primary Episode(eric likely joined the party to get staff and more support for the town). After Eric wins, he returns to meet with Jack, who is now a junior exec in his Stepfather's company and now estranged from Rachel. In this episode, Jack's reply to Eric is indicative of an interesting aspect of his character as he rhetorically asks Eric "Still an Idiot Genius?" indicating that Eric may be autistic, a savant or both(as indicated by his understanding and appreciation of art during the museum scene from BMW that you referenced). While Eric clearly still misses Rachel, he appears to be a much better place in his life as by becoming mayor and then Senator, he has found what he missing: helping those who were unseen the way he was unseen. He mentions being elected Mayor "after the landslide", meaning a literal landslide occurred and he helped encourage people and get them to cooperate, despite what must have been a corrupt city government. Eric, in effect became an accidental activist and then an accidental politician, being elected in an electoral landslide after the literal one. Voters felt he was representing the people and taking actual efforts to address their needs and concerns. In the episode where he reconnects with Jack, Jack is there as a lobbyist from his stepfather's company to choose that company over his more environmentally responsible competitor for a government contract.(Jack's stepfather likely counting on Jack's friendship to get Eric to make a rare exception). Eric likely found St Upidtown as it reminded most of the small town with the diner he and Cory had visited during their summer trip after Eric failed his SAT the first time. Back then he wanted a simpler life away from the stresses of all of his failures and the people he had become disconnected from, either due to circumstances or by choice. After BMW, he left sometime after Shawn did, but does make an effort to stay in touch and visit(we know this because Augie recognizes him and he tells Jack that he makes sure to know what all of his friends are doing, so this would also be the case for his close family). I do wish we could have introduced a love interest for Eric, since Rachel returning was not possible(what happened with Maitland Ward has been well documented by name as she has been in no way shy about sharing her story in recent years).
I have a feeling you may be Will Friedle himself :p
This info would have made the story arc less sad. So that is probably why it was left out
It's also that most of this info is in GMW and the video is about the saddest arc in BMW. I can see why T1J didn't really put all this info in.
St Upidtown aka Stupid-town. Poor Eric.
Eric finally seeing Tommy after all those years, turned my eyes into faucets watching that episode. I love Eric Matthews so much, he's one of the first himbos I fell in love with.
He was always my favorite character 🥺 ❤ Such a cutie and very underrated.
That was a surprisingly eye opening analysis of the effects Eric's psychological scars had on him. Great job, sir!
I didn't expect to cry from this, having never watched the show, but here we are
I didn't quite cry, but my heart melted into goosebumps at the end.
Yeah, I've never watched it either, but by the end I was fully invested and rooting for him! That's how you know it's a great video.
go Utube : are you a good person by living waters
It’s such a good show ❤
This is why he's always been my favorite character. He was so complex. The arc is sad but at least there's a happy ending in Girl Meets World where he reunites with Tommy and gets elected as governor of New York 🥲
I never thought of Eric's character story like this before. I'm one of those few original viewers who actually liked Girl Meets World and thought Eric's character on their was hilarious. But just when you think there's nothing in his brain, he comes out with an intelligent observation. One of my favorite characters. Thanks for this episode.
Eric was my favorite character on BMW growing up. Now that you break down how isolated and lonely Eric's character is in the show, I can see why I related to him so much as a kid. I myself was usually ignored and passed over for my sibling and would use humor to mask the pain I felt and to get attention once in a while.
Great video! As a 40 yr old, Boy meets World was a show I watched on a consistent basis. This was a very enlightening and thought-provoking episode ,you did a really really good job.
Maaann, I've been talking to my friends about this for YEARS!!!! I actually didn't watch GMW because of Eric. It really made me sad. I didn't know they brought Tommy back. I had to pause the video and cry for like 7 mins. fr. it's like that time Mr. Rogers jumped on stage because he saw the little kid from waay back and forgot about the cameras...
This started years ago when one of my friends asked "what show do you watch even though you hate it?"
My answer was that boy meets world was not funny and it made me sad.. i even felt bad for the bad guys. everybody just seems.. trapped.
it's like the characters know that they are characters and have only limited agency. like Eric was CHOSEN to be the fool. Even if he rap is ass off, blast off, and had outstanding qualities, he can never have.. it. Whatever it is. Money, success, family, friends,.. hope.
so you act out, or act in, only showing your potential when you forget that you're predestined to fail, only for the failure to remind you, with the familiar look of disgust, dissapointment, and disproval, that your lot in life has been chose.
The "happy" ending, is knowing that just one, anyone, remembers you with kindness, and fondness. To be seen for what you could be, or should be, if we weren't trapped in the characters that were forced to play. "All the world's a stage, where's the trap door, slackjaw"-MF DOOM (paraphrasing Willie Shakespeare)
I can only speak for myself but I'm all for you making this a Boy Meets World Channel! 😂
I thought the change was originally made to emulate other sitcoms, like Family Matters, which became known for their comedic relief character, Steve Urkel.
Also... no one can mention Boy Meets World without me remembering my first television crush as a child... Danielle Fishel. I mostly watched the show to yell at Cory Matthews and all the stupid mistakes he kept making concerning his relationship with Topanga.
You and millions of other boys, brotha! We all had a crush on Opanga Tay! And we all yelled at Cory for being stupid about their relationship. Lol
Watching this show as a kid really scared me about college. I'm from canada and there's not as great a push for kids to go to college. No SATs no sororities or fraternities so seeing that anxieties of american kids in school was really eye opening to me. I really feel for the young people trying to discover themselves.
I'm so glad you mentioned the GMW episode where he reconnects with Tommy -- I cried so much during that episode, and again just now watching the clip (thanks a lot! 😉)
Jason was doing Step by Step and Boy Meets World at the same time, my guess is Step by Step was willing to pay him more and give him more screen time.
I think that dude was on Full House as well. He was busy.
@@notursavior1861 he was. He played DJs rich boyfriend, uhhh, Nelson?
Fuck me, you just showed me clips from a show I have never seen before but you explaining the emotional context behind them made me cry. I have a shitty relationship with my dad and Idk why but after having a shitty weekend going home and meeting him once you were the one who really brought me over the edge to cry about it. Thank you so much it was cathartic.
Ok I wrote that when I paused your video. And then right after the witch part came in. It made me laugh so also thank you because of this.
Wow that’s sucks! So sorry you don’t have have good relationship with your father. I pray you can forgive him and move forward! Free yourself!!
@@journeytrials thanks a lot. I'm doing my best one step at a time but every now and then there's a setback.
go Utube : are you a good person by living waters
All seasons are on Disney+ and I believe Hulu there is also podmeetswould podcast
I was older than the main characters of BMW and I thought Eric was the BEST. Idk what it was about him, but he was so cute.
Shawn and Eric’s arcs are for me the deepest and saddest
(But they’re also the comedic reliefs)
What an insightful analysis into one of my favorite characters from one of my all time favorite shows as a child. I couldn't agree more, Eric's family really just pushed him into the background while putting all their energy into Cory and Topanga. Two thumbs up👍👍
Eric is my all-time favorite 90s character. I often considered him to be "playing Hamlet," as I call it. The scenes like the art museum and such show that the goofball was a facade that hid the pain. Like Hamlet, he too ended up shifting from feigning insanity to genuine insanity by the end of his story arc.
ooo I love a good Shakespeare comparison. And the fact he played Hamlet in the show, pretty great too. I'm pretty sure it was also depression that eventually made Hamlet mad, losing his father, his love, his friends. and cousin, and likely his Kingdom. He lost everything. And Eric lost a lot too - his belief in himself, romances, his best friend in HS. I think both of their madness ultimately came from grief, never fulling recovering from their loss because they never got the help they needed.
Man I forgot about how much I loved this show. I was super annoyed* that he regressed after Tommy, I was really rooting for him by that point. It made the last season something I didn’t watch as much.
*I wasn’t thinking about it from a story perspective, but a writing choice. I was big on writing at that point in my childhood
The thumbnail made me think it was about a werewolf. Turns out I was very wrong
You absolutely knocked it out of the park with this video!!! Such a great breakdown of a childhood classic!
Thank you for this video. I was specifically searching CZcams for Eric’s arc because I always thought it was weird how he spiraled. He’s always been my favorite because he’s funny and I can relate to him.
The Tommy story is very emotional for me for some reason. It shows how great of a person and character Eric is.
I have a lot of hate for Girl Meets World but when Tommy showed up... 😭😭😭
The character of Eric feels like about how we would’ve approached mental health challenges in the 90s. No diagnostic language or buzz words, just a family trying there best to love someone who was challenging an different through their joys and mistakes.
Let's not glamourise poor mental health awareness and the stigma prevalent in the 90s.
@@gmc5618 yeah no one is doing that. But ok. Based on the video and my memory it does seem like that’s what they were trying to do. It was a different time. But o really think you are misusing the dictionary definition of stigma.
@@gmc5618 also you make an assumption that all mental health awareness is linear over time and gets better. There’s always progress and regress. For example it’s wonderful that sexuality made its way out of the Dsm and we no longer call it substance abuse which implies drug use is a moral failure. But there’s plenty of things that were positive about the past for example as I point out modern american culture tends to rely on diagnosis to explain everything and in other cultures that doesn’t happen and there’s actually less stigma and more room for difference.
Were we watching the same show? It's an incredibly toxic family.
Not “would’ve approached mental health challenges in the ‘90s”,but DID. I was a teen in the ‘90s and that’s how it was. Glad now at 40 I have correct diagnoses and am not written off as ‘difficult’ or ‘weird’ or ‘crazy.’
Just stumbled onto your content. This was such a great breakdown of one of my favorite characters. As a kid I remember seeing these drastic changes in him and never understood why. Thanks for bringing a lot of clarity!
Damn bro just shattered my favorite character as a kid this is some heart breaking shit man damn it I didn’t need to see all this before I sleep now I gotta go watch bs to not think about Eric life after the show ended
"reactivated my world of warcraft account" you can't just put this evil in my head right at the end of a great video.
Yeah, that usually is a bad idea in and of itself.
It’s typically known as Flanderization, I think it’s a term that came from the Simpsons originally about Flanders character where he became more and more Flanders like. Eventually it happened to all the characters and seems to be inevitable to a certain extent as a symptom for when a show is going on too long and the creative well has run dry.
That ending... THE FEELS!!! * Clutches heart *
As someone who didnt watch Girl Meets World, that Tommy bit at the end really tugged at my heart strings 🥹
Highly encourage people to listen to Pod Meets World. Will, himself, essentially agrees with your take on his character early years.
I love this podcast! It’s really interesting hearing what went on behind the scenes and even what goes on in the industry.
Wow, this was incredible! I always disliked that they made Eric into a total clown (and to me the Season 7 antics never really landed because they were SO over the top). But this reading of it really make me see it in a new light.
Definitely vote YES to more Boy Meets World videos :)
Jokes aside, I'm glad you took a serious look at the character. Boy Meets World in general is actually a pretty deep show, they dealt with some heavy stuff. I cried when he closed the door, man, that look in his eyes tore me up when I first saw it.
Eric was my favorite character (other than Topanga obviously)...he was always the character to give me a good laugh every episode and I always envied his awesome hair.
That scene where he meets Tommy again after all those years seriously hit me in the feels.
Will Freidle had an amazing Are You Afraid of the Dark episode. He outshone every other actor on that show.
Also enjoyed when he joined a miniature painting tutorial series on CZcams.
This pertains to my interests, looking the tutorials up now... Oh, hot damn, it's on Critical Role?
@@jasonrhome710 I think that sounds right!
Eric carried the show in the later years with his comedy when they tried to make everyone else to serious (and lame) He was hysterical.
He certainly did...I never missed a episode
I used to be a Nickelodeon child, so this whole arc reminds me of how the character of Spencer Shay was treated on iCarly. Also both of them are very neurodivergent-coded (I see my own ADHD & my autistic friends in their character traits)
I have never seen an episode of Boy Meets World, why did the end of this video put tears in my eyes?
I have no intention of watching the show and didn't grow up with it, but I appreciate the in-depth character analysis you shared. It's a good arc from what you show here