TGI – Episode 609 “Poetic License: An Ode to Holden Caulfield” - Pod Meets World

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:19):
One of my favorite things is, you know, we have
our group chat, our text thread among us, but then
there's also well, but then there's also individual threads that
we have going. Uh will you and I are actually like,
we actually text one another because we both have iPhones,

(00:41):
so that's easy, right, exactly, whereas Danielle and I have
our own separate thread signal threat, yeah, signal thread.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Yeah, Danielle and I have one of those as well.

Speaker 1 (00:49):
Oh you do.

Speaker 2 (00:51):
I do. Of course.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
One of my favorite things, and it happened again this weekend,
is that Danielle and I send each other pole that
we find because she's one of the few friends of
mine who reads poetry, which I guess goes back to
David Holmes David comes.

Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:10):
We read a lot of the same poems with him
when we were separately, actually because you were younger, and anyway,
I think it kind of goes back to that, and
and I just love that we like, I'll send her
a good poem that I like, and then we'll send
some messages back and forth about it. But I thought
I would share because you know, there's it's hard to

(01:31):
find good poetry. It's hard to like know where to
encounter it. I mean, I tend to like get really
into one poet and try and buy all of their
stuff and read it, and then I just keep the
books and then hopefully they maybe like make reference to
other poems or other poets, and I go, you know,
kind of just keep going down these rabbit holes. But
I also and most of the poems that I end

(01:52):
up sending to Danielle I find because I've signed up
for multiple poem a day services, and so I just like,
I highly recommend for anybody who's interested in poetry. It's
a great way to just get a poem every day
in your inbox, read it in your you know, and
if you like them, then you can go buy their book,
which is what I do like. And I would say,

(02:12):
like every I don't know, it takes, you know, most
of the time I don't even like the poem ilse read.
But every once in a while a gem comes through
and it's usually a poet I've never heard of, and
then I go buy their book and I get this
whole new like part of my reading life. So there's two.
There's a Poetry Foundation dot org. You can sign up

(02:34):
for a poem a day there and then poets dot org,
which is the Academy of American Poets. Both of those
poets dot org and Poetry Foundation dot org offer poem
a day. I highly recommend that if anybody has any
interest in poems, just sign up and like it is,
it has been the gift that just keeps giving.

Speaker 4 (02:52):
It's free.

Speaker 1 (02:53):
And then I discover all these poets and you know,
people don't really make money as poets, so I feel
good because I'm like, hey, if somebody's dedicated their life
to a form of literature that is essentially dying or
it's like so niche that there's only so many of
us out there who really read poetry, you know, I'm
supporting that art and keeping it alive because it's it's valuable,

(03:14):
and it keeps changing, it keeps growing, and like I said,
there's gonna be tons of poems that you're gonna get
in your inbox and just be like, well, this is junk,
and that's fine. You know, it's not for everybody. There's
so many different types of like I don't even know
what is a good poem anymore, and I'm sure we're
going to get into that a lot today with this episode.
But like I just like that there's so many different
voices out there, and invariably there is a poet out

(03:38):
there who's writing something that's going to grab you, and
you just have to be exposed to it. And this
is an easy way to just keep them coming and
find something that you really like.

Speaker 4 (03:48):
Similarly to books and movies for me, or even TV shows.
I know that I like a poet or a poem
when I think about it ever again after I've read it, right,
you know, But if I if I open up my
email and there's a poem in there, and I read it,
and I go all right, and then I never think
about it again, I probably didn't really like that one.

(04:11):
But a lot of poems you read and then there's
maybe even just one small sentence or the way something
is phrased that you'll just keep going back to and
keep thinking about. And then I know, lovers, for everybody,
it's like I'm sorry, what, well, there's.

Speaker 2 (04:30):
People in your past you never think about again. But
then it's like that, but that one person smelled really good,
Like there's one thing about about.

Speaker 4 (04:39):
I still thinking about Will, who.

Speaker 2 (04:42):
My wife has been my only lover from my entire life.

Speaker 4 (04:45):
That's where where I thought.

Speaker 1 (04:46):
This was going on.

Speaker 5 (04:48):
I'm just trying to join the conversation because I hate poetry.
I noticed I was writing down those those website.

Speaker 4 (04:57):
Yeah, well, pope poets dot org doesn't need to be
written down, already forgotten, already forgotten.

Speaker 2 (05:03):
Yeah for me?

Speaker 4 (05:04):
Oh will I do think? I think? Why?

Speaker 1 (05:07):
What is it?

Speaker 4 (05:08):
Because I listen? I don't want to. I do not.

Speaker 2 (05:10):
I find it really pretentious.

Speaker 4 (05:12):
I'm the first person to say I do not want
to sit down and read something that makes me feel
real dumb. I don't want to sit down and go
what what?

Speaker 3 (05:21):
Hold on?

Speaker 4 (05:21):
I gotta go back. I'm only on sentence too, and
I'm already trying to figure out where we are. But
that is not all of poetry.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
It just isn't like epic poetry.

Speaker 5 (05:31):
I mean, the Odyssey is my favorite story of all time,
so that's technically epic poetry.

Speaker 2 (05:36):
But it's not.

Speaker 5 (05:37):
To me.

Speaker 2 (05:38):
Poetry is.

Speaker 5 (05:39):
I can say it in five words, but I'm gonna
use fifty.

Speaker 2 (05:43):
That's what poetry is.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
So much of poetry is the exact opposite. Actually, we're
talking about some books on a subject, and then you
just have one sentence that a poet is able to
distill it down and in five words you're like, oh
my god, that says more than all of Buddhist literature
or whatever. You know, I was, I finally got the
thing in that one sentence, So yeah, I know.

Speaker 3 (06:04):
Man, this is a problem like of.

Speaker 1 (06:07):
The way poetry is taught really, you know, like we
learn poetry usually in school, and it's usually with a
teacher teaching like saying like.

Speaker 3 (06:17):
What is this poem actually about?

Speaker 1 (06:18):
And it's usually older, difficult poetry with vocabulary that you
either that we don't use as a culture anymore because
it's like Shakespearean or you know, it's literally hundreds of
years old, or it's just very specific, tough vocabulary. And
then it's like gives you this approach to poetry where
it's like a riddle you have to solve and there's
a right and there's a wrong reading of it, and

(06:40):
that is horrible. That is like the worst way to
approach poetry is whatever we want it to be. It's
just taking language outside of our normal usage and saying,
let's bend the rules a little bit, let's push things
a little bit.

Speaker 3 (06:52):
And so many people have.

Speaker 1 (06:54):
Different versions of that, right, There's there's people that write
the epic, like I'm going to tell the story of
a great war through poetry. And then there's people that
are like, I just want to talk about the way
I feel about this one moment in my life through poetry.
Or then there's people that you know, wrestle with giant
concepts that are very abstract. Then there's people that are
just interested in the language and the way it sounds,

(07:16):
and they actually kind of are nonsensical.

Speaker 3 (07:18):
So there's so many different ways.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
So like, yeah, I just think that like when you
say you don't like poetry, like I think that mostly
you just haven't found the one or the type of
poetry that you like. And there's probably there's probably something
out there that would be like oh, you would want
to carry that palm around in your back pocket and
like happen, and you have to care.

Speaker 4 (07:38):
Enough to want to find it. For example, my mom
will not eat anything that comes from the sea. She
just will not Guess what, there may be a fish
out there my mom would think is the best tasting
fish in the world, But guess what, she doesn't care
enough to go find it. She's not willing, she doesn't
want to, So for will doesn't care doesn't want to.
I don't like it. I'm not going to read the poetry.

Speaker 5 (07:58):
I understand the hypocrisy of the Hey there's I don't
like when you can use five words and use fifty
by someone who reads books that are twenty pages. I
just completely get that. I also one of those people.
I don't believe in symbolism. I don't believe any writer
uses it on purpose. I think it's people after the fact.
I think Robert Frost was tired, he was deep in
the woods, and he wanted to go to sleep.

Speaker 2 (08:18):
That's what. So to me, it's like I don't which is.

Speaker 1 (08:20):
Totally and Frost is way overrated in my opinion. You're like,
there's so many different takes, you know, Like, I don't know.
I just I hate like hearing like I don't like
poetry is sort of to me, like I don't like music.
It's like, well, okay, I guess there are people who
just don't like music. Saying I don't like classical music,
but no, you're talking about classical poetry, then no, but.

Speaker 5 (08:41):
You're also talking about a specific type of literature. It
would be saying I don't like music is like saying
I don't like reading, which are two different things. I
like certain types of music, and I don't like other
types of music. I like certain types of reading, and
I don't like other types of reading. So I don't
like poetry, but I love you know, fantasy, So it's
that to me, is like saying I don't like hip hop,
which I do, but I do like, you know, in

(09:01):
rock and roll. So to me, it's just a different
type of literature and it's just not my thing.

Speaker 2 (09:08):
I don't know. Maybe you're right.

Speaker 5 (09:09):
I remember you at one point with that, when we're
talking about the basics, you had a poem that you
wanted me to read that was like your favorite poem
of all time, and it was two or three lines.

Speaker 2 (09:17):
It was called the Little Red Wagon.

Speaker 1 (09:19):
Oh William Carlos Williams, the Red wheelbarrow.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
Okay, that's what it was.

Speaker 5 (09:24):
And you're like it is the most basic, and I
was like, yeah, dude talking about his wagon for three lines.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
I don't know shit.

Speaker 4 (09:30):
But have you read Giraffes Can't Dance? No, okay, I'm
just wondering.

Speaker 2 (09:36):
I've read Jurassic Park and that could happen.

Speaker 4 (09:40):
Welcome to vond Meats World.

Speaker 2 (09:41):
I'm Daniel fishl I'm rather strong, and I'm Wilfredell.

Speaker 4 (09:56):
Welcome to today's episode recap. We are at seasons episode nine,
Poetic License, an ode to Holden Cawfield. It originally aired
November twentieth, nineteen ninety eight. The synopsis when mister Feene
reads a student's poem in class, it triggers a series
of events, bringing Sean and Angela's relationship back in the spotlight.

(10:18):
It was directed by William Russ. This is his third
now right, Yeah, but.

Speaker 2 (10:23):
He was I think became kind of one of our
regular ones.

Speaker 3 (10:26):
How many you do?

Speaker 2 (10:27):
Five? Six, seven? He kept coming back, right, I don't.

Speaker 4 (10:30):
Know I was. I'm surprised. This is his third. I
know where I was third.

Speaker 2 (10:34):
I didn't remember this one.

Speaker 4 (10:35):
It was written by Erica Montalfo. That's the first time
we've seen her name on a script thus far. We're
looking forward to having her on as a guest in
the future. Before I jump into our guest stars, do
you want to talk about your overall thoughts and feelings?

Speaker 3 (10:51):
Will loves this episode? I'm sure no.

Speaker 5 (10:54):
I don't know how I feel about this episode. If
I'm totally honest.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
I liked the story.

Speaker 5 (11:02):
I was hoping the A story was gonna go somewhere else,
and I thought at one point it was and then didn't,
and I was like, oh, the acting all good.

Speaker 2 (11:14):
I thought everybody was good.

Speaker 5 (11:16):
Again, I'm getting more used to this being Sean now
it's just a completely different, different character all the way around.
So when I get into my head, I then once
again tell myself there's a bunch of different boy Met worlds,
and in this version of boy Me world, this is
Sean who apparently has always been writing down his thoughts
and feelings and we just never knew that.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
But I don't. I know this sounds dumb, but I
finished it last night.

Speaker 5 (11:40):
I then watched it again, which I very rarely do,
and then I kind of said to myself, maybe listening
to the two of you talk about it will help
me more with how I feel about it.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Again, b story very basic, but I thought was good.

Speaker 5 (11:54):
Yeah, the A story, I didn't quite know where they
were going, what they were planning, and then I thought
they were going one way and didn't. And for the
first time, especially in the very first scene, I thought
Ben was really pushing it comedically.

Speaker 4 (12:10):
But the anger but also just.

Speaker 5 (12:12):
Like it was very caricatury, like now he's putting on
a voice now, and so yeah, I don't know how
I felt, is my answer.

Speaker 4 (12:21):
Okay, writer, I.

Speaker 1 (12:22):
Have so many thoughts. I mean, like, you know, I feel, Yeah,
there's there's so many layers to this episode for me,
Like there's all.

Speaker 3 (12:30):
The personal stuff.

Speaker 1 (12:31):
There's my own writing in the episode with the poems,
there's the memories of that experience, both good and bad.
And then there was hearing my poetry for the first time,
which I hadn't thought about or read in a long time,
and that was you know. But but yeah, in terms
of like as an episode of Boy Meets World, so
because I feel like we're going to get into so
many things and I don't want to co opt the

(12:51):
whole conversation today, but I I yeah, I think the
biggest thing is just the Sean question, right, like who
is sewn on? And I think this episode does a
good job of finally bringing some of the things that
we've been wondering about to the to the forefront, but
then not bringing it to the forefront.

Speaker 2 (13:14):
About the same thing.

Speaker 1 (13:15):
Yeah, it's it's I would say that this is the
the the angst era of Sean, right, and that is
just not good.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
It's not great.

Speaker 1 (13:25):
It's it's it's unmotivated, emotional misery and unmotivated. Like I
I don't mind the story. I just really wish that
there was any reason that we understood what why Sean
is so troubled? Why what Sean's going through? And you know,
we can make assumptions about that, right, we can say like, oh,

(13:46):
it's the way he grew up, it's his family, it's
money problems, but he never says any of that or.

Speaker 4 (13:51):
Nobody suggests it amongst themselves, Like you know, he didn't
have the best view. His parents didn't model the best
the healthiest relationship of love, like for it's to just
be acknowledged.

Speaker 1 (14:02):
Yeah, it's so, it's it's like essentially Sean has become
Ethan Hawk in reality Bites, which is like just the
worst type of character. It's like it was it was
sort of an archetype at the time, the like slacker,
genius artist who is just can't deal with the real

(14:22):
world jobs and relationships and just it's it's hard. I'm
not going to sell out, I'm not gonna but you
look back on the character and you're like, but that's
just a pretentious douche Like that's just somebody who who's
who's using this as like a shield to like cover
up the fact that they might not be able to
just do things that they need to do, like talk
to other people, don't have a girlfriend, yeah, right, like and.

Speaker 5 (14:47):
Beneath them like you just don't get the world the
way I get the work exactly.

Speaker 1 (14:51):
And it's like that is that is I'm you know,
I'm sure I was like that to a certain degree,
but that's not like great to celebrate. And I feel
like Boy Meets World is celebrating that aspect of Sean
and that version of Sean and really centering it as
if it's like this important thing that all these other characters,
Angela in particular, but Corey and everybody have to like
sort of contend with. And And I just wish he

(15:14):
said at any point, like part of the reason I
can't talk about my feelings or share my poetry or
express any of this is because X whatever that is.
I'm still messed up about my mom. I still have,
you know, like I would love it if it's just
like I'm afraid I'm gonna get kicked out of college.
I can't be a poet, right, I'm not gonna be
a poet. What are you talking about, Foenie? Like I'm

(15:34):
gonna I need a job, like I need to make money,
Like I wish it was something real that was forcing
Sean to avoid these feelings or avoid these artistic impulses
or expressions or or like or I'm just scared to
be in a relationship too early because now I'm any
of it, any any expression of like some specific this

(15:55):
is probably motivating my inability to be the guy that
everybody wants me to be, and instead it's just this
like blank angst and and I think that's just gonna
stay that way for the rest of Boy Meets World.
And that's a that's really not cool, Like that does that?
That just bums me out because I'm like, right, I
remember playing that. I remember being in scenes like where

(16:15):
I'm with Corey, like in this scene where I'm like.

Speaker 3 (16:17):
You crossed the line.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
You can't do this, and it's like, oh, okay, but
what else do you do you have to offer? Like
what what is the defense? What are you what are
what are you going through? What can you share? And
it's like I can can't, I can't go there. I'm
not ready. I'm not, and it's just gonna stay in
that like ready, there's something big and deep and it's
important and I'll get to it later in life when
I'm old.

Speaker 4 (16:37):
It's like thank you, I mean.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
Right, And that's I just think it's really unhealthy. It's
an unhealthy thing to model. It's an unhealthy thing for
a show to celebrate, because that kind of it is
just very indulgent and and uh yeah, it's I.

Speaker 5 (16:50):
Also think they've been They did a big disservice to
the character where one of the things that was kind
of defining about him was that he was poor.

Speaker 2 (16:58):
And now it's one of the he's just an other student.

Speaker 5 (17:00):
He's never talked about the economic difficulties of joining with
his friends of hey man, I can't go out every
night and hang out with you guys. I don't have
the money. I've used books. All that was just blown blown.

Speaker 1 (17:13):
By how that would be such a strong motivation for
you to do a lot of the things that he
feels right.

Speaker 2 (17:18):
And I like that.

Speaker 4 (17:19):
One more than some of the other stuff you had suggested, writer,
just because I can totally see how Sean may not
be self aware enough to know that a lot of
what he's dealing with is because of a difficult or
a troubled relationship with a mom or a dad or
a he may not be able to make that connection.
But the idea that Sean is quote unquote different from

(17:42):
the rest of us is something that was a regular
point of a subject, like a topic of conversation in
multiple episodes at the beginning of the show, and now
we've just let it go. And yet it could be
a really great thing to acknowledge, like, guys, you know,
you guys get to hang out here every night. I

(18:02):
have to go to work. You guys get to you know,
your your parents help you pay for books. I don't.
I don't even know where my dad is. And even
if it were something like Angela deserves the world and
I can't, I can't. I know, she says she just wants.
She's fine with, you know, burgers and fries, but I wanted.
I want to be able to do more and I can't.
And maybe she deserves better something just to have that.

(18:26):
So yeah, I one thing I did really like about
the episode. I am thoroughly enjoying that. After we had
the Cory Angela episode about them not being friends that
now they get to interact more and we get to
see more of their friendship and their interactions, And we

(18:47):
got to see the same thing with Tapanga and Sean.
I thought that was a real high point of the
a storyline for me was seeing us in different pairings
as real friends. So I also enjoyed that.

Speaker 5 (19:02):
I don't normally notice this, nor do I speak about it,
but it was so staggering to me.

Speaker 2 (19:08):
In this episode, Trina is stunningly gorgeous.

Speaker 4 (19:11):
Oh my gosh, I know, I mean just noticed how
beautiful sit.

Speaker 2 (19:16):
No, I always knew she.

Speaker 5 (19:17):
Was pretty, but it was like, especially the scene in
it where she's sitting in the dorm room and Corey
comes to talk.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Without She's distractingly beautiful in that scene.

Speaker 3 (19:26):
I know.

Speaker 5 (19:27):
I was just sitting there watching her like she's oh
my god, she's a ten.

Speaker 2 (19:30):
She's stunning. Yeah, yes, amazing. Yep.

Speaker 4 (19:33):
So jumping into our guest stars, we have Alexandra Addie
or a d Adi as Audrey the Troll. She also
appeared on thirteen episodes of Step by Step as Samantha
Milano and in the movies Eddie, American Pie, and Copland.
Her last known credit was in twenty twelve. And then
we have Sebastian Tillinger as Dick. He was already a

(19:55):
pretty seasoned TV actor by the time he got to us,
appearing on Hangtime, Grace, Under Fo, Step by Step, Weird Science,
and four episodes of Smart Guy. He'd later appear in
The Aviator, Eagle Eye, The Wolf of Wall Street, and
Boardwalk Empire. He is still acting, he is writing and
making art, which you can see on his Instagram at

(20:16):
Sebastian Tillinger T I L L I N G E R.
And then we have Bo Sharon as student, who I
believe is the kid talking behind the books in Yes.

Speaker 1 (20:30):
It's very, very strange. By the way, I didn't know
what was going on.

Speaker 4 (20:37):
I was very confused. I kept waiting for it to
tie in somehow. It never it never did, but it was.
It is very funny in just its insane, the randomness.
So Bo Sharon was on five episodes of the cult
classic Get a Life, as well as a slew of
well known TV shows. Murder, she wrote Beverly Hills nine

(20:59):
O two one, Oh, Murphy Brown, and Moesha Boy Meet's
World was his last acting credit. He would later become
a chef and then open Lucky's Markets, a niche grocery
chain that bills itself as organic for the ninety nine percent,
with investments from Kroger at one point, and eventually they
had seventeen stores. It's still down to now just two

(21:20):
locations in Colorado. But yes, that is our bea Sharon
from behind the box. Oh cool, yeah, right, cool wife.
All right. Jumping into our recap, we are in Phoenie's classroom.

(21:42):
Phoene is discussing a new poem with his college students
that he finds to be quite special. The piece is
entitled an Unpublished Manuscript for JD. Salinger? Was this the
names of your poems? Writer? Or did you they change
the names?

Speaker 3 (21:57):
No?

Speaker 1 (21:57):
So this one I hit herited the name because this
was the name. So yeah. So what happened is the
script as was delivered on day one, had poems that
Erica I'm assuming or the team somewhere on the team
had written. And so the first one was called an
unpublished Manuscript to J. D. Salinger. And since it was
the name of the episode, when I ended up writing

(22:19):
the poems, I had to keep that one, and so
it had to be that. And then the second one,
I was just had to be a love poem to
you know, Angela. So I was like, you wrote.

Speaker 2 (22:32):
These for the episode.

Speaker 5 (22:33):
It wasn't like they had the episode came out and
you had already written these poems. So these were poems
that you'd written before that you put in You wrote
them specifically for the.

Speaker 1 (22:41):
Episode, correct, Yeah, And that's yeah. And that whole process
was a long story which you can get into. And
I think that, you know, a big problem for me
of this episode is a problem how incongruous my actual
poetry is to the story functions of the poems. And

(23:02):
you know, it's kind of a long digression, but I
kind of have to go into it, like just the
idea that basically, I feel like what they were, what
they wanted Sean to be as a poet is like
this very expressive, emotional, confessional art. Yeah. Wellich is a
confessional mode of poetry, which is what I at like

(23:23):
when I was fifteen or sixteen or seventeen, even that's
what I was writing, you know, it was like very
like and that's the reason that they made Sean a
poet is because I was doing readings and publishing stuff
and like and for my graduation from high school. As
like a final project, I had put together a book
of all of my poems and you know, sort of

(23:45):
just put it out in the world and you know,
gave it to friends and family or whatnot. And I
don't know if our writing stuff had read that or
just knew about I think they just kind of knew
about it. And of course Michael was such a huge
fan of poetry, and I'm remember we did talk a little.

Speaker 3 (24:01):
Bit about poetry. But so I think that.

Speaker 1 (24:03):
That when I was an early poet, I was in
that very much in the beat generation. Uh, you know,
like you read it, you just you're just pouring your
heart out in a poem first draft, first thought, very
expressive stuff, you know, like I was reading Walt Whitman,
Alan Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Bukowski. I had been given up

(24:25):
Bukowski my first Bokowski book from Ethan Supple, And so
I think that they needed Sean to be that kind
of poet. But then at the time that this episode
came around, I was writing very different poetry. I at
that I was in college and I was really falling
hard for Wallace Stevens, T S. Eliott, William Carlos Williams,

(24:47):
Gertrude Stein, even like Baudelaire French poet, and within like
the Beat generation, which had kind of launched me on
this path, I was more into Gary Snyder, who is like, uh,
more like a contemplative nature poet that really just goes
for like metaphysics and Buddhism, and so so I was

(25:08):
writing poetry that was like more idea driven and more conceptual,
like all these big big ideas started kind of wrestling
on the page and like these small narrative personal moments,
and then I was I was reading all this postmodern
philosophy and literary theory like Dary daw and Fuco and
and so what what I ended up writing for these

(25:28):
poems is like really mismatch to what they have to
function in the story, you know. And like, weirdly, there's
kind of a John Dunn vibe to these poems. Do
you remember John Dunn ideal that was like one, Yeah,
so there's something a little like old fashiony and rimy,
and like I don't know, like it's just very vocabulary focused.

(25:49):
They kind of might need to be read more than
once to kind of like get and that's just wrong,
Like that was just wrong, and it's it's just interesting
like to look back and be like, right, they kind
of caught me at the moment. Even though I wanted
to write the poems once the episode was a thing,
I wrote the wrong poems, you know. And I'm not
saying that they're they're bad. I'm actually very proud of them.

(26:10):
Like listening to him was like, oh, yeah, there's still
a lot there, but but yeah.

Speaker 4 (26:15):
Like the episode, you wish you had done a different style.

Speaker 1 (26:17):
I think so, yeah, I think I you know, and
and that that became a huge debate, like and that
and I.

Speaker 4 (26:24):
Won that debate, right because they basically Michael told you
flat out he wanted to change it, right, he wanted
to make adjustments, and you did not want that.

Speaker 1 (26:31):
To the second poem. Yeah, he loved the first one.
The first one never changed a word. This was essentially
what I wrote like the night before.

Speaker 4 (26:39):
Well, and it's funny you say that because in the
first scene when we talk about your poem, Tipenga says,
I can't believe somebody our age wrote that, which is
perfect for the type of poetry you're talking about, like maybe, yeah,
you know, vocabulary heavy a little maybe abstract, you have
to think about it, you have to read it more
than once. So in the first scene, this idea of

(27:00):
like this is so deep makes sense more so than
in the second one. They wanted it to be like
I'm madly in love with my ex.

Speaker 1 (27:09):
But no, but even but even in this one, I'm
like in this scene, I say, like, I just write
what I feel sometimes I just got to get it out.
And it's like, really, I don't I don't know if
this poem is that you know, So yeah, and and
like the irony is I didn't even really like Salinger.
I've now I really like Salinger, but at the time
I was kind of anti Catcher. I was so sick

(27:30):
of Catcher and the Rye at this age. So the
fact that I ended up writing a poem like that's
named for JD. Salinger is just hysterical because it's, you know,
it's not about Salinger. I just had to use that title.
But yeah, it's it's just wrong. But anyway, yeah, it was.

Speaker 3 (27:48):
It was a weird week.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
Guys, weird week.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
A lot going on.

Speaker 4 (27:51):
Corey leans over to Sean and whispers, nappy time. Phoene
reads aloud. It is possible to assassinate my heroes with
the scope of my individualism. However, by their own persistence
to themselves, I believe that they have chosen me to
pursue a self. What is literature? But the illumination of
that which I would write? Salinger speaks through me to me,

(28:12):
whispers where to little boy? My answer is the dogged
pen to page, which lights consistently the pathway home. It
is on that road that I alone can trip my
way back to myself. So Tapega is captivated by the words,
and Sean is listening with a hint of nervousness. But
when Phoene finishes, Corey heckles, ah, come on.

Speaker 2 (28:33):
That's my response to every poem.

Speaker 4 (28:39):
Unfazed, Phoene simply asks Corey if he'd like to analyze
the poem. Corey's game, Yeah, I'll take a stab. He
stands up by his desk, summonsing the voice of an
old man yelling at the clouds. You call that poetry,
fee And I'll ride already with this JD. Salinger thing.
I mean, hello, name dropping. And we had just enough

(29:01):
about Catcher in the Rye. I mean, what's he written lately?
He pumps his fist in the air.

Speaker 1 (29:06):
Basically a mirror version of him doing the artwork. When
we had Alexandra, it's.

Speaker 2 (29:17):
Come on, he's becoming caricature a little bit.

Speaker 4 (29:23):
Because we had episode totally unhinged, and when we had
Alexander Nikita on, he was also a little unhinged. When
he was like, what do you mean? They did decide
to really just let him go.

Speaker 5 (29:40):
He was going, and again, I think the more angsty
Sean got, you had to make everyone else around them
a little bit.

Speaker 4 (29:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (29:50):
So, because I'm Creek episode exactly, it wasn't just you
have to yes, you got it. That's where the ballance
came of. I remember by the end and now will dance.
It was like that kind of stuff where it was like,
oh yeah.

Speaker 4 (30:05):
Phoene dismisses the class. They'll pick this up at the
next session. As the students pack up their things, Angela argues, Corey,
you're nuts. That poem was so incredible. It was beautiful.
Tapanga agrees, I can't believe someone our own age wrote
that Phoene approaches enhance the paper to Sean someone like
mister Hunter. Corey's confused, and Sean timidly admits, yeah, I

(30:25):
wrote that poem, Angela dramatically says, I knew it. Corey
changes his tune trying to backtrack to Sean, but nobody's
buying it. I liked it.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
One of the best parts about this this experience for
me was having Bill Daniels read it out loud, well,
come up to me and say, like, please let me
know if I'm doing it correctly, if you have any
notes or he like really wanted to do it.

Speaker 3 (30:52):
Oh, he took it, and Ben did.

Speaker 1 (30:54):
The exact same thing. And you could see it. Ben
did it, you know, because he's as unhinged as he
is when he's doing his own poetry or whatever. When
he reads my poem, you can tell he's like and Ben,
I you know, he was nervous.

Speaker 3 (31:06):
He didn't want to like.

Speaker 1 (31:07):
Mess it up. In a very like loving friendship way,
he was like so respectful. He and Bill both they
were just so respectful of like the fact that I
had written this stuff, and in a way that probably
they wouldn't have ever done to any of our writers,
because you know, they were like, oh, they're the writers,
but because I was one of them, you know, they
were the team. They wanted to know, like, just how

(31:31):
do you want this read? Is there anything I should
know or you know? I remember just being like, no,
like I love what you're Especially with Bill it was
like she's just open your mouth, man, it's great. Yeah,
but yeah, I think you know, with Ben it was
this question of like how how serious does Corey take this?
And you know, and the way Ben plays it was
just so wonderful because you can see his the pretense
drops away as he's reading the poem and he's just

(31:52):
just reading it. It's yeah, it was so so yeah,
it's heartwarming. And to see it back, to watch.

Speaker 4 (31:58):
It back and then to remember how much they cared
and to see it reflected, that's so wonderful. When Phoene
asks Sean if he has any more poems to share,
Sean explains, I wouldn't call them poems. I just write
stuff down. I've been doing it since I can remember.
Angela can't believe.

Speaker 5 (32:14):
What really didn't just find this like a couple of
episodes ago.

Speaker 4 (32:17):
Question, Angela says, I can't believe you. He never told her,
didn't you wasn't there in the purse? Oh no, she
had a journal in right there, sonnets in there. Yeah, yeah, okay,
so yeah, that is that is then a very weird
thing that one of the reasons you fell in love

(32:40):
with her was because she was interested in poetry, and
then in your very really mature, for the most part
relationship you had with her, where you guys supposedly talked
endlessly about all types of things you never shared that
you also write well.

Speaker 1 (32:59):
But this is I mean, this is the problem. I mean,
like Shawn's a photographer, right, like Shawn's I don't. I mean,
it's this this insertion of this thing, and this is
what was happening behind the scenes.

Speaker 3 (33:11):
Just I don't know.

Speaker 1 (33:12):
I feel like this is the culmination of something that
we've been seen from our rewatch from episode one, which
is like how much they were just taking from me
to put into which is usually great because I think
that it shows a flexibility on the writers and Michael
in particular, to build to your actors right, to like

(33:33):
look at it as a give and take, and I
think that I think that that is really important. And
part of the reason why Boymet's World is good is
because they wrote to us and they took care you know,
our strength and in this case, you know, the reason
I ended up writing the poems is because I was upset,
like it seemed really like this, and in retrospect, I

(33:57):
probably was unconsciously aware of how much they had been
taking from my life, and then this one just was
really in your phase. Yeah, it was really blatant because
I was giving poetry readings in LA like some of
the writers would come to my readings and like, I
don't know, like it was so clearly my thing, like
that that I was an actor who was actually becoming

(34:19):
more of a writer than I was an actor, and
I was exploring this part of my life. I was
going to college for literature and philosophy, and so then
when this episode pops up where the character that I'm
playing is completely that and obviously just taking like this
part of me and then using what are the original

(34:40):
poems which I would love to read now. But I
remember at the table read just being like this doesn't.

Speaker 3 (34:46):
Feel good, this feels.

Speaker 1 (34:48):
Bad, and that's all I knew. And I actually talked
to David Combs about it. He was the one who
I sat with him and he because I think he
questioned me. He was like, why are you upset? Because
I was very upset, and he was like.

Speaker 3 (35:01):
What is it?

Speaker 1 (35:03):
And I said, I just feel like they're taking something
from me. You know, I don't feel like this is me.

Speaker 4 (35:08):
They're taking something from you, but don't like you enough
to let you actually create the work.

Speaker 1 (35:14):
I didn't even get there yet. Yeah. I just was like,
I'm upset. I don't like this, and and David said,
go talk to Michael. He encouraged me, said go go
to Michael and tell him that you're upset, like, tell
him that you don't like this. And I did, And
I remember being so nervous and going into Michael's office
which I never did, and sitting there and expressing to

(35:36):
him how it made me feel. And he was like, well,
you know, we don't we didn't, you know, we just
like the idea that poem. You know, I like poetry
and we know that you like poetry. And I was like, yeah,
but I actually do this, like and he's like, well,
then why don't you do it?

Speaker 3 (35:50):
Why don't you write them?

Speaker 1 (35:51):
And I was like, well, is that okay?

Speaker 3 (35:54):
He's like, yeah, why don't you just write them?

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Like if you want to write the if you do this,
let's take it cause and I was like, well, you
know Erica wrote the episode. He's like, ah, whatever, it's all,
you know, the poems themselves can be yours. That would
be great, that would be even better, which in a
weird way is like just taking more, right. Yeah, But
I was like, okay, okay, I think that, let me try. Yeah,

(36:17):
And then I went and I think the next two
days I wrote the poems and that was a whole
process and figuring out how to do him and what
I wanted them to be, and then bringing them to
Michael and presenting them and you had to print them out,
springing him to his office and like hand over the
poems and yeah, the first one he was like, well,

(36:37):
this is great, this is perfect, this is that's going in.
And then the second one he was like, let's try
and make it more, you know, and then we got
into it and then and that took. That was like
a two day process up until the moment we were taping. Yeah,
a lot of back and forth. But we'll get into
it and we get to the next poem. But it
was not fun.

Speaker 4 (36:56):
Sean says he's never told anyone. He does it for
himself to get his feelings out. Phoene is so impressed
he tells Sean that he hosts poetry readings at the
student union on Friday evenings, because of course, of course
he does.

Speaker 1 (37:08):
And also, is this a poetry class?

Speaker 3 (37:10):
Like what class are we in?

Speaker 1 (37:12):
No?

Speaker 5 (37:12):
I'm sort of yeah, And you have to go to
the poetry reading on that Friday night because.

Speaker 2 (37:17):
Thursday scuba diving class still teach school out the scuba class,
so let's.

Speaker 1 (37:24):
All after the skydiving Clubeanie does it all because he's
also teaching your class, right, because he posts the grades for.

Speaker 2 (37:31):
The He's so busy, he's again the only university professor.

Speaker 4 (37:36):
Sean is unsure, but Corey buts in, ooh, that sounds awesome.
Perhaps I can read some of my poems too. Phoene
is shocked. You have poems, Corey coppy Sean, I wouldn't
call them poems. I just sort of write stuff down.
Great love that somewhere between ernest and sarcastic. Phoene says
he can't wait and walks out. Corey hollers after him,

(37:57):
all right, see you Friday night. Corey boasts Sean, my
poems are money because they are so funny. Sean isn't impressed.
He walks out, telling Corey to have fun. Corey quickly
follows him into the hall, Sean, listen, don't just blow
this off. But Sean doesn't want the pressure. Corey insists,
if I don't pressure you, you're gonna flake. Angela decides

(38:18):
to step in. If Sean doesn't want to read his poems,
then I think we should respect that, But Corey disagrees no,
because Sean never wants to do what's best for him
to Pega chimes in. So it's so frustrating, especially because
it's we have no reason to think that Cory suspects

(38:39):
that somewhere in these poems is something about Angela, Like
it would be one thing if if Sean had shared
his poetry with Corey, and Corey was like, he knows
the secret about Angela, that Angela has feelings for him,
and now he knows that Sean still has feelings for Angela,
and so he knows what's best is for you to

(38:59):
talk to each other. And this poet read like.

Speaker 1 (39:03):
This would be good for you because this could be
a career or this any argument about what this.

Speaker 4 (39:08):
Might mean for Sean, he doesn't mention any of it.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
He doesn't mention any of that, and also Shawn never
says why he wouldn't want to do it necessarily. He's
just shy suddenly, like Sean is scary.

Speaker 4 (39:19):
What is scary? So you don't want you don't want
the pressure, which is kind of like I write this,
you do make it very clear I write for me,
not for anyone else. If I know other people are
going to read it, I feel pressure about it. But
you did write something for the class that then you
were fine with Phoenie reading out loud.

Speaker 1 (39:37):
So that's the thing.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
Is that was what I was just going to say.

Speaker 5 (39:39):
If you go back and you watch, they do cut
to Sean when he says I'm going to read this
poem and he says the title, and it's Sean like
like sits up a little like.

Speaker 2 (39:49):
Oh my god, I didn't know you were going to
read this out yet nervous.

Speaker 5 (39:52):
So I think they did have that beat of like
him even being like, oh wait, no, I handed this.

Speaker 2 (39:58):
I wasn't expecting you to read this out loud. To me.
It's just I'm now officially sick of Corey.

Speaker 5 (40:05):
I know what's best for everybody, And it's like it
was another episode of I know what's best for you,
and you're gonna listen to me and I'm gonna do
it very intensely, and it was just like.

Speaker 4 (40:15):
Even against all your wishes, there's not even any sort
of dialogue where it's like, no, I know it's.

Speaker 1 (40:21):
And and Sean calls him out on it, but he doesn't,
but he doesn't explain why. It's it's just a violation
of my angst space. You walked into my ank space
and showed it to the world, and I want it
to be my It's like, why not, Charlotte if you
have worse than that?

Speaker 5 (40:39):
Because as I was watching, I was like, finally, Sean's
gonna be like this, dude.

Speaker 4 (40:43):
You have to listen to me.

Speaker 2 (40:46):
And then it went to do you even know what
that poem's about?

Speaker 4 (40:48):
Who gives it?

Speaker 2 (40:51):
What the is about? It has nothing to do with that.

Speaker 1 (40:53):
It's it's about the violation of the friendship, violation of
this friendship, and then gets resolved at the end of
the episode. It was like, Okay, I'm glad you exposed
my poem, like it's still still a violation.

Speaker 5 (41:08):
Sean was my I thought Sean was going to be
my surrogate and the audience and he was gonna lay
into Corey, what the hell are you thinking?

Speaker 4 (41:16):
You don't respect your friends?

Speaker 2 (41:17):
You just know what it means to be a friend.
How can you do this?

Speaker 3 (41:20):
You're doing?

Speaker 4 (41:21):
Yeah?

Speaker 2 (41:22):
Except but no.

Speaker 5 (41:22):
It was then instantly turned to do you even know
what that poem was about?

Speaker 2 (41:26):
And I was like, who cares? Like, Oh, yeah, that one.
That's where it lost me. That's what I mean. I
don't know what I meant.

Speaker 4 (41:33):
Tavenka chimes in, telling Corey to leave him alone. Corey
tells Sean to at least just go with them. If
he doesn't want to read his poems, that's fine, that
valid point. Hey, Sean, why don't we just go see
what it's about. Let's go sit. No, none of us
will read a poem, or I'll read a poem.

Speaker 5 (41:47):
You can.

Speaker 4 (41:47):
Let's just go see.

Speaker 2 (41:48):
Okay, you apparently like poetry. I just found that out
five minutes ago.

Speaker 4 (41:51):
Let's Sean rolls his eyes but agrees if it'll shut
Corey up, Sean walks away, and Corey proudly walks over
to the girl. He's gonna write a poem in his
dorm and not his houm. His talent, shocks himself. This
is so easy. Then we're at the apartment. Rachel, Jack

(42:14):
and Eric are sitting around the living room, each of
them is focused on their own work, but the concentration
doesn't last. Eric won't stop clicking his pen, Rachel is
hyper focused on Jack's very noisy apple chewing, and Eric
can't focus with Rachel constantly twirling her hair. It's a
round table of annoyance.

Speaker 5 (42:30):
The close rust these guys, everybody's just super so funny.

Speaker 4 (42:35):
Her twirling her hair and glancing side eye and him
either way. He takes enormal like a big normal bite
of the apple, but then takes two additional bites. Is
so insane.

Speaker 1 (42:48):
It was a pretty bad episode for Maitland to get
a haircut though she's like a pretty and it's like
that you're right, oh yeah, it's so much shorter, and
it's like, but this is about her twirling her hair.
Here if they were like, oh god, why that that?
What do we do?

Speaker 4 (43:04):
So funny? Eric can't take it and is the first
to explode enough with the hair. Rachel doesn't get it,
but Eric doubles down. You heard me, Jack pushes back.
She couldn't hear you over that pen. Click click click
click click. Rachel counters, I don't need you to defend me.
Apple boy. Eric mocks his friend crunch, crunch, crunch. Jack

(43:24):
gets back to his argument click click click. Rachel begs
them both to shut up. She knows these finals are
worth ninety percent of their grades, but it doesn't mean
they have to behave like wild animals. But Eric's not
calming down. Talk talk talk, Will you just shut up
and let me study? They all agree in various passive
aggressive tones, but then Jack crunches on his apple one
more time, and Eric snaps, well, that's it. He's going

(43:46):
to the library because they are so uptight he can't
even think, which is already hard for him in the
first place. Very He slams the door behind him, and
Jack lets out a sigh of relief. Finally, now maybe
we can get some studying done. Rachel agrees finally, but then,
to their displeasure, Eric returns and admits, I don't even
know where the library is. Jack and Rachel push him

(44:10):
out of the doorway and they follow close behind, and
then we're in the Penbrook Library. Eric and his roommates
enter the busy new set, with Eric taking an open

(44:31):
seat and Jack and Rachel sitting in an adjacent table.

Speaker 1 (44:34):
Tons of background in this episode Crack.

Speaker 4 (44:38):
We got into season six between the amount of background
actors we have had in the student union and now
in the library, we are shelling out money for background.

Speaker 5 (44:48):
And it's people we hadn't seen before, which I like
that it's a whole new group of people. It's like
in some of the classrooms we're seeing some of the people,
but for the most part.

Speaker 2 (44:56):
Is you get a whole new group at college, which
is nice.

Speaker 4 (44:58):
Eric comfortably sighed. Finally, then every student in the library
shushes him. In unison, Eric sarcastically says sorry. A student
directly across from him points out, you don't sound sorry,
you sound loud. Then everyone shushes her too. Thanks. Now
they hate me too. A hidden man behind a bookshelf
growls shut up. The girl rolls her eyes and yells

(45:20):
shut up back. Then she tells Eric to shut up.
Then she shouts at the entire library shut up, and then
she groans I hate college.

Speaker 1 (45:28):
Yeah, I couldn't. I just couldn't figure out what was
going on. Now, I think this is one of those
scenes that really works as a play. You know, like
when you hear a voice from nowhere yelling, but because
there's so many people, I was like, where's that voice
coming from? And then the close up of the eyes
behind I was like, is that the voice? It was

(45:51):
just kind of like I'm sure and run through this
killed But on camera it was a little like my
head's hurting about what's happening here and trying to figure
out it all makes sense. But like this moment, I
was like, what is going on? What is the scene about?

Speaker 3 (46:04):
Who is talking?

Speaker 1 (46:05):
I don't know what is Yeah.

Speaker 4 (46:07):
A student at another table is breaking down. Pressure. Pressure's
killing me. He jumps out of his chair and screams
in agony. Jack jokingly asks Rachel what's wrong with him?
But that original shut up girl doesn't find it funny.
How would you like to have a book shove down
your throat? Rachel jumps in for her friend, but the
girl isn't backing down. She stands up and asks, you
want a piece of me? Then Rachel stands up, landing

(46:30):
at he was a miss taller than her new enemy.

Speaker 5 (46:33):
This was a misjoke. She should have stood up very slowly. Yeah, so,
I mean she should have just turned.

Speaker 2 (46:38):
And just slowly stood up, and she's eye leveled. Then
she just keeps going for another foot, but.

Speaker 5 (46:43):
She pops right up and it's like Okay, it was funny,
but you cut your laugh like it could have been
a much sharper laugh there if she stood up slow.

Speaker 4 (46:49):
You're right, good take The girl pauses for a moment,
then darts out of the library, with Rachel quickly chasing
after her. The inmates in the audience applaud Meanwhile, the
guy who's screamed into the ether points at Jack. I
don't like your face. Jack stands up to join this
unexplainable royal rumble. Well, I don't like your pants. The

(47:10):
faceless man behind the bookcase shouts again, shut up.

Speaker 2 (47:13):
I have a question.

Speaker 5 (47:14):
I'm sorry, I have a logistic question to see if
you both remember this, how many episodes in of us
shooting a season would we do before the first one
of that season aired.

Speaker 4 (47:29):
Well, we would start in August, usually ly or late July,
and then the first episodes would air in fall, which
I think at the time was September, so maybe four,
four or five if you include the hiatus weeks.

Speaker 5 (47:45):
Because just trying to think it's you know, when people
are coming to watch our show being taped. For the
first few episodes, they still had no idea who Rachel was.

Speaker 4 (47:57):
They would usually play an episode the first the first
season of the first episode of the season for the
audience when they got there. So like say the show
started at five, the audience would have to be there
at four, and then starting at four point thirty, they'd
play the first episode of the season, and then our
show would start at five o'clock, so they would.

Speaker 2 (48:17):
Now, So if the.

Speaker 5 (48:18):
Audience reaction this episode, I thought to myself, like, oh,
it seems like now they actually know who Rachel is.

Speaker 4 (48:23):
Yes, yes, hers, Well, okay, so she is by this point? Yes,
I mean this episode aired November twentieth, and this first
episode of the season aired September twenty fifth, so by
this point it's been on for two months.

Speaker 2 (48:37):
Gotcha.

Speaker 4 (48:38):
The faceless man behind the bookcase shouts again shut up,
but the two men continue to argue, which causes the
rest of the students around them to start bickering. Soon enough,
the entire library is arguing, and Eric shouts to get
their attention. Hey, hey, hey, hey, what is happening here?
Rachel walks back in now with the mean girl slung
across her shoulder, I'm about to beat the crap out

(48:59):
of this troll. Eric returns to peacemaking look what we're
doing to ourselves. These finals are turning us into monsters.
The students hidden behind the bookcase asks, then what do
we do? Eric praises his question and then declares, I'd
like everyone to take off their left shoe and make
a pile in the middle of the room. All the
students oblige. Eric asks, what are you thinking about right now?

(49:20):
The bookcase guy replies, my foot's cold. Eric nods, exactly,
you're not thinking about the you know what. He's not
even gonna say finals. He continues, The only way we
can do well on the you know what is if
we're relaxed. He puts his arm around a random student
and ruffles his hair, and who knows, maybe we can
have a little fun. That's what he calls the Eric

(49:43):
Matthews fool proof study system. He turns to the kid
he's now embracing. Hello, I'm Eric Matthews. Was this like
a catchphrase attempt? I'm Eric Matthews.

Speaker 1 (50:00):
Wait? Did you do it when you were the lawyer
in the last episode? So no, I you were somebody else?

Speaker 2 (50:06):
Oh I forget, but yest.

Speaker 4 (50:08):
This is yeah, this isn't the first time, and I
don't remember when the other time was also I love
that this kid that you put your arm around like
cuddles up into you with a smile. He's like, ah,
this this feels nice.

Speaker 2 (50:23):
Is great.

Speaker 4 (50:24):
So Eric's plan is in motion. He tells Rachel to
shake hands with the troll and for everyone to grab
a shoe from the middle of the room. They will
find the owner of that shoe and in turn take
them to the movies. The group agrees, and Jack picks
up a brown butt.

Speaker 3 (50:38):
But somewhere between a boot and the.

Speaker 4 (50:45):
Jack picks up a brown boot, his face sours. Ew.
There's gum all over this one. The screaming guy who
previously argued with him asks do you like popcorn? Jack responds,
do I? The guy threatens crunch during the movie, and
I'll push your nose into your brain.

Speaker 1 (51:02):
Okay.

Speaker 4 (51:05):
Then we are at the poetry night. We hear the
sound of bongos. A boy with a ponytail is setting
the mood for the next performer. It's Corey. He silences
the drums and takes a long pause. All day long,
I think of you, how do you do the things
you do to Pango watches him with amusement, and Corey continues,

(51:27):
I love you girl, with all my heart because you're
pretty and you're smart. Tapanga puts her hand up over
her heart and then the bongos play a quick beat.
Corey raises his arms to the air to Panga.

Speaker 1 (51:43):
It's this is yeah, and you know that. Ben loved this.

Speaker 4 (51:49):
Episode, just loved it so much fun.

Speaker 1 (51:55):
Anytime it would be a bad performer, huh.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
It was just so much.

Speaker 5 (51:59):
Fun, so so good, whether it's bad acting, bad poetry.

Speaker 4 (52:06):
Favorite thing, it's my favorite thing. Also so as the character.
He's so committed that he's good.

Speaker 2 (52:19):
That's the thing. He's committed, but also convinced he's a genius.

Speaker 1 (52:22):
Exactly.

Speaker 2 (52:23):
That's exactly a great combination.

Speaker 4 (52:26):
The students give him a half hearted applause, and he's
disappointed with the feedback to Root Room.

Speaker 1 (52:36):
It's interesting to think it's it's a little bit of Eric.
It's very Eric One woman show.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
I thought about that too. For the last scene.

Speaker 5 (52:46):
It was it's Eric doing bad poetry, like he's writing
from his home. That's such an Eric thing. I know, exactly,
you're right, and having him do it is great.

Speaker 4 (52:56):
Sophiene takes the stage. The final poet of this evening
will be mister Sean Hunter. Sean's jaw drops, and then
he angrily turns to Corey. I can't believe you. When
are you gonna learn to stay out of my business?
Vienie calls for him again, and Corey just pats him
on the back. Come on, we're all here for you.
Sean grabs his notebook and takes the stage. He holds

(53:16):
the microphone and stares at Angela. You don't know it,
but sometimes he stops himself, clearly very nervous. He starts
over and now with more conviction. You don't know it,
but sometimes I Angela is hanging on every word, but
Sean is again stopped. He shakes his head, I'm sorry,

(53:36):
I can't and then he runs off the stage without looking.

Speaker 3 (53:39):
Back too much angst Oh true, much.

Speaker 1 (53:45):
Hurts my pretentious soul.

Speaker 4 (53:48):
Ugh, I honestly, it's not even about it hurting your
pretentious soul. You don't want you're not ready to bear
your soul to Angela, especially not in front of everyone.
But it sure would be nice for us to know why, why,

(54:09):
what is it anything that would be that would be good?

Speaker 1 (54:13):
Well, I mean, part of the problem is it goes
back to you know what, we'll noticed either last episode
or the episode before, which is that there's just it's
a given that Sean is a better person if he's
in a relationship with Angela. Yeah, it's just it's just
the universe is they're supposed to be together, which is
frankly what the audience does feel, right, they want us

(54:34):
to get together.

Speaker 4 (54:35):
We're like, you know, yeah, but they want you back together.

Speaker 1 (54:37):
With Sean having any argument why he's not ready or
doesn't want to be a relationship, it's completely like, well
then just do it or don't you know, but stop.

Speaker 5 (54:46):
But we also think they're also the audience is rooting
for them to get together because they're told they should
be together. Yeah you know, you go friends or any
of that kind of stuff. You want Ross and Rachel
to be together. Writing it in a certain way where
they're passing each other the ships in the night, you
don't know.

Speaker 2 (55:03):
Here, we literally have a character going.

Speaker 5 (55:05):
You're supposed to be together, and so because of that,
that's why they're rooting for it a little right.

Speaker 4 (55:11):
Also similarly to Corey and to Panga, where Corey's like,
we're supposed to be together and I always have loved her,
but all of his actions are showing otherwise. Honestly, they've
made me not like Sean for Angela. Angela can do
better Honestly, based on the way Sean's acting now, the
way Sean was in the beginning of the relationship, oh

(55:32):
my gosh, yes, it was very clear he was she
she was he loved her so much. Now, the way
he's acting and by the way, I'd love for him
to even address that in this episode. I made the
dumbest mistake. I thought that I was going to get
to college and I was going to be missing out.
I didn't realize there's no one better than Angela. I

(55:54):
can't I, you know, Like he does say, I miss
the way she makes me feel it's all about me,
which is a very cory, a very coy thing to say. Yeah,
but like, I don't know, I just I wish there,
I wish he expressed, because all he ends up saying
is like, I'm the one who said I wanted this,
so I can't tell her that I don't want it anymore.

(56:15):
But what would be great to hear is I'm the
one who said I wanted this, and now that I
have had it, I have pursued I've met other girls,
I've gone on dates, I've been in other situations. Nothing
is as good as doing those things with Angela. I
don't have conversations with other women the way I have conversations.
She makes me think she does this I liked whatever. Instead,

(56:36):
He's just like I'm the one who asked for it,
so I got to stick with it.

Speaker 2 (56:40):
Well, they're doing the TV thing.

Speaker 5 (56:41):
They're trying to set up the arc now where now
we as the audience, both know they're still in love,
but they don't know they're still in love.

Speaker 2 (56:47):
So we're now for the next few episodes.

Speaker 4 (56:49):
Going to be waiting for that to be revealed.

Speaker 5 (56:50):
That conversation where you just wanted to be two cats,
where you just cover them in tunea juice and throw
them in a closet, It's just good.

Speaker 1 (56:57):
That's how you get too cats.

Speaker 5 (56:58):
You hate each other to like each other, cover them
in tune juice, put him in a closet, and have
to lick each other clean.

Speaker 2 (57:02):
That's exactly what's what I but because that's how they
get to know each other. You never heard.

Speaker 4 (57:09):
But if they don't like each other, I don't just
like be like you go to ear like tuna. But
they have on themselves, and they clean themselves by liking,
I don't know. I'm just I'm just throwing a wrench
into your.

Speaker 1 (57:17):
Free I don't know that this is and they bite
one another, thinking like she seems.

Speaker 5 (57:20):
The universal get cats like each other thing and now
a cat dad, you're going to have to know this stuff.

Speaker 2 (57:26):
If you cool that it's an old that's an old trope. Okay, Okay,
everybody knows that.

Speaker 1 (57:32):
Yeah. I think fundamentally, what we're talking about is like
it's the classic problem of tell not show, you know,
like if they showed that that if we create a
situation where Sean and Angelo were perfect for each other
but they didn't know.

Speaker 3 (57:46):
It or any of that.

Speaker 1 (57:47):
But instead it's just let's sit and talk about how
they're perfect for each other, and Sean can just talk
about how he's not ready without actually saying why.

Speaker 4 (57:54):
Yeah, Corey tries to save face, announcing to the crowd
it's okay, everybody, it's okay, Corey's here. Just a touch
of stage right now, back on the mic, Corey picks
up Sean's poetry book He's just gonna read. He was
gonna read made me so uncomfortable, annoyed that no one

(58:17):
in the audience Angela to Panga, Nobody was like, oh no, no, no, no,
just go ahead and close that up.

Speaker 1 (58:23):
But like the staging, I come in and listen to
him finish the poem. Yeah, I know all the staging
in this stuff. Like it's just it's so clunky to
me because then I have to like walk in front
of everybody, grab Corey off of the stage post palm,
not before the poem, not during the palm, but make
a huge scene which if I'm scared about exposing me

(58:44):
like that, drag him to another room where then Angela
and you can come and overhear us like not respecting
that privacy, which is obviously something I'm trying to fight.
Like all of this clunky to get to these plot
points that it's just it's it's bad, Like this is
like a genuinely bad scene. I feel like we could
have figured out a way to still hit all these

(59:06):
plot points without it being this just painful.

Speaker 3 (59:09):
It's not good.

Speaker 4 (59:11):
Yeah, he says. This one's called Top of the World.
He begins, you don't know it, but sometimes I go
to a hill that overlooks the landscape's mask of city
lights for a sip of momentary grace. On this brink
of everything, I know I can gain an eye fall
of the lost Atlantis in the human soul. The camera
continues to dramatically zoom in to Corey and a breath

(59:33):
that fills my lungs with the air between two stars.
Angela is listening, completely captivated. Sean enters the room again,
hearing Cory and his words. Corey eventually finishes the poem
and Tapanga is blown away at the beauty. Angela admits
I don't understand, and at that same moment, Sean storms
up to Corey and grabs him by the sweater, dragging

(59:54):
him out of the room. Now outside, Sean asks, who
do you think you are? Corey doesn't take him seriously.
That's a silly question. I'm your best, Sean interrupts him.
No jokes, no back battling. He's dead serious. We have
a problem here, and well, I'm right there with you.
I was like, yes, we are gonna get to the
bottom of this. He's gonna be, it's gonna be, he's
gonna be dressed down.

Speaker 2 (01:00:15):
Yep.

Speaker 1 (01:00:15):
Well, before we go on, I just want to talk
about the poem for a minute, because it was really
weird to be watching it now and hearing it and
realizing for all the pushback that Michael gave me, like
you know, and I get like he wanted it to
be much more clearly like I love you, I miss you,
right a poem, Like that's all it needed to say,
right story wise, it just needed to say I love you,
I miss you. And he kept pushing back and kept

(01:00:39):
sort of saying like lines that he wanted in there,
like I remember him being like in the quiet in
the quietest moments, you're still there.

Speaker 3 (01:00:47):
And I was just like.

Speaker 1 (01:00:47):
Okay, and what I Finally he said like, look, I'm
not going to tell you what to do.

Speaker 3 (01:00:52):
You're the poet.

Speaker 1 (01:00:53):
You do it.

Speaker 3 (01:00:54):
But that's the way I think.

Speaker 1 (01:00:54):
And I said, like, you just wanted to be more
immediately accessible, that's fine. Why don't you go back and
use the poem that you already had, like the Erica
palm And he's like, no, no, no, now, I don't
want to do that. I'm like, okay, well you either
take my poem like this is it. You know, it
was literally taped and its Thursday. This is it, Like
I've got this and he's like, uh, I just did.

(01:01:15):
And then he's he sicked Bob Tishler on me. So
then I had to go have a no whole other
note session with poor Bob Tishler, and I remember him
just being like, uh, you know, and I don't even
know if Bob likes poetry or whatever, but he's basically
what he's giving me.

Speaker 3 (01:01:30):
No, he wasn't.

Speaker 1 (01:01:31):
He was just saying the same things Michael said. It
was like clear that Michael had like I tried writers
not backing down, and I said the same thing to Bob.
I was like, look, just use the old poem. It's fine,
I could have the first one. That's cool, that makes
me happy. I'm fine, Like, let's just go. And they
were like, no, no, the old poem's crap. I'm like, okay,
well you can't, you know, And it became this like
how you know, but the irony, and then I finally

(01:01:53):
Michael was just like, well, just try and rewrite it
and get it to whoever the writer's assistant was to
type it up for so we can print the scripts
in time to actually do it. And so I just
was like and I went and did it, and they
ended up using the poem and like, I you know,
got the poem that I wanted, but the irony is
for all the pushback, this poem is completely just reformulated

(01:02:14):
in the if I could dream the perfect girl, she
wouldn't even come close to you. It's the same concept.
I'm just using a place like I'm talking about going
somewhere feeling you know, this amazing like perspective and overview
and like, you know, this is based on a real
place called Top of the World in my hometown where
I would drive and would I would just sit there

(01:02:35):
and park and like think and whatever. So it's like saying, like, oh,
when I'm experiencing this like really important, private, honest moment
in my life, I'm you know, I having this sort
of transcendent thing, and that's not even close to how
I feel when I'm with you. Yeah, Like that's the
arc of the poem. That's it.

Speaker 3 (01:02:52):
Like that's it.

Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
You're like, I can't I can't even describe I can
describe this place, but I can't describe how you make
me feel, because it goes beyond even that, even after
beautiful experience that I have in that private time, and
it's more than that, which is you know, the exact
premise of if I could dream the perfect girl and
not even you.

Speaker 2 (01:03:10):
I was like, well he got it, he got it
from the guy at Love is Blind or whatever.

Speaker 5 (01:03:19):
Right.

Speaker 4 (01:03:21):
Corey begins to apologize, but Sean won't allow it. I
want to hear that you were wrong, that I asked
you to back off and you wouldn't take no for
an answer. He totally disregarded my feelings.

Speaker 2 (01:03:31):
Yes, I was like going fine.

Speaker 3 (01:03:33):
Also that you.

Speaker 4 (01:03:34):
Died to me. You said earlier we can go and
you don't have to read any poems. Then you signed
me up. Corey begins to admit, all right, I did that,
but Sewan interrupts him again. There better not be a butt.
Corey insists, I did this for your own good. Sean scoffs,
you have no idea what my poetry is about, do you?

(01:03:55):
And that's where well went.

Speaker 1 (01:03:56):
What I was like, what.

Speaker 2 (01:03:59):
Do with anything?

Speaker 4 (01:04:00):
Right? That poem that Phoenie read in class? Do you
even know what that was about? Corey has no answer.
Sean continues, I can't say certain things, so I write
them down. That's how I get them out. I do
that for me, not for anyone else. Corey argues, I
heard the poem.

Speaker 5 (01:04:15):
Now.

Speaker 4 (01:04:15):
At this point, when he said that I did think
perfect that that is enough for him to be why
he's upset with Corey. I would never have this is
not this isn't in a place where I'm ready for
other people to see it. Yet it's literally just for me.
It helps me process, it helps me figure out my feelings.

(01:04:36):
I would I don't want if I'm gonna write something,
if I'm gonna read something out loud, I'm gonna work
on it. I'm gonna do whatever like that.

Speaker 1 (01:04:43):
And Sean probably could have just finished that yes monologue
by or that moment by saying and this one was
about Angela. I definitely didn't.

Speaker 3 (01:04:51):
Want it to go.

Speaker 1 (01:04:51):
It wasn't ready for her to exactly and then she
could overhear that and that's enough. But instead, Yeah, I'm like.

Speaker 3 (01:04:58):
Why why don't you get it? Don't you know it?

Speaker 1 (01:05:00):
I mean, I guess the joke that he thinks is
about him is pretty funny.

Speaker 5 (01:05:03):
Yeah, but it doesn't save any It's like, oh God,
you were going it was it was what the conversation
that needed to happen, and it was so close to
actually happening, and then just went and went off in
a whole different direction.

Speaker 2 (01:05:13):
What are you kidding.

Speaker 4 (01:05:14):
Yeah, h Corey argues, I heard the poem. Sean, now
more frustrated, explains, you heard it, but you didn't listen
to it. That poem you just read. Do you even
know who that was about? Corey earnestly answers me me.
Sean sighs, it's about Angela. And then we noticed that
Topanga and Angela have completely disregarded any amount of privacy

(01:05:38):
that Sean was clearly trying to attain by bringing him outside,
and we are just nearby listening to their conversation. Corey
was a little sad to hear the truth, and he
throws his arms up in the air. Well he walks away, defeated,
as Angela walks up and Topanga joins them outside. Angela
faces Sean and then slaps.

Speaker 2 (01:05:58):
Him like clos.

Speaker 1 (01:06:01):
Yeah, and this is this set is apparently the sight
of violence on this means world, because this is where
Corey lost it the teacher and this is where she
slaps me. I don't know, like it's really dramatic, and
I'm not sure.

Speaker 2 (01:06:17):
It was way too far. You don't violence has the
answer in this.

Speaker 1 (01:06:23):
We don't quite resolve it, Like we don't acknowledge it later,
like I wanted her to be like I just got emotional,
I'm so sorry, and like I don't know, some sort
of like yeah, we're not going to hit each other, right,
like that's you know, but yeah, between like me having
pushed her with the drinking and now her slapping me.

Speaker 3 (01:06:38):
Is really cool.

Speaker 4 (01:06:39):
She have just said how dare you? Or how dare
any something and then storm off and be like, oh,
she's mad.

Speaker 2 (01:06:47):
I still don't get what he did wrong, though.

Speaker 4 (01:06:50):
Well that's what I understand that she's like, wait a minute,
you broke up with me, went out and you put
rubber bands on doors, You've been on dates, and now
you're The poetry that you're writing is about how much
like I can see how she would be like, and
you haven't shared that with me. I've been devastated. We're

(01:07:12):
not having honest conversation. I thought we were close enough
that we could talk about the stuff. I could see
that she could be hurt and also maybe a little
embarrassed that like publicly, now everyone just heard this poem.
Maybe seaw didn't do that. Sean didn't do it publicly.

Speaker 1 (01:07:27):
Ory Sean by writing private poems about how he feels,
he does not under any obligation to share that with
her obligation.

Speaker 5 (01:07:36):
How long have they been standing there listening, because he
clearly says, I write things down, so I can figure
it's somebody stole his journal, read his journal publicly.

Speaker 2 (01:07:47):
Then she went up and punched him.

Speaker 1 (01:07:49):
I know what he wrote journal, and that's why she should. Definitely,
I can understand it as a character motivation, exactly what
you described on You're like, she has all these awful
feelings and she doesn't know what to do with him.
But the way that it's played and the way it
plays out is as if Sean did do so, yeah,
he's failing as a person. And then her slap was at.

Speaker 4 (01:08:11):
Then she says, you probably deserve it later and he goes.

Speaker 1 (01:08:13):
Probably probably did, and it's like, wait, what it's very
I was like the second it happened, I was like,
this feels like a dramatic beat that's not earned and
not explained. And then yeah, totally rationalized. She really slapped
me too. Do you guys remember that? Yeah?

Speaker 5 (01:08:28):
I thought, because they shot it from the back, you
did your because you were always I was.

Speaker 1 (01:08:31):
Supposed to I was supposed to do my fake sound
slap and she just actually hit me.

Speaker 2 (01:08:36):
Yeah, did you know she was going to?

Speaker 3 (01:08:38):
No?

Speaker 1 (01:08:38):
No, no, no, it was just a like boom.

Speaker 4 (01:08:41):
Do you think do you think somebody told her to
do it or do you think she just did it
on her own? Uh?

Speaker 1 (01:08:46):
She was apologetic if I remember, Like she was like,
oh my god, I'm so sorry, Like it was just
it was in it. But yeah, yeah, I don't know,
like it was fine, like this happens all the time,
like slaps. This has happened to me multiple times when
I'm in a scene with an.

Speaker 2 (01:08:59):
Actor, like oh, okay, you slapped in the face multiple times.

Speaker 1 (01:09:03):
No, I don't think I've ever been slepped in real
like but yeah, because yeah, but maybe I'm misremembering, but
like I feel like I had been rehearsing it and
then the night of she actually just did it, and
it was like, yeah, okay, it's fine, you know.

Speaker 2 (01:09:16):
Yeah, because no, you were famous for it.

Speaker 5 (01:09:17):
I mean we would always join you were good at
did the fake slap and you had it down pat.
I mean it was like so I was like, oh,
he did his fake slap thing because they shot him
from behind. It's like, wow, she actually hit you and
they didn't even get it on camera, It's like, no, Wow,
what a double whammy.

Speaker 4 (01:09:33):
Sean grabs his face in pain, and Angela storms away
without saying another word. Tepenga quickly follows after her friend.
Sean looks at Corey, sarcastically thanks him, and then walks away,
leaving the Boy and Boy meets World alone with his thoughts.
And then we're inside Angela and Topanga's dorm. Corey nervously
admits I don't know what to say, and unmoved, Angela answers, well,

(01:09:54):
that's a first. Corey says he's sorry he read Sean's poem.
Then he quickly corrects himself. No, I'm not sorry. I
read Sean's poem. Don't you see that He would love
to tell you how he feels. Angela simply states, then
he should tell me. So Corey's the one she should
he should have slapped.

Speaker 5 (01:10:13):
Yes, yes, And also I get it's boy mets World,
and I get he's the star of the show, but
there's no reason for Corey to be in a scene
with Angela here. I'm sorry, this has nothing to do
with Corey at this point. Well, this is between.

Speaker 1 (01:10:26):
Angel he apologizes, But yeah, but.

Speaker 2 (01:10:30):
I mean it's one of those things where it's just
like this.

Speaker 5 (01:10:32):
This is a scene that should have taken places between
Angela and Sean.

Speaker 4 (01:10:36):
This scene is again about Corey not knowing his place,
and he's now going okay. He even brings it up.
You told me how you feel about Sean. Well, now
we know how Sean feels about you. So if he's
not ready to talk to you about it, you go
talk to him about it. It's like he's just meddling.

Speaker 1 (01:10:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:10:52):
Corey points out that Sean's writing poems for her. He's
obviously still in love with her, and Corey knows that
Angela is still in love with him too, because she
admitted it to him in the bathroom, you know, where
she was wearing a towel. Angela remembers, maybe I still
do have feelings for Sean, but that doesn't mean we
should be together. I'm finally okay, I've started to move on.
Corey wonders, then what was that slap about? Angela asks,

(01:11:13):
how can he still have feelings for me and not
want to be with me? Corey doesn't know. She reminds
him he's the one that broke up with me. He's
the one that wanted to meet new people. If he
can't tell me how he feels about me, then what
are we? Corey explains, well, it's not in my nature
to interfere. Angela and the audience laughs at this. Corey
goes on, maybe his poetry is the only true way

(01:11:36):
he can tell you how he feels. So meet him halfway,
tell him how you feel. So that's what this is about.
This whole scene is about. Listen, Uh, Sean won't is
mad at me for bearing his feelings, but we know
how you feel and so now that does that make
you feel good? Because now that you heard Jean's wohem,
you know he likes you too. You go talk to him.
He's just okay. Then we're in the student and Sean

(01:12:00):
is sitting by the fireplace, rapidly writing his thoughts and
feelings into the notebook. Angela appears face he Sean scrambles
to his feet. They both begin to talk at the
same time, and Angela tells him to go ahead. He
jokingly asks, you sure you're not going to hit me again,
are you? Angela apologizes I'm sorry I did that. Sean

(01:12:22):
admits I probably deserved it. She nods, don't you're probably
right for what I don't know what I know, he confesses. Look,
I've been going over those words in my head over
and over again because I want to say this right.
Angela advises him to take his time, and Sean says,
we used to talk, I mean really talk. I miss that.

(01:12:44):
Angela admits she misses it too. Sean continues, things just
got weird. I mean I got weird. But I don't
want us to ever stop talking. I couldn't stand that.
Angela agrees, neither could I. And when I heard that poem,
Sean cuts her off. Yeah, the poem, that's what I
wanted to talk to you about. I wrote that a
long time ago. She lets out a laugh. You did,

(01:13:05):
Sean casually tells her, yeah, like way before we broke up.
So you don't have to feel weird and you know
everything's okay. Angela smiling, trying her best to hide her
true feelings. Well, great, because it would have been really
awkward knowing that you still had feelings for me when
I've clearly moved on. Sean's smile disappears. Right, there's a

(01:13:27):
moment of silence before he declares, so, I guess we've
both moved on. Angela nodds, Yeah, we can just go
forward as friends, and he adds good friends. They stare
at each other with a fire burning behind them, background
actors crossing as we pull away on some sad.

Speaker 1 (01:13:47):
So you're supposed to be together.

Speaker 4 (01:13:50):
There's not supposed to be together. This is for me
the thing where I went does. Why does Angela tell
him to go first when maybe what the last was
with Corey where he said, why don't you tell him
how you feel? And then we see her approach him,
so that's what she wants to do, so she's willing
to do. But then she tells him to go first.

(01:14:11):
And then when she's going to say something about the poem,
why does Sean cut her off? Why doesn't Sean let
her finish what he's going to say? Why aren't they
both more curious what the other person has to say.
You know, this whole thing would be better, like.

Speaker 1 (01:14:27):
They got to manufacture some miscommunication. It's just manufactured miscommunication.
We just got to keep the plotline going, keep the
audience one.

Speaker 4 (01:14:35):
They need an Angela and Sean four episode drama arc
the way Corey and Tapanga had one. Everyone's sick of
that storyline and they're engaged, so we can you know,
you're married to dead and in this situation.

Speaker 1 (01:14:48):
We need so we need to be rooting for something
to happen. Yeah, I got to come back next week.

Speaker 5 (01:14:52):
Well that's what happens too when you get the couple together,
the will they won't they?

Speaker 2 (01:14:57):
Corey and Panga. Now you've got to go to the
next one.

Speaker 5 (01:14:59):
Yeah, And then the funny thing is if you remember,
and if I remember, which I'm not sure I entirely do,
but I think what then happens is Sean and Angela
get back together. So then Jack and Rachel hook up
behind Eric's right, that's the third time, all right, happening.
So they keep having to have like they're manufacturing. Okay, listen,
now it's a lot. So it's a relationship drama as

(01:15:21):
much as they can.

Speaker 4 (01:15:34):
Well, we're in the Penbrooke hallway, Jack, Sie's Rachel and
the troll she was arguing with in the library. He
jokingly asks, are we ever going to see you two apart?
The girls enthusiastically respond in unison, not if we can
help it. Then Eric runs down the stairs and shouts, hey, everybody,
when's the next test? Huh? Hey? Who cares? Everyone? Gathers
around Eric and Jack without a care in the world.

(01:15:55):
Jack admits to his friend, I thought I'd be the
last person to say this, but thanks for letting us
all know. We just had to mellow out the angry,
yelling guy with the gummy boots and movie date with
Jack chimes in, what's the success rate of the system
of yours? Eric is confused. System? What system? The troll
clarifies the Eric Matthews fool proof study system. Eric reveals, oh, dude,

(01:16:16):
totally made that up. All the students start to panic,
but Eric tries to calm them again, stop grumbling. I
know you're all interested to see if this is going
to work, and you know what, so am I. The
mob starts to crowd him, angry and letting him know.
Just then Phoene walks out to announce the final grades. Okay,
what has he done now? Jack explains, he talked us
into this idiotic study system of his. Phoene admits that's

(01:16:38):
quite interesting. Then he proceeds to hang up the results.
They crowd around the piece of paper and everyone is
pleased with the results. Rachel's tiny troll friend complains that
she can't see but Rachel tells her apparently her name
is Audrey, that they both got a's. The entire group
of students march on chanting Eric Eric Eric. On his

(01:16:58):
way out, Eric's chanting it to hey know Eric too.
On his way out, Eric quick quietly changes his chant
to Phoenie. As the teacher grabs his arm to hang back.
Eric quickly explains, well, I did nothing wrong. He questions
if taking off your left shoe and taking a friend
to the cinema is a crime. Phoene is confused, take
off your left shoe? Eric giggles, not now, Phoenie. Come on,

(01:17:22):
everyone was so uptight about finals, so he tried to
relax them a bit. Phoene nods, congratulations, I'm impressed with
your insight. A recent university study showed that non stop
focusing on one's studies hindered performance, so it is a
good idea to put down the books and clear one's mind.
Eric grins with pride. Yeah, but Phoenie adds the most
important part after one has studied thoroughly and absorbed the material.

(01:17:45):
Eric grins again, unchanged. Yeah. Phoene simply asks you forgot
that part, didn't you. Eric nods yep. Yeah, then he
figures it out. I didn't do so good, did I?
Phoene COPI says yeah and pulls him into his class.

Speaker 2 (01:18:00):
And I got billed to ad lib.

Speaker 1 (01:18:02):
Yeah, I can Bill to ad lib.

Speaker 2 (01:18:04):
I don't think I've ever seen Phoenie ad lib before.
And I added this at the end, and Bill ad libs.

Speaker 4 (01:18:10):
Eric takes a peek at his grade and he said,
he goes no, and Phoenie goes, I told you, I
told you that.

Speaker 2 (01:18:15):
Was none of that was in the script. So as
he's walking me by, I just.

Speaker 5 (01:18:18):
Look at the thing and I did it and I
was like, oh my god, I got filled the ad lib.

Speaker 1 (01:18:21):
Yes, so happy.

Speaker 4 (01:18:23):
And then we are in the student union. Sean's doing
some homework when Topanga runs up behind him and covers
his eyes. Immediately he knows it's her and says they're
not here yet. To Pega wines, you're kidding, we're gonna
miss the movie.

Speaker 2 (01:18:34):
She sits episode Double Impact.

Speaker 4 (01:18:43):
She sits and asks if everything's okay between him and Angela.
Sean nods, yeah, I told her that I wrote that
poem before we broke up, and everything's okay. To Panga's
relieved to hear that Sean starts to pack his thing
when to Pega notices his notebook. Is that the book
you wrote the poem in? He nods, m M. She asked,
isn't that the book I gave you for your birthday?
He asks, what's your point? She responds, My point is

(01:19:07):
you and Angela broke up before your birthday. You couldn't
have written that poem two months ago. The inmates the
relation man. He sighs, Okay, okay, you got me. I
wrote it after we broke up. Topega wants to know
how long After he insists not long. She pushes again,

(01:19:28):
how long? After he blurts out, I wrote it two
weeks ago. Topega jumps up out of her seat and
smothers her friend. Oh, Sean, you do still love Angela.
He reminds her to keep it down and admits I
can't get her out of my mind. I miss her.
I miss the way she makes me feel. I miss
the fact that I could tell her things that no
one else understands, not even Corey.

Speaker 2 (01:19:49):
I miss how she hits me for no reason.

Speaker 4 (01:19:54):
To Pega encourages him to tell Angela, but he refuses.
I told her that I needed my space. I told
her that I want to to meet new people. I
did this to. Panga insists, well, if you two love
each other, you should be together. Maybe if Angela knew
how you felt. Sean interrupts her. It's too late. Angela
told him that she's over him and wants to be friends.

Speaker 1 (01:20:13):
So this is where we just wanted to get to,
this place where Sean and Topanga have their secret Angela
and they're a secret and it's going to come back. Yeah,
and I do.

Speaker 4 (01:20:23):
Actually, I kind of like that. At least there's.

Speaker 1 (01:20:28):
The crossover the relationship as over.

Speaker 4 (01:20:31):
Friendships and where people are being good friends to each
other by keeping a secret. And I love the Sean
and Topanga dynamic that Topanga bought. Topanga apparently does know
that Sean writes poetry or writes something, because I got
you a.

Speaker 2 (01:20:46):
Journal down is as long as he can remember.

Speaker 4 (01:20:50):
That's why Whata knows even though he didn't tell Angela
and Corey.

Speaker 1 (01:20:54):
Doesn't know much more appropriate to get him a camera
or you know, photo that he that he'd put.

Speaker 2 (01:21:01):
In a book and lose.

Speaker 3 (01:21:04):
I'm gonna find it. It's gonna be somewhere.

Speaker 2 (01:21:07):
It's in the inside pocket of your leather Jack.

Speaker 4 (01:21:11):
At the same time, we see Angela and Corey outside
of the student union about to enter, but Corey stops
her before they go inside. Are you okay with all
of us going out? I hope I didn't mess everything
up for you, Angela insists, I'm okay. You mean well?
You always mean well? Corey ads, does he? Corey ads?
You know I didn't tell Sean about how you feel, right?

(01:21:32):
Angela nodds. I know. Meanwhile, back inside, Sean begs to
Panga not to tell anyone, not even Corey. He makes
her pinky swear, and she does so without hesitation. Cory
and Angela walk in, and Corey Actually.

Speaker 1 (01:21:43):
That's an interesting point that hasn't come up. I think
maybe if we had known that Corey knew that Angela like, like,
in other words, if Corey was motivated by trying to
get Sean and Angela back, like, if that.

Speaker 3 (01:21:57):
Would have been like, I know I'm doing the wrong thing,
but I'm.

Speaker 1 (01:21:59):
Doing it for the right reasons, Like if he could
articulate that, yes, I feel like but instead it's that
was my point earlier.

Speaker 4 (01:22:07):
Is that he does know. Once he realizes the poem
is about Angela, he already knows the secret about angel
which is why then he's in the room. He's like, listen,
did you hear the poem? And you told me how
you feel about him? So he is having a hard
time telling you how he feels, so why don't you
tell him how you feel?

Speaker 1 (01:22:27):
And I guess the addition to that would be like,
I can't do this because I can't break my promise
to you. You know, if he just said that, then
we I would probably forgive Corey a lot easier because
it'd be like, oh, you're you're confused and you're trying
to do the right thing by Angela and the right
thing by Sean. But it didn't feel like that. That's
not to me. I don't think that was articulated well
enough until like this moment I was like, oh, yeah,

(01:22:48):
the two pairs, I see it.

Speaker 4 (01:22:50):
Yes, yes, So that's if you think about that through
this whole thing also the only way to justify and
it still doesn't even justify it at all. But Corey
would need to know that that poem was about Angela
in order for him to have any in any way

(01:23:11):
a motivated reason to decide to read the poem. Right,
But if he if somehow, if Sean had shared it
with Corey, and Corey's like, I'm not allowed to say
anything because Angela told me not to tell him. But
now I know my two friends very just reading.

Speaker 1 (01:23:26):
This poem and it'll come out and then everybody will
love each other again. That's a great motivation to make
that happen, right Yeah, Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:23:34):
I think what you're saying, and I agree.

Speaker 5 (01:23:35):
It was of a kind of muddled way to end
up at a good sitcom place, yeah, which is the
two teams each holding a secret and being good friends
to each other, and we as the audience know what's
going to happen, and it's eventually going to get to
that point.

Speaker 1 (01:23:49):
Actually, it's actually very Shakespearean. Yeare sort of like Shenanigans
of getting those people together.

Speaker 2 (01:23:55):
It's farcical without the funny, right yeah.

Speaker 4 (01:23:59):
Cory asks what do you swear? Topanga quickly makes up
something I swear that I'm going to kill you if
we miss this movie. Sean asks what took them so long,
and Angela explains we were just tying up some loose ends,
right cor Corey agrees and then changes the subject. We
better get going if we don't want to miss this movie.
Tapanga and Angela walk away, but Corey stays behind with Sean,
are we okay? Sean shrugs, You're my date, aren't you.

(01:24:21):
He puts his armor on Corey and they walk out together,
and then we're in the tag It's poetry night. Corey's
back on stage and he tells the audience his next
poem is called Frustration. The bongos play an upbeat tune
and Corey gets very serious. He wails, come on, Topenga.
The audience hesitantly applauds. Corey looks at the bongo player
and they simultaneously pump their fists in victory. Corey moves on.

(01:24:44):
This next poem is called Feenie. The bongo's play once again,
and Corey does a little dance before starting. Mister Feenie
is very smart on many subjects, including art, and yet
he can't help me with my frustration. Come on, Tapenga.

Speaker 3 (01:25:00):
Very funny man, very.

Speaker 4 (01:25:01):
Very funny, very funny, very very funny. Well, thank you
all for joining us for this episode of Podmeets World.
As always, you can follow us on Instagram pod Meets
World Show. You can send us your emails pod Meets
World Show at gmail dot com and we've got march.

Speaker 2 (01:25:15):
As we slowly wither like the ancient birch, we ponder
the query. Shouldest I obtain some merch?

Speaker 4 (01:25:27):
Podmeetsworldshow dot com writer send us out.

Speaker 3 (01:25:31):
We love you all, pod dismissed.

Speaker 1 (01:25:35):
Pod Meets World is an iHeart podcast producer hosted by
Danielle Fischel, Wilfridell and Ryder Strong executive producers, Jensen Carp
and Amy Sugarman Executive in charge of production, Danielle Romo,
producer and editor, Tarasubasch producer, Maddie Moore engineer and Boy
Meets World Superman Easton Allen. Our theme song is by
Kyle Morton of Typhoon. Follow us on Instagram at podmets

(01:25:55):
World Show or email us at Podmeats worlds Show at
gmail dot com

All Episodes

TGI – Episode 609 “Poetic License: An Ode to Holden Caulfield”

Episode Transcript

Hosts And Creators

Will Friedle

Danielle Fishel

Rider Strong

Popular Podcasts

The Breakfast Club

Dateline NBC

Decisions, Decisions

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}TGI – Episode 609 “Poetic License: An Ode to Holden Caulfield”