I think we would indeed have seen Leia attending Our Lady Of Perpetual Sorrow (😭) at the beginning of season 3, as punishment for the night before school shenanigans on the roof. That would have been a source of stress for Leia's friendships and relationships - being separated from Jay and her friends just when she thought she was going to get to go to school with them and fully assimilate, so to speak. In addition to the strain on she and Jay's relationship after the reveal that he stole Kitty's keys to get them onto the roof... I could see some cracks forming.

Donna, I imagine, would continue to be guest starring a handful of times a season and we'd continue to see this new dynamic play out where she feels the need to give Leia stricter boundaries and begins to fear her daughter doing the things she did as a teenager (finally relating to the feelings Eric was having in the pilot), and she and Kitty butt heads in their approaches to Leia's teenage rebellion. Donna would slowly have to figure out that she needs to let Leia learn from her own mistakes, and Kitty would be sympathetic and reflective about her own parenting mistakes, leading to some great bonding moments and character growth for both.

OKAY BUT IN ADDITION TO THIS TWEET (which is so true)

what if i say drop dead is jeia coded too

Hi! 😃

Within the context of T9S as it is, that's a tough question to answer. Jay and Leia's first time storyline fits the overall lighter, more superficial tone of T9S vs. T7S.

I would've rewritten Jay and Leia's whole storyline, tbh. I would've given both characters different core characterizations, particularly Jay. Leia's malaise and unhappiness at her Chicago life would remain the same; the cause for it would be deeper.

The foundation of their relationship would've built on depth rather than the superficiality of a Kelso clone who's capable of lasting growth and a Leia whose unhappiness is portrayed as significantly deeper than the reasons the show gives for it.

Like Eric/Donna and Jackie/Hyde before them in T7S, Jay and Leia would've connected with each other through finding solace from their woes in each other as well as joy.

Donna is Eric freedom from his (perceived and actual) suffocating and hyper-controlled home life. Eric is Donna's emotional stability and safety that she doesn't have at home.

Jackie is Hyde's challenger to face his fears of abandonment and his teacher that he's not unlovable. Hyde is Jackie's teacher that love isn't shiny presents and obedience but acts of love, like sacrificing what makes him happy to cheer her up, going to jail in her stead, becoming homeless (almost) to protect her reputation, and so much more.

Jay and Leia's relationship lacks depth because the characters do. As I've written previously, Jay in actuality would not be a Kelso clone with his upbringing by two ever-divorcing, ever-remarrying parents who are in a toxic relationship. He'd have a lot of emotional baggage and, hopefully, be a thoughtful kid rather than being a relatively carefree womanizer who overuses the word bro.

Leia is raised by two loving parents in a healthy relationship yet suffers from a sadness that is portrayed (intentionally or not) as mild depression. Finding joy and freedom in Point Place starts with her discovering Gwen, who is her real force of change. T9S would've needed Leia to stumble upon Jay, not Gwen, letting loose in his room to forge that bond.

Like Eric and Donna, their relationship would've begun platonically. Their first attraction to each other would be emotional, not aesthetic or sexual. In season 1, we would've seen their bond develop and grow, connecting Leia to Jay's friend group and -- perhaps -- causing some insecurity-jealousy-resentment from Jay's best friend, Nate. At the end of season 1, Jay and Leia's emotional bond has transformed into a romantic one, and they kiss.