#randomfish rant

So I was rewatching Boy Meets World on Disney + and I began to notice some very interesting things. One, the situation changes but the characters do not and two that Cory Matthews because of the first fact is one of the worst if not the worst character to ever blaze onto a screen and I'll explain why.

While Eric Matthews gets steadily dumber throughout the series it was always believed (at least by me) that he was proving that intelligence was something that wasn't measured simply in academic terms as in the spin off show Girl Meets World he is a mayor of a city and eventually becomes a congressman, now it is shown that he still sometimes has a hard time comprehending obvious things to us but he still shows skill and various other attributes that would allow him to be a force for good in the governmental body and not an abuser of that power.

Cory, by contradiction gets more intelligent but doesn't appear to be making the world better. He manages to during Girl Meets World when he is a teacher to his daughter and her friends but in his own show he is shown to be a manipulative narcissist. He goes from having issues with how weird Topanga is to saying that he's loved her from the time he was 2 in a flash then attempts to rewrite history then uses it as an excuse for every shitty thing he does when he's not trying to force Mr Feeny into always being his mentor! Or when he's not trying to manipulate Shawn into doing the things he wants to do when Shawn makes it incredibly clear he doesn't. Do I believe that everyone knows what's best for them? No. Especially when they're kids but sometimes when they're teens or adults too. But I am also a firm believer that people should be free to make their own mistakes.

For example. Shawn getting involved in a cult and being near brainwashed? That was bad and he didn't know what was best for him. But when he didn't want to read out his poem allowed because he wrote them for his own private thoughts, to get them out without saying them as he always felt he messed up in saying them that's his choice and he should be allowed to make it. Cory even tells Angela (Shawn's ex girlfriend) that he's not sorry he read the poem. He even tells Shawn "I did this for your own good" WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE YOU SANCTIMONIOUS PILE OF CRAP?!"

Or when Cory's younger brother Josh in born, he spends the episode right before it which was again the build up to that episode whinging and moaning about how Topanga doesn't wanna spend Valentine's Day with him because she wanted to spend it cheering up Cory's Mom and sister! GROW THE FUCK UP!

Cory just seems to me to be the perfect encapsulation of entitlement and narcissism. He wants to prove he's better than everyone else and those he likes he demands they be exactly like him. The only way Shawn and Angela get him to stop trying to force them back together is to write up a LEGAL DOCUMENT to restrain him from interfering. I wouldn't mind this so much if the show gave him consequences for his actions but no.... it doesn't work that way! In the sequel show Topanga talks about how much of a control freak she is but Cory is just as bad.... Their kid would be so messed up!

And yet I still like watching the show....... Well I guess I find the cast just charming enough to be able to deal with it... sometimes