I think it’s bullshit when people dismiss a that 70’s show character action by saying “it’s out of character” I feel like the term is used whenever the character does something negative. This is usually used for Hyde and don’t get me wrong I love his character but some of u won’t let him do anything negative. I don’t think people understand that a character can go backwards in there character growth and it actually does make a lot of sense for Hyde specifically. He has a lot of trauma he honestly never actually moved on from or healed from. I allways see people saying Hyde would never cheat because in early seasons he’s against it or what ever but like in reality people do things all the time that they don’t agree with or morally are against.
He’s not some perfect guy who will never do shitty stuff……
I don't know if this is an ask or just venting lol. But thanks for sharing!
Personally, the only thing I find blatantly out-of-character for Hyde was the entirety of S8 (which is true for every character honestly).
As for the cheating, I can see why people think it's out-of-character and the explanations I've seen are very convincing and have a profound understanding for the character with evidence.
I find the cheating in S5 more a lazy storyline choice than "out-of-character." Hyde does often react before thinking, despite his advice to others. He has been known to leave situations in a huff (going back to S1) so I don't find his misinterpretation of Kelso/Jackie situation and retaliating to be "out-of-character" especially after a few episodes in S5 that had him witness Kelso/Jackie ("get off my boyfriend," the pink sweater incident, etc.). I actually find Hyde's attitude at the beginning of S6 to be more "out-of-character" than the cheating itself. I also don't think him driving off after seeing Kelso and Jackie together at the motel in Chicago to be "out-of-character." Choosing to stay married to someone else and his attitude towards Jackie for the rest of the series is what I categorize as out-of-character.
I can also make in-character explanations for his hesitancy to commit to a future with Jackie in S7. Similar to others, I attribute it to his insta-family and being thrown into a career before 20 years old. I can buy him wanting his relationship with Jackie to stay the same for a while because of all the rapid changes in his life and he expressed it terribly (by saying "I don't know"). Hyde not being able to appropriately express his emotions verbally is also in-character IMO.
For the record, I have never seen anyone, even those who call out out-of-character behaviour, pretend that Hyde is "perfect." I think the only person who thinks he is "perfect" is in fact Jackie.