The week long celebration of Girl Meets World has us reminiscing on the good ole days. With the trio’s reunion with Mr. Feeny last night and the sure-to-be epic return of Eric Plays With Squirrels tonight, we can’t help but feel nostalgic for the original perfection that was Boy Meets World.
Here’s twenty-five episodes of Boy Meets World milestones that remind us why fifteen years later, we’re still holding on.
S1 E4 — ‘Cory’s Alternative Friends’
Cory: What do you think about my hair? Do you think it looks good?
Topanga: It’s beautiful. Like a desert tumbleweed.”
No list of Boy Meets World episodes is complete without the debut of Miss Topanga Lawrence. With her kooky but kind personality, she swept in and cemented herself as an essential part of Cory’s life. Unlike in later seasons when Cory remains the stable force amidst everyone else’s changing lives, in season one, he’s still trying to figure himself out. He’s malleable, fluid, and always trying fit in with the status quo, but Topanga’s influence encourages him to embrace his uniqueness and see his originality as beautiful. This episode is littered with iconic Boy Meets World moments, including Cory and Topanga’s first kiss (“Because it would be interesting if all your life you remembered your first kiss happened when you thought you looked weird. Wouldn’t it?”) and of course, Topanga’s interpretive dance in the Matthews’ kitchen where she smears makeup all over her face (“Use a mirror, babe.”). In season six she would go on to admit that this was the moment she always thought Cory fell in love with her.
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S1 E17 – ‘The Fugitive’
Topanga: I think Shawn was making a daring political statement.
Minkus: And what statement was that? Build more prisons?
When Shawn blows up the mailbox outside of Cory’s dad’s store, he goes on the run from his teachers and family, hiding out in Cory’s bedroom. In the long run, the mailbox incident becomes the first of many of Shawn’s crossroads where he has to choose whether he’s going to give in to his propensity for trouble. It makes us realize that Cory’s friendship and inherent goodness are really what keeps Shawn striving to defy his nature, and stay in the light.
S2 E7 — ‘Wake Up, Little Cory’
Topanga: You know what I want? I want my good name back.
Cory: Some people would argue that Topanga’s not the best name to begin with.
When Mr. Turner assigns the class a video project on love and sex, Cory and Topanga team up to find out how their friends feel about intimacy. But when Mr. Feeny finds the two kids canoodling on school property the next morning, everyone at school assumes the two crazy kids did the deed, propelling Cory to insta-fame, and Topanga to be furious that her reputation is ruined because Cory refuses to tell the truth. In a sweet gesture, Cory makes it up to his friend by apologizing to Topanga publicly in their video and clearing up the rumors he helped spread. But of course, the best part of the episode is when the ever-perceptive cameraman, Shawn Hunter, makes kissy noises during Cory’s apology and declares, “Okay, now tell her how much you love her.”
S3 E3 — ‘What I Meant to Say’
Topanga: I was scared. I mean, we’re only fourteen years old. These feelings… When did you know?
Cory: Promise you won’t laugh? Do you remember that time when we were in my backyard chasing fireflies? And you had like twenty in your jar? And I had one with a broken bulb? And then Eric came outside and started teasing us…
Topanga: He said, “Cory loves Topanga!” and you said, “Yuck! I hate her!”
Cory: That’s when I knew.
When Cory blurts out to Topanga that he loves her after they’ve only been dating a couple of weeks, she freaks out and breaks up with him, afraid that they’re moving too fast. Shawn and Eric think that Cory’s an idiot for giving up his power in the relationship by telling Topanga he loves her, but Cory’s his own quirky kid, and he thinks it’s fine to say how he feels because Topanga’s the only girl for him. Yes, they are young, but Cory and Topanga’s relationship was always different from most because from the beginning, they were both willing to go all-in and give up power in exchange for honesty. And in the end, after Cory explains his definition of love, Topanga decides that she loves him too.
S3 E21 — ‘The Happiest Show on Earth’
Cory: So, Amber, you’re separated from your mate, huh? I know how you feel. Not that Toanga’s my mate or anything, I just believe she is. It’s funny though, you know, when people tell you to get on with your life, go date, there’s plenty of other fish in the sea… Like I need to tell you. But, you see, we know that once you’ve met that special person, it’s hard to live, knowing they’re out there, and they’re the only one you care about. All those things I did, I wasn’t just trying to impress her. I just didn’t know how to express my feelings. Well, at least I tried, you know? And now, I’m talking to a fish.
When Topanga wins a trip to DisneyWorld, Cory and Shawn hop on a plane to try and win her back! The hijinks ensue as they tramp around the parks, with several Disney icons making cameo appearances, including an excessively long churro line, and a morning shower on Splash Mountain. Finally, Cory gets his girl back, and after several near misses and misunderstandings, they get their romantic Disney kiss as they bask in the mist of pre-World of Color. And of course, this is the beginning of Eric’s manic decline into weirdom when he successfully covers for Cory’s absence with a very creepy dummy.
S4 E2 — ‘Hair Today, Goon Tomorrow’
Shawn: No Cory, we’ve known Topanga all her life, okay. She doesn’t wear makeup. She’s never been to a beauty parlor. She’s completely natural.
Cory: So what’s the big deal?
Shawn: The big deal is: she was beautiful before without anybody’s help. Now she’s got professional help, she’s gonna be mega-beautiful. We’re not even gonna be able to look at her directly without burning our retinas.
When Cory suddenly feels insecure about his looks, Topanga chops off her locks in a grand, romantic gesture, only to find that she’s even hotter with her new haircut. Despite Cory’s insecurities being at the center of the episode, the shining moments come from Shawn and Topanga’s friendship, from him freaking out over her beautiful makeover, to eventually reminding her that beauty really comes from the inside. Meanwhile, in the B-story, it’s the birth of Eric’s theme song! “Here comes the good-looking guy!”
S4 E13 — ‘B & B’s B ‘N’ B’
Eric: Maybe you and me can hit the town.
Mr. Feeny: You mean, cruise for chicks?
Eric: And their mothers.
When Feeny asks the Matthews’ to house sit while he’s away for the weekend, Shawn hatches a scheme to start a bed and breakfast inside Feeny’s house. As it turns out, Shawn is pretty business savvy and has a knack for people skills, so the bed and breakfast booms, but Cory’s neuroticism demands that they get caught to bring the universe back into order. Meanwhile, Feeny and Eric’s epic bromance begins to bloom when they both find themselves staying at the same hotel, and when Mr. Feeny talks about his doomed romance, Eric finally sees his mentor as a friend.
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