I'm sure many would not agree with me, but I always thought Donna was an annoying character. At times I don't think the writers knew how to consistently write her. I've read how people think she and Jackie were good friends, personally...never got that vibe. Yes, they had 'friendly' moments, but to me not true friendship, regardless of the fact she lived with Donna. I actually don't like how they depicted their friendship, because they both deserved better. From my perspective, yes there were a few positive situations, but more negative. Interested in your perspective, because it could be my flawed thinking, and value other opinions/perspectives 😊. Donna just seemed hypocritical at times and self-righteous. And she did not come across as a feminist, regardless of what she may have said. Look forward to your observations. Thanks so much!
I'm not sure this is an unpopular opinion. As far as I'm aware (based on what I've seen) Donna is a very divisive character in the fandom.
I agree that Donna was not always written consistently, but I would say that's true of almost the entire cast of characters -- so while frustrating, this doesn't bother me as far as exploring her character or writing fanfic.
I also agree their friendship deserved better, but I think this issue exists mostly in later seasons when they realistically should be much closer than the way they are written and portrayed as being in S5 and S6. S7 makes some improvements, but it's a little too late by this point. But I wouldn't agree with the position that Jackie and Donna never seem like close friends.
Jackie and Donna become pretty close and are shown to be close from about mid S1 through S4. Jackie and Donna talk about sex in 1x14, something Donna wouldn't do with someone she wasn't comfortable with. Donna is especially supportive of Jackie in 1x17 during the pregnancy scare. Donna confides in Jackie about her parents fighting in 1x25 (until Jackie grows weary of listening to it lol). These interactions continue in their one-on-one conversations in S2.
In S2, Donna does struggle with the knowledge that Kelso is cheating on Jackie. She doesn't endorse Kelso's behavior, but she (understandably) doesn't want to be the one to break Jackie's heart and -- like some others have mentioned before -- she's right to be concerned about whether Jackie would even believe her. Jackie is obviously insecure in her relationship with Kelso throughout S2, but she makes it clear to Donna she's not ready to confront the fact that her and Kelso are not a good couple on multiple occasions (e.g. 2x11 and 2x15).
Is Donna being the best friend she possibly could be? No, but is she being the worst friend? Also no. The position Kelso puts Donna in is unfair. If she does the 'right' thing and tells Jackie, it will likely damage their friendship. Jackie and Donna could be on the outs when Jackie finally sees Kelso cheating on her depending on how bad that confrontation might go.
Instead, Donna tests the waters a couple times, tries talking to Jackie about Kelso, but backs off when Jackie makes it abundantly clear that she's unwilling to hear anything other than: "Michael Kelso and Jackie Burkhart are perfect for each other!!!" Their friendship remains intact, and when Jackie breaks up with Kelso, Donna supports her pretty adamantly for the remainder of S2. In fact, Donna's pretty scathing towards Kelso in the latter half of S2, insulting him bluntly to his face when Jackie's second-guessing herself in 2x23.
A lot of people criticize the rest of the gang for not telling Jackie, but the reality is the fault squarely lies with Kelso. No one in the group thought it was a good idea or gleefully helped Kelso to keep his secret. And yet I often see people complain more about his friends 'covering' for him more than him being the lying cheater.
In S3 Donna and Jackie very close. We frequently see them hanging out one-on-one and doing schoolwork together in numerous scenes. And up until the moment when the writers needed someone in the group to help Kelso get back together with Jackie, Donna was pretty encouraging of Jackie's independence.
In S4 Jackie is very supportive of Donna after her breakup with Eric. She makes attempts to burn Eric, she encourages Donna not to back down, she does a girl's night (until Kelso ruins it) with Donna, and Jackie is very sincerely excited at the prospect of her and Donna becoming sisters-in-law.
The real problem starts in S5, and Donna is not the only one at fault. The writing steadily becomes more and more concerned with punchlines, rather than character integrity. The writers use Donna as a mouthpiece to give Kelso an opportunity to express his upset feelings over Hyde/Jackie and so he has some people in his corner (and likely to lend credence to this illusion of a 'H/J versus the world' type of drama).
On the flip side, many of Jackie's 'joke' lines towards Donna are extremely mean and body-shaming. These words were presented as humor, but they have bite to them that was not present in earlier seasons, in my opinion.
Donna being changeable and yes, at times, hypocritical is not necessarily out of character for her. In S2 after Donna and Eric's relationship becomes more intimate and she's feeling vulnerable, she indirectly demands Eric ask her for permission to go out with the guys instead of spending time with her. Not much later in S3, Donna is very resistant to similar expectations being put upon her by Eric.
Of course these interactions are layered in the sexism of the time so it's a lot more complicated than Donna just being a hypocrite, that's not what I'm saying. But while Eric's coming of age character arc is about establishing his confidence, Donna's in a lot of ways is about finding a balance between her tomboyish upbringing and her desire to express femininity at times -- all the while experiencing romantic love for the first time, discovering herself, and what the cultural shifts around feminism might mean for her future.
As to why the writing was so inconsistent between Jackie and Donna in later seasons my belief is that, simply put, some writers are just really bad at writing women and friendships between women. Especially historically. I don't have any specific evidence to point to, aside from that I'm a woman who has been watching TV for as long as I can remember and at this point I'm desensitized to writers dropping the ball on female characters.
Sorry this got so long, but hopefully this satisfies your question! Thank you for your ask! 💖
