Things Aren’t Always As They Seem
Hey GMW fam. I know it’s been a while. Ya boy been busy with school and all that. But once again, we need to talk.
So I had some conversation with a few of the other analytical bloggers on here about Riley/Lucas’ moment in Ski Lodge and really the resolution of Ski Lodge, and I really think there are some things that need to be brought up.
This post has been a long time coming, but there are a couple of caveats:
1. This is not a hate post. Please don’t bring that nonsense here.
2. Even though I may not be a fan of Riley/Lucas, I will try my best to keep my biases out of it. I, like everyone else has biases and I really do try my best to keep them out of this discussion.
Here’s the moment in question for those who need a refresher (sorry for the low quality. It’s all I could find!):
Okay. So, let’s talk about this moment and everything that happened before and after, cause really, there’s a lot there!
I will say that the moment was somewhat “cute”. But when you unpack everything that had happened, there are some very apparent issues there! In the episodes prior to this, specifically in Upstate and True Maya, there are some moments that really bring into question the validity of this moment. I’m really referring to the dramatic irony here. Basically during the whole Maya “identity crisis” arc, Lucas spent the entire arc basically reaffirming who Maya was.
In Girl Meets Triangle, Lucas states that Riley “fell” on his lap and that should be it, no? Except it isn’t. He goes on to mention that Maya is the one who pushed her into his lap cause that’s who she is.
Continuing on, in Girl Meets Upstate, Lucas, who as far as we know is relatively unprompted, goes up to Ms. Hart and launches into a very thoughtful exposition about Maya’s feelings which ends with him complimenting her on being a great mother. And as we all know, that is a big insecurity of Ms. Hart. See GM Maya’s Mother & GM Master Plan.
And finally in GM True Maya, Lucas not only says that deep down Maya is beautiful, but he also mentions that he had been down the road that Maya was currently travelling. But I’m going to link the scene down below. Pay attention to the visual cue of Maya stepping back when Lucas tries to go talk to her:
I just want to take this time to emphasize the fact that I AM NOT saying that Lucas’ feelings for Riley are not genuine; but I am addressing the very real and canon issue that Riley and Lucas’ relationship does not really differ in any way from their friendship. And I also want to say that this whole “It’s always been Riley” thing is neither factual, nor canon. Based off the above episodes prior to Ski Lodge and even IN Ski Lodge Pt. l, we see that Lucas is very confused. So, I have no idea when he decided putting Riley’s jellybean in that box, but I can say with 90% confidence that it wasn’t in any of the episodes before True Maya.
All I’m really trying to point to is the fact that even though it took Riley and Lucas 2+ years to actually solidify their relationship, their behaviour around one another says otherwise.
They don’t interact differently.
They don’t initiate physical contact with each other.
They constantly seem to lack fundamental understandings about one another.
And then to add to all of this we have this tweet from the writers:
Even as someone who does NOT care for Riles/Lucas romantically, I feel cheated. If the intention was to put Riley and Lucas together, why not give them a honest go? Why not allow them to actually develop as a couple? To grow and help one another grow? And it is not even a matter of them being on Disney and being unable to show physical contact because well… Smarkle.
Smarkle is an example of a relationship that has shown tremendous development from the time they were introduced as a couple. And even they have their own set of issues which is another post all in itself. But all that aside, they act like a couple! They flirt with one another. They have great conversations with one another. Essentially, there is a difference between who they were when they were “arch-nemesis” and who they are as a couple. This is really my biggest point of contention with Rucas.
Rucas’ moment was anti-climatic at best because it did not lead to any significant change or development for the couple outside of what we have already seen. The only thing the moment did was resolve the triangle. And as we already know, the resolution of the triangle was more about Riley and Maya’s friendship overcoming the obstacle of liking the same boy than it was about who would end up with Lucas. And technically speaking, the triangle was ACTUALLY resolved when MAYA chose to let Lucas go to Riley. So once again, a significant Rucas’ moment was initiated/influenced by Maya Hart.
In Girl Meets World, two big themes that have applied to any sort of romantic relationship has been the theme of Perception v. Reality and Equal Does Not Mean the Same. These themes especially the Perception v. Reality one, I think will play out in a very major with with Rucas.
How does the reality of their relationship differ from the perception of it?
How did the “resolution” of the triangle affect the group and their dynamic?
Even after everything is supposedly resolved, for the most part their relationship seems fairly stagnant. Even Riley doesn’t seem as excited about Lucas as she was before they started dating. And even during their moment, it was more about what they could do together rather than why they should be together.
I have no problem with Riley and Lucas being a couple. I really don’t. But the utter lack of affection being shown, feelings being discussed, or even progression of their relationship makes me think that there is more to this story than we are being told.
Again, this wasn’t an attack on Riley/Lucas, but more of just me questioning the significance of their moment, and the impact, or lack thereof of their moment on their relationship.
I hope that makes sense! Let me know what you guys think!
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