On the topic of Donna being vilified, do you think she gets hate from fans because within the group they always taker her side over Eric's? Whether he was in the wrong or not, I think generally people don't like to see one person ganged up on.
Just to be clear, I'm not saying Eric was always innocent, or a victim for that matter. But I can't deny it felt like no one took his side. For example when he didn't take Donna back after Casey dumped her. I'm sorry, but Eric was well in his right to reject Donna, and I didn't like how Red and Kitty scolded him. It was his decision, and that's that.
I'm not a Donna hater, I do like her character. I just think the writers didn't do her justice by making the gang take her side the majority of the time.
That is a sentiment I've heard from others as well, yep. Some say that it felt like on the show, Eric was always portrayed to be wrong and Donna was always portrayed to be right. Or that everyone (friends, Red/Kitty/Bob, classmates) acted like Donna was way too good for Eric and out of his league, and that it was exaggerated too much. I tend to agree with the latter point more.
I also agree about that moment at the end of season 4. It's a heartbreaking scene but it's so good because you can feel Eric's conflict. He loves her and has wanted nothing more than to get back together all season, but now that the moment is here there's doubt licking at the back of his mind. About Donna's motives, about whether she returns his feelings or not. Which - like you said. Can't exactly blame him!
I also dislike that Red and Kitty yelled at him over this. It feels like they had good intentions, but went about executing them in the wrong way (which is a parenting pattern for them, in my opinion). I think their intention was to get Eric to understand that he’s not Donna’s second choice - that she’s been pining for him all season just like he’s been pining for her. The audience knows this. Their friends and family know this. But Eric doesn’t. Dramatic irony.
But agreed, they went about it the wrong way. Yelling, tearing down Eric’s self-esteem. Enforcing (once again) the idea that Donna is leagues better than Eric and that he’s stupid for not accepting it.
I do see that pattern. Almost every character on the show acts like Donna is way too good for Eric. I see where you’re coming from, I think. But I am not sure that their friends/everyone always side with Donna.
Like in “Vanstock” - Donna’s punishing Eric for not telling her right away about Kelso cheating on Jackie, and Hyde points out that Donna’s being too hard on him and that he’s a great boyfriend to her 99% of the time. Donna admits Hyde’s right, and she forgives Eric/climbs back in the sleeping bag with him.
Hyde gave her shit about Casey Kelso, too. In “Everybody Loves Casey” Donna says Casey’s changed and he’s mature, and Hyde sarcastically says, “Oh yeah. He’s real mature,” and Donna gets angry with him for not agreeing with her. In that episode, Kelso also sides with Eric. He tells him what he and Donna had was real, and implies that Eric should fight for the relationship/that Eric is the one who should be with her, not Casey.
Or in “Kiss of Death”, when Donna is angry at Eric for not telling her the truth about how her cat died. Jackie gives Donna a wake-up call and says he clearly only lied to spare her feelings, and she could have a lot worse relationship problems than that.
Jackie does something similar in “Donna’s Panties” - she tells Donna to go back to Eric and the Valentine’s Day dinner he prepared for her, after she walked out over his gift. She says Donna should be with the person she loves on the holiday - implying she should forgive Eric for his transgression, that it’s not as big of a deal as Donna thinks it is.
I could probably come up with more examples if spent the time. These are just what came to mind.
