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I recently re-watched the episode "Guns and Gossip" (3rd episode --- the one with the gun going off in school). I may be late in realizing this (male cluelessness?) --- but it occurred to me this time around that the whole episode is based on the fact that RayAnne wrote the note that said that Angela had "complete sex" with Jordan Catalano. The whole episode is her scheming --- her belief that this note will be to Angela's advantage in the end.

Am I totally off-base with this --- or right on the mark? Let me know what you think?

Can't say it has even crossed my mind before. Generally Rayanne seems to be a good friend most of the time (unless she is trying to 'be' Angela) so I don't think she would do it to Angela (even though she would have done it for the 'right' reasons - she couldn't have judged Angela's reaction)...I think her reaction when Rayanne finally sees the note is genuine - shock and humour!! :0) And later on she asks Jordan if he had been spreading the rumour --- so I doubt it was Rayanne. Either way....while I agree that most men are clueless I don't think you are 'cos that was an original thought which is hard in this forum where everything seems to have been discussed before.

"And dance by the light of the moon!"

Call me clueless as well but i never got the idea that Rayanne wrote such a note. Didn't Brian start the rumor in the first place? (Scene towards end where Angela lays into Brian in the computer lab.?.) I got the impression that Brian first told Sharon and it went from there. Am I even getting warm????
By the way it's good to have Oldguy back on the board.


So my feeling is, whatever happens, happens. K-man

OK --- Here's my take on this episode:

RayAnne wrote the original note, the one that says Angela and Jordan had "complete sex". As the rumor builds, Sharon probably harassed Brian Krakow into saying that Angela did spend some time out in the car with Jordan. Remember, Brian says to Angela "I can imagine what she (Sharon) did with what I told her". Brian does have a little bit of a cruel streak, but let's face it: boys don't usually make up whole stories about people --- that's girl terrain. I think Sharon ran with Brian's story and spread the rumor further. But still, I think the original note came from RayAnne --- It explains a lot of what happens in the first half of this episode.

Just trying to make some interesting conversation...

I think "Guns & Gossip" really establishes MSCL as seriously intense TV. The pilot is of course very good, mostly because of the great writing. But I think the acting in the pilot is actually a little weak. It was filmed almost 2 years before the rest of the shows (notice how much older everyone is by episode 2?), so the young actors had time to mature. "Dancing in the Dark" (ep. 2) is OK, but not one of the top 10 episodes. But "Guns & Gossip" is a tour de force --- great acting, funny script --- it really gets under the skin of teen life --- one of the great hours of television history. By the end of "G & G", you know you're watching a really special series.

... just another 2 cents worth from me!

I see where you are coming from but that still doesn't explain Rayanne 'just checking' with Jordan that it wasn't him who spread the rumours. And anyway, why would Rayanne do such a thing to Angela?

"And dance by the light of the moon!"

Remember that in "Dancing in the Dark," Sharon insinuated that Brian was doing all the work on the science project. That's the whole reason that Brian wanted Angela to help him, and when she agrees, Brian is quick to tell Sharon to try and prove that he's not doing all the work. The next day, I can see her casually asking him, in a snide manner, if Angela was much help. Then, as Brian stumbles around awkwardly, Sharon says, "Krakow, did something, like, Happen last night?" And then Brian plants the seed without Rayanne being involved at all.

I think at the beginning of the episode, RayAnne believes that spreading the rumor about Angela and Jordan will prove to be good for Angela. When RayAnne asks Jordan about whether he started the rumor, she may have done this just to manipulate Jordan and get him thinking more about Angela. And in a way, this works, because this is what gets Jordan really talking to Angela for the first time. You could argue that if it wasn't for this original rumor, Jordan would have never thought twice again about Angela and all the subsequent episodes would not have been possible!

This is an interesting angle. Not that this isn't possible but is this just your own speculation or is there something in the episode i missed that would point to such an exchange between Sharon and Brian.?. Oldguy; you have an interesting theory on why Rayanne asked Jordan if he was just"Talkin' it up like some low-life derelict cretin telling everyone he 'did' her." but I think she was sincere in trying to find out if he in fact started the rumor. Rayanne doesn't have that many serious scenes but I think this is one of them. She seems genuinely pi**ed-off when she grills Jordan here. I don't like to argue but I think I'm gonna have to agree with Joanna on this one. (what's new)

So my feeling is, whatever happens, happens. K-man

oldguy wrote.. "You could argue that if it wasn't for this original rumor, Jordan would have never thought twice again about Angela and all the subsequent episodes would not have been possible! "

Interesting thought. Personally, I think the interaction between Jordon and Angela in his car during episode 2 is what piqued his interest in Angela. I mean, he probably isn't used to girls fending him off. God, I love that scene when he tries to kiss her and she was like.. "i was talking.."

I love how this series leaves many things open to interpretation.

Keith,
Good point but I would like to add my take on when we learn of Jordan's interest in Angela. You state that it occurred in Red in ep. 2 when Angela gets the ID. While this is one of my favorite scenes of all, I felt the first real proof that Jordan is interested in Angela is earlier in this great episode when Jordan and Rayanne are outside by the orange/apple machine when Jordan says,"That girl I see you with". I say Jordan showed his cards right then and there. Listen up girls.....THAT is about all you are ever gonna get from a guy when it comes to showing interest. Jordan has revealed he knows 'that girl' exists. Though cloaked in a casual allusion that he just might know who Rayanne is referring to, I believe Jordan knows exactly what he is doing here. He is nailing down an opportunity to meet a girl he is very interested in while maintaining a safe enough distance should things not go as planned. And by no small coincidence an astute Rayanne picks up on this subtlety and moves in for the kill. Rayanne is one sharp cookie here. I suppose a good arguement could also be made for the scene in the Pilot when Angela is getting in the police car and Jordan yells,"Hey I know that girl.. ....Angela!". But i think the first really solid proof is when Jordan calls her 'that girl'.

So my feeling is, whatever happens, happens. K-man

I don't think that Rayanne wrote it at all. Watch her reaction when she reads it -- not fake at all. Plus, we find out later that Brian started the rumor by telling Sharon, we don't know who actually wrote the note, but the rumor itself did not begin there. In the bathroom after Angela reads the note, Rayanne shows clear concern for Angela, and wouldn't go to the trouble of tracking down Jordan (by herself) if she had been the one to start it. No, Rayanne is not responsible for the note, just tries to put it to Angela's advantage once it has been written. Interesting thought though...