Angela, Rayanne, and Rickie

[SanDeE*]

I didn't notice it so much when I first watched the show years ago, but now that I'm watching them again, it's a lot more apparent to me how almost inconsiderate the girls are of Rickie. They are constantly interupting him. When they are discussing something in the girls' bathroom, or wherever, and Rickie will say, "She's not saying..." before getting cut off by one of the girls: "I'm NOT saying blah blah, etc." No wonder Rickie, during "Guns & Gossip," thought that he was just someone that was "around." Any thoughts on why the girls do this?

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I know exactly what you're talking about. Like in the Pilot when Angela says, "Well I'm not leaving Rickie here," Rayanne replies, "Rickie don't mind," and Rickie echoes softly, "I don't mind."

I think it has more to do with Rickie's initial insecurity than Rayanne and Angela's rudeness. Not to be a "blame the victim" kind of person, but Rickie LETS them treat him like that. He doesn't say, "Uhh, I don't like being ditched so you can run off with some older guys." In terms of general rudeness (with Angela and Rayanne interrupting him), he doesn't say, "HEY, I was talking" the way Angela does when Jordan kisses her. In general, younger people tend to be more egocentric (gaining a a world view is a mark of maturity) and hence they often interrupt each other and finish each other's sentences in order to have their own say.

Throughout the series, Rickie shows remarkable growth as he comes to terms with who he is. At the beginning, people frequently interrupt him when he speaks, and he is very non-confrontational. He sits on the fence about a lot of things. For example in Dancing in the Dark, he agrees with both Angela and Rayanne when they discuss the fantasy vs. the reality of Jordan.

Rickie : She's not saying that she...
Angela : I'm not saying...see there's thinking about him, right? Which is what I do. All the time. Like this...
Rickie : Obsession.
Rayanne : Right. So?
Angela : So, it keeps me going or something. Like I need it just to get through the day. It...It's just ...
Rickie : It's an obsession.
Angela : Right. And, and if you make it real, it's it's not the same. It's not, it's not yours anymore. I don't know, maybe I'd rather have the fantasy than even him.
Rickie : I completely understand this.
Rayanne : I totally and completely disagree. You want Jordan Catalano in actuality because...there is no because. You just want him. Only you're programmed to never admit it.
Rickie : That does have the ring of truth.

By the end of the series, Rickie has evolved and become stronger and more sure of himself. After Rayanne's terrible debut at Club Vertigo, he rips into her: "No! I can't anymore. You don't know how scared I was. I thought you were dead. I was picking out the clothes I should wear to your funeral." In Betrayal, he tells her, "Look I'm not gonna hang out here just to watch you get plastered!" and later tells a stammering Brian, "Hey, hey, Brian. Could you, like, pick a sentence and go with it?" Although he sympathizes with both Angela and Rayanne about The Betrayal, he tells Angela, "I'm on your side! It's like, impossible to be on Rayanne's side." In the series finale, he confronts Rayanne and accuses her of being unhappy. If you notice, he doesn't let people interrupt him anymore. Instead of simply responding and reacting, he takes the initiative and is assertive in conversation and in his actions.

[SanDeE*]

candygirl that was exactly what I was thinking! I guess I couldn't analyze it as well as I wanted to because I haven't finished watching the set. I just noticed the interuption thing right away watching it within the last few days. It's like discovering a whole new show!

[MirkwoodMaiden]

I agree they may have taken advantage of him at times, but these are his very best friends and he seems to love them more than he loves himself.

[Cami A.]

Natasha,

Right on the mark.
That's exactly what I would've said about Rickie.
He definitely grows more secure over the course of the series, and actually stands up to his girlfriends.

Another scene (you sort of mentioned it, but didn't hit the spot I was thinking of) where Rickie stands up to them is in Betrayal, when he confronts Angela about going after Corey when Rickie "used to" have a thing for him. And how this was sort of the same thing as Rayanne sleeping with Jordan. When he says this Angela realizes right away that she was wrong. So when he wants to, Rickie can get across what he wants to get across!

Quote:
Rickie : I'm glad she got that part. She wanted that part.
Angela : What? Who's side are you on?
Rickie : I'm on your side! It's like, impossible to be on
Rayanne's side. Even though I partly understand it.
Angela : What do you mean?
Rickie : I mean, face it...she's always partly wanted to be you.
And in a way, I think this was her screwed up way of, for
one night, kind of pretending she _was_ you. I mean, I'm
on your side, no question. But can I just ask you
something? Why are you making this big play for Corey
Helfrick, when you know how I feel about him?
Angela : But...because! 'Cause I thought...I mean, you once told
me that you were over him.
Rickie : But guess how I felt when you started going after him?
Angela : [pauses.] I don't have to guess.