Two questions about the pilot.

[MYSOCALLEDLIFEDVD]

I have two questions about the pilot. I don't there is any right or wrong answer, it's really just what people think.

WHY DOES ANGELA QUIT YEARBOOK?

In the pilot, soon after we meet Angela she is at school. She is at a yearbook meeting and suddenly she gets up, walks out and quits. The teacher asks her why she is quitting yearbook and Angela says basically that she doesn't know why she is quitting. There really is no reason given at all.

I was wondering what everyone thinks about why Angela quit yearbook soo suddenly, without even giving a reason.

I think Angela quit yearbook because she is changing, it's like she's not really sure who she is anymore or what she wants. She's trying to change, and get in with more popular kids like JORDAN AND RAYANNE. Maybe she thinks YEARBOOK CLUB is for nerds?

WHO IS JODIE? & WHAT DID RAYANNE DO TO HER?

Also in the pilot there is a scene where Angela is in the bathroom with her X best friend Sharon. Sharon questions why Angela is hanging out with Rayanne. She then tells Angela that Rayanne is just "using her" and that Rayanne is going to do the same thing to her that she did to "JODIE". Angela asks her for more info on Jodie, but Sharon basically says "oh please" like the whole school already knows.

But I don't think we the audience ever find out who JODIE is or what RAYANNE sapposedly did to her.

So what do you guys think? Is Jodie ever mentioned again in the series? I don't think so. Do we ever find out what Rayanne did to this mystery girl?

Maybe RAYANNE and JODIE were best friends? Maybe RAYANNE slept with JODIE'S boyfriend just as she did to ANGELA? Who knows!

[Miss_Leto]

yeah, i have thought about jodie, too. i think something bad happened between rayanne and her, but i don´t think that rayanne slept with jodie´s boyfriend because in the show rayanne sleeps with jordan (or the one after that? i can´t remember) she has a conversation with patty and she says to patty that she had never hurt somebody that bad as she did hurt angela. so i guess it wasn´t something THAT awful that happened between rayanne and jodie...

that thing with the yearbook is a good question. i would have to see that one again

[MYSOCALLEDLIFEDVD]

Wow. I did not remember that conversation with Patty and Rayanne. I guess you are right. From that conversation we can assume that whatever Rayanne may have done to Jodie, she did NOT sleep with Jodie's boyfriend.

But still, we do not know what happened, hehe. I wish that more info was given about this girl Jodie! So we could have a better chance to figure it out.

[nkatsa]

i think angela explains her reason for quitting yearbook quite beautifully here:

Mayhew: So, you quit yearbook, hmm? No explanation. Your appearance has altered. I'm really concerned you're getting off on the wrong foot. Is there a problem at home?

Angela: It just seems like, you agree to have a certain personality or
something. For no reason. Just to make things easier for everyone. But when you think about it, I mean, how do you know it's even you? And, I mean, this whole thing with yearbook -- it's like, everybody's in this big hurry to make this book, to supposedly remember what happened but it's not even what really happened, it's what everyone thinks was supposed to happen. Because if you made a book of what really happened, it'd be a really upsetting book. You know, in my humble opinion.

i think it's less about her actually quitting than it was about the big deal that everybody made about her quitting. her mom got all pissy ("WHAT?? I thought you LIKED yearbook!!"), Sharon being all bitchy ("you could've at least told me you were going to quit yearbook!") and her teacher even making her stay after class to talk about what was wrong. what if nothing's wrong, maybe she just wanted to quit. why is it so hard to believe that she's voicing an opinion and that she doesn't want to do yearbook? why does she have to be locked into other people's expectations for her? why can't her parents and friends let her change?

and i know some commentators have said before that it seems like that whole speech is kind of a testament to why MSCL was cancelled as well... it wasn't as upbeat and pretty as some people probably like their TV. Many other teen shows are prettily packaged ideals of "what everybody thinks is supposed to happen." Whereas MSCL is "a book about what really happened." and well, guess what, "it was a really upsetting book." :p



and as for jody barsch, i think she'll always just be one of MSCL's eternal mysteries. Like Tino and the Chase's cat. We'll all just pretend we know who Tino is and whether the cat got fed, and that we're in the loop and we know what Rayanne did to Jody Barsch, lest Sharon make fun of us for being clueless dolts. "Oh PLEASE. That is like, SO known."

[Jody Barsch*]

and as for jody barsch, i think she'll always just be one of MSCL's eternal mysteries. Like Tino and the Chase's cat. We'll all just pretend we know who Tino is and whether the cat got fed, and that we're in the loop and we know what Rayanne did to Jody Barsch, lest Sharon make fun of us for being clueless dolts. "Oh PLEASE. That is like, SO known."

Well said nkatsa!!

The thing that has always intrigued me about the Jody Barsch storyline is that Sharon says that Rayanne used Jody -- not that she hurt her, but that she used her. I always find myself at a loss for what Rayanne would use somebody for. Or more interestingly, what does Sharon think Rayanne would use Angela for? It's hard for me to come up with something plausible. Maybe it's because Rayanne always seems so independent, and that irregardless of her many faults, she is always genuine, she just doesn't seem likely to use people (well, actually, I don't know, there was the whole drummer thing in Frozen Embryos... but I'm going to assert that Rayanne interacts with friends very differently from how she behaves with the guys she hooks up with). I keep coming back to the question of: what is the connection that Sharon sees between Jody Barsch and Angela?

[I keep having posting deja vu -- I think that I've posted a thought before, I search for it to be sure, and can't find it, and so I post it. Please forgive me if I actually am repeating myself.]

[Jody Barsch*]

Ah ha! I found it! I had been limiting my search to the Show forum, and then remembered that the thread is from Fan Fiction. Here's the link to the discussion a lot of people have had over Jody's story: http://www.mscl.com/forum/viewtopic.php ... sc&start=0

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I kind of like NOT knowing what happened between Rayanne and Jody, especially in light of the way Sharon says that it's SO known. Angela clearly doesn't know, and the audience sees the Jody situation from Angela's point of view, meaning we don't know and feel a little stupid for not knowing what is SO known.