World Happiness Dance

[Guest]

I never thought about Kyle looking at Rickie. I always thought he was looking at Delia like that, and that was why Sharon had that look on her face. I thought he was kinda digging Delia because she was doing a great job of trying to keep up with Rickie, dancing all sexy and shaking it.

Also, didn't the original script for this episode have Kyle and Sharon breaking up during the dance but waiting till after the dance for it to be known for appearances sake? I could be confused though.

[Natasha (candygirl)]

I don't know what was in the original script (meaning before AJ Langer broke out in chicken pox), but the shooting script is available here - if you read some of the scenes that were cut (Kyle flirting with Holly Galanoy, who later shows up as the girl auditioning for Our Town before Rayanne), it makes more sense that Sharon was having such a hissyfit about Kyle asking her to the dance. There is another scene at the dance where Kyle is watching Corey dance with Holly so Sharon picks a fight with him and they break up with Sharon concluding, "Listen to me. You’re going to dance with me tonight. You’re going to act like there’s no one in the world you’d rather be with. Because you owe it to me. Because I worked by butt off for this *stupid dance*....And just so you know - I really hate you right now."

[likelife]

just to add to the kyle/rickie discussion, my boyfriend watched this episode with me the other day (and he's usually a little hesitant to pick out homoerotic moments), but he noticed RIGHT AWAY that it looks like kyle is oggling rickie.
he also got a kick out of kyle's character alltogether. i know i always have.

[Lindsay]

I totally agree!! That always struck me as strange... but maybe its taken out of context- probably with the deleted scenes it makes scence.

[majesty]

Regarding the initial post:

I think Angela wanted to go to the dance simply because it is a normal high school thing to do. Of course Rayanne wouldn't be into the idea, but Angela is basically a normal teenage girl and school dances are part of the normal high school experience. There is another episode that indicates this; I'm not sure which it is, but Angela asks Rayanne whether or not they should attend basketball games, so she at least has pondered the thought of participating in high school activities and functions. I'm sure she dreamed about having slow dance with Jordan and really hoped he'd be there so that they could share a "special, typical high school romance" moment. And, at the very least, she could probably have a decent time with Rayanne and Rickie there.

As far as why she wanted Brian to take her, I'm not sure entirely. I think, for some reason, she didn't think she was cool enough to show up alone, like Delia did. I don't know why she thought that, as she could have just hung out with her friends there. She didn't want to go with Rickie, Rayanne and Corey because of Rickie's situation with Corey. Jordan obviously wasn't going to take her as she'd hoped. But she could rely on good ol' reliable Bri. She knew he'd always be there to do her favors, and she assumed he would have nothing else better to do than to take her. I interpret the scene where she passes them in the science lab as a slight, unconscious twinge of jealousy when Brian and Delia are touching hands.

The dynamics of why she went to the dance and what her real motivations were are pretty complex. Primarily, she wanted to be with Jordan.

Just watched the end of this episode again (I just had to see Rickie and Delia dancing again) so my question is who did Corey want to go to the dance with - Rickie or Rayanne?

The reason I ask is that as soon as he finds out Rayanne isn't coming, he leaves. Is this because he really wanted to hang out with Rayanne? Or because he was attracted to Rickie and felt the situation was "too obvious" if it was just the two of them?

Hmm... From what we see in later episodes, I don't think Corey had any interest in Rickie. I've always thought Corey had developed sort of a crush on Rayanne. He was the new kid, a and an attractive girl was going out of her way to be friendly to him, allowing him to paint her shoes, and she even invited him to the school dance. I bet he misread all of her actions and concluded she liked him, when she was only trying to assist Rickie. I don't think the thought of Rickie being attracted to him ever crossed his mind.

Another thing about the end of the dance - after Brian went through all this inner turmoil to go to the dance with Angela, why didn't he dance with her? When he suggested they might dance (which I thought meant that he did want to dance with her), Angela explodes, "We're not gonna dance!" and he backtracks by saying, "I realize that."

When Angela comes back inside, she asks if he wants to dance, Brian says, "Not with you."

Angela is his dream girl, so why wouldn't he seize this opportunity to finally be physically close to her? I will admit that my adolescent fantasies were about slow dancing with some boy that I liked (very non-sexual fantasies!), and Brian respects Angela to see her as an object, someone to have sex with. He wants a relationship with all those little things like dancing, so why would he pass up this opportunity?

Is it because he saw her with Jordan in the parking lot and doesn't want to play second fiddle?

Ah, yes. I love the way the episode ends, only because Angela and Brian have both been so selfish throughout the episode, they don't deserve to have a nice time like everyone else. I think Brian rejected dancing with Angela because his night has been ruined. He had grasped some hope of going to the dance with Angela (I love his "Oh my God" when he sees her all dressed up), but he then realizes she only came to see Jordan. And then he sees her pinned up on the gate with Jordan (what a sexually charged scene! ). Delia rejects him too, he feels bad, Sharon keeps shooting him dirty looks, lol. So I think he's just resigned himself to having a terrible night. I think he wanted to dance with Angela, but he doesn't want her to have a decent night either knowing that she'd just been outside with Jordan and that she'd used him just to get to the dance.

Finally, something tells me Brian isn't a great dancer. What with Rickie shutting the place down with his moves and setting the bar so high, Brian probably suddenly felt uncomfortable about dancing in front of everyone, especially with Angela.


I'm laughing at the interpretations of Kyle. I'd never thought about him lusting after Rickie. I do remember the look he gave, and I thought he was just in awe that quiet, shy, ostracized Rickie coud be the life of the dance and ruler of the dance floor. I always get a kick out of seeing Rickie and Delia dance.

[Cami A.]

Majesty,
The World Happiness Dance is one of my all-time favorite scenes (I guess it's multiple scenes, technically). I love when Rickie dances, he's my favorite character!

You are right about Corey, he never even considered that Rickie might like him, he was into Rayanne because she was nice to him. Well said.
And I think interpretations of Kyle "oogling" Rickie are wack!
He was just in awe of the dancing like everyone else.

I too love how Brian reacts to Angela at the end by saying "not with you." I think you are right, he's got enough dignity left to deny her at the moment after all she's put him through. He's already been made a fool of and acted in heartless ways (dumping Delia)...he's not to keen on the idea of giving her what she wants at that moment.

I love the quote about her hair smelling like an orange grove--"but it was probably just her shampoo, or whatever" LOL!