Could Brian and Angela ever hit it off as a couple?

[Leb]

i don´t think, brian is only very intellectual and has no emotional deepness. i just watched the halloween-ep (for the first time to make everybody jealous! , and he is obviously empathic, e.g. when rayanne tells him her (made-up) childhood-story about her father locking her up in the basement. he understands her, feels for her and is very hurt, when it shows she just made a joke with him. he got feelings, but he is probably afraid of them, so he never shows them.
and what about the letter he wrote for jordan? nobody who hasn´t deep emotions could write a touching letter, he knows the right words, because he knows the way it feels.
so, i guess they could have been a great couple. a lot of arguing, but on a really good basis. a lot of meaning between them, that could make it hard sometimes, but they would recognize that it´s worth it.

[grim4746]

A few people have said that they don't think Angela could ever think of Brian romantically because they've known each other too long or have been through too much together. I don't buy that. If that was enough of a reason then Brian wouldn't be able to think of her romantically either. Knowing someone well doesn't, in and of itself, mean that you can't be interested in them sexually/romantically. Possibly what she knows about him could be enough to squash any chance of Angela becoming interested in Brian.

[Sophia CH4]

I have to disagree with most of you. I think that Brian is adorable, not hot like Jordan, but definitely not bad looking. He will grow into himself more than Jordan.. I think the ending signified Angela's realization that Jordan and her would never be anything lasting. But she gets in the car with the good-looking boy in a band while watching the brainy neighbor on a bike watch her. Such a typical high school idea: the good-looking boy with a car wins out then but not later, as the episode with the dead kid so reminiscent of Jordan foretells. I think she has feelings for Brian that confuse her. She seems to have possibly wished to sabotage his date with Delia even though she claims she didn't want to. She is upset seeing him and Sharon together. She wants him there for when she's ready. I see it as her realizing that she needs to be young and have fun and like guys wholly wrong for her, but she wants him to be there waiting for her in the end and, the thing is, I don't know if he will. He needs to grow too, and he might grow right past her.

see, what i really don't like is when people put mscl characters into some kind of stereotypes,which is exactly what you're doing here. you don't like the idea of angela and jordan together, so you make him out to be a stupid hunk with a convertible. yes, there is some truth in that , but he is also a person with feelings just like brian.
and the arguments you've made can be viewed differently; she just asked brian for a "technical" to get to the dance and seemed genuinely shocked when she found out about delia not going with them because "her aunt is, like, in a hospital, so" and hey, if my neighbour and my ex best friend were in my room, laughing histerically that would definitely freak me out too, not to mention her bra- i really didn't got the impression that she was jealous, and later in the episode ,seeing how brian is her friend ,she doesn't want him to be hurt by sharon's manipulative behaviour. i think she just likes all that attention that brian is giving her and knowing that there is one person who will always be there for you, to listen to you, to explain congruent triangles( only he didn't do that ).

He will grow into himself more than Jordan

.

yeah, you don't know that. i mean, they are both on the same level as far as that is concerned-jordan in his band and brian in his chess club, brian gets A's all the time but is afraid to ask a girl for a phone number, jordan is afraid of speaking up in class, but has no problem with superficial conversation with girls. however, very telling is brian's remark to jordan; " you can go up to any girl and get her phone number but you're afraid to tell angela chase you're sorry", but brian who stood up to principle foster, who speaks up in class all the time, is also afraid to express his feelings towards angela. and i think that's the reason those guys hit it off so well.

This attitude seems to be shown by alot of you in other threads when you say that you would have wanted Jordan in high school, but you would pick Brian now, in your twenties.

I would choose neither.Not now, not then.Too much issues.Both of them.

grim4746;

A few people have said that they don't think Angela could ever think of Brian romantically because they've known each other too long or have been through too much together. I don't buy that. If that was enough of a reason then Brian wouldn't be able to think of her romantically either. Knowing someone well doesn't, in and of itself, mean that you can't be interested in them sexually/romantically.

some nice points you made, knowing somebody long doesn't mean that there isn't any possibility for romance- i mean, what would be the point of "till death do us part".there are people who are in love their entire life.
but, throughout the show and her voice she never expressed anything that would indicate even the slightest romantic interest.

Possibly what she knows about him could be enough to squash any chance of Angela becoming interested in Brian.

that is a very good point, this reminded how in #ep 2, she reffers to him as reassuring and annoying at the same time, so first he'll reassure her, and then annoy her. or the other way around?

[ele_93]

For Brians sake it would be nice for them to grow a relationship but knowing each other from younge makes you feel more friends than relationship material. If she ever were to go out with Brian, Danielle would be very cold and anal to her. Brian seems great but also is much to shy to ever (or at least during hs) bring up the courage to ask Angela out IMHO. Jordan in the last episode seems to be making an effort to start a relationship with Angela! They (Angel and Jordan) also look very good together.

[lecter5761]

They could probably make it for awhile, but how many people do you know who end up marrying the person they dated at 15? More likely than Jordan though...if this was real life he'd have ended up working at a gas station or something.

[nkatsa]

i'm not sure if i'm alone in thinking this, but i actually never saw there as being an angela-jordan-brian triangle. i never interpreted those final moments of the last episode as angela being blown away at brian's revelation and re-evaluating her feelings for him. i always saw it more as just surprise. angela's a humble girl and i would think she'd be shocked at anyone having a crush on her, let alone KRAKOW, who she sometimes thought just got his kicks out of tormenting her, and who she now probably feels all guilty for tormenting all those times as well. i know if i were in her position i'd probably just be flashing back to all those times he was a jerk and thinking (affectionately of course) "wait, so the whole time...? you dork." but i just don't see her brushing off Jordan to stay and talk to Brian more about feelings.

and i'm sure this has been said before, but jordan totally gets a bad rep. i absolutely agree that brian will grow into himself and grow out of his awkwardness, and when he does that he's going to be a really great catch. but i think all those things can be said about jordan as well. he's also just a kid, and he's never really known how to be different. it seems like angela's the first person who's really tried to connect with him in a non-superficial way, and she's started to stretch him, and he seems to want to change. i think if he grows up a little and is able to admit to himself more readily that he needs her (the way he admits it to patty in those last moments of the series as well), he can be a good guy as well. clearly, they both have a long way to go, and i'm sure this is years of bias and teen fantasy talking here, but i just definitely see angela romantically involved with a more matured Jordan, and being great friends with a more matured Brian.

[oaksand]

I agree with you here that we see Jordan growing into 'boyfriend material'. I too think Angela and Jordan are a much better couple.

A lot of the fan fiction has Angela and Jordan breaking up and then meeting up years later with all the passion still there but with life experience and maturity to make them realise how much they mean to each other - I think this is realistic. Obviously Angela is not going to marry the guy she dated at 15 but the chemistry and the connection between the two would be too powerful to ignore if they met up again 'IMHO'.

[luvjordan]

Don't be so sure that Angela and Jordan don't get married. I've known a number of couples who dated all through high school and got married. Often they separated for college and had other relationships, but after college met up again and as they say, "it was on." The odds are against it, of course, but realize that we have seen nothing really of who Jordan could become now that he has a clue.

Brian is not emotionally mature enough to handle a real relationship at this point and definitely not with Angela. She is light years ahead of him, just from the few months of dealing with Jordan. She was already way ahead of him before Jordan came along. Brian is an observer, he need to have some experiences of his own before he can have a relationship. He needs to have some emotional experiences. A fling, perhaps. Something to connect theory to actual events. I'm not a fan of the Brian gets Angela in the end theory. It's too neat and completely unrealistic.

I'm not saying that Jordan is Mr. Maturity, but he has a certain amount of life experience that he can draw from in dealing with relationships. His issue has been allowing himself to open up to that degree. Brian simply does not have the capacity at this point to deal with the complexities of a relationship.

[Jody Barsch*]

Again, well put. I really agree with your point that we really don't know who Jordan is (or is becoming). I don't really see a big change happening for him in high school, but I think he'll grow up to be a really level headed adult who is well equipped to interact wiht the world -- he just seems to be able to cut through the BS and see things for what they are (most of the time). I also liked what you said about the Brian ending being too perfect (at least if it happend their sophomore year).

[Brunkster]

My brief analysis:

At the end of episode 19, Jordan is not mature enough for Angela for things to really work out. At the same time, Brian (while not a man in boy's shoes) needs Angela to mature a bit before anything could work out between the two of them.

That's the two sentence version. There's a longer one I could cook up if anyone wanted to hear it.

[Christina_in_color]

That's the two sentence version. There's a longer one I could cook up if anyone wanted to hear it.

I know this message is old... But, yeah, I want to hear it.

Here's my take on Brian and Angela:

Brian's affections are reassuring to her, but I don't think Angela would be the best lover for him. I'm not saying saying that it couldn't happen. In fact, I think she would try it out to see if the two fit together but ultimately pick someone else. Angela is too young to know what type of person she would be compatible with because she's just figuring her adult self out. Brian is blind, in a way, because he's been infatuated with her for so long that he doesn't really know if the two are truly compatible. I'm talking from personal experience. After five years of friendship, I had a brief relationship with my closest male friend, and all of a sudden, I realized that he wasn't the person I thought he was and vice versa. Adding romance to a friendship changes people in unexpected ways. Brian has this image of how great he and Angela would be together, but the pressures of "sexy love" might temporarily ruin his delicate friendship. He might realize after it's too late that the friendship was enough.

Take a look at her parents. Graham and Patty have been together for a long time and would possibly have split up in a second season. Jordan is Angela's introductory relationship to adulthood. He is the necessary catalyst for change that will prepare her for knowing how to love and be loved. Angela and Brian could start something in college, but I don't see anything happening during high school. A few relationships down the line, I think Brian would find love with another woman.

[MonnyUK2]

This is a very difficult question and one that I think all MSCL fans want answered. This question is one of the reasons why I love the show so much. I watch the interactions between the two and some of the best moments of MSCL have been between Brian and Angela. The scene at the end of the 'pilot', the scene from the end of 'Strangers in the House', the scene at the end of 'Why Jordan Can't Read' and of course the end scene of 'In Dreams come Responsibilities'.

Is Brian boyfriend material for Angela then I would have to say that he needs to become more confident in dealing with girls. If he had gone out with Delia Fischer may be this could have helped him but I still think there is a connection between Angela and Brian. The end scene of epidsode 19 was probably the best and most frustrating scene of the series. I don't think Angela was just surprised, you can tell in her facial expression that she sees a different person in front of her and all of Brian's actions towards her are becoming clear.

In the 'Life of Brian' she got involved when she knew he was going to the date with someone else. The way she looks at Brian in the end of 'Strangers in the House' and what she says to him leads me to think that somewhere deep down she may harbour something for him. When Brian asks Angela why Sharon needed him in particular she replies that is is due to the certain ways that Brian is...

Angela sees more of the man in Jordan and more of a grown up and I think that is what attracts her to him because many boys of Brian's age are still very immature. Angela and Brian could be seen as brother and sister also. Some of the arguments they have are quite powerful but sill in the next scene they are ok again. Why is that?

In episode 3 Brian spreads a really horrible rumour about Angela and although he defends Ricky and earns back Angela's respect would many girls forgive for spreading this rumour? In episode 7 when Brian comes to give Danielle a saxophone and Angela is getting ready to introduce Jordan to her parents, they have such a horrible srgument but still you can see the passion and tension between them in this scene. At the end of this episode they are back to being friends but she points to Brian still being a little boy due to him not knowing what being in love is like. I know Brian constantly focused on the Chase house,lol! Why didn't he go over and apologise on that night. He must have known Jordan never came? He could have scored some points with Angela that night, especially as she was so upset? I think that could e a separate topic itself.

In conclusion I would say that maybe in a few more years Brian would have been ready to have a relationship with Angela. Had there been a season 2 I think they would have grown closer as Winnie Holzman wrote in the DVD boxset recently that Brian would have been Angela's shoulder to cry on when she was having trouble with Jordan. Maybe in a future episode if Brian got stuck somewhere with Angela as he got stuck with Rayanne in 'Halloween' then maybe they would have been more honest with each other.

[soprano8908]

I've been a Brian Krakow supporter from the start and there's something in the way he just looks at her that makes me think he would be the only man who could ever love her enough.

[speed24601]

Well, I guess I'll put in my two cents. From the start, I'll tell you I'm a Brian Krakow supporter. I think he truly loves Angela and he's known it for a long time, whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not. As for what would've happened had the show continued? Well....I'm currently working on some episode 20 fanfic so maybe I'll submit that sometime.

As much as I want to see Brian and Angela together, I must admit that in the stage of development that Angela's going through, she's not looking for safety and security, which is what Brian would be able to give her. She's in the stage of her life where she's trying to define who she is and what she stands for. She's looking to be daring and edgy and dating Jordan Catalano would give her those things. It would be exciting. It would be a rollercoaster ride. That's where she's at right now.

I can see Angela and Jordan continuing to date through high school, but having some serious trials and tribulations, and eventually it would probably end badly, with Jordan doing something along the lines of "ummmmm-ing" Rayanne, except not with Rayanne. Angela would probably be crushed and stay out of the dating scene until college.

If she and Krakow were to meet again in maybe their mid-twenties, I think things have a definite chance to work out. I think they could be quite successful.

That being said, there's a pretty poorly done video on Youtube of what it might be like if Angela and Jordan were together 10 years after the events of "In Dreams." It takes clips from "Shopgirl" and some movie Jared Leto was in with Nicholas Cage. It also uses some scenes from MSCL. There's no dialogue, just music, but it's kind of interesting to watch. Especially since Claire had her hair almost red in "Shopgirl." Here's the link:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbMZXSzsDjo

[Brunkster]

That's the two sentence version. There's a longer one I could cook up if anyone wanted to hear it.

I know this message is old... But, yeah, I want to hear it.

Wow, I wrote this so long ago I can't even recall my exact thoughts at the time. I'd try to reconstruct my inner dialogue, but honestly it's been a long day and my brain isn't at 100% right now. I'm glad to see people still talking about it, though. It really is one of the great questions of MSCL.

I have to admit I've been totally neglecting both the show and these boards. I miss them both!