Most of Boy Meets World focused on the friendship between Shawn and Cory, as well as the romance the latter had with Topanga. But the last few seasons expanded the show with more characters, which introduced Matthew Lawrence and Maitland Ward. However, while the show still resonates with fans even after thirty years, this doesn’t mean stars Will Friedle, Danielle Fishel, and Rider Strong loved every decision the writers made.
The three actors have been out spoken with their opinions on their Pod Meets World rewatch podcast. So I wasn’t surprised that when the trio got together for a Q&A that they revealed what storylines they would have changed. Some of their answers may be surprising to ‘90s fans, who can rewatch the series anytime with a Disney+ subscription. When asked what he would change on the podcast, Friedle got honest about Ward’s character Rachel with an opinion that he worries some people may find “harsh”:
When Jack came on the show, it was a great dynamic with Jack and Eric, and then Rachel came on, and it just kind of muddled that relationship, too, with Jack and Eric. You kind of then go, ‘Okay, well, what was the point of this?’
Friedle, along with Fishel and Strong, has been touring the country for their Pod Meets World podcast. Part of the tour has been dishing on BTS drama, such as protecting their younger costars during their time on Girl Meets World, and fun trivia. Friedle's answer has nothing to do with Ward’s performance or the character of Rachel, but specifically about how little he feels the writers gave her to do.
Meanwhile, Fishel would have done better with the Stuart storyline (who was a professor played by Fred Savage who hits on Topanga), by giving her character more agency. Strong chose the entirety of Season 6 for Shawn, specifically with how angsty he was following his father’s death. The actor would have preferred to have brought Mr. Turner returned as the relationship between the two was “underutilized” on the show.
Speaking of characters who weren’t used to their full potential, the three actors the Boy Meets World writers kept Jack and Rachel “murky." While Maitland Ward crushed whatever the writers gave her, the podcast trio felt her character was “never sharpened,” and was primarily used to create conflict between Jack and Eric. Friedle says:
What is she? Sexy. That’s all they gave her, she’s sexy. [She] stands between two guys, who were going to fight over her, and that’s it.
This isn’t the first time the actors have called out a storyline they haven’t liked. They’ve previously brought up Topanga’s weight loss storyline and called out the episode they felt was a “clunker”. It's also not the first time Ward has come up on the podcast. The actress has previously confronted Fishel over an alleged decades old drama.
However, when bringing up Ward’s character, Friedle is specifically addressing how little he felt she was given to work with. Her time on the show largely showed her feeling like an outcast from the rest of the group, or stirring up conflict with a love triangle between Jack and Eric. Friedle explains:
It’s no knock on Maitland’s acting. They just never gave the character anything.
Part of the actor's answer came with how the role of Eric shifted from cool older brother to quirky comic relief. And while Friedle enjoyed the comedy, he wanted more for his character. He went from obsessing over his hair and girls, to believably having an alter ego, Plays with Squirrels, in a future-centric episode. Part of the shift came with replacing Eric’s best friend Jason (played by Friedle’s real life best friend, Jason Marsden) with Jack and Rachel.
This led to eventual conflict that drove Eric into moving out of the apartment. I would have enjoyed seeing Rachel interact more with Angela and Topanga, as Boy Meets World largely focused on the male characters and their relationships. Eric rarely had serious storylines, so when he did it hit deeper. I still get emotional when Eric chooses to give up Tommy. The actor has a point when he says:
In Season 6, they kind of just let Eric out to dry by himself. Yes, it was funny, but I would have given him some sort of a love interest that lasted. Maybe people are gonna think this is harsh. Maybe the Rachel character doesn’t ever come onto the show and you bring on a girl, an actual girl or guy for Eric, that is somebody that is a regular on the series that you see him try to develop his own kind of relationship with.
As a fan of the show, whose favorite character growing up was Eric, I would have loved seeing him with someone that took him seriously. While Jack became his best friend, he wasn't always looking out for Eric. Even when Friedle returned on Girl Meets World, his character still didn't have a relationship of his own.
It's interesting to think about what Boy Meets World would have been like if the actor's answers had been part of the plot. Despite what they would have changed, the actors still have nothing but love for the comedy and their characters.
