In the late ‘90s, Boy Meets World was pretty much everything to me. Friday nights were spent in front of the TV, holding our breath over what would happen to Cory and Topanga.
Would she forgive him for cheating on her with Ski Lodge Lauren? Would she go to Yale instead of the local college where the rest of her friend group was attending? How could their relationship survive when Topanga’s dad got a job in Pittsburgh?
When I was ten, all I wanted was for Cory and Topanga to make it because they were that couple. They were goals! We all wanted magical, childhood, ride-or-die love like Cory and Topanga, right?
WRONG.
Looking back on their relationship (and eventual marriage) as a now 35-year-old woman, wife, and mother, I am truly appalled at Cory’s absolute fumbling of Topanga over and over again. Yet, Topanga, written for the male gaze, forgives and forgets ten times over.
One TikTok user did a deep dive video into the messiness that is Cory Matthews, using several show clips as a guide to what not to do when picking a partner.
“When I tell you the patriarchy put in work to condition us. The writers knew what they were doing,” Anna Bash said in her video about Boy Meets World.
“And they really did this through Topanga, eventually really bending to the male gaze. Instead of leaving him after he cheats on her, she passes on Yale, on a scholarship, and proposes to him in high school.”
And how does Cory show his gratitude and love for her? He screams at her in public, in front of all their friends, about how she “killed his spirit” because she is just better than him in every single way.
Bash cuts to a clip from a later season of Boy Meets World after Cory and Topanga are married. Cory is trying to make money for the couple, who are struggle financially, and begins to sell magazines over the phone. Topanga ends up helping out, and surprise, she is way better at it than him.
“You shove your stupid grades in my face, or how you get promoted, or you sell one of my subscriptions … You said I’m a loser, Topanga. I know you said it cause I heard it. I heard it from your big mouth … I used to be able to do a lot of things before I married you. Congratulations, you killed my spirit,” he says to a broken-looking Topanga.
“This is what happens when Cory got the baddest bitch — he felt invincible, and then had the audacity to go on a date … while he was still with Topanga,” Bash says before cutting to a clip of Cory cheating on Topanga with Ski Lodge Lauren.
And despite cheating, then dating Lauren after cheating to see who he really wanted to be with, Topanga forgives him!
“I never needed to test my feelings for you. I moved away from my parents in Pittsburgh to be close to you. Ever since we were little kids, I felt like I belonged with you. And I would have given you everything, Corey,” Topanga says to Corey in another TV clip.
Bash continues, “And that’s literally with every baddie. They’re so smart and beautiful. They can literally get any guy, but they’re the most loyal bitches you’ll ever meet. And it’s the men that they settle for that end up messing around. Egos get so inflated that they end up being so f**king delusional and not even appreciating the lottery that they just won. They just end up acting like Cory!”
The grand finale of just how toxic and insecure Cory Matthews was comes in a clip from when the Boy Meets World kids are in high school. Topanga gets a killer haircut. She looks amazing.
And what does Cory do? Shames and embarrasses her for wearing makeup and feeling good about how she looks!
“And instead of being like, ‘Damn, you look amazing, you’re feeling good, I love that.’ Corey subconsciously always felt like he had to humble Topanga because she was so out of his league,” Bash analyzes before sharing yet another jarring clip.
“I’m in love with this girl who was never interested in what she looked like before, and now I see makeup on your face and polish on your nails and toes … I want the name of the guy who did this to you, he says with disgust.
After Bash’s video went viral, several TikTok users commented on the clips, sharing that they didn’t realize just what a mess Cory was when they watched as a kid.
“I never knew Corey had the nerve to be hollin’ at Topanga like that,” one user said.
“Did not know this show was a nightmare,” another wrote.
Another echoed, “It’s insane how differently I remember this show 😅”
“Those show clips were a hard watch. Important analysis 🫶🏼🩷,” one user said.
The OP replied, “The way he was screaming at her!? Omg??”
“Watching these shows as an adult will really have you down a path of unlearning. The gaslighting 😳😳😳😳,” another said.
Let me just say that Boy Meets World can still be a treasured show. There is still so much to love about the show, its humorous and heartwarming stories, and the fact that it brought Mr. Feeny into all our lives.
We can also look back at the show through a different, more educated lens and see that maybe the romanticized relationship between Cory and Topanga wasn’t exactly the “couples goals” that we all thought it was.
