MovieChat Forums > The Wonder Years (1988) Discussion > One episode I cannot stand and will neve...

One episode I cannot stand and will never watch again!

posted 5 months ago by CodyXBrenda (326)
18 replies | jump to latest

I love The Wonder Years and find it to be one of the best coming of age dramas! I rank it right up there with other stuff like A Christmas Story, Stand By Me, IT, and Freaks and Geeks. But there is one episode in particular that I despise with a burning passion!

It was during S2, it was called "Fate". In the episode, Kevin tries to defend Winnie Cooper from a bully named Eddie. This character is an irredeemable piece of shit from the moment we first see him on screen bullying other kids. Once he starts targeting Kevin, the episode loses all credibility fast. Now, I remember seeing this episode back in 2009 on YouTube (before copyright became way more strict than it is now) and my God was this episode just fucking awful! It really pains me to call an episode of The Wonder Years "awful" because of how well written this show is, but they all can't be winners. Anyways, there's a part where the bully gets his arm in some paint and I think the episode should've ended there, but no it gets worse and I MEAN MUCH WORSE; the bully confronts Kevin in the hallway and Kevin tries to attack him, only for the bully to relentlessly beat him up, as his two dickhead cronies block Paul from intervening. Afterwards, a beaten up Kevin walks home with Paul and Winnie and the episode just ends. What kind of fucking ending is that? No, a better ending would've been the principal pulling the bully off of Kevin when he was pummeling him and expelling the son of a bitch! No, heaven forbid we don't pull this "Karma Houdini" bullshit! I don't care if this episode aired 35 goddamn years ago, it wasn't right then and it isn't right, now! Shame on you Carol and Neal; you both should've known better! Even though Wayne has done the same to Kevin by "pounding" him, (like in the pilot episode) it doesn't come off NOWHERE nearly as fucking brutal, as seen in this episode! This was UNACCEPTABLE! I mean, Christ!

[–] whynotwriteme (7720) 5 months ago

You call it unacceptable, I call it highly realistic. Bullies don't always get what's coming to them, and probably even more so back in the era of the show. This episode didn't have a tidy, feel-good ending by any means, but neither do many real life situations.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 5 months ago

This was still a pretty bad episode! Even Hey Arnold did the exact same thing! While bullies IRL don't always get punished, They don't become permanent "Karma Houdinis". Why would God allow them to be cruel bastards and constantly get away with inflicting physical pain on others and live their entire lives escaping punishment, only for them to die? That's not how life works, nor does it mean the good people always get rewarded for helping others.

Being PC has helped us escape bad writing decisions, such as the bully/bullies becoming "Karma Houdins" after beating up someone. It doesn't always 100% happen, but we have a better track record nowadays than we did back in the days before social media existed.

Now, I wasn't expecting an ending where Wayne beats the shit out of the bully for attacking his younger brother, but an ending where the bully got expelled would've been at least "acceptable" enough. To the bully, that would hardly even feel like a punishment; but to Kevin, that at least would've been justice. Not only for him, but for Winnie as well. So everyone would've won! The writers didn't even try! That was just pathetic and Carol and Neal should be ashamed of themselves for writing that shitty ending!

[–] [deleted] 3 months ago

It wasn't a great episode, i actually think it was more of a "vehicle" a way of getting Kevin and Winnie back speaking and friends again and also a way of showing us how much kevin actually cared about winnie.

But the show was never about eddie! if he ended up getting expelled or whatever... it doesn't matter to the viewer. it wasn't about eddie and what happened to him, it's not relevant. we don't need to see him get "justice" because the character has no arc and isn't relevant to the story telling.

I always wondered why wayne didn't get involved. i know they fought each other, but they were still brothers, my brother and i had a kevin and waybe like relationship, but he always had my back.

but then again we dont need to see eddie get some kind of karma, he wasn't relevant.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

I really hate these poor excuses for one time characters when they're written as awful bully sadists who beat up innocent people and nothing is done about it (such as giving them any form of bad karma). I'm so glad today's TV shows rarely (if ever) do this shit, anymore! Thank God that era is long gone! People like to glorify the past as "great", but when you think about it, it was worse than today, especially given how movie and TV guidelines were almost non-existant and didn't take "mental health" into consideration, hence why stuff like "Karma Houdini" with bully type characters happened in a lot of movies and shows! In fact, this probably hasn't been a thing since 2012 and thank God!

So what if Eddie isn't the main character or even a recurring one. That was tastless for the writers to make a bad episode like that! All they had to say in the next episode was he got expelled. Like the narrator just says "Eddie got expelled after beating me up". That's all you need. The Wonder Years had more continuity than other TV shows, so having some relevance to a one time character should've been kinda important, even if they're only mentioned once after their appearance and never brought up again after that. Kids shows may not better today, but at least we're not still resorting to unfair bullying where the bully/bullies are not punished for their crimes, such as assault.

I don't care if you disagree with me. You can feel free to do so, but I'm giving you the facts and if you don't like hearing them, too bad. We live a a redaically different world than we did back in the late 80s and early 90s. Hell, bullies are so pathetic today. Even Hollywood bullies were so inaccurately potroyed, compared to real life bullies. Most bullies (even back in the 80s and 90s) just verbally tormented their vicitms. They never stole lunch money or even beat up their vicitms. They may have threatened to do so, but they never actually did. The only places where I could see bullies actually beating up other kids would be places where crime was very, very high like Chicago and New York. Most small towns didn't have this problem and bullies only stuck to name calling, at worst. Hollywood just glorified bullying for as a godawful cliche sterotype. Even in actual good films like Back To The Future and The Karate Kid, where it wasn't nearly as bad, compared to other films.

[–] [deleted] 3 months ago

But do bullies always get their karma? you've mentioned tv shows, but tv shows are usually feel good crap.

if this was saved by the bell, then eddie would have been tricked into something in the gym by lisa and screech and his pants would have fell down, everyone laughed, and karma was served, the end!

but it's crap!

the wonder years is so loved because it's maybe the most realistic tv show ever, well about childhood anyway. did all the school bullies you knew get their karma?

did they catch the person who stole your neighbours car back in 2018? more than likely not. thats real, thats the world..

we didn't know or care enough about some bully to need to see his karma, even if it happened.

sorry to sound like an asshole, but you didnt get the show. the wonder years didn't give you happy endings, it didn't end up with kevin and winnie together, we had many characters who were treated badly...

did kevin get his "karma" for treating margaret farquar like shit? no!

they are kids for fuck sake, you don't need to turn a tv show into soviet propaganda about karma and social justice in a show about 12 year olds.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

I'm sorry but people like you bring a damper on our society. Too bad I'm speaking the truth and you don't agree with me, but I don't need any naysayers telling me, otherwise okay? Do I expect every person whom does a bad deed to get punished? No, but the horrific ones like assault shouldn't be ignored.

[–] [deleted] 3 months ago

you didn't understand the show, you wanted the wonder years to be some shitty 90s "hang time" where the bad guy gets his karma and everyone high 5s like assholes.

you bring a dampner on our society, because you can't take a smart intelligent tv show thats realistic and honest for what it is.

40 years later you want some idiot kid locked up for bullying, something that is happening right now, in some school somewhere and goes unpunished.

thats life, time to suck it up.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

Wow, you are the definition of a "buzz killington". If you're going to be like this, then please go somewhere else. You're so depressing to listen to. God, just go away, please! Take your outdated sour ass delusional views of the world with you, as well. Stop coming off as some "doomsayer" who thinks life is unfair and we should fucking deal with it. Newsflash, this is 2024, not 1970! You're the one who needs to get with the times, grandpa; not me!

[–] [deleted] 3 months ago

how can a show from 1988, "get with the times" ? you want them to remake the episode for you? a special cody edit?

eddie penetti mmm lets see, a bigger kid takes him by the scruff of the neck to the principals office, he gets expelled, yeah! then he goes home to his parents who tell him he can't get a new bike.

on hearing this, kevin, winnie and paul all high five and go down to harpers woods.

the end.

happy now?

such fucking childishness, the same boring shit "boomer"

just because i don't live in faggy world where we have to pretend that theres unicorns and men can be women. because you're so fucking fragile.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

Okay, I'm done talking to lowlives like yourself! This is abuse and I refuse to take anymore from a pompous jerk like yourself. Go away and leave me alone! I've had enough. People like you will never find happiness! You're an awful person who probably had BAD CHILDHOOD and I feel sorry for you if you did!

[–] [deleted] 3 months ago

fuck you and fuck your pronouns you fruit!

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

Please jump off the nearest cliff! You're a lost cause and a piece of shit!

[–] BKB (9881) 3 months ago

May I ask you something?? You really are taking this episode incredibly over serious as though something like this has happened to you?? Am I right?? Wrong?? 🤔

[–] Tam87 (1173) 3 months ago

It's no surprise this episode bothers you so much. It involved Paul and Winnie.

It's quite simple. Any episode primarily involving Kevin with either Wayne, Jack, Norma or Karen (or all combined), was absolute gold.

Any episode primarily with Winnie or Paul, sucked.

This was the most bi-polar show I've ever watched. The writers never realized they had a goldmine with Kevin and his family and instead wasted half the series on two worthless, annoying characters. The Winnie & Paul episodes are not interesting or memorable. They sucked.

Winnie is not an object of affection for a young boy like Kevin. She's snooty and has a face you want to punch. Kevin had 1000 times the chemistry with the girl at the lake, it's no wonder those two episodes are among the best since he finally has a real love interest.

Paul is a nerdlinger who would get someone like Kevin beat up just for associating with him. The writers even gave Paul an episode where he gets laid by an old woman in a desperate attempt to make him look cool. wtf? He was a dweeb. Cringe to an episode like that in a family show.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

Out of all the episodes (yes, that includes all seasons), "Fate" is the only episode I truly despise so much! The other episodes didn't piss me off as much. Even when Becky Slater punches Kevin, it was far less insulting then when Eddie did it. Hell, even when Wayne does it (like in the pilot), it's still far less insulting.

[–] Tam87 (1173) 3 months ago

Overall, the series was still pretty good. I can't remember the episode you're talking about, even though I just recently finished the whole dvd boxset, so I'd need to see it again. Fwiw, the writing on shows back then was a whole other universe. like you said, they would show the kid being punished nowadays, but back then there was more emphasis on other things.

[–] CodyXBrenda (326) 3 months ago

The Wonder Years was a damn near flawless show! I understand no movie, TV show, cartoon/anime, or video game is perfect and every TV show has its bad episodes, even the very best ones.

[–] Tam87 (1173) 3 months ago

That's right. There is nothing like tv shows from the 70s, 80s & 90s. The quality of writing, directing and acting during this era is unmatched. That doesn't mean anything made before or after that period is no good, it just means it isn't as special as what came out during that time. It's awesome watching these classic shows.