Episode 5x21 "Honesty Night"

The first two and a half minutes is a recap of the entire breakup arc, which would normally upset me as a viewer, wasting my time like that, but hey it's two and a half minutes I don't have to write about.

It's the day immediately after the end of Starry Night, and we're at school with a very lovey dovey Corpanga. We learn right away that Cory has neglected to tell Shawn about his reconciliation with Topanga. As she so aptly puts it, "You should have told Shawn before you told me!" I'm glad you recognize that, Topanga. So our newly reunited couple hatch a scheme to pretend to be broken up and find a way to let Shawn think he was responsible for getting them back together.

Top Five Feeny line right there.

Well this is gonna be a waste of time. I don't see any other option. I'm glad they stuck Feeny there though, that tells us that the writers aren't taking this seriously. At the same time, it's kind of depressing that we already know right away that we're going to be doing something stupid. Maybe they're just trying to lighten the mood after Starry Night.

So they set their plan into motion, and Shawn's buying it. Cory and Topanga do this whole bit where they realize that this sneaky deception is that dangerous sort of sexy. It's a refreshing change of pace to see them acting like they actually have hormones. And, full disclosure here, Danielle Fishel... is good at this.

There's some more good lines from Feeny here. Glad to see him back in action.

After class, the charade continues. It has its funny moments, but I mean... We spent the last handful of episodes watching them do this for real... I don't really need to see it in pretend-form now. Anyway Shawn gets sucked in to the con and resolves to save their relationship, all according to plan.

"Jerk" is, of course, the ABC approved substitute for "jackass".

At the apartment, Shawn is looking for advice from Jack and Eric. This is mostly a joke scene, and Eric's gag-of-the-episode is his Word-A-Day calendar. Today (as well as the next two days) the word is "estranged", and he keeps trying to work "estranged" into the conversation where it doesn't really fit. I think everybody loves this running joke, it's definitely one I remember in the long term. Unfortunately, Jack's donned his condescending-toward-Eric persona today, which no one likes, so his contributions are minimal.

It's time for Shawn's Couples Counseling in Cory's kitchen. He's really only making things worse though. Re: Feeny's Stupid Idea Train, CHOO CHOOOOO. Topanga is funny though, if you can believe it. It's her funniest episode that I can remember. Shawn insists that they each name one thing they'd like to change about the other. Cory says Topanga is "cold and unforgiving", while she calls him "an insensitive jerk". Topanga storms out, apparently breaking up with Cory for realsies, again. Yes, they've re-broken up because they each said something negative about the other under duress. It is ridiculous. Was that the "honesty night" part?

I love angry Ben Savage. We saw that back in Eric Hollywood. He's so much funnier when he's angry.

Cory explains his stupid scheme, and Shawn explains that he really doesn't care whether he's involved or if he gets told last or any of that. So now it's time for another round of Shawn's Couples Counseling, and this time we're going for group therapy.

I like to think that's a bit of meta humor. I imagine a lot of the staff and actors were getting sick of it like we are at home. Eric does some more silly word-a-day gags, which are still funny, but no one has the patience for his shenanigans.

Maybe I'm just in a good mood, but I cannot stop laughing at that. Jack's delivery, everyone's facial expressions, and Eric raising his hand, it's just too much, this is too funny. I said before that we don't care for this side of Jack's personality, but it absolutely got me this time. A+.

They go on to ask Jack why he stays with Eric after all the nonsense, and Jack explains that he still likes him and wants to be his friend, it's pretty adorable, and sort of serves as an example for Cory and Topanga to take note of. They don't, though, and the problem remains as we jump to Chubbie's. Cory and Topanga have their backs to each other, while Shawn and Angela look on from across the room. Amy and Alan show up and fight over some dumb stuff, and then make up really easily. This time Corpanga take notice and do the same thing. This was all cleverly orchestrated by Shawn, but he keeps that to himself. This Chubbie's scene took four minutes, by the way. That's the trend of this whole episode, fluff being extended into several minutes.

During the credits, Eric annoys Feeny with the overuse of his new vocabulary, so Feeny snaps him out of it by mentioning the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.

Plot: 0.75 - It's fluff, start to finish, but as fluff it works really well. I guess this is the actual end of the breakup arc, but I really don't know why they thought this was necessary. It's a fun episode, don't get me wrong, it just seems really strange after we did so much work getting Corpanga back together.

Character Development: 1.0 - They're back together for realsies. I mean it this time. Surely nothing could prevent them from reaching their ultimate goal of marriage now. ...Right? ...Guys?

Humor: 1.0 - Topanga had a great showing, Eric was fantasic, and Feeny too. And, of course, "Who is tired of Eric?"

LIfe Lesson: 0.5 - Everybody fights.

3.25 out of 4.0. Like I said, maybe I'm just in a good mood but I liked this episode a lot. It's a ton of fun with lots of laughs along the way.

Thanks for reading, see you Friday.

All images used under Fair Use.