That '70s Show Fans Never Quite Understood This Romance
"That '70s Show" is a fine example of a fun, light-hearted television show that excels when it comes to its objective of entertaining audiences. Across its eight seasons on the air, viewers got to embark on all kinds of wild adventures alongside the main cast in their hometown of Point Place, Wisconsin, with plenty of surprises and laughs along the way. At the same time, it also provided fans with several romantic subplots designed not only to keep their interest but to put the characters in new, intriguing, and sometimes highly dramatic situations.
During its small-screen run and in the years since it bid audiences farewell, a handful of romantic pairings have come to define "That '70s Show." Eric Forman (Topher Grace) and the divisive Donna Pinciotti (Laura Prepon), who found themselves in an on-and-off relationship for most of the show's tenure, comprise arguably the most well-known. Meanwhile, there's Michael Kelso (Ashton Kutcher) and Jackie Burkhart (Mila Kunis), Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty Forman (Debra Jo Rupp), and more, yet not all of these couples have such a positive reputation among the show's fans.
For example, even years after fans were introduced to it, this romance has "That '70s Show" fans at a loss. Here's what it is and why so many are still perplexed by it.
Jackie and Fez's relationship didn't work for many fans
In the final "That '70s Show" season, Jackie and Fez's (Wilmer Valderrama) friendship takes on a strange dynamic. She slowly begins to realize that she has feelings for him, leading them into a strange, will they-won't they kind of relationship in the show's final episodes. According to a now-deleted Reddit user and many folks in the comments, this narrative move for both characters didn't make a whole lot of sense. Another Redditor, u/CuriousSection feels similar, though they believe that the Jackie and Fez romance could've worked if the writers approached it differently in the script. Nevertheless, what's done is done.
Evidently, if you were confused by Jackie and Fez's sudden connection, you're not alone. Sadly, not even those involved in the show have a good reason for why the two staples of "That '70s Show" wound up together. "We had done so much in, you know, 200 episodes...We kind of ran out of everything," Valderrama told Today in 2021, adding, "What would be the most random thing we could do? And I feel like that was it." If Valderrama is to be believed, then apparently Fez and Jackie wound up romantically involved purely for the sake of doing something different and unexpected on a show that had seemingly done everything already.
If nothing else, Jackie and Fez's relationship was a curveball worth talking about when it happened. However, it hasn't seemed to strike the right cord with "That '70s Show" fans, who continue to assert it's one of the show's weakest and perplexing romances.