The Eric Theory That Would Change The Way You Watch Boy Meets World
"Boy Meets World" is one of the most seminal sitcoms of the '90s (via Medium). The series follows young Cory Matthews (Ben Savage) as he navigates the ins and outs of growing up with his brother Eric (Will Friedle), his best friend Shawn Hunter (Rider Strong), and his love interest/girlfriend Topanga Lawrence (Danielle Fishel).
Since the show ran for a total of seven seasons, "Boy Meets World" viewers watched the cast grow up in real-time as they faced the problems in the fictional world that they were likely also facing in their real lives. This element helped to ground the show and make the struggles of the characters feel more real and lived in, as the series ended just as the group of friends were entering adulthood.
The show was so popular that it even inspired a spin-off: "Girl Meets World." Though that series was eventually canceled, any show that can inspire a revival so many years after its heyday must have made a significant cultural impact. In fact, fans still discuss certain aspects of the show to this day.
Some fans think Cory's point of view is extra important
On the r/boymeetsworld subreddit, u/potterhead6607 offered their theory that Cory's point of view is the most important element of the series. "At the beginning of the show, Eric was seen as smart, cool, and good-looking. Topanga was a weirdo and nerdy," they pointed out. "The whole point of the show is that it is life through the eyes of Cory, so as he aged, he saw his brother for the idiot he really was. Also, as he aged, he started to see Topanga as pretty instead of weird."
When looked at this way, "Boy Meets World" becomes a very different show. The theory also offers an impressive new interpretation of the growth and changes that the central characters go through over the course of the series. "I like this theory. It also plays into how he saw Feeny as a staunch, boring, and strict teacher as a kid," said u/Smellmyhand in agreement. "But then grew to know him as a loving and caring person and eventually became a teacher himself."
Even though this is just a fan theory, it has a remarkable way of changing how you see "Boy Meets World" and even its spin-off. Still, other viewers were more skeptical about this perception. "That's an awesome theory, but I think it's giving the writers too much credit," said u/Lit-Z "The real reason is most likely that the writers just made him dumb because it's funny."
Will Friedle almost missed out on the role
For his part, Will Friedle sat down with Entertainment Tonight to talk about his role as Eric Matthews in the series and how he only narrowly landed it. "They were casting for an older brother, and I got sick, and I couldn't go, and they cast another actor," Friedle recalled."
Luckily due to physical factors, Friedle ended up landing the part anyway. "He wasn't tall enough, he was like the same size as Ben [Savage], and they knew Ben was going to grow, so they recast." In Hollywood, height is rarely an issue, as Tom Cruise or Dustin Hoffman would surely tell you, but it looks like in this case, Friedle got the role just because he stood a few inches taller than the competition. Either way, with the iron still hot from the "Boy Meets World" reunion in March 2022 (via ABC), maybe we'll see more of the cast in another revival one of these days.