[starryeyesxx]

Definitely. However, I never thought her feelings for Eric or Jack were ever all that strong....

[rocky845]

^ It's been a while, so I don't remember much about that. It does seem possible though. After all that time that Jack and Eric spent trying to be with Rachel, it was a bit of a disappointment how short the Jack/Rachel relationship actually was. I mean, they broke-up off-screen between the season six finale and season seven premiere, and they both seemed unaffected by it. And she didn't give any indication that she felt anything romantic for Eric. I'm starting to think that you might be right.

[starryeyesxx]

Yeah, it was all a bit weird. Up until she & Jack kissed (when he was grieving & maybe not thinking too straight), she didn't give any indication that she had feelings for him or Eric, & then suddenly they were a couple & they were living together alone not long after. Then they broke up off screen & neither seemed that bothered about it

[rocky845]

^ That has never made sense to me. What was the point of putting Rachel and Jack together, and showing the effect it had on Eric, if TPTB were just going to resolve/end it like that?

[starryeyesxx]

Yeah, it was like the writers were just trying to fill air time

Maybe they thought that Rachel & Jack would be more popular, but I don't think anyone was that bothered about them tbh

[rocky845]

^ Another possibility is that TPTB wanted to resolve the triangle so they paired Rachel with Jack for a while...and when they decided to have the uncertainty of forever affect Cory and Topanga so deeply, they thought that they could end the Rachel/Jack relationship as a casualty of how the uncertainty of forever got them too.

That could be it. In my head, it's a coin flip who 'won' the triangle. It could just as easily have been Eric. I think it was Jack instead, because TPTB probably felt like Eric would be more crushed by Rachel not choosing him. I think Jack would have been able to handle Rachel choosing Eric, but it seemed like Eric's world was turned upside down when Rachel chose Jack. The trio would have been more affected by a Rachel/Jack coupling than a Rachel/Eric coupling, so that's what they went with.

[starryeyesxx]

That's true actually, plus Eric is a more central character, so I think the audience sympathized with him more when he was hurt

[rocky845]

^ Oh, yes. The audience did feel crushed/more sympathy that Eric didn't get the girl. I really loved that TPTB brought in Rachel to kind of mix up the dynamic between Eric and Jack. It could have worked out really well if they had kept them all in the friend zone.

[starryeyesxx]

Yeah, the three of them were best off as friends

[rocky845]

^ If only we had been in charge of the direction of the show, we would have made sure that the love triangle was handled right away.

[starryeyesxx]

We would have, in fact we probably never would have gone there in the first place

[rocky845]

^ Oh, yes. I don't know what you would have done, but I would have made Rachel tease both guys for a season, and then I would have dropped the love triangle altogether. Then I would have only mentioned it a few times for some laughs.

[starryeyesxx]

Something along those lines sounds good

[rocky845]

^ Cool! I'm glad you like my idea. I could have also had the teases go on for a season...until Rachel had a moment where she would tell the guys that they work better as friends.

[starryeyesxx]

Yeah, I think it might be easy for a girl to get confused with two guys as sweet as Eric & Jack, but it would be smarter for them all to be just friends