MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 2997

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"

MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 2998

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"

MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 2999

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"

MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 3000

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"

MistyMountainHop

Classic Comics Saturday

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Those ’70s Comics: 760

Episode 509.5 - “A Jackie Burkhart Christmas”

Inspired by episode 510 - “The Crunge”



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Comments: Kelso is very good at remembering superficial details about Jackie, ones she’s likely repeated to him dozens of times while they dated. Jackie, in “Ice Shack” (3x10) believes this kind of memorizing equals love, despite that Kelso lied and cheated on her for months with other girls with no intention of ever telling her about it.

Hyde, however, shows his love by treating Jackie with respect once he acknowledges to himself that he has genuine, romantic feelings for her. Before then, his attitude toward her is prickly at times, but this is part of their early romantic arc (and Hyde’s personal growth arc). He goes from telling her, “Talking is for people who have someone in common,” so she’ll shut up to, two episodes later, acknowledging -- much to his astonishment -- that he is, in fact, listening to her when she speaks.

He also goes from neither promising nor not promising to be faithful to her during a college trip to, by the end of the episode, affirming his fidelity.

These are just two examples, but unlike Kelso (except for impermanent stretch of growth at the end of season 3 to the beginning of season 4) Hyde continues to grow and change during his relationship with Jackie ... until the bad writing kicks in.

In today’s comic, Hyde’s insecurity about Jackie and Kelso is first truly shown. Jackie innocently and naively accepted Kelso’s present of nail polish, but Hyde sees through Kelso’s behavior. If Hyde had been mature enough in that moment, he would’ve presented his case to Jackie verbally instead of acting out. But season 5 enhances greatly Hyde’s passive-aggressive tendencies.

Instead of that new behavior leading to an epiphany about himself, though (as it should have), he loses his self-awareness, and real!Hyde becomes buried in a Hyde manipulated by plot and punchline. Real!Hyde returns in “Magic Bus” (6x03) and remains (mostly) throughout season 6. But he gets subsumed by non-Hyde in “Winter” (7x11), and real!Hyde returns in only a handful of episodes after that.

In the comics, on the other hand, the passive-aggressiveness he displays in today’s comic and depicted in ones to follow leads to true emotional consequences for him. Losing Jackie in the show isn’t enough to wake him up; he acts like the injured party. In the comics, losing Jackie breaks through his denial, and he realizes his horrific behavior, recognizes its origins, and works on exorcising those demons from himself.

Even if the “reward” at the end for all this inner work isn’t Jackie forgiving him, he does this work anyway because it’s the right thing to do. And that is real Hyde, someone who does the right thing, despite his personal feelings for the person he’s helping, or how uncomfortable helping might make him feel, or the harm doing what he believes is right might bring him emotionally or physically, like going to jail or becoming homeless.

This Hyde is present in season 5, but his self-awareness is lacking. It should have increased, and it does when I write him in Those ‘70s Comics. Hyde remains Hyde while becoming a better, happier version of himself. The two aren’t at odds. They’re part and parcel of each other.

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Star Brushes

MistyMountainHop

Classic Comics Sunday

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Those ’70s Comics: 761

Episode 509.5 - “A Jackie Burkhart Christmas”

Inspired by episode 510 - “The Crunge”



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Comments: I wanted to show Jackie’s naive, innocent point of view on Kelso’s gift of nail polish. She has a right to be angry at Hyde about it, and most of Hyde’s anger is misplaced. It belongs with Kelso, not Jackie.

Him feeling frustrated at her that she doesn’t see through his manipulations is understandable, but deep down he’s afraid Jackie is using him (again) to get over Kelso and/or ultimately go back to Kelso. He experienced that once (season 3), and he has an abandonment wounding.

He expects the people he loves not to love him back, to hurt him, to leave. Despite that the Formans and Eric have proved the lie to this, being in a romantic relationship has opened a new layer of these fears. Being in love, truly in love, for the first time has triggered it -- and he’s not handling his fear well.

His usual solution is to act indifferent and, eventually, push the other person away. But in season 5 on the show, the writers made Hyde’s main defense mechanism one of passive-aggressive hostility instead. It’s a departure from his established characterization and OOC.

When I wrote the comics for season 5, I would’ve had to rewrite much of that season, as I do with season 6, to keep that element out of Hyde’s personality. I chose instead to have Hyde face this new pathology the writers gave him and expel it from his system through emotional work and different choices toward the end of season 5 (after his worst e passive-aggressive act: sleeping with the nurse) and the beginning of season 6.

MistyMountainHop

T7S Collectors' Stamp # 33



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Gradient Design Brushes from obsidiandawn.com

MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 3001

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"

msstock87

Great comics Lisa!

MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 3001

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"



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Colleen, thank you! Strange to think I'm posting in the 3000s now.

MistyMountainHop

Those '70s Comics: 3002

Inspired by episode 702 - “Let's Spend the Night Together"

Grazzhopper

Awwww

MistyMountainHop

Classic Comics Saturday

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Those ’70s Comics: 762

Episode 509.5 - “A Jackie Burkhart Christmas”

Inspired by episode 510 - “The Crunge”



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Comments: Kelso has now given Jackie two gifts for Christmas. Again, I wanted to ground Hyde’s escalating fear and insecurity about Jackie’s feelings for Kelso by showing how much Kelso tries to manipulate her and how Jackie is oblivious to the manipulation (for now).

T7S builds a foundation for Hyde’s insecurity in season 5, but it’s too small to justify what he does at the end (i.e. sleeping with the nurse). "Whole Lotta Love” (5x16) depicts one story where Kelso tries to stoke Jackie’s romantic feelings for him with a birthday present. “The Girl I Love” (5x11) is an example where Jackie uses Kelso to teach Hyde a lesson in being a good boyfriend and the consequences of not being one.

Further, Kelso claims in the first episodes of season 5 that he doesn’t want a romantic relationship with Jackie but would have sex with her when she wants -- then declares and acts on the idea that Jackie isn’t allowed to be in a romantic or sexual relationship with anyone who isn’t him, despite that he himself already stated he was no longer romantically interested in her.

But this is a one-way deal. He’s angry Jackie would date anyone while he was in California, but he dated and had sex with plenty of girls during that time. His hypocrisy is on full display, but that -- along with his desire for Jackie either to be alone romantically or with him -- isn’t enough reasoning for Hyde’s insecurity about Jackie’s feelings for himself. Those are all Kelso’s beliefs and words, not Jackie’s.

T7S uses the fact of Jackie’s previous relationship(s) with Kelso as a large basis for Hyde’s insecurity. It should have, however, connected it to the fact Jackie chases Hyde in seasons 2 and 3 only to reject him and go back to Kelso once Hyde falls for her. He obviously feels used by that situation, and his romantic feelings for Jackie seem to simmer under the surface during the end of season 3 and all of Season 4. T7S never never makes that explicit or intentionally implicit. It’s viewer interpretation of the subtext because the material exists on-screen and in the story, regardless of writer intention.

I also wanted to depict moments of Jackie and Hyde’s relationship in school. T7S gives us none when they’re at Point Place High together. That was a missed opportunity.

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msstock87

Great comics!

alyak0807

Great work!