Hannah, talking and opening a water bottle

About:

Title: Felicity S4.E19 “The Power of the Ex” + S4.E20 “Spin the Bottle”
Released: 2002
Series:  Felicity

Drinks Taken: 19

 

Follow the whole rewatch here!

Last week, Felicity graduated from college (!) and then time traveled (!!) to choose Noel over Ben. It’s wild and wacky and, as Meredith explained, a departure from the writers’ original outline, but I think it’s exactly in keeping with the whole idea of college–nothing goes as planned.

With only four episodes left, this is my last installment of the Rewatch Project, and I have to take a moment to reiterate how much Felicity means to me. I’ll start with this newspaper clipping from May 22, 2002, which I still have

Newspaper article with headline: "Sayonara: Felicity. Final show answers burning questions."

My mom cut out this article (like 23 year old me would get the paper?!) because she knew how much I cherished the show. 

As further evidence, here’s my journal entry about watching the Season 2 premiere:

Page from Sarah's journal dated 9/26/99. It reads: "Tonight was the season premiere of Felicity! Our room was packed with girls (plus 4 token males) and it was so much fun! I couldn't help but think that this 'outreach' event could not have happened without Pawpaw giving me his big TV. I could almost hear him chuckling in heaven. :) The episode was simply FANTASTIC. I <3 seeing Felicity and Ben together, even if it won't last--finally she has 'achieved' her dream! I guess it represents to me something like me & Brad Kalback or Jamie Rauch getting together."

Obviously, Felicity wasn’t the only endearingly (and embarrassingly) earnest gal in college. Drink!

And then there was the night when I introduced the show to Meredith:

A handwritten page from Sarah's journal, which reads: "Tonight I introduced K.C. & Meredith to Felicity. It felt so good--so meaningful--and I think they could feel it too. At least, they had an inkling. Seeing Felicity at the very beginning--so young!--really struck me. I remembered myself, 8 years ago. I still want to take risks like Felicity does, but I hope, I pray, that in doing so, I'll save my life."

Suffice it to say, Felicity holds a special place in my heart, and it has been an absolute delight to revisit the show with Meredith and analyze every single detail, from Ben Covington smiling those Ben Covington smiles to Richard… being Richard. 

So cheers to this wonderful series and the impact it’s made on all of us. R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Felicity, Julie, and Elena taking cautious sips of neon cocktails at a dance club

The Felicity Season 4 Drinking Game Rules

Drink once every time:
You cringe during the “New Version of You” credit sequence.
Felicity is endearingly earnest.
Ben smiles sheepishly.
Noel is adorkable.
Elena is a better friend than anyone deserves.
Meghan is mean and it’s awesome.
Javier butchers a word or figure of speech.
Richard freaks out (in a good or bad way).

Drink twice every time:
Felicity stresses you out.
Felicity says, “Dear Sally.”
Sean invents something.
Javier refers to Ben as “Benjamin.”

Let’s dive in to these drama-packed episodes! 

Felicity and Ben looking cozy while sitting close together in the lab

4.19 “The Power of the Ex”

Things seem to be going well for Noel and Felicity as a couple, although they feel the need to avoid friends and consequently forsake their usual haunts (you mean, there are other places to hang in NYC besides Epstein Bar?!). In the middle of a very fetching street fair, which makes me wish the gang had really like enjoyed NYC, they run into Hannah, whaaaa? Noel seems immediately smitten and offers to make her a website, which causes Felicity to freak out. (I can tell, because she says that Noel hasn’t seen her since his freshman year. WRONG! It was his sophomore year, writers Felicity.) She confides in Meghan, who warns her about the time space continuum–you change one thing, you change everything. Hasn’t Felicity seen Jurassic Park or, like, any episode of Star Trek? Girl is clearly not thinking, as evidenced by the fact that she’s skipping class because she “already graduated.” Umm, that’s not how this works, young lady! She does, however, tell her dad that she’s now pre-med, so he’s paying her tuition, but that also means that she’s now in Hodges’ O-Chem class… with Ben. Whom she is still very much drawn to. 

Noel meets up with Hannah to discuss the website (suuuure), and she gives him her demo CD, which includes the fugue that he helped her write, because she is trying way too hard. While she was engaged at some point, she’s single now, and they admit that that they’re still into each other. Noel confesses all of this to Felicity, who does NOT handle it well and while I agree that she has every right to be upset, she needs to dial down the crazy time travel talk.  You know, saying stuff like, “I’ve just come too far for you to all of a sudden end up with Hannah.” Noel admits that everything has been weird since that night on the roof (he’s not wrong), so Felicity offers to slow things down… which somehow means she takes a piano lesson from Hannah and asks her to give their (Felicity and Noel’s) relationship a chance. Hannah claims that she doesn’t want to get between them (LIES) and then tells Noel what happened, because she’s worried, hilariously, that Felicity has a terminal disease. Upset and angry, Noel confronts Felicity: “Do you realize how many times I’ve waited for you to decide who you want to be with?” He follows that up with, “You’re supposed to wait, just like I waited.” I mean, I understand where he’s coming from but is this really a fair thing to ask? Hannah’s manipulation game is strong, and eventually she gets Noel alone again and they start to make out, but he stops and tells her that he wants to give this thing with Felicity a chance. BYE HANNAH BYE.  

Meanwhile in Organic Chemistry, Felicity gets an A on the test, and Ben gets an F. He decides to give up his premed dreams and drop the class, which breaks Felicity’s heart, so she offers to help him, because she knows he can do it. They have a super hot study sesh in the lab, where Ben can’t keep his eyes off of her, and who needs formulas or Bunsen burners when you’ve got this much NATURAL CHEMISTRY. They end up kissing, and I’m wondering where the fire extinquisher is just in case of FLAMES, but Felicity brings it all to a halt and tells Ben that she came here for Noel, so he leaves. NOOOOOOO.  

Later that night, Felicity’s lying in bed when Noel calls–he’s right outside her door on his cell, and when she opens it, they kiss, and all exes are forgotten. For now

Speaking of blasts from the pasts, Sean decides he wants to call Julie, because ever since Felicity and Noel got together, he can’t help but think about what might have been. Uh, dude, there was no “might”–Julie was never into you, and you know that! Noel is way nicer than I am, telling Sean that he’s a great guy, but seriously, there should be zero encouragement here. As if that wasn’t enough of a potential complication, Sean admits to Meghan that he’s in a financial bind to the tune of $50K (we saw this happen in the original timeline), and all of his furniture is repossessed. Meghan gets it all back thanks to some money from her dad, but Sean won’t accept it–he gives her a check from Noel (his marriage settlement, also from the original storyline) and informs her that he called Julie, who is coming down for a visit. Meghan, upset and frustrated, tells it like it is: “I’m not the one who’s gonna get hurt. You are.” PRETTY MUCH.

Finally, we get a little (but not enough) Elena and Javier goodness. Javier is auditioning for Man of La Mancha (also happens in the original timeline) and asks Elena for help. She advises him to practice a dance in order to be a triple threat, but when he shows her his fancy footwork, she tells him to forget about it–he has “dance dyslexia.” Ouch. Later she apologizes and admits that she was hard on him because that same day, she received that letter from Tracy about his move back to Africa. Like the good friend she is (drink!), Elena urges Javier to go for it: “It’s your dream, you gotta follow it!” so he heads to the audition. Yay!

How many times do I have to take a drink?

10

Javier’s Dance Moves: A Gif For Every Occasion

NOTHING IS MORE PERFECT THAN THIS.

Felicity Porter vs. Sydney Bristow

After Felicity tells Meghan about Hannah putting the moves on Noel, Meghan suggests that Felicity kick her ass. That’s a hard pass for Felicity, who responds, “You didn’t see her, she’s in amazing shape.” We see what you did there, writers!

Seriously, Felicity, Slow Your Time Travel Roll

Felicity: “Confused? What are you confused about? Are you going back to Hannah because god, this can’t be happening!”

It’s like freshman year Felicity on steroids. And Keri Russell is LOVING IT (as am I). 

Noel, Felicity, Ben, and Julie standing together and staring at a bottle on the table

4.20 “Spin the Bottle”

This episode is super juicy and complicated and love triangle-y and excruciating and AWESOME. So, Ben is being incredibly forward about the fact (yes, it’s a fact, let’s all acknowledge it) that Felicity is not over him. He knows that she’ll realize that she wants him back, and in a masterful callback to Season Two, he just hopes that for her sake, it won’t be too late. While Felicity doesn’t take very kindly to this, I think Smug Ben is like the hottest thing EVER. Of course, she and Noel are still pretty cute, what with their Boggle games and their decision to, holy crap, move in together?! The latter is propelled by Noel’s need to get the hell out of that loft, but having just re-decided to be together, this seems like a little much?

Julie arrives (*polite applause*) because she has an audition for a record label–and not just to visit Sean. Ben, trying to be sensitive to the situation, makes Julie aware that Sean has certain romantic expectations, but turns out, Julie is actually into Ben, LIKE ALWAYS. (I mean, I get it.) After asking Julie on a date to a Tart concert and realizing that NEWS FLASH SHE’S STILL NOT INTERESTED, Sean packpedals and gahhh it’s really sad and awkward but also like dude, you’re a dumb dumb.  

Julie and Felicity reunite (it’s funny to see Julie’s shock over Felicity’s friendship with Meghan), and Julie confesses that she still has the hots for Ben. These girls and Ben Covington, sheesh! Felicity is clearly NOT okay with this, even though she says she is (has she learned nothing from freshman year?!) and later tells Noel that she’s worried Ben is simply using Julie to get back at her. She might not be wrong, but can we get this girl some chill pills? 

Julie asks Ben to go to the Tart concert, which is such a dick move since they were Sean’s tickets. He says yes, but he also gives a heads up to Sean, who is rightfully PISSED. None of this is lost on Meghan, whom Felicity discovers crying (awww!) even though she claims to be on the prowl. Later, Sean finds Meghan at Epstein and tells her what happened, then invites her to go with him to the Tart concert. She agrees and even goes so far as to say that Julie’s an idiot, which is WAY too nice but that’s Meghan, just being the best. (I wanted to smack Sean when he confessed that Julie was a question he needed answered, UGH.) 

Felicity confronts Ben about “using” Julie, and to prove her right wrong, he counters by inviting her and Noel to join them for a double date because terrible ideas are a dime a dozen in this episode. At dinner, Noel divulges that he and Felicity are moving in together, which provokes Ben into bringing up their old apartment and Felicity’s jealousy towards their downstairs neighbor, Brigette Pastercheck, and even though he’s being a jerk I kind of love this stroll down memory lane. Felicity asks Ben for a word in private, and he drops the act to simply ask how all of this happened–Felicity turned so fast, and he doesn’t understand, and it makes me real sad! 

Everyone, including post-concert Meghan and Sean, ends up at the loft, where Meghan decides they should play Spin the Bottle. Because she is the devil and I adore her. The first kiss is between Ben and Meghan, who instructs him to “just relax and enjoy it,” and then Ben’s spin lands on Felicity, twice in a row. They eventually lock lips, which Felicity does in a chaste and irritated fashion, but her true colors shine through after Julie spins (Meghan: “Sean, stop praying so loud.”) and lands on Ben, then the two kiss like K-I-S-S-I-N-G kiss. Noticing the jealousy and hurt on Felicity’s face, Noel leaves, while the opposite happens to Sean, who confesses to Meghan that he wants to be with her. She claims that she’s not interested but… we’ll see. 

The episode ends with Felicity trying to salvage things with Noel, who recognizes that it’s never going to happen for the two of them. “It’s just a fact,” he says, with a trademark gentleness. “I’ll never inhabit you the way that Ben does.” He gives it to her straight–she’ll never be over Ben–and then leaves, and as much as I fly the Team Ben flag, I find this moment (this ending!) incredibly bittersweet. 

How many times do I have to take a drink?

9

The Only Thing Hotter Than Belicity…

… is Belicity pretending like they don’t want to be together.

I mean, HOW HOT IS THIS SCENE? And how much of a blast are Keri and Scott having? I CAN’T EVEN.


So, do y’all feel like the writers adequately explored a world of Noelicity? And have these “extra” episodes enhanced or detracted from your enjoyment of the series?

Most importantly, how crazy sexy is Smug Ben?!

Meet me in the comments for a convo, then find Meredith here next Wednesday morning for our final (!!!) Felicity Rewatch Project, with “Felicity Interrupted” and “Back to the Future”! 

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Sarah lives in Austin, and believes there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure, which is part of why she started FYA in 2009. Growing up, she thought she was a Mary Anne, but she's finally starting to accept the fact that she's actually a Kristy.