#bmw 7x07

[forbescaroline]

235 FAVORITE SHIPS OF ALL TIME (ranked by my followers) 91. cory matthews and topanga lawrence - boy meets world

[fyeahhboymeetsworld]

Happy Anniversary Cory & Topanga!

November 5th, 1999

[my-random-fandoms]

Thoughts From a Boy Meets World Re-watch

When you watch Boy Meets World, it’s so easy to ship Shawn and Cory. It’s like the writers knew what they were doing in not-so-subtly subtextualizing a gay high school (then college) romance. 

I’m re-watching the Cory and Topanga wedding episode and hooooo boy. There is a lot of Cory and Shawn love going on here. I always thought An Affair to Forget or It’s Not You, It’s Me were the gayest episodes (and they are super gay), but man. This wedding episode is something else.

My favorite thing about BMW has always been Shawn’s angst. From a gone momma to a drunk (and eventually dead) dad, a long-lost brother, a trailer park upbringing and joining a cult, Shawn’s angst has always been especially delicious to me. The wedding episode is peak Shawn angst. They play it off as Shawn’s worry that he’s losing Cory as a friend, but you barely even have squint to see that Shawn is like crazy in love with Cory. 

The episode starts off with Shawn angry because Cory’s bossing him around and asking him to do things for the wedding. Like, Shawn, my friend. Doing things like picking up tuxes and making sure you have the rings are part of what a best man does. Why is Shawn so angsty? Well, Topanga puts it quite succinctly when she says to Shawn, “You love Cory more than I do.” Topanga nailed that one. I don’t think the writers were fucking around by giving Topanga that line. 

And honestly, NO ONE thinks that they’re going to stop being friends with someone just because they get married. That’s not a thing that people think. But Shawn is convinced that they will never be ‘Cory and Shawn’ anymore. Like, maybe he’s concerned about a little bit more? Like, maybe that Shawn is losing his chance to have Cory as more than a friend? Shawn loved Cory, and had no way of professing his love for him. So he acted out, because generally speaking, that is what Shawn Hunter has ALWAYS done in this series. 

Anyway, Shawn doesn’t show up to the wedding, until he does in the middle and they fight, and talk it out (all while their arms are around each others shoulders, but constant physical contact between Cory and Shawn was something that was always there throughout the entire BMW series run). Then, finally Cory and Topanga are getting married, but where are the cameras trained?

This episode aired in 1999. At that time no states recognized same sex marriage and only, I think two (maybe three?), recognized civil unions between same sex couples. Except for the few moments the camera was on Topanga, the wedding vow scene could have been an advertisement for same sex marriage. For God’s sake they are two men, arm in arm at a wedding altar. 

Anyway, there’s a lot of Cory and Shawn fanfiction out there (probably not much new stuff though). My personal favorite is called New York, Destiny and the Great Unknown by @oncethrown Once I finish my BMW re-watch, I’m gonna celebrate by doing a re-read of that fic.