Eric's slide into Flanderization

Maybe it did a little damage then, but didn't take it's full effect until later.
I got a measles vaccine at 13 months. It made me sick and caused me to go deaf. But I didn't go deaf until I was 4.

And he was already starting to go downhill. I know he was nervous about the SAT's but, putting his hand on the burner, touching an iron that was still plugged in. And when he took Jason outside he called Air H2O which is water, not air. I still can't get over the fact that he gets niche and niece mixed up.

In Season 3 episode 17 The Pi know Flamingo Kid when Shawn and Cory go back to the trailer park to make a video of Shawn's family members wishing Chet a happy birthday they have a run in with a gang of kids led by an older kid named Eddie. Later when Cory realizes he accidentally caught Eddie on camera with a stolen computer he wants to air it on TV for a contest Shawn tells him to let it go. They even end up in a physical fight. Later when Cory goes by himself in the hope to catch more he is caught by Eddie's group and is in danger. Shawn appears and gets between Cory and Eddie. It comes out that Eddie and Shawn are half brothers. Did they just decide to forget him? Later when he meets Jack it is treated as if that's his only brother.

I think Eric is pretty normal in Season 4. It's really Season 6 and 7 where it becomes ridiculous.

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Having recently finished the end of BMW... I think maybe that Eric getting dumb is blown out of proportion. Even really late-on in the series Eric has great grown-up storylines where he acts smart/mature like adopting Tommy. There was also the one where he and Cory are supposed to clear out the garage of their childhood toys, and Eric is hurt Cory chooses Shawn/Topanga to do it instead of him (a nice reversal of Cory going off the deep end feeling like he's losing his brother when Eric leaves home to look at colleges at the end of season 4 I think it was). What I think happened was that in Seasons 5-7, 3 main things all happened to magnify Eric's stupidity.


1. Repeating Plot Lines:
Cory and Topanga broke-up twice (Lauren, and then Topanga's parents got a divorce and she realizes she doesn't believe in love). Shawn and Angela broke-up twice (joining college, and then because Topanga's parents got a divorce and Angela realizes she doesn't believe in love either), Shawn goes off the rails twice (drinking, and then after Chet dies). Whilst the show was trying to be 'serious' with the repeating plot lines, we needed 'B-storylines' to add some fun to the episodes. So Eric and Jack became the funny guy and the straight man pairing.


2. There was a lot more corporate meddling, and pop culture influences that were just glommed-onto BMW's formula with no regard for BMW's well-being, making changes to character's personalities, or ignoring past established information. I'm sure everyone remembers the Sabrina The Teenage Witch episode where everyone get's transported back to the war by Salem The Cat. Or the stupid epidose where Jack dates a witch who hates Eric. Or the FRIENDS-esque war girls vs guys over the apartment.


3. The show startd slipping, forgetting previously established plot details.
One example of ignoring past details was making a big deal about Eric cutting his hair short with the big reveal in the student union by taking off the wig... when he'd cut it short already for the entirity of season 5 when he, Jack and Shawn first shared the apartment, it having always being short in the very early seasons anyway. Or having Alan constantly thinking Eric was dumb, or couldn't fend for himself in the real world, when in earlier seasons Feeny had said Eric was smart but lazy, and Eric proved this by re-studying for the SATs and did get into college. Alan had no reason to believe Eric was stupid. In fact, upon re-watching, Corey was the one who started to get goofy storylines during the college years, even more than Eric at times (''Underpants!'', Dreams of killing his friends, ''Honey-Moooo-hoooon!'').


I think overall you remember the funny guy/straight man Eric and Jack routine from later seasons, but it isn't as bad as you might remember. I actually think the show could have continued-on instead of ending. For as much as I wasn't a fan of most of the Corey-Topanga/Shawn-Angela stuff in S5-S7, I feel like they'd just started to hit a nice stride after C+T's marriage, and with Eric/Jack/Rachael.

Maybe Jason was on to something when he asked Eric if the house had been tested for radon.

I liked Eric in the show. Yes, he became pretty dumb by the end, but funny for the most part.

I'll never forget the scene where he knocks over the candles in the house and he starts singing:
The curtain's on fire, the curtain's on fire!
They're chopping down the dorm room, they're chopping down the dorm room.
My brother is a moron! (Cory)
Which nobody can deny!

So stupid, but funny.

I heard, but I can't remember where, the theory that we were supposedly seeing Eric from Cory's perspective. So, the older they got, the more Cory saw him as an equal and he didn't seem as smart anymore.

They could've also been shooting for a comedic relief as they tackled more serious topics in the later seasons.