MovieChat Forums > Felicity (1998) Discussion > The Big Question; Ben or Noel.

The Big Question; Ben or Noel.

posted 12 years ago by jpschmutzer
31 replies | jump to latest

Basically this is what the whole show comes down to. I knew that coming into it (I just watched the whole show on Netflix) because I used to watch it sometimes when I was a kid and it was on the WB. I was a lot younger then so I knew it would be a much better experience now. During season one I was always hoping that she would end up with Ben. I always found Noel to be a whiner and just downright annoying. I can remember the season finale and then running right to the season 2 premier and practically jumping on the couch like Tom Cruise when she picked Ben. But, as the show went on I found myself hoping more and more that she would pick Noel. I think it's because Noel reminds me of myself and I know what it's like to want somebody so bad and to have them be in love with somebody else. When it got down to the end and the time travelling began I have to admit, I was very excited. Mainly because I wish I had the chance to time travel and fix things. I think that they were great together in those last couple of episodes. Ultimately I would have liked to have seen Noel choose her over Zoey and Ben go be a dad. Who was everyone else pulling for?

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] AnIdleHour 12 years ago

(Season four spoilers ahead.)
That's exactly how I felt - my loyalties flipped constantly. I would say that I ALWAYS loved Noel. What a great guy - and they were very much kindred spirits. But she and Ben just had...something. And when he was vulnerable, he was wonderful. Unfortunately, by the end, while I still felt that Ben was the natural choice, I was so disappointed by the Ben-Lauren-Baby storyline, on top of the Avery disaster, plus what he did to her during the time-travel episodes. I really didn't think he deserved to be with her at all. It was always a very dramatic, moody show (but funny, too - I always defend it!), but the writers really made such a mess of Ben's character. I still think he was the right choice in the end, though.

[–] sue-534 12 years ago

I was so disappointed by the Ben-Lauren-Baby storyline

Same here; it was pretty dumb to throw that in. I understand they wanted to keep mixing things up but that wasn't the way to go.

plus what he did to her during the time-travel episodes.

What did he do to her during the time-travel episodes?
He is the one who supported her notion she time-traveled and he busted her out of the psych ward.

I still think he was the right choice in the end, though.

Yes. I agree. Felicity and Ben had "magic" plus he did learn about "forever" from his dad.
He just needed to mature and I think he did and will continue to.

"the only way through it is through it " -Jackson Browne

[–] AnIdleHour 12 years ago

I had to laugh when I read your comment that he "will continue to" mature. The characters are so alive for me as well. :) They are definitely characters I wish I'd had more time with.

As for the time-travel episodes, you are exactly right that he supported her throughout those. I should have been more clear - I was really referring to the cheating right before her time-travel, which I believe we found out about during the first episode of that storyline. I know she was struggling with the Elena situation, but I just kept thinking, Not again!! I didn't want him to screw up that big again.

[–] sue-534 12 years ago

I had to laugh when I read your comment that he "will continue to" mature. The characters are so alive for me as well. :)

I know, it's funny how real they are . I almost didn't write that part about him continuing to mature. :)

After Ben saw that his parents could work through anything, for forever, he really wanted to incorporate that into his own life and it would have been nice to have one more season. I am thinking of rewatching the series, I liked it that much and miss them. I loved Javier.

"the only way through it is through it " -Jackson Browne

[–] AnIdleHour 12 years ago

LOVE Javier, too. Confession: I'm watching it right now. :) After visiting this board again, I couldn't resist a few minutes of season 1. I used to play the dvds all the time when I'd be doing things around the house - they were like comfort food.

[–] chrissie-route66-706-322219 9 years ago

Definitely Ben had to grow up. And he did with many mistakes on his road to adulthood.
And this pregnancy story could have been true in real life so it was in a way logical. I really had friends who get themself in such situation during the college/University time.

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.

[–] chrissie-route66-706-322219 9 years ago

Ben was definitely the right choice for Felicity.
I watched the show just now and it would be really weird and unrealsitic if she would end up with Noel.

A winner is a dreamer who never gives up.

[–] wyeast 12 years ago

I just finished watching the series on Netflix and being able to rewind and rewatch certain scenes changed everything for me. In reality, Noel was never in the picture as far as Felicity was concerned from the end of the 2nd season on, she was in love with Ben and Ben only. Here are some of the scenes that made me come to this conclusion. First, she never said the words I LOVE YOU to Noel, but said them to Ben. Right after she slept with Noel, she knew right away it was a mistake and told Noel it shouldn't have happened because she loved Ben. In the episode "It's Raining Men" after Noel kisses her, she gets upset and tells him he shouldn't have done it. She's dating Ben and has nothing to reveal. When Noel says he doesn't know how to treat her, she says, treat her as a friend which is what she thinks of him. When Meghan comes over to comfort her after Ben finds out about Noel, Meghan says "Do you want to get back together with Noel" and Felicity says NO, I want Ben, and the scene I like the most was when Ruby asked Felicity in the gym why she followed Ben to NY. She said she knew Ben in HS and always knew that if they got to know each other, they would love each other. It was also reported that the series actually ended with THE GRADUATE but that CW requested more shows after they shot the ending. Most of the writers were gone and working on Alias and the current writers just came up with the whole dream idea. I agree with you though, once Ben and Felicity got back together, they should have just wrapped up the series and not go into the whole Lauren/Baby storyline. The Greg character said it best. "Your not going out with me because I'm me, your going out with me because I'm not Ben"

[–] coco_la_nata 12 years ago

Simple for me, always Ben.

Be polite or ffo kcuf, please!

[–] jwurtzel124 12 years ago

I am currently rewatching the series on Netflix myself. I didn't really watch much of the first season (maybe one or two episodes)because of the time it was on, but once it moved to a better timeslot I watched every week religiously until the end. I kinda had a celebrity crush thing on Scott Foley like the entire series so I was always kinda bias towards him and Felicity getting together vs. her and Ben. That being said, I do believe that as the series went on Ben became more and more of a jerk. He only thought of himself and Felicity was too nieve to see it. She would let her self time and agin be hurt by him and think this was alright. It kinda made me doubt whether Felicity was as strong as she eventually thought she was. I think one of the happiest times for me for Felicity in the series was when she and Nole were talking on the roof of the loft and then kissed. I don't think I could have cheered louder. Too bad it wasn't until the crappy time warp episodes that she did anything about it and *Spoiler Alert Warrning for anyone who has yet to see the series* even then it wasn't real. Maybe Felicity was meant to be with someone entirely different;someone she meets after the series is over. At least she didn't listen to the demands of her overbearing father and move back home to live out his dreams. I think that if she had ended up getting married to either Ben or Noel she would have regreted it everyday of her life. Her college years were just what they were supposed to be, a time of self discovery and as long as she never made the decision to move back to California, things would have worked out for her just the way they were supposed to.

[–] LeonCrane 12 years ago

ben was too good for felicity.

[–] mdnightwnd 12 years ago

I think Ben is ultimately the one for Felicity. She and Noel work so much better as friends, and though he is a sweet guy, he and Felicity don't have the chemistry that she had with Ben.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] SparklingLily 11 years ago

Team Noel!

[–] TracesOfLove 11 years ago

Neither. Noel is the worst! Ben didn't mesh with her at all. I think she would've been better off with the dude who took her virginity. But Felicity was kind of an ass so maybe she did belong with Noel after all! Still I think the art dude could've possibly helped turn her into a likable person. But she probably would've turned him into an alcoholic too.

...even in a valley without mountains the wind could still blow.