Silver round 2 is now closed. You can see the updated bracket here.
MATCH #1
Charlie Gardner
CONTESTANT: Charles "Charlie" Gardner
Portrayed By: Tanner Buchanan (2015-present)
First Episode: Girl Meets Semi Formal (#2.13)
Latest Episode: Girl Meets Semi Formal (#2.13)
Signature Episode: Girl Meets Semi Formal (#2.13)
Episode Count: 1 (and counting)
Claim to Fame: Surprise curveball romantic interest for Riley.
Occupation: Eighth-grader at John Quincy Adams Junior High
Approximate Age: 14
Current Status: Living in Manhattan
Strengths: Charming, respectful, not Lucas, taught Yogi to skate
Weaknesses: Underdeveloped, angers "Rucas" fans
vs.
Griff Hawkins
CONTESTANT: Griffin "Griff " Hawkins
Portrayed By: Adam Scott (1995)
First Episode: Pop Quiz (#2.20)
Latest Episode: He Said, She Said (#3.04)
Signature Episode: The Thrilla' in Phila' (#2.21)
Episode Count: 3
Claim to Fame: The "cool" leader of John Adams High's underworld after Harley.
Occupation: Unknown, probably a fucking billionaire.
Approximate Age: 37
Current Status: Unknown
Strengths: Extremely charismatic, good leader, sharp business acumen
Weaknesses: Arrogant, Brazenly flaunts authority
THIS SET OF MATCHES IS CLOSED.
Griff has defeated Charlie with 57% of the vote against 43%.
MATCH #2
Tommy Murphy
CONTESTANT: Thomas Jonathan "T.J."/"Tommy" Murphy
Portrayed By: J.B. Gaynor (1998-1999, 2015)
First Episode: Santa's Little Helpers (#6.11)
Latest Episode: Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington (#2.09)
Signature Episode: Can I Help To Cheer You? (#6.09), Girl Meets Mr. Squirrels Goes to Washington (#2.09)
Episode Count: 4
Claim to Fame: Eric's "Little Brother"
Occupation: Political Activist/Journalist
Approximate Age: 25
Current Status: Living in Manhattan
Strengths: Smart, politically active, plays well with Eric
Weaknesses: Mostly a plot device
vs.
Riley Matthews
CONTESTANT: Riley Matthews
Portrayed By: Rowan Blanchard (2014-present)
First Episode: "Girl Meets World"
Latest Episode: Ongoing
Signature Episode: "Girl Meets World", "Girl Meets the New World", "Girl Meets the Tell-Tale Tot", "Girl Meets Yearbook", "Girl Meets Semi-Formal"
Episode Count: 35 (and counting)
Claim to Fame: Cory and Topanga's daughter
Occupation: Eighth-grader at John Quincy Adams Junior High
Approximate Age: 13
Current Status: Living in Manhattan
Strengths: Cheerful, Honest, Loving
Weaknesses: Oblivious, Poor impulse control, Self-centered
THIS SET OF MATCHES IS CLOSED.
Riley has defeated Tommy with 90% of the vote against 10%.
I voted for Griff over Charlie and Riley over Tommy. More of a desire to see two characters who couldn't be more different face off than anything else.
ReplyDeleteRiley and Charlie
ReplyDeleteRiley needs no explanation. The other battle involves 2 characters I didn't vote for in the first round. I was always a Harley guy and while I didn't not like Griff, he just didn't do it for me. Charlie was fine in his one performance so far and hopefully will continue to surprise in his next episode in October. Since he should be more likely to remain in the franchise (in my opinion anyway), he gets my vote here.
Adam Scott gets my vote in almost anything I find him on. Riley was my other choice. Easy round for me!
ReplyDeleteTim, I don't believe we've met. I read this blog often and I think this may be the first time I've seen your comments.
DeleteHi, I'm Cryptid456, veteran of the Harry Potter Shipping Wars and devoted follower of all things in the Feeny-verse.
Thanks, Cryp! I stumbled across bmw reviewed and after that ended followed over to this. The Feeny-verse is definitely worthy of being followed!
DeleteWelcome aboard, Tim!
DeleteAlso, looking ahead a bit...it looks like we're about to have Cory vs. Feeny. No matter which way I vote that's a rough one. Loving this contest!
ReplyDeleteI still don't get the love for Charlie. So Griff for me. Not that there's really that much difference between the two when you stop to think about it. Griff might be slightly funnier but they're both pretty much the same archetype.
ReplyDeleteRiley over Tommy. Pretty much for the same reasons that I voted for Cory for.
I voted for Griff in this go-round, but I do have something to say.
DeleteI voted for Charlie over Lucas...mostly because he isn't Lucas. I have nothing against Lucas's actor. I'd probably have been friends with a kid who was like Lucas. Heck, I'm a lot like Lucas in that I tend to be the "moral compass" of my friends. Not that they ever do anything wrong--more like, I encourage them not to swear.
In any case, Lucas is boring here. He's a nice guy, we get it. But that's it! He's Mr. Perfect and Mr. Perfect Disney Prince is BORING! Sure Topanga was something of a Little Miss Perfect, but because Cory and Shawn were Fred-and-George troublemakers, it worked! Topanga was a foil to Cory, a shoulder angel of sorts compared to Shawn. Lucas is too perfect. And frankly, unnecessary to the show. His presence prevented a lot of Riley's development--story lines surrounding Lucas as opposed to anything remotely resembling a hobby. One of the best episodes of Season One of "Girl Meets World" is "Girl Meets Brother" and a small, but not insignificant part of it is because it isn't set in the classroom and that means No Lucas.
And yeah, Riley over Tommy. Riley's a little flat as a character--mostly because of so much story time directed to Lucas--but she's the protagonist and while I'm not wild about how she's had very little time with Topanga, she's still a lot of fun to watch.
As an aside, if it pleases Christian and Sean, may I question whether or not "Self-centered" is really a fair descriptor as one of her negatives?
Sure there was "Forgotten" and "Gravity," and even "Flaws" with that pointless award subplot, but other than that I'm not sure I'd call Riley self-centered. Group-of-four-centered, maybe. Needy sure, but for the most part Riley doesn't seem as self-centered as Cory did at her age.
So it's not that people really like Charlie. They just hate Lucas.
DeleteDespite the fact that Lucas has improved in season 2 and has been shown to not be oh so perfect.
While Charlie himself falls into the same trap of being too perfect to be actually interesting, but gets a pass because he's not a regular yet?
O.o How does that work?
I'm honestly not trying to nit-pick. I'm just trying to understand why people are so enthused about this new kid, when they dislike nearly every other new male character on the show. Like what makes Charlie so special?
Charlie's got a bit of a Deadpan Snarker streak--"I'm sorry, did you need more than ten months?" That one line is funnier than anything Lucas said in a year. And I did vote for Griff.
DeleteYeah, I'm in no way prepared to grant the premise that Charlie's 'too perfect to actually be interesting.' Sure, he's like, a charming guy, but he was specifically trying to charm Riley and make a good impression. But Cryptid's right, even in that line "And, I'm sorry, but did you mean more than ten months?" shows he's got a snarky edge to him that Lucas does not.
DeleteThroughout the whole episode he kind of had this air of, like, he's being respectful to whatever's going on with Lucas, but also, fuck that guy. Lucas is a chump, hasn't manned up in this courtship with Riley, and Charlie knows it. I like that about him, that edge of "Yeah, sure, okay, I'll be a nice guy. I'll play along. Whatever you want. But come on - this guy? Let's get real." If I'm right about that, that's a character that could be a lot of fun. It's like if Jack in that triangle had been unfettered from the constraints of being bffs with his rival. That may have been an entertaining Jack to see.
I like to think it's not that Lucas genuinely is this bad at shitting or getting off the pot (since he actually does appear to be pretty decisive in other aspects of his life) but that he knows he's developing feelings for Maya, so doesn't want things to escalate too far with Riley, but also doesn't feel like he can go after Maya without being a dick/ruining a friendship, and so he's kind of... just... stalling. Which I get. But Charlie doesn't know anything about that, so he just recognizes Lucas as a chump who's not worthy of Riley's adoration.
Either way, I'm not sure where you're getting that Charlie's overly idealized. He's not perfect just because in his one episode we haven't fully explored his flaws. He's dashing, but I detect some major ego., but in a good way.
That said, sure, I probably would have voted for just about anybody over Lucas. Actually looking at the bracket, the following would have not gotten my vote if up against Lucas:
DeleteYogi
Zay
Harper
Crazy Hat
Ava
That's it.
Oh, but yeah, of course I voted for Griff here. I'm not a lunatic.
Delete"As an aside, if it pleases Christian and Sean, may I question whether or not "Self-centered" is really a fair descriptor as one of her negatives?" I think so. She means well, and it's not that she's out for like the advancement over herself over others, but she consistently and chronically regards herself as the center of the universe and makes all situations, classes, whatever, about her. It's not an in-universe flaw of hers. But it's a flaw.
Delete"Despite the fact that Lucas has improved in season 2 and has been shown to not be oh so perfect."
DeleteYeah, he's improved in Season 2, but he's coming from sooooooooooo low. We despised him in Season 1. Now, he's just increased to, like, ''sucks". And, his improvement mainly comes from Peyton Meyer becoming a stronger actor and loosening up a bit. I don't think his perfect personality has really diminished any. Even "Secret of Life", imagined as an episode where Lucas gets some flaws, was a total sham. His dark secret was that he defended his friend against someone who was going to do him harm and got expelled for it. That's hardly a flaw. That's, like, heroic.
Fred!!!
DeleteWait, wasn't his flaw that he was a bit prone to violence and missing classes back in Texas?
DeleteShawn would be Fred, Cory would be George. Fred was also the more troublemaking, wisecracking, rambunctious one. And I foresee a situation where Shawn dies and Cory, sadly, settles down and continues on their work without him before the opposite.
DeleteThat's my my longterm BMW prediction we'll never see come true. Even if it's 50 years from now, Cory eventually outlives Shawn.
I'm going to write a fanfic called "Boy Meets World Beyond" that takes place in 50 years, and Cory's ancient and lives as a recluse in a mansion, and practically everyone else is dead, but he takes in a troubled teen and teaches him how to Meet World.
Delete"Wait, wasn't his flaw that he was a bit prone to violence and missing classes back in Texas?" Missing classes? I don't remember anything about at that. And the only example of his being "prone to violence" that we heard about was that he was kicked out of school which, we learned at the end, was only because Zay had pissed the wrong guy off and he was going to kick Zay's ass, but Lucas stepped in and defended him (yeah, with his fists, but what else was he supposed to do?) and ended up being kicked out of school for it.
DeleteI also agree that Charlie isn't necessarily getting love, its just that some folks, me among them, came into this round faced with 2 characters they didn't vote for in round 1. I had to decide. I don't dislike either character, but I went with who I was most interested in. I think Charlie will grow on us in his next episode next month. And it's not like Griff was in a lot of episodes that we all should love him so. He was in 3? I have to believe Charlie makes it into more than that.
DeleteAlso regarding Lucas. On the Q&A last week someone asked the writers how he can stay "perfect" so long as it is very hard to maintain that. They asked if he will break, and they writers replied that he will. Maybe he will become a little more relatable.
1960, it's not that Charlie's getting lots of love here, though, it's that he defeated Lucas pretty handily. Actually, considering Griff absolutely slayed Zay, I don't think there's very many other people who are dealing with a match up filled with *two* people they didn't vote for.
DeleteBut no guy does that! Ever!
DeleteThe reason why he's too prefect is because of all the stuff he does for Riley. Lucas the procrastinator is more true to real life in this instance.
And one snarky line? big woopie doo. :-7 He's still far too nice to his rival to be interestingly flawed and people make snarky remarks in this show all the time. He needs to do more than just deliver one good line to impress me.
Lets face it. I just don't share the same hatred for Lucas that y'all do. And it's not Charlie you really like, just the hope that some just might get rid of Lucas.
I don't have to 'face' anything. If you like Lucas, great, that's fine. No one's telling you not to. But don't presume to tell me the real reason I'm doing anything, and who I do or do not like. Because, no, I liked Charlie in his first episode a lot. I immediately took to him. I found himlikable, a nice blend of snark and edginess mixed with charm and politeness, and I'm really interested to see more for him. Is he my favorite character? No. Would I have voted for him against a lot of other characters? No. And I'm not voting for him now. But it's not that we're a bunch of unreasonable trolls.
DeleteI was wrong to chide 1960 so excessively for voting for Eric, do not make my mistake! We like what we like. Let's all deal with it.
*for not voting for Eric.
DeleteThis is a good conversation, but way at the beginning disneydork claimed that Charlie and Griff are "the same archetype." I don't see how that makes any sense.
DeleteIt's definitely overstating it, but I guess they're both like "charmers"? And are go-getters that can make elaborate shit happen, be it fancy wrestling matches or fancy dance-asks?
DeleteBut yeah, they're not exactly peas in a pod. Charlie's small-time.
That and Charlie doesn't break the rules or rebels, which makes him slightly less interesting.
DeleteChristian, dislike or like whoever you want. I'm not saying you're wrong or anything. I'm just trying to figure out why you like/dislike these characters because I don't share the same opinion.
It's just, the general consensus I was getting from everyone's comments is that they voted for Charlie because they hate Lucas so much. I just don't see enough difference between Charlie and season 1 Lucas to understand why he's so much better.
I don't see what's so alike about them. Beyond that they're generally nice people. Lucas, especially back then, just seemed like, literally a ken doll. There was often no light in his eyes. No spark. In even the one episode with Charlie we saw more... joie de vivre than Lucas showed in a season. I don't know. He was just like a cool kid. He had some funny lines, he delivered them well, he did cool stuff. I enjoyed him. I guess I'm not sure what you're struggling with here. We've explained what we liked about Charlie. If you don't think that's enough, okay, but, like, that is why. Certainly it doesn't help that he was up against Lucas. Lucas is the worst. But Charlie's also kind of cool. Read the review of "Semi-Formal", I guess, we all talked about it back there too.
Delete*Looks around, sees he has nothing to add. Grabs Uncle Eric's Bucket of Popcorn*
DeleteI ran out of popcorn. I got stuff to say to Christian.
Delete" "As an aside, if it pleases Christian and Sean, may I question whether or not "Self-centered" is really a fair descriptor as one of her negatives?" I think so. She means well, and it's not that she's out for like the advancement over herself over others, but she consistently and chronically regards herself as the center of the universe and makes all situations, classes, whatever, about her. It's not an in-universe flaw of hers. But it's a flaw. "
Okay...that's actually rather fair. I think I'd say Protagonist Privilege over "self-centered" since Riley's had a fair few episodes, "Smackle" and "Creativity" comes to mind, where she's rather alturistic, in a seventh-grade sort of way. When I hear "self-centered," I hear "selfish." Terminology, I guess. But you're right...the show could do a bit more to not put the spotlight on Riley
But you're right about the classes if nothing else: I try to forget "Crazy Hat" ever happened--that has bar none the worst classroom scenes. Riley completely redirects the attention of the class onto herself. But you could have had a reasonable 'run-your-business' set-up with history lessons: Carnegie! Rockerfeller! J.P. Morgan! That's history right there.
Also with "Gravity"...I couldn't help but remember Topanga's line about how "eighth graders are the kings and queens of middle school." Yeah, somehow I doubt Riley and Maya would have been THAT bratty had Topanga not said that. Come to think of it, Topanga's the one who got the ball rolling for "Really Cringe-Inducing Presentation" in "Creativity." Remind me again why we want Riley-and-Topagna scenes?
In any event, I also thought "Gravity" would have been better had it been two parts, first part Mrs. Skirvoski (sic) dies and second part Riley has to prepare a speech on Auggie's behalf and she's distressed over realizing how selfish she's been.
And to give development, like I said before, show us later that Riley is resolving never to be that selfish again--have her tell her silent classmates what she knows about them (simple stuff, favorite food in the cafeteria; young-adult vampire series they like best) in "Rules."
Looks like we'll just have agree to disagree then. It's cool though. I'm not like angry that Lucas loss or anything. I understand why people dislike him, I'm just slightly confused by all the Charlie love but clearly people see something with in the character that I don't. oh well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
DeleteFeeny with 100% over Eli. Can't say I'm surprised it was so much, but I thought he'd get enough sympathy votes for 1%. Turner will be a tougher matchup, but I think it'll go overwhelming in Feeny's favor.
ReplyDeleteGriff and Riley.
BEN I FORGOT TO PUT DANCING GUY IN THE BRACKET, WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY ANYTHING
Deletelol, I actually was going to post why Dancing Guy wasn't in there, but I assumed he was eliminated in favor of like Yogi or Leonard Spinelli. In case of Yogi, I haven't watched all the GMW so maybe he's a better recurring.
DeleteI know some might think Dancing Guy would advance as a joke pick, but I think most of us would be honest in choosing the best characters. Except me, I'd vote for him up to the Sweet Sixteen.
There's at least ten people less deserving than Dancing Guy, including Yogi. I have brought great shame to my legacy.
DeleteI likely would have fought it because it feels too much like Sean's thing in particular. And, I'll admit, though a huge fan of BMW Reviewed, I was never really a Dancing Guy devotee. I kind of kept my head down and smiled politely when conversation started swinging toward him.
DeleteI voted for Charlie and Riley.
ReplyDeleteI voted for Charlie because I feel that he has a lot more potential to be part of an arc and of Riley's story. Sure, he probably won't stick around long but Griff had little to no impact on Cory-minus the Coolness Award which was fan service.
I voted for Riley because I've really enjoyed seeing Rowan Blanchard's acting increase significantly. The first few episodes of Season 1 are almost unrecognizable compared to where she is today.
Having just gone back and reviewed the first four episodes, you are absolutely right. I still give Rowan a hard time, but she is wayyyyyyyyyyyyy better now.
DeleteThere's just something...sexy (can I even say that here?) about the Griff character. I don't know what that says about me as a person but that's ok because Adam Scott is awesome.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't say it, I sure as hell will. I checked Adam Scott's IMDB page pretty consistently for years after seeing him as Griff. Very excited when Party Down started.
DeleteGiff and Riley.
ReplyDeleteGriff simply because I have a hard time putting someone through who's only been in one episode. I liked Charlie, but I don't know exactly what he brings to the table yet.
Riley is the main character of this show, and even though she's not the best written character, I still enjoy watching her. So, yeah. This was easy.
What did Griff bring to the table after 3 appearances?
DeleteI don't know, Griff and Charlie is an interesting match-up but it's a little odd to me that everyone's using the fact that Charlie's been in only one episode as a reason why it'd be incredulous to vote for him over Griff...who''s only been in two more episodes. Choose Griff because you like him more, not because it's 1 ep vs. 3.
When it comes down to it, I think Charlie has more going for him because he's a viable love interest for our protagonist. Griff was Harley's replacement as the school's bad boy. It's too early to tell, but with the show establishing Lucas and Riley as a platonic pairing, and with Charlie returning next month, I think there's a good chance that we will see much more of him, especially with Riley.