"There Is No Friendzone!" [Review on Regular Show Season 4 Ep. 28 "Meteor Moves"]

Guardian of Friend Zone: "Ah, but it is—a place of friendly handshakes, back pats, side hugs; a platonic realm where romance goes to die."

Now don't tell me that that isn't true. Because it is. And I'll gladly tell you about that, but I'll get to that. First up, I'm going to try and run you through the episode without spoiling too much of it. I did say try, doesn't mean I won't.

So this episode is about Eileen inviting the duo to go watch a meteor shower that happens "once in a lifetime" as she said so. One thing I liked a lot about this is that she texted Rigby about it.

She could have just told them about it when they got to the coffee shop, but apparently Eileen and Rigby are textmates now. I just love how things are developing between them, because from the moment they met, Rigby wasn't really into Eileen, but after the One Pull Up incident and several others, I think that things are looking up for those who's OTP is Rigby and Eileen.

 

Another point I liked about Rigby in this episode is the fact that he was so frustrated about Mordecai and his reluctance to make his moves on Margaret. Sure, he was pushing him around about it, but most of what he's been saying is true. He pointed out that what happened in the airport 2 weeks prior (Season 4 Ep. 22 "Picking Up Margaret") was just a goodbye kiss and he made Mordecai realize that it was Margaret that kissed him and not the other way around, like he thought it was.

Aside from the character developments (and there is a lot on this episode, but I'll get back to that), we also get a glimpse on some character backgrounds. We find out a lot about the characters in this episode and a lot of flashbacks on Mordecai's part.

Here's a list of what I got from this episode. I'm sure there's a lot more info about this on other episodes, but these are the ones that were mentioned in this episode.

• Mordecai was in Art School back in college, but wasn't able to finish it. When Margaret asks if he'd ever go back, he just wasn't sure at the moment and joked that he might work at the park for the rest of his life.
• The reason Eileen knew about the meteor shower is that she's in an astronomy club, and even named a star. "Best 80 dollars I ever spent!" as she would put it.
• Margaret has applied to three schools for her journalism major, but was unsure of whether she would get accepted. We see a side of Margaret where she's conscious about how she was in the interview but Mordecai sorted that out by reassuring her about herself. 

This is one of the aspects I love in TV shows where they give proper back stories to their characters and don't just throw in new ones and never give them the substance they need. Good for you, JG Quintel! 4 for you! 

So back to the main point I was going to make about this episode. So apart from Rigby pushing around Mordecai about Margaret, he kept saying friendzone, implying that if he doesn't make a move, it'll end with him being in the friendzone forever. Now from the way things were going, and how Margaret was around and towards Mordecai, it was really frustrating to see him spaz out and be awkward. Mainly because it reminded me of myself a lot of times I tried to get out of the friendzone but ended up digging that hole all on my own and jumping down for good measure.

It was great how this episode handled the subject that many people pass off as "another excuse for guys to put the blame on girls for not giving them what they want." But I agree with them. Most of the time, people who claim to be on the friendzone are clearly just people who tried to act "nice" towards their love interest, and disappointed that the feelings aren't mutual when it was time to "cash in" on what they have been putting effort for. 

Now that's just stupid! You don't owe anyone anything if they're nice to you. Being nice is supposed to be something you do, not something you choose to do for certain people. You never demand anything back and that's how it should be. If the receiver reciprocates the feeling, then good! But if not, it just means you're not putting enough effort for the other party to realize and understand your true feelings.There's a difference between being nice towards others and being nice towards someone whom you wish to bed and get whatever the hell it is you want from them.

Now in Mordecai's case, it wasn't like that. He genuinely loved her, and all that's keeping him from it was the fact that he was scared of being rejected. He needed to man up and just go tell her. If not, it'll spiral down into the true friendzone, not the "I was being nice to you because I wanted to sleep with you, but you didn't want to so I blame you for it" zone. Mordecai had pure intentions of being with someone he really enjoyed being with and he found someone who was worth the risk of getting killed by a mob who hates cellphones, going through much-hated clubbing, and lots of other stuff. And we're pretty sure that Margaret feels the same way, because the thing she was most afraid of about going to college was missing Mordecai.

It took a talking asteroid hailed the "Guardian of the Friend Zone," random couples in their cars chanting, and Rigby screaming at the top of his lungs for Mordecai to realize that there was nothing to fear and just go for it. He had many chances, and the asteroid showed him each and every one of it. He rooted for Mordecai because he didn't want him to suffer like he did, and Rigby was just giving him the push he needed.