Felicity: Optimist vs. Cynic

Hi, everyone! Melissa here. Fish and I have been thinking about the long-term home of Felicity: Optimist vs. Cynic. It's been years since we finished recording this podcast, and audio podcast platforms are no longer the best place for us to host this series. But you know what is? YouTube! We have been uploading the podcast over to YouTube quickly. Two episodes a week are being transferred there. A...

For this very special bonus podcast, we welcome Mandy Foreman back to the conversation! That’s right, THE Meghan Rotundi joined Melissa (Fish was unfortunately under the weather) to talk all about those last five episodes as well as questions from throughout the series.  You definitely don’t want to miss this fun discussion with Mandy to close out our podcast!   Follow us on Instagram: https://www...

We did it again!  Season 4 is coming to a close. All that's left is our recap podcast...and then one more surprise from us!   Melissa and Fish tackle the following questions at the end of a full season 4 of Felicity: Ben vs. Noel? Felicity’s greatest achievement? Felicity's biggest fail? Most shocking moment or reveal? Funniest thing that happened? Favorite minor character? Don't miss our superlat...

We are your intrepid podcasters, podcasting about a clip show. That's right. The series finale of Felicity is a clip show!   Felicity and Ben pick up Noel's personal effects, and Meghan encourages Felicity to contact Paul Korsakoff to do his pre-published time travel spell. Felicity convinces him to help her and familiarizes him with the highlights of what happened in college.   Ben asks Felicity...

Felicity puts in one more attempt to get back together with Noel, including the Hail Mary of telling him she traveled back in time to be with him. After this attempt fails as well, Felicity begs Meghan to find a spell to send her back to the future.   Julie is planning a road trip, and Ben is keen to join her and drop out of school for a little while.   Noel is worried about Felicity's mental heal...

New tactic from Ben to get Felicity back: Challenge Felicity in her choices. Frustrated Felicity is flustered. It seems that there is still a force drawing them together. Noel is searching for a new apartment, and he and Felicity decide to move in together.   Sean is excited, because Julie is about to come to visit him. Except, she's coming for an audition. When she finds out that Sean might have...

This episode is brought to you by Melissa and Fish getting spun around by time travel and the personality inconsistencies of our favorite Felicity characters.   Felicity and Noel are flirting and romantic, but they are trying to be discreet with their friends. As they go to more out-of-the-way date destinations, they run into Hanna at a street fair. Hanna is struggling to get clients for her piano...

We start 6 months from the end of The Graduate. Elena has died in a car accident. Felicity, in her grief, pulls away from Ben, who cheats on Felicity. Meghan convinces Felicity to come back to NY for Noel and Zoe's wedding. After comments from both Noel and Felicity that they each have thought about what it would have been like if they were together (instead of Noel and Zoe), Felicity makes a wish...

Despite the paper shenanigans, Felicity and Ben are both graduating! In other exciting news, Ben and Felicity get engaged right before Ben is called to meet Lauren (who is labor) in Philadelphia.   Felicity's parents come to town for her graduation. Unsurprisingly, Edward Porter discourages her from moving back to NY next year, continuing architecture, or, presumably, getting married to Ben. Noel,...

Lauren is suddenly a villain, and Felicity's and Lauren's claws both come out.  She is leaving for Arizona tomorrow, she's stressed, and she needs Ben's help to pack. Lauren drinks and drives...and crashes with Ben in the car, sending them both to the hospital and him to surgery. After initially lashing out at Lauren, Felicity eventually responds with generosity, and Lauren makes peace with her be...

Ben gets an image from Lauren's recent ultrasound, and it stresses Felicity out - so much so, that she can't concentrate on her 30-page paper for her art history class. She takes Meghan's advice, copies a dissertation, and submits it as her own. When her professor loves it so much that she submits it for publication, it raises the eyebrows of the editorial board. Felicity is in trouble!   Sean's o...

Ben decides to participate in his child's life, but a new wrinkle is added when Lauren informs him she is moving to Arizona. Ben pushes back to no avail. Stressed, Ben self-sabotages in his relationship with Felicity and becomes angry over Felicity's continued connection to Noel.  Adam and Felicity's model wins the architecture contest, and Adam offers her a job in NY after she graduates to keep w...

Ben's dad heard about Lauren's pregnancy and judges the unknown father for deciding not to be in the child's life. When Ben admits he is the father, Ben's dad urges him to reconsider. Felicity continues to feel the overwhelm and tension around Ben's denial of Lauren being pregnant.     Noel gets Felicity an opportunity to work on an architecture project to explore a possible career path. She assis...

Lauren breaks some big news to Ben. She's pregnant. It's his. She's keeping the baby. Ben reels and, by the end of the episode, shares the news with Felicity.   Owen and Felicity are going to galleries trying to sell their work, and they are getting rejected at every turn. Felicity, worried about her future, meets with her mom and ends up arguing over whether she should take a safer opportunity in...

As the semester comes to a close, Ben is initiating more contact with Felicity, and she lets him know that she wants to get back together.  Ben's dad gives him a pep talk about relationships, and Ben runs to catch Felicity at the airport before she flies back to Palo Alto for winter break. They get back together!   A donor liver is identified for Ben's dad, but it is delayed due to a snowstorm, so...

Ben and Felicity are seeing less and less of each other, but that doesn't mean they're not on each other's minds.   Noel is taking his meds and getting his life back on track. He's even starting his own graphic design business! With his therapist, he comes to the conclusion that he needs to start spending less time with Felicity. Unfortunately, he is having a very hard time setting limits with Fel...

~This is a spoiler heavy podcast for the next three episodes of Felicity and for A Streetcar Named Desire.~   Felicity is still hopeful to get back together with Ben, but Ben wants to move on. Javier is going to try to put them back together with an elaborate scheme to get them to see a showing of A Streetcar Named Desire together. Unfortunately, Ben brings Lauren - who is staying in NY indefinite...

It's time for the last Thanksgiving of college!   Felicity continues sad/angry painting.  Meghan does a spell to get Felicity and Ben back together, and then endeavors to make the conditions right for the reunion - she arranges for Felicity to host Thanksgiving and invites Ben. Unfortunately, Ben is feeling angry about Felicity cheating on him, and he brings Lauren to Thanksgiving dinner to get ba...

Felicity tries to talk to Ben about her affair with Noel, but Ben wants to call it quits.    Noel, with the help of Richard's nudging, comes clean to Sean and Meghan about the affair with Felicity and offers to move out. Sean and Trevor rally around Ben. Meghan, Elena, and Javier rally around Felicity. Noel stands on an island alone.   Noel starts his new job at Webb Group Graphics and meets Zoe!...

It's Felicity's 21st birthday, and Ben has been planning a getaway to Vermont. Unfortunately, it will never come to pass, because Ben's dad is in a NY hospital with liver failure, and Lauren, one of Ben's dad's contacts from AA, encourages Ben to meet with his dad to say goodbye. His father asks him to assume power of attorney and carry out his wishes: No pain meds, no machines, and a DNR order.  ...

It's a Halloween episode!   Felicity interviews for the Art 10 TA position under Professor May and gets the job + scarf! But that's not as important as the fun fact that we unearthed about the actress who plays her professor... Unfortunately, Professor May gets arrested for shoplifting, forcing Felicity to take over until the position is refilled. Her students recognize her from the beauty pageant...

Felicity is getting ready for the Miss Sunrise Surprise Beauty Pageant, which she is already reluctant to do, but is even moreso when she discovers she might be pregnant. She shares the information with Noel and Elena, but Ben finds out on his own. By the end of the episode, Felicity confirms that she is not pregnant, to the relief of both her and Ben...and - still secretly - Noel.   We get behind...

Meghan's parents, frustrated that she got married on the spur of the moment, decide to host a dinner with Meghan, Sean, and Sean's parents. Sean panics, expecting his dad to be an embarrassment as he haggles and pitches ideas to Meghan's parents. In multiple attempts to have this dinner, the tension between Sean and Sean's dad - who are basically the same person - is palpable. Meghan's dad threate...

The episode with the most implausible last-minute event planning crises! Elena and Tracy ask Felicity to officiate their wedding. Sean is deciding on what favors to order. Javier is working on nailing down the rehearsal venue.   Felicity and Noel just slept together, but Felicity wants to be with Ben, so she is going to spend an entire episode hiding her indiscretion. Ben makes overtures to apolog...

Senior year is starting for Felicity, and she feels lost and anxious about the future. She and Noel - who is struggling with his job search - became close over the summer and lean on each other for emotional support. She is resting her hopes on getting into an honors art program, which, unfortunately, she doesn't.   Felicity's dad has been needling her about her future, and he shows up in NY to pr...