Why Lucaya might be just what Girl Meets World Needs
Let me be clear. I shipped Riley and Lucas from the instant she fell into his lap on the subway. Come on, you know you did too. I dare you to find anything more precious than this (baby animals excluded), because I do not think it’s possible:
And, honestly, I still ship them. They are so sunshiney and awkward that they can’t help but be adorable. There’s the time he brought her a horse:
And the look he gave her when she showed up to their first date:
However, just because I love them together does not mean that they should be together. In fact, for the sake of Girl Meets World as a show it may just be best for Riley and Lucas, the assumed Cory and Topanga, to just be friends.
If the past few episodes are any indication, the Girl Meets World writers may be thinking the exact same thing. Turns out, Riley is trying to figure out if she has romantic feelings for Lucas or if she sees him more as a brother.
I may have cried. But, y’all, I get it. I get the reasoning for not having these two together. And I can even understand (and possibly some day support) the couple the writers seem to be setting up instead: Lucas and Maya, aka Lucaya. While I have no idea how they are going to make that transition considering Riley and Maya are best friends (you know, girl code and all), I do think Lucaya might be the best option for the show.
I enjoy consistency, but I also appreciate surprises, particularly when a show breaks out of their norm and does something unexpected. From day one, everyone assumed Riley and Lucas together was end game for the show. But perhaps these writers don’t want to be predictable. Perhaps they want to keep us guessing. Yes, it is a kid’s show, but that doesn’t mean it always has to do what people assume.
And isn’t that what makes for great TV? Creating characters and a story line that people not only care about but have to keep watching to find out what happens next? Well, now with this Lucaya possibility, Girl Meets World is excelling at both.
Also, Maya Hart herself deserves a plot twist like this. First, she deserves to know that she is loved and that people care about her. She has had a tough childhood, with an absent father and a mom who is constantly working to try and make ends meet. She hasn’t been shown a lot of care in her life and deserves a dating relationship where she is shown just how special she is. Lucas is maybe the sweetest middle school boy in the history of middle school boys and has already begun to show he cares.
This sweet, southern gentleman may be the perfect fit for Maya. Second, she deserves more air time. Currently so much of Maya’s story line is supporting Riley, but to give the show even more flavor, more Maya-based plots are necessary. Riley and Maya are total opposites and a story based on Riley alone would only be sunshine and rainbows. While I like sunshine and rainbows, viewers, even the younger ones, need to know that sometimes life comes with an edge. For Girl Meets World, Maya Hart is that edge. Having Maya be the one that gets the guy would be an easy and interesting way for her to get more story time.
Perhaps the most significant reason Lucaya would be a great plan is that this plot line would help separate Girl Meets World from Boy Meets World. One of my favorite things about Girl Meets World is that it often pays homage to its parent show.
However, Girl Meets World is not Boy Meets World and while some of the characters are the same, the new generation of characters deserve their own story. They deserve to set out on new paths and not always follow in their parents footsteps. We, the fans, should not only let them, but enjoy watching them grow. Therefore, giving the new Shawn instead of the new Cory the romance allows for a break from the past. So, writers, if Lucaya is the route you choose to take, this is one fan that understands.
For now, I’m going to enjoy watching these characters be middle schoolers where romance is at the bottom of their list of things to worry about and they have their whole lives ahead of them to date each other and meet new people. Besides, who meets their spouse in middle school anyway? (wink wink).
6 comments
She has all of the Matthews, she has Shawn, she has Katy, she has Farkle, and she already has Lucas as a friend who all care about her. To say she hasn’t been shown a lot of care in life when the Matthews see her as part of their family is a complete disservice to them.
No girl needs a significant other to realize how special she is. That’s the storyline Girl Meets World needs.
And good lord, if there’s any character that needs more story time, it’s not Maya Hart. If the writers wanted to give her more story time, they’ve got her father’s other family (The Jacks to her Shawn), they’ve got her father (who they will be addressing in November), and they’ve got her mother who now works at Maya’s hangout and is more involved in her life (how has Maya adjusted to that).
None of these characters need to be in relationships to have more storylines
I feel if they wanted Lucaya so bad they should have made it clear! from the beginning! Not wasted a whole season, and half a second one developing Rucas. Anywho, I’m gonna tell you how Lucaya is not what Girl Meets World needs. For starters this is the same Hollywood Propaganda of the blonde ambition or blondes have more fun montra! there are more shows, promoting Brunettes as being merely the best friend, the goth, the goofy one, the nerd, or super serious one. Whatever the brunette is–she’s rarely the love interest, the popular one, the cool one, the desired one. Sure, the Brunette gets her rare time of spotlight. However for every brunette that get’s her time to shine. There are 10 Blondes on the side being pushed to shine even brighter. Or the Brunette ends up going Blonde. Heck even Topanga is a Blonde! People are so concerned with this whole Rucas being clearly seen as canon to the point they ignore the difference. Lucaya is the story of cinderella. While Rucas is the story of Beauty and The Beast. A few have pointed this out on Instagram. If this is the case. Ask yourself….which movie got more remakes? I won’t argue with Lucaya fans or threaten the writers. I simply will not watch. I encourage any girl with the same features of Riley to not watch either. Do not continue to support the agenda of Blonde hair and blue eyes being more beautiful. “Blonde Beauty” and “Pretty Brunette” yeah…..ok. You Lucaya fans can have your show.
As far as Maya being there as support for Riley. I beg to differ, They both support each other. While Riley get’s a lot of air time. It is merely to be the comedic with no actually depth or development! Riley has not had a single story outside of Lucas. Take away Lucas! what else does her character have! The writers will not give her a talent or hobbies. Riley through this whole show has been the girl who likes Lucas and the funny best friend. You aren’t and were never a Rucas fan. Because, real Rucas fans can see through this BS!
The best idea is to give Lucas a redhead.
You say they should have made it clear from the pilot. Well I tell you, they did! And the writers tell you the same thing. The writers tweeted “It all happened in the pilot.” “It was clear from the beginning.” What happened in the pilot, exactly? Lucas and Maya dated. Granted, for barely 30 seconds, as it was just Maya’s way of showing Riley how to interact with boys, but it happened. What else was clear from the beginning? It wasn’t Riley who fell onto Lucas’ lap on the subway, it was Maya. Why? Because Riley was being Maya. Remember that? How Riley wanted to be “cool” and decided to be like Maya? Yeah, that happened too.
But you know what? This show isn’t about “the blonde always gets the guy”, it’s about finding out who you are in the world, and therefore, “meeting the world” as you really are. All these characters have identity crises. Riley wanted to be Maya, and later Morotia M. Black; Farkle wanted to be “just a normal guy” and so he invented a whole new persona to himself (Donny Barnes); Lucas didn’t want to be known as the brash “Texas Lucas” and so he became a whole other person, which led him to be known as “Lucas the Good”; Maya wanted to be “the best person she could be”, and so she became Riley. Even Topanga, for Heavens’ sake! She used to be the quirky girl with the weird style, but then she became “the lawyer shark”. Remember what she said to Riley? “This is who I am inside. It’s the part of me your father fell in love with a long time ago.” It’s like she isn’t that person anymore, and the only way she can be that person again is by wearing the green necklace and the white flowy blouse (the same green necklace and white flowy blouse we see Maya wearing in GMTexas, the episode where Lucas fell in love with her, but you know, who cares, right?).
Also, WTF are you talking about? You say Riley is only the “comedic”. First of all, you probably meant “comedic sidekick”, and second of all, no. Riley is the main character. MAYA is the comedic sidekick, MAYA is the best friend, MAYA is the one who barely has any story apart from her best friend and her messed-up family. But I do agree with you. Riley needs more depth and more growth. Particularly, she needs to grow up and stop being selfish. She needs to learn that just because she’s the main character, doesn’t mean she’ll always get whatever she wants. Rucas shippers always have the argument “Riley stepped back in Texas so Maya could have Lucas”. Y’all seem to miraculously forget every single time Maya stepped back for Riley. Y’all also seem to forget that Riley also exposed her best friend’s crush in front of said crush, and forced them to date even though they knew they weren’t ready. Riley also pushed Maya into Josh’s room when Maya told her not to do it because she wasn’t ready. She also needs to stop putting her nose in other people’s business to try and “fix them”, but that’s a whole other story. All I want is some growth. For Riley, for Maya, for Lucas. Even though S02’s theme was growth, I feel like nothing happened at all apart from the ship wars. So yeah, I just want the characters to grow up. But Lucaya would be a definite plus, of course.
P.S.: Where have you ever seen a blonde Topanga?
Nopeeeee. Lucas and Riley are perceived as being the “Cory and Topanga” of the show. It seems that Riley has a perfect life planned out for her, like a “Mary Sue”. This takes away all of her reliability. While Riley’s sunny personality is not a bad thing, I think that realizing that life isn’t perfect would do a lot for her. Riley is the main character of the show, and as you pointed out: has no talents or hobbies. It seems that if she got over her obsession, she could finally throw herself into something. Let’s admit it: Rucas is a lot like Joshaya, liking someone immediately because of how they look. Another thing: Beauty and the Beast vs. Cinderella. “Beauty” has a nice, content life with her father. The most handsome man in the village wants to get with her. She is bored of this life. She eventually falls for the beast, not because of his looks, but because of him as a person. Now, Riley fell for Lucas because of his looks. She didn’t take time to know him. Saw him and was like:BAM! Cinderella: Young girl who lives in poverty finally gets her moment with the prince of her dreams, but has to leave due to her spell wearing off. The prince hunts her down, and happily ever after. Maya is actually quite similar to Cinderella. Doesn’t have the best living space, and is still kind even though sometimes people push her buttons. C’mon, there have been a lot of times when Riley was a crap friend. I am honestly FURIOUS that Rucas happened. Lucaya had more thought and feeling.
Lucaya is awesome. I never liked Rucas and I just started to like Riley and Farkle together. I seriously hate Joshaya but that just me. He comes back like a weekend and all of a sudden knows what’s up. And his reasoning for the relationship was just stupid.