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Recap / The Wonder Years S 02 E 05

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Kevin appears to have come around and is enjoying being Becky's boyfriend. However, Kirk McCray approaches Kevin because he's worried Winnie will want to break up with him and wants Kevin to ask her because they're so close. Kevin asks and learns that while Winnie likes Kirk, she doesn't know whether she "likes him likes him". Kevin then starts wondering if she "like likes" Kevin and asks Paul to ask Winnie, but Paul was unable to because she was busy talking with another boy whom Kirk also asked to ask Winnie and who gets an upcoming date with Winnie.

After being told that Becky wants to know if he's mad at her, he realizes that he had forgotten about her, re-developing feelings for Winnie, and decides to break up with her. To say that Becky doesn't take it well would be an understatement, as the knocked out Kevin can attest.

Later, Kevin visits Winnie after her date, and is surprised to find that she doesn't really know who she likes, having thought that only men were unsure of these things.

Includes examples of

  • A Day in the Limelight: Kirk McCray, who had not previously gotten any development beyond being being Winnie's boyfriend and had not had any dialogue prior, is given a big part and some character development in this episode.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Kevin still isn't Winnie's boyfriend at the end, but he is surprised to learn that she doesn't really know who she wants, relieved as he thought only men were unsure in terms of dating.
  • Imagine Spot: After getting TKO'd by Becky, Kevin goes into a fantasy sequence where he imagines himself as Captain Kirk and his friends as Spock, McCoy and Scotty while the girls are gorgeous aliens he cannot hope to understand.
  • I Will Show You X!: When Kevin breaks up with Becky Slater he tells her that they can still be friends. Her reaction to this becomes one of the most frequently re-used clips in the entire series as she punches him twice in the stomach and once in the face while screaming "Oh yeah? Friends?! I'll give you FRIENDS!!"
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Kevin abuses the feelings of a girl for his own convenience and then dumps her when he no longer needs her. He immediately gets his ass kicked by the person he wronged and is left semi-unconscious out on the floor.
  • Underestimating Badassery: During his breakup speech to Becky, Adult Kevin's narration makes it clear that Kevin fully expected her to be heart broken and emotional. What he wasn't expecting was for her to be willing and capable of kicking his ass right then and there.
  • Where No Parody Has Gone Before: The show features an homage to the Star Trek episode Spock's Brain, which Kevin, Paul, Becky and Carla were watching at the start of the episode.
  • Women Are Wiser: Kevin thoughts this about women, and is surprised to learn that Winnie is as unsure about relationships as the guys are.

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