YMMV / Boston Common

• Maturity Is Serious Business: Boyd gets some pretty serious character development in "Mercury Retrograde" (Season 2, Episode 4). The early part of season two sees Boyd trying to move past his feelings for Joy. In this episode, Tasha sets him up on a blind date with a woman named Lisa. Boyd attempts to call Lisa, leaving her many - rather embarrassing - messages on her answering machine (you can tell Boyd hasn't dated in a while). As this is going on, Joy and Jack are cuddling inside Jack's classroom. When Jack tells Joy he loves her, she responds, "I love you, too, Boyd." Jack and Joy then fight about what she said, and Joy leaves the room. She makes her way to the Pritchetts' apartment, where she tells Boyd what happened. They're sitting on the couch, ready to kiss, and possibly go even further, when Joy begins crying. She tells Boyd she doesn't know who she wants between him and Jack, and it's Boyd who tells her that he can't wait on her forever, and that Joy has to decide for herself who she wants to be with, and what she wants to do with her life. Joy returns to Jack, and they get engaged on a whim. Later on, Joy and Boyd are outside the student union, Joy waiting on Jack, and Boyd waiting on Lisa. Joy attempts to apologize for what happened, but Boyd tells her an apology isn't necessary. Lisa approaches Boyd, telling him the messages he left on her machine were "cute", and they leave, as Joy leaves with Jack, looking back at Boyd, as she is not over him, while he is making good progress on getting over her. Boyd does have some lapses on his feelings for Joy during the course of the second season, but this season focuses more on Joy's (obvious) feelings for Boyd.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Looks like things didn't work out for Boyd and Joy after all. He moved to Los Angeles, married a pretty woman with curly hair, had two kids with her, and became a successful motion picture executive.
  • Meanwhile, Joy stayed in Boston, and started hanging out with Ryan Reynolds. Then, she moved across the country to San Francisco, and started working with Tony Shalhoub.
• Values Dissonance: "The Occidental Purists", in which Wyleen gets cast as an Asian girl in the school play, treats the white-washing of Asian characters as perfectly fine and, aside from a passing line by an Asian character (played by Amy Hill), treats people who are offended by the idea of white-washing as ridiculous. The episode ends with Wyleen ultimately getting the part and treating Boyd as a hero for making it happen.