Why Felicity Never Should've Cut Her Hair

It's not that I disagree with edgy fashion moves. I think Felicity Porter's character was right in using her haircut as a metaphor in her break-up with Ben Covington. You go, girl.

But I do have a problem with the way Felicity and the gang's world perspective shifted after this catastrophic choice in personal hygiene. Felicity became enlightened, confident, without flaws. The girl we saw innocent and doe-eyed stumbling into her new Freshman dorm has been dismantled, deprogrammed, unresponsive to the world. She no longer questioned her life choices, the people around her. She smiled too much.

I feel like I'm convincing my reader that I wish Felicity was mopey and dark and still can't accept that the world is a good place. But why do we get invested in a dramatic story if not to see a resolution?

After the haircut, the show made an obvious switch from the melancholy of one's own self-discovery to the aftermath of Boring Town. What happened to Felicity including us? We used to experience Felicity's bitter disappointment and accept it at face value. She mirrored at least a fraction of our own lives.

Even Sally, the tape recorded voice of reason managed to disappear after the tragic haircut. Do we not need her bookends of reasoning to map out our digestion? How I wish I had a "Sally" character to be the healing voice that follows my every mistake. She would sweep in and say something vague and reassuring like, "I'd marry your homosexual manager so he could get a Green Card too. Because the truth is, when you see people in love, you want to do everything you can to help them. Because the truth is, you want to be them." Sally, you peer inside our souls with your crushing realism!

I can't get past Season 3 and I feel that I need to press on. Surely Felicity will find things messy again and in need of fixing. I've seen previews, and yes, her hair does in fact grow out. Only this time it's a flattened less bouyant form of curls than we've seen previously. Is this a metaphor for something else too? Felicity, you taunt us.

I'll take your enlightened Sophmore state and raise you a Junior year eating disorder.