I thought by the age of 15 I would have a love life. But I don’t even have a like life.

My So-Called Life – Why Jordan Can’t Read
Angela learns Jordan’s long-held secret, and it fuels her feelings for him.

Awww yeah, things are heatin' up! Unable to sleep one night, Angela writes a long letter detailing her feelings for Jordan (which, of course, she never intends to give him). She tells Rayanne that she is finally over him. Then he talks to her. And yeah, she’s totally not over him.

On a field trip to an art museum, Angela lets Rayanne read the letter and naturally Rayanne loses it. And there is this killer moment where Brian and Jordan are both across the room looking at her, but of course she only has eyes for one of them. And she follows him, and Brian tries to stop her by telling her to stay with the group. I always liked Brian, but now that I’m older and wiser I really like Brian. He’s actually pretty cute, and his feelings for Angela are just so obvious.

But back to Jordan and Angela. Good lord, every interaction they have is SO awkward! I love it! When he says he could use a cup of coffee, Angela seems surprised and awed that he drinks coffee. Hmmmm, we used to stop at Hava Java every morning on the way to school. Were we abnormal? And! She asks if the song he’s humming is a Crowded House song. That’s the best she could do? Crowded House?!? Anyway, he tells her that he’s in a band now (Frozen Embryos) and that she should hear them play. This will be important later.

Back at school, Jordan returns the letter to her without a word. And she tells him that the letter is about her boyfriend from last summer, and that she only used Jordan’s name because she didn’t want people to know who she was talking about, because this old boyfriend of hers is dead. This episode is amaaaazing!

Anyway, Jordan says he didn’t read the letter and she keeps picking at him until she suddenly she realizes that he couldn’t read it. [We find out later he actually can read, just “not that good.”] And she invites herself to his band practice. Also, this is the episode where we realize that Rickie has had a crush on Jordan for years. Also, we find out that Danielle has a crush on Brian, but much like Angela, Brian doesn’t notice.

At band practice, Jordan sings a song that Angela and Rickie are positive is about her. I won’t subject you to the whole thing, but basically it’s about how a “she” that he calls “Red” has saved him, given him shelter from the storm, et cetera. Jordan gives Angela a ride home and while they're talking, he kisses her mid-sentence – just like in “Dancing in the Dark.” Only this time she’s ready, and totally into it. AND, proving that he’s not such a tool after all (and that he pays attention to things she says to him), Jordan apologizes for interrupting her. Jordan’s car seems to be the place du jour for kissing on MSCL (with the exception of the boiler room, though we haven’t reached that point just yet).

Angela corners Jordan after PE the next day and invites him to a movie. He is a little slow on the uptake, but agrees. Then Angela tells him her parents need to meet him first. Jordan is not into that. That night, Brian comes over and sees Angela all dressed up, and again it is so effing obvious. Brian actually yells [yells!] at her when she tells him that she’s taking Jordan to see The Bicycle Thief, and it becomes clear that this is a movie the two of them had seen together. Angela yells back, and during their little shouting match they have this really charged moment, that I didn’t remember at all, where Brian is *this close* to kissing her. But instead he storms out. Whew! I’m emotionally exhausted just watching these two. Scenes like this really make me wonder where second season would have gone. But I’m getting ahead of myself…

All this teen angst is moot, because Jordan stands Angela up. He tells his friends he can’t hang out with them, and then sits around his band’s practice space all night, brooding. There is a shot of him squeezing his head, which I guess is supposed to infer angst.

And there’s more! This is one jam-packed ep. In the girls’ bathroom, Sharon and Rayanne bond while talking about sex (Sharon has been publicly making out with Kyle throughout the whole episode). These two girls are determined to hate each other, and yet are drawn together. Angela is each girl’s “best friend,” but the two have much more in common with each other than with her.

In the end, Jordan tells Rickie that Angela makes things too complicated, and that the song that started all this drama is about his car. I love this show so much!!! Brian asks Angela if her parents were revolted by Jordan Catalano. She says they will not be talking about Jordan ever again, and a huge smile breaks across Brian’s face. This is pretty cool, I have to say. When I was 15, I could have cared less about Brian. It was all about Jordan, all the way – just like Angela. But now, I see that really it’s all about Brian Krakow. Interesting.

In the parental storyline, Patty thinks she’s pregnant. Turns out she’s not.