I loved Jordan Catalano so much, and talked about him so much, and thought about him so much... and then one day, I got over him.

My So-Called Life – Betrayal
After a drunken indiscretion with Jordan, Rayanne finds herself without Angela to celebrate winning the lead in the school play. Everyone who has ever watched MSCL remembers this episode, and the Our Town speech will tear your heart out every single time.

I have a particular soft spot in my heart for this one. When I first saw it at age 15, my best friend and I were in a fight. And even though our fight was nowhere near as severe, I wholeheartedly identified with the episode, particularly with Rayanne.

Angela, who has decided she is over Jordan Catalano, convinces Rayanne to try out for the school production of Our Town, and Rayanne blows everyone away. Angela has set her sights on Corey Helfrick, conveniently forgetting that Rickie had a crush on him in “Life of Brian,” and she flirts with him right in front of Jordan … to Jordan’s obvious consternation.

During a drunken evening, Rayanne and Jordan bond over their love for Angela and end up having sex in his car. Brian, who is filming footage for the video yearbook, accidentally-on-purpose gets the incident on tape. When Sharon asks for the video, Brian is forced to tell her what happened. Sharon goes to Delia for advice, unwittingly setting the rumor mill in motion. A flustered Brian turns to Rickie for help, and when Angela later tells Rickie that she has heard a ridiculous rumor, he is forced to tell her that it’s true.

Angela is so not over Jordan Catalano.

She goes to Brian’s to get proof of the incident – getting kind of giggly when she walks in on a shirtless Brian – but he tells her she doesn’t want to see it. Feeling lost, Rayanne goes to the Chase house and tells Patty what happened. Surprisingly, Patty can relate – in college, she slept with the boy her best friend liked.

Jordan attempts to talk to Angela, but she is cold to him and he quickly gives up. Rickie tells Angela not to let others control her, and her interpretation of that is to dress up like Rayanne and hit on Corey (you may remember that Corey once liked Rayanne). When she overhears Angela asking Corey if they can get drunk , Rayanne tells Angela that she is the one who lost everything, and “You lost a lousy selfish friend, a guy you never really had, you lost nothing!”

Rayanne gets the lead in the school play, and has no one to share the moment with. Rickie points out to Angela that her hitting on Corey when she knows Rickie likes him is just as bad as what Rayanne has done.

In the end, Rayanne performs an incredibly sad, loaded-with-meaning scene from Our Town, with Angela reading the part of a cast member who has gone home early. It doesn’t translate well here, but trust me when I say it is absolutely heartbreaking. If I remember correctly – and I guess we’ll find out soon enough – Angela and Rayanne do not make amends before the series finale. Their friendship is simply over, all because of one error in judgment.