That '70s Show

4 Reasons That ‘90s Show’s Jackie & Kelso Reunion Had To Happen

That '90s Show reunited Jackie and Kelso, retconning That '70s Show's finale, because Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher's characters belonged together.

While That ’90s Show did technically retcon the series finale of That ‘70s Show by reuniting Mila Kunis’s Jackie and Ashton Kutcher’s Kelso, this inevitable reunion was always going to end up happening due to numerous factors. That ‘70s Show rearranged the romantic lives of the show’s main cast members innumerable times over its seven seasons. While consistent couples like Donna and Eric or Kitty and Red might have provided the sitcom with some of its biggest laughs and best plots, few viewers would reminisce fondly over That ‘70s Show’s short-lived romance between Jackie and Fez or the show’s widely-criticized pairing of Donna and Eric’s replacement Randy in season 7.

However, while That ‘70s Show’s Jackie and Fez plot might not have won over viewers, the pairing did manage to earn a place in the show’s history. Since That ‘70s Show ended with season 7 and Jackie was still with the quirky foreign exchange student Fez in the series finale, the couple canonically ended up together for good. At least, that was what fans were left to assume for over a decade. However, when Netflix’s That ‘70s Show reboot That ‘90s Show arrived in 2023, viewers learned that Jackie and Fez’s romance ended as quickly as it began, soon replaced by a reunion shared between Jackie and Kelso.

4That ‘90s Show’s Jackie and Kelso Relationship Honors That ‘70s Show

That 90s Show 70s Jackie Fez Kelso

While viewers might have been surprised to see That ‘90s Show retcon the ending of That ‘70s Show, this should not have come as a complete shock. After all, the reboot was always going to change some details of its predecessor’s canon, as evidenced when That ‘90s Show ignored Hyde’s existence due to real-life criminal charges against his actor Danny Masterson. Moreover, Jackie and Kelso always made more sense as a couple than Jackie and Fez, even though it was the latter pairing that ended up together in That ‘70s Show’s finale. As such, the reversal was the right choice since the twist put Jackie and Kelso back in their best pairing.

Any viewer who saw Jackie and Kelso’s brief cameo in That ‘90s Show can attest to the fact that they are still incredibly messy, judging by all their many divorces and remarriages. However, Jackie and Kelso were always messy in That ‘70s Show, too, and they are at least back together by the time That ‘90s Show season 1 starts. Since the duo never found better (or at least, more fitting) partners than each other in the later seasons of That ‘70s Show, their longevity makes sense in the reboot. Kelso grounded Jackie but didn’t bore her, while Jackie forced Kelso to mature (somewhat) without completely erasing his silly side. As such, the pair perfectly complimented each other – albeit with occasional flare ups.

3Jackie’s Relationship With Hyde Was Always Doomed

That 70s show jackie and hyde

While they had chemistry, Jackie and Hyde’s That ‘70s Show relationship was never built to last. The pair didn’t actually like each other, as proven by the fact that they began hooking up in That ‘70s Show season 5 due to nothing more than shared boredom. This problem was exacerbated when they soon broke up thanks to mutual distrust and, while Jackie and Hyde were fan favorites, this wasn’t reflected in their onscreen story. Their plot went nowhere slowly and ended up keeping Jackie and Kelso apart more than it acted as a story in its own right, which made it easy for That ‘90s Show to ignore this arc. This ultimately only served to make Jackie and Kelso feel more like a natural That ’70s Show couple.

2That ‘70s Show’s Fez/Jackie Romance Felt Forced

Mila kunis Jackie and Fez that 90s show

Jackie and Fez didn’t get together until the last season of That ‘70s Show, and it is pretty easy to discern that the reason the characters were paired off so late was that theirs was the last romantic pairing available to the main cast members. While they were better matched than, for example, Eric and Jackie, Jackie and Fez still seemed like a case of That ‘70s Show going through the motions. Jackie’s supposed love of Fez was a twist that, like season 7’s reveal of Hyde’s birth father, felt more like a rating ploy than organic character growth. This was exacerbated by the couple’s lack of growth.

Jackie and Fez didn’t bring out anything new in each other, despite the potential of their pairing. In earlier episodes, Jackie had shown a prejudice toward foreigners that could have been ameliorated by her relationship with Fez. Similarly, in later seasons of That ‘70s Show, Fez made increasingly inappropriate comments about female characters, something that could have been decreased thanks to his relationship with Jackie. However, That ‘70s Show never followed through on this potential character growth, with neither of the characters changing during their time together. This proved that the storyline was chosen more for the sake of trying out novel character pairings than any more substantial, worthwhile narrative motivation.

1Kelso’s Original That ‘70s Show Ending Never Worked

Ashton Kutcher as Michael Kelso and Mace Coronel as Jay Kelso in That 90s Show season 1

There is a reason that the Point Place gang laughed and booed when Kelso said he wanted to become a cop. Throughout That ’70s Show, Kelso was an absurd figure of fun and a larger-than-life, goofy character. As such, his abrupt transformation into a self-serious family man in the final season of That ‘70s Show felt deeply out of character and wasn’t well justified. While the sitcom could do serious stories, as proven by the introduction of That ‘70s Show’s first LGBTQ+ character, the story of Kelso unexpectedly fathering a child with Shannon Elizabeth’s Brooke was too heavy for such a light-hearted sitcom (and its silliest character, at that).

As proven by That ‘90s Show, the idea of Kelso raising a teenager with Jackie while still constantly battling with his hot-tempered love interest has plenty of comedic potential. However, the idea of a much younger Kelso trying to raise an infant with a love interest who was never particularly well fleshed out was just bleak. Kelso’s comical incompetence looked more like negligence when he was trying and failing to provide for a family, and Kutcher’s goofy, over-the-top persona was lost in the mundanity of his struggle. As such, pairing Kelso off with Jackie in That ‘90s Show allowed the reboot to bring back the best era of That ‘70s Show.

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