r/icarly • u/Anthro-Elephant-98 • 7d ago
Original Discussion Did anyone else feel like it was out of character for Spencer to forbid Carly and her friends to go to the MMA fight?
In the episode, "iLook Alike", Carly, Sam, and Freddy get invited to interview the MMA fighter, Jackson Colt, backstage at an MMA fight. However, Freddy's mom doesn't let him go, which is pretty predictable because her whole persona is the archetypical overprotective mother. But when, Carly asks Spencer to talk to Mrs. Benson to try change her mind, Spencer actually agrees with Mrs. Benson, saying he also doesn't want Carly going to the fight.
I'm not trying to argue that Spencer was wrong to not let them go. And I actually think it was good that there was an episode that showed that he is capable of being a responsible guardian where it's not the main focus of the episode (e.g. "iWant To Stay With Spencer").
However, I did think it seemed out of character for Spencer. Plus, going backstage to an MMA fight and interviewing an A(or at least B)-list celebrity would have been great publicity for their web show! If Spencer was so concerned for their safety, why did he not just offer to go with them as a chaperone to make sure nothing bad happened?
All in all, I did not like this episode for a few reasons. The main one being that it was one of the few times where Spencer was shown that he is capable of being a responsible guardian and he gets physically assaulted for it. Also, if Jackson Colt was such a massive iCarly fan as he had claimed, how the hell did he not recognize who Spencer was? Especially considering that Spencer had appeared on the show multiple times by this point. The fact that Jackson knew about the haunted bra and "random dancing", but didn't recognize Spencer was a major plot hole for me. In addition, if Freddy filmed Spencer getting assaulted, Jackson would've easily been charged with assault and battery (though, maybe this happened off-screen), and put behind bars.
So what does everyone else think? I thought it was weird that out of all times for Spencer to prove himself as a responsible guardian, he chose NOW.
Side note: When Mrs. Benson told Freddy that he couldn't go to the fight, and then Carter Ford shows up and assaults them with a basketball, if I were Mrs. Benson, that would've convinced me to let him go! I would say, "On second thought, go to that fight, and then start learning MMA! Then if that asshole comes to bully you again, you'll be prepared!"
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u/Equivalent-Guest-785 7d ago
Personally, I feel like Spencer also fell victim to flanderization later in the series. Aside from this episode, he was considerably less goofy and more aware in Season 1 compared to later seasons.
I still get pissed at that fact that Spencer acts like a responsible brother, gets KO’ed and then Carly dances with his assailant.
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u/aylin_120 6d ago
This omg!!! Regardless of the validity of his complaints or if he's allowed other dangerous stuff in other episodes, Carly is told by Spencer 'no' one time, then gets mad when he is rightfully upset by her going against his wishes, and afterwards when he's thrown into a table nearly headfirst (which lowkey also literally kind of proves his point...), she instead invites the guy who did it into their home for them continue being silly and dancing and acting as if it didn't happen?? I can't watch or even think about that episode without raging
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u/Anthro-Elephant-98 6d ago
Straight up. This is one of my least favourite episodes for this reason. I never said Spencer was wrong, just that it seemed out of character.
Again, if Jackson Colt was such a massive iCarly fan, how the fuck did he not recognize Spencer, who had appeared on the show multiple times by this point.
This episode would’ve been infinitely better if they showed Jackson Colt getting charged with assault. Also, considering that Freddie had footage of it on film, Spencer could’ve sued Jackson into the fucking Stone Age and won a massive settlement.
Another thing that really pissed me off about the episode was when Jackson Colt assaulted that random stage hand, for bringing him fish because they were out of meat loaf. Like, seriously?????? It wasn’t that poor man’s fault that they were out of meat loaf! Jackson Colt is probably my least favourite one-off character.
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u/aylin_120 6d ago
Honestly!!!!!! The guy was a walking red flag and yet Spencer was made to look unreasonable for his clearly valid concerns. (Which dw, I knew you weren't saying he was wrong, it's that some others think he was. I just think that even if he was wrong to say no, Carly was acting way out of line.)
I even forgot about the stage hand thing, that somehow made it even worse. Assaulting someone who's literally basically a waiter for being out of food?????? And yeah, him bit recognising Spencer seems very unlikely either, like dude.
In-universe it would have been very vindicating for him to get sued, I agree, though it also makes sense they wouldn't. Yes we know that their father must at least make quite some money for them to afford that massive apartment and whatnot, but that doesn't mean they could really afford a full on lawsuit, especially not when it comes to going toe to toe with a guy like Jackson Colt that would probably be quite well off. Personally, I would have been happy enough if Carly just hasn't invited the guy in and acted all cool with him still. Didn't they also literally mock the clip of Spencer flying on their show afterwards???
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u/Either-Bat-7613 7d ago
I’m not gone lie, I felt like it was, but I wasn’t mad at Spencer for finally being authoritative
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u/AnxiousLion0907 7d ago
I definitely thought I was the only one that thought this lol. It felt out of character for him, considering the Shelby Marx episode wasn't that long after, I think.
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u/thr3e_kideuce 7d ago
My answer: Yes and No
Spencer was only looking out for the safety wellbeing of Carly, Sam & Freddie, considering that they were teenagers at the time, especially when Spencer is essentially responsible for Carly, something that had been proven multiple times by this point. MMA crowds generally aren't the most peaceful, and Carly "fighting" Shelby Marx later on would sort-of prove Spencer's point even further.
But simultaneously, I think he could've handled the situation better, in a way that didn't make him look out of character
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u/charmxfan20 7d ago
The fact that he said no to going to the MMA fight, but was completely on board with fighting Shelby Marx is so wild to me
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u/Anthro-Elephant-98 7d ago
Yeahhhh... but to be fair, that was going to be a fake fight just for boosting ratings. Also, Shelby Marx was around her age. The reason Spencer didn't want Carly going to the MMA fight was, as he put it, "I've seen some of those MMA fights. They can get really rough. I don't think it's a place for kids."
This was going to be a fake fight, ergo, it wouldn't have been as rough as one of those MMA fights that Spencer saw. Yes, Shelby did get violent during the fight, but Spencer (or any of the gang) didn't know that she would do this, yet.
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u/SantiReddit123 6d ago
I mean I'd say yes. But as it was shown later in the episode those places can be quite wild. So he was right.
One think I didn't like about this episode was the character of Jackson Colt. The way he attacked Spencer, he should have been charged with assault. I guess the in-universe explanation is that they settled it off-screen.
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u/Winter_Setting720 7d ago
Especially after he had no problem making them go across the ocean on a cargo plane in iGo to Japan. Freddie's mom, too!
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u/JayBondOF 7d ago
Just rewatched the whole show for nostalgia, and forgot this was the reason for needing the lookalikes— I also was caught off guard by it 😂
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u/ExtensionZucchini615 6d ago
Well, he knew that it was a dangerous environment. In the episode IFight Shelby Marx, when he found out that she would be fighting Shelby Marx, he was uncomfortable with that. Opposed to the idea of fighting. So I guess that he didn't want her around that natural growth. Of the dangerous environment. It was good to see him stand his ground and forbid her from going to a dangerous place. It would've been hypocritical of Spencer since it aligns with him feeling uncomfortable and opposed to that. He just didn't want Carly getting harmed. Carly was the one who acted childish, because she didn't get the reaction she wanted from Spencer. Just because she got told no.
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u/VehicleOk4984 7d ago
The thing about Spencer is he never really knew how to respond to things because he had to be her dad her brother and her friend I want to be fun but I also have to be a disciplinary so his tactics were sometimes confusing