I was scrolling Instagram when I saw a random old school clip of an episode of Family Matters. It immediately brought me a sense of nostalgia of my teenage years. I was around the same age as the two older children on the show, namely “Laura Winslow and Eddie Winslow”.
When I watched Family Matters, I, along with many other fans of the show, considered the nerdy and clumsy next-door neighbor, Steve Urkel, the DORK of all DORKS! Laura Winslow was the apple of Steve’s eye, the object of his affections, and quite possibly the cause of his perpetual clumsiness.
By the way! Shouts to Kellie Williams, Darius McCrary, and Jaleel White for bodying their respective roles.
Anyhoo…back then, I related to Laura because we were both black, pretty, the same age, had the same hair style, had similar taste in fashion, etc. I could also understand why she curved Urkel every chance she got! From his inability to walk straight to his experimental disasters, Steve was about as far from Laura’s ideal boyfriend as you could get. She was into jocks, cool guys, and basically any dude who wasn’t Steve.
BUT HOLD UP!!
Now that I’m a grown ass adult, I reminisce about some episodes and it’s clearer now that Laura really didn’t DESERVE Steve Urkel! After all of the seasons when Laura kept curving Steve, she didn’t care about him, until Steve moved on or used one of his experiments to turn into a cooler version of him, namely Stephan Urkelle!
Yes, Laura made Steve use his transformation chamber to be someone else to date her.
Laura had a knack for stringing poor Steve along like a lost puppy, giving him just enough hope to keep him in the friend zone while she pursued other guys. Guys that played her and did things to her, which Steve would never do. But Babaaayyyy, Steve took his Ls like a G and when he did, he found Myra! Laura got so jealous of Myra, she used every chance she had to try breaking them up!
Sweet, lovable Myra was the yin to Steve’s yang. She adored him for who he was, Urkel snorts and all. She didn’t care about his awkwardness or his questionable fashion choices. Myra was Team Steve all the way, and she deserved way better than being treated like a consolation prize.
Laura Winslow may have been the object of Steve’s affections, but she was also the source of his endless heartache. Myra was the real MVP in this love triangle, and it’s a shame she didn’t get the happy ending she deserved. But hey, at least Steve finally wised up and realized that sometimes the best things in life have been right in front of you all along.
So, here’s to Myra – the one that got away! (Rest in Peace, Michelle Thomas) And to Laura Winslow… well, let’s just say she FINALLY came to her senses and gave Steve some rhythm! By season 9 of Family Matters, Laura’s love for Steve flourished and a relationship was established as the two fan-favorite characters got engaged!
Now that’s good representation of good guys winning in the end!
