Like the rest of the population, I was patiently waiting for the release of Disney+ to indulge in some childhood nostalgia. At seven years old, it isn’t easy to pick up on every little detail or hidden joke. At 19, however, I’ve started to notice things I never would have ten years ago – specifically, some plot inconsistencies that confused me to no end.
1. He Could Be the One…Or Could He? (He Could Be the One S3E18/19)
We all remember the iconic episode: Miley has to choose between heartthrob Jake or dreamboat Jesse and ultimately picks Jake based off of their history together. Yet just two episodes later in Episode 21 ,“I Honestly Love You (No, Not You)”, Miley is looking for a boy for Lilly to rebound with, making sure to find one she isn’t that interested in. But don’t worry, Jake conveniently comes back in Season 4 to cheat on her—you know, because they were dating this whole time. But there was also another boy in her life during this time…
2. What Happened to Travis? (Hannah Montana: The Movie)
Ah Travis, you know him, you love him, and you probably freaked out when you saw him in Taylor Swift’s music video for “You Belong with Me”. In this iconic, albeit kind of cringy, installment in the Hannah Montana saga, Miley returns home to get back to her roots and meets country boy Travis. The two have a whirlwind romance full of ups and downs, but by the end of the film things are looking up for the young lovers. It seems, however, the same writers who were in charge of Jake’s storyline were responsible for Travis’ as well, since viewers never see or hear from him again.
3. And the Whole Town Kept Her Secret? (Hannah Montana: The Movie)
I have vivid memories of gasping when Miley rips off her Hannah wig in front of that whole town. Her big reveal is treated like one of her love interests and is tossed to the wind. You’re telling me a whole town kept her secret? Not one person had the urge to sell the information to a tabloid for a hefty sum of money? Especially not the reporter who literally followed her to Tennessee to discover her secret? Sure, Jan.
4. Oliver’s Job (Got to Get Her Out of My House S3E27)
Can you tell I was watching Season 3 when I wrote this? In this episode, Oliver and Lilly get jobs to save up money to buy a car together—which, by the way, I can’t even get a text back and Lilly found a guy who wants to buy a car with her at age 16. That’s the most unrealistic part of the show. Back to the topic on hand, Oliver finds a job at Rico’s taking over Jackson’s old position. Yet in Episode 23 (four episodes earlier) of that same season, Oliver is seen working at Rico’s already. And then of course he isn’t seen working there again so Oliver’s career is up in the air to viewers.
5. Is Luann an Illusion? (Torn Between Two Hannahs S1E17)
Finally, we have our first entry on the list not from Season 3 – one of the more problematic seasons it seems. This episode sees Miley’s evil cousin, Luann, come to visit and eventually, steal her identity at a Halloween party. Lilly makes a comment to Miley about realizing why her best friend named her pig after her annoying cousin. The weird thing is that a couple of episodes later (I can’t remember the exact one, apologies) Lilly says that she had no idea Miley had a pig and Miley mentions that the pig was called Lu until it became pregnant and they realized it was a female. So did the whole crazy Luann-Miley switch debacle never happen? The world may never know.
I hope you enjoyed this trip down memory lane. Were there any plot inconsistencies that bothered you from some of your favorite childhood shows?