Great realism in this scene. The Mom just sitting there listening, knowing she badly wants to help but should not. Alan Matthews is one of the greatest TV Dads.

Cory: ALL YOU HAD TO SAY WAS “NO.” Alan did say “No,”…3 TIMES! Cory…just… wasn’t accepting it.

Remember earlier in this episode Alan had to remind Amy "It's Cory and Topanga now, not Cory and us." A point rightly reinforced in this scene.

Alan’s underrated as a tv dad. In a decade full of iconic tv dads he’s sadly overlooked. Though to be fair it’s a decade full of Uncle Phils, Carl Winslows. and Danny Tanners. Edit: And Tim “The Toolman” Taylor, but so used to his antics and was thinking about serious moments.

Admiring Alan's patience as Corey tries to manipulate him to start and then descends into a tantrum. That is self control meets wisdom right there.

Alan Matthews is criminally underrated as a T.V dad and as a character overall.

“All you had to say was no.” He did.

I 100% agree with Alan. Cory and Topanga were NOT drowning. Cory says they were living in an awful dorm. It STILL is a roof over your head, next. The washing machine is broken. You have a bathtub until you can have money to PAY to get it fixed what else have you got? Something coming out of the sink that looks like soup. Fix it and see what the problem is, that it? See, drowning means they have NO HOME. No water, and no roof to shield them from the rain and cold. Cory, just wanted Topanga to have everything taken care of AFTER the honeymoon.

I remember as a kid I didn't understand why the parents were being harsh and not helping Cory out. Now I'm sitting here dissing Cory for rushing into marriage without planning for the future and being entitled lol.

Looking back at these scenes as an adult I couldn't remember Cory being such an entitled, selfish and arrogant young man. "All you had to say was no." That's what he should've told Topanga when she asked him to marry her. Alan Matthews was a great father.

As a father myself, he did the right thing. As an adult, Corey made a choice and his father didn’t stop him, but he did warn him. If you make adult decisions, be ready for adult consequences. Your parents can bail you out but you will never learn how to endure if they do that

I love this show even 22 years after it went off the air. It's a reason why they called it "Boy Meets World", Cory had a lot to learn about the world, but, in his mind, everything revolved around Topanga and Shawn. He wanted to be married to Topanga but didn't want the real world that comes with it so Alan was right.

This is one of those scenes you don’t fully appreciate until your older and actually live out on your own and start your life. As a kid, like maybe 8 or 9 I remember thinking “man that sucks his dad is soo mean and hard”, but as I got older and experienced living in an apartment in college and now out myself, you truly appreciate it and just wanting to yell at Corey and saying “this is life you idiot, you can’t keep going back to your parents for every issue”; ultimately this is the best scene of the whole series.

That’s why fathers are a necessity of society 😌

Alan is an all time underrated tv dad

“Then what good are you?!” A father that is good enough to show his son what accountability is. People tend to dismiss how much value there is in struggle. When we go through rough times we condition ourselves to handle things better the next time, and the next time after that and then the next. The lessons we instill in ourselves are so valuable and it’s hard to realize it when we are going through the difficult times. Corey’s dad was being a great father here by reminding him of the choice that HE chose to make and what came with that choice. Let’s not also forget the strong relationship Corey and Topanga are forming by living through the struggle together - if they can survive these years they will be better prepared when children come. This clip should be shown to every young person before they make a big choice in life

"all you had to say was no".... HE LITERALLY TOLD YOU HE CAN'T LIKE 4 TIMES!

What Cory failed to realize in that moment is when you get married. It's your own life and not your parents responsibility to bail you out. You can't call yourself a husband if you need dad to fix your problems man up and do it yourself.

Todays generation could learn so much from this show. Like this episode teaches accountability, solving your own problems and no one owes you shit. Life’s tough, buckle up.

Old man Alan: “Be a MAN! 🧐” Cory: “I cannn’t!!!

Alan is giving him what you call tough love here. Marriage isn’t always sunshine and rainbows. It can be pretty damn hard. Especially since Cory and Topanga got married young.

This scene is basically saying this is real life and nobody is going to help you but you. You have to be responsible. Powerful scene.

Cory was very spoiled. He always had his Mom, Dad, Eric, Mr. Feeney & Shawn always be there for help and now that he is an adult, he realized that that safety net can’t be there anymore. Respect to Alan for being a real Father ✊🏾

Cory and Topanga should have figured all this out before they got married. They're not ready to be married.

Cory: "All you had to say was 'no'." Me: 🙄 He already did!!! 😂

They don't have shows like this anymore

These college seasons were the absolute best of the entire show. The life lessons in these seasons were some of the most difficult yet defining moments of the show that resonate still even after the show is long since ended can we all take the life lessons and learn from them. That's excellent writing for an excellent show.

LOL Alan put Corey back on the struggle bus to Struggleville. Time to be a big boy, Corey.

They don't make shows like this anymore. It had so many life lessons and meaning to it. After all these years it still hits home

this scene had a huge effect one me growing up. I LOVED this show, and genuinely learned a lot from it, so when this scene came up, it really gave me a new perspective. Cory and Topanga's dorm/apartment was DISGUSTING, and I really took to heart the value of triumphing over struggle. When he fixes the sink in a later scene and Alan just says "and how do you feel?" Cory says "Good!" angrily, and Alan just smiles and says "exactly" with a smile. They don't make shows like these anymore man

Alan was always the man to make Cory wake up and realize he's not a little boy. Cory sometimes has this false belief that if he wants something stuff would just fall in his lap and he would have that sitcom ending but it's not like that.

Cory brought all this on himself, he chose to get married, he chose to live his own life, and he chose to risk the consequences of it. In conclusion, he has no one to blame for this mess but himself.

Great father. He did the most difficult thing any father has to do. Not help and teach

When I was a kid I thought his parents were being jerks for not helping him. Now as an adult I side with them, Cory made an adult decision and he has to be willing to accept the consequences and responsibilities that go with it.

After being married and moving into a new house my parents DID help me, then my septic went out and they really COULDN'T. Some things parents can help you with but some they just can't. That's life and it is tough. Nobody ever promised it would be easy.

This is probably one of my favorite scenes in television history. It was so good and very realistic. Poignant. There was not a wasted shot or notion.

This scene was one of many instances that as the show got older the more Cory became both a bigger baby and unlikeable character who didnt know how to grow up with getting old. Meanwhile his other friends got older and matured and changed for the better (Shawn being studious and a good writer while Topanga became a scholor as well as spirited soul).

From what I've learned from that scene is marriage is reality and newly married couples first go through this they think their parents will bail them out Cory's mom wanted to jump in and help her son but her not stepping in was actually the right call

All you had to say is no is bs. We all know Corey can't take no for an answer unless embarrassed by the reasoning such as in this scene 🙄 smh

Love this whole episode! Acting is phenomenal. You also see how much a spoiled brat Corey actually is. It’s a very real moment

The scene where Corey comes in after fixing the sink and Allen eyes well up with pride as if to say now he gets it… always stuck with me.

What’s so funny is when my wife (back when she was my girlfriend) and I moved in to together, our first apartment was a dump, thin walls so you could hear the neighbors 24/7, everything was so old and moldy, the size of a shoebox. Yet we loved it. It made us feel so adult. Ofc we lived paycheck to paycheck but her and I learned to budget pretty quick because no one was gonna bail us out. Same with Cory’s dad, my dad told me once you decide to leave this house you’re on your own. He taught me how to be a responsible man, ready to take care of my family. That’s what Alan was trying to do for Cory

Actions have consequences. People need to learn that

Really sad that as a TV dad he's never ranked in any top 10 lists or even top 20. This show had it's moments. Also, fully rewatching this series a few years back you really realize how terrible of a person Cory is.

I really miss when the parents of shows were not idiots but have good advice and tough love and set good examples.

I remember this scene clearly and it’s one of the best dad scenes ever

For everyone saying "They should have figured things out before getting married" I say "No Shit" they were 19 years old and barely finished their 1st year of College. The Ripe age when you're legally an Adult and think you know everything, but still a kid that don't know shit But great Scene. Showed him a lesson of Adult life with the good old fashioned "tough love" trope. I always liked his character. Very Underrated TV Dad

Alan had to give him that reality check real quick lol.

Alan is right. Cory made his bed and now has to lie in it

This was back when Disney shows wanted to prepare you for the real world

Alan is a great Dad. And we all see that Cory turns out great from it

0:59 THEN WHAT GOOD ARE YOU?!!! Savage should have won an emmy award for this

My favorite scene from Boy Meets World. I think because we don’t have this discussion in modern times these days. Everyone is entitled. If Alan helped Cory, Cory would have learned nothing nor appreciated the idea that he has to have responsibility for his own life. He grows, shows gratitude and understands how bad it can be. While at the same time learning to stay together when you’re at your lowest point. There will be a time where his parents won’t be there to bail him out. Yeah it may seem cruel at face value but helping him would have had far worse effect if he did

I feel like the reason it's so hard for Cory is because his dad gave him a good life with money. My wife and I both grew up in lower class families, so when we first got married and were poor, it just felt like that's how it was supposed to be and we were okay with it. The worst part of this is that now that we have kids of our own and are giving them a better financial situation than either of our parents were able to give to us, I am terrified that my kids will have this sort of entitlement. Being poor and newly married was one of the most marriage strengthening things my wife and I ever went through. I hope other people can see that for themselves too.

Awesome show. Great stories, great acting, great lessons.

“All you had to say was ‘no’.” He said ‘no’ in like 20 different ways up until that point. 🙄

This was one of the best lessons I got in life. Prepared me for marriage and made me realize this type of struggle in marriage (unexpected life happening) shows who has what it takes to go the distance.

It’s okay to help your kids out in their 20’s... 30’s... 40’s... this world is a cold, tough, hard place for anybody no matter how old they get

Scenes like this remind me how different cultures can be. In South Asia, we usually stay with our parents/in laws for a while after getting married. Some couples will permanently stay with their parents/in laws. My family is more on the traditional side so this scene was an eye opener when I first saw it.

I needed this father figure in my life. I'm 25 years and I still live with my mom. I went back to school waiting to get my Bachelor's (2 years away). And I've had only 3 years of job experience. Children today need this type of father figure more than ever.

Cory went too far with that "Then what good are you?!" comment. Way out of line. Alan was right to say those things to him, Cory needed to hear that.

Amy is just sitting on the steps not wanting to listen to Cory and Alan's argument

"no" wouldn't have worked. Cory needed to hear that he had to deal with life on his own.

Good Father. Mom wants to come to the rescue all the time but Dad knows.

When I told my Dad I was proposing to my wife, he told me I better have a means to support her and that asking for help is fine, but if it became a regular occurrence, he would be "pissed." I took that to heart and since then have rarely asked my parents for anything. Alan is showing tough love here.

Not married, but Alan has a point he told Cory about everything, Cory should have waited and listened. If she loved him, she would have been okay with waiting and saving.

I love how Betsy Randle played it in this scene. One can clearly see the conflict on Amy Matthews's face and how she's clearly playing an inner game of tennis with herself, as if she's thinking "I want to step in.....no, my husband is right and Cory is out of line."

Real real real!! Marriage can make you end up hating the spouse you were so in love with when the pressures of responsibility pile up. It is not about FEELINGS. This ain't some Disney movie.

Such a powerful scene

I'm with Alan all the way. You can see the love in his eyes as a dad. And you can hear it in his voice. And you can see Amy wanting to jump in, but she knew that wouldn't help Cory

You can tell this is killing BOTH of the Matthews parents.

Alan is right, you can't support folks forever. They gotta learn how to live on their own. It's difficult for everyone out here.

Nevermind the fact that Alan bought Eric an ENTIRE STORE so he didn't have to struggle in the real world!

Alan is the best tv dad ever.

I loved this show as a child, and I have come to love and respect Alan Matthews even more as an adult. William Russ is an incredible actor

Alan is a great dad.

This was a moment that issues I had with season 7. In this scene not only could Alan remind Cory of the choice he made on marriage but remind Cory he has a younger sister in 8th grade/high school and an infant brother who nearly died last year to give Cory a perspective when it comes to space, devolution and attention. But they left that out and it would have been perfect.

The writing and acting in this scene are top notch.

Something a lot of people don’t understand even as adults, actions have consequences.

I grew up with this show and I always remember this scene as one of the greatest moments in the show. It was a serious and true to life moment like many others. This is what made the show so great. Alan has great motivation here, and i understand what he is trying to teach his son. However, as i watch this again as an adult i can't help but disagree. If i were him, i would have instilled the lesson while letting my son stay at the house while he figured out where to live. Before y'all jump on me for that. Let's explain that I'm someone who lives halfway across the country from any family. I moved and started a life of my own in a new state without knowing anyone, I've lived in a car, I've worked multiple jobs, I've seem how ugly the world can be, and I wouldn't trade any of those experience because I had an amazing journey through all of it. However, i firmly believe one of the biggest problems with the world is that people dont help each other the way they should. As Mr Feeny, once said you have to aspire to change the world not just become part of it. Yeah most people won't help you when you need it. Then you need to be different than everyone else and help those in need. Additionally, i believe that family should be those who you can turn to even when the rest of the world turns their back on you. i fully respect his decision, i just would have handled it differently if it was be. I'm a married man, and my wife and i live thousands of miles away from both our families. However, i know that if i need them, my parents, they would do what they can to help me. I don't see a problem with that. I would do the same for them and for my wife's family.

Cory is an entitled brat, i would have never gotten away with talking to my dad like that!

I like realism in tv shows and this is one of those moments.

Poor Alan. His instincts are to help but he’s right. In a big way doing nothing is helping

So, just to be clear. Cory had no job, no income, no money saved up, and he didn’t even have a place to live, yet he decided that he was ready to get married? Also, if Amy and Alan aren’t willing to help him out financially, then who’s paying for that dorm room?

I wouldn’t of been that calm if it was my son, I was raised differently.

As much as I agree that Alan couldn't completely bail Corey out, he could come over and teach Corey how to fix his plumbing. Not do it for him, but walk him through how to do it. I can't stress enough how unrealistic it would be for someone with no plumbing experience to successfully fix the sink without training. It would be far more likely that he would make things so much worse.

This scene stems from whatever the father taught/modeled to Cory about money. In my family, asking for financial help was considered shameful. From childhood, my parents taught me to put 10% of my pay aside for emergencies. They expected me to use that money to solve my own problems. I knew if I asked them for help, they'd only do so after scrutinizing my spending. I didn't want that so I never asked. Cory had no self respect here.

This scene only works because William Russ is a GREAT ACTOR.

As a young kid watching this episode, I sided with Corey. As an adult I see the wisdom of Alan.

Alan did the right thing. Corey was always such a spoiled brat. "All you had to say was No". Don't try to turn this crap on him, Corey!

This show was deep fr. So crucial to my childhood and I had both my parents

I remember seeing this. I had a relationship for about 4 years in my early 20s. It was hard especially financially but NEVER bothered anyone especially my parents. I sometimes took on a 2nd job. I was never lazy & work wasn't hard for me. But eventually the financial part took it's tow & we eventually broke up because it was just too much. Years later i don't regret it because I learned a lot from it. You start out with parents paying for everything then eventually your on your own. I never really had a big problem with it. If you set goals & work hard to get to them then there shouldn't be a problem. It's about having a budget. I would put away $$ for emergencies & didn't spend $$ foolishly.

I never understood why Allen never offered to help fix the place up? He could of taught him plumbing or carpentry. He never showed him as a kid to fix things because his own words Cory’s job was to be a kid.

TOUGH LOVE. Everyone that has FAMILY they care about KNOWS how HARD it is to do. But needs to be done.

Alan (William Russ) uses the tough love approach and reminds Cory that everyone thought it was too soon for Cory and Topanga to get married but they went through with it. it wasn't that Alan didn't want to help but he wasn't in the position at that time and it was hard for Cory to accept it. In these situations if the family can't help them the best thing to do is to stop by social services, The employment commision, The salvation army and churches and they would have recieved help from them.

"All you had to say was 'no'" Pretty sure he said "no" plenty of times before the final speech lol.

One of the best tv shows ever

11 year old Corey was way better then any other age Corey

This episode, and even this scene, rubs me the wrong way for several reasons. First, Cory comes off here as whiny and entitled, expecting his parents to buy him a house in the suburbs (and that's what he literally says earlier in this episode). Second, his father seems to be implying here that if the appliances in your apartment aren't working the way they should, figure out how to fix them for yourself or live with them in disrepair, because that's what being an adult is all about. Third, and no one even comes to this conclusion, Cory and Topanga live in a RENTED apartment, which means they probably have a landlord (or superintendent) whose responsibility it is to fix a sink that has sludge coming out of the faucet. While I'm all on board here with the difficulties of being an adult sometimes, this episode doesn't see the middle ground. Cory becomes an out-of-character brat who somehow expects his parents bail him out of everything, while his father could at least offer a little assistance, such as getting a plumber or talking to the superintendent. Compromise is a real part of adulthood, and this episode failed to even acknowledge the compromise in this situation.

Cory was so mean to his dad during this run Remember he called him Average