>>>I have a question that I have been wondering about for a long time....In >>>some episodes it seems that Thelma Lou and Juanita are both refered to in >>>regards to being Barney's girlfriends. One episode that comes to mind is >>>the Filling Station Robbery. When Barney takes the picture of himself out >>>of the envelope, Goober says, "You should have copies made and give one to >>>Thelma Lou." Then at the end of the episode Barney calls up Juanita. This >>>has always seemed strange to me. I think there are other incidents similar >>>to this in other episodes. Has anyone else noticed this? Does anyone know >>>the explanation?<<<
Connie, I must say that this is one of Barney's character traits that I don't like. Despite at times admitting to Thelma Lou that she is the only girl he loves, he is not faithful to her and sees Juanita on the side. Of course, the scenes where Barney is talking to Juanita on the phone are always funny, but, as a woman, I would prefer Barney to be a one-woman man. The situation is made pretty clear towards the end of the fifth season in "Barney and Thelma Lou--Phfftt!" Thelma Lou realizes that Barney is taking her for granted, so she decides to make him jealous by going to the movies with Gomer. The ruse works, of course, and Barney gets good and steamed. Andy tries to get him to be more understanding, saying, "You've stepped out a few times, too, you know." (Disclaimer to my fellow trained noticers: These may not be exact quotes!) Barney asks him what he means, and Andy responds, "Juanita at the diner." Barney says, "That's different!" There are other times when Barney shows his possessiveness of Thelma Lou, such as when Jeff Pruitt comes to town or when Edger Coleman helps Thelma Lou glue the covers back on the hymnals. So Barney expects Thelma Lou to be faithful to him, but he thinks it's okay for him to go out with Juanita behind Thelma Lou's back. When it comes to women, Barney has a double standard. Which raises the question of Juanita. What was she like? I picture Juanita as being the kind of woman who wears a lot of make-up, who always has her eye out for a man, and who is of rather easy virtue. Barney's conversations with Juanita imply that he dates her for one reason only. Though Thelma Lou seems blithely ignorant of Juanita as a rival, Juanita MUST know about Thelma Lou, as everyone regards Barney and Thelma Lou as "a couple." That tells me that Juanita dates Barney just for a fun time and not for the purpose of developing a serious relationship. I know I'm getting way too deep on this, but that makes me wonder--Why doesn't Barney stick with sweet, lovely, faithful (despite Barney's suspicions from time to time) Thelma Lou? Why does he feel the need to step out with Juanita on the sly? Well, we all know that Barney has a fragile ego. It requires continual bolstering. Though Thelma Lou is good at this, she is also not afraid to stand up to Barney or take him to task. My theory (It's just a theory. What's your theory?) is that Juanita is Barney's ego booster. She probably fawns over him and makes him out to be Mayberry's answer to Don Juan, hence Barney's swaggering manner whenever he speaks to her. I'm wading deeper still--Could it be that Barney's continual reluctance to commit to Thelma Lou and his seeming need for another woman to feed his ego resulted in the split that led Barney to Raleigh and drove Thelma Lou to marry another man? Of course, we have to imagine all this going on behind the scenes, since the end of season five doesn't explain Barney's departure. I guess this is my way of tying up those loose ends! Thanks for bearing with the long post! The ever philosophical, Thelma Lou (Janet) _______________________________________________ WBMUTBB mailing list WBMUTBB@wbmutbb.com http://mail.wbmutbb.com/mailman/listinfo/wbmutbb_wbmutbb.com http://www.mayberry.com/tagsrwc/wbmutbb/
