i’ve not posted here much but i’ve seen a lot of people saying megan and jeanette are the same type of character and i just don’t think that’s a very fair assessment.

when we first meet jeanette in 1993, she is an awkward girl who is optimistic and constantly longing for something exciting and loves being around her friends and others. she isn’t rich or popular but she is pretty happy with her life, and her family is supportive of her. when she meets kate, i don’t think it’s outright negative jealousy at first but more so admiration. she doesn’t want to take her place at this moment in time but rather wants to fit in with her group and be more like her. she wants to be around kate. she’s shown making attempts of trying to get close to her and even practices how she will talk to her once she gets the opportunity.

however megan in summer 1999 is an outcast by choice. she has a sense of responsibility and is shown to have been a provider for her household. she works a job, and is trying her hardest in school so that she can get a scholarship. she’s pretty pessimistic and sarcastic, and when isabella comes into town she has a sort of bitter jealousy/resentment towards her. she’s shown to be close with luke, and while the rest of the friend group acknowledges her, it’s shown that she doesn’t let people get close to her so easily. she doesn’t make any attempts to get close with isabella until luke persuades her to at least try.

as for the middle timelines, both of them undergo a girly makeover, however jeanette’s is out of an attempt of being popular and megan’s is due to isabella helping her branch out and try different things. jeanette’s change was essential in becoming popular and megan’s was to try out something different, she wasn’t dependent on it to get what she wanted. in this timeline these girls seemingly have all they ever wished for, but megan’s came more naturally while jeanette’s ideal life was forced(changing herself, inserting herself into kate’s old friend group, leaving her in the basement, etc.)

in the final timelines we see these girls, they both take on a edgy look. i think this is where a lot of people like to say they’re so similar but i disagree. jeanette’s change in ‘95 was to break away from the glamorous shell that she had so carefully curated to mimic kate. after she was outed on the marsha bailey show, she chops her hair and stops wearing makeup and putting effort into how she dresses. this is to show that she has accepted her fate as the most hated person in the nation. she loses a lot of her drive until she sues kate. i think megan’s goth makeover is a personal choice she makes herself to exhibit independence. while she is looking edgier, she still does her makeup and hair. she still is finding ways to make money and keep her household intact. in the winter timeline, she’s shown to have majorly let her safety net down with isabella, and something happens between the two that makes her put it back up and have the same level of caution as she did in the summer 99 timeline.

while there are a few similarities between the two, i think that there are way more differences. i think it’s key to remember that jeanette used to be an optimist while megan was a pessimist from the start. megan was fine with having one close friend while jeanette felt tied down to her friend group, and sought out popularity. their styles may look similar but the underlying decisions and motives behind them have nothing to do with one another and i think it’s easy to see that once you look past their makeovers on the surface level.