That ‘70s Show: Jackie and Hyde’s Best Moments in the Series

For many years when the series first aired, That ’70s Show gave audiences a wonderful mix of nostalgia for the decade it portrayed. It was also laced with lovable characters and dark humor that perfectly captured the generation it was aimed at — going on to make massive stars of its younger cast members. Among them were Jackie Burkhart and Steven Hyde, who seemed to be polar opposites, but eventually ended up in an unlikely, but pretty romantic relationship that audiences loved.

Jackie was a spoiled, ditzy, talkative, and lovable girl who could be smug and annoying but somehow sweet and charming at the same time. Played by Mila Kunis, the role became a breakout one for the star.

On the other hand, Hyde was dark and counter-everything, the kind of teenager that thrived on hating the system, wore Che Guevara t-shirts, and made it his thing not to be sensitive or emotional. He was of course played by Danny Masterson. The embattled actor’s off-screen controversies have mired his career for years now and culminated in him recently being sentenced to 30 years to life for the serious sexual misconduct charges leveled against him by various victims.

Partners in real life, Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis, caused a stir themselves recently by writing a positive character letter for Masterson’s trial. That ’90s Show, revealed that Jackie and Kutcher’s character Kelso are together, though it once seemed more likely that it would be her and Hyde instead. However, Masterson’s fall from grace likely impacted that show. ​​​​​Here’s a reminder of Jackie and Hyde’s best moments from the show before all the controversy.

10. Hyde’s Conflicted Feelings

Jackie and Hyde showed the first sparks of possibly liking each other as early as season three of the show. However, their time together would have to wait till Season 5 to properly begin blossoming. In typical style for both characters, it began with Jackie becoming infatuated with Hyde, and him being morose about it, and irritably denying his own feelings for her.

When it’s later revealed that the couple had begun secretly hooking up out of boredom, their early romantic interactions are filled with humor and undertones of Hyde still being in denial. One memorable scene sees Jackie talking while they’re making out. By this point Hyde is enjoying their fling but hasn’t warmed up to Jackie’s personality yet, leading him to remind her, “This usually works a lot better when you don’t talk.”

9. Hiding From the Others

In the early days when Jackie and Hyde were still just having a secret fling, their attempts to hide it from their friends led to some very funny moments. In one instance, during a make-out session in the famous Foreman basement, the pair hear Fez coming in and quickly disentangle. However, they’re both still shaken and breathing heavily, which makes Fez suspicious.

In a tense moment, it seems like Fez has caught on to what’s going on. He even explicitly mentions that something’s not right, and asks why they both look “sweaty and guilty.” However, Fez being Fez, it turns out that he was just afraid that they had found his secret candy stash in the basement and were eating it behind his back.

8. Jackie’s Controlling Ways

For much of the show, Jackie and Kelso’s on-and-off relationship made for some of its most memorable moments. A large part of their relationship was spent with her bossing him around and trying to change him from his immature, cheating ways. While she often failed at this, Hyde’s even harder-headed ways made him even less malleable as a boyfriend when she tried to change him too.

When she takes issue with Hyde growing a beard, Jackie tries her hardest to get him to shave it off — even telling him that it’s like kissing a carpet. In a funny scene, she then uses Barbie as a reference and claims that Barbie can have any man she wants, but only chooses Ken because he doesn’t have a beard. Hyde’s response is that Ken does have a beard, and according to him, Barbie is his beard.

7. Jackie Sleeping Over

Jackie and Hyde’s first sparks begin early on in the show when Jackie’s actions lead to Hyde being arrested. Hyde goes on to often show incredibly sweet and unexpected moments as being with Jackie softens him a lot, and he responds by becoming very caring and protective of her. Since Jackie’s own father is in jail and her mother pretty much abandons her, Hyde steps in to help her again.

In another hilarious scene, the Foreman household is asleep when sounds below make Red and Kitty believe there’s an intruder about. As the couple and Eric investigate, they find that Jackie and Hyde are sleeping together in their basement. Hyde reveals that Jackie has been left alone at home, and she’s been sleeping over for weeks. Despite Red and Kitty’s anger over the situation, Hyde refuses to allow Jackie to go home since he doesn’t want her to be alone.

6. The First Date

Hyde has never been a sappy or romantic guy. On the other hand, Jackie is a cheerleader and notoriously shallow at times. She loves overt gestures and for her man to fawn over her, so Hyde’s guarded emotions are often a source of annoyance for her.

When the pair do finally go out on an actual date, they end up sitting on their car and relaxing together. Jackie asks how Hyde thinks the date went, and his response is typically noncommittal but also shows that he is softening and falling for her a lot more. He compares the date to bowling, and goes on to say “but I don’t hate bowling” which makes Jackie smile. She moves to sit closer to him as she places his arm over her shoulder, and it becomes a memorable episode as they end up sharing a sweet moment together.

5. Jackie Chooses Hyde

After Jackie first develops feelings for Hyde, nothing happens, and she later ends up with Kelso again. However, Kelso soon begins his antics and Hyde does start to have feelings for Jackie too. He wants her to choose between him and Kelso, but she needs time to think it over.

She later makes it clear to Hyde that she has chosen him. However, since Hyde isn’t a romantic, this moment doesn’t go as planned for her. He lets her know he isn’t happy she made him wait so long for an answer and sticks to going on a date with another woman. Nevertheless, this is the moment Jackie first chooses him, and it isn’t long before he comes to his senses and realizes he wants to be with her too.

4. Later Dates

Hanging out on their car somewhere in Point Place, Wisconsin becomes a habit for the pair, and they share another date that way. This time, according to Jackie this is the best date ever while Hyde quips that they haven’t even said a word to each other the whole time. He remains stony, and she does her best to make him open up. She launches into a very Jackie-like speech where she picks apart why Hyde holds in his emotions.

Her great conclusion is that all the pain he’s experienced has made him feel unworthy of love. When she’s done, Hyde unexpectedly appears to break down in tears. Just when Jackie is delighted that he’s finally letting down his walls, he hilariously lets on that he’s just faking. Jackie’s angry at first but the scene ends with a heartfelt moment between them, as they kiss and hold each other close.

3. The Rat Story

Jackie falls for Hyde a lot faster than he initially comes around to her. In a very sweet moment, she blurts out that she loves him. The hysterically funny aspects of the show were summed up perfectly here as Hyde is stunned and says “I’m not saying it back,” almost in rebellion against the words themselves. It was these kinds of humorous moments that made the show a hit with its edgy likability and led to so many of its cast members going on to have stellar careers.

After Hyde’s harsh response in the scene, luckily Jackie doesn’t mind this and launches into a memorably funny story about how she wanted a rat because her cousin had one. Later when she realized it was disgusting she got her cat to hunt it. Hyde’s reaction is unforgettable as he questions what she’s trying to tell him, even asking, “Am I the rat?” By the end, even though he doesn’t say the words back, he lets Jackie know that he still wants to be with her by asking, “Are we gonna go to this dance or what?”

2. Never Going to Be That Guy

As Hyde constantly tries to fight his growing feelings for Jackie, he once gives her a speech about how he’s never going to be the guy who does the romantic gestures she likes. Despite Jackie’s disappointment that Hyde isn’t that kind of guy, she learns to largely accept him for who he is.

However, Hyde’s feelings eventually grow beyond his resistance to them, and he often finds himself becoming that guy anyway. In one of his sweetest moments, when it’s her birthday, he gives her a present. Jackie opens it and sees that it’s one of his shirts. Since Hyde is known for his famous t-shirts and how much he loves them, the moment is not lost on the audience when he tells her that the one he’s giving her is his favorite shirt.

1. He Loves Her

No matter how much Hyde tries to escape his feelings for her, he’s later distraught when she breaks up with him. Hiding his pain, Kelso taunts him by saying he’s going to go after her now. This moves Hyde into action, and he later finds Jackie and tells her he loves her for the first time.

The moment is an incredibly meaningful one for them since Jackie is the only girl that’s ever been able to elicit such strong feelings out of the notoriously defective character traits he exhibits throughout the show. In hindsight, Jackie often took Hyde away from his usual self and charmed him into many things we thought he’d never do, like even taking her to the prom.

Regardless of all the controversy Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher have been facing recently, according to Kunis, she felt Jackie was never meant to be with Kelso or Hyde.

“My husband and I are together in [the new show], which is weird ’cause we shouldn’t have been. You know what, I called B.S. I was like, ‘My character would be with Fez.’ I think that I ended up with Wilmer’s character.