User blog comment:GiantKid/In preparation for iGoodBye an appreciation post for Carly and why I will sink/sail with Creddie till the end/@comment-4196911-20121116115858

I just think Dan has written Carly in a way that she's just a little shallow and idealistic when it comes to boys, and it's a very slight character flaw that Dan likes and it works well comedically. I have no doubt in my mind that if Carly were real, she would have just as many dates in college as she's had in high school, and she'll be really serious about boys when she's a little older. It's not a serious issue though - a lot of people date casually when they are Carly's age. It's not a deep character issue which needs to be overcome for the show to be satisfying. What's a bigger problem if you're a high schooler - Dating too much with too many different people (Carly), or practically never dating at all because of your issues and how others view you negatively (Sam)?

Carly throws the word "love" around all that time in dating contexts without deep meaning, in contrast to Sam who almost never uses the word, so that when she finally does say it to Freddie you know it really means something. Carly's always popular with boys, and Sam isn't and is somewhat unlovable on the surface because of her personality quirks. I hate the word "deserves", but if I were to use the word, I'd use it a hundred tiimes with Sam before I'd use it with Carly. Sam's afraid of emotional commitment and has insecurity issues, but we're supposed to feel for Carly because she's popular, dates all the time and hasn't found her soulmate yet in high school? I'm not feeling that.

It's precisely because Carly's the main character that "boyfriend of the week" plots work so well for her. It allows plenty of hijinks but avoids the steady boyfriend where you would have to add another character to the show. It's logistical, for the same reason that nobody on this particular show has two parents. I don't think it's more complicated than that, and I certainly don't think it's some grand plan to have her realize in the last episode that Freddie's the "right" guy or something like that. I'm not buying that at all. Freddie's a great dependable friend, and she appreciates him on that level. He's really important to her, but just not in the way that Creddiers are desperate for.