WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for That ’90s Show season 1!That ‘90s Show sees Kitty Forman bring up a curious part of Fez’s story that was never fully addressed in That ‘70s Show. Throughout That ‘90s Show, nearly every That ‘70s Show main character makes a grand return, including Kitty, Red, Eric, Donna, Jackie, Kelso, Bob, Leo, and Fez. While most of That ‘70s Show’s returning original teens only make cameos or small appearances, Fez (Wilmer Valderrama) has a strong presence in the sequel series as he dates Gwen and Nate’s mom Sherri, which allows That ‘90s Show to better explore his journey and even past inconsistencies.
Fez, who is now a successful hair salon owner in That ‘90s Show, was introduced in That ‘70s Show’s pilot as a foreign exchange student who quickly befriended Eric and the gang. Despite the fact that his status as an exchange student was important to his character, That ‘70s Show never fully explained the nature of his arrival in America, the name of his home country, or even his real name, as Fez is simply short for “foreign exchange student.” Fez ended up staying in America long past the time the teens graduated from high school without ever returning home, so the unconventional nature of Point Place High School’s foreign exchange student program remains an illogical mystery.
Kitty Questions Fez’s Foreign Exchange Student History In That ’90s Show
Kitty finally brings up a question in That ‘90s Show that was never entirely answered in That ‘70s Show, namely why Fez was never exchanged back to his home country. Foreign exchange student programs typically last a year at most, yet Fez was in Point Place for the last two years of high school and even ended up graduating. That ‘70s Show addressed the idea that Fez would need to be sent back to his home country after graduating from high school because his visa was set to expire, yet this connected more to U.S. immigration laws than the Wisconsin school’s foreign exchange student program.
When trying to piece together Fez’s mysterious background in That ‘90s Show, Kitty Forman suggests that the school simply forgot to exchange him back. Still, it’s unclear why his host family was fine with keeping Fez in their home for so long after he was initially supposed to be sent back. While host families generally do get stipends to pay for the child they’re caring for, it doesn’t seem realistic that Point Place’s program would have budgeted for Fez’s stay to be funded for two years.
Why Fez Stayed In The United States
Instead of being sent back to his unknown home country in That ‘70s Show, Fez was initially able to stay in the United States by obtaining a green card. After graduating from high school, Fez had to act quickly in order to avoid getting deported, so he married Eric’s sister Laurie to obtain a green card and remain in the country. The characters soon get a divorce after Red has a heart attack from the news of their marriage, with Fez then officially becoming a U.S. citizen in That ‘70s Show season 6.
Since Kitty has finally opened up a potential That ‘70s Show plot hole by exposing the inconsistencies in Fez’s foreign exchange student status, this could become a storyline for the new teens in That ‘90s Show. While the sequel series is only set during the summers of each year, the Point Place High School students could still give more insight into the area’s foreign exchange student program in the mid-’90s, perhaps mentioning that it changed significantly after Fez was never exchanged back. Since Fez has no children in That ‘90s Show, future seasons of the spinoff could see him host a new foreign exchange student of his own, thus bringing his story full circle.
