The following contains spoilers from iCarly Season 2, Episode 10, "iThrow a Flawless Murder Mystery Party," now streaming on Paramount+.
iCarly is playing the long game with Carly and Freddie, and the Season 2 finale puts everything into a new perspective thanks to Freddie's murder-mystery birthday party. In a bombshell moment, Freddie's girlfriend tells Carly and Freddie that they're in love with other, and neither of them refutes it. Though Ms. Benson and Millicent try to cut through the tension in the episode's final minute, Carly and Freddie are left speechless by the realization they've been avoiding. This revelation perfectly sets up Carly and Freddie coming to terms with how they feel as adults, no longer kids or teenagers, in a potential Season 3 -- no more distractions.
iCarly is the Paramount+ revival of the Nickelodeon series with the same title that aired from 2007 to 2012. Miranda Cosgrove's Carly Shay and Nathan Kress' Freddie Benson have been a part of the original series (and the revival) since the beginning. As kids, Freddie always pined for Carly as one of her best friends and collaborators on her web show, iCarly. Carly and Freddie's romance didn't last long; Freddie found more of a match with their other best friend, Sam Puckett. As their lives change in adulthood, Carly and Freddie gradually realize that some things never change or go away, like their romantic feelings for each other.
"iThrow a Flawless Murder Mystery Party" expertly builds on everything -- from original series deep cuts to the first two seasons iCarly. Carly and Freddie's romance is nearly 15 years in the making, and this season finale uses hindsight to thread the needle through how Carly and Freddie grapple with (or avoid) their previous stint as romantic partners and the evolution of their feelings into adulthood. For example, the Richard Nixon bit could double as a reference to the original series, even though Freddie's fear comes from being trapped in a presidential library with all the Nixon masks. It all ties back to iCarly super-fan Nora Dershlit.
The Season 1 episode "iHate Carly" confirmed Nora changed her ways, but she still wore a Nixon mask while messing with Carly, Freddie and Sam in the original series. That level of dramatics would only amplify Freddie's fear while stuck in a room filled with said masks. Carly knows Freddie's fear, so she wants to avoid all Nixon references at Freddie's birthday party. That leads Carly to swap her costume with Pearl. However, that doesn't erase that Carly and Freddie arrived in complementary costumes as Sonny and Cher. The murder-mystery game even tells the pair they have "soulmate chemistry" that "cannot be denied."
Of course, Pearl is not expected to be aware of the intensity of Freddie's Nixon fear; it's not even expected for iCarly fans to remember such detail from the original series. However, too many other details highlight how incompatible Freddie and Pearl are with each other while reestablishing the connection between him and Carly. It's one thing for Pearl not to know he likes disco music, but she doesn't know Freddie likes music at all. Carly fixes every party-planning mishap and always assures Freddie that everything is Pearl's idea -- if not a collaboration of their two brains. This tactic helps Carly repair her friend's relationship, and it distances Carly from the extent to which she knows Freddie -- and how she feels about him.
Season 2 allows Carly to focus on other things than her feelings for Freddie -- or any guy. She discovers more about herself on a night out with Harper. Carly brings in a new manager to benefit her career, giving viewers a Drake & Josh reunion. As for Freddie, this season checks in with his relationship a few times, and there are signs that things aren't as good as Freddie wants them to be. Most recently, even a pet monkey couldn't bring Freddie and Pearl closer together in "i'M a USA Bae." Everything Pearl contributes to his birthday party underscores that disconnect. Even though Carly and Freddie haven't spent that much time together this season, Carly still knows him as any good friend would. But, there's more to it than that.
Still, iCarly never pits Carly and Pearl against each other. On the contrary, Carly and the show are sympathetic to Pearl. Nevertheless, iCarly has been building to this Creddie revelation, making it an effective cliffhanger that outdoes the love triangle cliffhanger from Season 1. That love triangle directly contributes to the excellent execution of Creddie's slow-burn this season. It's all been leading to this, and Carly and Freddie will have to deal with the fallout. The question remains whether Freddie will try to repair his relationship with Pearl, leaving Carly to pine for her best friend just as he did when they were younger. It's perfectly poetic.
iCarly Seasons 1 and 2 are now streaming on Paramount+.