10 Things That Never Made Sense About 7th Heaven

7th Heaven originally aired from 1996 to 2007 on the WB/the CW. The show was about a family of seven: Reverend Eric Camden, his wife Annie, and their five children. Two more kids are born in the third season, and the family is completed by an array of interesting visitors over the years.

The concept of 7th Heaven basically makes sense, but that doesn’t mean all the details do. With so many children running around and then becoming adults, anything can happen — but not everything makes sense.

10 Welcome Mat

One of the defining attributes of the Camden household is its welcome mat. Eric and Annie don’t like turning anyone away, even though that can be a dangerous rule to live by. The parents take in other children and adults in need on the regular. Eric even invites a foreign exchange student aboard without asking Annie. Call it fate, or a God-wink, or maybe it’s a coincidence, but housing all these strangers is a little much.

9 Old Time Religion

7th Heaven naturally emphasizes the fact that its father character is a minister by trade. The family goes to church together on Sundays, the church sponsors weekly group discussions, and volunteers from the church pitch in to help those in need. These Christian activities are interwoven throughout each episode, and deep theological discussions take place once in a while, too.

The only thing that doesn’t make sense is what every family member thinks about it all. Some plots rely on rifts in religious faith, others are built on strengthened faith. The Camden kids who most encounter their spirituality are Lucy and Matt, but it would be clarifying to get a better sense of where the others finally end up on the subject.

8 Bad Boyfriends

Why are there so many bad boyfriends on 7th Heaven? Robbie Palmer is one of the worst, even if he is cute. Mary and Lucy are boy crazy, and they go on dates with some real duds in their teen years. And Simon is another story. Matt always dates fascinating women, but he has more than a couple of girlfriends in the early seasons. Maybe it’s a normal part of life, but these teenagers sure date a lot, and they often pick bad dates.

7 Mary’s Rebellion

Mary Camden’s downfall adds a lot of depth to the series, but a couple of things about it are confusing. Big fans know that Mary’s mid-series scandals on-screen correlated with Jessica Biel’s desire to portray a more adult image off-screen. Mary got so bad that she was sent to live with her grandparents, “The Colonel and Ruth.” Fans can’t help but wonder how Mary’s life might have been on another path if Jessica Biel’s teen years had been different.

6 Room Switch-up

With five and then seven kids in the house, a little shifting of living arrangements might be necessary. It happens a ton with the Camdens, though. The series begins with Mary and Lucy sharing a room, Simon and Ruthie sharing another, and Matt in his own bedroom. The arrangements completely change a few times, including Matt and Simon sharing, Lucy and Ruthie sharing, Matt on his own, Ruthie on her own, etc. A key addition to the layout is the attic. It is the perfect room, and it would have made more sense for someone to go up there from the beginning so that fewer people have to share.

5 The Garage Apartment

Another coveted space in the Camden house is the garage apartment. Everyone wants to live there, and it’s made up for multiple family members and guests. Lucy and Kevin live there right after they get married. Why the newlyweds want to stay there with the whole family is a mystery, but they seem to like living there before they get their own house.

4 Tonal Shift

7th Heaven feels like a different show in some ways by the time it reaches its tenth and eleventh seasons. So many of the Camdens are not regular characters anymore, so the show has to rely on extended connections to house guests, and it puts much of its focus on Lucy’s life and work. Some wonder why the show went so long without much of the original cast, like Mary, Matt, Ruthie, and Simon, not being there all the time.

3 Rules Are Rules

For a family with so many rules, the Camden kids sure get away with a lot. Some would say that pastors’ kids get into the most trouble of all, and that would be true for this family.

Maybe the goal was to make the children seem normal, but they really get into some unusually bad situations when going against authority. This is what much of the drama is built on, but it doesn’t make total sense.

2 Weddings

There are a number of weddings (and attempts at weddings) on 7th Heaven. Nothing is wrong with getting married, but some characters seem particularly rushed to trot down the aisle. Lucy has to work even harder to finish college when she marries Kevin young. Simon and Rose make it all the way to the wedding day before they realize they are making a mistake. Matt and Sarah feel the need to hide their marriage for a long time, letting their families throw them a nice wedding anyway. It seems like the Camdens are a little funny about their weddings and marriages.

1 Financial Situation

The Camdens aren’t exactly rolling in dough, except for Simon in his youth with the “bank of Simon.” It is clear early on that the church owns the Camdens’ home. That means they either live there for free or pay rent to the church. The family never goes hungry or lacks clothing for everyone. Even if their home isn’t a huge burden, the Camdens still have to budget carefully for their other expenses, especially when there are extra mouths to feed and clothes to launder. All that makes sense, but how do they do it? Annie must be as good at bookkeeping as they make her seem!

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