The premise of The Choices focuses on Nicole as she contemplates on whether or not it was worth meeting Richard at all and having a family, and what if she chose a different path on the day the two first met.
The first half of the episode featured all the things that would've happened if Nicole and Richard never met. This was the funny segment of the episode as the other choices bring Nicole to what I would call "bad endings", with some even worse than others. It was such a well written use of Dark Comedy that I really can't help but laugh at it. Again, kudos to Ben and the staff for the great comedy even in dark situations.
Ultimately, Nicole chose to stick with Richard and her family, and the rest of the episode is a montage of Nicole and Richard spending their lives together up until they had the kids. It was sweet and adorable, but also has some really sad detail on the couple's life. While much of the sad pasts of Nicole and Richard are often subtle and in-dialogue, this episode showed on-screen what happened to them in their younger years.
I'll begin by observing the early part of Nicole's flashback, where she was with her parents as they try to make it to the local school tournament in time. At first this may have been the tournament in which Nicole battled Yuki as explained in "The Fury", but apparently, it's a completely different tournament and that her opponent at that time was Jackie, Tobias's mother. Also the fact that Nicole was much younger when she fought Yuki in the tournament and this flashback shows her at 7th Grade, as indicated by her report card.
We get to see Nicole's parents, the Semicounts, for the first time in the series and already it was clear they are what is known as Tiger Parents. Extremely harsh and strict, Tiger Parents want their child being no less from #1, as being at the top means you get the best school, the best job, ergo fame and fortune for the family name that must be maintained for the next generation.
As such we already see Nicole's mom berating her for her report card, despite Nicole getting no less than A's on all of them. The issue? Nicole got an 'F' for her gender. Nicole explains that's to say she's a 'female', to which her mother replies that is not an excuse.
I got a bit uncomfortable seeing that Nicole gets treated so badly because she's a girl and yet is expected to be #1, graduate to be a top lawer, and marry a doctor. Sadly, that is how Tiger Parenting goes and it explains her first altenative choice of going straight for the tournament instead of meeting Richard, which turns her into a megalomaniac that ends up causing the apocalypse.
Nicole's meeting with Richard resulted in her missing the tournament, but gained a kindred spirit and companion in Richard. I think this is the first time, least as far as I can tell, that she gained someone who is very close to her after Yuki. Though she has to deal with Richard's way of thinking, of which we know is caused by the way Richard was raised by Granny Jojo.
Obviously, because of Richard's character, the Semicounts do not approve of this relationship, as it goes against their preferences of Nicole's future. This ultimately causes Nicole to storm out of her house and leave her parents behind for good. We all know that Nicole was a threat to Granny Jojo as it pulls Richard from being dependent on the latter. And when Richard shows that moment of defiance, Jojo kicks him out.
The couple do what they can out of their predicament, living at a very small home sitting along the railroad track. The way the area is designed appears to be one bed and bath only, with barely enough room for a small kitchen. Kind of like those microapartments in New York City, though probably much smaller.
And then we see the on-screen confirmation that Nicole was indeed pregnant by Richard prior to them being married. And when the two do get married, only the Semicounts did not attend the ceremony. We later see a run down home that will eventually become the Wattersons residence, and much later, we see the kids. And the rest is history.
Having witnessed, and partly experienced myself, what Nicole and Richard had to deal in their lives, I know personally how that feels and it's the kind of pain that sticks with you whereever you go. Even though I made amends and reconcile with my folks, those experiences remain and will haunt me for the rest of my life. I've since learned to come to terms and live with it.
I gotta feel for Nicole. Not only did she had the burden of being raised by Tiger Parents, she must also carry the burden of caring for Richard, because of the way Granny Jojo raised him. So she's the one who has to find a job and work her butt off to make money that supports both of them, and then having to double that because of her unexpected pregnancy. Then having to find a home they can afford that's big for a family of three - later five with the addition of Darwin and Anais.
So consider the basics, tuition, and medical expenses for a family of five. It is not cheap and Nicole is the only one working that's not even a high-salary job and Richard can't work for obvious reasons, being he's incapable of doing so, and even if he did, he'll destroy Elmore. Anyone who was in Nicole's position would've gone insane because that kind of life strips them of much of their personal freedom and happiness, all for the sake of raising a family.
And the sad thing is that the kind of life Nicole is having actually exists in the real world. There are even single parents having multiple children and having to care for them while working with a minimum wage, or even less. Others are even worse as they do not receive any form of government or social aid, so they are on their own.
And as Nicole resolved at the end of the episode, she wouldn't have her life any other way. She loves her family with all of her being and she is more than willing to carry that burden for them, because she finds her own happiness through them.
For an older viewer of this episode of The Amazing World of Gumball, you either have to be a rich bastard, or have a stone heart to not feel what Nicole had to go through to raise her family. And I dare say to feminists out there that Nicole Watterson should be championed for being a truly strong woman, and not like what we see in the Powerpuff Girls Reboot, DC's Superhero Girls, Jane Foster as Thor, the New 52 Batgirl, or even in Game of Thrones or The Force Awakens.
Nicole Watterson deserves respect and awe for being the best female character out there and a role model for everyone.
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