With Disney+ having recently come out, it's hard not to binge-watch your old favorite shows, including Hannah Montana. The teen hit Disney Channel series is about a girl named Miley (Miley Cyrus) who is secretly a pop star named Hannah Montana. It was the show that taught us about the magic of wigs and how changing your hair color could make you completely unrecognizable.
While this adolescent was living the best of both worlds, we found ourselves shouting at the TV more times than once, exclaiming, "How could they not know that it's her?!" Here are 10 times other characters should have realized Hannah/Miley's secret.
When Miley Goes To Jail
In season 3 episode 2, "Ready, Set, Don't Drive," Miley goes to jail because her driver's license says "Hannah Montana." The police officer doesn't believe her when she explains her secret, so he brings in his daughter, whom he calls, "the ultimate Hannah fan." She sits across from Miley and grills her with Hannah trivia, but she doesn't believe Miley either - until Miley starts singing. We'll be a little lenient with this one, since the girl had never met Hannah before. However, someone's biggest fan probably has lots of posters, CDs, magazines, and other merchandise with the celeb's photo on them. The girl should know what Hannah looks like! We'd like to think that if Harry Styles came up to us with a red afro, we'd still recognize him.
When Jackson Is Hannah's "Boyfriend"
A rumor started in season 1 episode 21, "My Boyfriend's Jackson and There's Gonna be Trouble," that Jackson, Miley's brother, was dating Hannah Montana. At the end of the episode, he appears on TV with Hannah and clears the whole thing up. It's safe to assume that someone from Jackson's peer group must have watched the episode, but nobody ever said to him, "Hannah looks just like your sister!" Heck, Jackson even used the words, "like a sister," to describe his relationship with Hannah. How much more obvious could you get there, Jack?
When Miley Meets Mikayla
Hannah and her singing rival Mikayla met a few times, and even shared a fake hug for the cameras in season 2 episode 13, "I Want You to Want Me... to go to Florida." When Mikayla becomes Miley's friend's costar on TV, Miley goes and meets Mikayla as her non-famous self.
Mikayla has no idea that she is actually enemies with this teen, and she even comments that they could be such great friends! Come on, girl. Don't you recognize your pop competitor? Maybe because they hate each other so much, Mikayla never bothered to get a good look at Hannah. Still, we can't help but wonder...
When Travis Meets Hannah
It may be cheating a little to add this one to the list because it's from Hannah Montana The Movie, not the TV show. In the film, Miley goes back to her home state of Tennessee and runs into her old friend Travis. They spend some time getting reacquainted and even go on a date. Hannah "arrives" in town as well, and Travis meets the strikingly similar celeb. Does he make the connection? Nope. He even had heard Miley singing in the barn at one point. It didn't occur to him that it sounded like a voice he'd heard on the radio? maybe country boys don't listen to pop.
When Hannah Donates To Sarah's Campaign
Miley and her classmates work hard to raise money for charity in season 1 episode 19, "Money for Nothing, Guilt for Free," to try and win a prize for the most cash collected. She even uses Hannah to get some donations from her fans, securing her win. She feels guilty, so she decides that Hannah will donate the money to another classmate Sarah, who promptly passes out upon meeting the blonde beauty. This one was so obvious because not only was Miley dressed as Hannah, but her best friend Lilly was dressed as Hannah's best friend Lola, yet Sarah didn't recognize either of them.
When Amber Goes On Singing With the Stars
Miley's bully Amber appears on a TV show where Hannah is a guest star in season 1 episode 24, "The Idol Side of Me." The two girls get to sing together on stage, but before that, they share a heart to heart backstage when Amber reveals to Hannah that she too was bullied as a child.
Yet again, Miley's secret goes undetected as Amber fails to realize that "Super Girl" Hannah is actually super dork Miley. Miley would probably stop getting picked on if she revealed her Hannah side, but she returns to school and is called a loser by Amber the next day. Poor Hannah, err, Miley.
When Rico Has A Date With Hannah
Rico gets some credit here because he is the only character to have slight suspicions about Miley's alternate personality. While she is singing and dancing as herself in season 2 episode 4, "Get Down, Study-udy-udy," Rico comments that she reminds him of Hannah Montana. Miley laughs it off, and Rico drops it. However, he definitely should have figured it out when he wins an auction for a date with Hannah. The two spend an evening together, and while Rico was feeling under the weather, he still should have seen that his date was also his classmate.
When Johnny Meets Hannah (Twice)
Johnny, a cute boy from Miley's school, first meets Hannah at a signing in season 1 episode 1, "Lilly, Do You Want to Know a Secret?" Hannah's sunglasses seem to hide her identity this time, but on her date with Rico, Johnny is also with them. He is just as clueless as Rico, and he doesn't even see a resemblance when he sees Miley up close a few days later. He comments how mean Hannah was on their date and asks Miley to go out with him instead. Uhh, they're the same person, buddy!
When Jake Dates Miley (And Almost Kisses Hannah)
Jake is a hottie TV star that shows up as a student in Miley's class, and he's crushing on her hard. They soon begin dating, but not before Hannah makes an appearance on his TV show in season 1 episode 15, "More Than a Zombie to Me."
They come close to kissing while she is Hannah and then kiss for real when she is Miley - that's about as up close and personal as you can get with a person! Even zoomed in, Jake was never the wiser that Miley and Hannah had the same lips.
When Oliver Meets Hannah
The biggest "they should have known," moment was in season 1 episode 2, "Miley Get Your Gum." One of Miley's best friends, Oliver, is madly in love with Hannah Montana, giving Miley the idea to dress as Hannah and try to be repulsive to turn him off to her. Not only is his infatuation not shaken, but he doesn't even know that it's his own bestie who's chewing black bubble gum in his face. Really, Oliver? If anyone should know what a person looks like, it should be their best friend!