7 TV Couples That Should Never Have Happened
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, romance is a part of life. It’s hard to write a TV show (any kind of TV show, really) and not give your hero or heroine a love story, mostly because, well, in real life, we crave companionship.
We want romance. It’s not all we want, no, but any way you put it, romance is part of a well-rounded life. You can’t really avoid it.
That doesn’t mean that all romances can work.
Some couples are just a very bad idea from the get-go. Some are brought together by the wrong set of circumstances, others are more brain than heart, some have no sparks, others are just spark, no depth, and then there are some that are just toxic.
With that in mind, here’s my list of seven couples that should have never happened.
1. Oliver/Laurel, Arrow
The idea behind Oliver/Laurel was flawed from the start. It actually makes my blood curl to think that the writers were banking on Laurel taking back the man who not only cheated on her repeatedly, but, at the first sign that things were maybe getting serious between them, invited her little sister to take an ill-fated boat trip with him.
I don’t know about you, but I just can’t get over that one.
Even once upon a time, when they were supposedly happy, Oliver and Laurel were always just two kids who wanted different things, we never brought out the good parts of each other, and who were very, very bad at communicating. Add that to the sister thing, and this is a couple that was really and truly doomed from the start.
2. Olivia/Fitz, Scandal
Scandal is an addiction, one of those shows that raises your blood pressure to unhealthy points, and that, for some reason, you can’t stop watching. And Olivia/Fitz are one of, if not the main reason why.
This is the most toxic relationship in the history of toxic relationships. At this point I’m not even convinced they love each other, what they have most resembles an obsession. Fitz is actually actively BAD for Olivia, and for all the good she can bring to him, when they get together, she’s just a hot mess. They’re just a hot mess.
Come on, Shonda, if you can break up Derek and Meredith in the most awful way there is, you can take care of the Olivia/Fitz situation, can’t you?
3. Jamie/Cersei, Game of Thrones
Most of the relationships on this list have some redeeming qualities. Maybe they were good for each other at some point. Maybe they were friends first and thought they would give romance a go only for it to fizzle. Maybe they actually loved each other once upon a time. Not so Jamie and Cersei.
What Jamie and Cersei are is twisted. They’re basically sleeping with a version of themselves. It’s also super possessive, especially on Cersei’s part. Jamie, fool that he is, actually loves his sister. And I mean love in a completely not brotherly way. He’d do anything for Cersei. He proves this time and time again. She? Well, not so much. For Cersei he was just that the thing she wanted to be, and since she couldn’t be him, she could at least control him.
Yeah, I know. The more you think about it, the more it squicks you out. Join the club.
4. Willow/Kennedy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I love Joss Whedon. I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer. But everyone who’s ever watched the last season of Buffy can agree that this relationship was the actual worst. It was forced, unnecessary, and frankly, unbelievable. I’m not saying Willow had to mourn Tara forever, but less than a year before her Kennedy hookup she watched the supposed love of her life be shot in front of her. Not only that, but, at the time, the pain was so big that she turned evil and almost destroyed the world. But, of course, months later, that’s just water under the bridge. She’s ready for romance!
Give me a break.
You can give a girl time to mourn, okay Joss? Not everyone needs to finish the show paired off (Which you already KNOW, considering you left both Buffy and Xander single at the end)
So, yeah, no. We’d like a re-write on this one, please. It’s the best for all parties.
5. Dan/Blair, Gossip Girl
This relationship actually failed because the writing was absolute crap. I swear, the last few seasons of Gossip Girl were dedicated to destroying every good thing about the characters we were supposed to love. When the show finally ended, I didn’t love anyone – in fact, I’m not even sure I liked them. Dan/Serena, Chuck/Blair, couples I could have rooted for a couple of years before, felt anticlimactic. And I blame the writers.
I blame them for Dan/Blair, in particular. This was obviously something they never planned to do, but some of the best things in life are not planned. And Leighton Meester can have chemistry with absolutely everyone, so, as crazy as the idea seemed at first, it could have worked. Except they never meant for it to work.
And that’s what really, really sucks. The writers messing up a couple without noticing? That’s hard to stomach. The writers doing it on purpose? Somehow that’s even worse.
6. Izzie/George, Grey’s Anatomy
Where is the chemistry? WHERE? I really need an answer to this question. Who thought this was a good idea? Anyone but Shonda? Because the writers, the viewers and the actors all seem to agree that there was absolutely nothing between these two. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. No spark.
Izzie and George were best friends, and as best friends, they worked. Then Shonda Rhimes decided to play with the whole men and women can’t be friends stereotype and try to sell us the idea that they were secretly in love, completely ruining what could have been a good relationship for George (Never mind that we only got Calzona because of this), and robbing Izzie of any and all credibility.
But it wasn’t really Izzie’s fault. I promise. It was the writers. They were the ones who screwed up.
7. Clarke/Finn, The 100
I have so many problems with Clarke/Finn that I’m not even sure where to begin.
Finn is not a romantic ideal. Finn is an irresponsible boy, prone to big gestures and fickle loves. Because, yes, he loves Raven enough to take her on that stupid and ill-advised space-walk, but he doesn’t love her enough to remain faithful to her for more than a week. Because yes, he loves Clarke enough to push Raven aside and choose her, but he doesn’t love her enough to respect her decisions. In the end, Finn is just a boy, and he doesn’t really know how to love. Not the way Clarke deserves.
That’s why they never would have worked out. Clarke needs a partner. She needs someone who isn’t afraid of her, someone who can tell her when she’s wrong. She needs someone strong. Finn was never going to be that guy.
Agree? Disagree? Have any more couples you think should have never happened? Share with us in the comments!
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat
23 comments
If Oliver and Laurel’s relationship never happened then Oliver wouldn’t have survived on the island because he survived for her so if he didn’t survive we would’ve never gotten Arrow.. The Oliver/Laurel relationship was needed and is still needed for the future of Green Arrow and Black Canary so it’ll return.
Hey David – have you heard the latest? Katie Cassidy was interviewed by a Brazilian journalist and she told them (they didn’t suggest it to her) that Oliver and Laurel are never, ever, ever, getting back together. Which is what Katie wants for her character.
I have and I don’t understand how so many people have misread what Cassidy was saying. She said she’s not a typical love interests and that’s she’s her own character and a superheroine but that doesn’t mean she can’t be a love interest. She never in the interview said Oliver and Laurel are done, they are taking a break from their relationship now and will remain good friends and I’m glad they aren’t together now but in 2-3 seasons more the Green Arrow and Black Canary relationship will start again even Kreisberg said a couple of months ago Laurel is the most important women in Oliver’s life. Arrow has many many seasons to come and so don’t jump to conclusions with what people are saying about Season 4,.
She flat out said in her interview with Collider that she’d like for Laurel to get a love interest eventually and that they’d cast someone external from the show for it. Any future love interest won’t be Oliver. Even KC knows that now. And the show has made it obvious, too.
Maybe you’re right, maybe without the ideal to hold onto Oliver wouldn’t have survived. But it’s a disservice to the relationship they planned from the start to have the woman forgive the man for so much. In real life, and if Laurel were our friend, we’d tell her to run far, far away from that cheating scumbag of a man.
People change. In the comics, Green Arrow and Black Canary go through many struggles in their relationship and they always move past it together. That’s what the writers were doing with the show, Laurel forgave Oliver for cheating and they both moved past it. It shows how strong their relationship is.
I don’t think forgiving someone for cheating with your sister shows how strong a relationship is – I think it shows how co-dependant a relationship can be. Some things should not be forgiven. Why is this something that she should forgive? If she’d cheated on him with his brother would people still say that forgiving is all fine and good? Or would we (and by we I mean not me) be calling her names?
I believe someone should be forgiven of what they did if they realized how painful it was to others and regret doing it and if they went through pain and torture because of their actions. If Laurel did that to Oliver and Laurel went through what Olvier went through he still would’ve forgiven her and I’m pretty sure most of the viewers would have forgiven her too. I’m saying Oliver and Laurel have a strong relationship because no matter what struggles they go through, they will move past it together and still have each other in their lives. Only strong relationships like married couples can do that. That’s the Green Arrow and Black Canary in the comics and that’s why they are DC Comics power couple with Superman and Lois Lane
If Felicity was our friend in real life would we tell her to run to a man who cheats,lies and murders?. And Felicity is even more angelic and smart than Laurel, so she even deserve so much better than Oliver. I hate Oliver and Laurel but Oliver and Felicity is not much better, they are the most selfish when together.
Ray was the better man for Felicity to me.
No, we wouldn’t. If Felicity was our friend in real life we’d warn her away from Oliver, especially because, if Felicity was our friend in real life we probably wouldn’t be privy to the good parts of Oliver.
But if Laurel was our friend in real life we’d warn her off too.
I don’t believe Felicity is more “angelic” or “smart”. I believe they are two different characters who need completely different things.
Good list but the worst one for me would have to be Oliver and Felicity in Arrow. Just looking at the characters they have absolutely nothing in common and their pairing would be like if Clark had ended up with Chloe instead of Lois in Smallville or Batman had ended up with Oracle instead of Talia in the comics. I don’t know but the whole thing just feels forced and unrealistic and it is like it is catered to please Smallville fans who were upset Clark never got together with Chloe. Oliver and Sara had more chemistry and substance because they were more alike in ways and Sara was his equal. Felicity can’t even fight and spends most of her time on a computer and any time they find themselves in trouble Oliver would have to babysit her.
It is nothing against the actress but I think Oliver should be paired with a stronger woman and it doesn’t help that Felicity has a very self righteous and smug attitude and likes to make everything about her.
Sometimes opposites attract, though. I agree that Oliver and Felicity don’t have as much in common as he and Sara did, for example, but that isn’t necessarily bad.
I also think there are different kinds of strength. Felicity is a strong woman, just not a physically strong and dominant woman. She’s not Sara. She’s not Laurel. But then again, that doesn’t make her weak, just as Laurel wasn’t weak when she was just a lawyer and not the Black Canary.
I never watched Smallville and all the Olicity shippers I know ship Clois. Andrew Kreisberg, former EP of Arrow, even went out of his way to say Olicity aren’t like Chloe x Clark. Their version of GA also wasn’t with BC and ended up with Chloe. That couple compares to Olicity, not Chloe x Clark.
I agree with all the couples on this list – except for Scandal, which I haven’t seen yet.
Oliver and Laurel had too much piled on them from the beginning, from his cheating to who he cheated with to what happened to them while cheating. It was too much and the writers never really figured out how to handle all the drama they put on their main pairing before the show ever began, not to mention the Tommy dying/Sara returning/multiple secrets/cheating plus baby they put on later. Even aside from chemistry issues, I just couldn’t get behind these two. I mean, her sister. That’s just. No. I was actually excited about this couple before the show started, but I couldn’t get past all the mess. And, you know. Chemistry issues.
Jamie and Cersei are self explanatory. Ew. Joeffrey making, sibling banging nasties.
Oz was awesome. Tara was even more awesome. Kennedy was the sad let down that we had to watch Willow end up with. Why, Joss? Why?
Totally agree with everything you said about Dair. I also couldn’t root for any character or couple by the end of that show. It was like the writers were trying to systematically destroy everything they built, then give us some weird “happy” ending and be like, “Isn’t this nice? Chuck probably won’t trade Blair for anymore hotels now that they’re married and stuff, and Dan doesn’t have to stalk Serena if he gets to be with her all the time, right? That’s what you guys wanted, right? Right?” That show made me sad.
George and Izzie have what I call anti-chemistry. Every time they kissed I freaked out, and not in a nice way. That was a bad, bad decision, Shonda.
And finally, Finn. I have varying feelings about Bellamy, Lexa and Wick as love interests, but one thing I know is they all respect Clarke and/or Raven. Finn didn’t even respect them enough to be honest with either of them. It was really sad to see such great female characters hung up on the one character in the show that reminded me of the boys I went to high school with in the worst possible ways.
So all in all, I have to say, good list.
I believe someone should be forgiven of what they did if they realized how painful it was to others and regret doing it and if they went through pain and torture because of their actions. If Laurel did that to Oliver and Laurel went through what Olvier went through he still would’ve forgiven her and I’m pretty sure most of the viewers would have forgiven her too. I’m saying Oliver and Laurel have a strong relationship because no matter what struggles they go through, they will move past it together and still have each other in their lives. Only strong relationships like married couples can do that. That’s the Green Arrow and Black Canary in the comics and that’s why they are DC Comics power couple with Superman and Lois Lane
I don’t think Laurel and Oliver, at this point in time,have a strong relationship at all. I think we’re going to see them trying to work together, maybe even become friends again, but I think, at this point, despite what the comics are, and understanding that TV is a completely different medium, there is no romantic interest between them, at all. Laurel is not in love with Oliver anymore. Oliver is not in love with Laurel. And I don’t see how that could/would change.
Sorry this went to the wrong comment.
I disagree about Olivia and Fitz. I’m not sure Scandal would even be Scandal without them. I feel the same about Laurel and Oliver. I ship Olicity with all my heart but Laurel and Oliver were necessary. Both couples have issues and I don’t ship either but they are fundamental to their show’s canvas and the arcs of the characters. Olivia and Fitz and Laurel and Oliver are in the DNA of their respective shows. But #TEAMOLICITY
Dan and Blair is a different story. The writers should have stopped with their friendship in my opinion. I hate that Gossip Girl had almost every single character sleep with each other except ironically the characters who probably had the most sex – Chuck and Serena. I think it would have been more refreshing if they’d decided Dan and Blair worked better as friends. That would have been lovely.
And yes Leighton Meester has chemistry with almost everyone. I think we found the one person she doesn’t have chemistry with. They were really cute as friends watching Rosemary’s Baby but both cringeworthy and blah as a dating couple in S5 But the biggest reason they never should have happened was because they ruined the most important relationship on the show: Not Chuck and Blair but Blair and Serena. That’s just inexcusable IMO
George and Izzie remind me a little of them but with even more awkward chemistry. Lets call it anti-chemistry. Ugh they were so so wrong for each other!!!! UGH!!!!!! I literally gagged when they kissed. Sorry I can’t give you a good rational comment about them because I found it so…WRONG. lol
Tom and Anne on Parks and Rec and Rachel and Joey of Friends were other couples that never should have happened. The “unexpected” couple doesn’t always work. Sometimes it’s just awkward as hell.
Duncan and Veronica. Veronica mars.
Finn was misunderstood. Yes, he made mistakes like any typical 17 year old guy but he loved Clarke so much that he surrendered to a death by torture and she loved him so much in return that she saved him from that agonizing death, she mercifully killed him and with his dying breathe he conveyed his love for her one last time, telling her, “Thanks Princess.”
Finn and Clarke had their issues but what first love isn’t and despite any issues a first love has, it never ends.
Of all the couples on Gossip Girl, the biggest knock against Dan & Blair is that they were built on a foundation of friendship, had common interests, supported each other in tough times, and were all around the healthiest couple of the series whereas the two couples who ended up together were abusive, toxic, and quite unhealthy.
I wasn’t surprised at the endgame pairs but certainly disappointed that any show would hold those up as the type of relationships that their target audience should want because they labeled them as, “epic romances.”
Respectfully, you stupid have a fundamental misunderstanding of Finn Collins as an individual & the relationship between Finn & Clarke. Yes, Finn was immature but that’s absolutely normal since he’s only 17years old. Categorizing him organizing the spacewalk for Raven as stupid shows your lack of understanding of him because he was giving the girl he loved her life long dream come true then he took responsibility for it, knowing he’d floated at 18 for the crime. As for him and Clarke, that’s something else you misunderstand o and I would bet it’s probably because you’re a Bellarke fan. That faction hated him simply because Clarke loved Finn and yes, he was unfaithful but given the many horrific things these characters do, a young boy helplessly falling for a girl he met is really not that horrible since you can’t control who you love which Finn and Clarke did, they were in love. Of all the people in the initial 100, Finn was the one who was concerned about Clarke’s needs, he knew her for only a day yet he understood her in a way no one else did, and she confided in him the things she told nobody else, case in point, Finn not Bellamy recognized her Dad’s watch on the Grounder’s wrist and knew what it meant to her & how she wouldn’t give it up without a fight. Finn is Clarke’s first love, she’ll always love him and he didn’t get the chance to grow into the partner she needed but he bravely took his punishment for killing the 18 ppl. & Clarke proved she loved him enough she regretted not forgiving him & giving him a second chance as well as saving him by killing him. So Finn and Clarke were a great couple that’s misunderstood.
As for Gossip Girl, that show promoted toxic, abusive, unhealthy relationships like they were the pinnacle of true love that any young woman should aspire to experience in their own life while they denigrated the only healthy, supportive, caring relationship that was built on a strong foundation of good friendship based on trust, common interests, understanding of each other’s vulnerabilities, acceptance of their flaws, encouragement of their strengths, and unconditional love between two people, who despite many differences, had mutual respect and a very healthy relationship that should have been what the show depicted as what young girls should look for in a relationship instead of silly notions of epic love like Chuck and Blair & whatever the hell Dan and Serena were since they were a ridiculous couple. Dan and Blair were the true love story of Gossip Girl. Shame on the show for not showcasing it.
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