Summary
- Getting together too soon can lead to a lack of development and storylines for TV couples, as seen with Andy and April from Parks and Recreation and Nick and Jess from New Girl.
- Rushed relationships can result in awkward tension and instability, like Clarke and Lexa from The 100 and Chuck and Blair from Gossip Girl.
- The Big Bang Theory’s Leonard and Penny could have had a more satisfying payoff if their relationship had been delayed to allow for personal growth and self-discovery.
When it comes to romance in TV shows, characters need to work up to a relationship, and if it happens too soon, it could cause problems down the line. A long-running series nearly always includes characters that fans of the show will ship, who have natural chemistry and audiences expect them to end up together. However, the creatives navigating these relationships have a difficult task with a couple that gets together too late missing their chance to display their romance, and one that comes too soon growing stale.
Couples like Ross and Rachel in Friends went around in circles, constantly hinting at a relationship and being hot and cold, but ultimately, when they got together for good at the end, it was a huge payoff for fans. When other couples get into a relationship early on, the show then has to keep the audience engaged with the relationship, so new dramas are introduced. These could be major issues the couple needs to overcome; infidelity, long-distance, or several other things, but they all put a strain on what is meant to be a great relationship.
9 April And Andy
Parks And Recreation
Andy Dwyer is initially in a relationship with Ann Perkins at the start of Parks and Recreation. Andy and Ann break up at the end of season 1 due to Andy’s lazy and selfish behavior, and he spends the next season lamenting their relationship and getting closer to April. Within a short time, Andy and April fall for each other, and in season 3, they share their first kiss and get married in the same episode. The issue is that as soon as they get together, the relationship is no longer used to develop storylines. The couple doesn’t experience any real issues, and the show moves in to follow other characters.
8 Nick And Jess
New Girl
New Girl’s Nick and Jess are both highly quirky characters, but their chemistry was undeniable from the start of the show. At the end of season 2, they solidify their relationship and get together, but it’s way too soon and the couple have a lot of baggage and stuff to work through. As a result, they break things off the following season and don’t come back together until the sixth season finale. All the time in between becomes awkward tension between exes instead of a sweet build-up for the couple thanks to getting together too soon.
Related
10 TV Couples That Took Way Too Long To Be Together
Every TV show has an iconic, long-awaited couple, but these characters took their sweet time before finally admitting their true feelings.
7 Clarke And Lexa
The 100
Clarke and Lexa’s pair up in The 100 season 2, episode 7, before Lexa is killed in season 3, episode 7. Lexa is a recurring character, but she first joins the series as an enemy of Clarke and within two weeks, they end up sharing a kiss. Months pass before they meet again, and then they have another two weeks together. For most of the five seasons after her death, Clarke grieves her ex, but the relationship wasn’t given enough time to develop such an intense connection. Had the couple been given more time to develop, maybe it would have made sense, but as it is, it doesn’t.
6 Chuck And Blair
Gossip Girl
Chuck and Blair are the very definition of a rocky, on-again, off-again relationship in Gossip Girl. They first get together in season 1, and spend the majority of the first two seasons going back and forth before making it official. Then, the relationship only serves to create more drama for the series as the couple constantly navigates issues, before breaking up and going back to being on and off. The series then tries to end on a high with the pair getting married, but with how unstable the relationship has been up to that point, it doesn’t feel like it will last.
5 Betty And Jughead
Riverdale
Six episodes into Riverdale, Betty, and Jughead make it official. While their romance is sweet and seemingly secure for much of the show’s run, it eventually flatlines. The show is a dramatic mystery series and even strange relationship dynamics between the foursome struggle to add any sort of tension or emotion. Betty and Jughead end their relationship early in season 5 before the seven-year time jump and, ultimately, they both end the series alone.
4 Jim And Pam
The Office
Jim and Pam are the romantic core of The Office. While many other relationships come and go, theirs is the one that endures and is a favorite for many fans. There is a lot to be praised about the build-up towards the couple getting together, but, with the show continuing for a further six seasons after they got together, it led to a lot of drama for the couple that didn’t make sense considering how much they were willing to put aside for each other in the first place.
Related
9 Non-Canon TV Ships That Everyone Loves
Not every TV couple goes the distance or even gets a shot, here are some of the most popular couples that were never endgame but should have been.
Pam is engaged at the start of the show, and when Jim confesses his feelings, he initially gets rejected as Pam tries to honor her commitment to Roy. Jim then goes and works elsewhere, begins a happy and healthy relationship with Karen, and is on track to be promoted to corporate. However, despite all of this, they choose each other and put aside other relationships and career prospects. So, when later seasons try to drum up drama because of relationships and career prospects, it feels forced. The show has already proved they will pick each other.
3 Blaine And Kurt
Glee
Kurt meets Blaine in Glee season 2, and ten episodes later, they make their relationship official. Again, this results in the remainder of the show trying to reconcile the ups and downs in their relationships and see them break up, get back together, move in, move out, and date others. Then, the final season of the show sees them spontaneously reconnect and get married alongside Santana and Brittany, but once again, this feels more hollow because of the simple things that have put a strain on their relationship up to this point and made the relationship feel unstable and unearned.
2 Donna And Eric
That ’70s Show
Donna and Eric start in an awkward teenage romance with their first kiss happening in That ’70s Show episode 1. Following this, the two attempt to navigate their feelings, and they face several issues that all feel consistent with their age and maturity, but the show also has to adjust many of the stories around the couple. This became even more difficult when Topher Grace, who plays Eric, left the show in season 7. The idea of high school sweethearts eventually ending up together is great, but it does face several unnecessary obstacles because of how soon they get together.
1 Leonard And Penny
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory depicts Leonard as an awkward geeky guy who struggles with confidence and develops a relationship with the beautiful girl next door, Penny. They go on a date, although Penny doesn’t know it was a date, in the third episode. In the sixth episode, they share their first kiss, and they make it official for the first time at the end of season 2. The entire series run, with 12 seasons, follows their relationship as it goes through highs and lows.
Related
All 5 The Big Bang Theory Main Couples, Ranked
Aside from its nerd-centric plot lines, The Big Bang Theory was also known for its many romances. However, not all of them were created equal.
The couple struggles to find the right rhythm for most of that time, with other relationships happening in between and separations. However, the payoff of their relationship could have been a lot more satisfying if the couple had worked through more of the issues and reached conclusions about what they needed before getting together in season 2. If the relationship was delayed, and they spent more time working on themselves while becoming better friends, it would have been better than the forced relationship that was inserted early in the show.
