[ SECRET POST #2076 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #2076 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

01.


__________________________________________________



02.


__________________________________________________



03.


__________________________________________________



04.


__________________________________________________



05.


__________________________________________________



06.


__________________________________________________



07.


__________________________________________________



08.


__________________________________________________



09.


__________________________________________________



10.


__________________________________________________



11.


__________________________________________________



12.


__________________________________________________



13.


__________________________________________________



14.


__________________________________________________



15.


__________________________________________________



16.














Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 5 pages, 108 secrets from Secret Submission Post #297.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 1 - too big ], [ 1 2 3 4 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[idiothole]

I have to admit I'm a total sucker for these kinds of pairings, especially if there's any amount of bickering going on. At the same time, I loathe to get into them because it can be such a show-ruiner, to find the writers either fuck up the "getting together finally" bit or just prolong it until it's no longer interesting whether they do or don't end up together.

So what do you guys feel are some of the best examples of prolonged UST actually coming to fruition on a TV show? Or the worst example of it?

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

I was going to nominate Beckett/Castle for shittiest fruition but then I remembered their UST was shitty too so?

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

Too right. Their UST was mega-awkward in retrospect, possibly because Stana is not that great at acting. I used to like the show a lot around S1-S2 but in retrospect I didn't even ship them all that much. I shipped Esposito/Ryan more, if I'm completely honest.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[unicornherds]

My first thought was Mulder/Scully from X-Files. I'm not really a fan of prolonged will-they-won't-they stuff, but X-Files managed to walk a fine line that never really bothered me.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

I hate will they/won't they for the reasons you basically listed, it just never ends well. Either they get together and it's completely boring or they never get together and it starts becoming irritating seeing all the obvious reasons the writers are trying to come up with to keep them apart. Or the ones who get together, break up, get together, break up and all in all you just start feeling the couple is not compatible.

I don't know if I can think of a best, maybe Niles and Daphne from Frasier because I really liked them.

I can think of a lot of worst, think of any major tv show and the will they/won't they couple and chances are I hate them together.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[fickletastictot]

*scratches chin* Harm/Mac from JAG took 8-9 years to finally get together on the very last episode of the series. I really didn't mind though, since I have a thing for UST. I sincerely don't know if they're under the best or worst example of those kind of couples since I can barely remember anything from the series now.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

When I read the title my mind immediately went to Patrick and Sally from Coupling (UK version, of course).

I actually preferred them to the main couple, Steve and Susan, both in terms of their relationship and the characters themselves. I waited for a long time for them to get together, and the final moments of the final episode of S3 is just... lovely. Also, 'Remember This' (the episode focussed on them) is by far the my favourite.

In terms of it coming to fruition, I thought it was very well done. People have mixed feelings about the last series, but I really liked it, if only because Patrick and Sally were finally together.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

Bones.

Yuck.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[ariakas]

Blech. Bad example: House.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[stuck4aname]

Worst example I can think of is Cassie/Adam from The Secret Circle (TV show). They were just so bleh; there was nothing interesting about them together.

As for best examples...I quite like the way Primeval handled Abby/Connor. When they finally got together it was really sweet and it wasn't too over- or understated.

But my favourite will-they-won't-they by far is Miranda/Gary from Miranda. It's the only will-they-won't-they storyline I've ever been properly interested in, to be honest.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

Gargoyles, GoliathxElisa. I was so happy I cried when they finally kissed.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[biohazardgirl]

Best:

*cough*

Jimmy/Cindy from Jimmy Neutron.

DON'T JUDGE ME I WAS THEIR AGE WHEN THEY GOT TOGETHER.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[intrigueing]

Josh/Donna from The West Wing was fucking awesome for the first four seasons and pretty good for the last three. It did drag too long, and when it happened it was kind of "oh yeah, duh, right" rather than suspenseful and climactic. But still, very adorable and satisfying :)

And really, I don't see how they could have ever topped that moment near the end of "Commencement" so it was pretty much as good as it could be.

Odo/Kira from Deep Space Nine was also really great, partly because the UST was non-uniform. The characters went through all sorts of weird twists and turns and status-quo changes so the nature of their tension was always being shaken up. And their get-together moment was one of the most genuinely epic I've ever seen. Probably the only one I actually cheered out loud at my TV screen over.

And GOD I have so much love for that episode...I think it was just a few episodes after their get-together, where Kira deliberately put herself in mortal danger partly to defend the station and partly for religious reasons, and instead of saving her at the expense of everyone else like he might have done the previous season, Odo went "well, I trust and respect her decisions" and didn't interfere even though he knew she might die. A lot of UST-y couples get unreasonably obsessed and clingy, which isn't a dealbreaker for me but isn't exactly a good thing either.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[maverickz3r0]

I feel like Fry/Leela on Futurama was actually handled pretty well, because they both stay IC while still sort of being in a weird stay of are-they-or-aren't-they.

On the other hand I think probably the worst example of this of all time was Ross and Rachel on Friends.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

I was just griping about how annoyed with the portrayal of "will-they-or-won't-they" in Drop Dead Diva.

I really liked Jim and Pam from The Office.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

Worst: Ross and Rachel. Ugh. What an annoying, tiresome, unsatisfying mess.

Best: Also Ross and Rachel, but only in seasons 1 and 2.

That argument scene in the empty coffeehouse just before they kiss for the first time in season 2 is one of the most electrifying pre-kiss scenes I've ever seen in my entire life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mrzji3KgNJc

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

I want to mention one of my favorite television couples here because they're a pretty explicit rejection of the Will-They-Won't-They couple - Dave Nelson (played by Dave Foley) and Lisa Miller (played by the amazing Maura Tierney) from Newsradio. Apparently, the network really wanted to make the two of them into a Will They, Won't They couple, so logically, the showrunner Paul Simms had them sleep together in the second episode and then made them a couple from then on (this reaction is basically a perfect example of the kind of show Newsradio was). So there was never really "UST" as such - they were together from the beginning.

But I think that a lot of the things that make UST interesting were still there, because they were a legitimately interesting couple who bickered and fought and made up and argued and you really felt that there was legitimate passion and emotion involved (helped by the fact that Foley and Tierney are both amazing actors & also fairly adorable). And it allowed them to tell interesting stories that weren't just "Will They Hook Up" and added a really interesting dynamic to the show - and you had things like their relationship deteriorating in the second season, leading to a breakup, which is a very interesting well-played storyline, and then them getting back together offscreen between the second and third season. I really feel like it turned into a really well-executed interesting relationship that demonstrates that there are other ways to go than Will They Won't They and that can still be interesting and fresh and funny and emotional.

Man, Newsradio was such a good show.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[escapedsnake911]

I thought Mal/Inara was one of the worst. There's playful sniping and banter, then there are two people who clearly do not respect each other and purposely insult the other in order to cause pain. Yet we're supposed to care about whether she stays on the ship with Mal, even though he insults her to her face.

And I hate his whole "I respect you, just not your job". It's not like being a Companion was just a paycheck for her, she had clearly devoted her life to mastery of the skill set and held her position in high esteem. In Inara's case, insulting her job is insulting her and all of her life choices. Fuck you, Mal.

...wow, I had way more feelings about that than I thought.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[la_petite_singe]

Auggie & Annie of Covert Affairs are probably my fave possibly ever--not because the show's so outstanding (though I do like it), but because they're taking it really slowly and they actually took the time to build up their friendship first. And it wasn't one of those fake friendships where everything's just a prelude to boning and every scene has sexual tension, they were actually just legit best friends who really cared for each other. Now in S3 we're sloooowly moving towards romance, and it's awesome.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

I agree that Mulder/Scully was well done and seemed a natural outcome of their relationship.

Two bad examples - Moonlighting and Remington Steele. RS was meant to be romantic from the start - there was a powerful scene after her house had been destroyed and she'd lost everything, but he'd replaced her piano and then stood beneath her window in the dark and listened to her play - that was such a great way of showing, not telling. Then the culmination of the series (and the consummation of their relationship) was so cheesy and anti-climactic, it was sad.

And Moonlighting was just a disaster, the perfect example of how do it exactly wrong.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[cakemage]

I normally hate will-they-won't-they pairings with a fiery passion, especially when the would-be couple bickers nonstop, but I do have one exception: Stark/Jess from Shark, though I'm just as happy with the idea of them as platonic friends, which is what the show ended on. The three worst WTWT pairings in my opinion are Harm/Mac from JAG (it doesn't help that I hated him), Booth/Brennan from Bones (I stopped watching early on because of him) and House/Cuddy.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

Lol Mark and Lexie from Grey's Anatomy. Badly handled.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS

Okay so they get together in Season 5 after lots of sexual tension and fun flirting. They have to keep it secret for reasons, but it eventually comes out and drama ensues but Mark and Lexie are super cute and stay tight through it all. They're actually one of the more sane couples on the show, very adorable, lots of funny and heartfelt moments. The writers decide to throw in a baby or two to disrupt this (not even THEIR babies--just other babies manage to break them up) and it goes back and forth with lots of will-they-won't-they, but it's so obvious they're endgame (and the writers admitted as much). They take turns pining after each other while the other is in a committed relationship, and it's really getting annoying as it's been going on for longer than they were ever together and it's bloody fucking obvious they're still in love with each other.

AND THEN LEXIE GETS CRUSHED BY A PLANE.

So yeah after years of pining for each other she gets crushed by the tail end of a fucking plane, and his heart literally breaks (and they have to do some emergency procedure to drain the blood from his chest but it looks like he's gonna die too) and then it's like FUCK YOU WRITERS. The head writer said "we had other plans for them, they were gonna be happily ever after and get married and have super attractive children and become great surgeons but lol i killed them"

They had the most depressing goodbye scene, where he finally admits he still loves her (she'd just given him an epic love speech a couple of episodes earlier) and he tells her she can't die because they're meant to be, and she dies smiling thinking about that and it's like jesus fucking christ rip my heart out after making me hope. god damn.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[(Anonymous)]

Ross & Rachel from Friends as a bad example because the first break-up after the girl from the copy place was heartbreaking and ought to have never been fixed. Especially in the way they did it...and I really wanted Rachel and Joey to work. Yeah, I know everyone hated it, including the actors. I can dream.

LOVED Niles and Daphne from Frasier. They were amazing and perfect in every way. Also loved Sam and Diane in Cheers simply because of how that ended and how the series itself ended. Sam got his "true love" eventually and I couldn't have been happier.

I guess Golden Girls sort of did this with Dorothy and Stan since they rekindled a few times over the series. I thought that was handled really well and loved the series finale for their last scene.

DS9 with Kira/Odo and Jadzia/Worf! So much love. On the other hand, Bashir and Dax was handled terribly.

Fran and Max on the The Nanny. The show managed to stay funny even after they got married. Still not sure how they managed that.

J.D. and Elliot on Scrubs is another worst example, in my opinion.

I can't think of recent shows because I don't watch much TV these days. I've only seen the first two seasons of Drop Dead Diva on Netflix and I'm already tired of the back and forth with Jane/Deb and Grayson, so that's probably one for the worst examples list.

And I'll stop here before I list every TV show I've ever seen with a Will They/Won't They couple. XD

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[mfirefly10]

I don't know if they exactly qualify but Farscape's John/Aeryn is one of the best examples of UST done right that I can think of. And the sexual tension remained even after they hooked up!

Josh/Donna (The West Wing) - They'd take the cake as the 'best' for me. In 7 seasons, I never once felt like the writers were just dragging things out. It always made sense to me that nothing would happen between them while they worked together and even though they weren't an official couple for a large chunk of the series, they were ALWAYS partners. That was enough for me and I never got bored with their dynamic as I do with almost every other Will-they-won't they couple.

ITA with all of these: Mal/Inara, Lexie/Mark, Ross/Rachel, Bones/Booth, Jane/Grayson - All BAD examples.

Re: Will-They-Won't-They TV couples

[vicfrankenstein]

I was going to pick Niles/Daphne for the worst. WHOOPS.