30 days of CM take two: day 8
Day 8 - least favourite couple
JJ and Will
Decided to go canon on this one. As I mentioned on day 5, I'd rather write meta on canon than fanon, as discussing why a canon couple didn't work provides more to sink my teeth into than discussing why a fanon couple wouldn't work.
Honorable fanon mention: Any Reid pairing. There's just nothing in canon that makes me see him as compatible (romantically) with any of the main cast. Perhaps a nice girl outside of the cast, but none of his colleagues, tyvm.
I'm going to add a disclaimer here that no, I am not hatin' because I ship JJ/Emily. I ain't born yesterday; I know JJ/Em will never be canon so hating on a any canon couple that blocks them is an exercise in pointlessness. The truth is, CM has never been strong at writing romance, and JJ/Will is just the most egregious example.
This won't be a proper essay because there really isn't that much to say on these two--wherein lies the problem. There's really nothing to JJ and Will. It's a pretty safe bet that Will was originally only envisioned as a one-shot Cop of the Week for "Jones," and while there have been some memorable CotWs, he isn't one of them. But he was really the only love interest JJ was ever given, so when the writers chose to write in AJ's pregnancy, bringing him back was probably the easiest way to do it. Unfortunately, the way it was done--retconning a year-long long-distance romance in "In Heat"--came off as rushed and unconvincing. It was difficult to invest in these two as a couple, because the entire romance post-"Jones" happened offscreen. Again, not entirely the writers' fault--but it is how it is, and doesn't make for a good narrative.
Furthermore, seeing as Will was probably only meant as a one-ep CotW, he never got much development, and therefore isn't really a presence at all except as the faithful and loving fiancé/stay-at-home Dad. "In Heat" touched on the conflicts that would arise from trying to take a long-distance romance between two career people to the next level, which could've been compelling material. Instead, it was all glossed over with Will happily giving up his job to stay with JJ. I guess after Hotch and Haley, the writers wanted to show a character in a happy relationship, but it all seemed too pat and too easy. So the combo of a bland character (Will) and a mostly-offscreen romance devoid of any real conflict except in one episode ("In Heat," and it was very shmoopily resolved by the episode's end) doesn't make for terribly compelling love story. JJ and Will never felt like a real couple to me, which is why I find it impossible to care about or invest in them together at all.
JJ and Will
Decided to go canon on this one. As I mentioned on day 5, I'd rather write meta on canon than fanon, as discussing why a canon couple didn't work provides more to sink my teeth into than discussing why a fanon couple wouldn't work.
Honorable fanon mention: Any Reid pairing. There's just nothing in canon that makes me see him as compatible (romantically) with any of the main cast. Perhaps a nice girl outside of the cast, but none of his colleagues, tyvm.
I'm going to add a disclaimer here that no, I am not hatin' because I ship JJ/Emily. I ain't born yesterday; I know JJ/Em will never be canon so hating on a any canon couple that blocks them is an exercise in pointlessness. The truth is, CM has never been strong at writing romance, and JJ/Will is just the most egregious example.
This won't be a proper essay because there really isn't that much to say on these two--wherein lies the problem. There's really nothing to JJ and Will. It's a pretty safe bet that Will was originally only envisioned as a one-shot Cop of the Week for "Jones," and while there have been some memorable CotWs, he isn't one of them. But he was really the only love interest JJ was ever given, so when the writers chose to write in AJ's pregnancy, bringing him back was probably the easiest way to do it. Unfortunately, the way it was done--retconning a year-long long-distance romance in "In Heat"--came off as rushed and unconvincing. It was difficult to invest in these two as a couple, because the entire romance post-"Jones" happened offscreen. Again, not entirely the writers' fault--but it is how it is, and doesn't make for a good narrative.
Furthermore, seeing as Will was probably only meant as a one-ep CotW, he never got much development, and therefore isn't really a presence at all except as the faithful and loving fiancé/stay-at-home Dad. "In Heat" touched on the conflicts that would arise from trying to take a long-distance romance between two career people to the next level, which could've been compelling material. Instead, it was all glossed over with Will happily giving up his job to stay with JJ. I guess after Hotch and Haley, the writers wanted to show a character in a happy relationship, but it all seemed too pat and too easy. So the combo of a bland character (Will) and a mostly-offscreen romance devoid of any real conflict except in one episode ("In Heat," and it was very shmoopily resolved by the episode's end) doesn't make for terribly compelling love story. JJ and Will never felt like a real couple to me, which is why I find it impossible to care about or invest in them together at all.