As a non-romantic, which TV couples do I like?
Recently, I've realized what really draws me to certain TV couples. Given the fact that I'm not a romantic person, personally, and I'm very hard to impress, love wise, it takes something really special in order to make me fall in love with a couple that falls in love. The common factor of the fictional couples that I adore is simply a love story that starts out as a "hate story". In short, two people who start out as enemies, who hate each other and maybe even want the other dead. It's the two people that neither us and/or those characters would have guessed they could ever love each other. It's the real impossible love. The love they work to achieve and isn't taken for granted. It's not the "love at first sight" kinda love, it's simply "love". Those two characters dance for a while… there's an attraction, passion, foreplays and games. There's denial that can't be denied, that if you took a second and thought about their relationship - it makes sense. Those characters get a real challenge, maybe more than one. And the writers must start from a position where the couple-to-be hates each other to death (point 0) to real love. I find it much more interesting when I watch TV shows. So I tend to ship those couples. It's like, they've earned each other. Thus, they don't take each other and the other one's existence for granted.
I'll give you a few examples of those couples that I tend to ship for that reason:
Buffy/Spike ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") - from mortal enemies, a slayer and a soulless vampire, to a big love and respect. And with many obstacles along the way which has created the allies, the friends, the supporters, the sexual lovers… they had so many stages from the point they met each other and fought each other to the point where the "I love you" saying is plausible. I find it very interesting, as Joss Whedon really took the time to develop that. It was a slow process and didn't "just happen 'cause it's right".
I'll compare Spuffy to Bangel for a sec... Personally, I do not find anything realistic or driving in the Bangel relationship, as it does not make me want to keep wanting their story to go on. Honestly, I've deserted them by season 3, when they got so annoying I wanted to cry my tears out. Too "Drama Queens". No, thank you. And their story just hasn't developed anywhere within the next years. There's nothing really new there, as if Joss Whedon doesn't know what to do with them anymore. This couple is in serious block, mouth to mouth is needed! Either that, or they just lost their charm after season 2 ended. Maybe Angel should've stayed in that hell dimension, because I really think that'd be far more interesting. How long can you really drag out the whole tragic love story, of a slayer and a vampire with a soul who cannot be together? It hasn't changed, and I'm already bored with them. Season 2 was their climax, it was a great love story, but it went downhill from there. With Spuffy, their story changes every season, and there's still so much to tell for them. And I look forward for more as I keep yearning for more Spuffy!
But let's not forget the couple that I'll naturally love, as they're rivals at heart: Spike and Angel, a.k.a Spangel. That SO counts!
Veronica/Logan ("Veronica Mars") - Well, they really got on each other's nerves after his girlfriend/her best friend died. My heart felt so good when, first, Logan goes after Veronica to make sure she's safe (and "saves" her), before she even kissed him, before they even got to the phase where they admit their feelings. It really shows that he actually cares about her. They had to keep their relationship in secret, neither wants to break up just because of what others might say. Once it's all revealed… I LOVE HER, DEAL WITH IT!
Joey/Pacey ("Dawson's Creek") - What, did you really think she would end up with her neighbor? Just because she kept climbing in through his window? Let's face it, guys, if Joey would have ended up with Dawson, what's fun about that? I would have felt cheated, after wasting my time watching the show a few years just so that she would end up with the one we were supposed to believe she would end up with. So, thumbs up, writers! Joey did not end up with her "meant to be"! She ended up with the one she used to fight a lot.
Sawyer/Kate ("Lost") - Can you deny the attraction? The games? The teasing? What wouldn't a guy do for a kiss? Nevertheless, their first kiss had passion… and a punch in the face, which emphases the love/hate relationship. And the principal female role was not the woman for the leading male role (and THE lead). I hate it when the two heroes wind up together, TV or movies. So cliché.
Elena/Damon ("The Vampire Diaries") - You saw that one coming, didn't you? Well, I KNOW I'm not the first one to say this, but: Spike/Damon. So after years of loving Spike and shipping Spuffy, it was pretty obvious that I was gonna be team Damon. And just like with other "REAL impossible couples", there's undeniable passion and attraction, and they're both attracted to that very thing. If the show ends with Elena and Stefan together… thumbs down, writers, that's boring and too predictable. The guy who saved the girl wins the girl? Come on.
Bottom line, a girl who winds up with her first love? That's very cliché. You think having the girl winding up with the one she's supposed to hate is predictable? Well, let me tell you this… if it's done right, i.e. with many kinds of obstacles and challenges and the "they have to work for it" element, it turns out to be an amazing love story (love/hate story), that shows that just like in real life: love isn't so easy and it's not a fairytale. That's why I ship this kind of couples. That's why I find them more interesting. They challenge each other, they challenge the writers, they challenge me as a viewer. They do not promise that they will end up together, because it's a hard job to accomplish for them. Thus, from fighting each other, they fight to love. And the love is worth so much more. That's the (only) kind of romance that I like!