Audiences can have a love-hate relationship with TV couples. Some can become the best part of the show and give the viewers an insight into a fun-loving and healthy relationship. Others can drag the show down, romanticizing problematic dynamics or having one half of the pair lacking a charismatic personality that has people questioning how the more exciting of the duo finds them interesting. It is an element that can cause love triangles to be troubling when one option offers plenty of personality that makes the other bland in comparison. However, a love triangle is not needed to show that there are some couples that are the worst part of their respective shows, and the main characters do not get to avoid this fate.
For as popular asPretty Little Liarswas, it could not escape the problems it desperately wished the audience would ignore when it came to Aria and Ezra’s relationship. But in that case, viewers would need to ignore absolutely everything, because their entire relationship was problematic from start to finish. In other cases, it is the romance no one wanted, like inThe Vampire Diariesbetween Caroline and Alaric, that can hurt the series. In some cases, even the most iconic romances in television, such asGrey’s Anatomy’sMeredith and Derek, can still be the source of severe damage when it comes to trying to present a relationship for people to root for.
10Emily in Paris: Emily and Gabriel
Emily is charismatic and excited about her life. Meanwhile, Gabriel is dull with a one-note personality.Emily in Parislikes to try and remind the audience that Gabriel is physically attractive and is a symbol of the new life Emily wants to embark on.But, is he actually a good fit for her? It never seems so. From all the hurdles to the fact that Gabriel himself never adds anything of consequence or excitement to the show.
9Pretty Little Liars: Aria and Ezra
As crazy as the storylines onPretty Little Liarswere, romanticizing the toxic and problematic student-teacher romantic relationship between Aria and Ezra is one of the show’s worst decisions. It was bad enough in the beginning when the series wanted to sell the duo as forbidden star-crossed lovers. But, when season four revealed that Ezra had known who Aria was all along, it crossed a line of going way too far.
Aria became physically sick by her horror and disgust at knowing that Ezra had been spying on her and her friends for years to write a true crime book about Alison. Yet,Pretty Little Liarsstill finds a way to have them end up together in the end, never fully embracing that this was a couple thatnever should have been together in the first place.
8Alias: Sydney and Vaughn
For all of Sydney’s charismatic and full-of-life behaviors, whether in life or on a mission, Vaughn could never match it. Vaughn was far too one-note for Sydney, and even other characters acknowledged that he was not good enough for her. However, things take a turn for the worst in season three when, in the aftermath of Sydney not remembering two years of her life that she had been away, Vaughn had gotten married to someone else, leaving Sydney pining for Vaughn all season, not that he actually was interesting enough to deserve her attention.
WhenAliastries to make Vaughn more exciting in the final season, it falls flat because nothing about Vaughn had been compelling, and their relationship had a bad habit of dragging Sydney down, which was especially noticeable when she had fun banter with other characters.
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7Veronica Mars: Veronica and Duncan
Veronica was a quick-witted and intelligent teenage girl, and Duncan could never keep up. Veronica has exciting interactions with many of the other characters, including Keith, Logan, Weevil, and Wallace. In comparison, Duncan was dull, never quite able to keep up with the exciting personalities that surrounded him.Veronica Marstried to bring Veronica and Duncan back together, but by that point,the series had already leaned into Veronica’s relationship with Logan, who made a much more exciting match.
6Grey’s Anatomy: Meredith and Derek
Although Izzie and George’s short-lived relationship is certainly a low point forGrey’s Anatomy, and potentially the most unpopular pairing of the long-running series,Meredith and Derek may have been the most problematicthe series had to offer. Derek is a series of lies, from not mentioning he is actually legally married to Addison to never telling Meredith the truth about the not-entirely-innocent behavior that occurred in his workplace shortly before his death. Meredith’s “pick me” speech is a step backward for her character. Derek initially chooses Addison, only to constantly lash out at Meredith for wanting to move on with her life. They even started out controversially, with Derek being Meredith’s boss at work, and him not respecting her when she tries to shut down his advances.
5Friends: Ross and Rachel
At first, Ross and Rachel share a sense of uncertainty. Ross is trying to pick up his life in the aftermath of his finalized divorce from Carol, and Rachel is trying to figure out what her new life looks like. But it does not take long to see that they share absolutely nothing in common. Their interests never align, and it is never quite clear what either sees in the other. Ross' feelings for Rachel seem to come from being attracted to her by a high school crush that never came to fruition. Meanwhile, after they break up,Rachel never fully acknowledges Ross' disrespectof her and her job or the issues they faced before their failing anniversary, especially as none of those problems were ever fixed.
4The Fosters: Callie and Brandon
A solid example of a romance that never should have happened, Brandon would have known not to allow himself to become romantically interested in a girl with the potential to be adopted by his mothers. Yet, Brandon claims that Callie and Jude’s initial status as being temporarily placed in the house was a good enough excuse, which completely ignores his following actions to pursue Callie after knowing that Stef and Lena want to adopt her. Their back-and-forth over the first few seasons is the worst part of the show, which tackles so many important topics.
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3Legacies: Hope and Landon
A relationship that should have ended long before it did, Hope and Landon are a prime example of a romance that drags a series down. Landon, while a nice guy who cared about his friends, never had the backbone or intrigue needed to match up to Hope. Meanwhile, Hope constantly needed to save Landon from everything because he could not fight, and never bothered to learn. WhenLegaciesbecame about Hope’s desperate need to save Landon, the show also highlighted how Hope’s behaviors can have negative results for her friends.
2The Vampire Diaries: Caroline and Alaric
For all the messy relationships thatThe Vampire Diarieshad to offer, the unexpected and unnecessary romance between Caroline and Alaric tops the list. No one wanted that, and the series was never able to convince anyone that this would be a long-lasting romantic relationship. Caroline had much more interesting prospects, including the failed relationship with Tyler, the controversial romance with Stefan,and the connection she shared with Klaus.
Caroline and Alaric’s relationship felt like it was born out of convenience because they were co-parenting Josie and Lizzie. But, Alaric had been Caroline’s teacher, and Caroline had never shown an ounce of romantic interest in Alaric, leaving the entire dynamic uncomfortable.
1Dawson’s Creek: Dawson and Joey
AlthoughDawson’s Creekmade it clear that Joey had feelings for Dawson early on, it did not take long to see that they were not a good match. Dawson’s obsession with movie narratives has him mentally cast Joey in a role that he does not know how to handle when she deviates from. Regardless of if Joey would have ended up with Pacey or not, Dawson was not the answer, as all they did as a romantic couple was hurt each other. Dawson, more than Joey, showed his true colors as being the problem in the relationship in his inability to let go of his possessive behavior.
