It’s February! Things are slightly less depressing now. Daffodils are beginning to bloom. It’s not pitch black at 5 o’clock anymore. Yes, it’s still freezing, but you have things to look forward to now in the year, you just have to remind yourself of them on your bad days. Today is Valentine’s Day, a marmite holiday in that people either make the most of it or choose to ignore it entirely. Whether or not you’re in a relationship seems to be the least important factor; in recent years, I’ve seen people celebrate their friendships almost as much as their romantic relationships. Personally, I’m glad for the rising attention ‘Galentines’ has been receiving in recent times. As someone who overuses the trope of thank you cards and asks people if they’re okay too much, a day centred all around love is almost like a breath of fresh air.
I decided to write a different piece this week. The majority of my blog posts, especially in the last few months, have been heavy reads; I seem to only be writing when I’m sad. I forced myself out of my Phoebe Bridgers state and decided to write about some of my favourite fictional couples.
Unlike the rest of the world, it seems, I don’t have a preference between American and British comedies. Shows like Outnumbered were a massive part of my childhood and adolescence and I believe what made the show so great was how dry the humour was. American humour differs in that it’s not afraid to be silly; a large amount of the jokes in Brooklyn 99 are made at the expense of the other characters, though the comedy is never malicious. In every episode, Jake is mocked for his lack of organisation, Terry is teased for his overreactions and Boyle is ridiculed for being gullible. The character formulas remain the same regardless of the storylines in each episode.
Jake and Amy’s relationship is brilliant, and it succeeds in showing audiences that you can meet and work alongside your romantic partner without there being some big falling out. In my mind, Taylor Swift’s song ‘Paper Rings’ was based on them. The pair have conflicts, such as whether or not to have children, but no real drama; they discuss their few disagreements and encourage each other to be the best they can be. There are so many instances in the show where Jake is seen staring at Amy in an almost sappy, definitely dopey yet adoring way, a poignant moment between the pair of them being when Jake internally decides he’s going to ask Amy to marry him.
To be honest, they remind me a lot of my parents. I think that’s why I love them so much.
Mallika and I grew up watching the Olsen Twin films and I discovered all the episodes of Full House online when I was about 12. I was born in 1999 and the show ended in 1995. I won't offend anyone by saying I grew up with it, however, I fell in love with the series; every episode feels like a warm hug even now. Unlike Jake and Amy, whose bond had some foundation prior to the pilot, we see Jesse and Becky’s relationship from the moment they met. The pair have next to nothing in common, an ‘issue’ they encounter in the early stages of their relationship. That said, they’re the perfect example of opposites attracting. Similarly to Jake, I believe Jesse was attracted to Becky’s accomplishments and confidence; his bride-to-be was a television host, after all. Becky’s first impression of Jesse would have come from her colleague and his brother-in-law, Danny, who would have informed her that Jesse moved in with him to assist in raising his daughters. Whilst Jesse could undoubtedly be self-absorbed at times, the girls always came first. Becky would have found his persistent care, as well as the loving and stable household Jesse helped raise them in, irresistible alluring.
Jesse singing to Becky at their wedding remains one of my favourite musical moments ever in TV.
I like Rachel and Ross as much as the next person and I love Phoebe and Mike, but Monica and Chandler will always be the best couple in Friends. Similarly to Jake and Amy, the pair have a solid friendship prior to the pilot episode. Across the ten seasons they tick every (traditonal) relationship ‘checkpoint’; moving in together, getting engaged, planning a wedding, getting married and having children. The build-up is delightful to watch and the pair unintentionally help each other recover from and embrace their childhood traumas. Chandler goes from being a man scared of commitment and marriage to being heartbroken upon discovering he and Monica can’t have children biologically. The moment when he tells Erica that Monica is already a mother, but without a baby, breaks my heart every time I watch it.
Chandler demonstrates complete acknowledgement of Monica’s persona here; she is constantly going out of her way to care for and feed (literally) her friends. Her brother, who she grew up resenting, is in her close-knit circle, as is Rachel, a girl who abandoned her friendship and failed to invite her to her wedding. In reverse, Monica knows Chandler will spend his life regretting not inviting his father to his wedding and convinces him to make contact. She doesn’t let him take the plunge alone either - they go together.
(As a firm believer that friendships are equally important to romantic relationships, I need to acknowledge Joey and Chandler’s brotherhood. Joey wishing for Chandler to get his dream job instead of winning the lottery says it all.)
This is first and foremost a literary blog and I’ve nattered about American sitcoms a little too much in this article. I have to discuss Romeo and Juliet, who were really, really in love. Their names alone have been mocked and parodied so much over the last 500 years to the point where no one takes their romance seriously. Romeo does say that he ‘never saw true beauty til (the night he saw Juliet)’, and whilst many critics would deem this a shallow beginning to a relationship, these were Jesse’s exact feelings when he first met Becky. And he wasn’t a teenager either. Romeo’s previous affair with Rosaline is what provides him with the eagerness to explore nature, citing that ‘tis the East, and Juliet is the sun’, and the courage to jump the garden wall at night. So infatuated with Juliet he speaks almost exclusively in sonnets to her, telling her that ‘love’s light wings’ took him over the wall, a gesture Juliet reciprocates.
In Hamlet, the titular character becomes hellbent on ignoring Ophelia in a poorly planned attempt at reclaiming the throne. It is not until her death that he expresses remorse at his treatment of her. Meanwhile, Romeo can’t bring himself to fight Juliet’s cousin Tybalt despite the long, bitter feud between the two families. Whilst their love was short-lived, Romeo and Juliet's dalliance, I believe is the foundation for every fictional couple.
I first read The Hunger Games when I was 12 and back then, was shamefully Team Gale. I shipped Gale and Katniss prior to even knowing what shipping was. In retrospect, I feel as though their relationship and the subsequent love triange was almost unnecessary; Katniss and Gale had what seemed to be a solid, sibling-like relationship which did a one-eighty to something else entirely in Catching Fire.
Katniss mentions in the books that the concept of marriage never interested her, deeming it a nupitual she wouldn't have the time for whilst constantly keeping her family safe. Despite this, I believe she loved Peeta from the first novel, a notion which is constantly shot down thanks to Haymitch convincing the pair to act it out for the cameras. At one point, when Katniss is nursing Peeta's injury in the cave, they share a kiss so passionate she wants the cameras to go away so that she can go further. She holds his hand at the end of the games, unsure of how much of Peeta's affection had been for the camera's but knowing she doesn't want to let go. The expectation to convince people of their love after the games, namely President Snow, understandably hindered any acknowledgement from her that she truly liked him. And as readers, we know she did - she was inconsolable when he hit the forcefield in Catching Fire and distraight at the end of the novel when she discovered he'd been taken.
I talk about how I believe Ron and Hermione make a great couple in my witch post and the same for Harry and Ginny in my Unpopular Harry Potter Opinions article. I love Arthur and Molly's relationship, too. Arthur doesn't change his morals or beliefs for career progression, opting instead to push for unpopular laws that protect Muggle-borns. He doesn't care for the opinions of those above him professionally, namely Lucius, and has no trouble sticking up for himself. Harry feels safe approaching Arthur, telling him about his theory that Malfoy may be a Death Eater in Half-Blood Prince because he 'thought that there was not too much risk of Mr. Weasley exploding with anger'. And whilst Arthur respectfully dismisses the idea initially, he listens.
Harry doesn't actively seek physical affection having grown up in an abusive household, yet when Molly hugs him after the events of Goblet of Fire, 'the full weight of everything he had seen that night seemed to fall in upon him'. Together, the pair are the parents Harry grew up missing. Their frantic whispering during Prisoner of Azkaban, in which they both discuss their fears that Sirius would follow Harry to Hogwarts, signifies their care for him early in the series. The Weasley's are such a charming and lovely couple, their marriage a beacon throughout the series.
Thanks for reading! I hope you had a great day packed with baked goods.
See you soon!
Karisma x