Clare Henney: My 7 Favorite TV Triangles

If it hasn’t been obvious to anybody yet, I love TV. I spend more time watching TV shows than I do movies. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that as a result of my being a couch potato, there are several shows that I follow and characters that I love to “ship” as partners. To have a really good pairing on TV — in terms of the shows that I follow anyway — apparently means that there should be a third party to sweeten the whole deal. Here are seven of my favorite love triangles on TV today:

Daniel – Emily – Aiden (Revenge)

OK, I know that recently Daniel has tried to kill Emily and that Aiden has hooked up (again) with Takeda’s daughter Miko (spoiler alert!) but this was for a while an interesting triangle for me. On the outside Aiden seemed to be the third party in the Daniel and Emily love story but in reality it was Daniel (and Emily’s “revenge-y” plans) that was the third party in the Aiden and Emily relationship. Where this will go from here is anybody’s guess.

Stefan – Elena – Damon (The Vampire Diaries)

This is a triangle that has been going on for way too long. At first, it was Stefan and Elena with Damon as the third party when Elena was still human. Now that she’s a vampire, it’s Damon and Elena with Stefan as the reluctant third party that they feel guilty about betraying. Sometimes I wonder how much longer they can drag this whole triangle thing out because it can get very boring sometimes. I just hope that the writers can figure out a way to keep it going while not making it too repetitive or forced.

Dash – Freya – Killian (The Witches of East End)

First off, yay for Pinoy power! The Witches of East End is based on the series of books by Filipino-American writer Melissa de la Cruz. In the TV series, one of the witch sisters, Freya is torn between two brothers: her fiancee Dash and his brother Killian. At first, she interprets a prediction about her having one who will be her true love and another her destroyer as meaning that Dash is her true love and Killian, who she is crazy about, is her destroyer. As the end of their first season played out, it seems that it was actually the other way around. I can’t wait for season 2 so that I can see where this triangle will go from here.

Neal – Emma – Hook (Once Upon a Time)

Of all the triangles, this is the one that I hope would not be a triangle for much longer. I know that Neal is Emma’s first love and is the father of her son Henry, but I can’t help but want to root for Hook to be the guy she chooses. I don’t know if it’s the actor or if it’s the character itself but I just don’t like Neal. Yes, Hook is the typical bad boy who seems to want to be good for Emma but that’s not what makes me want him for her. Chemistry-wise, you could see from the start that there was something there with Emma and Hook. There is no chemistry at all between Emma and Neal — they have a son together and that’s it. If not for Henry I wouldn’t even see these two as a possibility.

Fitz – Olivia – Jake (Scandal)

I love that Olivia met Jake. I thought that Fitz was not good enough for Olivia because no matter how much he tried to pursue her he could not commit. Even when he did show commitment, (that whole sitting with her while Mellie had her interview) there was no follow-through. It’s still all about stolen moments and taking advantage of her feelings for him. I’d believe him when I see him actually walk away from it all to be with Olivia, which I doubt if it will happen. Having Jake in the picture, someone who genuinely wants Olivia but doesn’t force himself on her, was a good thing for the Olivia-Fitz relationship. It gave Olivia a different perspective and made Fitz want to do more for her. I’m just worried that with Fitz appointing Jake as the head of B-613 things will change for this whole triangle. It’s taking too long before I can find out. Oliver – Felicity – Barry This may have been a one-time thing, but I liked it while it lasted (2 episodes, I wish there were more though). Barry Allen’s character was a guest on Arrow to introduce a spin-off show (Flash), where Felicity will also appear (or so I’ve heard). I loved how he was thrust into the whole Olicity environment and made Oliver protective of Felicity by checking up on his background and all that. My favorite about having Barry in the show were the facial expressions that Oliver had in reaction to the obvious chemistry that “Barricity” had. Sure, he was gracious enough to invite him to be Felicity’s plus one to his party, but he still had to take a swipe at him and say that he would probably be carded at the bar. I loved that!

Francis – Mary – Bash (Reign)

This is currently my favorite show of all. I love how this is like royal/historical figure fan fiction: we know that Mary and Francis really existed and that part of the story in the show is true (the engagement, the alliance, the marriage) but the rest has the makings of a fanfic, fictional characters included. Bash, a fictional character, is portrayed as the bastard brother of Francis who is in love with Mary who is, of course, engaged to Francis as part of an alliance between Scotland and France. While I think that Mary loves Francis, having Bash as her go-to person when things go bad with the man she is going to marry is what fuels this triangle. It makes me wonder if she will ever have feelings for Bash later on. Oh and FYI, I’m Team Francis. I know Nostradamus said he will die if he married Mary but historically he did anyway and I am hoping that part of history can be included as one of the changes the series has over actual historical events. I can’t wait for these shows to start up again so I can see what happens to my favorite triangles. The holiday break was way too long!

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