9 TV Couples That Should Have Happened But Didn’t

Published on August 24, 2015.

They are the relationships you wonder about for years after a show has ended… or a character has been killed off. Whatever the case, certain characters seem destined to be together, and yet the stars simply won’t align. Some of the following fall into the “almost” category, while others continuously lived in the land of “will they or won’t they?” It just goes to show: TV writers know what they’re doing. Here are 9 couples who had something, but couldn’t lock it down long term.

9. Friday Night Lights – Tim and Becky

Who’s Tim? Exactly. We’re talkin’ Riggins. Tim Riggins. The football player from Dillon High School, who graduated, but remained part of the story line, allowing him to appear in every season. He had a serious relationship with Tyra Collette and Lyla Garrity, but there was something more enjoyable about the spark that he found with young Becky Sproles. Tim rented a trailer out back of Becky’s mom’s place, and if that half-sentence alone doesn’t suggest some magic, nothing does. Whether it was age, or the fact that Becky was a really great girl, and Tim didn’t want to bring his sordid past into her life… or some other variables that won’t be spoiled for you haven’t-seen-it-yet types, the relationship didn’t happen. He ended up back with Tyra. Still, there was no other girl who calmed that storm that raged inside Riggins like Becky.

NBC Photo: Bill Records

8. That ’70s Show – Jackie and Kelso

They were destined to be together in some way. Jackie and Kelso were the token dummies on That 70s Show, and they provided a comedic relationship that will be remembered for decades. Soon to be parents who grew up on the show will explain to their children how the real life Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher were a couple on the show, before they were married in real life. Unfortunately, their coupling on the show didn’t work out, and it was devastating to those of us who invested so much time into their nonsense. Jackie and Kelso obviously wanted to be together so badly the two actors had to remedy the universal wrongs in the alternate universe we know as reality, and after Eric Foreman disappeared from the story line, true fans needed something to really put a stamp on the final season.

7. Seinfeld – Jerry and Elaine

Fans of the show heard about it, and even saw a glimpse of it: Jerry and Elaine used to date… they tried being friends with benefits… they simply couldn’t get it together. Let’s say this, addressing the whole of the series: Jerry and Elaine getting together would have been a much more satisfying ending than the hanging curveball the writers tried to throw by us as a finale. Either way, we get it. Putting Jerry and Elaine together would have ruined/ended the show. It was a bit of that, “Are they ever going to…?” that kept a lot of viewers interested, and frankly, the recurring story lines didn’t call for a tacked on relationship between the two — there was plenty more to write about. Still, their chemistry was undeniable, and something we’d all have loved to see for the last season. That finale was stank.

Everett Collection

6. The Walking Dead – Daryl and Beth

Did you feel a twinge of cognitive dissonance here? Daryl and the young Beth? Hey. It’s the zombie, excuse us, walkers apocalypse, so significant age differences should take a back seat to great connections. Daryl and Beth had a great connection. She was able to help him find the peace within, and he was able to help her grow up a bit in a world that was ravaged by flesh eating, walking dead, that had laid waste to her family and two boyfriends. In addition to the story line, actors Norman Reedus and Emily Kinney looked darn good together. Though she was playing someone younger, she wasn’t, and isn’t that young. Regardless, as fans quickly learn while enjoying this show: no one is really all that safe. To put it politely… she was shot in the head, but not because she was a zombie. A small victory.

Gene Page/©AMC/courtesy Everett Collection

5. Buffy The Vampire Slayer – Willow and Xander

Hopping back a few years into the late 1990s and early 21st century, there was a lot of relational and sexual tension in this little ditty known as Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We’re talking the series of course, and the characters of Willow and Xander. Yes, there was also some wild chemistry between Buffy and Angel, but we’re gonna stick to Willow and Xander. They were lost in the land of will they or won’t they? Yes, even while in relationships with other people, they were able to share a kiss when they thought they would soon meet their demise. The kiss did little but reassure fans that the two should be together, yet they chalked it up to a mistake, because of other relationships. The writers knew what they were doing here. They trolled that shiny lure through all seven seasons. It never fully happened.

Source: 20th Century Fox Film Corp.

4. Dawson’s Creek – Dawson and Joey

“I don’t wanna wait for our lives to be over, I want to know right now, what will it be?” Um. No. Was there ever a more perfect theme song for television show built around a love triangle? For best friends Dawson and Joey, they were, and yet they weren’t destined to be together, we suppose. This probably fits into the category of “How could they not!?” For fans of the show who were rooting for Dawson and Joey, what comes next won’t alleviate 15 years of angst and wonder: according to Kevin Williamson and Paul Stupin — creators of the show — they went into production with the intent of coupling Dawson and Joey when the series would conclude; however, Kevin changed his mind as they got deeper into the series, and likely wanted to break convention and tradition. They handed the girl to Pacey.

©Warner Bros./Everett Collection

3. My So-Called Life – Angela and Brian

Wait? Isn’t this supposed to be Angela and Jordan Catalano? No. No, it’s not. Of all crimes committed against a loyal fan base, when ABC announced it would cancel My So-Called Life, Claire Danes got back to work in finding other work. By the time fans revolted over the news of the cancellation, and the producers looked to crank it back up, it was too late… actors had moved on. So, audiences were left watching Angela drive away with Jordan Catalan — Brian Krakow standing… watching… wondering… There was no denying the connection he made with Angela when she figured that he had been writing the love letters for Jordan. And according to industry legend, the next season was going to be intense, likely isolating Angela, and allowing her to come to terms with some heavy stuff. She could have leaned on Brian.

Everett Collection

2. Law & Order: SVU – Olivia and Elliott

How incredible are Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay together? In Law & Order: SVU, they were known as Elliott Stabler and Olivia Benson, most often referred to as Benson and Stabler in the show. Their chemistry was off the charts. They were perfect partners in every sense of the word. Heck, there are fan sites dedicated to their partnership. Most delve into fantasies about how they eventually got together as a romantic couple. But again… the writers knew what they were doing on this show. If they offered that moment of satisfaction for viewers, it would have crossed the line into comfort, and this was a show that was supposed to offer viewers anything but comfort. Yes, they shared several hugs throughout the series — one where audiences thought they would surely lock lips — but nope. It never happened.

Source: E! Online

1. Friends – Phoebe and Joey

Phoebe and Joey on Friends. It likely would have been too much, but it also would have been perfect. If you’re going to write Ross and Rachel together, and Chandler and Monica together… what about Phoebe and Joey? That would have been a very comfortable relationship. Yeah, it was obviously considered, and they gave it a little try to comedic effect, but being that they were pushing toward sentiment toward the close of the show anyway… why not? It was the first bummer for Joey, who went on to enjoy a pretty weak spin-off, that simply couldn’t sustain. Now, had it been about his pursuit of Phoebe after he left New York for Los Angeles — NBC might have had another winner. As it stood, it kind of represented the beginning of the end of the NBC success of the 1990s, and early 21st century.

Source: Warner Bros.