The most irritating thing is that, gay or straight, the characters that hang around together constantly in a TV show are NEVER in a relationship. They’re either totally platonic buddies, or gradually building up tension. NEVER established. If either is in a relationship, their romance interest is someone you barely see.
It feels like the most awful continuation of that “the wife stays at home” crap.
Yeah why is it so common that a main character’s love interest is either never part of the main action, or only becomes a canon love interest in like the very last episode?
Steven Universe is the only show I can currently think of that subverts it but it only sorta does, since Steven and Connie plots are still reserved for special episodes and Ruby and Sapphire spend most of the show as one character, the ultimate effect still being that the audience doesn’t really see a romantic relationship in action 90% of the time.
It’s like writers are stuck in this idea that a couple isn’t something people want to see as much as they want to see it teased (aren’t people bored of that? Can’t it just be done with some characters?) or that there somehow just isn’t room for one coinciding with whatever adventures are going on; as if relationships only happen when all the cool, fun stuff is over and the characters are ready to “settle down.”
The crocodile hunter wrestled prehistoric swamp monsters with his wife and kids and that was real life even
i think there’s a few reasons for this:
1) love isn’t ‘funny’ or doesn’t provide enough conflict for easy plot lines and jokes, so it’ gotta either be fights, unrequited love, lust, etc. look at most sitcoms. everyone hates each other because i guess that ‘s supposed to be funny
2) for kids shows, the ‘settle down’ thing is probably a big factor. so at best, you can maybe get some adults that are barely onscreen that have a relationship
3) getting into a relationship is usually part of the character arc. ie, connie and steven. closing that arc will usually mean the end of a story. plus, a romance plot or subplots are easy to write
the only show i can think of that has characters main characters in pre-established relationships from day one and they actually seem to like each other is bob’s burgers
OH YEAH, point 4) most tv writers are dudes and can’t write women for -shit- so almost all female characters are terrible, boring and glossed over or fridged, so dudes are the only ones that get real character depth, and they only hang out with other dudes and have all their Moments with other dudes. hence slash
That first point is something I especially get sick of; when a show is already about a couple, especially married parents, almost every single plot involves a fight or misunderstanding between them, and even if you grew up with a family that fought almost daily, the TV version never felt relatable because the real version is so brutally ugly.