21 Of The Best Romantic TV Couple Scenes That Happened Before The Characters Were Together
It's all in the buildup.
If you know me, you know I loveeeee slow-burn relationships.
Sure, I love sweet moments after a couple is together. But before they're together??? GIMME ALL THE PINING!!
So I have decided to compile a list of all my favorite couple moments between characters who hadn't even kissed or admitted their feelings yet. Here are 21 of the best!
1. On New Girl, When Nick and Jess argued after she realized she had no passion with Russell:
Nick and Jess were one of my favorite slow-burn relationships. Their romance was hinted at so many times, and they just had SO MUCH CHEMISTRY!!
2. Also on New Girl, when Cece convinced Jess that Nick liked her because of the positioning of his feet, and she brushed it off, but at the end of the episode, they both had their feet pointed at each other:
Of course, even after Jess apologized and decided that she was being unreasonable, the show took care to show us their feet!!!
3. On The Vampire Diaries, when Caroline told Stefan at Prom that he'd get over Elena one day:
This relationship was YEARS in the making, and no one can tell me otherwise.
4. On Teen Wolf, when Stiles told Lydia he'd go out of his mind if anything happened to her:
Sure, everyone knew Stiles liked Lydia, but Lydia never reciprocated. This was one of the first times she sought him out to talk, and I was so happy that he made it clear how important she was to him while still reprimanding her for being reckless. This foreshadowed their super-protective (while still being respectful of the other's wishes!!!) relationship.
5. On Parks and Recreation, when Ben saw Leslie give a presentation on the Harvest Festival while she had an extreme case of the flu:
The look in his eyes...you just know he's already falling for her.
6. On Euphoria, when Rue invited Jules over for dinner and Jules teased Rue:
This was so flirty, and Rue's smile here is everything to me.
7. On The Vampire Diaries, when Damon first met Elena and told her she wanted an all-consuming love.
She 100% fell in love right there, and I'm so mad he compelled her to forget this.
8. On Arrow, when Felicity felt jealous that she was no longer Oliver's "girl":
I lost interest in this show after they got together, tbh. It was all in the buildup.
9. And also on Arrow, when she told him she believed in him after he was ready to give up to Slade:
I could do a whole post just on them, tbh.
10. On Once Upon a Time, when Hook told Emma she'd make a great pirate, foreshadowing their future relationship:
They had the best banter in Season 2, when they didn't really trust each other but were clearly attracted to each other.
11. On New Girl, when Aly said she was scared that Winston would fall in love with her.
Gotta love the CLASSIC "Don't fall in love with me" trope. As soon as that's said, you just know the person's going to fall in love with them.
12. On The Flash, when Iris broke Barry out of the confused trance Grodd had put him in:
Look, I'm a simple woman. Give me a scene where Character A breaks Character B out of a trance, ESPECIALLY with a little reel of their memories between them, and I'm hooked.
13. Also on The Flash, when Iris found out that Barry was the Flash and felt betrayed, and so Barry told her that so much of what he did was for her:
WITHOUT YOU, THERE WOULDN'T BE THE FLASH. I'm not crying, you're crying.
14. On Stranger Things, when Max apologized for being mean to Lucas and confessed that she was scared to be like her brother, and Lucas said he liked talking to her:
I know they're just kids, but god, I love these precious babies together.
15. On The Office, when Jim perfectly curated a Christmas gift for Pam, but she ended up with an iPod instead — but then she traded it away to get Jim's gift back.
This is another show where I sort of lost interest after they got together. But before? *Chef's kiss*
16. Also on The Office, when Pam fell asleep on Jim's shoulder and Jim pretended not to notice.
Major The Lizzie McGuire Movie vibes.
17. On Schitt's Creek, when Patrick got David a sentimental birthday gift:
He pretended like it was "nothing" but it WASN'T. God, I love those fools.
18. On Teen Wolf, when Kira asked Scott to see his werewolf side and then gently touched his face:
This part was so sweet because Kira was just curious, and never disgusted when it came to Scott being a werewolf. She was so sweet and gentle with him!!
19. On Lost, when Kate held Sawyer and convinced him to take antibiotics:
Honestly, the fact that this sweet moment happened in front of Jack made it all the better. GET WRECK'T, JACK. (Sorry, I have an irrational hatred for Jack.)
20. Also on Lost, when Charlie pretended to eat peanut butter with Claire because she was craving it:
We were ROBBED of a longer Charlie-Claire relationship.
21. And finally, on The Good Place, when Eleanor thought she was leaving for the Bad Place and called Chidi her flashlight:
Elena grew SO MUCH during Season 1, and this scene just showed it. I think this was my favorite iteration of their relationship, even though it never really became a relationship in this first version of the Good Place. It was so clear that they'd become soulmates, even if they hadn't started out that way.