By: Kelly Thompson
Most shows establish who fans are suppose to root for fairly early on in their run but what I think is the most interesting thing that can happen is a pairing that viewers (and sometimes even the writers) don’t see coming. Shifting relationships can be great plot devices (the CW has basically based their whole network on this theory) and I find myself surprised when a character shifts their romantic intentions and gets together with someone other than the initial “ship.” A horrible example of this would be when the Friends writers tried to make Rachel and Joey work (and shockingly, it didn’t even work a little bit). Below are my Top 5 “Second” Couples.
Mui<*Note: I want to be clear that this list won’t span back decades because I’ve only lived for over 2 decades but I’d love to hear more ideas so sound off below!
– There is no way the writers of Arrow thought that fans would overwhelmingly want Felicity and Oliver together more than him and Laurel. Season 1 was all about Laurel and Ollie so much so that it almost ruined his friendship with Tommy. But Felicity came out of nowhere and stole the hearts of the fans and Olicity was born. Because of this surprise development Laurel, who I’m assuming was to be the female lead of the show, has pretty much disappeared into the background.
– If you think that this couple was destined to be from the start you are fooling yourself. The show was called Dawson’s Creek meaning Dawson was supposed to get the girl. The first two seasons of this show were about the love triangle of Dawson, Joey and Jen. Pacey was no where to found, in fact he was busy sleeping with his teacher and having his own love interests that had nothing to do with the central triangle. Yet, sometime in season 3 the Pacey/Joey dynamic shifted and thus started one of the most debatable triangles, Joey/Pacey vs. Joey/Dawson.
– I thought this one of the more interesting reveals of season 5. For so long it was Jack/Kate/Sawyer and then Juliet came along. I thought, as a Sawyer/Kate shipper, great, Juliet can have Jack and leave my couple alone. Then Kate and Jack left the island and when they returned Sawyer was living happily with Juliet. I was at first pissed but then grew to appreciate the love between them so much so that to this day I don’t know who I think Sawyer should have ended up with. Juliet and Sawyer’s goodbye on the island was heartbreaking but were they endgame?
– Spike came on the show as a Big Bad and was not suppose to appear again after season 2. Yet, he became one of the show’s best characters and a love interest for Buffy! It was suppose to be Buffy and Angel but then Angel left and his replacement, Riley, was boring and kind of a douche at the end. Looking at Spike, one doesn’t think, you’ve tried to kill Buffy numerous times so yeah, you should definitely be with her. The reveal of Spike loving Buffy came as a shock and one my favorite plot moves of the whole show. P.S. I literally could write write a dissertation on the character development of Spike.
– Rob Thomas himself has said numerous times that Veronica and Logan were not suppose to end up together. It was the chemistry of Logan and Veronica that was undeniable and once again a new pairing shoved the original couple so far in the background that Duncan left the show.
Honorable Mentions:
Barney/Robin – HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
– This could open up a bottle of worms including the question of was the Barney/Robin pairing intended from the beginning. Obviously my answer is no, I don’t think it was. This happened either happened organically or was thought to only be a plot device for the relationship between Ted and Barney.
Blair/Chuck – GOSSIP GIRL
– This pairing should shock anyone that read the Gossip Girl series, which I did. Chuck in the books was so different then Chuck on the show and although I loved Chuck on the series, it was a complete shock when Blair and him started to hook-up, let alone ended up being endgame. 
Kelly Thompson has been addicted to television for as far back as she can remember and the addiction has only grown as she’s getting older and television is becoming more readily available. Two of the most important things in her life are Netflix and her DVR. When she isn’t watching television, she is normally ranting about it to anyone that will listen and now that includes TheTVAddict readers. You can also read her rants on twitter @TVwithKelly.