TV relationships are a tricky business. There are some TV couples that people love, some that people hate, and some that are justso downright strange thatviewers don’t understand what the writers were thinking at the time. Why on Earth would a main character get with their ex’s bully? Or why would two friends get together over what are arguably very deep-seated psychological, unhealed wounds from traumatic experiences?
When it comes to these types of relationships, viewers are just confused. They don’t know if they’re supposed to be rooting for the out-of-left-field couple, hope the two people finally realize they’re not actually supposed to be with one another, or just sit back and watch as the drama unfolds.There are just weird circumstances surrounding these relationships, and here are some of the oddest.
10Sara Lance & Oliver Queen
When it comes to Sara Lance (Caity Lotz) and Oliver Queen (Stephen Amell) inArrow, their relationship is pretty tricky. They first got together onThe Queen’s Gambit, a yacht that Oliver’s father was taking to make a business deal overseas. But they weren’t really “together,” as Sara was the sister of Oliver’s actual girlfriend, Laurel. Long story short, both Sara and Oliver wind up stranded in various parts of the North China Sea and wind up learning exceptional survival and defense skills. Eventually, they make it back home.
Once they’re both back in Starling City, Oliver and Sara find comfort in each other as they’ve both had similar hardships over the past five years. Of course, that “comfort” was taking out the criminal underground, which isn’t exactly the healthiest way to start a relationship. Also, consideringtheir “relationship” started out as a little bit of a scandal, and now they’re both sporting unhealed psychological and physical wounds, it was strange to see them try and make things work when, in reality, it would have been smarter for them to work on themselves for the foreseeable future.
9Michael & Sara
‘Prison Break’
Michael (Wenthworth Miller) and Sara (Sarah Wayne Callies) inPrisonBreaktake the cake when it comes to strange relationships. One is a con who is a master of breaking out of prison, albeit a genius and a structural engineer, but a convicted felon, nonetheless. The other is a prison doctor who wants nothing more than to help the inmates in her care. So, clearly,the two fall for one another in yet another unhealthy relationship that goes from bad to worse.
It isn’t just their circumstances that make Michael and Sara a strange couple; it is also their relationship as a whole. They want to be together even though they are on the run from the authorities, then in another country, then Michael thinks Sara is dead, then they are working for Homeland Security so they don’t wind up back in prison. With everything that’s happened to them, viewers would think they’d be madly in love. Instead,their chemistry just isn’t all there for a couple who would do virtually anything to be with one another.
Prison Break
8Ryan Howard & Kelly Kapoor
‘The Office’
Arguably, one of the strangest and most confusingworkplace relationships on televisionis that between Ryan Howard (B. J. Novak) andKelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling)onThe Office. Actually, it is probably one of the oddest relationships in the entire show, considering there are a lot of romances going on at Dunder-Mifflin. However, when it comes to Ryan and Kelly,strained is the best way to describe them.
The two characters have vastly different personalities, with Kelly being bubbly and open and Ryan being slightly more pessimistic.Think Golden Retrieverand black cat. While it is funny to watch their relationship play out, it is a strange one as Ryan tries to break it off with Kelly numerous times without much luck, thanks to Kelly saying no, that’s not going to work for her. It is a weird concept and strange that even though one party wants to call it a relationship, the other downright refuses. At least it makes for good and entertaining television.
The Office
7Aria & Ezra
‘Pretty Little Liars’
There is a lot to be said about the student-teacher relationship trope on television. A few shows have tried it, and they all end up being weird and cringy. While Ezra (Ian Harding) and Aria (Lucy Hale) share a love of literature and English inPretty Little Liars, that doesn’t mean they should be in a romantic relationship. If they were really that into one another, there was no harm in waiting until they both grew up. Seriously, they were both all over the place in their respective lives.
Even so, they had a solid on-again-off-again relationship with bouts of jealousy and trust issues thrown in there for good measure. It was a strange relationship, not because of the age gap and professional versus student status, but more so, becausethere was always drama. It was a toxic situation all around, and they would have been better off leaving one another for someone more mature and ready for a relationship (yes, you too, Ezra).
Pretty Little Liars
6Linda Martin & Amenadiel
Like any strange couple, the relationship between Linda (Rachael Harris) and Amenadiel (D. B. Woodside) inLuciferstarted off with a lie—a huge lie. Amenadiel pretends to be a therapist, like Linda, when he’s actually an angel who came down from heaven to get his brother, Lucifer, back to the underworld and out of Los Angeles. As things go, Linda eventually finds out the truth, has a bit of a mental breakdown, and then gets over it. Thus, the romantic relationship between the two gets underway.
If a human and an angel being a couple wasn’t strange enough for viewers, things actually got weirder. Eventually,Linda finds out she is pregnant with a half-human, half-angel baby. While she is over the moon that she’s going to be a mother, there is one thing she’s rightfully hung up over – whether the baby will have wings or not. It is a crazy thought and one that makes Linda a bit paranoid as she starts baby-proofing the ceiling and pretty much anything and everything a flying child could get to. It’s a whirlwind of a relationship, to say the least.
5Hank & Marie Schrader
Every marriage has its strange aspects, but Hank (Dean Norris) and Marie Schrader (Betsy Brandt) take it to a whole new level inBreaking Bad. Not only is Hank a law enforcement officer working for the Drug Enforcement Agency, but he is married to someone who has kleptomaniac tendencies and doesn’t really know how to deal with them – aka the tiny spoon she stole at an open house and a baby tiara at a store. It is a very strange dynamic, especially once Hank gets injured and is bedridden, and Marie has to shake off her seemingly self-centered personality.
Marie plays the part of a good wife and takes care of her husband, but Hank goes on a quest to become ingrained in the hobby of rock collecting. Sorry, mineral collecting. This hobby just showcases how Hank hides behind things instead of showing how he truly feels. For example, when he is in full health, Hank typically uses comedy to get out of awkward conversations. Marie, on the other hand, really has no issue telling people what she thinks.Their personalities are so different and defining that their relationship often feels forced, strained, and just plain strange.
Breaking Bad
4Lucas Scott & Lindsey Strauss
‘One Tree Hill’
If anyone wanted to disrupt a fandom, it was when the writers ofOne Tree Hillopted to throw Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) into a relationship with someone other than Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton). Granted, Lucas had multiple love interests throughout the series, but when season 5 rolled around, and he was not only with Lindsey Strauss (Michaela McManus), but engaged to her, it was strange beyond belief. The entire fandom knew Lucas and Peyton were endgame, but hischaracter likability onOne Tree Hilldefinitely took a nosedive with this stunt.
Sorry to say, but Lindsey was nothing more than a rebound when Peyton left Tree Hill. Lucas is a romantic who wears his heart on his sleeve and, evidently, was able to find love again by going out with none other than his book editor. No one ever said he was smart when it came to women, and seeingLucas go out and then propose to his boss seemed very out of left fieldfor the character. It is also evident that he still has feelings for Peyton and probably should have played at being single until he got over her or back together with her (as they tend to do).
One Tree Hill
3Daisy Johnson & Daniel Sousa
‘Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D’
Yes, yes, the relationship between agents Daisy Johnson (Chloe Bennet) and Daniel Sousa (Enver Gjokaj) is actually considered to be quite healthy. It is a strange one, though, as Sousa is technically a man out of time. In season seven ofAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,the team saves Sousa from being murdered in the 1950s and takes him on their epic adventure through time to stop the Chronicoms from taking over the world. That’s where the relationship starts.
Now, true Marvel fans will know Sousa had an epic crush on one Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell). So, his skipping over to Daisy, someone who is, technically speaking, decades younger than him, is very strange and out of character since he is a stereotypical 50s gentleman. But it is time-travel, so what is age really? Again, yes, in this series, Sousa and Carter have since broken up, and he is single, as is Daisy. It is just the fact that he isn’t too fazed about time-traveling with a group of strangers, and then he winds up falling for one of those strangers after harboring such deep feelings for Carter and having a wee bit of trust issues.It almost feels rushed, especially since Daisy has been trying to get over Lincoln for the past few seasons, and then he’s never mentioned.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
2Blaine & Karofsky
The relationship between Blaine (Darren Criss) and Karofsky (Max Adler) started in season 6 ofGlee. For the fandom, it was beyond strange, considering Blaine had just gotten out of an engagement with Kurt, and not to mention, the two have virtually nothing in common. Viewers just didn’t understand why the relationship was even happening.The writers would have been better off leaving Blaine singleand figuring out what he wants to do moving forward after his breakup.
But that wasn’t the most confusing part about this relationship. The fact that Blaine not only got together but moved in with Kurt’s high school bully, a guy who made his life a living nightmare, seemed very out of character. It was a strange way to have Blaine move on, especially when it was obvious he still had feelings for Kurt.The entire relationship just seemed randomand didn’t really play any part in moving the plot forward except for making Kurt jealous for seemingly no reason. They are one of thoseTV couples that weren’t meant to be, and eventually, they break up because of Blaine’s love for Kurt.
1Ryan Atwood & Taylor Townsend
‘The O.C.’
Considering Taylor Townsend (Autumn Reeser) started off as an antagonist onThe O.C.,it was very odd to see her romantically involved with Ryan Atwood (Ben McKenzie). While Taylor did have a nice little redemption arc, going from being a manipulative stalker trying to break up Summer (Rachel Bilson) and Seth (Adam Brody) to someone the core group of main characters considered a friend, it was still strange to see the peppy, energetic girl get with the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks.
Ryan and Taylor kind of even each other’s personalities out, but after his whirlwind romance with Marissa, it was difficult to see him with someone who, in reality, was “normal.” Even so,the two really have nothing in common and wind up in an on-again-off-again relationship, starting with Taylor believing they are dating and Ryan just being along for the ride before anything is actually made official. It was a very strange set of circumstances, with Ryan trying to help Taylor get a divorce from a Frenchman and pretending they were together. Honestly, out of all thecharacters ofThe O.C.,picking Taylor as the love interest was a bold move.
