Editor’s Note: The couples were chosen for their embodiment of romance (or lack thereof) by The Reflector editors and online readers in an open-ended Facebook poll.
Classic Valentine’s Couple: Buttercup and Westley
By Ariel Nachtigal
Photography Editor
When it comes to a relationship that shows true love and a couple that embodies that sentiment to the fullest extent, I can think of no better option that Westley (Cary Elwes) and Buttercup (Robin Wright).
For those of you who have never heard of them, please watch “The Princess Bride” and enlighten yourselves.
What makes them so great a couple? True love. No matter the hardships these characters endure, they still love each other. Westley keeps fighting for her and never gives up.
Buttercup, at first resigned to her fate, realizes that her hero is the one she has been waiting for and spurns her other suitor. No matter how many trials and tribulations they go through, they still end up together and true love conquers all.
Classic Valentine’s Couple: Charlotte and Daniel
By Hannah Rogers
Entertainment Editor
Daniel Faraday (Jeremy Davies) was first presented to “Lost” viewers as a physics genius with all the answers. Charlotte Lewis (Rebecca Mader) was an anthropologist searching for answers about her past.
Charlotte first appeared to be sarcastic and cold – until she interacted with Daniel. Both characters were able to let their guard down when they were around each other, allowing the viewers to grow to love the characters.
Their relationship grew over two seasons slowly and realistically, instead of the traditional television random hook-up/love triangle/make-up/break-up pattern.
When Daniel finally confessed his love for Charlotte, it was one of the most emotionally gratifying moments of the fifth season. The power behind the words made the two characters seem like real people.
Even after Charlotte’s death, the love Daniel felt for her drove the rest of the season and had startling implications of the rest of the series.
The love between the two characters humanized them and created a memorable couple – even in death.
Anti-Valentine’s Day Couple: Bella and Edward
By Kyle Wrather
Editor in Chief
Girl meets boy, boy appears totally repulsed by girl, girl finds out boy is actually over 100 years old … and he wants to eat her. They fall madly in love.
This sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, but it’s also a recap of the “Twilight Saga’s” vampire Edward and heroine Bella’s whirlwind romance. Their romance manages to be simultaneously sadistic, misogynistic and awkward all at the same time. Their relationship teaches young teenage girls to be OK with hyper-defensive boyfriends whose attention can only be caught by risking your life. The books and movies are incredibly vague about what both characters even like about each other; Bella talks about how good looking Edward is, and Edward just makes vague remarks about how much he likes her. Naturally, one can only assume he likes her because he really wants to eat her, which would be like keeping a pet pig because bacon is your favorite food: Things can’t end well.
Clearly, no matter how enticing the idea of relationships with vampires might be, taking pointers from these two is a bad idea.
Anti-Valentine’s Day Couple: Larry and Cheryl
By Harry Nelson
Opinion Editor
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” may be my all-time favorite comedy show. Larry’s (Larry David) antics never fail to crack me up, and I can appreciate how, despite his complete lack of tact, Larry is almost always right.
So it really bugs me how Cheryl (Cheryl Hines), his wife, never sticks up for him. She knows a newspaper wouldn’t intentionally print a typo like Larry made for her aunt’s obituary, but that didn’t stop her from yelling at him about it. The time she walked away from the locked bathroom was petty and spiteful.
And she wouldn’t even let Larry leave town when Wanda gave them the inside tip of an imminent terrorist attack in Los Angeles!
Anyway, I’m glad they finally got divorced, and I hope they don’t end up back together. Larry could do so much better, and his pursual of her put a damper on this last season.
If only he had stayed with Loretta (Vivica Fox), the lamest part of this last season could have been eliminated.
Even though she whined too much about having cancer, she was still more tolerable than the annoying, hypocritical Cheryl.
Anti-Valentine’s Day Couple: Jon and Kate Gosselin
By Bob Carskadon
Sports Editor
In the last year, Jon and Kate Gosselin reached a superstar couple status, thanks to their plus eight, usually reserved for people like Brangelina or the gone-but-not-forgotten Bennifer.
They quickly went from popular to one of the most-hated couples ever when they had a messy divorce and exploited their children on TV.
Let’s be honest, though. Anyone who has watched a few episodes (yes, I’ve seen way too many, but I’m the sports editor so I get a few man points back, right?) knows Kate is one the most insane, attention-seeking women on television. Most of us felt bad for Jon having to deal with her constant yelling and nagging, but the way he handled things when they split up slid him out of the good graces of the public.
Going from one of the most popular couples in America to one of the most universally-disliked divorcees in a matter of months is more than enough to earn and Jon and Kate worst couple.
Anti-Valentine’s Day Couple: Romeo and Juliet
By Julia Pendley
Assistant News Editor
Romeo and Juliet may be one of Shakespeare’s most well-known plays, and while I agree it is an excellent play, the romanticism society associates it is a bit hasty and undue.
The feud the Montagues and the Capulets causes both Romeo and Juliet to act irrationally and immaturely. The ball at which they meet begins with Romeo obsessively in love with another woman. The second he lays eyes on Juliet he falls in love with her. Juliet was only 13 when she falls so desperately in love with boy she doesn’t even know.
The relationship is set up to fail from the beginning. Willing to die for love may seem like a romantic notion, but I personally would never commit suicide over the end of a loved one’s life.
