Zema Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 A post by @Cassiopeia in the "Give the Worst Possible Description" thread gave me an idea. Why don't we have a test for movies and tv shows as to whether or not they contain a pointless romantic subplot. Of course, some people here would argue that all romantic subplots are pointless, but for the sake of fairness I'll define a pointless romantic subplot as one of three things (I'm willing to take suggestions for more criteria): If the romantic subplot was removed entirely, it would not effect the overall story. If the characters would not have kissed, you would not know that it was meant to be romance. The characters included would not be as friends, and do not seem to even like each other. A movie or tv show fails the test if a romantic subplot fits this definition of pointless. So why don't we list here all the movies and tv shows which contain pointless romantic subplots. I'll start with one off the top of my head: Thor. Seriously, there's like 2 scenes where the romantic subplot happens and like 5 lines of dialogue. Get rid of these lines of dialogue, and literally nothing about the movie would change storywise. (I honestly couldn't decide whether to put this in arcade or off-topic. I don't think it really matters though) 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassiopeia Posted July 31, 2016 Share Posted July 31, 2016 Yesss. I think criteria wise we could define an pointless romantic subplot it many ways: if removed entirely, does not effect the overall story if the characters would not have kissed, you would not know its meant to be romance the characters included would not be passable as friends, and do not seem to even like each other. I mean there are so many options for criteria, the bar is soo soo low. Also, I have a side theory: Alloromantic people would ship fucking everything if you make it look slightly human and somewhat visually pleasing. Exhibit A That is a six year old kid and a goddamn Gyarados. Why??! All I see is: 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zema Posted July 31, 2016 Author Share Posted July 31, 2016 4 minutes ago, Cassiopeia said: Yesss. I think criteria wise we could define an pointless romantic subplot it many ways: if removed entirely, does not effect the overall story if the characters would not have kissed, you would not know its meant to be romance the characters included would not be as friends, and do not seem to even like each other. I mean there are so many options for criteria, the bar is soo soo low. An excellent suggestion, I'll add it to the OP now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannyFenton123 Posted August 1, 2016 Share Posted August 1, 2016 That one kiss scene in the Martian, it annoyed me to death 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedNeko Posted August 6, 2016 Share Posted August 6, 2016 On 01/08/2016 at 10:54 AM, DannyFenton123 said: That one kiss scene in the Martian, it annoyed me to death I didn't mind it personally because of how understated the whole thing was, but I do agree it was a pointless romantic subplot. My sister and I watched The Departed recently and despite the plots best efforts to hint at ways in which Matt Damon's character's girlfriend could have had a point in the plot, she never did, and there was even a pointless sex scene to go with it. It's a shame because the actress did a good job. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cassiopeia Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 I think most Marvel movies are guilty. Funnily so are the first three Star Wars movies. Just because the romance is essential to the plot, somehow it still fails the kiss and the friends test. So I guess the last two are more of a test of how well written the romantic subplot is than a test of pointlessness... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ugh... Posted August 18, 2016 Share Posted August 18, 2016 2 hours ago, Cassiopeia said: I think most Marvel movies are guilty *cough* Natasha and Bruce in the Avengers 2 *cough* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ettina Posted December 12, 2016 Share Posted December 12, 2016 Don't know how to do the spoiler thing, but if you don't want Dexter spoilers don't read this. One that doubles as pointless and disgusting is in Dexter, when Dexter's adoptive sister Debra admits to her counselor that she's attracted to her brother. If they hadn't thrown that in, they'd have read simply as close siblings. I got the feeling that they had her feel that way so she'd be willing to cover for him once she figures out he's a serial killer. But a strong sibling bond could easily make a person do that. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ValDragon Posted May 6, 2017 Share Posted May 6, 2017 On 8/18/2016 at 2:40 PM, Ugh... said: *cough* Natasha and Bruce in the Avengers 2 *cough* I so agree with this. Another person who thinks that a relationship between Bruce and Natasha was forced, thank you. The romance in Deadpool. I enjoyed the movie so much, but not that part, maybe is just me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rivkael Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY GAMORA AND QUILL DO NOT NEED TO DATE DAMNIT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arostar Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Legend of Korra maybe? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted May 28, 2019 Share Posted May 28, 2019 National treasure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Native Manitou Posted September 22, 2020 Share Posted September 22, 2020 At the end of the TV series Daria the minor characters of Andrea & Charles Ruttheimer III (AKA Upchuck) were thrown together apparently just because they were both single. They weren't even in a scene together before that. Although it was part of the plot I want to say this: the love story in the movie Gattaca was appalling. At the time of the "love" scene she thought he was a murderer! She only did it because she was scared! And why would people begin a relationship when one of them is starting a job that will keep them from seeing each other for literally years anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonmerci Posted October 1, 2020 Share Posted October 1, 2020 Ant Man. The don't even try to built their relationship. Harry and Ginny in Harry Potter. In the books, Harry never see her in the romance zone but all of a sudden, when stops to be interested in him and dates someone else, he became jalousie and "realizes" he lives her back. That's super unhealthy and badly written. But at least there is some development, compared to the movie where he just starts to love her at the begining of the 6th without any explanation. That was so unecessary. Also, just the idea that they all stayed with the person they dated as teenagers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Holmbo Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 On 10/1/2020 at 3:59 PM, nonmerci said: . Also, just the idea that they all stayed with the person they dated as teenagers. This always bothered me as a teen. The idea that someone would marry their teenage love seemed ridiculous to me. I don't think that was necessarily because I'm aro that I felt that. It's more that the culture I grew up in assumes people will go through multiple partners and usually not settle down with someone until they're in their late twenties. I remember really liking the ending for the book Unaranged marriage, because in that one (spoilers!) the main character and his GF are broken up at the end but have stayed friends. To me that seemed like the happiest possible solution to a teenage romance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoodbyeRepublicServices Posted October 4, 2020 Share Posted October 4, 2020 What about in Spider-Man: Far From Home? There were two romantic subplots in that one, both of which I think are pointless (though I don't mind them ultimately). The first one was between Peter Parker and a girl from his school, MJ. The second was between Peter's friend and another girl. I think the movie's main plot could have survived without either relationship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nonmerci Posted October 5, 2020 Share Posted October 5, 2020 12 hours ago, Holmbo said: The idea that someone would marry their teenage love seemed ridiculous to me. I don't think that was necessarily because I'm aro that I felt that. I saw allo people feel bother by that too. I guess the idea that some of them did is consistent, in particular as they loved difficult things together. But both Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione, in particular Harry/Ginny with their relationship who was never built properly? Come on. Also I saw people in real life who married their teenage love. Sometimes it works well and sometimes... not at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alaska Native Manitou Posted May 13, 2021 Share Posted May 13, 2021 https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/16-movies-that-shoehorned-in-romances-that-made-no-sense/ss-BB1g4tyQ?ocid=msedgdhp 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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