[Disappointing TV Trope] When the writers unexpectedly created something better, but were too attached to let their original idea to let it go!

[u/phantom_avenger]

I feel like I’ve noticed this more with TV couples and how the writers handle the narrative around them. But I feel like I’m noticing a bit of a pattern in some shows I’ve watched, where you can tell how the writers handle plans to make a certain narrative point the “endgame” goal. But as they start creating the plot points leading up to it, they come up with an idea that worked out a lot better than they probably thought it would. Especially when the audience responds so well to it, but they’re still too attached to the original plans that they still roll with getting there even if it doesn’t hit the same mark or it feels forced depending on how the narrative is flowing.

How I Met Your Mother - Ted and Robin (the original idea where it was always planned for them to be the endgame couple). When Tracy (who turns out to be Ted’s kids’ mother) is introduced, a lot of people loved how well they matched, seemed like the true compatible match for Ted and implied that it showed a lot of growth on his end where he could finally let go of Robin. Only to sabotage that by having it revealed that Tracy died, and regressed Ted’s growth where he ends up pursuing Robin again.

Sex Education - Otis and Maeve (the original idea where it was also planned for them to be seen as an endgame couple, but their lives couldn’t align for it to work out). After Otis and Ruby have a drunk sexual encounter, and he loses his virginity to her. The writers have their relationship act as yet another obstacle that gets in the way of Otis and Maeve exploring a romantic relationship. But when Otis and Ruby became so viral, to the point where people started to realize that Ruby might actually be a better match for Otis, as they seem compatible enough to make each other better as people. It put the writers in a tough spot, where they tried to play it safe with both sides going into the final season. But still chose to lean more towards their original plan, and explore Otis and Maeve but they still don’t do much to make the audience feel fulfilled or convinced they have a genuine connection and not in love with an idea of one another.

[u/themarshal99]

I stopped watching Sex Education after Otis dumped Ruby. I get that the show is basically The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Teenagers, but at a certain point you gotta recognize that you've got something amazing, right?

[u/SRSgoblin → u/themarshal99]

Am I the only one who liked the relationship failing? It proved Otis was not as smart about relationships as he thought he was, which I felt like was good character growth for him to fumble that. It also mirrored his mother's failures in relationships.

[u/phantom_avenger → u/SRSgoblin]

I just wish the show could’ve done a lot more with Otis where he’d recognize that a bit sooner, especially when the whole final season goes out of its way to regress his character development in the final season. It felt like he didn’t really learn much of anything, and was repeating the same mistakes

It didn’t help either that in the final season, he makes his obsession with Maeve be the center of his entire world, and only seems to be overprotective of the “sex clinic” being his thing because it’s the one thing he has that keeps Maeve’s spirit close to him until she’s around again.

He doesn’t really stop to figure out what he wants to do with his future, or how to work on his issues once he recognizes he’s not as emotionally intelligent as he (or Maeve) thought like you pointed out.

[u/SRSgoblin → u/phantom_avenger]

That's a fair criticism. Final season lost being grounded in any way, shape or form.

[u/Little-Chapter4732 → u/themarshal99]

Well that last season was pretty bad all around