There can be something so gripping about a franchise that contains a love triangle, especially when all of the romantic partners are great people, and fans could genuinely see the protagonists being happy with either person they choose. Some of the most iconic movies and shows in the world became so because they had the best love triangles. It can keep shows interesting, and give an authenticity to why love can be really hard sometimes, especially when kind-hearted characters get caught in the cross-fire.
But there are also many many examples of love triangles in franchises that make the whole plot feel messy, overly dramatic, and even just plain unpleasant to watch.
Sex Education
Sex Education instantly became a huge success when it hit Netflix screens, because of its amazing cast, its honest themes, and its positive representation of diverse communities across society. But, even for a show set in high school, Sex Education features a lot of teen angst, which can unfortunately hinder the wonderful sentimental moments in the show, and undermine the message that it’s trying to convey.
One example was Eric's (played by Doctor Who's Nguti Gatwa) decision to choose Adam, the bully who terrorized him for years, over Rahim, a genuinely gentle and caring soul. It would be easy to argue that this reinforces violence against the LGBTQ+ community and makes Adam’s cruel homophobic behavior acceptable for the sake of his character arc.
The Ledgend of Korra
Next on the list is an animated show. Based on the original series The Last Airbender, which many fans felt was pure gold in both visual and narrative storytelling, the Legend of Korra is, by comparison, a show marred by heartbreak and argument that entirely detracts from the point of the show: peace.
Where the Avatar should be demonstrating harmony with the world around her, with her elemental abilities which set an example for those that look up to her, and with the source of energy bending from which she draws her power, she spends too much of her time fighting over Mako with Asami. Eventually, after lots of tears and near losses of friendships, Korra and Asami end up together, which is a great touch, but definitely could have avoided all the drama that it took to get there.
The Hobbit
One of the biggest challenges that director Peter Jackson had when trying to adapt J.R.R.Tolkien’s book to screen was the lack of female representation. In order to combat this, they gave more of a role to Galadriel, which in itself led to some of Galadriel’s most controversial moments in the whole franchise, but also by creating the character of Tauriel.
As a warrior, a silvan guard and a wood elf, she could have been a great depiction of a strong female lead, and she came very close, if not for her problematic entanglement with both Legolas and Killi. The Hobbit love triangle ruins Tauriel’s character, and is a needless distraction in an otherwise epic fantasy adventure.
The Hunger Games
With The Hunger Games prequel rapidly approaching, fans can't help but be reminded of one of the biggest complaints of the Hunger Games to date, which surrounds the love triangle at its heart. It has never made sense that in a franchise about child starvation, fights for survival, and overthrowing an oppressive regime, the protagonist would spend so much of her time agonizing over her love life.
The relationships themselves were also problematic, because Gale loved Katniss as a symbol of the revolution, he wanted the discord and the uprising that she represents, whereas Peeta was more truly in love with who she was, and would have given his life to protect her during the games, but when his mind was altered with the tracker-jack venom, he became obsessed with trying to kill her. Neither of these represent a great paradigm of love, and if anything, they only served to lessen the impact of an otherwise remarkable social commentary that reflects many aspects of poverty and suffering in our own world.
Twilight
If the examples in the Hunger Games above are bad, there can be no worse love triangle than the one in Twilight. Even Kristen Stewart initially didn't think that Twilight would be a success. Both Edward and Jacob, the story’s two love interests, are highly problematic in their own ways.
From the vampire who introduces Bella to toxic co-dependency, makes her a target for enemies for miles around, and then leaves her fend for herself, to the werewolf who manipulates and coerces her into loving him, forces himself on her against her will, and then threatens to purposefully die in battle if she doesn’t kiss him in front of her boyfriend, both of these options are a terrible example of what loving relationships should look like. The franchise is almost entirely about th love triangle itself, and yet still manages to be the epitome of how they can ruin an entire narrative that could have otherwise had so much potential.