Review: The Paper, "Matching Ponchos" & "The Ohio Journalism Awards" | Season 1, Episodes 9 & 10
Will They, Won't They, Must They?
Hey free subscribers—based on the comments, The Paper has hardly lit the world on fire, but maybe you're out there desperate to talk about it. If so, a reminder that our coverage of the season is coming to a close, and another reminder we're halfway through our yearly subscription drive. Become a paid subscriber today to join the conversation.
The Will They, Won’t They romance is a broadcast form. It is a story form driven by how romantic relationships necessarily had to fight for oxygen amidst procedural or sitcom storytelling, with characters stealing moments of connection while solving murders or getting into comic situations. Even if we know that a show is setting up a particular couple (e.g. Jim and Pam on The Office), we also know that the format of the show will be as much of an obstacle to overcome as the existence of a Roy or a Karen.
I’ve been racking my brain trying to figure out if there’s ever been a truly effective Will They, Won’t They romance in a streaming show (the best suggestion in the Loyal Viewer Discord was Spock/Chapel on Strange New Worlds). I don’t mean a show that focuses on a romantic relationship—something like Nobody Wants This is explicitly a romantic comedy, while Heartstopper’s first season is just a straight up romance when you break it down. Streaming shows focused on romances are not balancing a relationship with other storytelling—the serialization is the point, and so it’s by design more of a They Will, They Must situation.
I haven’t focused on Ned and Mare’s relationship much as I’ve worked through these reviews, mostly because my response was more “Must They?” There’s nothing explicitly wrong with the idea of the two characters together, but it was telegraphed so plainly when the season started, and the attempt to speedrun to their first kiss in ten episodes was a complete failure. There’s none of the sense of accumulation a relationship needs to feel like it’s evolving, and so by the time the show needs to set up obstacles, it’s a hastily introduced childhood friend with benefits and a half-hearted “we’re co-workers.”
