For my 200th post, I wanted to do another “Things We Love” list! Some topics we covered previously are Couples With Height Differences, Wall Make Out Scenes and Things I Don’t Like IRL (my things), Superheroes & The Meet Cute (Mika’s things) and Intense Non-Kisses (Carmel’s thing). Today I bring you Queer Grand Romantic Gestures.
Sometimes proposing, telling someone you really love them, winning someone back or begging forgiveness requires a queer grand romantic gesture. I love queer love so I’m all for a running through the airport, interrupting a wedding, showing up unannounced to make a speech or a spontaneous proposal scene.
Here are some of my favorite queer grand romantic gestures.
- Freya and Keelin on The Originals
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Sometimes when your supernatural lifestyle causes your girlfriend to almost die it motivates you to blurt out “Marry Me!”
Freya and Keelin ended The Originals married, and we learn later in Legacies, they are still together with a kid.
- Judy and Michelle on Dead to Me
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Oh, Judy, you’re such a loveable mess.
In season two Judy falls for Michelle, the chef at her mom’s assisted living facility. It’s super cute and there is NO COMING OUT STORY which is very refreshing.
After Judy messes things up with Michelle she makes a late-night drunken appearance at her doorstep.
That could have gone terribly, but it worked!
Dead to Me season three (third and final) is coming to Netflix soon.
- Toni and Cheryl on Riverdale
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To say Cheryl had a rough coming-out experience is an understatement. Her mother put her in a creepy conversion camp/jail so it was up to her girlfriend Toni to rescue her.
I loved Toni organizing a rescue team to break Cheryl out of homophobe jail.
- Josie and Finch on Legacies
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Josie hasn’t been very lucky with love for the first two seasons of Legacies. But in season three, she left The Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted to go to a regular human high school where she meets and falls for Finch Tarrayo. A classmate who, unbeknown to Josie at first, is a werewolf.
Josie’s first attempt at declaring her like-liking Finch is very brave and cute but it fails.
Josie doesn’t know the reason Finch turns her down is that she has another date with turning into a werewolf that night.
Several episodes later, Josie knows Finch is a werewolf and she tries again.
That time it worked and Josie talked Finch into going to The Salvatore School where they end the season as official girlfriends.
- Carina and Maya on Station 19
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I love Carina and Maya so much and the show really put us through the wringer last season with the “Carina’s getting deported to Italy” storyline. Of course, a natural conclusion would be, “They’re getting married so Carina can stay!” but this is Shondaland and nothing is easy.
In this episode, Carina is leaving and Maya decides she’s going to propose. As she helps her pack Carina reveals she’s anti-marriage which puts a wrench in Maya’s plans. The two of them go through it all: sweetness, love, fighting, sex, Maya saying she wants to get married and talk about “maybe they should go on a break.” It was a very STRESSFUL episode!
In the end, Carina makes a U-turn on the way to the airport and finds Maya.
THANK GOODNESS!
A grand romantic gesture is extra special when someone goes against their dogmatic beliefs to choose love!
- Liz and Mel on RED
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For five seasons RED tortured us with the ups and downs of Mel and Liz’s relationship. I had my fingers crossed things would wind up in a good spot for these two because I wanted to make it one of the “Shows We Love.” In the 6th and final season. I got my wish.
There is something extra special about a grand romantic gesture when it’s done by the more emotionally distant, commitment-phobic person in the relationship. I loved Liz’s proposal and the big wedding at the end of the series.
- Dom and Darlene on Mr. Robot
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Most of my favorite ships are dark and problematic, which was the case with Dom and Darlene. I loved them so much, I can’t help myself.
Towards the end of the series, they had an entire episode dedicated to them called #Domlene. It was as close to a rom-com as this grim-ass show could get and I loved it.
At the end of the episode, Darlene failed to convince Dom to fly away with her and start a new life but at the very last minute, she changes her mind.
Carly Rae Jepsen’s Run Away With Me playing as Dom runs through the airport was absolutely perfect, but they devastatingly had a missed connection at the end. I was sad, but It wasn’t surprising for this show. I appreciated the fan service on a Mr. Robot grading curve.
- JR and Petra on Jane the Virgin
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JR and Petra are one of my all-time favorite ships and if they weren’t endgame at the end of Jane the Virgin I was going to riot. Luckily in the finale, JR appears and interrupts Jane & Raff’s wedding to profess her love to Petra in a big speech.
Straight out of a telenovela.
- Izzie and Casey on Atypical
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In my opinion, Casey and Izzie had one of the best teen coming out and relationship stories on TV. Their chemistry felt real and their slow burn to girlfriends was perfect. After Casey avoids Izzie because she can’t handle having feelings for her, Izzie finds her at the track and confesses how she feels.
I really couldn’t have asked for a more perfect scene.
- Nico and Emma on Vida
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Vida was one of my absolute favorite shows. It was so beautiful and well-written. I am STILL in mourning its cancellation.
Emma is also one of my favorite queer characters of all time. I love every mean and cold cell in her body. She’s the type of character who is ready to run at the slightest shade of red flag in a relationship, but at the end of the series, Nico asks her to run away with her.
The fire escape perfectly framed Nico’s grand romantic ask.
I hope Emma and Nico are still offscreen together and doin’ it in a bar bathroom somewhere.
- Maya and Carina on Station 19
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My number one queer grand romantic gesture scene is not a deep cut or from some obscure foreign web series. It’s straight out of Shondaland. TGIT, y’all!
My favorite ship still on live TV right now is Maya and Carina from Station 19. It’s the most basic queer tv fact about me, and sometimes I hate myself for falling so hard for a primetime drama couple, but here I am! I LOVE the fire captain and the doctor together from the moment they randomly met at the Greys19 bar. From the minute that happened, I knew I was doomed.
The episode before this one ripped my heart out. Maya was going through usual Maya drama and Carina sweetly tried to support her. What does Bishop do to return the favor? She bangs Jack and throws it in Carina’s face when she gets home. I was livid. I was so mad at the show and myself for letting my guard down with #Marina.
The next episode made up for it (I’m such a sucker) by having Maya confront the issues Carina was trying to get her to see. She also chopped her hair off in a very intense scene.
Then, at the very end, Maya goes to Grey Sloan to win Carina back.
There are so many things I love about this scene.
- Historically relationship-adverse Maya making a grand romantic gesture.
- Maya going to Grey Sloan for the first time to win her girl back.
- Maya in her cute short hair and a hoodie.
- Maya saying “I love you” to someone romantically for the first time.
- Teddy being a cheerleader for love
- This being an all-bi main charater scene on a primetime, mainstream network show!
Now they are wife and wife and I can rest easy…for now.
Those are my favorite queer grand romantic gestures! What are yours? Let us know in the comments!
Maggie Lin and Sydney Katz from Saving Hope.
Good one!
Lexa bowing down to Clarke and Casey’s tarot reading for Izzie