Fictional Love Triangles That Ended The Wrong Way

The Love Triangle: In the eighth season of Game of Thrones, Jaime and Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) gave in to the tempestuous flames of their slow-burning attraction. Following the victory of a tumultuous battle - in which they fought side-by-side - the pair shared a celebratory hook-up even though Jaime was romantically involved with his twin sister, Cersei. In choosing Brienne rather than his tyrannical sister, Jaime also seemed to be choosing good over evil, completing a redemption arc.

How It Ended: In the faded afterglow of their night together, Jaime announced that he had to return to Knight's Landing to help Cersei prepare for an oncoming battle. When Brienne begged him to stay with her, he waxed poetic about the hateful things he'd done in the name of his loyalty to Cersei, insisting he wasn't the good man Brienne wanted. He went running back to Cersei, discarding his fiery fling with Brienne as if it never happened. 

The Better Choice: Jaime's decision to return to Cersei was not motivated by loyalty, but - rather - his own self-loathing. Incestuousness aside, his relationship with his twin sister was deeply toxic, inspiring unspeakable crimes like pushing a boy out a window in the name of love. While Jaime had written himself off as “hateful,” Brienne saw a pureness in him that he couldn't see himself, and insisted that he was a “good man.” Given the chance, she could bring out the best in Jaime, but he was too self-destructive to let her. 

The Love Triangle: Told in a series of flashbacks, How I Met Your Mother followed Ted (Josh Radnor) and the twisty path that led him to meet the mother of his children. Throughout the show's nine seasons, he dated many women in hopelessly romantic attempts to find “the one," but his most consistent love interest was the relationship-resistant Robin (Colbie Smulders). Midway through the series, his playboy pal Barney (Neil Patrick-Harris) threw a curveball by developing feelings for Robin. Despite the unlikely pairing of the two commitment-phobes, Barney and Robin began seriously dating, which - of course - didn't go over well with lovesick Ted. 

How It Ended: After dating for most of the fifth season, Barney and Robin's similarities caused problems in their relationship, leading to an amicable breakup. However, their feelings for each other never disappeared, and they flirted with the idea of reconciling over the years  - at one point almost leaving their respective partners for each other. 

Late in the series, a time jump to Barney and Robin's wedding revealed that they ended up together. At their wedding, Ted finally met the love of his life - AKA the mother - Tracy (Cristin Milioti), and they all lived happily ever after. Or so it seemed. 

In one of television history's most controversial series finales, the last minutes revealed that Barney and Robin's happily ever after ended in divorce, and Ted's love story was tragically cut short when Tracy died of a mysterious illness. Just when it seemed like the story was (finally) over, Ted's kids - whom he'd been relaying the impossibly long story - encouraged him to get back together with their “Aunt Robin.” Recreating a moment they shared after their very first date in Season 1, Ted brought Robin a blue French horn in one last romantic gesture, bringing the story full circle, and to a climactic - and highly debated - close. 

The Better Choice: Fans struggled so much with the series finale because a thoroughly likable character had to die in order for Ted and Robin to be together. Robin and Barney's divorce also led to a regression in Barney's character; he returned to his womanizing ways before a rushed redemption arc in which he rose to the occasion of becoming an accidental father. 

Robin and Barney weren't perfect, but they had a healthier relationship than Robin and Ted did; that dynamic hinged on Ted's selfish attempts to domesticate Robin and make her the mother of his future children. Barney never tried to change Robin, and their shared career-driven goals made them better suited to each other. With Barney, Robin was finally inspired to settle down like Ted wanted her to all along. Yet it happened naturally, and without a lovesick goober waving a blue French horn in her face (which might as well have been a red flag – demanding emotional reciprocation under the guise of a romantic gesture). If Ted was the better choice, she would've chosen him years ago without all the bells and whistles – or horns. 

The Love Triangle: In the first season of Modern Family, high school freshman Haley (Sarah Hyland) dated high school senior and lovable dimwit, Dylan (Reid Ewing). Their adolescent romance waxed and waned throughout the show's 11 seasons in typical on-again-off-again fashion. Mid-way through the series, Haley found an unexpected love interest in Andy (Adam DeVine). After he was hired as a male nanny for her uncle Joe, the pair developed a friendship that bloomed into a forbidden attraction, and eventually a relationship. 

How It Ended: Haley initially kept her feelings for Andy buried, because he was engaged to another woman. When Andy realized he had feelings for Haley, too, he ultimately called off the engagement to be with her. They shared a mutually happy relationship, which came to an unfortunate end when Andy accepted his dream job and moved to Utah. After more ups and downs with Dylan - and a surprise pregnancy resulting in twins - he and Haley reunited once and for all in the final season, starting a modern family of their own. 

The Better Choice: Haley dated a myriad of men throughout the series, but Dylan was her most recurring relationship. Though they went through a lot together and shared a strong connection, some fans argue that it wasn't as deep as her connection with Andy. Haley and Dylan were too similar. Andy was her opposite. Because of this, he challenged her and supported her character development in ways that surface-leveled Dylan couldn't. When Haley ended up with Dylan, it seemed like a regression in her personal growth. Dylan may have been her consistent choice, but - had they not been separated by distance - Andy would have been the better choice.

The Love Triangle: In the TV adaptation of Archie Comics, Riverdale, Veronica (Camila Mendes) and Archie (KJ Apa) were the on-again-off-again “it” couple of Riverdale High. Their relationship endured many peaks and valleys - from kissing betrayals to over-the-phone breakups - but their unyielding chemistry kept them going back to each other. Following one of their heart-wrenching breakups, and Archie's absence from Riverdale, Veronica started to date her coworker, Reggie (Charles Melton). The triangle formed when Archie made his unexpected return to town. 

How It Ended: When Archie returned to Riverdale - following a stint in prison for a false murder accusation - it didn't take Veronica long to go running back to him. Though she had developed feelings for Reggie, her feelings for Archie were unmatched. The pair got back together (again), but broke up at the end of the fifth season due to Archie's unexplored feelings with their mutual friend, Betty. They gave it one more try after being separated for seven years but failed to rekindle the magic. They sort of ended up together in the series finale, which finds them in a quad-relationship with Betty and Jughead in a parallel universe.  

The Better Choice: Ultimately, Reggie and Veronica didn't work out due to her lingering feelings for Archie, not because they were ill-fitted. While she and Archie shared a significant history, their connection was rooted in nostalgia. They made sense as a high school couple, but Reggie was a better fit for Veronica as a mature adult. With shared ambitions, strong chemistry, and their ability to work well together, they would make a solid pair.

The Love Triangle: In John Hughes and Howard Deutch's teen romance classic, Pretty In Pink, high school outcast Andie (Molly Ringwald) spent most of her time pining over the rich and popular Blane (Andrew McCarthy). Meanwhile, her quirky best friend, Duckie, sat on the sidelines harboring a crush. When Andie finally got a date with Blane - and an invite to the prom - Duckie went from crush to crushed. 

How It Ended: Andie finally went on her dream date with Blane but felt unwelcome and out-of-place in his rich-kid world. Then - much to her despair - he canceled their prom date after his yuppie best friend, Steff (James Spader), talked him out of it. Ultimately, Andie decided to go to the prom anyway, rocking a garish pink prom dress that she tailored herself. With Duckie and Blane both at the prom, the love triangle reached its climax. Blane realized he was wrong to listen to Steff, apologized to Andie, and professed his love before walking away. Despite his own romantic feelings, Duckie selflessly encouraged Andie to go after him, bringing the triangle to a bittersweet end.

The Better Choice: In the original script, Andie chose Duckie, and they slow-danced to David Bowie's “Heroes” in gloriously cheesy 1980s fashion. However, the test audience's resounding disapproval - they wanted her to pick the cute popular guy - inspired a quick rewrite in favor of Blane. There was nothing glaringly wrong with Blane; he just wasn't that interesting. Andie was enraptured by him, but by all appearances, it was just a shallow, schoolgirl crush without substance. Plus, his friends were awful and easily influenced his opinions. 

Duckie had more depth. He truly cared about Andie - to the point where he supported her going after her yuppie crush despite his own feelings. If Andie took off her rose-colored glasses long enough to see there wasn't anything genuinely exceptional about Blane, who's to say that Duckie wouldn't have danced out of the friend zone and into her heart?

The Love Triangle: For six seasons, two movies, and a re-boot, Sex and the City's Carrie (Sarah Jessica Parker) obsessively typed on her Mac laptop about her big love, John “Big” Preston (Chris Noth). Hopelessly devoted to the commitment-fearing charmer, she endured years of highs and lows in their on-again-off-again relationship. After their second break up, and Big's sudden marriage to a younger woman he met in Paris, Carrie met Aidan (John Corbett) - a gentle, “granola" furniture designer, and Big's polar opposite. Of course, when Big realized Carrie had moved on, he longed for what he couldn't have, and inserted himself back into her life, forming a tumultuous love triangle.

How It Ended: While Big was married and things were getting serious between Carrie and Aiden, they had an affair. Eventually, Big's wife found out, and Carrie confessed everything to Aidan - subsequently shattering both their relationships. The affair ended in Season 3, but by Season 4, Carrie and Aiden decided to give it another shot. Ultimately - though they became engaged - Aidan called it off after realizing Carrie couldn't truly commit to him because she'd always be hung up on Big. 

After a long and winding road, Carrie and Big ended up together in the series finale. They eventually got married in the Sex and the City movie - after he left her at the altar first - and Aidan made a brief reappearance in Sex and the City 2 to stir things up again. 

In the first episode of the reboot, And Just Like That, Big died of a heart attack, freeing up Carrie to reconnect with Aidan once again after a period of mourning. As of now, it's unclear if they're getting back together, but it's clear that Carrie's first choice was always Big. 

The Better Choice: Much to her friends' frustration, Carrie could never shut up about Big. Her connection to him was clearly toxic, and despite everything he put her through - breakups, surprise moves, abandoning her on their wedding day - she couldn't help going back for more. No matter how many times he pushed her away, she didn't take the hint. Yet whenever she started to pull away on her own, he reeled her back in. 

Aidan was the Big antithesis. He was kind, emotionally available, selfless, and good to her friends. He was everything Big wasn't. Though Big finally showed some growth in time for the reboot, choosing Aidan would have saved Carrie years of emotional damage.