There are many sitcom couples that have raised the bar and shown that they help elevate the series. However, for every great sitcom couple on television, there are others that do not hold up. They have a bad habit of making the series harder to watch, especially when the show does not accept that the relationship should have ended. Friends makes a lot of these mistakes throughout its ten-season run.
Although Monica and Chandler may be the most successful couple in the show, the series also featured massive failures such as Ross and Rachel, Monica and Richard, and Rachel and Joey. Although Rachel and Ross ended the series together, all they did throughout their romantic back-and-fourth relationship is harm the series.
Otherwise, Penny and Leonard never quite make sense in The Big Bang Theory. Instead, they seem to work for the reason of trying to bring a conclusion to originally showing Leonard's interest in Penny. Other times, refusing to allow the characters to truly move forward, such as in How I Met Your Mother with Ted and Robin, can prevent the series finale from being memorable for positive reasons. The Office hurts itself by trying to pair Jim with Karen because it never seemed convincing enough to be a solid competitor to Jim's feelings for Pam.
Friends: Ross and Rachel
One of the most iconic sitcom pairings is also one of the worst. Ross and Rachel were never compatible as a couple. When Rachel started succeeding at work, instead of being supportive, Ross grew angry and possessive. He could never respect Rachel's boundaries and ignored her pleas for him not to arrive at her office. Although "we were on a break" became the main war cry of their break-up, Friends ignored that Rachel and Ross were on the rocks long before that.
The will-they-won't-they that followed their initial split never actually portrayed them as an exciting or compatible duo. Having them get back together in the series finale is one of the biggest mistakes the series could have made, as Rachel chooses Ross over the career she had worked so hard for in order to give Ross a happy ending he does not deserve.
The Office: Jim and Karen
Jim and Pam's will-they-won't-they slow burn seemed inevitable when the narrative transitioned to Pam pining for Jim after two seasons of Jim watching Pam longingly. Karen could have been an interesting character had The Office given her a chance. Instead, she comes across as an obstacle for Jim and Pam, and without developing Karen further, it tends to fall apart.
How I Met Your Mother: Ted and Robin
Regardless of Ted and Robin's relationship in the early seasons, the series finale undoes plenty of character development to reach Ted and Robin's endgame. How I Met Your Mother ruins its finale by bringing Ted and Robin back together after spending the entire series waiting for Ted to meet the mother of his children, only for her to be irrelevant after a few minutes.
How I Met Your Father: Sophie and Jesse
As much as How I Met Your Father may want them to be, Sophie and Jesse just are not an exciting couple. They are not funny together or interesting to watch. Their emotional scenes are stunted and forgettable. These are not great characteristics in a show's central romantic couple. Regardless of if Sophie and Jesse are truly the show's endgame or not, they do not have enough chemistry to be presented as the main duo to watch come together.
Sabrina, The Teenage Witch: Sabrina and Aaron
Aaron is not necessarily a bad guy, but he comes into the show far too late to have any real impact. After a few failed relationships, Sabrina eventually falls for Aaron in the show's final season, but even Sabrina, The Teenage Witch seems to know this relationship won't last. There are several instances that show Sabrina's connection to Harvey is still alive and well, especially as he knows she is a witch, while Aaron never learns the truth.
Aaron is not exciting enough to add anything to the series, and the final season is hurt by trying to force the relationship before Sabrina ultimately leaves her wedding to be with Harvey instead.
Friends: Monica and Richard
From the moment Friends made it clear that Monica had known Richard since she was a young child, and he was an adult, this relationship was hurting the series. Richard was never the right fit for Monica, and they clearly wanted different things. Due to being in such different places in their lives, Monica and Richard could never agree on what their future looked like.
However, when Monica moved on, bringing Richard back had absolutely nothing to do with Monica's feelings for him and everything to do with posing him as an obstacle or suggestion of insecurity for Chandler.
The Big Bang Theory: Penny and Leonard
Another example of a back-and-forth will-they-won't-they, Penny and Leonard were one of the central couples of The Big Bang Theory. The sitcom went for the opposites attract concept, relying on the popular girl falls for nerdy boy trope. But, while they do introduce several new concepts to each other's lives, the series never truly justifies their relationship as being anything other than being wish fulfillment for Leonard.
Girl Meets World: Riley and Lucas
Girl Meets World tried to give Riley and Lucas a satisfying obstacle in the form of the love triangle between Riley, Lucas, and Maya. But it never worked in a convincing manner, mainly because Riley and Lucas were an awful couple. They were boring, and while Riley was always a charismatic bubbly person, Lucas never showed any sort of real personality traits while around her. Lucas came alive when they pinned him against Maya. However, even Girl Meets World, a show that constantly highlighted the concepts of character development and how people change, emphasized that nothing between Riley and Lucas ever did.
Riley declares her feelings for Lucas have been the same since the day they met. However, how can Riley's feelings for Lucas mean anything if they have not developed in three years? Riley always goes back to their first meeting and real conversation in the library, and while those two events may have set the foundation, if Riley can not connect a strong emotional attachment of growth in her feelings for Lucas, even after knowing him for three years, how was Girl Meets World going to convince anyone that these two were a good couple?
Friends: Rachel and Joey
Without a real opportunity to show if they had the potential to be something, Rachel and Joey's romance was over before it started. Regardless of if they made sense as a couple or not, Friends never gave them a real chance to try. After two seasons of build-up for a horrible execution, Friends would have been better off never introducing the storyline at all than what they ended up delivering.
The Wonder Years: Kevin and Winnie
The Wonder Years wanted Kevin and Winnie to be a central romance for the show. However, the duo not ending up together in the future was the best decision the series could have made for them. Kevin and Winnie were awful together during every attempt they made, and part of the reason why was because The Wonder Years refused to develop Winnie as a person.
The series was about Kevin, and as Kevin grew up, his transformation from child to teenager only made him worse. Meanwhile, Winnie was never granted any real character development, with her entire character being relegated to having the occasional sad sigh. There was never enough here to salvage a real potential first love.