Best Fictional Couples

Couples. Two people in sync, two people in love, two people who were meant to be with just the other. Two people you'd rather see with each other or not at all. What is that magic that a good pair up on the big screen or a yellowed novel exudes? What is their charm? Is it that we wish we were one of them? Do we want to be them? (with the designer clothes and witty dialogs and make up and all of that, of course). Or is it just the way they are portrayed? I don't know what it is, but it's there. Here's my take on the best fictional couples of all time.

Couples from Movies

Aargh! It's so difficult to come up with a select number of famous fictional characters! There are a thousand pairs just twirling about in my mind. As difficult as it is though, here are my best three picks.

Rhett Butler and Scarlett O'Hara (Gone With The Wind)
She's the quintessential haughty spoiled little brat and he's the arrogant Southerner who's so sure about himself, almost to the extent of being cocky. Explosive pair in the making. Their worlds are turned upside down because of the civil war and everything changes. He loves her. She doesn't know she loves him because she's madly in love with someone else. And then he goes away...Then love makes its way into her heart. The pure explosion of attitudes and the old film charm, the clash of cultures and a constant war within a war - that's what makes this pair an all time favorite, won't you say?

Joe Fox and Kathleen Kelly (You've Got Mail)
When it's Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan on the screen, there is bound to be magic. I just love the ease with which it all happens. Their comic timing and the colloquial element of comedy, subtle romance, wit and sarcasm. It's like we can imagine all that happening to us. Great story, great build up, great acting and none of the heavy-duty drama. Just a simple couple born of a simple story, living a normal life - reading the newspaper and walking the dog and intelligent, slightly romantic arguments. Love. Love. Love!

Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger (Harry Potter Series)
For me, just the heavily accented English factor and Ron's always scared/confused look is enough. But that's not what makes them one of the best fictional couples. It's the way their story happens. She's the super smart, know-it-all girl who thrives in academic attention. And he's just trying to find his footing in the confused world of siblings and a famous friend. But love makes its way in and lingers on. Heart breaks, dark lords and wars follow but the confused one eyebrow up (Ron, of course) and the more than sure set face (Hermione) are always there. Cute as ever and so, so English.

Couples from Movies (Others)

• Maria and Georg Von Trapp (The Sound of Music)
• Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund (Casablanca)
• Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet (Romeo and Juliet)
• Tony and Maria (West Side Story)
• Johnny Castle and Baby (Dirty Dancing)
• Edward and Vivian (Pretty Woman)
• Jack and Rose (Titanic)
• Edward and Bella (Twilight Series)
• Edward and Kim (Edward Scissorhands)
• Anna Scott and William Thacker (Notting Hill)
• Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley (Harry Potter Series)

Couples from Television Series

Serials stretch over years and the agony of those two characters getting together gets intense and more intense. Then when they are together, it's the triumph of patience. Let's take a look at some of these famous TV couples.

Ross and Rachel (F.R.I.E.N.D.S)
Who doesn't love F.R.I.E.N.D.S? It is no doubt one of the most popular American TV series that enjoys a worldwide hysterical maniacal fan following. Ross loves Rachel, she doesn't. He moves on, then she starts crushing on him. They get together, then they break up, then they get back together again (for real this time) then insecurities happen, then the cheating, then the 'Once a cheater, always a cheater' dialog and scores of kisses, wavering lifestyles, dodging career shifts, fighting instincts and an Emma later, the inevitable happens. But always without the drama, drama and more drama and infused instead with laughter riots. Sigh.

Lorelai and Luke (Gilmore Girls)
There's something so normal about this couple. The small town set up, the familiar places, the neighborhood, the everyday lives - a hyperactive, fiercely independent woman and the grouchy, lovable guy. They were just waiting to happen. And then when they finally kiss, how good does that feel?

Dharma and Greg (Dharma and Greg)
Opposites attract. Oh yes, they do. The well-bred, highly educated and in all sense of the term 'proper' man meets the bohemian/hippie, carefree, fun-loving girl. Granted the audience is not tortured about thoughts of when they'll hitch because the serial begins like that. Then the roller coaster ride that their lives take because of Dharma's antics, suffused with such wacky comedy sequences, it's just all too much.

Couples from Television Series (Others)

• Monica and Chandler (F.R.I.E.N.D.S)
• Rory and Jess (Gilmore Girls)
• Summer and Seth (The O.C.)
• Ryan and Marissa (The O.C.)
• Jim and Pam (The Office)
• Mr. Big and Carrie (Sex and the City)
• Jackie and Hyde (That 70's Show)
• Jesse and Rebecca (Full House)
• Will and Grace (Will and Grace) [Though not romantically involved]
• Lucy and Ricky Ricardo (I Love Lucy)
• Joey Potter and Dawson Leery (Dawson's Creek)

Couples from Novels

The books. Oh those pages and pages of romantic protagonists - the best couples from books. Every single detail, every single page...each page turned, a new chapter unfurls.

Mr Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice)
A match in the true sense of the word. She is not intimidated by his power and he is not intimidated by her smarts. The battle of wits rages on and on throughout the novel. The agony of a being in love and not being able to do anything about it, the feuds and egos and no promises of tomorrows - that is how the book torments us throughout. But when they get together, it's a foray into every girl's dream come true. And I still say...the archaic English script and the imagined accents is the charm.

Sir Percy Blakeney and Marguerite St. Just (The Scarlet Pimpernel)
If you've never read this one before, I'd urge you to read it. Baroness Orczy manages to create a heartwarming love story in the background of the French Revolution. It is so classic that I literally have no words. But I shall still try. The characterization in the book is so strong - the misplaced identities for one, makes for some of the best reads. Percy is portrayed as a fop, married to a beautiful Frenchwoman. He loves her so much but he cannot show it. The torture and torment he goes through on account of that and the hatred from his wife that he has to bear because of his foppish ways is literally too hard to bear. But when she does know his true identity and the relief that a true love brings...there's really nothing that can replace that. Nothing.

Bridget Jones and Mark Darcy (Bridget Jones' Diary)
This is a contemporary love story. Maybe most of us identify with it? I don't know. But the confused Jones and the arrogant Darcy. We root for them, we pray for them and we maybe, probably, really do see ourselves in them. We know that there's no Cinderella and no Charming Prince anymore, but really, this is as good as it is ever going to get. Something like that.

Best Couples of Animation

• Jasmine and Aladdin (Aladdin)
• Shrek and Fiona (Shrek Series)
• Homer and Marge Simpson (The Simpsons)
• Cinderella and Prince Charming (Cinderella)
• Ariel and Prince Eric (The Little Mermaid)
• Belle and Beast (Beauty and the Beast)
• Fred and Wilma (The Flintstones)
• Simba and Nala (The Lion King)
• Mowgli and Radha (The Jungle Book)

A task so gargantuan, listing out the best fictional couples is not easy, especially, because there are so many of them that touch our heart. Alright, so I'm pretty sure I've not included many couples here, but I cannot write an epic tale of pages and pages. So bear with me, add your own and...well, happy nostalgia.