Fans moved on from love triangles

What happened to love triangles? Yes, I know they still exist.

No trope ever truly dies. But I remember a time when every piece of popular fiction was primarily driven by a messy relationship where the protagonist was expected to choose between two romantic options.

Entire fandoms were divided along the lines of which couple you supported. Publishers and studio executives saw this trend, and pushed it. I learned that certain fandoms existed because I kept seeing merchandise in the vein of ‘Team Jacob VS Team Edward’ everywhere I turned.

In fact, some people judged strangers based entirely on which couples they supported. To be fair, this phenomenon was just as common in the 1990s and 2000s (and yes, the only correct answer in the Buffyverse was Team Angel.

Yes, Spike is awesome, but no, a Buffy/Spike pairing is absurd). However, the trope attained new heights of popularity in the 2010s, which brings me back to my question. What happened to love triangles?

Compared to the heyday of Twilight, they have all but disappeared. Young Adult fiction, once the home of love triangles, has moved on to ‘Enemies-to-Lovers ’, ‘Forced Proximity’, and other equally bizarre tropes. The question is, why?

Well, first, fiction has changed. Love triangles are like bait on a fishing hook. They keep you interested by balancing the protagonist between two romantic leads for multiple books/films/ seasons. Why?

Because authors know audiences can’t bring themselves to quit these stories until they figure out the ending. They need to know which romantic lead the protagonist will choose, and that allows the author to string them along. Modern audiences don’t have that patience.

Have you noticed how many modern TV shows resolve major mysteries within a single eight-episode season? They know that dragging out mysteries for too long kills interest.

You get the sense that modern content creators don’t see the point of introducing love triangles they have to resolve mere episodes or chapters down the line. But even if you can keep audiences hooked long term, audience opinions on fictional romances have changed drastically.

Think back to the popular romantic comedies of the 2000s, where the protagonist spent the film’s two-hour run chasing a woman with a fiancé or boyfriend. Then the story ends with the woman leaving her fiancé/boyfriend for the protagonist.

Guess what we have seen within the last five years? Countless articles and social media posts from people who have started rethinking those films and ultimately slamming them for glamourising cheating because, clearly, the romantic leads in those films were terrible human beings. Love triangles have come under similar scrutiny.

They only work if you create a protagonist who is well and truly torn between two choices. But that makes the protagonist awful and unlikeable by default. The fact that they are even considering the second option suggests they don’t love the first option (the one they are partnered with when the story starts).

Does that mean they are stringing the first person along? Are they merely indecisive? If they love the first option, why make the second option suffer? Why not cut ties immediately?

Why are they contemplating infidelity for so many episodes/movies/ novels? Either way, modern audiences will turn on them. I suppose it comes down to the writing. If you think you can add some sophistication to this trope, go for it. Be the one who paves the way for a new era of love triangles in fiction.

[email protected]

The post Fans moved on from love triangles appeared first on The Observer Media Ltd.