The CW is a television network built on romantic relationships. The network is by now infamous for seeming to only cast the most attractive actors possible in each of their shows, and this has resulted in some of the most devoted fans in the world latching on to these shows in hopes of seeing their favorite relationships become canon. Thus, to appease their intense fans, the shows tend to introduce many, many different romantic entanglements in each series.
Not every TV romance can be a winner, even on the CW. Some relationships hurt entire shows, others stunt a character's growth and make them develop in unsatisfying ways. Other bad romances can just feel forced, gross, or plain old awkward. These kinds of failed TV couples are the ones the writers would like their viewers to forget. These aren't just romances that hurt the show, they did it in ways that the show tries to ignore. The couples that appear on this list usually get written out in some way, whether it's a character getting bumped off or the two suddenly seeming to lose any sense of romantic tension.
These couples are the ones that could have hurt the entire legacy of the show, made people think less of it in years to come. Some of these relationships did exactly that, although some shows got away with their poorly conceived romances. Regardless, these couples are the ones the shows want their viewers to forget; the ones that maybe even the fans would like to leave in the past.
These are 20 Couples CW Shows Want Us To Forget.
Oliver and Susan Williams (Arrow)
Oliver Queen has a long list of love interests on Arrow, many of which clearly were never going to last very long. After a while, the most popular pairing on the show by far was his romance with Felicity Smoak, whom he was always going to end up with. Many women have thus fallen by the wayside, and one of those was Susan Williams.
Susan had the extra misfortune of being pretty boring to watch. Unlike Oliver's other failed romances, which tended to involve supervillains or ninjas or what have you, Susan was just a reporter. She hit it off with Oliver when she reported on his campaign in a negative light, but eventually Oliver told her being with him was too dangerous, like we all knew he would. It was a boring chapter in Arrow, easily forgotten.
Bonnie and Jeremy (The Vampire Diaries)
Jeremy and Bonnie had a very close, on-and-off relationship throughout much of The Vampire Diaries. The problem was, it never really felt like a good match, and there were always some wild supernatural occurrences getting between them. Not the least of these is that these characters have each perished and been resurrected, usually in ways that involve the other.
Bonnie's character arc ended up focusing more on her becoming powerful and independent, and she never needed Jeremy to accomplish that. After he two-timed on Bonnie with a ghost, Jeremy may have felt torn up about her but didn't really have a shot at making the couple work.
Iris West and Eddie Thawne (The Flash)
The Flash began with its main character Barry Allen pining for Iris West, the girl he had basically been siblings with since they were kids. He couldn't make a move, though, because she already had a boyfriend: Eddie Thawne, who later sacrificed himself to stop a time-traveling supervillain. As one does.
Nowadays, Barry and Iris are together and all other former romances are forgotten in the past. These other love interests were never anything but obstacles to this obviously endgame couple-- there's a reason Barry and Iris' significant others always seem to get written out very quickly in the early seasons. Eddie falls into this category.
Sam and Amelia (Supernatural)
Supernatural has, at several points in its mind-bogglingly long series run, had its main characters attempt to enjoy a "normal life." Sam, Dean, and even the angel Castiel have all tried to settle down and stop hunting, usually with a lovely actress playing a very nice girlfriend or wife before she gets written out.
Sam has had a few different love interests in the show, and several of them have been ill-advised. Amelia is a veterinarian Sam falls for while pointedly not looking for his brother Dean (who was in Purgatory). Sam's eventual ditching of Amelia, his failure to look for his own brother, and the overall tragic tone made this romance an awkward fit in the show. Neither of the brothers have never fallen that seriously for anybody since.
Jenny and Chuck (Gossip Girl)
Jenny Humphrey, played by Taylor Momsen, has a tumultuous history on Gossip Girl. She was eventually written out and forgotten, but the negative parts of this romantic pairing actually came from Chuck, not Jenny.
Chuck assaults Jenny in the very first episode of Gossip Girl, something the show has been criticized for glossing over. The writers seemed to think he was just a "bad boy," not an obvious predator. Then they made it worse by having him hook up with Jenny in a later season, like he was completely forgiven. This coupling was an embarrassment that fans saw as a clear mistake. The writers likely wish they could take it back.
Archie and Betty (Riverdale)
In the original Archie comics, the titular redheaded boy has two beautiful girls fighting for his romantic attention. These are the infamous Betty and Veronica, and the first season of the darker melodrama Riverdale tried to recreate that dynamic with the three characters. However, by the end of the season, Archie and Betty were pretty firmly involved with other people.
In the more recent seasons of Riverdale, Betty and Jughead are probably the main romance of the whole show, while Archie and Veronica are close behind. Each of these characters seem to fit better in these relationships, and while the show has tried to stir the pot with drama where Archie and Betty kiss, it feels pretty forced. Consequently, everyone would rather forget "Barchie" was a thing.
Tess and Clark Luthor (Smallville)
Smallville may seem like an ancestor to all these newfangled superhero show, but it was doing some pretty spicy things in its 10-season run. One of these happened in the final season, where alternate versions of Clark Kent and Tess Mercer (named Clark and Tess Luthor) were in a relationship. The problem was, these Earth-2 doppelgangers were siblings.
These alternate characters were only adoptive siblings, and that was creepy enough, but it got even worse when Clark traveled to Earth-1 and kissed Tess Mercer. The real Tess was also the daughter of Lionel Luthor, meaning that she shared a father with Clark Luthor, even if it was across dimensions. Everyone, including the writers, probably wants to forget this ever happened.
Luke and Nicole (Gilmore Girls)
Like many entries on this list, Nicole Leahy was a love interest only introduced to create conflict between the central couple of a show. Nicole was introduced and quickly married to Luke, Lorelai's primary love interest, in the third season of Gilmore Girls. After a tumultuous relationship that was clearly never going to work, she promptly exited the show.
Luke obviously wound up with Lorelai in the end, as it was clear from the get-go that pretty much all of his other relationships were just placeholders for her. He was never a good match for Nicole, who two-timed him in the fourth season before they divorced. Nobody really liked her character or their relationship, and it was all best forgotten.
Stefan and Caroline (The Vampire Diaries)
Stefan Salvatore was one of the main characters of The Vampire Diaries, and over the show's eight seasons he found himself in constant whirlwind of change. His biggest romantic arc after his break up with Elena culminated with him marrying Caroline Forbes, another core character, in the show's penultimate episode. Their relationship seemed to be built to last, but then Stefan went and perished in the series finale.
Caroline, however, survived the finale and went on to star in both The Originals and Legacies, TVD's spinoff series. Her character has gone on to grow and change without Stefan, and the writers of these new shows would probably prefer it if fans didn't worry that her true love interest was bumped off years ago.
Hawkman and Hawkgirl (Legends of Tomorrow)
Legends of Tomorrow is famous for being absolutely bonkers, and that actually extends to its main cast lineup, which seems to change much more often than other shows. The first major shake-up occurred at the end of the very first season, when Hawkman and Hawkgirl (aka Carter Hall and Kendra Saunders), main fixtures on the Legends, told the team they were leaving.
The writers have said since that they felt there was nothing more they could do with these characters after they vanquished Vandal Savage. Looking back at season one of Legends now, it feels like a different show altogether, with a lot of characters virtually forgotten. This couple certainly counts among those.
Barry Allen and Patty Spivot (The Flash)
Much like Iris and Eddie, Barry and Patty had a surprisingly compelling romance that had to be axed because Barry was always going to end up with Iris. Patty was a cop in Central City, and the chemistry between her and Barry made people think she could be a real rival for Barry's affections.
Then Barry started pushing her away: Patty figured out the Flash's identity, and rather than be honest with her, Barry basically ended the relationship. Patty confirmed that he was the Flash at the very last minute, making sure Barry knew it was pointless to have ended things. This tragic note was a good little subplot, but the writers of the show nowadays would rather viewers basically forget all of Barry and Iris' romances before each other.
Chloe and Davis (Smallville)
Fans would very much like to forget pretty much everything about Davis Bloome, a paramedic introduced in the eighth season of Smallville. Davis, played by Sam Witwer, at first seemed to be a promising character, until he was revealed to actually be the monster Doomsday, a huge role he failed to live up to.
Chloe Sullivan, on the other hand, is a beloved main character. Her romantic history leaves a lot to be desired, though, as several of her relationships found her under the influence of mind control. In the case of her relationship with Davis, it was partially caused by mind control from Brainiac, making the whole attraction feel false and uncomfortable. Chloe being well-liked wouldn't save this relationship from all of those negative traits, and Davis was completely forgotten.
Dean and Jo Harvelle (Supernatural)
Supernatural has been repeatedly criticized over the course of its many seasons for its notable lack of female characters. They've attempted to rectify that a few different times, but these women tend to be underwritten and/or disliked by the fanbase. One of these was Jo Harvelle, daughter of Ellen Harvelle, who flirted uncomfortably with Dean.
The show was clearly trying to build a relationship there, though it never went anywhere real. Still, the insinuation was enough to weird out fans, and once it was clear that people didn't like the idea, the writers seemed to think there wasn't a point to keeping Jo around. She and her mom left the show, and were written off in the most tragic way.
Kara and Mon-El (Supergirl)
Mon-El was an elitist prince who took a long time to learn the error of his philandering, egotistical ways. Few were upset when he left Supergirl after the third season. It didn't help matters that he spent a lot of screen time pining for Kara Danvers despite being married to someone else.
Mon-El was married to Imra Ardeen, but kept trying to reconcile his love for Kara. This whole subplot was uncomfortable, Mon-El couldn't stand on his own, and nobody really cared that he had feelings for the main character. All it did was weaken (and ultimately help end) his relationship with Imra, so everyone is happier they're back in the 31st century, away from the main story.
Archie and Miss Grundy (Riverdale)
Riverdale kicked off its very first season on an uncomfortable, slightly creepy note: Archie sleeping with his music teacher, Geraldine Grundy. They had a secret relationship (not to mention extremely awkward tension after the fact) in those early episodes, much of which revolved around Grundy manipulating Archie so he wouldn't reveal her to the authorities.
Grundy herself has been largely forgotten by the show, as she was bumped off at the start of season two. By that point, the series had put this romantic pairing well behind it, with Archie in much more interesting relationships. Looking back, it feels weird that it was ever a thing, and it's understandable that the writers tried to ignore it ever happened.
Oliver and Sara Lance (Arrow/Legends of Tomorrow)
Oliver Queen and Sara Lance were not a bad on-screen couple. Their clandestine relationship was one of the reasons Ollie couldn't get back together with Laurel, Sara's sister. The pairing even had some fans who preferred it to Oliver and Felicity's eventual romance.
However, Sara and Oliver have changed a lot since they were together. Sara has gone on to be the lead of Legends of Tomorrow, and after years of starring there, it's honestly weird to think she was ever with Oliver. That past relationship just doesn't seem compatible with either character as they are now, as the writers moved on from that couple a long, long time ago.
Clarke and Finn (The 100)
The 100 is known for its stunning twists and the sudden ways characters get bumped off. Case in point: in the early episodes it seemed to be setting up Finn Collins as the potential love interest for Clarke Griffin, the show's main protagonist. They spent a night together, only for Finn's long-term girlfriend to arrive the next day.
While it may have seemed like Clarke would end up with Finn despite this impediment, the show removed any chance of that happening when Finn perished in the second season. Clarke moved on to other, much more dramatically engaging relationships, and Finn and his romantic entanglements have long since been forgotten.
Catherine and Gabe (Beauty and the Beast)
There are a few different characters in the CW's Beauty and the Beast who took a sudden, inexplicable turn to villainy. Gabe Lowan is one of those, as his jealousy over main character Catherine basically drove him mad. Played by Sendhil Ramamurthy, Gabe very abruptly became a full-on supervillain.
This was an odd choice, as it basically threw away a promising character on some pretty flimsy maniacal motivation. Gabe's relationship with Catherine served as the flash point for all this, and fans had to wonder why Gabe basically threw everyone's lives away over it. No one expected this couple to last, but no one expected it to blow up so awkwardly, either.
Blaine and Peyton (iZombie)
Blaine DeBeers served as iZombie's central antagonist for the first few seasons, but his character had a strange arc when he lost his memory. After that, the show confused audiences by first having him feel guilty about his unremembered past actions, then hooking up again with Peyton Charles (whom he had previously been with), the best friend of iZombie's protagonist Liv.
This relationship was awkward and uncomfortable for fans, especially after it was revealed that Blaine remembered his past earlier than he said he did, but hid that to make Peyton like him more. His relationship with Peyton was awkward for everyone involved, but the writers seem to have finally moved on and put that weirdness behind them.
Dean and Lindsay (Gilmore Girls)
Like a lot of relationships mentioned on this list, Dean's marriage with Lindsay was only really important because it wasn't with Rory Gilmore. Dean was one of Rory's major love interests in the first few seasons of Gilmore Girls, and their feelings were so intense that they damaged his relationship with Lindsay.
Dean ended up betraying Lindsay with Rory before leaving the show. This marriage was thus compromised almost from the beginning, and basically just represented a series of mistakes made by both Dean and Rory. Lindsay herself was a completely inconsequential character, to the point where this whole relationship was forgettable except for Rory's regrettable involvement in it.
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What couple from the CW do you want to forget? Let us know in the comments!