What makes a good written relationship- Clark and Lois
My favourite written relationship ever put to screen is Smallville's Clark and Lois and I thought it would be fun analysing what makes it such a great relationship and what makes a great written relationship in general:
• Melodrama vs realistic drama and outside drama affecting your relationship vs drama between the two characters - Something I think the writers did that was really smart was not adding constant amounts of drama over the stupidest and smallest things to fill time, when there is too much drama between a couple fatigue starts to sit in and watching them becomes less and less enjoyable so knowing when and what type of drama to add to a relationship can make it feel more real and natural. I love the storyline that Lois had fallen for both sides of Clark without her knowing and the storyline that Clark can't let Lois go and she is what tethers him keeping his humanity. Not every drama they had was perfectly done but compared to most, especially usual CW relationships it is pretty close.
• Remembering and keeping the good when the relationship begins - An extension of the previous point but just as important is making the relationship fun, the writers did such an amazing job at making their relationship witty and funny. By doing this it creates a casual picture in the audience mind that their relationship is funny and something to enjoy which carries peoples investment of the relationship a long way.
• Making their relationship their own world - In the later seasons especially the show basically split into two with a Clark and Lois show and then a Clark and everyone else show. They were basically completely separated, doing this made the relationship feel more unique, more personal, and more important. It is extremely important for a relationship to stand out amongst the others and that's what they did.
• A natural flow where both makes the other better - It might seem weird considering who their characters are but the writers did such an amazing job at making the relationship feel natural, over many seasons we see them meet and slowly grow closer and closer. To me this is extremely extremely important because it gives the audience the chance to see why they will and should get together which in turn makes the audience investment in the relationship stronger and stronger. Something they did as well was make both characters better with eachother, Lois learned to let her guard down while Clark learned how to be who he was meant to be while also still being human, this again adds to the positive image of the relationship and makes the relationship feel more real.
Overall Clark and Lois is a well paced, natural, and extremely fun relationship with amazing chemistry and great storylines. What people want from romantic relationships changes depending on the person but for me Clark and Lois is basically perfect and completely stole the show in smallvile, even more so than the Clark and Lex relationship which isn't easy to do. It's too the point that whenever I rewatch the show now, I start at season 4 because that is when the show really starts for me now.