When people think of fantasy, they tend to think of rings to be destroyed or dragons to be slain. But at the heart of many — if not most — fantasy tales is a love story. This isn’t to say we don’t enjoy the destroying of the ring or the slaying of the dragon. But it’s often the love story, when done right, that makes us care.
Here are some of fantasy’s best, most memorable love stories:
Guinevere and Lancelot
The mythology surrounding King Arthur and his knights is dizzying in its complexity, and there is no one true canonical account of how things went down in Camelot. But no matter who’s telling the story, most agree on one thing: something hot and heavy happens with the king’s wife and his best knight. The affair of Lancelot and Guinevere is legendary, and whether it’s told with sympathy or harsh judgment, the fact remains we just can’t stop talking about it.
Robin Hood and Maid Marian
He robbed from the rich and stole from the poor. She was rich, but totally dug his politics. Whether it’s Errol Flynn’s flamboyant fey archer or Kevin Costner’s brooding everyman, Robin has always fought the good fight, all the while being outlawed by the Sheriff of Nottingham and Prince John. And girls just love their bad boys, don’t they?
Buttercup and Westley 
A love affair between a farm boy and a…well, we never really knew exactly what she was before the movie gets going…is torn asunder when said farm boy, Westley, leaves to find his fortune and is allegedly killed by pirates. Buttercup, numb and unhappy, then becomes betrothed to the prince until she is abducted by some baddies, then abducted again by the Dread Pirate Roberts, a dashing masked fencer in black. But, oh! Who is under that mask but good old Westley, and when Buttercup is let in on the secret, the sparks fly again and never stop.
Willow and Tara
This is easily one of the most unique and beautiful love stories that ever played out on television. TV is shamefully lacking in both quality and quantity in its representation of LGBT characters, but one show was brave enough to unapologetically follow two women who fall in love…who also happen to be demon-fighting witches. Seen on the cult hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the relationship between Willow and Tara was often the most stable on a show full of heterosexual relationships, and brilliantly and touchingly portrayed by Allyson Hannigan and Amber Benson. The purity of their love made it that much more shocking when Tara was senselessly killed by a villain who wasn’t even gunning for her.
Han Solo and Princess Leia
Star Wars is science fiction, you say, not fantasy? Take a closer look at it and you’ll see it’s simply the story of a prince rescuing a princess — with swords and magic, no less! In any event, when we first met Han and Leia, she is a brat and he is a scoundrel. That’s more or less what they are at the end of the story as well, except for two things: they have successfully helped to overthrow the empire, and they have fallen very much in love. The pivotal moment in their relationship occurs in The Empire Strikes Back, and is a scene that has been scorched into the memory of many a young romantic. Han has been captured by Darth Vader, and is about to be frozen in carbonite as Leia looks on. Things are looking pretty bad. Terrified for his life, Leia can’t help herself and finally admits, “I love you.” Han, in true tough guy form, looks at her and replies, “I know.” But in his eyes we see just how much he loves her in return.
Jean Grey and Scott Summers
First introduced in the early 60’s, the two X-men codenamed Phoenix and Cyclops have been through a lot, and so has their relationship. But somehow, they always seem to make it work…even though she’s dead right now. (But don’t expect that to last.) As one of Marvel Comics’ flagship couples, their love was never tested more than during that Hamlet of comic book storylines known as the Phoenix Saga. Jean is given godlike abilities, and upon losing herself in her absolute power, she absentmindedly destroys an inhabited world. She, Scott, and the rest of the X-Men then fight off an army sent to bring her down until ultimately she sacrifices herself, believing she’s too much of a risk to stay alive. Then other things happen. She comes back bad. Then she comes back good. It gets confusing. It’s still confusing. But one thing that has never been confusing is the strength of their passionate bond.
Lestat and, Well, Everybody
Before she found Jesus and ruined her career, Anne Rice cultivated a series of novels called The Vampire Chronicles, which centered on Lestat, a pansexual rock star vampire. Lestat quickly became an icon for his fluid sexuality and outrageous behavior, and his lovers were many, yet he managed to imbue each love affair with a seemingly intense significance. Chief among his mates were Louis, his perpetually gloomy best friend, and Gabrielle, who in his former human life was…his mom. (Even the undead have oedipal issues.) It was Lestat’s ability to voraciously love and be loved by many that’s made him an icon to emo kids everywhere.
Beauty and the Beast
Before you protest a children’s movie being on the list, think back to that first time you watched Disney’s Beauty and the Beast and tell me you weren’t enamored by Belle’s quirky innocence and intrigued by the Beast’s agitated longing. True, she was his prisoner, and this might be the most romantic case of Stockholm’s Syndrome ever committed to film, but that scene where he dressed up for dinner and she joined him in her iconic yellow gown is forever etched in our collective memory. And when he swept her along the dance floor, we all sighed and enjoyed this tale as old as time as though it were the first we’ve heard of it.
Sam and Frodo
There are many kinds of love in this world, and a love story doesn’t have to tell of a passionate affair that ends in the bedroom. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo is sent on a journey that will almost certainly lead to his death, and without hesitation his loyal servant, gardener, and best friend Sam volunteers to accompany and protect him. The humble hobbits then face a world’s worth of danger, and the key to their survival is their true and honest love for each other. Much has been speculated about the true meaning of their relationship (in the end, Sam is torn between marrying another hobbit named Rosie or living with Frodo, and at Frodo’s urging does both), but whether those hugs and kisses shared between them meant anything more than friendship is ultimately up to individual interpretation. Whatever the measure of their love, they went to hell and back together, and we’re lucky to have tagged along.
Superman and Lois Lane
This one goes without saying. Even someone who has never cracked open a comic book knows of the relationship between the last scion of Krypton and the feisty Daily Planet ace reporter. Lois and Clark have been together from the very beginning — since Action Comics issue #1 in 1938, then spanning countless incarnations throughout the years, perhaps most memorably in Richard Donner’s classic film, Superman. Christopher Reeves and Margot Kidder made movie romance magic, which reached its zenith when he takes her on a moonlit flying session and we hear her inner monologue, wondering if this handsome guy can read her mind as she stares at him in wonder. Hearts melted quicker than if blasted by heat vision, and we all fell in love with this immortal super-couple.
Ten great fantasy love stories? No, there are far more than that! Here are some honorable mentions — but, of course, even these are just the tip of the iceberg!
Achilles and Patroclus – Many historians agree that Achilles and Patroclus were seen by the ancients as a couple, but the ridiculous de-gaying of these characters in 2004’s Troy (“This is Patroclus, my…uh…cousin! Yeah, he’s my cousin.”) assured that the masses that get their knowledge through pop entertainment never even knew they were in love. Nevertheless, Achilles’ quest for vengeance after his lover’s death is one for the ages.
Buffy, Angel, and Spike – Maybe I’m biased, but while I appreciate that millions hung on the relationship between Buffy and Angel, then later Buffy and Spike, then later the tension between Spike and Angel, I get a little tired of angst and self-loathing. However, there was real beauty in some of the connections between the slayer and her vampires, and it will always be remembered by fans.
Arwen and Aragorn – A touching if relatively simple love story (Boy meets Girl, Boy gets separated from Girl due to a history-altering quest and achievement of kinghood, Girl gives up immortality so she can live and die with Boy), not that much time is really given for us to dwell on their relationship, and its overshadowed by the platonic bonds between the other characters. Still, it’s the most prevalent romantic relationship in all of The Lord of the Rings, and thus deserves a nod.
Xena and Gabrielle — ‘Nuff said.
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