Saying "I love you" for the first time is half a declaration and half a question. We blindly, wildly declare our- selves and wait in anticipation for
a reply - a reply that will either elate or crush us. Other tropes may have a wide variety of outcomes, but saying "I love you" has only two: the person you love either says it back or says nothing. And, strangely enough, the media reflects that in a mostly accurate way.
First comes the decision to say it. Some characters know from the very beginning that they're in love, like Ted (Josh Radnor) in "How I Met Your Mother" (2005-present), who infamously scared off Robin (CobieSmulders), the woman who he has been hopelessly in love with for nine sea- sons too many, by telling her that he was falling in love with her during their first date. Other characters take far too long to say it, like Chuck Bass (Ed Westwick) in "Gossip Girl" (2007-2012), who caused inordinate amounts of fan angst with his inability to tell Blair (Leighton Meester) that he loved her.
Other characters require extensive encouragement, needing everything from a prince to a near-death experience to give them the necessary courage. Characters from books, on the other hand, seem to have it a little easier as the eloquence of their writers guides them to the perfect way to declare their love. One of my favorite examples is from Ian McEwan's "Atonement" (2001), where we know that Cecilia and Robbie say "I love you" without seeing it written on the page. Sometimes, a few subtle lines can outdo any grand gesture.
The first, and best, outcome is for the person they love to say it back. If it's a couple that was clearly meant to be from the first moment they appeared together, it can be the culmination of their relation- ship. The one who says "I love you" first may not even doubt that the other will say it back. These scenes tend to take one of two forms: the grand, romantic gestures or the impulsive-yet-perfect declaration that feels so right.
But then there's the placeholder couple, often made up of one half of a meant-to- be couple and a character invented solely to prevent them from getting together with the other half of their pair. That pairing's saying "I love you" can evoke fan reactions from cringing discomfort to fist- shaking, never-ending frustration. I'll take an example from my own life. This season on "Nashville" (2012-present), Zoe (Chaley Rose), Scarlett's (Clare Bowen) former best friend, declared her love to Gunnar (Sam Palladio), Scarlett's former boyfriend - and he said it back, albeit in a rather unenthusiastic monotone. I shouted at my computer screen for almost a minute, falling into the classic fan trap of trying to give the characters advice, before my roommate started giving me odd looks.
Finally, there's the evil "I love you." Two evil characters, or one evil character and one character who has been brought over to the dark side, declare their love and promptly start plotting world domination. This either prompts dismay or - for a certain kind of viewer - dark satisfaction.
The second outcome is the disastrous one. The "I love you" is said to empty air as the other person stares back and lets the seconds go by, making everything clear with what they're not saying. Those declarations are best forgotten quickly as the couple either breaks up or finds their way to an "I love you" that they both mean. But maybe we need to see those failed firsts, to remind us of the fine, fine line between joy and desolation. Maybe they help us walk that narrow tightrope and maybe the most important thing isn't whether the person we love says it back to us, but that we sum-
Natalie Girshman is a sophomore majoring in history and drama. She can reached at Natalie.Girshman@tufts.edu.
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