The most unlikely couples in TV series

Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon in 'House of the Dragon'
Jorah and Daenerys in 'Game of Thrones'
Daryl and Carol,  'The Walking Dead'
Hillary and Jazz, in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'
Eleven and Mike, in 'Stranger Things'
Omar Navarro and Wendy Byrde, in 'Ozark'
Uhtred y Aethelflaed, in 'The Last Kingdom'
Rachel and Joey, in 'Friends'
Hannah and Clay, in '13 Reasons Why'
Homelander and Starlight (or anyone else), in 'The Boys'
Ted and Robin, in 'How I Met Your Mother'
Kate and Sawyer, in 'Lost'
Lagertha and King Harald, in 'Vikings'
Clarke and Bellamy, in 'The 100'
Rose and Charlie, in 'Two and a Half Men'
Mary and Branson, in 'Downton Abbey'
Steve Urkel and Laura Winslow, in 'Family Matters'
Allison and Luther, in 'The Umbrella Academy'
Buffy and Spike, in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'
Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma, in 'Gotham'
Annalise Keating and Tegan Price, in 'How to Get Away with Murder'
Regina and Emma, in 'Once Upon a Time'
Rhaenyra and Laenor Velaryon in 'House of the Dragon'

Well, if we are looking at unlikely pairings, we have to start with the most recent HBO hit. In fact, the character of Rhaenyra had more than one relationship that didn't seem to make much sense: from Ser Criston Cole to Ser Harwin Strong, and finally to becoming the platonic wife of Laenor Velaryon. Her first relationship was unseemly, her first marriage unlikely and her ultimate choice of a husband (her uncle Daemon), well, unsurprising!

Photo: HBO

Jorah and Daenerys in 'Game of Thrones'

Talking of 'House of the Dragon,' our second unlikely couple is Jorah and Daenerys in 'Game of Thrones'. He had a secret crush (and suffered in silence) while she only wanted to be friends. Or did she really love him?

Photo: HBO

Daryl and Carol, 'The Walking Dead'

Season after season we saw their friendship blossom. As much as you might think - or as much as fans might love this couple - they were always just friends. Best friends in times of zombie warfare.

Photo: AMC

Hillary and Jazz, in 'The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'

Good old Waldo Geraldo Faldo tried, but Hillary never accepted Will's best friend as her boyfriend. They had dinner together, but it was something she reluctantly accepted to please her cousin. This date, to Jazz, made up for the countless times he was thrown (literally) out of the mansion of the Banks family.

Eleven and Mike, in 'Stranger Things'

Here's another one of those 'want-and-can't' relationships; especially on the part of poor Mike who is unable to show his feelings towards Eleven, while she is always in her own world. No matter how much kissing was involved.

Omar Navarro and Wendy Byrde, in 'Ozark'

Wendy and Navarro have a close relationship, but it's more 'professional' than anything else. He is sure that he has an ally and she makes sure that the most dangerous guy in the story doesn't take out her whole family. Could love blossom between them? In some people's minds, the idea could arise, given Wendy's complicated relationship with Marty Byrde. By the way, Marty might also form a rather unlikely pairing with Ruth.

Uhtred y Aethelflaed, in 'The Last Kingdom'

The connection between the great Uhtred of Bebbanburg and Aethelflaed of Mercia, daughter of King Alfred and sister of Edward, is as impossible as their ever-latent relationship, which only came to fruition when she perished in his arms, a victim of illness.

Photo: The Last Kingdom Official

Rachel and Joey, in 'Friends'

In another on-off relationship, Rachel realized she liked Joey in 'The One With Rachel's Dream' (S9E19). They dated for a week. Joey told Rachel he loved her in 'The One Where Joey Tells Rachel' (S8E16), but we all knew it could never be. After all, could Joey really love anyone more than a meatball sandwich?

Hannah and Clay, in '13 Reasons Why'

The link between Hannah Baker and Clay Jensen is strong. Through him, she develops her story, searching for the culprits of her death. There could have been something before. The dance, the cinema where they worked... but she left and the relationship could never be.

Homelander and Starlight (or anyone else), in 'The Boys'

Can you imagine the self-centered Homelander with Annie January? The truth is, we can't imagine him with anyone but himself, really. They pretended to be a couple for the public but, like most people on the team, she feared and despised him.

Photo: Amazon Prime Video

Ted and Robin, in 'How I Met Your Mother'

It was sold to us cheap, expensive, on sale, and even as a gift, but from the beginning, nobody believed in Ted and Robin's relationship. They were two completely different people, and how quickly the mystery would have been solved! Yet, the unlikely relationship worked out, even though many of us felt that she was more suited to Barney...

Kate and Sawyer, in 'Lost'

Another relationship that they tried to sell us right at the start of the series was the one in 'Lost' between Kate and Sawyer. While Kate let herself be loved, there was no future in it. She always liked her 'toxic' relationship with Jack better.

Lagertha and King Harald, in 'Vikings'

Can anyone imagine a match between Lagertha and King Harald? The only thing that happened between them was a disgusting intimate encounter full of hatred and revenge when she had him tied up as a prisoner. And that was it. Given Harald's résumé, we can't imagine him with any other woman either, despite liaisons like the one he had with Gunnhild. His luck with women was not the best throughout his ambitious Viking life.

Clarke and Bellamy, in 'The 100'

They were doomed to understand each other and pair up. Although it might seem obvious, the two great leaders of 'The 100', Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake, did not get to be together. Why? Who knows? The possibility was always as likely as unlikely.

Rose and Charlie, in 'Two and a Half Men'

After a night together, Rose was crazy about Charlie in 'Two and a Half Men'. The feeling wasn't mutual, although she kept trying to seduce him. She would sneak into his house and stalk him assiduously, with little success. An unlikely couple if ever there was one.

Mary and Branson, in 'Downton Abbey'

The couple formed by Lady Mary and Tom Branson in 'Downton Abbey' was a close friendship cemented in their cooperation on the Grantham family estate. They could have been a romantic couple, but it was always unlikely. Branson was Lady Sybil's husband and therefore Mary's brother-in-law.

Steve Urkel and Laura Winslow, in 'Family Matters'

Another unlikely, or impossible, relationship was that of Steve Urkel and Laura Winslow. He was eternally in love with her, but... those who followed the series to its end will know that things didn't go as he expected.

Allison and Luther, in 'The Umbrella Academy'

While there have been signs, a romantic relationship between Allison and Luther seems unlikely because they are siblings (though not by blood). It just doesn't seem to work out. Perhaps time will prove us right.

Buffy and Spike, in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'

"No, you don't love me. But thank you for saying it," Spike told Buffy in his final hour. He knew that the vampire slayer's heart was always Angel's after all.

Oswald Cobblepot and Edward Nygma, in 'Gotham'

Friends, then enemies, then friends again with an undertone of love between the two villains. With the penguin searching for love since the death of his parents, the two broken baddies definitely found a connection together.

Annalise Keating and Tegan Price, in 'How to Get Away with Murder'

When Annalise Keating's old college relationship with Eve Rothlo was known, many thought that, in the midst of their stormy liaisons, the famed lawyer might also have tried it with fellow lawyer Tegan Price. And many will have been left wanting, including Tegan.

Regina and Emma, in 'Once Upon a Time'

They started out as heroine and villain, but from an initial blind enmity, they became great friends. Their story was, in fact, one of the strongest points of the series. Some fans have always wanted it to go from friendship to something more.