The Best Romantic Scenes in TV & Film

As it’s Valentine’s Day this week, I thought I’d take a look back at some of my favourite romantic moments in TV and film. Yes, a lot of the time, these moments aren’t very realistic, and they’re certainly not what would happen in real life. However, it’s nice to feel that emotion and connection towards the characters you end up feeling so attached to. Yes I’m aware that I watch far too much TV and too many movies. That’s lockdown for you. Anyway, here are my picks for my favourite romantic scenes in my favourite TV shows and movies. Before we continue, there will be some spoilers!

Parks & Recreation – Ben and Leslie’s First Kiss (S3E14 – Road Trip)

I mentioned in an earlier post how much I’ve grown to love Parks & Rec, and one of my favourite things about it is Ben and Leslie’s relationship. They have so many memorable scenes together, but my favourite has to be their first kiss. After heading off on a road trip where they spend the entire time trying to stay away from each other due to a rule preventing workplace romances, upon their return the below exchange happens. It’s built up throughout the whole episode and it’s just the best ending that starts off their relationship.

Scrubs – JD Confesses His Feelings to Elliot (S3E20 – My Fault)

JD and Elliot were always the couple I rooted for throughout Scrubs. While their relationship was anything but easy, and following this episode they didn’t get together again until season eight, but in the early stages, you can’t help rooting for them as you used to for Ross and Rachel in Friends. A key plot point of season three revolves around JD’s feelings for Elliot, and when she agrees to move in with her boyfriend, Sean, he realises his time is running out and eventually confesses his love to her. The entire speech just gets me every single time.

Admittedly – JD being JD, he overthinks the whole thing and ultimately breaks up with her after realising he doesn’t actually want her. Yes, it dumps on the whole romantic gesture he made earlier and it’s a massive dick move – but in the big picture, they eventually get back together towards the end of the show’s run. I always felt they were meant to be together, and to be honest the fact they barely spoke throughout season four was gutting.  It’s not all bad though, as this leads me on to my next one…

Scrubs – JD and Elliot Get Back Together (S8E4 – My Happy Place)

This was the eppy that all JD and Elliot fans were waiting for. When Dr Kelso mistakenly comments that it’s nice to see the two of them dating again (they’re not, they’re just hanging out more as friends), the two of them end up discussing their relationship and the past mistakes that caused them to break up. Despite them both expressing their concerns, they end up following Dr Kelso’s advice of “do whatever the hell makes you happy” and at the end of the episode walk out of the hospital together holding hands. I cried. The best thing? They remain together for the rest of the season and in the subsequent one are married and expecting a baby.

Grey’s Anatomy – Derek and Meredith’s Post-It Wedding (S5E22 – Now or Never)

Meredith and Derek have so many moments throughout the run of Grey’s Anatomy, so many in fact, that I struggled to choose just one to include. In the end though, it had to be their post-it wedding in season five. In an earlier episode, they end up handing over their wedding to Alex and Izzie, who’s currently undergoing cancer treatment, and they arrange to get married at city hall instead. However, their wedding keeps getting delayed because they’re both too busy, so they write down their vows on a post-it note in the hospital locker room which they both sign.

They don’t actually get married properly until season seven when they begin the adoption process with their daughter, Zola, but ask any Grey’s fan – this is one of the best weddings in the show’s history.

How I Met Your Mother – Ted’s Speech to the Mother (S8E20 – The Time Travellers)

I’ll be honest – I still have beef with how HIMYM ended (that’s another post for another day), but you can’t deny it had its moments on the romance front. One of the scenes that broke me in particular was this speech that Ted makes to the Mother when he thinks back to what he should have done on a night when he was all alone while his friends were all too busy. It’s incredibly poignant, and when you know what happens in the next season, you can see it foreshadowed what was to come, which makes it even more heartbreaking.

Friends – Monica and Chandler Get Engaged (S6E23/24 – The One With the Proposal)

So many people have slagged off Friends of late for a number of reasons, which I won’t go into (mainly related to Ross and Rachel’s relationship), but I felt I should at least give a nod to one of the best romantic moments in the show, and that was when Monica and Chandler got engaged. While Chandler’s approach to the whole thing isn’t exactly the best way to go about it, there’s no denying that the scene where he and Monica officially get engaged is one that gets you right in the feels. 

Garden State – The Final Scene

I mentioned a while back that Garden State is one of my favourite films. The relationship between Large and Sam is just incredible, and the final scene at the airport before Large heads back to LA is just amazing. Sam’s reaction to him leaving is just heartbreaking, and you feel like shouting at your TV like “SHE’S HELPED YOU. STAY WITH HER FFS.” Thankfully, he sees sense at the very last minute and reunites with her, professing his love for her. It’s intense and it’s one of the most underrated scenes in romantic movies. 

A Star is Born – Ally’s Debut

I’m still not over A Star is Born. Jack and Ally’s relationship is one that will stick with me for a long time, but my favourite moment of theirs in the film has to be when he invites Ally on stage to perform Shallow, the lyrics of which she shared with him earlier on in the movie. It’s the start of their relationship and her career as a singer, and the spark between them is amazing. Of course the end of the movie will absolutely fucking break you, but this particular scene just gets me every single time.

The Big Bang Theory – Sheldon and Amy Get Back Together (S9E10 – The Earworm Reverberation)

Shamy is one of those TV couples that you just love to watch develop over the years. You start off at the end of season three where she tells him that pretty much everything is off the table and that she’s just dating to please her mother, and then you get to the end of season 11 where she and Sheldon get married. It’s just the perfect love story. There are so many perfect Shamy moments throughout the whole run of BBT, but my favourite has to be the scene where they get back together following their breakup. The episode as a whole is just a delight, including the guest appearance of Stephen Merchant as Dave, Amy’s date, who also turns out to be Sheldon’s biggest fan. The scene where Sheldon arrives at  her apartment and professes his love for her, followed by Stephen Merchant’s line “KISS HER YOU BRILLIANT FOOL!” is just gold, and as a lifelong BBT fan, it’s the moment you will have been waiting for that entire season. 

How I Met Your Mother – Marshall and Lily Renew Their Vows (S9E22 – The End of the Aisle)

As I mentioned, I have beef with the whole final season of HIMYM. Personally, I think the series should have ended on this eppy, but nooo. Anyway, Marshall and Lily were that couple that remained constant throughout the run of the show (aside from when they briefly split up at the end of the first season), and the scene where they renewed their wedding vows was just perfect. The earlier half of the season saw them fighting because Marshall had been offered his dream job as a judge in New York, while Lily had been offered her dream job as an art buyer in Italy – and their fight over who was giving up who’s dream immediately ended when it was revealed that Lily was pregnant with their second child. Despite them going through every bit of drama married couples can go through – financial problems, grief, trying to conceive – they still survived it and came out stronger than ever, and this moment just solidified that.

I’m now at the point where I feel I need to watch back pretty much all of these, so I guess that’ll keep me busy for as long as this current lockdown lasts. What are your favourite romantic scenes? Let me know in the comments!

Featured image by Georgia Vagim on Unsplash.