(Even More Of) My Favorite Media Friendships
 |
| Image description: The cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. This poster is absolutely packed with amazing characters - and a few of them show up in today's post, which is my third post dedicated specifically to listing some of my favorite friendships in media. |
This is something I’ve done in two other posts to date, each
time examining a few friendships across various media that really speak to me
for one reason or another and which I’d desperately like to see more of. As
always, it’s difficult to settle on just a few of these relationships, and so
once again I am keeping this strictly to duos, rather than groups, trios,
family relationships, mentors/mentees, etc. Knowing me, I’m sure these many
categories will have posts dedicated to them in future, and I look forward to
discussing them all. But for now, let’s have some fun as I show off some of my
favorite friendships in media – both the old and the new.
Una Chin-Riley
and Captain Christopher Pike from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
 |
| Image description: Una and Pike in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Image obtained from TrekCore |
In my 2024 Preview post, I discussed the fact that finally watching Star Trek: Strange New Worlds at the end of 2023 opened up a great deal more analysis to me, so I’d like to start here. As with any good Star Trek series, Strange New Worlds offered an incredible range of relationships to explore – some romantic, some full of camaraderie, and some that were amazing friendships. So I’d like to start by discussing the relationship between Captain Christopher Pike and his first officer, known to us Trekkies as “Number One,” here called by the name Una Chin-Riley.
If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a
big fan of platonic male/female relationships, and that I’ve highlighted other
amazing friendships between Star Trek captains and the people they trust
that fall into this category. Pike and Number One haven’t had nearly as much
development as those other relationships yet – since Strange New Worlds
has only had two short seasons thus far and these characters had very different
roles/personalities during their original brief appearance in The Original
Series – but their dynamic makes me excited to see how things develop
between them as the show continues.
Even with the somewhat brief development we see of their
relationship thus far, it’s clear how much these characters respect each other
and care about one another. But I also love that there are still places where
that relationship can grow and that respect can deepen. I’m thinking
specifically of the reveal that Una is part of an alien race, the Illyrians, that
have genetically engineered parts of their biology, something which is disallowed
by the Federation, and thus by Starfleet. Therefore, Una’s Starfleet commission
is built on a lot of secrecy and hiding. Pike accepts this and is committed to
keeping her safe, but Una privately can’t help but wonder if she’ll always have
to keep proving herself to be worthy of basic respect. I would absolutely love
it if these elements of their friendship continued to be fleshed out, allowing
Pike to see through Una’s eyes even more.
In general, some of my favorite friendships come about
because I already love both characters dearly and thus love to see how they
play off one another, and this is definitely true of Una and Captain Pike. I
dearly love how Una manages to be serious and brainy, while also the perfect
amount of sassy; meanwhile, I adore Captain Pike as a terrific leader who cares
about his crew and considers their opinions and feelings earnestly (I call him
Space Dad). Their relationship manages to fit into a storied tapestry of great Star
Trek dynamics while still feeling fresh and new, and they’re easily one of
my favorite parts of a very fun and enjoyable show.
Steve
Harrington and Robin Buckley from Stranger Things
 |
| Image description: Robin and Steve during their stint working at Scoops Ahoy in season three of Stranger Things |
Speaking of great and enjoyable shows with amazing friendships, Stranger Things is a show I’ve mentioned before on the blog in regards to these great dynamics. In my previous friendship post, I took a look at Eleven and Max, and acknowledged how difficult it can be to choose just one friendship to celebrate since there are so many good ones. Robin and Steve were one of the duos I mentioned then as being high on my list, and to add another terrific male/female platonic bond, I decided to expand on my appreciation for them in this post. Although I love the show, I was not overly fond of the third season, but the formation of this duo (along with El and Max) is one of the highlights for me.
At the beginning of season three, the teenaged characters in
the cast find themselves graduated from high school and are each spending their
summer in various ways. For Steve, that means working a summer job at Scoops
Ahoy, the ice cream shop in the local mall, and Robin is his coworker. Their
initial relationship is hilariously snarky, with Robin constantly tamping down
Steve’s ego – especially as his less-than-ideal circumstances lead to him
repeatedly striking out with the attractive young women who come to the mall
over break. I’ve always been a fan of Steve as a character and have always
defended him as one of the best, most complex characters in the show. Able to
bounce back from his mistakes and grow, in my opinion Steve’s main sin early in
the series was believing his own hype a little too much. Therefore, I love that
his friendship with Robin is initially born out of this comedic reframing of
his character. No longer the popular guy, Steve’s been through a lot and has risen
to the occasion each time, and now he’s asked to do it again – albeit in a much
worse outfit.
Thus, as the season develops and the plot begins to unfold
as only a Stranger Things plot can, Steve and Robin find themselves
working together. Given season three is Robin’s introductory season, this is
her first introduction to the intense and frightening machinations that lurk
around Hawkins, compared to Steve, who by this point is a seasoned pro, which
only serves to further their bond. Soon they go from sniping at each other to
relying on one another to get out of the dangerous situations they find themselves
in. They come to understand one another deeply, to the point where Steve even
starts to harbor a little crush on Robin; however, Robin surprises him by
confessing her own secret and coming out to him as gay when the two share a
moment of vulnerability.
To me, not only is Robin’s coming out scene an amazing
showcase for her character as she reveals the truth of who she really is and
how she really feels, but it also serves as a great example of why I’ve always
loved Steve as a character. The star of the scene is obviously Robin, as it
should be, with Steve just there to be the support, but in it, I think we can
see what a true ally should look like. Having just confessed his own crush,
Steve doesn’t choose to immediately veer into awkwardness and embarrassment at
Robin’s confession. He doesn’t make it about himself and what he just
confessed, nor does he feel upset by this “rejection”; rather, he accepts her
unquestioningly, meeting her where she is with humor and the exact type of
quiet implicit support it’s clear she needs.
I love the later scene at the end of the season when Robin
affirms their friendship. Although in the moment she’s shaking off the question
of if she and Steve are an item, her response of “we’re just friends” is
allowed to carry with it such beautiful weight. They’ve gone from bickering
coworkers to somewhat begrudging allies to true pals and partners in crime in a
way Robin likely hasn’t had before. And, while Steve is a brilliant Team Mom to
the kids at times, especially Dustin, it’s also pretty obvious that he hasn’t
had a lot of true friends his own age in a long time. The fact that he’s able
to immediately pivot from his ill-advised crush on Robin to being her
supportive bestie feels like character growth, because it’s a way for Steve to
develop meaningful relationships that are allowed to be completely platonic. And
you know that’s always something I’d love to see more of.
Shawn Spencer
and Burton “Gus” Guster from Psych
 |
| Image description: Gus (left) and Shawn (right) from comedy series Psych |
If you say the words “dynamic duo,” I think very few pairs will come to mind quite as quickly for me as Shawn and Gus from my favorite comedy, Psych. In one of my previous friendship posts, I discussed a secondary friend pair when I talked about Head Detective Carlton Lassiter and his partner Juliet O’Hara, a great platonic male/female bond that I think deserves to be celebrated. But it would be remiss of me to neglect the two leads to this show, as their dynamic is unique, quirky, and fun. Best friends since childhood, Shawn and Gus are both off-beat and silly, although Gus usually ends up being the more strait-laced of the two, often having to be the one to hold down a regular steady job while Shawn’s antics as a fake psychic drag both of them to unexpected – and often dangerous – places.
As lifelong besties, Shawn and Gus often bicker and tease one
another mercilessly, but at the end of the day, they’re always there for one another.
Of course, this vibe is often played for humor throughout the show, but there
are many times when the true depth of their bond is shown in more emotional
ways that are really effective. Without a doubt, one of my favorite instances
of this comes in the very last episode of the series (spoilers ahead). By this point, Gus has gotten a newer, better
job than the one he had for the entire show and seems to be settling in
extremely well. Shawn, meanwhile, is struggling with the fact that Juliet – now
his steady girlfriend – has moved from Santa Barbara to San Francisco, and makes
the decision to go be with her, but struggles with how to tell Gus. Thinking
that Gus seems to be okay in his new situation, he decides the best course of action
is to make him a detailed video message describing how he arrived at this
process and then just go.
The video message, which also serves as a frame story to the
episode’s main case, takes a turn for the extremely heartfelt right at the end,
when Shawn tells Gus that he feels like he’s been the only thing that’s been
holding Gus back over the years. The entire history of Shawn and Gus’s psychic
detective agency and the crimes they’ve solve together stemmed from a white lie
of Shawn’s snowballing wildly, something he roped Gus into from the jump. So
here in this message, he confesses his feelings that he’s the one who prevented
Gus from living the life he deserved and that he worries he upended his life by
forcing him into the scheme – which he phrases as “we’re going to play
detective whether you like it or not.” The scene is beautifully poignant, but
it gets even better (and of course more hilarious) when Gus decides he’s going
to join Shawn in San Francisco after all, and they’ll keep solving crimes
there.
Obviously this is a great way to give the show a happy
ending, but it’s also a great way to reaffirm the friendship between the two. Shawn’s
willingness to let Gus live his life is sweet, but it’s even sweeter that Gus thinks
he found his true self having crazy adventures with his best friend and wants
to keep that going. There have been subsequent Psych movies too where
the two continue to get into shenanigans. Both the characters and the actors
are of course a bit older now – I was shook to realize that Psych’s television
finale was actually ten years ago – but that doesn’t stop their bond or their
silly adventures, and I love that.
Una Chin-Riley
and La’an Noonien-Singh from Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
 |
| Image description: Una with La'an (right); image obtained from TrekCore, slightly brightened by me to enhance visibility |
Is it kind of cheating to have two friendships featuring the same character in the same post? Quite possibly. But I meant what I said in that earlier section when I mentioned that SNW is full of amazing characters and great friendships. For that reason, Una’s friendship with Pike isn’t the only time we see one of these terrifically portrayed relationships for her, but we see it right from the start with La’an Noonien-Singh, the ship’s security chief and someone who has been friends with Una for a long time. Incidentally, I’ll be talking a great deal about La’an in my next post, so I won’t dive too deep into her past here; but, suffice to say, she’s someone who has been through a tremendous amount of trauma from a young age and Una is one of the people who not only saved her, but managed to set her on the life path of joining Starfleet, where she found new purpose. For that reason, I think it would be easy to see Una as La’an’s mentor, and certainly she is in many ways. But there are also several moments throughout the series thus far where I think the two cross more into friendship territory and where their friendship is actually quite wonderfully portrayed.
For example, if you’re familiar with Star Trek lore, then
La’an’s surname probably jumps out at you – the infamous and noteworthy villain Khan Noonien-Singh is her ancestor. As a result, La’an has
very strong feelings about genetically augmented beings since, although those
qualities from Khan are not present in her or her family, she spent a great
deal of her life being discriminated against and treated like a monster. You
may recall from the first section that Una is secretly from a species of
augmented beings, leading to tension between her and La’an when this comes out.
The episode in which this happens is of course full of Star Trek’s usual
sci-fi shenanigans, leading to the confrontation between Una and La’an to be
incredibly tense. But when the shenanigans are solved and everything’s fine
again, I love that the two have a sincere heart-to-heart about things. While La’an
is of course upset that Una hid this from her, she also can understand why it
was necessary and I think the incident ends up strengthening their friendship.
A more lighthearted example comes up as a great side-plot a few
episodes later when Una discovers that many members of the crew find her
intimidating and refer to her secretly by the moniker of “Where Fun Goes to Die.”
She worries that this makes her out of touch with the crew, but La’an assures her
it’s all right to enjoy work, be serious about duty, and not engage in the types
of hobbies and activities that the rest of the crew is currently doing during
their shore leave. Instead, the two women choose to stay aboard the Enterprise,
and when they begin investigating discrepancies aboard at Una’s suggestion, La’an
replies with the perfect friendship line: “People are idiots, you’re fun.”
Their plotline in the episode takes a hilarious and adorable
turn when they realize the discrepancies are caused by two ensigns playing “Enterprise
bingo” – a game that involves completing various difficult tasks around the
ship. Curious, La’an and Una decide to try it out in an attempt to understand
what the crew finds “fun” about the activity. Although they still don’t really
understand it by the time they complete the list, what is clear is that they’ve
enjoyed each other’s company at least, and I love that both of them can be
serious and not typically “fun,” but that they both understand one another. As
they complete their last task – signing a part of the Enterprise’s hull –
it feels like they get to have the best of both worlds; they get to have a bit
of their own version of fun, while still being themselves with a friend who
understands them. Honestly, we should all be so lucky.
 |
| Image description: Una and La'an signing the Enterprise's hull as they attempt to play Enterprise bingo. Image obtained from TrekCore, slightly brightened by me to enhance visibility |
You know I love romance and romantic pairings, and discuss
that fact a lot on the blog, even just recently in my “Redefining Romance”
post. But for as much as I love a good OTP, in my opinion, nothing beats a good
platonic BrOTP – or, in laymen’s terms, a great “ride or die” friendship. Also
as I’ve said before, I would love if friendships, platonic soulmates, and other platonic
relationships were treated with the same type of respect and veneration that
many romances are. This, among many other reasons, is why I love to discuss my
favorite friendships in media, and why I’ll never stop hoping for more
emphasis on friendships throughout our culture – both around Valentine’s Day
and all year long.
Comments
Post a Comment