Neither LI is that appealing to me, but I’m going to give Kanoa’s character another week to thaw and have more interactions/spark with Lucy (and hopefully Tim) but if you had creative control, how would you have had Chenford realizing feelings this season? Would you bring in LIs? Or something completely different? Apologies if you’ve answered this before!
This is such a GREAT ASK! So, thank you for it!
I am with you on the fact that neither LI is appealing, but I can’t tell if that is intentional or not? Or even, really if Chris/Kenoa is a LI. I’m holding out hope that he isn’t - just for some variety, even though I fully support Lucy being able to get love! We’re in a bit of a weird spot with it. Even if Chris apologizes I still wouldn’t be invested, because that type of rudeness and arrogance he displayed is usually just who a person is if they show it. For you and @cfr749 I will give Chris a one week chance to turn shit around.
I’m still hoping he can be a professional nemesis- and I know @literali1110 is on my side with that!
If I was in charge, I would not go the alternative LI route. Because it is played out. A lot of other shows, slow burn couples, or will they/won’t they couples have used this, and it is not my cup of tea. I can’t really think of a time where I have liked the alternative LI other than Royal Gardner in Anne of the Island or Nick Collins in Rookie Blue. Not in Austen, not in any more modern fiction, definitely not in Bones, or Chuck, or really any show where I was certain of who I wanted to be together.
With Royal Gardner, I liked him because he was the actual human embodiment of Anne’s ideal - and still in flesh and bones he was nothing compared to Gilbert. She learned from Roy, and it changed her for the better, and gave both Gilbert and Anne time to focus on other goals. It is different with Nick Collins, because he actually far eclipsed Sam Swarek for me. I was a hardcore Sam/Andy shipper, but then Nick was there and he fit with Andy is such a more complementary way. It was a total game changer for me - but the difference with that alternative LI was that Nick was a regular cast member who had been allowed to grow and fail on his own. I loved him because I knew him.
We don’t know Ashley or Chris. Consequently, I am never going to root for them. (Maybe that is the whole Bailey problem in a nutshell?)
I would want a stunning revelation. Like having the both of them at Tim’s house, and Cujo (let me have this spelling a while longer) is there, and maybe Tamara is working on an essay in the corner. It’s been a long day, because this morning Lucy insisted they all go on this hike, and it was sweaty and gross and too long by about four miles, but she made Tim carry Cujo and she bribes Tamara and she made them finish. Their plans had ended there, but when Tim went to drop them off at their apartment they had learned that water main was out.
Instead, they had grabbed bags and set up camp at Casa Bradford.
Tim had expected to be annoyed, but instead, as they settled into some sort of afternoon, he had found himself feeling happy instead.
Tamara was working on an essay, but she kept asking them policing questions between flipping in a textbook for answers. Lucy had made unsweetened cool tea for them to drink, and when she joined Tim back on the couch, her freshly showered hair had tickled at his arm. Everything had been easy. He hadn’t once felt overwhelmed, not even when Lucy had badgered him into showing her what project he was working on and he had ushered her into his home office.
Slowly her fingers had traced over the map he was building, a better way to run patrols for their station. He had watched her bite her lip and look up at him, pride and admiration shining in her eyes. It always made Tim feel off balance when she looked at him like that.
That had been nice and all, but it wasn’t until Tim returned from the grocery store to find Lucy playing oldies in his kitchen, dancing carelessly in an effort to make Tamara laugh, that he knew.
This was what he wanted to come home to.
It was what he had been chasing his whole life. Across football fields, and through minefields in the sand, right back into the sharp edges of LA - where he had almost believed that loving Isobel was enough to make up for the way she never loved him back - until he was bleeding out in a back alley, or digging Lucy from the dirt.
“I’m in love with you,” Tim’s voice didn’t carry across the distance, because was still spinning, her hair now dry and tangled around her head.
“What?” She shouted.
Tim tried again, “I love this song,” but he saw the shrewd look in Tamara’s eyes. Lucy held out her hand, it was an easy decision, Tim took it in his. He was never going to let go.
I mean, if want something like that. It would require so much ground work, so much Chenford building. I still believe.
