One relationship I find greatly underrated is Kenric and Oralie. Yeah at first their relationship seemed like a footnote in the story but I love how Shannon develops their relationship in the later books, especially Stellarlune.
(Spoilers Ahead)
When we finally open Kenric's cache we see him go through the different stages of his life and his relationship with Oralie.
It wasn't love at first sight for them, quite the opposite. Neither of them got along with each other. Both had valid reasons, Kenric pointing out Oralie's personal ambition getting in the way of doing the right decisions. (A trait we still see in her today) And Oralie angry at how he underestimates her and prevents her from doing her job.
I don't know if it's just me but their argument seemed to have mirrored a lover's quarrel. There's a tinge of attraction between them.
Eventually they come to respect one another. Both realizing that their loathing was a way to cope with the attraction they had for one another. Which was totally plausible because the council forbids it's members from falling in love or having children. A romantic connection towards anyone could risk their position. So it's better to avoid them.
But once they become friends, once that lavender haze begins to creep through it's impossible for them to avoid their feelings. It's inevitable for them to make the choice. love or duty.
Kenric had served for many years in the council already. He's seen all and is disillusioned by it. He's ready to settle down, but not without the woman he loves.
Oralie wants to be with him but project moonlark prevented her from fulfilling that dream. Sophie needed allies if she were going to survive. Say what you want about Oralie but she sacrificed alot for Black Swan, for Sophie.
So their hopes for a relationship is crushed. The story constantly makes us think of what could have been if they chose each other. They were both each other's number one match. What if they got married? What if they started a family? Because it's all we have left; the "what if's"
Because that chance is gone. Kenric is gone. All Oralie has right now are memories.
I think that's greatly depressing.
Closing thoughts: I think they're a foil of Keefe and Sophie. Both couples balanced each other out. And both have solid reasons for them not to be together.
Thanks for reading my ted talk if you haven't skimmed to the end.
oh my god yes. yes yes yes.
sophie and keefe are probably the most painful relationship oralie witnesses because it's literally kenric and oralie - if things had gone right. i do have my little theories about keefe spending time as a councillor in the future, and those are even stronger if sophitz were the endgame, but i fully believe oralie would talk them out of it if it meant not being together. not because i believe she regrets her time with kenric, but the way events unraveled.
you said it perfectly - it's not love at first sight. we see a little more affection from kenric because he sees that ambition in oralie and he's coming from a place of experience when he talks to her - this isn't identical for sokeefe, but it's similar in the sense that sophie is more drawn to duty and keefe to instinct. i'd argue that yeah, sophitz and sokeefe are the head and the heart theory, but also sophie and keefe are the head and the heart. and in stellarlune, we see that kind of switch, with keefe taking huge steps back and sophie running forward.
which, i assume, is what oralie would do if she had a second chance with kenric. it's even harder for her because for all she sacrificed for project moonlark and the council, she doesn't really get to reap the benefits from it.
(part of me also wonders if shannon's going to somehow make kenric sophie's dad, just so oralie can have a kid with the man she loved somehow - idk if that would hurt more or less, but there's no other alternative for her dad that i can think of other than alden and that's wrong on so many levels, so.)
"all oralie has are memories." no bc this hurts. it's true and it hurts, and it should, because it's clearly a glaring warning for all the kids - treasure your time. it's a little ominous too, and it makes me wonder if we're going to see another major character death soon. or some kind of actual betrayal by choice and not like with keefe and tam.
(my money's on fitz killing someone because alvar's words keep sticking with me and there is something terrifying about knowing that he stopped pressing buttons and was ready for and wanted his brother to die. but i could be wrong.)
i agree that both couples have reasons to not be together, but i'd almost argue that those are the very reasons they should be together. almost as an extreme example - like, if they can beat all the odds, then so can anyone else. but inversely; if they can't beat the odds, then what chance do any of us have? i am biased bc i love keefe so much, but i do agree that i don't think they should be together - not yet.
but with the state of affairs, if not now, then when?