So, how do Riley & Farkle get together?
I was asked quite some time ago to talk about how I thought Riley and Farkle would come together. I’ve thought about this a lot since then, and while I’m not 100% happy with my answer, I felt it was high time to give it to you.
First things first, Lucas and Riley need to realize they are not a good romantic match. The show caught a lot of flack for its alleged “bad writing,” and some of that criticism came from the lack of interaction between Riley and Lucas as a couple. If you’ve read anything else on this blog before, you would know I don’t buy into that theory for a second. Them not acting like they’re together and their anti-chemistry was completely, totally done on purpose. Yes, they liked each other, but as I’ve talked about before, neither saw their relationship for what it really was, and it checks out that they’d eventually realize they’re better off as friends.
After that, Smackle and Farkle need to break up as well. And if I’m being honest with you, this is the part that’s tripped me up for a long time. I wanted to break them up in a way that felt in line with the show while also hitting a natural ending for their relationship arc. And while this post is mainly about the Riarkle ship, it makes sense that Smarkle could end with both realizing they feel something for somebody else*.
For Smackle and Farkle, a big component of their relationship was helping each other grow. He helped her understand emotions and social cues, and in return, she helped him elevate his academic game. But after a while, there was bound to be a natural conclusion for these two. Considering Farkle himself doesn’t have the best understanding of feelings, there’s only so much he could do to help her grow. And as much as he’s always appreciated Smackle for inspiring him to be his best, that dynamic could still exist without a romantic aspect attached to it.
In other words, it checks out that they would both outgrow their relationship at some point. In fact, it would be surprising if they didn’t outgrow their eighth-grade relationship at some point (we can’t all be Cory & Topanga!).
So, Riley and Lucas break up because they realize they work better as friends. Smackle and Farkle break up because they realize they’ve outgrown their relationship — and have both felt sparks with other people. How do Riley and Farkle come together?
If it were me in charge, I would have them start spending more and more time together. There’s a bit of a parallel between Rucas and Smarkle — to an extent, they both realized their relationships sounded better on paper than it ended up being in reality. (It’s a bit more nuanced than that, but there are definitely some similarities. In my head, Farkle has a bit of a brain meltdown when he hears about Lucas and Riley ending their relationship. He’d have a bit of trouble comprehending something that makes logical sense not working out because of feelings, but he’d also have a bit of a lightbulb moment when thinking about his own relationship).
After some Lucaya-circa-S2-esque moments (i.e., flirting), Riley would be the first one to voice her feelings, even if it’s only to Maya. And because it’s her show, I really want Riley to have her moment. As much as she deserves the Big Romantic Gesture, I want Riley to be the one who tells Farkle how she feels first, and I want her to instigate the first kiss.
Annnnnd because I’m a cheesy sap, I've always imagined their first date being basically a direct parallel of GM First Date. Lucas and Maya would be each other’s “dates,” and our Riarkle dorks would do the goofy slo-mo run — to each other for real. I also have this very clear vision of Riley stumbling on the subway (because of course!), but Farkle catches her before she actually falls. He’s got her. :)
*I should probably mention here that the person Smackle starts feeling this for is Zay. But you probably knew that.
