Lady's Companion: Gabriel Vs Santiago
I just finished Season 1 of Lady's Companion which I greatly enjoyed. I'm a little concerned I'm doing the thing where the show wants me to prefer one pairing, but I'm much more into another couple.
SPOILERS
Let's start with the ship I think the show wants me to prefer: Santiago and Elena. To his credit, Santiago is kind, trustworthy, handsome, and a great listener. There is definitely chemistry between him and Elena, to the degree that she fantasizes about him while with Gabriel. Still I can't help but feel they are not really right for each other. Santiago just doesn't have the backbone to be Elena's partner. He's indecisive and immature. He's also a bit too traditional for someone as rebellious as Elena. His "love in capital letters" is based on this fantasy she represents, not the complicated mess of a woman she actually is. Because of that when her flaws finally smack him in the face, he bounces without a word.
Elena's attraction to Santiago is largely based in the fact he is forbidden fruit. It is not real love, as demonstrated by the fact she never chooses to prioritize him over Cristina/her future employment by revealing the truth about the baby. In Bridgerton, when Penelope faces a similar dilemma, she puts Colin before Marina and her entire family's reputation. At the end of the series Elena only runs after him after she's lost her job and because she finds his romantic gesture he made pre-the pregnancy revelation.
Gabriel and Elena felt way more compatible as a couple to me. Gabriel, like Elena, is decisive and rebellious. He'll go along with her schemes, but he'll also push back against her. His affection has endured five years and being ditched without so much as a note. He knows all her shit, including her attraction to Santiago and her tendency to split when she fears the romantic fantasy bubble is about to burst. Even after finding out she was pregnant when she left him, and never told him, he still wants her to be happy. He gives her a hug, encourages her to reconcile with her mother and tells her to enjoy the scribbler, admitting his rival is not a bad guy. To me, Gabriel is the much better endgame partner.
