Love is a concept, nay, a construct of what most (unless you’re a full blown psychopath) human beings desire more so than any other intangible thing. Throughout time, the greatest bards – The Bard himself, perhaps most notably – of all time have almost always incorporated some aspect of romance dujour, bosom passions, and tragic devotions into their finest tales, both epic and intimate.
These grand (slightly less grand) notions – both moving and not so – of love have become so prevalent in society’s stories that for the most part, people are engrained to yearn for their own “ride or die,” “partner in crime,” “boo,” or inamorata (or –o) of some sort to experience the better part of a lifetime together.
The throes of love have become so magnificently considered throughout time, that in the Modern Age of Storytelling (TV and Movies for those who can’t tell where I’m headed with this) we’ve seen shows like The Bachelor(/ette), Friends, Sex and the City, and How I Met Your Mother captivate entire nations, engorging both Nielsen ratings and hearts to swollen proportions.
Recaps of romance shows and their merits have spurred furious debate over water coolers (is that even a thing now?), dinner parties, and Twitter feeds alike, along with literally launching careers for those featured on the show – see: Ali Fedotowsky, Travis Stork, Jesse Palmer – all the while searing the shows into the zeitgeist for good.
But with all the overwrought obsession with TV romances of all shapes and sizes, and the vast number of different television watching outlets, gone are the days of knowing about Ryan and Marissa’s Ferris Wheel kiss on The OC and (spoiler alert) Ross and Rachel’s trials and tribulations?
So just how can one qualify which romantic relationship is best one of 2016? Well, there are two resolutions to such a question – 1. Sign up and pay for subscriptions to Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime, HBO Go, Showtime, all the Broadcast Network streaming platforms, Crackle, Seeso, and Sling TV, so that way you literally just watch ALL the television and just decide for yourself… OR 2. Look to someone such as, say, myself to go ahead and choose the “best” romance on all of television for you.
To reiterate – Option 1: Watch all the TV. Option 2: Let me choose for you!
Alright, I’ll allow you a moment to contemplate the proposal set before you, but just remember one is very expensive and time consuming and the other is, well, not!
Okay, have you made your decision? I’m going to assume if you’re reading this line, you’ve made the right decision and chosen option two. Bravo! I (and your wallet) thank you for making the wiser and more interesting choice (not that I’m biased or anything).
So here goes – without further ado – the best romance on all of television in 2016 is… Richard Hendrick and Jared Dunn on HBO’s Silicon Valley!!!
I know what you may be thinking, “Hold on Sean, what about JoJo and those 20 guys on the Bachelorette?” or “What about Linda and Bob on Bob’s Burgers?” or even “No way man, its Dev’s love for pasta on Master of None!” To which I say, “Yeah, well… That’s just your opinion man” (never waste an opportunity to reference the Lebowski), but you’re wrong.
Richard and Jared’s romance on Silicon Valley has more depth and breadth steeped with complicated subversion and tact that all of those other television romances wouldn’t even begin to be able to hold a candle to. There are a bevy of reasons why I could assert the magnificence of Richard and Jared’s television romance – or perhaps I should say bromance – but for the sake of brevity (in what has already become a long winded arbitrary defense), I will shave my argument down to a single facet of verisimilitude.
The unique and exemplary (as well as heart wrenching) aspect of Richard and Jared’s relationship within the Hacker Hostel is the enormous one-sidedness – Jared’s love for Richard – to the (b)romance. Already the by far and away the most intriguing and all around strongest character on Silicon Valley, Jared’s unbridled admiration and love for Richard literally knows no bounds. From Jared’s unfettered faith in Pied Piper (mostly Richard) in season one, to Jared’s searching glances as he championed Richard during season two, and his voluntary abstinence in solidarity with Richard’s own (involuntary abstinence), Jared has proven to be the most devoted lover on all of television. There is nary a moment in which Jared is not lifting Richard up – “You’re the belle of the ball” when Richard is fielding new CTO opportunities – or helping rescue Richard from impending doom – remember when Jared gave Richard his pants during a meeting at Raviga? Perhaps such a gesture was meant to imply more than just solving a sartorial conundrum. All the while, Richard takes every one of Jared’s gestures for granted, but nevertheless, Jared soldiers on, never wavering in his support of Pied Piper and more importantly, Richard.
Jared Dunn, Silicon Valley’s martyr for love, the reason why his (b)romance with Richard is the greatest (and hilariously heartbreaking) (b)romance on all of television.
