[spoilers] Harry and Ruth. The Wonder Years.

[BravoNine]

I must admit my own selfish reason for Harry and Ruth to finally get together, other than the fact that they are adorable together, is for something good to come out of this horrendous Lucas-Is-John storyline. If my dear Lucas's last act is to somehow manage to get Harry and Ruth finally together in a real relationship, then I guess then I can at least be comforted in the fact that Lucas's death was not in vain.

Besides, those two just seem to fit, somehow they've always found their way to each other whether in times of crisis or just in need of comfort. They understand each other, and there's been enough beating around the bushes. It's time for these two to just admit they love each other! Or else I am locking them in a closet until they admit it!

[Kirayuki]

(28-11-2010 12:19 AM)BravoNine Wrote:  Besides, those two just seem to fit, somehow they've always found their way to each other whether in times of crisis or just in need of comfort. They understand each other, and there's been enough beating around the bushes. It's time for these two to just admit they love each other! Or else I am locking them in a closet until they admit it!

Okay. Now you mentioned it i want a fanfic... now. (Now as in how Ruth says it in 4.6)

Harry and Ruth trapped in a secure room because the security locks on that room crashed or something and it will take a while for Tariq to 'repair' it. (It's an elaborate plot by the team to get them to sort out the problem as the 'will they/wont they' and the constant tension is bugging all the staff on the grid).

Pwease!

[BravoNine]

(28-11-2010 12:32 AM)Kirayuki Wrote:  

(28-11-2010 12:19 AM)BravoNine Wrote:  Besides, those two just seem to fit, somehow they've always found their way to each other whether in times of crisis or just in need of comfort. They understand each other, and there's been enough beating around the bushes. It's time for these two to just admit they love each other! Or else I am locking them in a closet until they admit it!

Okay. Now you mentioned it i want a fanfic... now. (Now as in how Ruth says it in 4.6)

Harry and Ruth trapped in a secure room because the security locks on that room crashed or something and it will take a while for Tariq to 'repair' it. (It's an elaborate plot by the team to get them to sort out the problem as the 'will they/wont they' and the constant tension is bugging all the staff on the grid).

Pwease!

LOL!

Maybe as Harry and Ruth are trying to get out and wondering why they have been locked here, a voice speaks, "The fans deem it necessary! You two have been wasting too much time, and besides, I'm the writer of this story, I command you!"

I can just see Lucas leading the rest of the kids into a revolt and lock Harry/Ruth just so they have finally have some peace and quiet! LOL!

[binkie]

Well, goodness! I wasn’t expecting such an avalanche of responses Thanks very much for picking up my questions.

(27-11-2010 05:46 PM)Tea Lady Wrote:  I think Ruth is still on the pedestal for Harry, and always will be, no matter what she does. For Ruth, I think Harry is more her equal now and she has seen the cracks forming in series 9, some of which she has not liked.

This seems to me to be precisely the undercurrent of the relationship as it stands. I’m not sure I would want necessarily for the conclusion to this strand of story to be that Ruth is so disappointed in Harry’s inability to be anything other than Harry that she turns completely away from him. I love the texture and depth of their relationship, all the little elements of forgiveness and counterbalanced disapproval and remedy. It would be very disappointing if the writing/production team used the same blunt instrument on Harry and Ruth as they did on Lucas.

(27-11-2010 06:09 PM)Forever Secret Wrote:  Ahhh yes Gene and Alex... probably tied as my favourite TV couple at the moment along side Ruth and Harry... lets hope Ruth and Harry get a happier ending than Gene and Alex did though... it's been what 5 months now? I'm still angry at the ending

Isn’t that interesting?! I thought the end of Ashes to Ashes was genuinely emotionally satisfying – it was what it had to be, and it was properly and sensitively retconned to prove itself. Not a happy ending exactly, but a suitable one. Perhaps this bodes ill for my cheesecake credentials

(27-11-2010 06:23 PM)A Cousin Wrote:  I am of the mind that they do not need to be married or even together. I just want it to be resolved in a way that works for both of them. Maybe that resolution will be that love does not conquer all? Fine. There are others who would disagree with me.

I must say, I have thought for some time that this was a relationship which has moved beyond the potential for romantic resolution. It’s almost as if there is more to it than that. Does this even make sense?

(27-11-2010 06:23 PM)A Cousin Wrote:  S9 as it pertains to HR has been about both of them coming to terms with the other as they really are. The thing about Ruth & Harry and why I am so invested in it is because the best of who they are as individuals is what keeps them apart.

This is a really interesting formula. I like it! I suspect Ruth realises this to somewhat of a greater extent than Harry. His line about needing to give a man a chance to “show who he really is” suggests to me that he has moved to a position emotionally where he recognises Ruth is in a sort of stasis on that point, and at least this can be made to seem like acceptance on her part.

(27-11-2010 06:32 PM)Silktie Wrote:  I admire both these characters immensely for their approach to duty to their country, and I love the fact that neither is very good at this relationship thing. It's awkward, and messy, and therefore more real than many other relationships depicted on television. There is definite chemistry between them, and I love the fact that it developed so gradually, and almost under the radar.

This. Very much this

(27-11-2010 11:12 PM)watchstrap Wrote:  Most of my reasons for wanting them to take the plunge have already been mentioned, but I don't think anyone has mentioned their intellectual compatability. They know all the same cultural references, one starts quoting something and the other finishes it off. I don't imagine Ruth did this with George, in fact she probably had to hide that side of herself away.

I agree entirely on the point of intellectual compatibility. This is an overlooked element in TV relationships. It is too often the case that viewers are expected to accept that two characters are in an emotional/romantic relationship simply because the script says this is so. The match (whatever form it might take) between Harry and Ruth is much more satisfying as a result of this extra little detail. I do wonder why you think Ruth would have had to keep her intellect hidden from George. Did he seem like that much of a philistine?

(28-11-2010 12:19 AM)BravoNine Wrote:  ...those two just seem to fit, somehow they've always found their way to each other whether in times of crisis or just in need of comfort. They understand each other...

I do like a neat summary

[Kirayuki]

(28-11-2010 12:54 AM)binkie Wrote:  

(27-11-2010 06:09 PM)Forever Secret Wrote:  Ahhh yes Gene and Alex... probably tied as my favourite TV couple at the moment along side Ruth and Harry... lets hope Ruth and Harry get a happier ending than Gene and Alex did though... it's been what 5 months now? I'm still angry at the ending

Isn’t that interesting?! I thought the end of Ashes to Ashes was genuinely emotionally satisfying – it was what it had to be, and it was properly and sensitively retconned to prove itself. Not a happy ending exactly, but a suitable one. Perhaps this bodes ill for my cheesecake credentials

Nope. Your cheescake credentials are un-affected if mine aren't.

I'm a huge ashes fan (Gene/Alex fan included there) and i was totally satisfied with the ending in terms of their relationship. I'd class it as almost 'bittersweet'.

I've also long batted for the camp that thinks a bittersweet ending for Harry and Ruth would also be acceptable, but only if done well... like 5.5 was. (However with the way these new writers are going i am sat here crossing my fingers already).
This is not to say i wouldn't prefer a happy ending.

However I think i'll find that in the end, if it makes sense and is wrapped up well, i will probably be satisfied. Here's hoping.

[Silktie]

Another reason I forgot to mention why I love this relationship, is that it is not just all about sex. I hate it when they introduce a couple, and by the second episode they've jumped in the sack and I'm supposed to believe it's "twue wove", when in fact it's more about lust. I enjoy the old-fashioned aspect of this relationship, where it is possible to fall in love with someone for all their qualities, and not just the physical aspect, i.e. because they're hot.

[DogSoSmall]

I'm really struggling to understand why so many people would find a satisfactory, romantic ending for Harry and Ruth such a stretch of credibility. What is the alternative? Yes, everyone (including them) accepts that they love each other, but they go their separate ways anyway. And then what? Do they each find someone else (a la George) whom they couldn't possibly love as much but with whom it would somehow be more possible to settle down? Or is it supposed to be a satisfactory conclusion that they both remain alone for the rest of their days because love is clearly far too difficult for either of them? Both of these scenarios are far more unrealistic and ridiculous to me.

As watchstrap says, this relationship is hugely dependant on intellectual compatability, and that is why it always appealed so very much to me. Why, if they were together, would that compatability suddenly disintigrate? It really annoyed me in 9.1 when Ruth said "what would we do? What would we talk about?" If any two people had more interests in common, I have yet to meet them. For me, the only reason that Ruth is backing off is that in spite of her adoration of Harry, she has so little sense of her own worth that she can't believe that if they were together that Harry would not be hugely disappointed in her, start to think as little of her as she does of herself. It took very little in S5 for her to scuttle back into hiding once it looked as if their relationship might actually progress, and then she only acknowledged it when she thought she would never see Harry again, so he would not find her out. Series 9 has had a lot of moments where people have showed their appreciation of her, including Lucas at the end, and I wonder if gradually the message is hammering home that she is in fact worthy of Harry. Especially if they can show that Harry is not always perfect himself. To me this is all about Ruth believing that she is worthy of Harry, and once she can accept that, I can see absolutely no reason on earth why they should not both be together and be ecstatically happy together.

Please?

[BravoNine]

Life is too short to not tell someone you love them if you do.

I just wish these two would stop skirting around, any blind man and his dog can see they care about each other, they love each other, and if crazy-Lucas can see it, then I don't see why they are both denying it, it hasn't done any of them any good pretending it doesn't exist.

For God's sake, just let something good come out of this whole Albany mess.

I am really resisting the urge to smack both of their heads.....stubborn mules....and they wonder where the kids get their stubbornness from...

[Tea Lady]

(28-11-2010 12:13 PM)DogSoSmall Wrote:  For me, the only reason that Ruth is backing off is that in spite of her adoration of Harry, she has so little sense of her own worth that she can't believe that if they were together that Harry would not be hugely disappointed in her, start to think as little of her as she does of herself. It took very little in S5 for her to scuttle back into hiding once it looked as if their relationship might actually progress, and then she only acknowledged it when she thought she would never see Harry again, so he would not find her out. Series 9 has had a lot of moments where people have showed their appreciation of her, including Lucas at the end, and I wonder if gradually the message is hammering home that she is in fact worthy of Harry. Especially if they can show that Harry is not always perfect himself. To me this is all about Ruth believing that she is worthy of Harry, and once she can accept that, I can see absolutely no reason on earth why they should not both be together and be ecstatically happy together.

Please?

Yeh, I agree. Look at Ruth's reaction when Harry praised her about her "wonderful qualities" on their one and only date. The words Harry used were lovely and heartfelt. Ruth looked so uncomfortable, even to the point where she looked like she wanted to just bolt from him.

We all moaned at Harry about the quality of his proposal in 9.1, but surely the evidence of Harry's past experience with Ruth, is that praise and opening your heart to her, just makes her uncomfortable and makes her want to run a mile.

Can you imagine Ruth's reaction if Harry had said, "you are the love of my life, you are my heart, you are the most beautiful thing in this world." Christ, Ruth probably would have ran and left him all alone leaning on that fence. I don't think Ruth's answer to Harry's proposal would have been any different, if it had been stated in a different way or on a different occasion.

[DogSoSmall]

I'm right with you there. He is learning just how careful he has to be with her. I can totally imagine the look of horror on her face if he had made a soppy speech! (although, I also agree that talk of burnt pieces of body would have been equally uncalled for!!)