When you’re as obsessed with pop culture as we are, you can’t help wondering what would happen if some of your favorite characters could break out of the confines of their individual universes and get to connect. Not that this doesn’t occasionally happen, but it’s not often enough to stop us predicting things like which TV characters would be friends in real life (or literary characters, for that matter). Our latest musing along these lines took us into more romantic territory, as we started to imagine which far-flung pop-culture characters were practically made for each other. In fact, some of them were so obvious, we’re amazed we didn’t make the (love) connection before. Join us as we play matchmaker for everyone from Harry Potter to Sookie Stackhouse, and then let us know what you think the chances are for these star-crossed couples in the comments.
(Note: We realize that some of these characters ended up married or in relationships with other people, so for the sake of this discussion, we’re focusing on their single days.)
Harry Potter and Sabrina the Teenage Witch
Sure, they inhabit vastly different worlds, but Harry Potter and Sabrina Spellman also have a whole lot in common. Both grew up ignorant of their magical powers — Harry discovered his at 11, Sabrina at 16 — both start out with a whole lot to learn, and both have responsibilities thrust on them that they’d rather deny at first. Frankly, we think Sabrina could do Harry a whole lot of good by exposing him to the sillier side of the wizarding world — and we’re also pretty certain she could become quite a bad-ass in Harry’s realm, if it came down to it.
Lara Croft and Indiana Jones
The plot: unusually attractive archeologist discovers location of hidden mystical relic and sets off on death-defying adventure to recover it, surviving numerous overwhelming enemies and obstacles along the way. Let’s face it — avoid the gender-specific pronouns, and you could be talking about either one of these unstoppable explorers. We think it’s most likely they’d meet going after the same treasure, trading witty barbs and outsmarting each other, until they finally give in to the undeniable sparks between them and team up against a common enemy. Steamier than Harry and Sabrina, to be sure.
Lucy Danziger and Haymitch Abernathy
All right, so this one is probably a recipe for disaster, but still, we can’t imagine a more perfect pair than the resident hot messes from Boardwalk Empire and The Hunger Games. After all, if you’re caught in a downward spiral, you might as well have some company. And while both of these characters have managed to publicly display themselves in extremely unflattering lights, they can never truly hide the elemental humanity that lays at their cores. Who knows, maybe they could even bring out the best in each other? At least they wouldn’t be drinking alone.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter
If you’re not paying close attention, we could see this being a bit of a curveball. But with Seth Grahame-Smith’s cult-hit novel making its way to the big screen this year (backed partly by Tim Burton), a lot of people will be getting a new perspective on our 16th president. As it turns out, young Abe was alerted to the presence of vampires in the real world and driven to destroy them as part of his destiny. To any fan of Buffy Summers, that will most likely sound quite familiar. Meanwhile, both Buffy and Abe deal with good and bad vampires alike, calling some friends and (most) others mortal enemies. And when you really think about it, Buffy would make one hell of a first lady, wouldn’t she?
Saul Silver and Nancy Botwin
At first glance, you might think James Franco’s Pineapple Express pot dealer would never be able to handle Weeds matriarch Nancy Botwin without getting destroyed in the process. After all, he’s clearly the sensitive type, which Nancy has never had much time for. However, she does love her eye candy, and she’s been known to let her guard down every now and then. Plus, as Silver proved, if it comes down to it, he’s not afraid to pick up a high-caliber weapon and start offing people — and that’s a man after Nancy’s own heart, for sure. And hey, if Ms. Botwin can hook up with Zack Morris, she can sure as heck hook up with Silver.
Sydney Bristow and Jason Bourne
Multiple identities, significant others that have been violently killed, CIA backgrounds and betrayals — the Alias heroine and Jason Bourne have an awful lot of shared history to commiserate over, if they can ever stay in one place long enough. Neither one of these characters has had it easy, for certain, but their perseverance in the face of everything the world throws at them gives us a lot of hope for them to make things work between them. And you’d have to be pretty crazy to be the one who gets in their way, right?
Kelly Bundy and Ted “Theodore” Logan
Sure, it might take Keanu’s mop-topped Bill & Ted rocker a moment or three to stop gaping at the sight of Married With Children‘s in-house sexpot, but when it comes down to it, these two airheads couldn’t make a better match. They’d both be right at home at a Van Halen concert, they could help each other decipher Dr. Seuss books, and they’d never have to worry about the effects of senility in old age, since no one would be able to tell the difference. We can already see the look on Al Bundy’s face when Ted walks through the door — and the possibilities of giving Kelly the chance to travel through time are equally priceless.
Lando Calrissian and Kara Thrace
Yes, we realize that when these two worlds collide, Han Solo might seem like the obvious choice for the rebooted Battlestar Galactica’s Kara “Starbuck” Thrace. But when you think about it, they might both be too hot-headed to really make it work. (Not that Leia was a pushover, herself.) It seems like Kara could use someone with a little bit more charm, and Lando Calrissian’s got an overabundance of that. And let’s not forget, like Kara, he was also a fighter pilot, not to mention a hell of a gambler. (He did win the Millennium Falcon in an intergalactic game of cards, you know.) In fact, the more we mull it over, the more we like the odds for these two.
Wolverine and Sookie Stackhouse
Okay, before you get all up in arms, yes, we realize that Anna Paquin also played Rogue in the X-Men franchise, and that her relationship there with Wolverine is a lot more familial. However, this isn’t Rogue we’re talking about — it’s True Blood’s far more adult centerpiece, who’s been romantically linked to everyone from vampires to werewolves. It’s pretty clear she won’t be going for the boy next door anytime soon, and we think Wolverine is exactly the kind of monster (or mutant) she really needs to get on the right track. We already know that the X-Man also known as Logan has a weakness for telepaths, and his well-documented ability to shield his own mind can help Sookie get past that major sticking point in all her relationships.
Don Draper and Samantha Jones
We have to admit, we’re often partial to pairings with the potential for a little bit of rivalry or one-upmanship built in. It’s anybody’s guess who has more notches on their belt between these two, but we do know for sure that watching them in a room together would be anything but boring. (No, we’re not talking about a bedroom, but that does seem inevitable.) Chances are a relationship between these infamous players from Mad Men and Sex and the City would end up more like a competition than anything truly romantic, but it’s hard to imagine they wouldn’t develop some serious love/hate chemistry — even if neither one really considers staying faithful.
So what do you think? Do you agree with our picks? Which other pop-culture characters do you think belong together? Tell us in the comments below.