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Everyone Can See It in Live Action TV.


  • Angel:
    • Even though Angel broke up with Buffy, nearly every one of Angel's crew knows he still loves her. Even after a few years later, when Angel gets new friends that never saw him with Buffy (Gunn, Fred), they all take it as legitimate fact that Angel's not over her. Angel has never denied or confirmed this after S3 to anyone except Spike.
      Doyle: [talking about Buffy] Maybe he's over her?
      Cordelia: You have so much to learn, little Irish man.
    • The crew all know there's something going on between Angel and Cordelia before even they do.
    • Everyone but Angel knew Nina was attracted to Angel in "Smile Time".
  • Arrowverse:
    • Arrow: It takes Oliver and Felicity almost 3 seasons to mutually confess their feelings. The ever-lengthening list of characters to notice or comment in one way or another about their relationship includes:
      John Diggle
      Isabel Rochev
      The entire staff of Queen Consolidated (according to Isabel)
      Moira Queen
      Malcolm Merlyn
      Barry Allen
      Iris West
      Helena Bertinelli
      Slade Wilson
      Laurel Lance
      Ray Palmer
      Donna Smoak
      Ra's Al Ghul
    • Everyone in The Flash (2014) see that Iris West returns Barry's affection toward her despite her protests that she only likes him as a friend. Eventually Iris' boyfriend Eddie leaves her partially because of this.
  • Played with every which way in Blue Bloods. Jamie and Eddie admit their mutual attraction, but decide to keep their relationship professional for seasons 4-8. There are those who don't believe that they're keeping it professional (other cops in the Twelfth, including Renzulli) and those who do believe it think it's a shame (Erin, Danny, Linda, half the viewership).
  • On Bones, characters have commented, primarily in the first season, about Booth and Brennan's possible feelings for each other and/or UST. It gets a little insane when their co-workers, Brennan's father, random one-shot characters, and even the families of the murder victims are shipping them.
    • In the fifth season, Doctor Lance Sweets reveals to doctor Gordon Gordon that he did not publish his book on Booth and Brennan because his book was finished with the conclusion that Booth and Brennan are in love with one another and that he can't say that to the entire world if they themselves can't admit it. Also Booth finally acknowledges that he is in love with Brennan. He can't bring himself to admit it to her though.
    • As of the 100th episode, "The Parts in the Sum of the Whole" (5x16), Booth has admitted his feelings, and Bones reciprocates but fears a relationship. So now Everyone Can See It. Everyone.
    • As of the "The Hole in the Heart" (6x22), Booth and Bones have slept together—for comfort—after Vincent's death. In the season finale, "The Change in the Game" (6x23), the ending is the reveal that Brennan is pregnant.
    • Surprisingly enough, they get a lot fewer comments on it now that they are married with a daughter.
  • Boy Meets World's Mr. Feeny thinks that he has been discreet about his feelings for Dean Lila Bolander. He is hilariously wrong.
    Eric: Who knows who Feeny loves?
    The Entire Class: [in perfect unison] The Dean!
  • Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
    • Throughout season 7, Spike and Buffy swear up and down that there's nothing going on between them anymore after their disastrous Destructive Romance the previous year. Nobody else is buying it, and all the Longing Looks and Freudian Slips don't help their case. From strangers around Sunnydale, to the Scoobies, to the Potentials, to Buffy's own date one episode; everyone can tell they only have eyes for each other.
    • For Buffy's inner circle, they all know Buffy still has feelings for Angel after breaking up with him years before.
  • On Burn Notice, She's Not My Girlfriend is a Running Gag, cropping up once every few episodes with Mike and/or Fiona saying it. And everyone else knows that they are.
  • The UST between Detective Kate Beckett and Richard Castle in Castle is getting to the point where everyone in the world seems to be able to see it except Beckett.
    • Complete strangers casually ask whether they're a couple, people who've never met one of them can tell that something's going on just from how one of them talks about the other, and it is awesomely line-dropped by Kate's friend Lanie Parrish:
      Beckett: Anything else?
      Lanie: You tell me.
      Beckett: What?
      Lanie: Don't "what" me! Castle's lost love?
      Beckett: Yeah, what about it?
      Lanie: Girl, I'm gonna smack you! You work side-by-side every day, he writes a sex scene in his book about you that had me reaching for ice water — and now Little Miss Bride shows up. Don't tell me you're not the least bit jealous!
      Beckett: Oh, please. You've been inhaling too many...autopsy fluids.
      Lanie: Honey, just because you don't see what's going on doesn't mean everyone else doesn't see what's going on!
      Beckett: Shut up!!!
    • Castle finally admits his feelings when Beckett is shot at the captain's funeral in the finale of season 3 episode 24. In fact Beckett can see it too, and Castle calls her out on it earlier in the episode.
    • Ironically, when Castle and Beckett finally hook-up, they are able to hide this from their friends and family for quite some time primarily because everyone has gotten so used to the UST that it no longer crosses their minds that Castle and Beckett might actually become a couple.
  • The Chosen: People who have just joined the group can tell Thomas is in love with Ramah, despite his own bewilderment on the topic whenever it's brought up. Even Mother Mary gets in on this by snarking that they should have just had Thomas and Ramah's ceremony at Cana right after the planned ceremony and feast. In Season 3, the women's conversation with Ramah plus the parallel conversation at Zebedee's house with Thomas confirm to the two of them that everyone can see that they're into each other.
  • Chuck: By roughly the mid-way point of Season 3, Casey, Ellie, Captain Awesome, Morgan, Jeff, Lester, General Beckman and Big Mike (i.e. the entire cast) all ship Chuck/Sarah, and help try to make it happen. Most of their love interests see it too. Of course, for most of the show they were deliberately pretending to be in a relationship...
  • Community: Jeff and Annie are now this to each other, according to the rest of the school. In the third episode of season five, The Dean calls them out on it, saying "let me be the fiftieth person at this school" to wonder what's going on between them, since everyone can clearly see that they're head over heels for each other. During this conversation, however, both Jeff and Annie are in denial and insist they're Just Friends, but even the notorious Ass Crack Bandit chides them to find him and prove otherwise.
  • Doctor Who:
    • Ian and Barbara. Where to begin?
      • When Vicki notices Barbara's bracelet in "The Web Planet", she asks where it came from. Barbara tells her, "It was a gift." Vicki's immediate assumption is that it was a gift from Ian.
      • Even King Richard points it out. KING. FRICKEN'. RICHARD. Upon noting Ian's eagerness to go out and rescue Barbara, Richard asks the Doctor, "Is it love of peace or love of your companion that prompts his enthusiasm?"
    • Harry and Sarah. They argue/flirt in like, EVERY SINGLE EPISODE of Season 12. And then there's "Terror of the Zygons". Lots of good Harry/Sarah moments in that one.
    • Romana II and the Doctor. Even when considering that, as the actors were dating at the time (they married a couple of weeks after she left the show), this effect was likely somewhat emphasized.
    • The Ninth Doctor and Rose (in spite of insistent denials from both parties). Even the Daleks call them on it.
    • "Army of Ghosts" has two minor characters, Gareth and Addie, whose attempts to keep their office romance secret from their colleagues at the Torchwood Institute have failed spectacularly. As their boss Yvonne puts it after the two slip out, "And they think we haven't noticed."
    • The Tenth Doctor and Donna are an inversion. A Running Gag throughout Series 4 was numerous people mistaking them for a couple whereas their relationship is more Like Brother and Sister.
    • "The Lodger": The mutual attraction between Craig and Sophie is so obvious that even the Eleventh Doctor, awkward at romance and master of failing spot checks, notices this very, very quickly.
    • Amy and Rory used to be this. Luckily, their best friend and future daughter informed them that everyone could see it and gave them the push they needed to start dating before their first proper appearance. In a Funny Moment, due to Amy's obliviousness to his feelings for her and having never seen him interested in any other girl, up until then she had assumed Rory was gay.
    • When the Cybermen point out the Eleventh Doctor's sexual tension with Miss Clara Oswald, this trope could be happening with them too. The kids she used to babysit basically refer to him as her boyfriend and ignore all protests to the contrary.
    • Applies with the Twelfth Doctor and Clara. Her actual boyfriend at the time, Danny Pink, noticed that Clara's feelings for the Doctor are more than just friendship. They are semi-mistaken for a couple by the woman they just met, Maisie Pitt (the episode actually ends with Clara establishing a Love Triangle). Ashildr's reaction at the Doctor's thin attempt to convince her (and himself, apparently) that Clara's only his friend also counts: she is not amused.
  • Downton Abbey: Matthew and Mary. So, so much. Even their respective fiancés see it.
  • On Farscape, everyone could tell John and Aeryn were into each other—the crew of Moya, random one-offs, villains, and the entire planet Earth. Which makes John's attempts to keep his feelings hidden for Aeryn's protection even stupider.
  • One-sided version: everyone knows that Niles is hopelessly in love with Daphne in Frasier, including him, but Daphne remains blissfully unaware for several years, and everyone keeps quiet because Niles Cannot Spit It Out, and they don't want to meddle in his business. When Daphne finds out about his feelings (without Niles knowing), it leads to a Funny Moment when she tells this to Roz with the air of disclosing a earth-shattering classified state secret, only for Roz's response to be "well, duh".
  • Friends:
    • Ross and Rachel. At one point Rachel realizes she's still subconsciously attracted to Ross and Phoebe tells her everyone just assumed she knew. "It's like telling Monica 'You like things to be clean.'"
    • Surprisingly averted when Chandler and Monica start their Secret Relationship. The gang take months to figure out they're together, despite blatantly obvious hints. Possibly because the pair were extremely close before hooking up, sharing each other's deepest secrets and frequently seen cuddling up together. Their friends may not have noticed the change from platonic to romantic affection.
  • A unique version on Galavant as Galavant and Richard are both madly in love with Madalena who was with Galavant but married Richard. However, everyone but the two of them realizes Madalena is a selfish sociopath who used both of them to become Queen, carries on affairs with other characters, and plays the two off each other in order to gain more power for herself. By the end of the first season, both men seem to finally recognize it and end up joining together.
  • Game of Thrones:
    • Close associates and complete strangers alike can figure out in seconds that Jorah Mormont is in love with Daenerys. Actor Iain Glenn seemed utterly bewildered when a journalist questioned him on the issue:
      "I think I made it patently clear that I really, really fancy her. I really fancy her."
      • Viserys is the first who calls him out on it in "A Golden Crown".
        Viserys: You stand there all nobility and honor. You don't think I see you looking at my little sister, hm? Don't think I don't know what you want.
      • Xaro Xhoan Daxos mentions it to Daenerys in "The Ghost of Harrenhal", but she denies it at first.
        Xaro: So, tell me, how long has your manservant been in love with you?
        Daenerys: He's not my manservant and he's not in love with me.
      • In "Mockingbird", it is hinted that Daario Naharis is aware of Jorah's feelings, so he pats him in the back and proudly tells him that "she is in a good mood". He later makes Jorah admit it in "The Red Woman", and in "The Book of Stranger", he mocks him for being too old and not fit enough for 'riding' her.
      • Tyrion Lannister notices it, too.
        Tyrion: He worships you. He's in love with you, I think.
    • In Season 6, Bronn remarks to Podrick that it's extremely obvious from the way she looks at him that Brienne of Tarth has feelings for Jaime Lannister. Though it's not as obvious in Jaime's case (and complicated by the fact that Jaime's main love has always been for his sister Cersei), Bronn also thinks that Jaime feels the same way.
    • Over the course of Season 7, feelings develop between Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen but they try to brush it aside (until they give into it in the finale). Tyrion and Davos both remark on their attraction to each other.
  • Gilmore Girls:
    • The show did this for five seasons. Each season brought in a new love interest, for either Lorelai, Luke, or both of them, only for the relationship to dissolve because "you're in love with someone else." When Lorelai and Luke finally got together in season five, the entire town of Stars Hollownote  said, "Took you long enough." Emily could see it the first time she met Luke, and after he and Lorelai both tried to cast their relationship in terms of coffee supplier and consumer, Emily said "You're idiots, the both of you."
    • Lorelai, Lane and Paris know that Rory and Jess like each other, and the whole town notices even if they disapprove. Even Rory's boyfriend is all too-aware of their attraction. Hell, even Luke picks up on it!
  • Good Omens (2019):
    • Aziraphale and Crowley are assumed to be a couple by multiple people, including Uriel who refers to Crowley as "your boyfriend in the dark glasses" while talking to Aziraphale — and Uriel, a stern and no-nonsense angel, is not the kind of character who would say something like that just for a joke.
    • Season 2 continues this pattern with demons, mortals, and angels, most notably demon Shax, mortals Nina and Maggie, and even Metatron. They are right.
  • Haven: The growing relationship between Audrey and Nathan doesn't go unnoticed by other people. It's commented on here and there, but is discussed in a season two episode, when Vince and Dave push all of Nathan's buttons about Audrey's date with another guy, in order to motivate him to break out of their vine-covered van and find her. When Nathan bristles and tells them what's going on between him and Audrey is none of their business, Vince lets him know that "Haven has many secrets, but that's not one of them."
  • Heroes: After Sylar uses his empathy power on Claire, he tells her that he knows she has feelings for Gretchen.
  • Himitsu no Hanazono (2007): Wataru has feelings for Natsuyo (and unbeknownst to him, vice versa), which is why Ryoko ships them. After Yuriko Hanazono breaks up, Wataru is asked what he wants to do. He replies that he wants to be with Natsuyo.
  • House:
    • House and Cuddy. Several characters through the series comment on Cuddy's lenience with House and often question whether or not she loves/is attracted to him, which she obviously is but always seems surprised by the fact that others can see it, too. Strangely, people don't seem to suggest that House loves Cuddy, though this might be because of his deliberately open appreciation of her physical features, notably his sexual harassment of her (and all other female staff members), which causes people to take his advances less seriously, and in some cases see them as completely fabricated and done for the shock factor (as one of the women he interviewed for his new team did, knowing he liked to 'play games').
    • With House and Cameron, on the other hand, there is no question. In just the first season, Wilson (House's best friend), Cuddy (his boss), a random clinic patient ("Do her. Or you're gay,") and even Vogler (an Arc Villain who stuck around for only five episodes) all figure out that one of them feels something special for the other, even if they do not realize that those feelings are mutual. Chase's reaction warrants a special mention: when Cameron first takes him up on his friends-with-benefits offer in season three, he suspects that she only does so in order to make House jealous, and when the two of them divorce in season six, Chase asks Cameron if she ever loved him. (She confesses that she doesn't know.) Cameron and House, for their parts, do their best to deny their mutual attraction, even when that denial is completely implausible.
  • Fabian and Nina from House of Anubis embody this trope so much, it's almost painful to watch. It gets to the point where other students in the house (not to mention the entire fandom) are asking Fabian to please just ask her out already. This conversation alone proves it:
    Mick: So, Fabian, who are you planning on asking to the prom?
    Amber: A certain play-writing scholarship student with a thing for antiques and apple pie?
    Mara: Of course he'll be taking Nina...if he ever gets around to asking her.
    Fabian: I don't know what you're talking about. Me and Nina...we're not an item.
    Mick: Come on. Everyone knows you two secretly like each other...well, not so secretly.
    Mara: Yeah, so when are you going to put Nina and the rest of us out of our misery?
  • How I Met Your Mother has Ted and Robin, where the first few episodes had them obviously attracted to each other but in very different stages of their lives (Ted is ready to settle down and start a family, Robin is Married to the Job and uncertain of EVER getting married). They agree to remain friends and Robin becomes very close to him and his group of friends. They both insist there is nothing romantic between them but it's obvious to everyone and the viewers it's a matter of timing and not feelings. They officially get together in the second season and break up amicably towards the end, as we already know Robin isn't the mother. Throughout the rest of the series, it is obvious those feelings haven't disappeared completely.
  • On Lewis about the title character DI Lewis and Dr Hobson
    • Hathaway comments on it in "Your Sudden Death Question" and "The Indelible Stain" among others.
    • Innocent comments in "The Mind Has Mountains"
    • Alec Pickman noticed in "Falling Darkness"
    • Diane Turnbull commented in the season 1 episode "Old School Ties"
  • Life: Reese and Crews are often mistaken for a couple, and an FBI agent helping comments how he met his wife in the bureau and that she was his partner. Only the word "too" is missing.
  • Lizzie McGuire: Lizzie and Gordo's unspoken attraction to each other is obvious to their mutual friends and family and is occasionally implied or directly acknowledged by other characters.
    • In the season 1 episode "The Untitled Stan Jansen Project", Miranda lets slip to Gordo that Lizzie had a crush on him in the 4th grade. When Lizzie later confides in her mom about this betrayal, Jo McGuire exclaims "I knew it!".
    • The season 2 episode "Clueless" centers around Lizzie's obliviousness to the fact that Gordo likes her, despite this being obvious to everyone else. At one point, Kate Sanders has to pull Lizzie aside to inform her that "...everyone at school can tell. Gordo's had a crush on you for like... ever!".
    • Throughout the series, Miranda appears to pick up on the hints of jealousy felt by Lizzie (in "Gordo and the Girl") and Gordo (in "First Kiss") respectively when the other begins pursuing someone else. When pressed, Lizzie and Gordo both immediately deny any feelings, but Miranda's knowing glances suggest otherwise to the audience.
    • In "The Lizzie McGuire Movie", and in an unusual show of observation, Ethan Craft even acknowledges Gordo's feelings for Lizzie after overhearing a conversation between them about Paolo, Lizzie's new Italian crush:
      Ethan: Embrace the sting. That's what you're vibin' here from Lizzie.
      Gordo: Wait a minute. Now, you actually think that I'm jealous of Paolo?
      Ethan: Word.
      Gordo: Oh, no. No, see, cause that would mean that I like Lizzie as more than a friend.
      Ethan: (affirmingly) What do you mean you and I have trouble communicating?
  • Marvel Cinematic Universe:
    • Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Fitz-Simmons are the only ones who seem remotely surprised to discover they might have romantic feelings towards one another. Everyone else seems to have been well clued in from the beginning, and have even been referring to them by their in-universe Portmanteau Couple Name since Day 1. When they finally get married in "The Real Deal", Coulson, who is officiating the ceremony, mentions that this was "a day everyone saw coming, some before these two did".
    • Daredevil: By season 2, Matt Murdock and Karen Page begin to get closer to each other, other characters like Foggy and Frank Castle begin to easily pick up on their attachment.
    • Iron Fist: After Danny Rand and Colleen Wing first have sex, Claire Temple at least can easily tell that there is something going on between them. Danny in turn sees that she has a connection to Luke Cage, as she keeps reading the letters Luke is sending her from jail repeatedly.
  • The Mentalist: Jane and Lisbon fit this, especially in season five. In the season 5 opener, Lorelei tells Jane that he is a little bit in love with Lisbon. In the season 5 finale, a character from Jane's past says that Lisbon was lying in bed thinking of Patrick and proceeds to say, "You're a little in love with him."
  • Merlin: Arthur and Guinevere. And they consider it a Secret Relationship. Every single character manages to make the jump that they're together within days. Even Uther, the most Genre Blind character on the show, manages to figure it out (although luckily they convince him it was just an enchantment and aren't seen together in front of him after that).
  • Played for Laughs in The Mighty Boosh. Howard and Vince are constantly mistaken for husband and wife and other characters imply that their relationship is more than just a friendship.
  • Done a lot in The Nanny, as virtually all characters (and of course the audience) knew about Maxwell and Fran except for them. When they're finally together for good, they enter the house by announcing Max said "I love you" to Fran, which surprises nobody. When Maxwell adds "and I'm not taking it back" they're all shocked (and happy about it, except for CC). Likewise, Niles confesses of his past attraction to a parlor maid who had since left, upon which he never acted on, and sighs about how nobody noticed. Max, annoyed, responds everyone saw it, and there was even a betting pool to see when he'd propose!
  • NCIS: Tony and Ziva have had co-workers, witnesses and other people comment on their relationship. Even Gibbs has sort of commented; he has given meaningful looks and vague references.
    • And one of the latest episodes has them "apparently" hooking up on a mission in Paris. The episode heavily hints at it the entire way through, with even the witness they had met a few days before commenting on it.
    • In "False Witness", even one-shot character Jerry, unfamiliar with the show's characters and their history, can see that there's something between Tony and Ziva, though they both deny it.
    • In "Housekeeping", former Tony flame EJ Barrett comments to Tony that he and Ziva have a special connection.
    • In a weird way, this trope is almost subverted—at times, it seems as though even Tony and Ziva know they're in love with each other, they just don't act on it. There are several instances in which they correctly peg the other's jealousy when one of them (or both) are even remotely interested in someone else. And more than one occasion where Ziva flirts with a non-recurring character because she knows it drives Tony crazy.
    • Dr. Jimmy Palmer and Jessica Knight fall into this during Season 20 after their Relation Ship Upgrade during Season 19. Despite their efforts to keep their relationship low profile, everyone in the agency figured out their relationship. Other individuals privy to this information which include the Hawaii team (including Knight's secret admirer Ernie Malik), and Knight's ex-boyfriend, Gage Winchester.
  • The Jim and Pam Will They or Won't They? romance on The Office became so blatant that nearly every other character commented on it.
  • Once Upon a Time: According to Regina, everyone in Storybrooke can tell that Emma and Hook are not Just Friends. Even the Big Bad of Season 3, Zelena, can see it. After all, why else would she curse Hook's lips if she didn't think he and Emma would be kissing?
    Regina: Seriously? Are you really going to pretend nobody sees the yearning looks and doe-y eyes?
  • One Tree Hill has Lucas & Peyton. By the time the show skips ahead four years in the fifth season, everyone is able to see that Lucas & Peyton are still in love with one another despite their bitter break-up three years earlier. It's to the point that Lucas has to literally be told the novel he'd just written was blatantly a metaphor about his feelings for Peyton, and when they finally get back together, no one's remotely surprised.
  • Good God, Phil of the Future. Once an Episode at the LEAST. They were voted "Cutest Couple" by the whole school, for crying out loud. And the student body cheered when they kissed for the first time.
  • Psych: Several characters, particularly Case of the Week characters, have commented on the potential romance/romantic feelings between Shawn and Juliet (some fans consider these to be Anvilicious).
  • Radio Enfer: Léo's feelings for Camille before they hooked up, according to Carl:
    Léo: Carl... do you think there are many people who noticed about me and Camille?
    Carl: No, no. No, seriously, not that many. Only those who have two eyes.
    Léo: Stop joking! [I mean,] Jean-Lou, for instance...
    Carl: No, Jean-Lou has eyes. It's just he doesn't have a brain to understand what he sees.
    Léo: And Camille?
    Carl: Oh, I don't know about Camille. I should go ask her [about it].
  • Rookie Blue has Sam and Andy, whose chemistry is noticed by everyone including Luke, Andy's ex-boyfriend.
  • Schitt's Creek:
    • Alexis is the first to notice that Patrick might be attracted to David, followed by Stevie, and they both encourage David to pursue him. When Patrick and David do get together, David's family and Stevie support the relationship so much that it becomes a plot point in that David worries their support will somehow mess things up. When David says he's going to get back together with Patrick after a brief separation, Stevie says that "everyone" will be happy not just because they want the couple together but because David is very needy when not with Patrick.
    • All the ladies at the nursing home where Ted volunteers hate Alexis, but they all know he's in love with her.
  • Subverted on Scrubs somewhat. When Elliot and J.D. eventually hook up, the hospital staff are pretty apathetic about it since they've seen it coming for as long as they have. Likewise for their subsequent relapses into coupledom. Amusingly, before they get back together for the last time, they had become closer and spent more time together than they ever did before, but remained platonic. The instigating event that brought them together is an innocent comment that they were a couple anyway, they just didn't let themselves see that.
  • Seinfeld:
    • Parodied when Kramer makes a totally out-of-left-field attempt to enforce this trope. Jerry and Elaine are having a typical argument, which he interrupts, roaring, "Now don't you two see that you're in love with each other?!" They give him a look, shake it off and resume yelling at each other.
    • Generally speaking, this trope is in force with Jerry and Elaine, with many characters noting that they spend an incredible amount of time together despite being ex-boyfriend and girlfriend. Julia Louis-Dreyfus even interpreted their relationship as such, stating that they were in love with each other but too immature to realize it.
  • In Sex and the City, by the series finale, Miranda will have finally realized that she's in love with Steve. Even after they've had a child together and an on/off relationship, she comes to terms that she loves him back only problem is that she just literally can't really use the word "love". It takes seeing Steve bring a "1" candle for their son's birthday for her to confessing her love for him, albeit with them both in a laundry room and their respective partners in the other room. After confessing and Steve reciprocating does Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and even the nanny nod attentively.
  • Smallville: Lana saw immediately that Lois and Clark were attracted to one another from the start of their friendship, even though Lois and Clark deny it (Clark insists that he and Lois are merely Vitriolic Best Buds and Lana notes "the best ones always start that way"). One episode later, Chloe notices a spark of attraction between them during the dunk tank event at Smallville High, Jimmy repeatedly notices UST, Oliver makes his share of observations, and Jonathan and Martha both have their own bemused suspicions that Clark and Lois's Vitriolic Best Buds routine is masking something else. By Season 8, the UST gets to the point where neither Lois nor Clark can deny it much longer.
  • Stargate:
    • O'Neill and Carter in Stargate SG-1. Sadly, the old no-fraternization rule keeps getting in the way.
    • Daniel and Vala actually got teased about it in one episode—well, technically, Daniel was the one who got teased.
    • Stargate Atlantis has John and Elizabeth. Everyone from the team to visiting superiors learns very fast not to get in between the pair when one of them's in danger... or they're arguing... or just having private time on the balcony. Hell, even the recurring villain knows what was going on. The amount of times he uses John or Elizabeth as leverage to blackmail the other makes him look like a Shipper on Deck!
  • In one episode of Star Trek: The Original Series, in which Kirk and Spock have been thrown back in time to 1930, Spock asks guest character Edith Keeler, in response to a comment she makes about them being out of place, where she would say that they do belong. Where does she think Spock belongs? "At [Kirk's] side, as if you've always been there and always will." It can be debated whether the implications are platonic or romantic, but Edith clearly recognizes, just based on her brief observations of the pair, that Kirk is someone very special to Spock.
  • Star Trek: Voyager: Seven's lack of social skills at this point makes it near impossible for her to recognize it, nor properly reciprocate, but Harry is in love with Seven of Nine for the entirety of season 4 and everybody on the ship knows it despite Harry's attempts to deny it, as B'Elanna lampshades:
    B'Elanna: Harry, you might as well wear a big sign that says "I'M IN LOVE", everyone sees it.
  • Stranger Things
    • Anyone who sees Mike and Eleven interact will clearly realize that each is head-over-heels for the other, with Mike's best friends Dustin and Lucas realizing it after a few episodes, and Nancy, his Aloof Big Sister, seeing it after less than a day.
    • Everyone can tell that there is a growing attraction between Nancy and Jonathan over season 1, leading to a moment of Steve mistaking her for cheating on him when he catches them in her bedroom. By the start of season 2, Nancy is being less and less subtle about her attraction to Jonathan, to the point that Steve even refers to Jonathan as her "other boyfriend" after she blows up at him while blackout drunk at a party and Jonathan has to take her home. When Jonathan and Nancy go to Murray Bauman in Season 2, Murray had been under the assumption that they were already together. And his prompting is what encourages them to actually get together.
    • Come Season 3, everyone who sees Hopper and Joyce together can see the Belligerent Sexual Tension between the two. Murray, who had previously talked with Joyce's son Johnathan about Nancy, at one point tells them to "fuck in the bushes" and get it over with, to the surprise of their accomplice/prisoner Alexei, who had already assumed Joyce and Hopper were together. To put it bluntly: it says something that it's even obvious to Ted and Karen Wheeler, who not only have minimal knowledge at best of the children's location at any given time, but are so oblivious that they didn't even realize that their son Mike hid Eleven in their basement for nearly a week, and only found out because the Mad Scientist hunting her decided it was better to talk to them than let his murderous underling kill them.
  • Supernatural: Pretty much every angel and quite a few of the other characters comment at some point on how Castiel's complete devotion to Dean doesn't seem to be just a "friend" thing. This includes Balthazar who refers to Castiel as "the angel in the trenchcoat who's in love with you" while talking to Dean, Meg who says that Cas was Dean's "boyfriend" before he was hers, and Ishim — an angel who fell in love with a human — saying that Castiel has a "human weakness" like him before attempting to kill Dean. For a long time, many fans thought all this was just the series ribbing on the Ho Yay between Castiel and Dean and didn't really mean anything, until certain developments in the final season made it clear that all these characters' comments really were spot on about Castiel having more than friendly feelings for Dean.
  • Superstore: Everyone in the store senses the UST between Amy and Jonah. Both of them deny it (mostly because Amy is married—however, not altogether happily married).
  • The Vampire Diaries:
    • Stefan and Elena fit this. Almost all of the characters on the show can see or have commented on Stefan and Elena's undying love for each other. An example of this would be Klaus telling Damon referring to Stefan and Elena's love for each other: "Crazy or not, that kind of love never dies". A second example is when Caroline told Elena: "Stefan is your epic love". A third example is Lexi telling Elena referring to her love and relationship with Stefan: "When it's real, you can't walk away". Other characters on the show have noticed and commented on Stefan and Elena's love and devotion to each other, such as Damon, Katherine, Klaus, and Rebekah. Various characters on the show have also been shown to be Stelena supporters or shippers. Such characters include Klaus, Caroline, Bonnie, Matt, Lexi, Jeremy, Jenna, etc. The producers of the series, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec have both referred to Stefan and Elena as being the true epic love story of the show. Kevin Williamson has repeatedly referred to Stefan and Elena as soul mates. He also suggests that although the plot is about a love triangle (between Elena, Stefan and Damon), the series revolves around Stefan and Elena's love story and that their relationship is the central plot and "anchor" of the show.
    • In season 6, (Elena and Stefan had become just friends and aren't a couple anymore) Caroline's feeling for Stefan. In fact Damon points it out perfectly when he's teasing Stefan about it.
      Damon: [in a squeaky voice holding a teddy bear] Oh no is Stefan feeling sensitive about ruining his friendship with Caroline? She really liked him and he broke her heart.
      Alaric: See Stefan? Even the bear knew.
      Damon:
      [still using a squeaky voice and the teddy bear]'' I saw it from a mile away, and my brain's made of cotton.
  • On The West Wing, Josh's love interest Joey Lucas, one of Donna's boyfriends, and just about everyone else can notice Josh and Donna's UST.
    • In the fifth season, Josh rants in the Oval Office about killing everyone involved with the Gaza bombing where Admiral Fitzwallace is killed and Donna is seriously injured. Leo pulls him aside and tells him everyone would understand if he'd rather be with Donna right now.
    • It's to the point where one of the White House reporters chooses to call Toby (whose ex-wife was in the same bombing but survived unharmed) rather than Josh because Josh is probably too upset over Donna. Toby has a few biting remarks to say about that.
  • The X-Files: Mulder and Scully. Oh, sweet Jesus.
    • Even people who met them earlier that day can see it.
      Holiman: You spend every day with Agent Scully, a beautiful, enchanting woman. And you two never, uh...? [no response from Mulder] I confess I find that shocking. I've seen how you two gaze at one another. note 
    • It gets to the point when even the cold, murderous, manipulative Big Bad Cigarette Smoking Man berates Scully for not just admitting she's in love with Mulder. Literally every single character in the damn show saw it except for them.
    • The fact that they're so obviously one another's Living Emotional Crutch means any Big Bad who wants to piss off/hurt one of them does something nasty to the other. This never ends well for whoever gets between the two, but every now and again someone will be dumb enough to try.
  • Zoey 101 has Chase and Zoey. Chase's love for Zoey is the school's worst kept secret, and Zoey's obliviousness is almost painful.
    • In the third season premiere, Lola and Quinn try to tell Zoey of Chase's feelings for her. When Zoey doesn't believe them, Lola pulls a random student from the hallway to illustrate her point.
      Lola: Ginny, could you come in here a moment?
      Ginny: Sure, what's up?
      Lola: Blank is in love with Zoey. Fill in the blank.
      Ginny: [matter-of-factly] Chase.
      Lola: Thanks for playing.
    • In "The Play", the school's drama teacher wonders aloud whether Chase's casting of Zoey for the lead role in his play was due to her acting ability, or because there was a kiss written between their characters in the final scene.
    • Even people who don't know them think they're together. In "PCA Confidential", Zoey and Chase (and Stacy Dillsen) act as a panel to answer questions about the school to potential students. The last question was asked by a girl who said she had a question for "Zoey and Chase" (this is actually the original quote; the episode was supposed to air at the end of the third season, but ended up airing after the fourth, after Chase and Zoey were already together).
      Girl: Are you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?
      Chase: No.
      Girl: Have you ever been?
      Zoey: No.
      Chase: Why do you ask that?
      Girl: Just a vibe I was picking up. [Chase/Zoey montage]
    • Michael tries to tell Chase that he's extremely obvious in his love for Zoey:
      Chase: Would you stop saying that [that Chase is in love with Zoey] so loud?
      Michael: Why?
      Chase: I don't want people to know, okay?
      Michael: Everyone on planet Earth knows you love her! The people on Neptune even know. Yeah, they're up there right now on Neptune saying... [mimics alien voice] "Did you know Chase loves Zoey?" "Why, yes, I do; the whole galaxy knows."

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