Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario

She's hot and she's cold, but they love each other all the same.

"We fight, we break up
We kiss, we make up"

— Katy Perry, "Hot 'n' Cold"

The heroes share an incredible adventure that helps them develop strong feelings, as friends, lovers, or family. Then, there is a breaking point, a moment where they split. It may be an argument, a misunderstanding, a choice one of them makes... whatever the reason, their relation seems to be broken forever.

But we all know what's going to happen next, don’t we?

Yes, they meet again, make up, reconcile, apologise, forgive, and forget about everything. The point of a Break-Up/Make-Up is to test the strength of the heroes' feelings, and to make the audience wonder whether they'll come back together and have a Happy Ending.

Here's the classic story:

1. About three quarters of the way through the story, the couple leave each other after a dramatic scene (usually an argument).
2. They spend some time away from each other, even though they miss the other’s company.
3. Some event or simply fate brings them back together, and they reconcile, admit their feelings, and share a happy end.

This scenario is used so often in fiction that it would be easy to expect it whenever a story focuses on the relation of the couple. Over the years, it went from a major plot twist to a convention, to the point where most of the audience will generally expect it.

This trope applies not only to love stories (in which case it ends on a Last-Minute Hookup), but also to buddy movies. One of the main issues is that, since the breakup usually happens some time before the end, the time the heroes spend apart is therefore very short, and the makeup is quick to come. In long-running series, this can be avoided by making the split last several episodes, to let you wonder if the characters stay apart. Most of the time, however, it is used for one episode only. In this case, it is a Feud Episode, which centers around a Break-Up/Make-Up. This trope is very common in Soap Opera.

Compare Will They or Won't They? when the audience is left in doubt on whether a couple will form or not. Contrast No Romantic Resolution. The Second-Act Breakup is this trope applied to a movie or a play. When this keeps happening, you have a Relationship Revolving Door. Sister trope to Split and Reunion, when a Split Personality gets separated but reunites stronger than ever. Plot-Mandated Friendship Failure is this trope's platonic counterpart.

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Examples:

Anime & Manga

• Aura: Koga Maryuin's Last War: At first, Ichiro tries to keep up her distance from Ryoko but learns to grow closer to her. Things go south when Ōshima finds about Ichiro's chuunibyou past and threatens tell everyone about unless Ichiro abandons Ryoko. As you can expect, this causes a lot of grief to both Ichiro, who goes through a period of self-loathing, and Ryoko, who gets tired of the real world and wants to live in her fantasies forever. Fortunately, Ichiro reaches out to Ryoko and promises to her that they will confront reality together.
• In Berserk, when Guts leaves Griffith and the Band of the Hawk and then returns a year later to find Griffith gone and Casca in command. While Guts eventually gets back together with the Hawks and even takes his relationship with Casca to the next level, things do not end well for him and Griffith, mainly thanks to Griffith having been tortured for a year and being a broken shell of the man he once was by the time Guts and the Hawks rescue him, growing to hate Guts over time and hitting the Despair Event Horizon upon learning that Guts and Casca are in a relationship together and are discussing leaving him behind, and when he finds the Behelit and triggers the Eclipse, it all goes to hell for everyone in the Hawks.
• Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) has a family version: After an effective Hannibal Lecture from Barry the Chopper, Alphonse begins to question his humanity. Due to Poor Communication Kills, he suspects that his brother Edward fabricated his memories, and that he's nothing more than a walking suit of armor, so he ends up running away for several episodes, until he eventually returns and reconciles with Ed. Subverted in the manga, where Winry literally knocks some sense into him before he goes any further.
• During Junjou Romantica the Egoist pair Hiroki and Nowaki lose their relationship during episodes 5 and 6, since Hiroki is upset by Nowaki apperantly going to America to study medicine, without telling Hiroki, thus leading to Hiroki breaking up with Nowaki after he returns to Japan. While he dearly misses Nowaki, he is determined to stay angry at him for leaving him without a word. It turns out though that Nowaki DID tell Hiroki, but he simply forgot. It leads to a tearful Makeup scene in the library of the university and them moving in together.
• Naruto: Sasuke and Itachi may quite possibly break the record for the longest breakup/makeup scenario ever. In-universe, it was nine years before they reconciled. In actual time, it took over twelve years (retroactively—the series began with Sasuke hating Itachi, but flashbacks showed that they were closer than almost any other characters in the series). Far more dramatic than most examples, considering that Sasuke made it his lifelong obsession to kill Itachi. And succeeded.
• One Piece:
  • Robin runs away from the crew, and does everything to dissuade them to come after her, even yelling at Luffy to let her die. Then they prove their friendship to her by declaring war to the whole world, and give her the will to live.
  • Earlier in the CP9 arc, Usopp leaves the crew when he fights Luffy over what should be done with the crippled Merry Go. It was a brutal fight with Usopp losing. Later at the end of the arc, after spending much of the time fighting with the crew under a pseudonym, he hopes to be Easily Forgiven with him saying nothing about his actions; but Zoro puts his foot down to stop it as, unlike what Robin went through, it was his choice. Until he apologizes, he shouldn't be allowed back in the crew.
  • The earliest instance of this was in the Arlong Park arc, where Nami ditches the Straw Hats and claims she was working for Arlong the whole time. While this might have been true at first, she had begun to genuinely enjoy her time with them, and underneath her cruel facade, she was actually heartbroken after betraying them. Luffy later sees Nami totally heartbroken because her hatred of Arlong gang, he unite his crew to fight them. After Straw Hats win, Nami finally admits that she's one of them.
• Happens to Isla and Tsukasa in episode 10 of Plastic Memories. They are forcibly separated by their supervisor, Kazuki. Later, she asks Isla what she really wants to do with her short time left, and tells her about how she regrets her decision of ending their partnership and essentially destroying Isla's emotions. Isla thinks it over for a while, then gives Tsukasa an Anguished Declaration of Love, stating she wants to spend what little time she has left with him, rather than away, and leaving him only bitter memories of their time together.
• Wandering Son:
  • Anna breaks up with Nitori near the end of middle school after it really hits her that Nitori is transgender instead of a Wholesome Crossdresser, and she ends up confused. They have Unresolved Sexual Tension for several chapters but eventually end up together again. They stay together post-high school.
  • Takatsuki and Saori become close friends over the first few volumes but that started souring when Saori became jealous of Takatsuki's friendship with Nitori. Due to a love triangle (Saori likes Nitori, Nitori likes Takatsuki, Takatsuki likes no one) and messy love confessions, Saori breaks her friendship with both Nitori and Takatsuki. Over the course of middle school they slowly make up. Takatsuki and Saori go to the same high school but Nitori goes to a different one, which causes a rift in Nitori's and Takatsuki's friendship. Saori and Takatsuki become closer than ever though.

Comic Books

• Robin (1993): Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown were such a close couple that they were essentially sharing the protagonist role of the title for a few years, before Steph got killed. It was later revealed that her death was faked by Leslie Thompkins with Batman's approval. This understandably soured their relationship but they still had feelings for one another and by Convergence they were dating and had an apartment together.
• The Ultimates: Henry Pym and Janet Van Dyne started as a couple, but she left him when he attacked her and started a couple with Captain America instead. Their relation, however, proves to be so rocky that she eventually returned with Hank.

Fan Works

• The Alphabet Story: It's heavily implied this happens at the end of the fic. Kyra and Elsa break up because Kyra is marrying a man; however, the final section implies that Elsa wants to rekindle their romance.
• Baby Boom (Shawna Canon): In the tenth chapter, Marinette and Adrien talk it out and make up, agreeing to start over.
• Daphne Greengrass and the Boy Who Lived: Ginny is angry at Daphne for Disapparating with her from Bill and Fleur's wedding, feeling that by doing so, Daphne hadn't respected her choice of not coming along on the Horcrux hunt due to still having the Trace on her.
• Deception Unveiled: Rio and Jerrica spend most of the fic broken up, but they inevitably hook back up and end up engaged.
• Luz Belos: Princess of the Boiling Isles:
  • Amity thinks Luz was in on Eda's cheating during their Wizard Duel and breaks up with her on the spot, only to make-up with her minutes after Luz manages to explain what really happened.
  • This happens again when Amity catches her and her twin siblings in her secret room at the library, thinking she was willfully invading her privacy when she was trying to keep her diary away from Otabin and Edric.

Films — Animation

• Corpse Bride: When Victor admits to the Bride he can't marry her. Unusually, it happens in the middle of the film.
• Disney Animated Canon:
  • Beauty and the Beast:
    • The Beast yells at Belle to leave, then saves her from wolves, leading to them becoming friends.
    • Later, the Beast lets Belle leave the castle so she can save her father, but is heartbroken because he believes she will never even think of coming back. She does.
  • Tarzan: A non-romantic version happens with Tarzan after his rejection by Kerchak, his adoptive father. After Tarzan returns to save the apes from Clayton, Kerchak accepts him as his son before dying.
  • Tangled: Mother Gothel manipulates events to successfully convince Rapunzel that Flynn betrayed and abandoned her. Unfortunately for her, Flynn escapes her set-up and immediately races back to Rapunzel, resulting in their reconciliation and Gothel's defeat.
  • Mulan: Mulan is abandoned by Shang when her gender is revealed. He later defends her after the battle.
  • In Wreck-It Ralph, King Candy convinces Ralph to destroy Vanellope's racecar and stop her from fulfilling her dream of racing. This of course shatters their friendship. After seeing evidence that King Candy lied to him, Ralph returns with backup to fix the car, ensure she gets to race, and stay behind to protect her when she cannot leave the game to escape the Cy-bugs.
  • The Jungle Book:
    • Mowgli is angry at Baloo for trying to take him to the village, but forgives him when he saves Mowgli from Shere Khan, almost dying in the process.
    • In the sequel, Baloo scares Shanti and ends up blurting out that Mowgli had told him to do so in order to keep her from taking him back to the village with her. This prompts Shanti to storm off in disgust, which leads to Mowgli getting angry at Baloo. He reconciles with both of them during the climax.
  • The Lion King (1994): This happens between Simba and Nala, when Simba refuses to return to Pride Rock at first. However, when he does go back, Nala joins him along with Timon, Pumbaa and Rafiki to help defeat Scar.
    • The Lion King II: Simba's Pride: Kovu and Kiara don’t really break up, but he is banished from Pridelands. Played straight between her and her father Simba for the same reason.
  • Brother Bear: When Kenai tells Koda the truth that he was the one who killed Koda's mother, Koda runs away in fear and sorrow. When hearing about Rutt and Tuke's statement on how much they care about each other despite their flaws, he comes to terms with Kenai's mistake and even rescues him from a vengeful Denahi.
  • Aladdin: After Aladdin realizes he's to become Sultan, Genie tries to convince him to free him, only for Aladdin to refuse, which makes the Genie retreat to his lamp in disappointment.
  • The Little Mermaid:
    • Ariel briefly has her trust in Eric broken after seeing him with Vanessa, not realizing that she's actually Ursula and that she had brainwashed him into loving her as part of her plan.
    • Also happens between Ariel and her father King Triton, after he destroys her secret grotto for being in love with a human. The two make up after Triton willingly takes her place in Ursula's deal in a sincere display of love and protectiveness.
  • Peter Pan: Happens when Pan banishes Tinker Bell for trying to get Wendy killed, but she's forgiven when saves him from getting blown up by Captain Hook's Time Bomb.
  • Oliver & Company: After Oliver is "rescued" by Dodger and his gang due to a misunderstanding, he tells them that he wants to go back to Jenny, which makes Dodger think he's being ungrateful and drive him away. The two reconcile when Dodger and the gang come together find Oliver and go to rescue Jenny.
  • Treasure Planet: Near the middle, when Jim rejects Silver’s proposal.
• DreamWorks Animation has a good share:
  • How to Train Your Dragon (2010): A non-romantic version happens between Hiccup and his father Stoick, when Stoick find out that Hiccup befriended a dragon. However, Hiccup is almost killed in the battle with the Green Death, causing Stoick to regret his actions, and he hails his son as a hero.
  • In How to Train Your Dragon 2, another non-romantic version happens, this time between Hiccup and Toothless when a mind-controlled Toothless kills Stoick. Later, they reunite when Hiccup's love for Toothless is stronger than the Big Bad's mind control.
• FernGully: The Last Rainforest: When Crysta thinks Zak lied to her.
• Ice Age: The Meltdown: This happens between Manny and Ellie twice. Each time, life-threatening circumstances lead to them forgiving each other.
• Juliana: Some weeks after Juliana runs away from home, she gathers enough courage to pay a visit to her mother's usual vending spot. Previously, there was friction in their relationship because Juliana's stepfather is an abusive, lazy jerk whom Juliana's mother never confronts. When they meet after being separated, it's implied that Juliana's mother is now standing up to her husband, even managing to retrieve the radio he stole from Juliana. Zigzagged because they have a happy reunion but Juliana doesn't come back to her house.
• Many Pixar films follow this trope:
  • A Bug's Life: Flick is banished by Atta for lying, but that doesn’t stop him from opposing Hopper, and he gets together with Atta at the end.
  • In all Toy Story films, Woody has an argument and subsequent reconciliation with other toys (Buzz and Jessie), though the second movie is the only where it happens near the climax.
  • In Monsters, Inc., Mike lets Sully go alone, blaming him for ruining his life, but changes his mind. Also, Boo becomes afraid of Sully after he accidentally roars at her, but comes to like him again when he and Mike come to rescue her.
  • In Finding Nemo, Marlin believes Nemo to be dead, and leaves Dory to mourn his son alone, even though she begs him to not let her forget their adventure. The rift is healed when Dory finds the newly escaped Nemo and helps him reunite with his dad.
  • In Up, Carl's determination to go the falls leads him to abandon Kevin, which makes Russell feel betrayed. However, Carl eventually makes amends when Kevin's life is in danger by helping save him, leading Russell to forgive him.
  • In Ratatouille, Linguini loses all his cooks after telling the truth about Remy. Colette is the only one to come back.
  • In Turning Red, Mei betrays her friends by not standing up to her mother. Mei later openly defies her mother, apologizes to her friends and they forgive her.

Films — Live-Action

• Approximately the last half-hour of Woman of the Year, after Sam walks out on Tess. She comes to realize that she has neglected him for her career and tries to make it up to him by being ultra-domestic.
• In some James Bond movies, the main Bond girl and 007 go through this because of their allegiance and the importance of their missions. Good examples include The Spy Who Loved Me, and GoldenEye.
• Wayne's World: between Wayne and Garth. At first this trope seems to be defied with Wayne and Cassandra, but a side ending makes Wayne end up with her.
• Zombieland: The girls try to leave Tallahassee and Columbus, but the guys come to save them.
• In the Tim Burton adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Willy Wonka is shown to have left his father to fulfill his dream. It takes several years and Charlie’s intervention to bring them back together.
• Forrest Gump: After their first night together, Jenny leaves Forrest, but they find each other again five years later.
• Midnight (1939) begins with our Cinderella, Eve Peabody, leaving her newly met Tibor, because she doesn't want to get involved. He then desperately searches Paris for her, finds her, they fight, have a fraudulent divorce, and once Tibor and Eve know they actually love each other, they decide to get married.
• Yes-Man: Alison leaves Carl when she finds out that he only took part in all of their activities together because he made a covenant at a seminar to say yes to everything and finds that she can't trust him anymore. In the end, they get back together and she forgives him.
• Jurassic World: Owen starts out with a unique bond to the velociraptors, particularly Blue, with Owen as the "alpha" of the velociraptor pack. Then, the Indominus rex takes control of the pack, pitting Owen and the raptors one another. In the end, Blue turns on the Indominus Rex to help Owen and is instrumental in defeating her.
• Don Jon:
  • This is mentioned by Jon as being a standard trope for romantic movies.
  • Subverted in Jon's relationship with Barbara; after the Second-Act Breakup, they meet in the end just to conclude that they are not meant for each other and decide to part ways.
• Tony and Pepper's relationship goes through this in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Uniquely, it stretches multiple movies. They get together in Iron Man 2 but the strain of Tony being a superhero means that by Captain America: Civil War, they've broken up. They patch things up by Spider-Man: Homecoming and Tony is implied to propose at the end. In Avengers: Endgame, they're married and have a daughter.
• You and Your Stupid Mate: While in jail after a failed publicity stunt, Jeffrey and Philip get into a fight and briefly stop talking to each other. They make up after Jeffrey sees a Sons and Surf episode where Emma fights with her best friend Brie and Evo gives them a speech about how a friendship needs to be cared for and nurtured during rough patches, leading the girls to hug and apologize.
• Zebrahead (1992): At a party, Zack's friends ask him what having sex with a black girl is like. Zack tells them, "The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice." Nikki overhears the conversation and storms off, thinking Zack only sees her as an exotic trophy. She spends some time avoiding him before eventually accepting his apologies and taking him back.

Literature

• In the seventh chapter of Cerberus High, Sherbet and Axel visit Kazuki in the midst of a depressive episode, which ends in Sherbet running away in tears with Axel chasing after. With the team split up, Elliot makes his attack but is defeated by Kazuki, and the three make up just a day later.
• Harry Potter has two non-romantic examples with Ron and Harry:
  • First, in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, they argue after Harry is picked to participate in the Triwizard Tournament. They make up after Harry survives the first challenge, and Ron realizes that Harry didn't want to be in it.
  • Later, in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Ron leaves after having an argument with Harry and Hermione, but returns to save Harry's life, leading Harry to forgive him. Hermione isn't quick to do so, however.
• Jane Eyre: After the failed wedding Jane flees only to return when she realizes that Rochester is really who she loves.
• In Love Over Gold, Diane learns that when her girlfriend Katrien was a teenager, she helped bully an undiagnosed autistic girl named Grietje into an attempted suicide. Diane is horrified, especially since she herself is autistic and was severely bullied as a teenager. Katrien's former friend Truus, who spearheaded the bullying campaign, feels no remorse and thinks Grietje deserved what happened. Thinking Katrien must still be as cruel and remorseless as Truus, Diane breaks up with her. After a month of the two barely talking to each other, Katrien decides to invite Grietje to coffee to apologize, which she never did all those years ago, and invite Diane along as well. Both women agree to meet her. During their conversation, Grietje talks about how her therapist has helped her learn to stop wanting revenge and obsessing over the past, and Diane learns how remorseful Katrien is and how hard she's worked to become a better person since she was a teenager. Diane finally decides to take Katrien back. She and Grietje go on to form a close friendship.
• In the Warrior Cats book Shadow, Nightheart has been spending the entire book trying to earn a place in ShadowClan so that he can be Sunbeam's mate, while Sunbeam has been trying to figure out her feelings for him. When he fails his final task for joining ShadowClan, she realizes he failed it on purpose so that he could return to his birth Clan, and she storms off, feeling hurt and used. She intends this to be a permanent split, picturing her future without him. His absence makes her realize that she does, in fact, love him, and so she goes to his Clan, intending to join him there.
• In John's Lily, John is raising the highborn foundling Lily, whom he tries to protect from bad influences. When Lily is six, John forbids her from going to Carsham Fair, but his fiancée Mary's stepmother, Mrs. Alfrick, takes her anyway. At the fair, the two criminals who kidnapped Lily when she was three, from whom she was rescued by John, recognise her and her locket, lure her away from the others, and grab her. When John finds out, he thinks Mary took Lily to the fair and breaks off the engagement, and Mary is too proud to correct him. Lily is rescued the next day when the kidnappers briefly leave her alone at the train station and Mr. and Mrs. Bland recognise her and take her back to Markwood, but John and Mary don't mend their relationship until fifteen months later, when Mary thinks John's mother is dying and visits their house to say goodbye to her.

Live-Action TV

• The Sam/Diane arc in Cheers is one of the quintessential examples for television.
• Friends: Rachel and Ross go through sooooooooooooo many...
  • Also Joey and Chandler in season 4 when Chandler kisses Joey's girlfriend.
• Jessie: Happens between Jessie and Tony near the end of the second season; they make up and reconnect two whole seasons later before the Grand Finale.
• In Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Sabrina and Harvey go through two of these: first when Harvey sees her kissing Josh, then when he learns permanently that she is a witch. Surprisingly, each breakup lasted for more than one episode.
• Six Feet Under: David and Keith, Rico and Vanessa, Nate and Brenda, Claire and Ruth. Other breakups have a much less Happy Ending.
• How I Met Your Mother:
  • Lily left Marshall for months to stabilize her life, and it took them time to go back together.
  • Ted, Robin, and Barney go through this several times, whether together or with their respective lovers (when the break up isn't permanent). In "Last Forever, Part 2", Robin finally returns to the group for Ted and The Mother's wedding. The fact that she has her dogs again implies she is done with her globe-trotting. There is no mention of her being a bullfighter.
• Liv and Maddie: In Season 2 after Diggie returns from Tundrabania and soon announces he wants to leave to be a foreign exchange student again in Australia, this causes Maddie to get into a fight over missing him so much and leaving again that they eventually break up. He returns home one season later, and they make up and get back together.
• My Wife and Kids
• Lost: Charlie and Claire.
• In The Big Bang Theory, Bernadette almost called off the wedding after discovering Howard’s past, but they came back together when he proved through a speech how much he loves her and how much he changed thanks to her.
  • Leonard and Penny break up twice due to Commitment Issues and insecurity. Leonard fears Penny's too good looking for him and Penny fears she's not smart enough for Leonard. Eventually they reunite and get married twice.
• Boy Meets World, happens a lot with Cory and Shawn, Cory and Topanga and for the entire freshman year to Shawn and Angela.
• Breaking Bad, with Walt and Jessie, also Walt and Skyler. The first time, that is...
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer: In the sixth season, Willow and Tara end up broken up for much of the season, and reconcile just before the series finale. And then Tara is shot and killed by accident.
• Doctor Who does this in "Asylum of the Daleks"; the story starts with Amy and Rory signing divorce papers and getting kidnapped by the Daleks before Rory could file the papers, finalizing the split. During the episode, Amy admits to Rory that she only instigated their break-up in an ill-advised case of I Want My Beloved to Be Happy (she was incapable of having the children she knew he wanted, and chose to leave him so he could find someone who could make him a father). By the end of the episode, Amy and Rory were together again, the divorce quietly forgotten.
  • The scenario that plays out over the Series 8 episodes "Kill the Moon" and "Mummy on the Orient Express" follow the trope almost to a T. Clara breaks off her friendship with the Doctor in the former because he places her in an impossible situation; in the next episode, she's agreed to go on one final adventure with him. By the end of the episode, she's recommitted to travelling with him — not that she tells her boyfriend Danny about her change of mind.
• In Supernatural, Sam and Dean have done this several times. They go their separate ways and realize they need each other an episode or two later. Dean and Castiel also had this sort of dynamic at the end of Season 7, when Dean tells Cas he'd rather have him cursed or not, even though their relationship had been rocky since Cas Jumped Off The Slippery Slope and became God.
• Bones:
  • Hodgins and Angela break up in season 4 and then get back together and marry a season and a half later
  • Sweets and Daisy twice. First it’s Sweets not wanting to wait a year while she goes to Maluku with Brennan and then they get back together before splitting after planning to move in together and Sweets panicking when Daisy thinks they’ll marry soon. Then they reunite again only for him to die.
  • Cam and Arastoo. Arastoo breaks up wanting to get a job after getting his doctorate, but he can’t fight his feelings and comes back to Cam a few episodes later. They marry in the series’ end.
• The first season of Bewitched featured this trope several times. The source of Darrin and Samantha's fights were usually Darrin's Fantastic Racism toward witches and demands for Sam to be "normal," or Sam's many relatives scheming to break the two up. It was most apparent in "I'd Rather Twitch Than Fight"—Samantha comes up with some extremely catchy slogans for Darrin's latest advertising campaign, and he accuses her of using magic to do it because there's no way a housewife could have devised them on her own (yes, Bewitched is heavy on Values Dissonance). These episodes would often result in the two having a fight or, in extreme cases, Samantha leaving Darrin to go home to her mother's. But love always prevailed, and the two would reunite by the time the credits rolled.
• Played with on The Golden Girls regarding Dorothy and Stan. The two had already broken up at the start of the show by divorcing after thirty-eight years of marriage; the split was brought on by Stan's philandering. However, multiple episodes hinted that both of them still had feelings for each other, and about once a season the two would consider reconciling. In some cases, they actually start dating again, and even almost remarried in Season Six. They ultimately never reunite, but they do make up with one another; Dorothy notes that their therapist's advice, to never interact again, is foolish because they share children, grandchildren, and many happy memories. In the finale they admit that the love will always be there, even though Dorothy has found love with another man.
• In the Getting Together episode "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do," the protagonists get a rejection letter that praises Bobby's music but criticizes Lionel's lyrics. Lionel thinks Bobby would be better off without him, so he ends their partnership. They get back together after Bobby's partnership with famed songwriter Jackie Michel ends due to Michel being The Prima Donna.
• Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Dot breaks off her engagement to Hugh when she realizes that he assumes she will become a housewife. They resume things when Hugh accepts just how important Dot's career is to her; by the end of the series, they're Happily Married with Dot still happily employed.

Video Games

• Heart of the Woods: A major plotline involves a feud between long-time best friends Madison "Maddie" Raines and Tara Bryck over Madison's decision to quit her job as manager for Tara's Vlog Series, Taranormal. Tara took the decision overly personally, and it wasn't helped by Madison waiting until the last minute to tell her. The two keep things civil for most of Chapter 1, but Tara ends up avoiding Madison early on in Chapter 2, just as Madison wants to actually participate in the investigation. Much later on in the game, after Madison has come Back from the Dead, Madison and Tara apologize to each other and reconcile. Their dispute is ultimately resolved in the good ending; Madison decides to quit Taranormal after all, but offers to train Morgan to be her replacement and make guest appearances from time to time.
• Love of Magic: Nimue's dismissal of Emily at the Glade leads Emily to think that she is being magically compelled to love Owyn. She breaks up with him until she is able to confirm that neither of them is under any sort of compulsion.
• South Park: The Fractured but Whole: Super Craig (Craig Tucker) and Wonder Tweek (Tweek Tweak) start the game estranged because Tweek left Coon and Friends to join the rival franchise Freedom Pals. The "Therapy Wars" sidequest has you, the New Kid, drag them to couples' counseling, which enables them to reconcile and unlocks their combined Ultimate Power Move, "Eros Eruption". Afterward, their dialogue becomes much more supportive. If you don't do the sidequest, they continue to bicker and snipe at each other.

Webcomics

• The Inexplicable Adventures of Bob! — Bob and Jean have had some big fights over the years, but the one that came closest to ending their relationship was the Loch Ness Monster storyline featuring Jean's ex-boyfriend Slick. When they make up at the end, they finally get engaged.
• Sluggy Freelance:
  • In "Dangerous Days Ahead", Riff and Torg have a falling out when it turns out that Riff has unwittingly been working for the bad guys and caused some serious damage. They make up after Storming the Castle of the villains.
  • In "Anima", Torg and Zoë almost break up when he's trying to keep secrets from her, even though they're in a dimension where it's impossible to hide something like that. Actually, he was just preparing a Grand Romantic Gesture for her. They make up after he barely survives from a Heroic Sacrifice to save her.

Web Original

• "The Science Love Song" by AsapSCIENCE compares the singer's prospective romantic relationship to a scientific experiment and "a research endeavour", where he and his love interest would get back together and try again before deciding if the relationship is going to work out in the end.
  If at first we don't succeed, we'll try two more times
  So our failure's a statistically significant try
• The Cartoon Man:
  • In Return of the Cartoon Man, Roy and Karen awkwardly part ways when Roy wishes to bow out of their investigation and go back to a normal life. Within a matter of hours, he races back to help her again when Simon resurfaces with a new threat.
  • Happens again in the following movie, Journey of the Cartoon Man. While traveling through the Second Dimension, Roy and Valerie have a heated argument, and go their separate ways, but Roy almost immediately goes back to her after a Good Angel, Bad Angel debate convinces him it's the right thing to do.
• This is the main storyline in all of Season 4 of The Most Popular Girls in School; Mackenzie and Brittany have a major fallout, until Trisha brings them back together again in the finale.

Western Animation

• Arcane: With their failure to get the Council to act, Vi storms off, telling that Caitlyn that they are like oil and water and that Caitlyn should just forget about her. So of course Jinx kidnaps both of them, forcing a reunion between the two.
• Beetlejuice: Happens only once for Beetlejuice and Lydia, when he breaks a promise and then refuses to apologize for getting her in trouble with her parents by doing so. She tells him she will never speak to him again until he does. Unfortunately for her, a heartsick Literal Genie can only make a bad situation worse, and it's through a series of somewhat bizarre circumstances that they reconcile.
• In two episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog, Eustace and Muriel have a serious argument and eventually make up, in one of the few instances he shows love to her.
• Dragons: The Nine Realms:
  • At the end of the fourth episode of Season 7, the team disbands after rising tensions throughout the episode boil over almost resulting in their home being destroyed. The rest of the season sees them slowly growing together again until they reunite in the finale each vowing to do better and to not bottle up their emotions anymore.
  • Jun and Tom have their own in Season 8 after Jun breaks up with Tom at the end of the seasons first episode.
• Narrowly averted in Ed, Edd n Eddy's Big Picture Show, when Edd has enough of the travel and wants to leave. Eddy admits his mistakes for the first time, and this is enough to make Edd stay.
• Invoked in The Owl House episode "Understanding Willow". Luz wants to know what happened between Amity and Willow when they were children and asks the latter to tell her so she can cook up a scheme to make them friends again. Willow rejects her offer as she says: "No schemes, no plots, no ruses". Luz does so anyway because Willow never did mention anything about "shenanigans".
• Some episodes of The Powerpuff Girls show them fighting with each other, then making up. The best example is an episode where after arguing the whole time, Blossom and Buttercup unite to save Bubbles (after sharing a friendly smile).
• The Simpsons:
  • Many episodes focusing on Homer and Marge's relationship, or with their children.
  • Subverted in one episode, when Kirk Van Houten tries to get back together with his ex-wife. She flatly turns him down. It's played straight with Homer and Marge in that same episode, though, complete with a divorce followed by a remarriage.
• Steven Universe:
  • In "Full Disclosure", Steven has just survived being taken captive by Jasper, who thinks Steven is Rose Quartz. Afterwards, Lapis Lazuli tricks Jasper into fusing with her, but Lapis initiates their fusion into Malachite. Steven has left several messages on Connie's phone, which worries her, so she goes looking for Steven around Beach City while Steven tries to avoid seeing or talking with her. After Steven sends her a text message reading "I don't want to be friends anymore", Connie urges Steven to say it directly to her in person, and she will leave him alone and go back to being friendless. When Steven and Connie meet in person, he admits that he still wants to be friends with her, and after discussing the recent events, she offers to listen to Steven so she can offer him emotional support:
    Connie: You're the one that's been through everything. The least I could do is just listen.
    Steven: I can't ask you to do that.
    Connie: I want to, Steven. I want to be a part of your universe.
  • Between Ruby and Sapphire in the episode "Keystone Motel", pictured above, when they fight about whether to forgive Pearl for tricking them into fusing with her. And again in the "Heart of the Crystal Gems" arc, when Sapphire comes to believe that their relationship was based on a lie after learning that Rose Quartz was actually Pink Diamond, whom she still believed to be the Evil Overlord that was supposed to have been shattered for her tyranny... at first. In "Reunited", they officially marry.
  • Earlier in Season 5 in "Dewey Wins", Connie is upset with Steven when he surrenders himself to Homeworld rather than working together as a team like they promised each other, resulting in the two not speaking to each other for a few weeks. They reunite and reconcile a few episodes later in "Kevin Party".

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