Best and Worst Side Couples

The formula of BL/GL almost dictates that there will be a side couple, two side characters who will have their own romance running as the B-plot of the show. This can be a great way to explore a different relationship dynamic to that of the main characters, as well as create more depth within the show. Having more than one pairing doesn’t only make for a more interesting show, it can also be a way to highlight another pairing that can bring more viewers to the show. 

Writing a side couple does require a certain amount of balance, as they need to add to the story without completely outshining the main storyline. It needs to differentiate itself yet still tonally fit within the vibe of the show. Here I have listed some of my favorite side couples as well as my least favorites.  

The couple so good they spun it off: Win & Team from ‘Until We Meet Again’ (2019) and ‘Between Us’ (2022-2023)

There is a reason as to why these two ended up with their own spin off, they were the levity that was needed in ‘Until We Meet Again’ and when they became main characters we got to see the complexities of their characters up close. 

Win is the vice captain of the swim team, and Team is a freshman and one of the best swimmers on the team. One night at their first training camp the two end up sleeping together. Team is fully committed to moving on, but that becomes difficult when Win is always around, teasing him, asking him to lunch and driving him home. When Win witnesses Team having night terrors the two of them begin sleeping (just sleeping) together, as when he is with Win, Team feels safe.

Team is this fun-loving, smiley and loyal guy, who is always there for his friends. He isn’t the smartest guy when it comes to school, but he carries a deep love for swimming. Win portrays himself as this bad boy, with bleached hair, tattoos and piercings, but in reality he is a very diligent student. When we see them interact in ‘Until We Meet Again’ they are always bickering and playing around, the viewer immediately knows something more is going on with them.

They only get around 30 minutes of screen time in ‘Until We Meet Again’ and with great performances from both Boun and Prem, they left a great impression. An impression so great that they got their own spin-off. 

(GIF found on tumblr by thyla)

A first love for the ages: Heart & Li Ming from ‘Moonlight Chicken’ (2023)

I love ‘Moonlight Chicken’. It is one of my favorite shows of all time, and that is in part due to the characters of Heart and Li Ming. A lot of people have said that they only watched the show for Heart and Li Ming, which speaks to their popularity and just how great they were written and acted. Don’t get me wrong, I love their story, but one of the reasons why it works so well in my opinion is due to the contrast between them and the main story. 

‘Moonlight Chicken’ is about finding your home, whatever that means to the characters. The main story follows Jim and Wen (wonderfully acted by Earth and Mix respectively) who are characters in their late twenties, early thirties, both with plenty of baggage to go with them. Their story is complex and adult. Which is why the side story of Heart and Li Ming is so refreshing. A big struggle Jim and Wen face is in regard to their previous relationships and partners, so watching a first love play out alongside them is a wonderful contrast.

Heart is deaf and is mainly confined to his house where he can hardly communicate with anyone as his parents haven’t learned sign language. Li Ming feels trapped in his life due to money struggles, and he wants to experience the world, not go to school as everyone is telling him to. What plays out between Heart and Li Ming, is a beautiful first love story. I read someone (I can’t remember who wrote it) describe the two; as two birds with clipped wings who learn to fly side by side.  

(GIF found on tumblr by liyazaki)

If there was one highlight of their show it was these two: Prince Ramil & Paytai ‘The Next Prince’ (2025)

If you have read my Best & Worst Shows of 2025, you can probably recall my feelings about ‘The Next Prince’, spoiler alert, but I’m not a fan. One of the only redeeming qualities of that show was Prince Ramail and Paytai. Their relationship was fascinating! Charan and Prince Khanin don't even come close to the amount of interest that these two sparked within me. 

Paytai is Prince Ramil’s companion. Ramil’s father is an abusive asshole, but every punishment wants to give to his son, he instead does to Paytai. Can’t whip your son for disobedience? Why then just whip his companion. The two are also engaged in a consensual BDSM relationship, and there are definitely feelings between the two. There is a fantastic scene where the two of them are engaging in activities and Ramil is about to use the whip on Paytai, but that gives Ramil flashbacks to the punishments his father doled out on Paytai, causing him to drop the whip. We get more character depth in this one scene than the entire show gives us of Charan and Khanin. 

My only critique is that they should have given us more of these two. I would have loved to see exactly how their relationship evolved into what we get to see in the show.

(GIF found on tumblr by buxkystilinski)

The couples so bad it made me want to turn the TV off: Tul & Wan and Bee & Prince ‘Between Us’ (2022-2023)

That is a harsh statement but I do stand by it and the only reason why I’m not adding Phreuk and Manow is because I love Manow (and Samantha can do no wrong). I for the love of god do not understand why there were so many side couples in ‘Between Us’, it was absolutely useless and felt like filler for the show to be longer. Instead of giving us three other couples than Win and Team, they should instead have spent their energy on expanding the story of Win and Team. 

Tul and Wan I can at least understand, Wan being Win’s older brother, and Tul being Win’s friend, they are at least somewhat relevant to the story. Bee and Prince however? They don’t come close to being relevant to the story. Bee is another member on the swim team and Team’s friend, and Bee is just a random guy. I’m sorry if I sound harsh here, but they were both so damn irrelevant that I for the love of God could not understand why they were in this show to begin with. 

Wan is facing the stresses of being the oldest brother in a rich family, as a lot is expected of him, and he begins talking more to a guy he plays online games with. It turns out that guy is Tul. I still think it is a boring story, but nothing tops the sheer annoyance I felt whenever Bee and Prince showed up on my screen. Bee is a swimmer and Prince is having a hard time keeping up in school because he is also a successful actor. And I just don’t care. 

Unless you are doing an ensemble cast such as ‘We Are’ (2024), you definitely don’t need that many side couples. 

Love the show but the side couple was not for me: Pang, Pim & Jan ‘Pluto’ (2024-2025)

It’s not that this type of love triangle couldn’t work, it’s just that it didn’t in this case. So Pang is Ai-oon(the main character)’s friend who is also in love with her, but is at the same time dating Pim. After they break up Pim gets closer to Jan (who is May (Ai-oon’s love interest)’s friend), and at the same time Pang and Jan are also growing closer. As you can see a lot is going on. 

I wouldn’t ordinarily mind a messy love triangle, those can be fun, but not in a show with as much going on as ‘Pluto’. ‘Pluto’ is a plot heavy show, with an already complicated premise, so we didn’t need a messy love triangle to run parallel to the plotline. The main characters are already in a love triangle of sorts, so adding another one to go along with it was never going to work. This is what I mean when I say they need contrast between the side story and the main story, the sideplot to a show as complicated as ‘Pluto’ needed to be something way simpler. In the end it was just too much.

(GIF found on tumblr by thegreattyrant)

Woop woop that’s the sound of the police: Sun Bo Xang & Lu Zhi Gang ‘HIStory3: Make Our Days Count’ (2019)

Why are you as an adult man dating a high schooler? Case closed, go to jail. 

Whenever there are these age gaps they always try to make it ‘okay’ by it being the younger guy pursuing the older guy, but that still doesn’t make it okay. Also now Sun Bo is out here assaulting Lu Zhi? This entire thing is a mess and I’m unhappy with it. 

(GIF found on tumblr by my-rose-tinted-glasses)

These are my best and worst side couples in BL/GL, let me know yours!