CarterMatt Awards 2018: Malec, Wayhaught, Jamko, Jamie & Claire among Best Couple nominees
Welcome to the 2018 CarterMatt Awards! This is our seventh annual year-end series where we as a site celebrate some of the best that TV has to offer! Our staff collectively hand-picks nominees across a wide array of different fields, and then leaves it up to you to declare the winner. We’ve had a fun time over the years with these awards and creating some fun debate throughout the month of December. Hopefully, this time around is no exception!
Today we’re discussing Best Couple — one of two relationship-related awards that we do at the CarterMatt Awards every year. The difference between this award and ‘Ship of the Year (which will have its nominees revealed tomorrow) is that for Best Couple the nominees are all characters who are currently together romantically as of December 10, 2018. These are people who have had some great relationship moments over the past calendar year. Here’s to hoping for some more great ones in 2019!
Voting rules – Vote however often you’d like! If you are having issues with voting, a handy guide can be found later on in this article.
The nominees
Avalance (Sara & Ava, Legends of Tomorrow) – This past year has been a banner one for these two characters, who really came together and became one of the most beautiful couples in all of TV. What’s so lovely about them is that they are written as two incredibly smart, strong, adult women who don’t get mixed up in the typical petty drama you see with shows elsewhere. They lovingly care about each other, they work through conflict in a healthy way, and of course they get roped into constant craziness together. Their passion for their work, and each other is completely infectious.
Densi (Deeks and Kensi, NCIS: Los Angeles) – These two admittedly hit quite the scary patch at the end of last season, one where it felt like differences on their future were going to cause them to split up for good. Yet, they survived that (and Mexico) leading to where they are now — moving forward towards what seems to be a happy path where they can be together for many years in the future. Now, is it too much to ask that we finally get to that long-awaited wedding? They’ve been engaged for a long time now!
Jamie & Claire, Outlander – We’ve never really referred to them by any specific ‘ship name, so why start now? This season to date has been a fun one of exploration for these two characters, largely because we’ve had a chance to see them evolve into the people that, in some ways, they’ve always wanted to be. They have a home together and are trying to find ways to build it and withstand some of the drama and conflict of the time period. While there are roadblocks, their love has persevered and there’s nothing coming now that will split them up for years on end.
Jamko (Jamie & Eddie, Blue Bloods) – This has absolutely been the year of Jamko on Blue Bloods. After years of constant waiting for the two characters to get together, they finally did earlier this season! With that, they can finally start to look forward towards a potential wedding and all sorts of other good stuff in their lives. While we will always be someone who fights for Jamko to spend a little bit more time together, at the same time we do appreciate how the writers have found a way to make this relationship fun, dynamic, and still facing obstacles even after the will-they-or-won’t-they question has been answered.
Malec (Magnus & Alec, Shadowhunters) – The bond that these two have is on another level, and it is something that comes from going through a lot of difficult times but also celebrating the little victories in life. The domestic scenes between them are some of the show’s strongest moments, mostly because they show two people so in love who would do just about everything that they could in order to help each other. Even though they come from totally different backgrounds, the writers, Matthew Daddario, and Harry Shum Jr. have collectively put their all into making Malec fantastic and inspirational.
Olicity (Oliver & Felicity, Arrow) – If you want to talk about two characters who have really gone through all sorts of anguish over the past year, it’s these two. They’ve seen Oliver arrested and tormented in prison; meanwhile, Felicity had to find a way to continue moving her life forward and trying to find a way to keep the city safe in the process. This is a great time to be a supporter of the two, largely because so much of the mystery around their status is gone and you can just enjoy the two being together for some time to come.
Wayhaught (Waverly and Nicole, Wynonna Earp) – There’s a lot of love between these two, but beyond just that, there’s a lot of humor. These characters know how to have a good time with each other, but also when things get serious they can confide in each other. They always have each other’s backs and they’ve found a way to go through everything from supernatural chaos to everyday relationship issues. We just wonder at this point what the next evolution of Wayhaught is going to be entering the upcoming fourth season.
WestAllen (Barry & Iris, The Flash) – This has been a critical year for Barry and Iris for so many reasons, whether it be their status as newlyweds to the not-so-simple problem of finding out that your daughter from the future is around and you need to learn how to adjust to this. They had to learn to become instant parents while also remembering that their relationship is still relatively new insofar as the marriage part of it, and it certainly required some love and care as well. Perhaps the real icing on the cake was watching Barry be protective of Iris during Elseworlds.