TV Ships We Can't Believe Never Kissed

Everybody loves a good will they/won't they TV couple. The thrill of waiting for two characters to finally realize their feelings for one another — preferably sealing the deal with a long-awaited first kiss — is a time-honored tradition, one that has kept fans glued to their screens for decades.

But what about the characters who never quite get there? The ones who, despite having chemistry and the support of countless fans, never manage to lock lips? Well, they end up on lists like this — our personal collection of we-can't-believe-they-never-kissed "couples."

For the record, we know that a few of our picks (including one from a show that rhymes with Dirty Sock) are going to be a little controversial. But hey, what is TV 'shipping if not completely divisive?

Scroll down to see 15 TV twosomes we can't believe never kissed, then drop a comment with your own selections. Which would you add to our list?

Fans of this non-canonical couple spent seven seasons beating the "Bellarke" drum, only for the characters to part ways (permanently!) in the CW drama's final episodes. When you factor in the characters' close relationship, as well as the two actors being married in real life, it's borderline baffling that the show never even tried to "go there" with them.

Plenty of fans were rooting for — or at the very least expecting — this odd couple to happen, but as Baldwin clarified in a 2015 Reddit AMA, Liz and Jack "could never end up together. They're smart enough to know that it would be a bad idea." The duo pretended to be lovers several times during the show's run, but even at the height of their shenanigans, a kiss was out of the question.

We may have dubbed Alicia's surprise visit to Finn's new office as the "sexiest sex-less scene " of 2014, but we wouldn't have thumbed our noses at a full-on kiss between the two. Their chemistry was real!

Matt Dillon, the U.S. Marshal of Dodge City, Kansas, would not have his first (and only) on-screen kiss until Season 19 — almost 600 episodes in! — and the recipient was not saloon owner Miss Kitty, but a widow (played by The Waltons' Michael Learned) who found him after he had been shot and became amnesic. Still, the bond between Matt and Miss Kitty was regularly and strongly implied over the years, including late in Season 10 when Miss Kitty told someone, "Matt's a man with no strings on him. Let's just say he's more mine than anyone else's."

Given that this criminally short-lived ABC comedy was often compared to Friends, it's probably fair to say that a Dave-Penny relationship would've been as disastrous as Joey and Rachel's attempt at romance. Still, a decent portion of the show's fanbase wanted it to happen, and according to series creator David Caspe, it would have been a possibility had the show continued beyond three seasons. "We would have needed to regroup, because Penny and [Dave's ex] Alex are so close and that relationship is so important and they've known each other their whole lives," Caspe told TVLine in 2013. "We would have had to handle that. And maybe we would have, I'm not sure."

Like one of Owen's delectable sauces, Bly Manor's cook and its housekeeper simmered gently throughout their time at the haunted home. They flirted. They consoled one another. They reveled in some truly bad puns. Their fondness for each other was strong, but their timing was terrible: By the time Owen got around to drunkenly suggesting they go to Paris together, Hannah was — unbeknownst to everyone, including herself — already dead.

This one still hurts to think about. Mulan finally gathered the courage to tell Aurora how she felt about her in the ABC fairy tale drama's third season — only to be interrupted by the news that the princess was expecting a baby with Prince Phillip. The show tried to make good on this tragedy by giving us a kiss between Ruby (aka Little Red Riding Hood) and Dorothy (...of Oz) in Season 5, but it was too little too late.

You've gotta give Carisi credit: He went in for a smooch back in Season 19, only for Rollins to push him away (ouch) and sleep with a bartender instead (cold!). Still, the former police partners are more open with each other than they are with anyone else, and it's not like there's no heat there. Dare we hope that the cozy New Year's Eve they spent together is a hint at kisses to come? (*Update* They finally locked lips in the Season 22 finale — read our recap here.)

The specifics of D. L. Townes' sexuality remains up for debate (wait a second, is that why his name is D. L.?!), but there's no denying the chemistry that developed between him and Beth over the Netflix drama's seven episodes — the last of which was titled "End Game," even if Beth and Townes weren't.

She's a rookie. He is her TO. Even if they were mere LAPD colleagues, pursuing a relationship would be precarious. And yet, the partners have come such a long way from their original dynamic, where Tim was forever chastising his boot's instincts. Lucy's death-defying Season 2 ordeal, at the hands of Rosalind Dyer's padawan, made clear how Tim's feelings have developed and vice versa. Yet thus far, decorum (and Tim's new girlfriend) have cop-blocked any liplock.

"Destiel" fans got half of their wish granted when, in a moment of true happiness, Cas told Dean that he loves him. But Dean didn't reciprocate the angel's feelings, so 'shippers never got the kiss they so desperately wanted.

These two laughed off the idea of coupling up several times throughout the show's run, but we were pretty sure something was actually going to happen in the series finale — especially after Daniel followed Betty to London, proving just how lost he was without her.

These two always had a fiery dynamic (occasionally involving actual fire), and we'd be lying if we said we weren't hoping for a spark to ignite during their stint in that '90s-themed prison world. But unlike in L. J. Smith's book series, "Bamon" was simply not meant to be.

Half the audience will react to this suggestion by exclaiming, "We never expected these two to kiss — or wanted them to! They're like brother and sister — ew!" The rest of us will be all like, "Oh, c'mon, not even early on? What next, you gonna say you never wanted Daryl and Beth to kiss, either?!?"

Baby, if you've ever wondered... why radio station manager Andy and aspiring reporter Bailey never hooked up, you are not alone. Because you just KNOW that if the sitcom aired today, they would be positioned as a major Will They/Won't They pairing. WKRP during its run teased Herb/Jennifer (though the married salesman proved to be all lecherous talk), Jennifer/Johnny (here for it!) and Johnny/Bailey (they had a date get scrapped in the Season 2 premiere), but never what we will call "Bandy."