Love triangles are a staple in TV dramas and romantic comedies. Who can deny the intoxicating allure of a soap opera-style drama in which grown adults drop their inhibitions and duke it out for love? No one, that's who.
But in the reality we're living in now, when women are fighting systems of oppression through the #MeToo and Time's Up movements, the classic woman-against-woman trope seems tired and archaic. And while adding a bit of spectacle to a storyline is great for viewer engagement, it's time that we treat female characters as more than just lust-thirsty pawns willing to tear each other down to get the man. That's why it's so interesting that Grey's Anatomy, a series that profited off of pitting fictionalized professional doctors against each other in the name of love, has made the risky decision to bring the love triangle into the modern age. First up on the list? Teddy, Owen, and Amelia.
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Fans of the show will remember that Teddy found out she was pregnant towards the end of the 14th season with what is safe to assume is Owen's child. Unfortunately, their fling didn't end well after Teddy learned that Owen had started to rekindle things with his ex-wife, Amelia. To make things more complicated, Owen has taken in a foster son, Leo, while Amelia looks after the kid's struggling teenage mom.
Kim Raver (Teddy) and Kevin McKidd (Owen) recently teased how their relationship will play out with The Hollywood Reporter.
"The interesting love triangle that's probably going to happen is going to be very different from the typical love triangle," Raver told THR. "We're in 2018 and I pitched, if we can, not having woman pitted against woman. Amelia and Teddy definitely have what they want, but maybe there's a different way to approach it."
Yes! Finally, we can hope for a more nuanced love story that more closely aligns with reality. It's hard to be at each other's throats (or to have a social life, really) when you're busy juggling parenting duties, a career, and your personal health. Besides, Owen and Teddy have already been through a drama-filled love affair.
"Owen and Teddy and Cristina had a very intense, slightly juvenile love triangle," McKidd told THR. "What they want to do [now] is show people who have histories and have feelings. All three of these people [Owen, Amelia, and Teddy] have a lot of baggage and history with each other. And there's children involved which is a responsibility. It's not just young people going, 'I love you ... I don't know who I love.' They're grown-ups now. It's going to be interesting to see how people navigate this pretty murky and difficult and challenging news."
Consider us fully intrigued.
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