Opinion | More like love corners

Love triangles have always been part of the media, but I’ve never really liked them. However, more recently, there’s been a shift in how they are presented that makes them far more compelling than they were before. Photo collage by JACK SUNDBLAD, Staff Photographer

From the “Great Gatsby” to “Twilight,” love triangles have been a part of popular media for so long that it feels like every generation has one that defined them. 

I think for me, it was “The Hunger Games.” I was a little too late for the whole Team Edward or Team Jacob thing when “Twilight” came out. And I’m not really that invested in “The Summer I Turned Pretty” right now, which I think is one of the popular love triangles at the moment. 

But I do find it interesting how no matter what and how media changes, the love triangle keeps popping up everywhere. And also how they have evolved over the years with our changing perception of not just sexuality, but also female autonomy.

Personally, I’ve never been a big fan of love triangles. I feel like usually, it’s less of a triangle and more of a corner. And usually, it’s the girl that’s trapped in it. 

Typical love triangles are about two people going after a third person. Usually two guys are after the same girl, and she has to choose one of them to go into the sunset with. So, for the sake of this piece, that’s how I’ll be talking about the characters in love triangles: two guys and one girl. 

The resulting drama tends to be a lot of fighting between the guys, while the girl tries to get them to stand down, coupled with a lot of scenes of both guys trying to convince her that they are the best choice and the other one sucks. 

It basically strips the girl in the love triangle of autonomy. Sure, she’s the one that picks, but the simple fact is that typical love triangles have two guys forcing themselves on a girl and fighting for her until she has to pick one. 

But in more recent years, I feel like the purpose of love triangles has started to shift. It’s not just for drama anymore.

Emilia Cuevas Diaz, Opinions Editor

When you look at the love triangle in “The Hunger Games,” sure, it’s there for drama, and it’s a big part of the marketing of the film. After all, it did come right after “Twilight”’s success. But when you start looking at the role it plays in the story, it’s a lot less about the guys and the drama; rather, it’s a lot more about Katniss and her experience.

In “The Hunger Games” trilogy, the love triangle between Katniss, Gale and Peeta becomes a manifestation of Katniss’ trauma. Peeta represents hope and a future of safety she can hardly imagine, while Gale represents survival and the comfort of what she knows. But Peeta is also forced on her by the Capitol, and it becomes another tool in her oppression, while Gale becomes a far more destructive person with an us versus them mentality. 

By the end of the trilogy, the choice between Peeta and Gale becomes a stand-in for Katniss’ choice between moving past her trauma and hoping for a better future or letting it consume her.

Another way in which love triangles have changed is that now, they seem to always have something connecting the two guys together. They are no longer just two guys competing for one girl who despise each other, but they are two guys who have their own relationship, which mostly shows up as brothers fighting over the same girl. 

We have Stefan and Damon in “The Vampire Diaries,” 100-year-old brothers who go after the same girl on two separate occasions. There’s “The Summer I Turned Pretty’s” Jeremiah and Conrad both being in love with Belly. And there’s “Bridgerton’s” Kate and Edwina Shawarma, both courted by viscount Anthony Bridgerton. 

But I don’t like those love triangles. Sure, they add drama, but there’s something about siblings getting into a romantic relationship with the same person and fighting over it that just kind of gives me the ick. 

But, there’s a new wave of love triangles emerging that actually bring a brand new type of romantic relationship to the spotlight: polyamorous couples. 

For those who don’t know, polyamory is defined as having more than one sexual or romantic relationship with the knowledge and consent of everyone involved. This can take many, many shapes from an open relationship style to a relationship where 4 people are all together, or it can be a triad, which is what we got in the 2021 “Gossip Girl” reboot.

In “Gossip Girl,” we follow the love triangle between Aki, Audrey and Max. Aki and Audrey are in a committed relationship with each other, while Max is known for having non-committal flings with anyone he pleases. The triangle comes about when Max has a fling with both parties respectively, and drama ensues.

By the end of the first season, however, the choice that is made is not who will be together with who, but how are we going to make it work with the three of us together, which becomes the main storyline explored in the following season.

While it had some faults in its portrayal of polyamory, the show brought representation to a community that rarely gets to spend time in the spotlight and brought a new spin to love triangles in a way that keeps a lot of the drama, but — if done right — doesn’t play into the same toxicity. 

But as proven by the recent movie, “Challengers,” a love triangle doesn’t need to center a polyamorous relationship in order to not fall into toxic aspects that are usually present. 

With an increasing acceptance of a more fluid version of sexuality in our society, “Challengers” was able to blur the lines of the relationship between the love interests: Patrick and Art. When you’re watching the movie, the way they are framed in a lot of shots and the way they behave is reminiscent of how romantic interests are usually portrayed. 

At the same time, Tashi never seems to be cornered or pressured into choosing between the guys. She’s always in control of where she goes and what she does, and it never feels like she has to choose between them. The whole time, there’s the possibility that she could just walk away if she wanted to.

This makes for an incredibly compelling story where all the characters have something at stake in this love triangle in more ways than one. It plays into the relationship between Tashi and the guys and the guys with each other. 

I want to see more of this. A love triangle that truly centers love instead of cornering one side into choosing.