User blog:Corbierr/Relationship Analysis- Jeroy

'''Hi guys, and welcome to my first relationship analysis blog, where I discuss canon pairings (or non-canon ones if I want to shake it up), how they work, how they fall apart, and what I'd have done differently. I won't bring up shipping bias or compare them to other pairings unless it's necessary to prove a point. '''

'''Today I'll start with the cute, random and confusing romance of Jerome and Joy. Why? Because quite frankly, I've planned things out for them in Classified and I have their romance on the brain. So, without further ado, let's analyze.'''

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Jeroy is one of the strangest examples of a canon pairing, because for all intents and purposes, they are pure crack. They came out of ''nowhere. ''Had they paired Fabicia together, it would have been less crack-ish than Jeroy is. Yet, somehow, this strange pairing, when put together, seemed to work perfectly. They were adorable, in spite of their confusing nature, they had chemistry and they made it work.

But under the surface, Jeroy is still a confusing, crack-y mess. They just don't have any substance when you get past the intense emotions they send out. They are good at making you feel something, when they share a long and passionate kiss/makeout session, or when they are washing a dog together, or simply looking at each other - and they are good at making you think they are meant to be. However, it's like an illusion. When you get down to it, what is there that actually brings them together? They did have a talk about their parents for a few seconds of an episode, but that was it.

Let's be honest. Jerome falls for any girl who shows an interest in his good side. Mara did it, Willow did it, and then Joy did it. And Joy? She seems to want people she can't have. She liked Fabian more when Nina had him...and then Jerome was the person she wasn't meant to truly love and ended up falling for him. She just happened to get luckier with Jerry, if you burn the whole Operation Jerome situation. There was really no reason for either of them to fall for the other. Maybe you can say Joy was swept away when he started acting sweet and sensitive to him, but Jerome...idk, he just somehow fell for her. Again, she showed interest in him, which was probably the only reason he had feelings for her at all. It's not really a bad reason when you're a guy like him, but it can't be enough to build a relationship on, yet they're trying to tell us it is.

They fake having substance and intense feelings for each other when there isn't much reason for us to believe that. Relationships need something to build upon, even if just the most minimal of similarities. But Jerome and Joy didn't have that, they just sort of...poofed into existence one day and it became a thing.

Funny thing is, Jeroy had a lot of things they could have built a relationship around. They were both the outsiders of the mystery, the ones who had never really been Sibunas (at least not for more than a few weeks at the most) but played huge roles regardless. They are both associated with being sneaky and traitorous, even if that's not entirely deserved. They are both excellent chess players. They are both, in a sense, the anti-heroes of the house. Their love lives are both a total mess. Jeroy has so many was they could have connected; So many reasons they could have bonded and gotten together.

They could have had both of them be rivals like what actually happened in the show. After the eclipse, both want to know more, and get angry at once again being locked out of the loop and distrusted by their friends. This fuels them both to temporarily work together (while still hating each other) and they search for info on their own. They end up getting closer, while still refusing to admit it. Operation Jerome could still take place, but this time they have an actual base to build their romance on and the betrayals will both sting even more- they had more reason to trust each other when getting involved in the mystery and they would have had a lot more of an emotional core as they built on their outsider status, and both seem to try and prove that they are more than the sneaky and selfish ones. But once each learns of the other's betrayal- Joy with Operation Jerome, and Jerome with breaking up with her instead- the trust is shattered worse than it was in canon. They can get back together the same way they did in canon, but it'll mean more because there was an actual emotional connection and an actual arc for them- rather than what we got in the show.

However, I'd still have rather Jeroy never dated at all. If romance was necessary for them, they could have used the arc I posted above...or anything else, really, as long as there is a reason for them to like each other. But in the show, they didn't have to date. They had a great chemistry as rivals- so why not just keep them rivals, and develop them platonically? It would have made more sense, it would have been just as entertaining, and it would have been more in character for both of them. Hell, let them even act like siblings! They can get close and still bicker, they can care for each other without having be linked romantically. Treat them like Fabicia's foil, rather than have them copy Peddie's formula while stealing the plot of ''John Tucker Must Die. ''Their similarities could rub each other the wrong way, while their differences adds even more tension.

To clarify, I ship the hell out Jeroy. I can't help it; show me a gif of their kiss and my feelings will go nuts. And to be honest, the fact that they're so shippable means they honestly deserved more work put into them. Instead of just making us think their romance has any actual substance, why not have substance? Rather than throw them together in the second half of season 3 and expect it to make perfect sense, why not take time building it up all season 3 and have them kiss in the movie? They would have commanded our emotions anyways, so why not let them develop and mean something? I mean, even Mabian seemed to have more than Jeroy does- yeah, I said it. Mabian has more substance than Jeroy does. Give them credit, at least they played with the whole nerd angle; no other characters could have had the same relationship Mabian has. But Jeroy? In the same plot, any two characters could have done exactly the same; maybe a little different due to different personalities, but it would have been the same relationship. Peddie could have done it, Jabian could have done it, or Patrome, or Fabicia, or Joyfie, or Kerome...The characters didn't matter, because there was no emotional core. Jerome and Joy's personalities, experiences and similarities didn't make a difference in the grand scheme of things, and that's what really bothers me.

Jeroy was by no means a poor pairing. They actually comminucated unlike other pairings, they have chemistry and do manage to make me feel something. But they weren't great, either. They were mediocre at best; satisfactory, but full of wasted potential. I mean, it's a pairing of Jerome and Joy- two of the most complex (yeah yeah, shut up Light) characters on the show. There was so much that could have been done, but none of it was used, and that's where they really fell flat in my opinion.

'''Thanks for reading, everyone! Do you agree or disagree? '''

'''Fabina coming next time! Stay tuned for my blog coming tomorrow- "The Biggest Issue With Season 3" (and no, it won't be all a rehash rant, I have a new point to make!)'''

More Classified coming soon!