TV

Galentine’s Day 2025: TV and film gals we wish were more than pals

(Netflix/CBS/The CW/Showtime)

Before ‘AgathaRio’ and ‘CaitVi’ landed on our screens (and in our hearts), WLW shipping had long been fuelled by the blood, sweat and tears of determined sapphics able to spot the subtlest of subtext, and craft it into War-and-Peace-length fan-fiction.

As of late, sapphics have been eating good (no pun intended) with the lesbian renaissance feeding us tracks from lady-loving-ladies such as Chappell Roan, Billie Eilish and Reneé Rapp, and representation on both the big screen (Drive-Away Dolls, Bottoms, Chuck Chuck Baby, Love Lies Bleeding) and the small one (I Kissed A Girl, Agatha All Along, Arcane).

Of course, this has not always been the case and sapphic fans have been subject to queer baiting, blink-and-you’ll miss it representation and the dreaded “bury your gay” trope as countless queer female characters were killed off for no good reason.

It’s no surprise then that lesbians often ship non-canon couples.

In fact, a quick glance at the top WLW ships on AO3, as seen in a list created by user centreoftheselights, one will find a lot of them are not canon and are instead powered by the hopes, dreams and desires of shippers.

To mark Galentine’s Day (13 February) – the completely unofficial holiday of Parks and Recreation fame that celebrates all things female friendship the day before Valentine’s – we are looking back at some fan-favourite sapphic ships that, while billed by their creators as nothing more than platonic, totally should have smooched each other on the mouth.

Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray – Glee

In Glee, ‘Brittana’, the relationship between cheerleaders Santana Lopez and Brittany Pierce, was the undisputed sapphic ship. But it wasn’t the only one.

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Folks really got behind the idea of a ‘Faberry’ romance and honestly, we kind of get it. Enemies to lovers? Fighting over a boy (Finn) but really did they just want… each other? Delicious. Chef’s kiss. 10/10.

Also remember that time Rachel said to Quinn: “You’re a very pretty girl. The prettiest girl I’ve ever met… but you’re a lot more than that.” There was simply no heterosexual explanation for that line.

Emma Swan and Regina Mills – Once Upon a Time

Fairytale fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time was one of those shows that started out strong but quickly descended into an absolute hot mess. Remember when they randomly had Frozen‘s Elsa and Anna join the series? Yeah, we’d rather not either.

Regardless, the chemistry between protagonist Emma Swan and Regina Mills/The Evil Queen was off the charts and fans longed for the for two to work out their mutual dislike for one each other in the form of something a little more… physical, to say the least.

The show also gave us two other popular WLW ships ‘RedBeauty’ (Ruby and Belle) and ‘Sleeping Warrior’ (Mulan and Aurora).

Becca Mitchell and Chloe Beale – Pitch Perfect

We’ve never met anyone who didn’t love Pitch Perfect: the songs, the humour, the amazing female cast.

From the moment Chloe bursts in naked on Becca in the shower, shippers were all over it and ‘Bechloe’ was born.

But it wasn’t just the fans. Anna Kendrick, who played Beca, has revealed that she and co-star Brittany Snow actually pushed for a romance between the pair and about wanting a lesbian sex scene between the characters.

In an interview in 2018, she talked about she and Snow “tricking” the crew into filming another shot of the final scene of the third film, with the two of them going off script and kissing. The scene was leaked a few years later, to fans’ joy.

“If we ever do a fourth, I will fight tooth and nail for it,” Kendrick promised.

Considering that film is now reportedly in the works, we will hold you to that, Anna.

Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor – Supergirl

Ok, people can’t expect us to watch Melissa Benoist’s character Kara Danvers aka Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl save Katie McGrath’s Lena Luthor MULTIPLE TIMES and us not ship it?

“I will always be your friend and I will always protect you, I promise,” Kara once said to Lena in a way that if it was a male character, would totally be considered romantic.

To be fair to us mere mortals, Katie McGrath has had the sapphics in a chokehold for literal years.

As I pointed out before, she has a long history of playing queer women, including bisexual lead Saskia De Merindol in Secret Bridesmaids’ Business, a closeted lesbian version of Lucy Westenra in Dracula and an openly gay woman who smooched Gemma Chan in miniseries Dates.

Wednesday Addams and Enid Sinclair – Wednesday

A still from new Netflix series Wednesday shows actors Emma Myers and Jenna Ortega as characters as Enid Sinclair and Wednesday Addams dressed in their school uniform costumes Enid Sinclair (L) and Wednesday (R). (Netflix)
LGBTQ+ fans have been speculating on Enid Sinclair (L) and Wednesday’s relationship. (Netflix)

Ever since Netflix’s hit series Wednesday dropped on our screens in 2022, fans have noted the queer coding between Wednesday (Jenna Ortega) and her roommate Enid Sinclair (Emma Myers), aka WenClair.

The pair are polar opposites, to say the least. Enid loves colour, pop music and her side of their shared room is covered in fairy lights and stuffed animals whilst Wednesday, like her namesake who is “full of woe”, is a fan of the macabre and the colour black. Despite this, the pair became close friends (opposites attract?) and the highly anticipated second series of the show is expected to put their friendship front and centre.

It didn’t escape fans that their dynamic was very similar to two other famously shipped characters who are total opposites and forced to be roommates. In other words, Alexa play “What is this Feeling?” from Wicked.

Shauna Shipman and Jackie Taylor –Yellowjackets

Cannibalism is a metaphor for lesbianism, I will not expand.

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