Jumping the Shark

** Spoilers ahead, if you haven't read A Wager Worth Making, be aware!**Let's have a little chat, shall we?Lately I've had it on my mind that people tend to worry about a show or a book "jumping the shark" -- meaning the point at which the show or book begins to tank. Often, people associate this phenomenon with main characters getting together in what they consider to be too early. They feel that a loss of that will-they/won't-they tension will leave the show or book without a leg to stand on.I disagree.Now, I know there are times when this IS the case, I'm not that naive, but I think we need to cut authors and show runners a break. See what happens and where it goes.Why do I care about this?Because it happened to me.As you may (or may not) recall, in the 7th book of the Arrangement series, A Wager Worth Making, the main characters got married before we were halfway through the book.A complaint was made in a review that the characters got together too quickly and she hated that the romance part was over before the book was.I wasn't upset by her comment or her review. She's entitled to her opinions, absolutely. But this is one time where I will respectfully disagree.And claim extenuating circumstances.Let's look at the situations in A Wager Worth Making first, and then we'll go into the romance.

1. This book is set in the Regency era. Marriage was a different sort of arrangement then. Romance wasn't necessarily required.
2. Lord Blackmoor wasn't looking for love. He was looking for a wife. He needed a marriage, not a romance.
3. Gemma Templeton was poor. She needed a solution to save herself and her family.
4. Gemma and Blackmoor liked each other. Genuinely. In their situations individually, and with that in mind, they were set for a pretty good marriage for that time period.

So. Circumstances cleared up? Let's move on.Why should the characters "getting together" mean that the romance storyline is over? Personally, I'm not married, but I'm PRETTY sure that it's supposed to keep going even after the wedding bells stop ringing. And I'm also FAIRLY confident that problems don't stop with a marriage. In fact, rumor has it that more problems are created by it. Different problems, but problems all the same.Such is the case here.Just because Gemma and Blackmoor got married did not mean they were in love. They weren't at the time. They were friends, and they liked each other, certainly, but there was no way they would have called it love.Just because they were being intimate (as married people do) does not mean that they loved each other. NEWSFLASH -- people are intimate without being in love. Happens all the time. In this particular situation, they were a married couple who had grown close in friendship, and yes, had mutual attraction for each other. But still not love. Not yet.Just because the main characters were officially together did not mean their romance was ended. On the contrary, it was just beginning.This wasn't simply a marriage of convenience where the couple eventually falls in love after being married. This was a couple that chose to marry each other with their eyes wide open, not for convenience, though it did solve some of their problems, but because there was a genuine fondness between them.The romance came after the marriage. Their friendship and attraction increased. Their caring for each other deepened to an intensity that startled them both. They began to put each other first without realizing it.THEN they were in love. And they couldn't even say it because of certain obstacles, many of which were their own faults, but when they did? Oh, the moment was so much sweeter because of it.Did I jump the shark because my characters met, became friends, and got married before the book's halfway point? I humbly submit the answer is NO.Recently, you may have noticed that I have become obsessed with a certain TV show. *ahem* Timeless *cough cough* And even more recently, I became aware that other fans were growing concerned (and even upset) that *SPOILER ALERT* two of the leads were starting to give in to the undeniable chemistry between them."They're jumping the shark!" they cried.No, I don't think they are. Let's talk circumstances again, shall we?

1. The leads are on a team together.
2. They are almost constantly in danger together.
3. They share similar experiences in loss.
4. They have developed a deep level of trust, as you do on a team constantly in danger.
5. They banter. Everybody knows good banter is a precursor to romance.
6. Heightened emotions and intense situations together are going to draw people together a lot faster than your typical scenario.

Plus, you know, CHEMISTRY.And to be fair, no one has said they're in love. Okay, Rufus told Wyatt he was, but Wyatt and Lucy haven't said it to each other, or even admitted it. The chemistry is clearly there, and it's entirely possible that the writers knew that avoiding it was just skirting around the issue. Addressing it head on was easier.Does that mean the tension is over? The romance is over? The show has "jumped the shark"? I humbly submit the answer is NO.Especially given the HUGE twist the show just threw into the mix. Now the tension is going to be completely different and still there in an entirely new way.This show, like A Wager Worth Making, does not hinge on the idea of the characters being together only. Granted, my book is a romance, so it does have a little bit more hold there, but Timeless is not a romance. There's much more to the story than whether or not Lucy and Wyatt are together.To show my TRUE nerdiness, let's look at one more very quickly.Star Wars. More specifically, Han Solo and Leia Organa.Banter. Disdain. Reluctant acceptance. Dangerous situations. Yet in Empire Strikes Back *SPOILER ALERT* they kiss, which seems to change everything. Then suddenly when *SPOILER ALERT* Han is going to get frozen in carbonite, Leia tells him she loves him. His response? "I know."So the story is over, right? They got together, and now it's only going downhill?I humbly submit the answer is NO.There was SO MUCH MORE to it. Their romance wasn't the central plot of the storyline. There was a whole galaxy of stuff to deal with on top of it. And you know what? Their being "together" didn't get in the way of anything. As a matter of fact, it didn't really even impact anything. It was just there. Changed the characters a bit, but they were still themselves. Still functioned the way they needed to. Story went on without a hitch, and it was GOOD. Return of the Jedi is actually my favorite of the original trilogy, but that's neither here nor there.So. My point with these examples? Being together does not end the romance or the tension or the story.It is NOT "jumping the shark" just because a couple gets together.See what happens. See what comes. What problems can their being together bring about? What tensions can arise from it?What could tear them apart?Give it a chance. See beyond the "together."It's not over until happily ever after.And maybe not even then...