TV's 15 most swoonworthy romantic gestures

Nothing says “you matter to me” more than taking someone’s pop-culture recommendations seriously. That’s especially true if said suggestion is , the show ’s Jonah (Ben Feldman) kept telling his girlfriend, Amy (America Ferrera), about. So . She breaks the ice by letting him know she finally watched the series and that the binge was good, essentially telling him that, even though they weren’t together, he was always on her mind. [Saloni Gajjar]

Tina Turner’s “Simply The Best” is a legendary tune, and morphed the song into its own cute thing in season four. It all starts when Patrick (Noah Reid) serenades David (Dan Levy) with his buttery voice, as Moira (Catherine O’Hara) puts it. It’s a beautiful love confession that no one saw coming, especially not David—and especially not in public. Yet, their loving looks at each other make everyone else around fade away when Patrick hums, “I’m stuck on your heart / I hang on every word you say / Tear us apart / Baby, I would rather be dead.” A few episodes later, when David has to make up to Patrick, he uses the same track in a different, equally amazing way. He puts on a show for his boyfriend, letting him know there’s no way they’re ending this relationship and providing audiences with a fantastic callback. [Saloni Gajjar]

In ’s season-three finale, “,” it looks like Jim (John Krasinski) has the corporate gig in NYC locked, with CFO David Wallace (Andy Buckley) having clearly taken a shine to him since crossing paths in the excellent episode “.” But, as Pam (Jenna Fischer) does a talking-head confessional about how her romantic timing with Jim never really synched, we see him leave the interview, drive back to Scranton, and then, interrupting her, ask her out. Pam smiles and blushes, and that’s all, so many episodes into a show very much centered on the pair’s will-they-won’t-they dynamic, quite swoonworthy indeed. But also: poor Karen. [Tim Lowery]

As far as grand romantic gestures go, “pretending to implicate your ex-wife in a murder” is a fairly, let’s say, complex one. But such is the nature of the relationship between Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) and Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), which culminated with the former Saul Goodman pulling his last, and kindest, con in the series finale of : Luring Kim back to New Mexico with threats of hostile testimony, only to give up an almost criminally light prison sentence so that she could be absolved—and hear the unvarnished truth from her ex, for once. And even though we in the audience know there’s not a chance in hell that Jimmy was ever actually going to rat out Kim for their shared role in hiding the death of their old frenemy Howard, there’s still real beauty in watching Rhea Seehorn’s face, composed and heartbroken and still so full of love, as she catches on to his final grift/gift. [William Hughes]

is not one for grand romantic gestures. That’s a job reserved for McDreamy, a.k.a. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), on . So it’s a bit of a shock when Meredith, in the season-four finale, declares her commitment to Derek in an unbelievable way. It’s even more meaningful because, after years of ups and downs, they’re finally together forever (well, until season 11, when he dies). Mer builds out all the rooms on his plot of land to say she sees a house, a family, and a future with him. She also whole-heartedly tells him, “We can be extraordinary together.” Just imagine making McDreamy swoon. [Saloni Gajjar]

Yes, almost everyone hates the , but not me. For nine seasons, the show trained viewers to embrace Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor) and Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders) as the endgame. You only need to see the pilot to know it was always going to be her and, as a full-on supporter, I was relatively happy with how things turned out. (I did hate the final season; I’m not a psycho.) But the point is: Ted stole a blue French horn in episode one because she liked it from their first-date restaurant. It was only a glimpse into their bond and went on to symbolize that he’d do anything for her. [Saloni Gajjar]

Making Chris Messina dance—twice—is one of the greatest accomplishments of The Mindy Project. As sexy as Danny’s stripping is the second time he grooves for Mindy (Mindy Kaling), his sweet Secret Santa gift to her in season two takes the cake. She’s upset over her usual relationship drama, and Danny is slowly starting to realize he’s into her. To cheer her up, he puts on Aaliyah’s “Try Again” because she used to play it constantly when they started working together. “It’s one of the first things that annoyed me about you,” he tells her before proceeding to do the most amazing dance. Talk about an enemies-to-lovers arc, huh? [Saloni Gajjar]

Luke Danes (Scott Patterson) was always in love with Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham), as seen in his many, many gestures, from fixing things in her house to revealing he kept a note she wrote to him the first time they met in his wallet for eight years. Eight years! Perhaps the most noteworthy moment, though, is when he makes her a goddamn skating rink in front of her house. And he does it because his girlfriend is having a bad day—and folks, that’s one way to make someone swoon. Luke knows Lorelai has an affinity for snow, and the fact that she isn’t able to enjoy it just won’t do. Enter: the ice rink. [Saloni Gajjar]

Ben (Adam Scott) and Leslie (Amy Poehler) have so many good romantic gestures that it’s hard to choose just one. (Saloni Gajjar’s initial pick was the Iron Throne, and mine was Leslie’s smallest-park speech.) The best thing about their relationship is that they always matched each other gesture for gesture, sacrifice for sacrifice, and “The Trial Of Leslie Knope” is a perfect example. When Leslie is forced to endure an ethics hearing because of their romance, Ben decides to quit to save her campaign and career, which Leslie finds out when Ethel Beavers (Helen Slayton-Hughes) reads back the court record. Returning the favor, Leslie brings Ethel over to Ben’s to recite one more amendment to the record: “Let the record state that I, Leslie Knope, love Ben Wyatt. I love him with all of my heart. Did you get that?” That’s bureaucratic romance, baby! [Mary Kate Carr]

second season is best known for Andrew Scott placing his hands on Phoebe Waller-Bridge and softly saying “it’ll pass” about their feelings for each other. It’s true, but it’s heartbreaking. Contrary to that, when he tells her to kneel in episode four? Now that’s some steamy romance. After listening to her tearfully confess about not knowing how to live her life, he grandly pulls the curtains and guides her with a curt, sexy-as-hell “kneel.” It’s a simple gesture, really, but it finally leads to both of them giving in to their forbidden attraction. [Saloni Gajjar]

Ben and Devi were always endgame. At the closing of season one, the two eventual lovebirds still kinda considered themselves to be mortal enemies, even though they were obsessed with each other (ah, teenagers). Ben, however, revealed his true feelings when he volunteered to drive Devi to Malibu to help scatter her father’s ashes, even though he only had a permit (and did not want to drive over the speed limit) and the mission involved potentially damaging his very scary father’s very precious Porsche. We all love Paxton, but Ben’s himbo rival would never have supported Devi through such a charged and emotionally challenging time like this. Find your Ben, folks. [Emma Keates]

You’re The Worst was billed as an anti-rom-com, a show about two terrible people who find each other and keep choosing each other throughout everything. But even their unusual relationship is threatened when Gretchen (Aya Cash) has a debilitating episode of clinical depression. The second season storyline has been praised for its depiction of mental illness, but it also includes one of the series’ most romantic gestures. Jimmy (Chris Geere) is ready to give up on Gretchen, and in her sincere belief that she’ll never get better, Gretchen gives him her blessing to go be with another woman. Instead, Jimmy returns to where Gretchen is lying helplessly on the floor and builds a fort around her. When Gretchen wakes up to realize that in spite of it all, he stayed, she’s overcome with emotion—and so are we. [Mary Kate Carr]

Considering the scale of The Good Place, Chidi’s note may be the most romantic gesture of all time. In the show’s sweeping final season, the gang is tasked with creating an entirely new system by which all living souls will be judged from here until the great beyond, lest humanity be wiped from the face of the Earth forever. Sounds like a bit of a daunting task, no? Not for Chidi, who presents himself with a note written by one of his past iterations right when everyone’s getting pretty desperate for a solution: “There is no ‘Answer.’ But Eleanor is the Answer.” At the start of their relationship, Eleanor and Chidi were selected to torture each other for all eternity. An infinite number of lives later, Chidi’s love for his soulmate becomes the entire reason for life in the first place. The judge couldn’t ask for a better enemies-to-lovers arc if she tried. [Emma Keates]

Who said a romantic gesture can’t be a meaningful lecture? Let’s not undervalue what it means to speak the harsh truth to your loved one. It’s what Lenny Bruce (Luke Kirby) does to Midge Maisel (Rachel Brosnahan) in s fourth-season finale. Not long after they have sex for the first time, he takes Midge on the Carnegie Hall stage—a dream venue for the up-and-coming comedian—to tell her she made the wrong choice turning down being an opening act. He encourages her to do what’s needed to become a star and not miss out on opportunities. His speech shocks some sense into her eventually. But the real triumph of his act lies in the way Kirby emotionally pulls off the implication that Lenny deeply cares about Midge’s success. If only she’d stop getting in her way. Jut watch the way he says, “If you blow this, Midge, you’ll break my fucking heart.” It all shows us that Lenny loves her, even if he doesn’t know how to say it directly yet. [Saloni Gajjar]

When it comes to New Girl, Schmidt (Max Greenfield) and Cece (Hannah Simone) are sadly the oft-forgotten couple. Yet their relationship is just as all-consuming and delightful as any other on the show. There are a lot of gestures to pick from with them, including Schmidt’s surprise Bollywood dance for her at their engagement. But one of the best scenes is when he breaks the news to Cece that they’re expecting a baby. He accidentally finds out this information first, so he decorates their whole house with flowers. It’s not flashy or snazzy in a Schmidt way. Rather, it’s subtle (for him, at least) and intimate in the best way. [Saloni Gajjar]