Top 10 Most Satisfying TV Kisses
#10: Pacey Witter & Joey Potter
“Dawson’s Creek” (1998-2003)
Fans had been watching Pacey and Joey get increasingly closer for several seasons before it came clear that they were obviously endgame. Unlike many of the other entries on our list today, this wasn’t actually the pair’s first kiss. That one happened back in Season One, but trust us, it didn’t really count. By Season Three, Joey had continually denied her feelings for Pacey, but it all comes to a head in this episode when Pacey starts asking her some tough questions. This kiss totally changes the trajectory of the show and makes us so happy that Pacey finally went for it.
#9: Jon Snow & Daenerys Targaryen
“Game of Thrones” (2011-)
You won’t often have us condoning incest here at MsMojo, but this is our one exception. Anyone who had read the “Song of Ice and Fire” books and delved into the biggest fan theories saw this hookup coming from a mile away, but that didn’t make it any less satisfying to see it play out on screen. We can only hope this builds to them defeating evil and ruling the Seven Kingdoms together. The fact that this scene was totally steamy despite the fact that they’re technically aunt and nephew really speaks volumes.
#8: Leslie Knope & Ben Wyatt
“Parks and Recreation” (2009-15)
If you know anything about Leslie Knope, you know that she takes her job very seriously. So when she’s told that a workplace romance with new colleague Ben is off the table, viewers assumed that she would follow the rules. With romantic tension building, however, it starts to seem inevitable that these two are going to get together. In the third season episode, “Road Trip,” their feelings for each other start to seem even more obvious, and in a private moment, Ben finally kisses Leslie, leading to one of the most adorable TV relationships of all time.
#7: Chuck Bass & Blair Waldorf
“Gossip Girl” (2007-12)
Many of the kisses on this list were satisfying because of just how long we had to wait for them, but this one is an exception because of how it totally caught us off guard. Prim and proper Blair finally lets her hair down at Chuck’s club, performing a sexy strip tease in a totally out of character moment. Even more shocking, though, is that when Chuck is giving her a lift home in his limo, Blair moves closer and kisses him. No one could have seen this one coming, but the chemistry between these two was clear from this seminal moment.
#6: Spike & Buffy Summers
“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (1997-2003)
It was a long and winding road from Buffy and Spike’s first meeting to them somehow becoming a fan favorite couple. They both tried to kill each other countless times but as the serious progressed, it started to become clear that their animosity may have been masking feelings of a different sort entirely. While viewers had seen them kiss a couple of times before this, none of those really counted. It was only at the end of the show’s much-loved musical episode that they finally shared the passionate embrace we had all been waiting for.
#5: Damon Salvatore & Elena Gilbert
“The Vampire Diaries” (2009-17)
Like Buffy and Spike before them, these two had to go through their fair share of rough times before they could finally end up together. Despite being one of the more modern shows on our list, the love triangle in “The Vampire Diaries” still managed to feel fresh and exciting. They had a couple of non-starters before this one, but this kiss was the beginning of a real shift in Damon and Elena’s relationship. After several seasons of having a relationship with Damon’s brother, Stefan, Elena’s feelings changed, and when Damon kissed her, there was no way she was pulling away.
#4: Nick Miller & Jessica Day
“New Girl” (2011-)
Nick and Jess have been the will-they-won’t-they couple of the 2010s, and the creators of “New Girl” actually let them have their first kiss pretty early on in the series. Romantic and sexual tensions had been building for two seasons when Nick and Jess are forced to kiss during a drinking game. Nick doesn’t want to, however, saying “not like this.” Audiences know exactly what he means even if Jess doesn’t, but later in the episode he gets a chance to show her. In typical “New Girl” fashion, this kiss takes place in a moment of levity and takes us all by surprise.
#3: Luke Danes & Lorelai Gilmore
“Gilmore Girls” (2000-07)
From the very first scene of “Gilmore Girls,” the quirky chemistry between Lauren Graham’s Lorelai and Scott Patterson’s Luke was impossible to ignore. For four whole seasons, fans wondered whether these two would finally realize was what going on between them. They had their share of romantic moments before that, but they were never quite overt about their feelings. In the Season Four finale, though, Luke finally makes things clear to Lorelai before going in for a kiss. In all the sweet moments between these two, this one is still our favorite.
#2: Jim Halpert & Pam Beesly
“The Office” (2005-13)
It may have been clear to the audience from the show’s pilot episode that Jim and Pam were meant to be, but it wasn’t until the end of Season Two that anything really happened between them. They shared plenty of scenes that made it clear that they were more than just friends, but it took the office Casino Night for Jim to finally admit to his feelings and tell Pam he’s in love with her. She devastatingly turns him down, but minutes later he comes and finds her because he knows as well as we do that she wasn’t giving him the whole truth. We’re not crying, you’re crying!
Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
Nathan Scott & Haley James
“One Tree Hill” (2003-12)
Claire Randall & Jamie Fraser
“Outlander” (2014-)
Oliver Queen & Felicity Smoak
“Arrow” (2012-)
#1: Ross Geller & Rachel Green
“Friends” (1994-2004)
At this point, these two are pretty much known as the OG on and off TV couple, but before they were ever on, they shared this epic first kiss. At the end of the first season, Rachel found out that Ross had feelings for her, but by the time she realized that she felt the same way, he had met someone else. Despite this, Rachel can’t keep her emotions in check, and leaves Ross a drunken, rambling voicemail baring it all. Ross has been waiting to hear this since the 9th grade, so the two indulge in a passionate kiss in the doorway of Central Perk. They are each other’s lobsters after all!
