# A love that will never die, until the sequel **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 24, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540 "2014-11-24T23:29:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/1 "2014-11-24T23:29:46Z")
I caught the end of Die Hard on TV over the weekend. I know, it’s too early for a Christmas movie. But it got me to thinking. In Die Hard and in the 2nd one McClane and Holly have a strained relationship which is made stronger by the adversity they go through. Apparently they didn’t face death enough because in between the 2nd and 3rd one they broke up again. Also Indy and Marion’s relationship seems to be going great at the end of Raiders but we don’t see her again until Crystal Skull. Any other examples? Bonus if you have information as to why (contract dispute, just wanted a new love interest). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2014, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/2 "2014-11-24T23:58:18Z")
The writer Anthony Trollope apparently had no qualms about suddenly killing off a love interest between books in his Barsetshire/Palliser series (e.g. Barchester Towers, Phineas Redux, The Duke’s Children). ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/3 "2014-11-25T00:05:09Z")
It always bothered me how after spending the whole first movie fighting for her Elizabeth Shue dumps Ralph Macchio (off screen even!) about 10 mins into Karate Kid part 2. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/4 "2014-11-25T00:08:15Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > It always bothered me how after spending the whole first movie fighting for her Elizabeth Shue dumps Ralph Macchio (off screen even!) about 10 mins into Karate Kid part 2. It’s a damn good thing they never made a part 3 because that Japanese girl would definitely have dumped him inbetween movies. Damn good thing… ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/5 "2014-11-25T00:13:49Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > It’s a damn good thing they never made a part 3 because that Japanese girl would definitely have dumped him inbetween movies. Damn good thing… And a good thing they never made a part 4 or Myiagi would have dumped Danielsan for some gawky looking girl. Better still they never remade the first one starring a big star’s talentless offspring. That would be the worst. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/6 "2014-11-25T07:06:17Z")
There’s a reason these relationships were on the rocks. Survivor sex can’t last forever and the protagonist hasn’t addressed his problems. In fact being the big, dumb hero only seems to reinforce them. As for examples, the first two Bourne films, the first two Austin Powers… ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/7 "2014-11-25T08:28:33Z")
Uh, Austin Powers’ marriage broke up because he married… Um, is that a spoiler nowadays or not? Anyway, it had nothing to do with the subject of this thread and everything to do with PARODYING said subject. (I haven’t seen them, so I don’t know what supposedly happened with Felicity Shagwell, but TV Tropes has a theory.) As for Die Hard, it should be pointed out that in #2, some pretty traumatic things happened that made him a lot more cynical by the time the third and fourth movies roll around. It’s not hard to believe that they negatively impacted his marriage. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/8 "2014-11-25T08:38:11Z")
_Die Hard 3_ bugged me too, especially as it was completely unnecessary - MacLane had no new love interest, and even if they couldn’t get Bonnie Bedelia to appear in the movie, it’s not as if the hero’s wife \*has \*to appear in a cop drama, especially one that takes place over the course of a single day. Just have another cop mention sarcastically, “Aren’t you glad that your wife was transferred back to New York?” at the beginning, and have MacLane say “Thank God my kids are on a class trip!” when they start talking about bombs in schools, and you’re done. No need for a divorce to leave a nasty taste in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/9 "2014-11-25T10:30:01Z")
IIRC, an ABC-Family Channel original film, [“The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold”](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cutting_Edge:_Going_for_the_Gold)—before anyone asks, as far as I remember, it was on a Christmas marathon, in between showings of the classic, _quality_ special I was _really_ waiting for, [_The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Life_and_Adventures_of_Santa_Claus_%28TV_special%29), thankyouverymuch—the whole story being your standard romantic dramedy piece about bickering figure skating partners who end up tearfully falling in love by the finale. The movie itself is a rehash/sequel to an [older movie](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cutting_Edge), the [female lead](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_Carlson_Romano) character actually being the daughter of the bickeringlovers from the first one. Said daughter actually has a supporting role in the next sequel (basically the same story), too, played by the same actress…in which, in the first scene, she grousingly mentions offhand that her marriage “ended in damage.” Poof. That’s it. Point of the first movie? Gone. Ouch. Oh! But it looks like it gets _better_—checking on wikipedia for the cites for this post, it looks like there was a FOURTH movie in the series, this time starring the new heroine from the third! And apparently _her_ love story failed between movies, too! :eek: I mean, yeah, sure, it’s not like that’s _unrealistic_, but _jeez_…_cold_. Especially when romance was the _point_ of the story. Y’know, 007 is with a new Bond Girl for every movie (usually), but not only are those primarily action/adventure romps, but even _Bond_ has been shown getting _seriously_ broken up when a relationship dies (frequently literally). ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/10 "2014-11-25T10:37:48Z")
Besides, Bond’s affairs are rarely portrayed as something more serious than a bit of fun between consenting adults. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/11 "2014-11-25T16:17:41Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > It’s a damn good thing they never made a part 3 because that Japanese girl would definitely have dumped him inbetween movies. Damn good thing… Probably would have gone off to dance school or something. But seriously, why couldn’t they let him just win the girl at the end of Part 3?? I mean, they _had_ to know it would be the last of the series (for Ralph, anyway); what was up with that horrible “Oh, that guy I was seeing is now back in the picture (literally, if you recall) and now I just want to be friends”. Let the guy win the tournament _and_ get the girl, for God’s sake! I get passionate about this topic. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/12 "2014-11-25T16:33:27Z")
Didn’t Marty McFly’s girlfriend kind of awkwardly disappear from _Back to the Future 2_, or something? I forget. ---
**Author:** ![DooWahDiddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e9bcb4/32.png) [@DooWahDiddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DooWahDiddy)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/13 "2014-11-25T16:49:59Z")
No, she was just played by a different person (ironically by Elisabeth Shue, who keeps cropping up in this thread). (But yes, the writers weren’t sure what to do with her, since they hadn’t planned on doing a sequel necessarily, so they kind of brushed her character to the side for most of the movie…) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/14 "2014-11-25T16:59:06Z")
Ben Stiller’s character won over Carla Gugino’s character in _Night at the Museum_. But she had disappeared in the sequel. Instead they introduce a new character, played by Amy Adams, to be the love interest. I think this illustrates the main point. Two people falling in love is generally seen as a more interesting story than two people who are already an established couple. So writers like to reset the relationship back to zero for the sequel so they can write a new love story. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/15 "2014-11-25T17:00:07Z")
In both books and movies, Tarzan and Jane are always portrayed as a happy couple, and Tarzan never shows any interest in any other woman. That said, Jane disappeared for over a decade in the novels. She was in _Tarzan and the Ant-Men_ (the 10th book, published in 1924), then was not seen again until _Tarzan’s Quest_ (the 19th book, published in 1936). She was also absent from many of the movies made in the 1950s and 1960s. Details on her Wiki page: > **[Jane Porter (Tarzan)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Porter_(Tarzan))** > > Jane Porter (later Jane Clayton, Lady Greystoke) is a fictional character in Edgar Rice Burroughs's series of Tarzan novels and in adaptations of the saga to other media, particularly film. Jane, an American from Baltimore, Maryland, is the daughter of professor Archimedes Q. Porter. She becomes the love interest and later the wife of Tarzan, and subsequently the mother of their son Korak. She develops over the course of the series from a conventional damsel in distress, who must be rescued from... ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/16 "2014-11-25T21:34:16Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > And a good thing they never made a part 4 or Myiagi would have dumped Danielsan for some gawky looking girl. > > Better still they never remade the first one starring a big star’s talentless offspring. That would be the worst. I’m eternally grateful that Mr. Miyagi didn’t end up doing commercials for Nissan, where he’d pop up and say “Dogs love trucks!” after some annoying dog checked out a pickup truck. Because that would be a pretty sad ending. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/17 "2014-11-25T21:44:39Z")
I was pretty disappointed the Arthur couldn’t stay in a relationship with Fenchurch. Damn destabilizing region of space. Why did we get the crap neighborhood of the universe. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2014, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/18 "2014-11-25T23:45:33Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > There’s a reason these relationships were on the rocks. Survivor sex can’t last forever and the protagonist hasn’t addressed his problems. In fact being the big, dumb hero only seems to reinforce them. > > As for examples, the first two Bourne films, the first two Austin Powers… The first two Bourne Films? You mean, where at the beginning of the second film they’re still happy and together until she’s assassinated by a bullet meant for him? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/19 "2014-11-26T00:30:32Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Also Indy and Marion’s relationship seems to be going great at the end of Raiders but we don’t see her again until Crystal Skull. Marion seems a little…free-spirited to be tied down as the housewife to some boring archeology professor. Besides, we all know that _Raiders_ was actually a Walter Mitty-esque fantasy of a milquetoast Professor Henry (self-named “Indiana”) Jones, hence why the “Ark”–one in yet another of valueless treasures Jones uncovers after going to some garage sale–is placed in a giant warehouse full of other crap that the University and Army don’t have any use for. Right? > [@TBG](#): > > It always bothered me how after spending the whole first movie fighting for her Elizabeth Shue dumps Ralph Macchio (off screen even!) about 10 mins into Karate Kid part 2. > [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Didn’t Marty McFly’s girlfriend kind of awkwardly disappear from _Back to the Future 2_, or something? I forget. You have your answer–Liz Shue had to dump Macchio in order to hook up with Michael J. Fox. Given who is still getting acting roles, can you blame her? Besides, Macchio wasn’t even the star of _The Karate Kid_; he was just some punk that showed up and did some ridiculous training montage culminating in a crane kick off a pier that via the same kind of black magic used in _Big_ makes him suddenly superior to a student who has been training and conditioning in pursuit of his art for years. And what does he do when he gains this skill? Is he benevolent and merciful, sweeping his opponent out or winning by legal point-gaining moves? No, he crane kicks his opponent in the head and jumps joyfully while his opponent is crumpled to the floor, probably suffering a crippling cerebral hemorrhage. What a dick. He didn’t deserve Elizabeth Shue. Neither did Val Kilmer, but whatever. And to the o.p., isn’t _Speed_ and its craptastically lackadaisical sequel kind of the poster boy for this sort of thing? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540/20 "2014-11-26T01:08:13Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > The first two Bourne Films? You mean, where at the beginning of the second film they’re still happy and together until she’s assassinated by a bullet meant for him? Sorry…I thought the OP was asking for more inclusive examples…including the love interest getting offed at the beginning of the sequel to up the stakes. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-love-that-will-never-die-until-the-sequel/705540.md?page=2)