# Characters who say "I love you" without saying "I love you" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960 "2007-11-27T21:15:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/1 "2007-11-27T21:15:32Z")
[Suggested by this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9140239&postcount=19) What are some especially memorable instances of fictional characters telling one another “I love you” without ever uttering the words in question? My own nomination is a second-season episode of Angel. Our favorite vampire is watching his remarkably hot platonic life partner, Cordelia, at a commercial shoot in which she (a) is dressed in a revealing bikini which the very-old-fashioned Angel has to think is degrading, and (b) gets publicly insulted by the director. Incensed, Angel goes to Cordy and says, “You want me to rip that guy’s head off for you? 'Cause I can do it. Rip his head _clean off_. Just say the word.” That’s love, baby. It’s debatable whether it’s big-brother love or I-wanna-hump-your-bod love, but it’s love either way. Anybody else? ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/2 "2007-11-27T21:19:51Z")
Sally Albright: You see, that is just like you, Harry. You say things like that, and you make it impossible for me to hate you. And I hate you, Harry… I really hate you. I hate you… ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/3 "2007-11-27T21:20:53Z")
_The Empire Strikes Back_. Right before Han is lowered into the carbonite pit, Leia tells him, “I love you!” He replies, “I know.” In a more light-hearted vein, at the end of _Some Like It Hot_, Jack Lemmon, in the course of trying to explain why he and Joe E. Brown can’t get married (and to each objection Lemmon comes up with, Brown has a refutation), finally reveals that he’s actually a man. Brown’s character, Osgood, optimistic about their future to the last, has the final line of the film: “Nobody’s perfect!” ---
**Author:** ![Plynck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Plynck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plynck)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/4 "2007-11-27T21:23:30Z")
“Here’s looking at you, kid.” ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/5 "2007-11-27T21:24:04Z")
“As you wish” ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/6 "2007-11-27T21:27:03Z")
This isn’t the words of a fictional character, but I find it so charming that I’m posting it anyway. The dedication page of _archy and mehitabel_, by Don Marquis: dedicated to babs with babs knows what and babs knows why ---
**Author:** ![LVBoPeep](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/858c86/32.png) [@LVBoPeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LVBoPeep)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/7 "2007-11-27T21:27:28Z")
“When I don’t love you, I’ll let you know”. Devlin (_Notorious_ ) Of course, later he finally says it straight out… ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/8 "2007-11-27T21:33:11Z")
One of my favorite scenes in _Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid_ (spoilered for those who have inexplicably denied themselves the joy of this film): [spoiler]Butch, Sundance, and Etta are lying in their bedrolls, around a campfire in Bolivia. Etta tells Sundance that she’s thinking about going back to the US. Sundance, to Etta: “Whatever you want.” Then, calling over his shoulder to Butch, “Hey…Etta’s thinking about maybe going back.” Butch: “Whatever she wants.” The delivery of the two lines is very different, and you get a glimpse of Butch’s pained face. I think Sundance’s answer indicates that he doesn’t really love Etta or care much if she stays or goes, while Butch’s answer indicates that he really does love her and wants her to give up the life of sleeping on the ground and being chased by armed men.[/spoiler] ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/9 "2007-11-27T21:36:02Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] [Suggested by this post.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=9140239&postcount=19) What are some especially memorable instances of fictional characters telling one another “I love you” without ever uttering the words in question? My own nomination is a second-season episode of Angel. Our favorite vampire is watching his remarkably hot platonic life partner, Cordelia, at a commercial shoot in which she (a) is dressed in a revealing bikini which the very-old-fashioned Angel has to think is degrading, and (b) gets publicly insulted by the director. Incensed, Angel goes to Cordy and says, “You want me to rip that guy’s head off for you? 'Cause I can do it. Rip his head _clean off_. Just say the word.” That’s love, baby. It’s debatable whether it’s big-brother love or I-wanna-hump-your-bod love, but it’s love either way. Anybody else? [/QUOTE] In a similar vein, when Wesley kidnaps Connor. It seems a bit weird to say a kidnapping was motivated by a very strong love, but of course, he would never want Angel to experience the torment of killing his own son–which he believed was definitely going to happen. I don’t think he was so much saving Connor from death as he was saving Angel from a new sort of hell. Then there was later in the series, after Angel tried to kill him and abandoned him. He caught Justine and um…forced her to reveal what she did to Angel, then spent all summer trolling the harbor to find Angel, then fished him out, then slit his own arm to give Angel the blood he needed, and safely returned Angel home. Of course, there’s also the fact he literally died for Angel. I think Wesley loved Angel a whole lot. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/10 "2007-11-27T21:38:06Z")
Patrick Swayze in _Ghost_: “Ditto” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/11 "2007-11-27T21:42:50Z")
[QUOTE=pepperlandgirl] In a similar vein, when Wesley kidnaps Connor. It seems a bit weird to say a kidnapping was motivated by a very strong love, but of course, he would never want Angel to experience the torment of killing his own son–which he believed was definitely going to happen. I don’t think he was so much saving Connor from death as he was saving Angel from a new sort of hell. Then there was later in the series, after Angel tried to kill him and abandoned him. He caught Justine and um…forced her to reveal what she did to Angel, then spent all summer trolling the harbor to find Angel, then fished him out, then slit his own arm to give Angel the blood he needed, and safely returned Angel home. Of course, there’s also the fact he literally died for Angel. I think Wesley loved Angel a whole lot. [/QUOTE] I think you’re right about the first instance, wrong in the second. I’d go further to say that Wesley’s explanation to Justine as to why he saved Angel–“Because he’s necessary” – is one of the few Whedonverse instances of someone answering a question in a completely unironic away. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/12 "2007-11-27T21:48:51Z")
“Shut up and deal.” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/13 "2007-11-27T21:49:39Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] “Shut up and deal.” [/QUOTE] Which is from ??? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/14 "2007-11-27T21:54:03Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] Which is from ??? [/QUOTE] Wilder’s [_The Apartment_](http://imdb.com/title/tt0053604/) (Jack Lemmon, Fred MacMurray and Shirley Maclaine). ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/15 "2007-11-27T21:56:56Z")
[QUOTE=Skald the Rhymer] I think you’re right about the first instance, wrong in the second. I’d go further to say that Wesley’s explanation to Justine as to why he saved Angel–“Because he’s necessary” – is one of the few Whedonverse instances of someone answering a question in a completely unironic away. [/QUOTE] Oh, I don’t think he was being ironic with his explanation, but I think it’s still a little ambiguous . Plus, he didn’t have to feed Angel himself. Clearly, when he said “your blood is too thin” to Justine, he was speaking metaphorically. Her blood was just fine, and God knows he wasn’t overly concerned about whether or not Justine was comfortable and happy. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/16 "2007-11-27T22:37:11Z")
I’m going to be the third to quote a line from the Buffyverse. I guess Joss Whedon just portrays love well. Spike and Buffy, of course. \*Spike follows Buffy into the living room. She sits on the sofa and he sits on the coffee-table facing her. He takes her hands in his and looks at them. Then he looks up at her face and their eyes meet. \* BUFFY: How long was I gone? SPIKE: Hundred forty-seven days yesterday. Uh … hundred forty-eight today. (smiles a little) 'Cept today doesn’t count, does it? Or this one: Spike, after being rejected by Buffy, flies into a murderous rage and plans to kill her. He finds her sitting on the stairs at her home’s back door, crying over something unrelated. Spike, all ready to fire his gun, sees her tears, and all of a sudden, all his rage is forgotten. His arm holding the gun drops limply to his side. He looks at her, worrying, then sits down next to her, asks: “is there anything I can do?”. He even gives Buffy an awkward, tender pat on her back, and she lets him. ---
**Author:** ![NailBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecae2f/32.png) [@NailBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NailBunny)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/17 "2007-11-27T22:58:39Z")
_Doctor Who_, the episode “The Satan Pit”. The Doctor is rappelling into the pit, runs out of cable and decides to detach and fall the rest of the way down, which could be miles or a few feet. Communications have been cut off from the surface, and he tells Ida Scott before he unhooks the last latch: “If you talk to Rose, just tell her…tell her I…oh, she’d know.” ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/18 "2007-11-27T23:01:02Z")
\*I have been and always shall be your friend. \* ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/19 "2007-11-27T23:31:15Z")
> [@Bridget Jones's Diary](#): > > Mark Darcy: I don’t think you’re an idiot at all. I mean, there are elements of the ridiculous about you. Your mother’s pretty interesting. And you really are an appallingly bad public speaker. And, um, you tend to let whatever’s in your head come out of your mouth without much consideration of the consequences… But the thing is, um, what I’m trying to say, very inarticulately, is that, um, in fact, perhaps despite appearances, I like you, very much. Just as you are. And then of course, there’s the original Mr. Darcy, with his original awful proposal, and then his actions regarding Lydia, which spoke of much nobler sentiments. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2007, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960/20 "2007-11-27T23:42:30Z")
Han Solo: “I know.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-who-say-i-love-you-without-saying-i-love-you/427960.md?page=2)