By: Saije Rusimovici, Staff Writer
Ah, young love. Who doesn’t reminisce about our teenage years, living vicariously through our OTP (one true pairing) couples on our favourite CW shows? We scarcely minded that the actors portraying these characters may have been 10 years our senior. We were only concerned about whether or not our favourite ships would make it through to the next season, only to be completely shattered when one of them didn’t, or worse — got killed off for no reason.
But I’m not just talking about our romantic crushes — our platonic crushes also made us swoon. For me, these were the women characters who inspired me to study hard (whether or not some, ahem, questionable methods were involved), get that promotion (because who wouldn’t want an Emily in Paris-esque marketing job?), or had “that girl” energy we desperately wanted to emulate.
10. Spencer Hastings (Troian Bellisario), Pretty Little Liars
I don’t know anyone who didn’t want to be Spencer when I was in high school. She was the straight-“A” student dating the boy-next-door/sort-of-carpenter (when he wasn’t moonlighting as the illusive “A” of course). If Spencer had it, we wanted it. Even though the show went on for about two-and-a-half seasons too long, we were always ready for Spencer’s next big breakthrough. There’s a reason my go-to pre-exam playlist is called “study like Spencer Hastings.”
- Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley), The Vampire Diaries
The younger vampire brother earns number nine because even though I’m not the biggest fan, you can’t deny he was one of the biggest teenage heartthrobs of the 2010s (sorry Robert Pattinson!). Stoic yet sensitive (in spite of some bad blood-bingeing habits, IYKYK), he’s too good of a guy to be left off this list. I mean, he’s not bad on the eyes, either.
- Reggie Mantle (Charles Melton), Riverdale
Yeah, totally accurate representation of what a high school sophomore looks like right? #dreamon
- Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Friends
Chandler was the character that could always bring a smile to my face. Not to mention his adorable relationship with Monica. #relationshipgoals
- Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder), The Vampire Diaries
Major heart eyes for the bad-boy of the two vampire brothers that made me swoon as a teenager. Sexy Damon Salvatore was without a doubt Elena’s epic love (sorry Stefan, you still made the list though!). Sixteen-year-old me couldn’t help but fawn over the shirtless scenes. So, so many shirtless scenes . . .
- Barry Allen (Grant Gustin), The Flash
The iconic superhero show, filmed in Vancouver, wouldn’t be the same without one of the most adorable, loving main characters on television (let’s hope he’s not fast at everything he does, if you catch my meaning).
- Jane Villanueva (Gina Rodriguez), Jane the Virgin
What’s not to love about Jane or Gina?! Confident, hilarious, body-positive, and a writer (and in my opinion way too good for Raphael).
- Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), Grey’s Anatomy
Move over, Dr. McDreamy. Jackson Avery has been one of my top TV crushes ever since I first saw him on Grey’s Anatomy. He was great on that show. Though it could be the shirtless scenes clouding my judgement . . . Relax, it’s not like I still daydream about him, okay? At least, not recently . . .
- Maya Lopez (Alaqua Cox), Echo
BEST. MARVEL. SUPERHERO. EVER! Not only is Maya absolutely badass in combat (cannot wait to see her take down Fisk’s empire), she also is a character that (finally) brings both Indigenous and disabled representation to the Marvel screen — it’s about time!
- Simon Bassett (Regé-Jean Page), Bridgerton
Simon Basset is the clear winner of this little ranking. Want to know why? Go watch Season 1 of Bridgerton. You’ll understand.
