I know you have some issues with Star and Marco being a couple until the very end, but it's not like their relationship as friends wasn't worthwhile, it slowly grew over time. They did have good chemistry as friends, and sure, we didn't really see how their relationship would grow AFTER they became a couple, but you'd have to assume it'd be positive, I didn't think it detracted from the shows' plot points, it's complicated :/ I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too. (1/2)

One example of i can think of is from the show Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero (i don’t think you watch the show) but it was in the show’s series finale episode “At the end of the Worlds”. One of the show’s main characters Penn and Sashi become a romatic couple near the very end of the series, (granted the series only had 2 seasons, had way less episodes than Star) cliché as that sounds. (2/2)

Sure, we still got a lot of important moments for Star and Marco, and they absolutely and utterly planted enough seeds to convince me (and everyone who’s not delusional) that they’re incredibly in love and are going to have a long and happy relationship even after the finale (”I know they are very much in love now” to quote Daron from her AMA), but that wasn’t enough for me. It shouldn’t have been enough for most. Star and Marco’s relationship was central to the show, to the point of the series finale’s climax being dedicated to show just how deep their desire to be together is, and while that could obviously be true for friends as well, since Booth Buddies at the latest we were shown that “romance” was now inextricably part of their relationship, so there was an intention to address it and to make it an important part of their friendship. Having them becoming a couple earlier in the season, having a number of episodes showing how they’d have grown as individuals and as a couple after such a big step, would have certainly added depth to “Starco” and to the series, and I’ll never stop lamenting what we didn’t get. Doesn’t make their relationship less special or deep, it’s just a huge “what could have been”.

Also like 99% of the entertainment industry does this, making romance just a prize at the end of the race, “keep watching our show and you’ll see if your favorite characters kiss ;)”, instead of just an important but normal step in the arcs of the characters involved, another way to explore new sides to their chemistry and how that might make them develop. Pathetic.