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Best Valentine’s Day Shows (That Even the Critics Will Enjoy

The opinions expressed in this article are the writer’s own and do not reflect the views of Her Campus.
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Wilfrid Laurier chapter.

Everyone seems to have an opinion on Valentine’s Day. These opinions range from a day for sincere expressions of love, to capitalism’s greatest opportunity, all the way down to an excuse to make February more bearable. These views may vary with your relationship status come February 14th, but I digress. Regardless of what you believe, Valentine’s Day is going to come and go. So, the least you can do is buy some chocolate and binge watch the following episodes and movies throughout the day.  

Desperation Day: How I Met Your Mother 

How I Met Your Mother episodes never fail to deliver sharp one-liners and sarcastic humour. Their Valentine’s Day episode is no different. “Desperation Day” is serial womanizer, Barney Stinson’s favourite holiday of the year. February 13th marks this occasion, as it’s the time where women are apparently anxiously seeking a date for Valentine’s Day. Barney- forever the gentlemen- hopes to capitalize on this desperation by hooking up with women who he likely won’t have a chance with on any other day of the year. No matter what your view of Valentine’s Day is, Barney’s attempts to snag the singles of Valentine’s Day, are sure to be an entertaining 21 minutes. 

Love Letter: Schitt’s Creek 

but is still a cute story, “Love Letter” is the episode for you. The scene opens with sleep-deprived Moira Rose returning home after a long flight from Bosnia. Severely jet-lagged, she stumbles upon a collection of love letters that her husband Johnny Rose has kept for years. Moira spends the episode trying to discover who the author of these letters is. The characters reflect on past and present relationships through a series of seemingly mundane activities. It isn’t officially Valentine’s Day in the episode, but its ending is adorably fit for the occasion.  

Valentine’s Day Massacre: Dawson’s Creek  

Sometimes the picture-perfect Valentine’s Day endings in mainstream media are nauseating. They aren’t interesting or complicated enough to be real, and often leave us wondering why we even bothered to watch them. Well, this episode of Dawson’s Creek changes that narrative. Everything that goes wrong makes this a refreshing, and oddly satisfying Valentine’s Day episode. Dawson Leery and his group of friends go to a Valentine’s Day party in the middle of a golf course. Their plus one is group member Jack McPhee’s ex-girlfriend Kate, who is unaware that Jack has recently come out as gay. The only friend of the group who has a Valentine is Jen Linley. However, her date doesn’t pan out as intended. All in all, Valentine’s Day in Capeside is anything but a traditional outing for Dawson and his friends. 

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before 

For those of you that are looking for more than just an episode, here is a movie trilogy that will surely warm your heart. Based on the novels by Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before follows Lara Jean Covey, a high school student who keeps handwritten love letters for every boy she’s had a crush on. Throughout the movie, Lara must deal with the aftermath of her letters being mailed out, as new and old flames start to pop back into her life. After the first movie, you will be so invested in the characters’ lives that you’ll have to watch the next two. No matter how much of a Valentine’s Day critic you are, these movies will definitely put you in the holiday spirit! 

This collection has something for everyone’s take on Valentine’s Day. Whether you pick an episode that appeals to you or choose to binge them all, you won’t regret your choice. Happy watching!  

Eden DeMarco

Wilfrid Laurier '24

Eden is a 2nd year student studying Business Administration with a minor in English at Wilfrid Laurier University. She spends her spare time reading books, drawing and binging new thriller series on Netflix. She can be found browsing for hours in Chapters or listening to music in her backyard.