I wasn't really invested in who William ended up with, but the way the story was told hit all the formulaic notes for the song that ends with him and Blacksmith Girl together. Him and Princess Chick together wasn't the right resolving chord for those notes.

I'm not even that picky about who she ended up with ... just that it's irritating to see the out-of-the-box chicks who wander off alone into the sunset after everyone else has picked up the love and career prizes. And when some of the everyone elses are not good epitomes of the gender stereotype, it makes it worse.

It's a thing.

I think she should have ended up with the pretty maidservant of the pretty femme ass, though I got the impression she was going to wind up with Roland.

Chaucer should end up with Wat.

I haven't even seen the damn thing, but, going by everyone's descriptions of her coolness and ass-kickingness and general overall worthiness, I'd vote for her ending up with Alan Tudyk, just on general principle.

As far as I could tell, the princess got the guy because she was a Princess, pretty and rich. They played (like Raq said) the beginning like something was developing between the blacksmith and William -- it's not that I was rooting for her -- I sincerely thought that was what was going to happen.

So when the reins are yanked over into another direction, I'm left wondering "what did she do wrong?"

It's not that love is the ultimate reward and life is empty without it -- just that these chicks so rarely get the love, and it really looked like she was going to pull this time. Really was. Someone.

Chaucer should end up with Wat.

Please tell me you're writing that slash as I type this.

I only thought they were going to go with Kate as a love interest for a minute or two, because of how hard they were hammering home the change your stars bit. Kate wouldn't have been the star change that Jocelyn was, which is kind of annoying, but I don't think there was a way to do a love interest bit that wouldn't have been.

Please tell me you're writing that slash as I type this.

ETA, no, but if I find it, I'll share.

I don't think there was a way to do a love interest bit that wouldn't have been.

Well, they could have made Jocelyn a cooler character than Kate, and then wham! It wouldn't look (to me) so much like William was putting the pussy on a pedestal (sorry, I just wanted to say that), and more like he was going for the cooler chick.

I know in real life it's not about who's cooler, but I swear some of the Jocelyn moments looked like they were designed to show what a bad choice she was. I mean, aren't we past the "if you love me do something unreasonable" moratoriums yet?

It never even occured to me that Kate would end up with William. William had more chemistry with Chaucer than he did with her, I thought. I liked the fact that she was there for the same reason as the blokes, with the blokes, and yet was completely and totally not a bloke, which it would have been easy to make her.

Ah. I felt she was not "completely and totally not a bloke," and hence my irritation.

Dammit, all this is making me want to watch it again. I liked it well enough, but damn!