Happiest Season Ending: Why Abby And Riley Should Have Got Together

Warning! Spoilers for Happiest Season.

Hulu’s Happiest Season may have been about Harper’s (Mackenzie Davis) and Abby’s (Kristen Stewart) relationship, but one of the standout elements of the movie was Abby’s chemistry with Riley (Aubrey Plaza). Abby sought companionship from Riley during tense moments with Harper and her family, particularly when she was feeling cast aside. They may have just become friends, but social media was abuzz with disappointment that they didn’t become more than that.

The sweet holiday rom-com centers on Abby as she accompanies her girlfriend Harper back to her parents’ home for the holidays. Abby plans to propose before she learns that Harper is not out to her conservative family, and so, they pretend to be platonic roommates for the week, and typical rom-com hijinks ensue. Abby quickly becomes stuck in a difficult situation as she watches the woman she loves turn into someone she doesn’t recognize in order to protect their lie.

Abby strikes up a friendship with Riley, who happens to be Harper’s ex-girlfriend, when she finds herself in those challenging moments with Harper. The two women bond over shared experiences and generally similar personalities. Ultimately, Happiest Season proves that they would be a better match than Harper and Abby are, but pairing them together in the end would have gone against the unspoken rules of the genre.

About midway through Happiest Season, Riley reveals that she secretly dated Harper in high school. They grew up in a conservative area, which meant that their homosexuality was generally frowned upon. So when their classmates found the love notes that Harper and Riley passed to one another, Harper panicked and said only Riley was gay and was obsessed with her. Riley shares this story with Abby when she realizes that Harper is hiding their relationship. While the movie later points out that every queer person’s coming-out story is different, Abby explicitly states she wants to be with someone who is comfortable with herself. Both Abby and Riley’s experiences prove that person is not Harper. But it is Riley, making her a better match for Abby.

Abby and Riley’s personalities also mesh together better than Abby and Harper’s do. Harper is cheerful and easily fits into the preppy, image-obsessed world of her hometown. Abby and Riley are more cynical, sarcastic, and detest the pageantry that Harper’s parents revel in. Both Riley and Abby are generally more grounded than the numerous zany characters in Happiest Season. The saying goes that opposites attract, and Abby and Harper are definitely opposites – but their similarities make for a palpable spark and better banter than Abby and Harper share in Happiest Season.

Abby and Riley may have been the best match in the movie, but they were never going to end up together. While its central lesbian relationship makes the movie something new and fresh, it still is a romantic comedy. Movies in that genre typically don’t see their central couples breaking up. A rom-com typically includes a brief breakup, but the couple usually gets their happy ending. Happiest Season was always meant to be about Harper accepting herself and Abby being there for her in the end. Riley was just intended to help Abby accept Harper, flaws and all. Abby and Riley may have been a better match, but that just isn’t what Happiest Season was about.

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