10 Awkward TV Couples Who Were Hilariously Mismatched

9. Nucky And Lucy (Boardwalk Empire)

Boardwalk Empire Nucky And Lucy This is not the long-lasting and strained relationship between Nucky (played by Steve Buscemi) and Margaret, which is slightly more believable than this one due to Margaret's initial respect for Nucky. Rather, it's the first season relationship between a character played by Steve Buscemi and a character played by model Paz de la Huerta. People who have a problem with Boardwalk Empire say that Buscemi is more of a supporting actor than a lead (which is often code for "he's just not attractive enough") and that's why this couple is awkward. I will grant that it's reasonable enough to expect Lucy to want Nucky based solely on his money and power, it's a tad cliche but so is a show about a gangster/bootlegger. I will also grant that Nucky would want a female companion who looked attractive so he could show her off at his many parties. But the show posited that Nucky and Lucy had a torrid sexual relationship, with Lucy being the partner who was more interested in love-making than Nucky. Now we could get into a whole different host of issues surrounding the idea that she determined her self-worth by her sexuality in a sexist world, but that doesn't change the fact that we are supposed to believe that she is sexually attracted to him and that he is sexually active enough for their strange father-daughter type tryst to be appealing to both of them. In short, it's a good thing they broke up.
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Bryan Hickman is a WhatCulture contributor residing in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bryan's passions include film, television, basketball, and writing about himself in the third person.