Are soaps letting down their power couples as Robron, Swarla and more face giant obstacles?

Soap couples have the strongest fanbases across the genre, with popular on-screen partnerships so beloved that they even have their own special names.

But the likes of Emmerdale's 'Robron,' Coronation Street's 'Swarla' and more are all facing major obstacles, posing the question: are these serial dramas letting down their power pairings?

Let's start with 'Robron'.

Of course, we're talking about Robert Sugden (Ryan Hawley) and Aaron Dingle (Danny Miller), who recently reunited after almost 6 years apart.

Their renewed relationship was never going to last at this point, due to the small matter of Robert's "unhinged but lovable" secret prison husband Kev Townsend (Chris Coghill)!

There are also plenty of unresolved issues between Aaron and Robert, stemming from the latter's decision to cut off and divorce the former back in 2019.

Given this, plus whatever Robert is concealing about his time behind bars and Aaron's role in the murder of Anthony Fox (Nicholas Day), these two already had enough to wade through on the road to getting back together long-term.

Hawley has assured us that throwing Kev into the mix is rather different to the troubles 'Robron' have previously endured, and made a good point when he told RadioTimes.com and other press that "it would be pretty boring if it was just plain sailing.

"There has to be some kind of conflict and obstacles for the characters to overcome to test their relationship and see them triumph against adversity."

The promise of a special episode next month, due to shed light on both the Kev conundrum and Robert's prison trauma, may give this story the lift it needs.

But at the time of writing, it's hard to understand why we needed to see Robert having "deep feelings" for someone other than Aaron, mere weeks after the character insisted he was all he wanted.

Moving onto 'Swarla', and poor Carla Connor (Alison King) is still reeling after her fiancée Lisa Swain's (Vicky Myers) wife Becky (Amy Cudden) pitched up alive, four years after Lisa mourned her death.

While we do have some clarity in that Becky is a confirmed cobbles villain, fans had barely had time to catch their breath after Lisa and Carla's joyous engagement!

Yes, Becky's arrival allowed for some sensational scenes from Myers as Lisa struggled to comprehend what she was seeing; but she and Carla have been through the mill this year thanks to kidney failure and the dangerous Rob Donovan (Marc Baylis).

As big a twist as Becky was, this arc is another example of soap land throwing extreme levels of chaos at their strongest couples.

Over on EastEnders, Ben Mitchell (Max Bowden) and Callum Highway's (Tony Clay) marriage is no more.

Affectionately dubbed 'Ballum', it all ended when Ben got day release from prison and Callum confessed to his affair with Johnny Carter (Charlie Suff).

We've discussed before how Callum as a character has been let down by his choice to cheat, and it's not clear where his relationship with Johnny is going.

But it's been jarring to see him and Johnny attempting to make a new family with Ben's reluctant daughter Lexi Pearce (Isabella Brown).

It's a disappointing end to Ben and Callum's love story, and we're fearing another may have a more permanent conclusion on Hollyoaks.

Known as 'Dancy' for many years, there have been several instances where we thought Nancy (Jessica Fox) and Darren Osborne (Ashley Taylor Dawson) could withstand no more conflict.

They've always proved us wrong, but it seemed like one cheating scandal too many when Nancy admitted that she slept with Tony Hutchinson (Nick Pickard) a few years back and conceived young daughter Morgan behind Darren's back.

It's a twist that has caused history to be rewritten, and although Nancy is far from perfect, she certainly always had better morals than this.

Caught up in the plane crash and ensuing fire during the soap's 30th anniversary week, Darren soon regretted his harsh words to Nancy when her life hung in the balance, so who knows whether they will even get the chance to patch things up again?

The fallout surrounding 'Dancy' was, at least, skilfully handled by Fox and Dawson, and there has been equally strong work from everyone involved in the aforementioned plots.

Meanwhile, Emmerdale knows bringing Robert and Aaron back into each other's orbit is a winning formula, and the vibe seems to be that they can get through anything - even if that isn't yet translating on-screen.

As for Corrie, there's reassurance that Lisa's feelings for Carla outweigh those she has for Becky.

Soaps thrive on testing such adored couples so they can emerge stronger for it, but with Ben and Callum currently unlikely to reconcile, and the hurdles faced by others getting bigger by the week, is it all too much?

Many before them have survived worse, so perhaps the added intensity simply comes from there being so much unrest among these pairings concurrently.

As for whether the genre is making a mistake with their power couples, it all rests on the pay-off, and despite our concerns, let's not forget that the journey is often the best part of any love story.

The love will never die, but will it buckle under the pressure?

We have hope that it won't.

Read more:

• EastEnders airs shock crash aftermath in BBC iPlayer release - with major Jasmine Fisher twist
• EastEnders star 'to exit soap' following dramatic storyline
• Coronation Street's Catherine Tyldesley was asked to return to ITV soap before
• Coronation Street winter preview: Driscoll family drama, Swarla "explosions" and Theo shows his true colours
• Joe Absolom reveals Emmerdale villain Ray's truth behind Laurel connection amid "subservient" dynamic with Celia
• 5 Emmerdale spoilers next week: Kev Townsend threatens Aaron Dingle after Robert Sugden reveal
• Returning to Brookside is the perfect way to honour Hollyoaks' heritage

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