The Epic List of Bromances

It’s hard to find a more enjoyable dynamic to watch or read than the epic male friendship – ie the bromance. There’s just something about guys tiptoeing around their feelings, expressing themselves by being total assholes to each other, and trying to pretend they’re not completely co-dependent. In all honesty, I’ll take an epic bromance over touchy-feely shit any day of the week. From the token drunken “I love you man!” to the equally affectionate “Fuck you,” these are some of our favorite epic friendships of epicness- bromance style.

1.) Sherlock and John. Holmes and Watson. House and Wilson. “Sherlock Holmes”

In every possible reinterpretation of the Sherlock Holmes mythos, has there ever been a better friendship than these two? Whether you’re reading the original Arthur Conan Doyle or rocking the immaculately scripted and acted BBC “Sherlock” you’d be hard pressed to find a better bromance.

2.) The Men of Top Gear: James May, Richard Hammond, & Jeremy Clarkson

These are rotten schoolboys who have become dirty old men and spend their lives playing with cars. In last week’s episode they spent a quarter of their news segment laughing at a man named “Chufffart” and then went and did drag races through an abandoned airport. Enough said.

3.) Rick & Captain Louis Renault: “Casablanca”

Come on, this was the original movie bromance. Rick and Louis switched sides in the war, helped lie to the Nazis, save a girl, and walked off into the fog. It even created the damn tagline, “Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

4.) Timon & Pumbaa “The Lion King”

Who says a meerkat and warthog can’t have a bromance? They spend their time eschewing society for one another’s company and bro’ing-about the pride lands…while singing about it.

5.) Riggs & Murtaugh – “Lethal Weapon”

Married, single, kids, broken to the nth degree and these two still stood up and faced the latest oncoming apocalypse (that they usually caused) together – while still pausing to give each other a load of shit in the process. Buddy cop tropes at its best.

5.) The Marauders: James Potter, Sirius Black, & Remus Lupin “Harry Potter”

For god’s sake they had a whole club devoted to acting like animals and being douche bags.

6.) Sam & Frodo: “The Lord of the Rings”

How many times does Sam save Frodo even when he was acting like an emo little shit? Also, he carried his broke-ass up Mount Doom in a really melodramatic way.

7.) Sean & Corey: “Boy Meets World”

I think Sean & Corey probably coined and defined the phrase Best Friends Forever. Through thick and thin, from elementary school bullies to being best man at your wedding, these two taught us what friendship meant.

8.) Mr. Darcy & Mr. Bingley of “Pride & Prejudice”

Just because they’re in waistcoats and from the Regency era doesn’t mean these two didn’t have each other’s backs. They were as different as night and day, and yet Darcy threw away Elizabeth’s affections just to protect his pal from a gold digger. And after that, he helped Bingley get his girl back and goes straight back into the viper’s den to stand beside him. That’s love, dude.

9.) Damon & Alaric: “The Vampire Diaries”

Ok yes, this show just gets tragically worse by the moment, but Damon & Alaric’s epic friendship of complete asshole drunken bonding is just priceless. SPOILER: And when Damon is talking to him at his grave? Don’t lie VD’ers, you choked up.

10.) Arthur & Merlin “Merlin”

Tale as old as time, yes? Merlin spends all his time keeping headstrong and arrogant Arthur out of trouble, alive, and able to rule all while Arthur tries to pretend he’s just a servant. Yeah ok, Arthur, not even Guinevere is buying that load of crap. That friendship is the whole reason folks tuned in for years. (Please ignore the overly dramatic music on the video)