There aren’t that many romantic relationships to come out of the Assassin’s Creed series, which is something one would expect since it’s mainly about the fight between assassins and Templars. However, there have been some pairings that fans have loved following. The effectiveness of these couples’ stories are more notable due to the presence of some other romantic relationships that fans didn’t like as much.

In this list, while we’ve mainly considered couples who weren’t that great to begin with, we’ve also included romances that weren’t necessarily bad but were still rather annoying for various reasons. Here are five each of the best and the not-so-best Assassin’s Creed couples.

10 Love: Desmond And Lucy

Funnily enough, Lucy turned out to be an evil person who supported the Templars’ plans to control the world, but this still doesn’t take away from the dynamic between herself and Desmond. It was even implied that Lucy might have been wrestling with her feelings for him against her mission, something you don’t ever hear Templars doing.

Her effect on Desmond was a good one too, seeing as he became willing to embrace his heritage as an assassin once she made him see the good in it - surprising, considering she was actually in-line with the Templars. It was their best kept secrets that allowed their relationship to be so engaging.

9 Annoying: Bayek And Aya

This couple proved that just having great chemistry didn’t mean it would still be very likable. The problem with Bayek and Aya was the many times they broke up and got back together, with each time not having enough solid reasoning behind it.

Time and again they proved they were better as a battle couple, only for them (mainly Aya, though) to leave the other high and dry after previously putting on a united front. Their moment of divorce has to be the most annoying scene, as the two parted after just having saved the day.

8 Love: Ezio And Sofia

If there’s anyone who should get the most credit for turning Ezio into the wise man he became, it should be Sofia. Before he met her, Ezio had become far too entrenched in his assassin lifestyle and was in his fifties but refusing to accept his best days were over.

Only through Sofia did Ezio feel the freshness of love once more, and he was finally able to picture a life outside the creed. Sofia herself was a woman pushing middle age, meaning she hadn’t met the right man until Ezio had come calling.

7 Annoying: Arno And Elise

You just know that Assassin’s Creed Unity failed on all accounts when its most focal point of the romance between Arno and Elise was its biggest failure. Rather than flesh out a real love story, these two were primarily at odds with one another.

We didn’t get much evidence to believe that they were in love, with this being more of an informed attribute rather than something that was apparent. The game’s insistence at us eating up their love really didn’t sit well, and had Arno not whined around all the time about love and actually done something to make it believable, then perhaps it wouldn’t have been such a dull thing to sit through.

6 Love: Ezio And Cristina

It’s always a pleasure to check out a story featuring the one that got away, so Ezio and Cristina’s tale that lasted decades is one that pulled the heart-strings for sure. It was mainly interesting to follow due it being presented in small sequences, leading the player to follow a trail of breadcrumbs to uncover the overall tragic story.

The significant part of it is how it played out during a time where Ezio was still young and pursuing his revenge, yet we saw how only Cristina was the one who got him letting out his emotional side. It’s a shame they never got to be together, but it was a journey worth following.

5 Annoying: Evie And Henry

While we prefer Evie to Jacob for the most part, we certainly aren’t big fans of this area of her characterization. The crazy thing is that there was so much potential in Henry and Evie’s romance, but the game’s decision to pair them up with hardly any build up is ultimately what made them a letdown.

There were hints and nods toward their attraction throughout Assassin’s Creed Syndicate; however, these weren’t explicit enough to make us jump fully on board with the idea of this couple. And yet, the game suddenly made them fall deeply in love with each other by the end that we just have to scoff at the convenience of it all.

4 Love: Altair And Maria

Certainly the A-couple for fans of the series, Altair and Maria are beloved for being the first instance where we saw people from differing backgrounds of assassin and Templar having a real relationship. It also helped how the two had superb chemistry whether they were on opposing sides or as a couple.

Their character development was possible due to their marriage, as the formerly aggressive assassin was taught how to seek inner peace by Maria, who had been rescued from her hostile background by Altair. Even in their final moments, the two had lessons to teach other.

3 Annoying: Ezio And Caterina

There’s no question that it was fun watching the banter between Ezio and Caterina play out in the two games they interacted, but there’s also no question that it was very much annoying to see them see-saw over their feelings all the time.

Caterina’s antagonism toward Ezio’s playful attempts at flirtation was entertaining for the most part, only for it to become too much once it was established they wouldn’t be making things official. Thereafter, their exchanges were frustrating to watch since neither of them would let go of their ego and admit their feelings. And even when Ezio finally did, Caterina didn’t return them.

2 Love: Haytham And Ziio

Another case of opposites attracting, this time where neither of them truly were aware of the other’s true intentions. While Haytham turned out to be a villain, he was much more sympathetic than any other in the series since we saw him show a different side of himself with Ziio.

In around the same way, we also enjoyed Ziio’s defrosting ice queen quality, as she slowly shed away her bravado to admit her feelings for Haytham. It was this forbidden romance that made us want to see more, which we unfortunately didn’t as the game took a different direction.

1 Annoying: Kassandra And Natakas

A fair amount of fans aren’t aware of this couple due to it being part of a DLC, which actually adds to its annoying quality as such a big part of Kassandra’s story ended up being something of a throwaway angle. Long story short, Natakas and Kassandra encountered each other a few times where the former admired her fiery spirit and the latter was charmed by his sensitivity; this led to them retiring and living together for a few years.

What we disliked was how Kassandra spiraled into being a generic lovey-dovey girl, stripping away all of her badass qualities. Becoming domesticated just for the sake of a guy is a very outdated style of storytelling, which made this couple a very weak one as Kassandra lost her independence.

NEXT: Assassin’s Creed: 10 Facts You Never Knew About The Pieces Of Eden