When it comes to slow burns, the journey is the best part. Stiles and Lydia might not have become an official couple until the very end of hoping to see Stiles and Lydia in an established relationship, as Dylan O'Brien was absent from the majority of the final season.
Distance causes the heart to grow fonder, making Stiles's absence the perfect opportunity for Lydia to come to with her feelings. Teen Wolf focused heavily on their plotline and used several different romantic tropes to build Stiles and Lydia's relationship from the bottom up.
Unrequited Childhood Crush
Although their dynamic shifted drastically as they got older, Lydia was first introduced as Stiles's childhood crush. The show may have used the stereotypical dork/popular girl trope, but they did it in a completely un-stereotypical way.
Stiles proved that he was interested in Lydia for more than her looks and status, but it still didn't translate to real love. When the two do fall in love for real, it's based on the years they spent as friends and equals. Stiles and Lydia both developed drastically over the course of the show, and their relationship developed as a result.
Now Or Never Confession Of Love
Given that Stiles and Lydia hung out every day, there was plenty of time for them to talk about their feelings. Yet Stiles doesn't confess his love for her until he realizes that he might not get another chance.
" I love you" is the most iconic Stydia quote in Teen Wolf, and it's the last thing Stiles says before being taken by the Wild Hunt and erased from existence. It's difficult not to wonder how long it would've taken them to be honest if their "now or never" moment never happened.
Going Through Memory Loss
As ironic as it sounds, it wasn't until Lydia lost her memory of Stiles that she realized what he meant to her. Without the knowledge of their friendship and complicated history, there was nothing that prevented her from recognizing her feelings for what they were.
Lydia is the only character who refused to give up on Stiles, even when she couldn't who he was. Her love for him proved to be more powerful than the ghost rider's mind control, which spoke volumes about their relationship.
Fake First Kiss
The series managed to give viewers everything they wanted without actually giving them anything. Stiles and Lydia technically have two first kisses in Teen Wolf, as their first lip-lock didn't happen under normal circumstances.
Unable to talk him down from his panic attack, Lydia kisses Stiles as a distraction. But just because romance wasn't the intention doesn't mean that it wasn't the result. The two are visibly stunned over what transpired between them, and Lydia later its that it's where her feelings for Stiles originated.
Despite being in two completely different dimensions, Stiles and Lydia were constantly on each other's minds. Only a wall is shown to separate them, and it visually displays how they're still connected even when they're worlds apart.
Lydia's love for Stiles is so strong, that her memory of their first kiss opens a rift and brings him home to her. Although Scott and Malia contributed, they both recognized that Lydia's unique connection with Stiles made her the only one who could save him.
First Girl Wins
It was Lydia in the beginning and it remained Lydia in the end. Although their relationship evolved throughout the series, the first girl viewers saw Stiles lay eyes on was the one that he wound up with in the end.
Stiles did date other people, and his romance with Malia went on for several seasons. Yet no matter who he was with, it was always clear that Lydia held Stiles's heart. She's the first and only girl Stiles ever says those three words, eight letters to.
Slow Burn
Stiles and Lydia didn't have a typical slow-burn romance in Teen Wolf. The wait for them to get together was agonizingly long and put the audience's patience to the ultimate test.
No TV ship follows the same path, and watching how Stiles and Lydia fell in love was more important than watching what came after. Each season brought them closer together, and Stydia never would've become such a beloved pairing if they were rushed into a relationship prematurely.
Best Friends To Lovers
With Stiles's childhood crush in the rearview mirror, Stiles and Lydia developed an intimate friendship. Although no one could replace Allison, Stiles became Lydia's best friend and confidant following her heartbreaking death in Teen Wolf season 3.
Once they got to know each other down to their core, it didn't take Stiles and Lydia long to fall in love for real. It did take them a long time to it it, as no matter how painfully obvious their feelings were, they waited until the end of the show to act on them.