Sumana

Yeah, that's pretty much what I mean -- when the romance arc is carrying the whole plot along with it without much else to anchor the story on, then it feels a little more (to me) like it's harder to move away from the standard beats: here's the meet-cute, here's the 'oh no I love him,' here's the Big Fight, here's the climactic reconciliation, and the rising and falling action is all completely tied to the build of the relationship. Whereas I feel like when the romance has a strong external plot to wind itself around, it can take more risks, it can follow unusual emotional arcs, it kind of doesn't need to be so strictly structured in and of itself.