I love Zen so much because it was an unexpected pairing...it wasn't forced or shoved down my throat. They gradually won me over and I love when that happes with a soap couple.

Zach and Kendall aren't perfect but together, I think, they are. I love that Zen will always, be connected though Ian. Plus Thorsten Kaye and Alicia Minshew have such great chemistry, that keeps pulling me in. If a couple can keep pulling me in, even when the writing isn't the greatest, I will probably love that couple forever. LOL

Just my opinion

A couple of things. First Alicia and Thorsten's chemistry is off the charts. Both characters are flawed, and know it. They also accept each other. Both Ryan and Maria wanted Kendall and Zach to be who they wanted them to be and not who they were. I remember watching when Kendall was with Ethan and Zach pining for Maria, every time Zach and Kendall were together, I wanted more. Some couples just have the "it" factor, and to me they have it.

That's a good question. I can't speak for anyone except myself, but for me it's a combination of things.First, the characters just fit. Zach Slater, man of mystery with a completely screwed up family history that he has hidden and run from most of his life. Kendall Hart, woman who has run AT her past, trying to make people (Erica, Bianca, Ryan) love her. Both of them are willing to go to insane lengths to protect people they love- without counting cost or expecting people to thank them for it. Both have (or had) low expectations of anyone ever loving them. I think the fact that these two people found each other and fell in love with each other almost in spite of themselves is the perfect, soapy love story. Second, the actors and their chemistry. TK and AM just click. They did from their first scenes in Vegas. I was a big fan of Kendall and Ethan, but even then I thought TK and AM had better chemistry than AM did with James Scott. I remember being surprised when Kendall and Ethan slept together, because I thought it meant Zach and Kendall would probably never go there. (Of course, the writers were careful to keep Zach and Kendall interacting throughout her entire relationship with Ethan. For example, I remember vividly the time Zach offered to make Kendall "feel like a woman" if she'd call him instead of Ethan. Even at the time I thought it was a nasty but extremely, er, HAWT thing to say to your son's girlfriend.) That chemistry has only deepened as the two actors have worked together. They blow most other AMC couples off the screen, whether they're loving, fighting, flirting, or yearning. I'm almost looking forward to the fallout from the ONS because I expect the two of them are going to blow the roof off when it comes out. Third, it was the story, at least initially. The marriage of convenience, the slow realization that they were finding in each other what they'd always looked for, the fear that they would screw it up.. it was awesome. And since their second wedding, their refusal to let anyone or anything derail them for long has been a beautiful thing to watch.I do think the current writers just don't GET Zach and Kendall as a couple, or more particularly Kendall as a character. That's unfortunate, and they really should pay for it. They were handed a gift - a strong, ridiculously popular couple played by two great actors who work together fantastically - and they seem to have been working overtime to destroy them since the end of the second week of Crash. It's a crime, and it makes NO sense to me. Most writers would KILL for something like that to play with. B&E seem determined to destroy it, while having nothing worthwhile to offer in their place. I don't understand it, and I refuse to accept it.

What an excellent question.
For me they just shimmer and shine together. They don't even have to have dialogue with each other and the sparks just fly between them. It's a testament to their talent. They have very different approaches to acting, and it seems to mesh very well. Their chemistry is well l recognized so it would seem trite to to say that's all it is. They seem very comfortable with each other, so their scenes are natural and not forced. They seem real.

The long slow burn that led to their realization they loved each other was probably the best love story I have ever seen on the soaps and I have been watching almost thirty years, since I was eleven. I am truly mesmerized by these two.

I have followed Thorsten Kaye through two other soaps and have not seen this kind of chemistry with his other leading ladies, and one of them was Susan Haskell his long time love. I think it is the fact that Zach is the best character that he has played so far. The writers need to write more realistically for them and not involve juvenile characters and storylines that diminish or undermine the core of this relationship. The present writers are not only bent on destroying them, but the entire show.
So Like Lurk above, I do not find this acceptable and I will not let that happen. Even non Zendall fans can see their worth. On a more shallow note, they are probably the most beautiful couple to look at. I cannot stop staring when thay are on the screen.

Instead of the writiers trying to break them up and accomodate the agenda of other so called real characters, why don't they develop something especially for them without destroying something worth watching?

I used to love this couple because they were so different. I guess now I really don't feel it but at first they were wonderful because of the way Zach and Erica were interacting in the mix with Kendall. For awhile it was hard to know who was the better match, Erica and Zach or Zach and Kendall and that was so much fun. Wish I could comment on them now but it's just been a mess since they actually got married.

Very good question...how long do you have LOL? Well I didn't start liking Zach with Kendall until the day he asked her to marry him the first time. Then I noticed that these two had sparks flying. The characters complimented each other. Both very flawed and very damaged. At the time they didn't need a wife or husband, they needed a co-conspirator. I know the initial purpose of their marriage was to hurt Ethan and I as a Kethan fan should have been mad, but I wasn't. Because as a Kendall fan I was mad at what Ethan did to her. So I was glad to give his daddy a chance. What really sold me on this couple was what everyone calls their slow burn. They developed over time, he helped her as she helped him yet they weren't a couple. They were each others sounding board and protection from the outside forces. He protected her from the wrath of Ryan and Greenlee, while she protected Zach from Ethan and Maria. Now, what I see is incredible love and devotion and acceptance. Each character is flawed but yet they accept that fact and love each other anyway. The one thing I had always hated about Kendall's other pairings was that they always wanted to change her. Zach has ALWAYS said he doesn't want to change her, he loves her the way she is. He said it on his second wedding day and always after that. He makes sure she is secure with him and his love, even when she makes mistakes he calls her on them, but never judges her harshly or never belittles her. He is accepting of her faults as she is accepting of his. That to me speaks volumes of this wonderful couple.Now on to the chemistry of the actors. Sometimes when they are together I forget I'm watching a soap. I feel like I'm intruding on a real couple and watching them do whatever. They give you the little things other soap couples don't...the little touches, the eye sparkles, the endearments that flow easily and last but not least the loving. They are friends as they are coworkers and IMO that is what you are seeing when they are on the screen, the true life friendship and respect that they give each other. I love how when TK adlibs and IMO that is quite often, Lish just goes with the flow and doesn't miss a beat. They just ooze chemistry, that can't be explained or duplicated in any other couple for me. As I have said it is really sad that TK and Lish have ruined it for me because I will never accept them in any other pairing as long as they are both on AMC together. They are just that wonderful.I suggest you look back at old clips and judge for yourself what makes this great couple click. They just ooze sexuality. Even fully clothed these guys can turn on the heat.

In answer to this question, I'm going to share a little anecdote that happened to me--it illustrates perfectly what gets fans hooked on Zen:One evening recently a casual acquaintance of mine dropped by and was looking at some of my Zen mvids and clips.She is not a soap fan at all and never saw Zen before, though of course she had heard me talk about them a little. When she first came over, I was planning to indoctrinate her. I didn't even have to. She did it all on her own. LOL She could not get enough. Every time I thought she was ready to leave, she wanted to see another clip. She is addicted! She said she never saw chemistry like that before in her life. And she was not humoring me. She says she did think I was a little nuts before, but now she totally understands.Some random comments she made that were totally her own and nothing she heard from me. 1. "They remind me of Tracy and Hepburn.2. "They seem so real!"3. "He reminds me of Cary Grant."4. "They should have a prime time series together."Sound familiar? I couldn't believe this first time viewer was saying all these things we Zen fans say all the time. Sorry for the long post (which I have posted previously on other boards.)To sum up: Chemistry, acting skill, realness, gorgeousness, humor and some indefinable something that has made me fall in love with this couple--even tho I have watched soaps for over 50 years and never really cared about any couple before.

Well, I probably shouldn't answer this post since I'm such a bad person and all... But Zen are it for me. When I realized that Zach saw how special Kendall was, he started to become special to me. And when I saw the chemistry between the actors, I knew that special wasn't a good enough adjective for the two of them. Zen is magic. They have been the entire time they've been together, no matter what form of torture they and we have been saddled with. My assumption is that the actors will continue to be as magic as they are. As will the characters they play.

I love them because I love them...you can't always explain these things. And I love them because for a long time they were the underdog and its nice to root for the underdog.I love them because of their magic and because their storylines made sense (not recently..blame the writers, not the pairing). I love them because they have loved each other in spite of their flaws and for the most part love each other without judgement and conditions. And I love that their love made who they are today. And I also love the actors who bring them to life.I do not love what has been done to them recently..but I can easily just overlook everythng that has been done. I am not going to judge what Kendall did with the grief sex frankly because the writers IMO wrote a storyline that made no sense for who Kendall had become. AM felt that way, many of the soap mags and columnists felt that way, it was out of nowhere. I understand the characters are going to have to deal with the fall out..but I am not going to judge them on something that was a writing mistake to begin with. I detest the way the current writers have spit on Kendall's growth for a nonsensical storyline that totally trashed her character in a way that I find unacceptable.MY opinion...I love that Zach was always so serious and Kendall was the one that got him to lighten up and make him laugh..and the one that stood up for him and got to know the inside person,not the the Zach that everyone else saw.I love them because I have tremendous respsect for the acting talents of ALicia Minshew and Thorsten Kaye and I think they worked hard to make the Zendall relationship work. I think they have magic.

It basically boils down to the chemistry between Alicia Minshew and Thorsten Kaye. The little touches they bring to any scene really bring their characters' romance to life (and as individuals).Unlike so many other couples on this show, it just doesn't feel forced to me, and when I can believe in something like them it keeps me very interested in their story. I want to root for them.The "Zendall story" will always be a beautiful one IMO, but without AM and TK it just wouldn't be the same.

Thank you for sharing. I have always been amazed by the devotion this pairing inspires. I think it's great when a show strikes such a cord with it's viewers, and I hope for Zendall fans sake, that TPTB stop trying to mess this pairing up and start appreciating what they have. It's not that often you get something that gets your viewers so vocal, so dedicated, and so inspired. So I really do hope that for all those who love them that you get what you want someday soon. It would be a shame to see something that has done so much for so many wasted.

I love Zendall because of Thorsten Kaye and Allicia Minshew! It is as simple as that!! !

The chemistry between Thorsten and Alicia is off the charts.They make you think that you are watching a real couple instead of one on a soap. They are what brought me over to the show and they are what keeps me watching. They are the best.

It's pretty clear Zendall fans are taken in by the on screen chemistry they see in TK and AM. I will say that they do have a very natural flow, and while I am still not hardcore about them, I do find it amazing the loyalty they have in their fans and the eloquent descriptions of Zendall love in this thread.

Kudos to all my fellow Zendall fans! You've described perfectly why I love them so much too. I could go on, but then I really would go on and on! Zendall is just so wonderful it inspires a loyalty that never goes away because once you start liking them, no other couple compares.

It's a really good question and most folks are said what I would have said so I won't repeat too much. Obviously much is owed to Alicia Minshew and Thorsten Kaye, not only to their chemistry but their incredible talent. Let's face it, the writing is abysmal for both of them most of the time, yet they manage to rise above it, usually. Sometimes you just can't do nothing with lousy writing.Another thing is that this couple wasn't forced on the audience. In fact AMC seems to be intent in ripping them apart, so it's not a "manufactured" couple where we're being told to like this couple. Where the audience is concerned, they've been allowed to grow naturally which is always the best way. Let the audience choose who they like. Don't force it on them.