![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatBuffy S4 and Angel S1 rewatch. Every time I watch Bachelor Party (Angel S1 ep. 6), Pangs (Buffy S4 Ep 8), I Will Always Remember You (Angel S1 Ep.7), and Something Blue (Buffy S4 Ep. 9) - I wonder the same thing - how in the bloody hell could anyone still ship Buffy and Angel together after watching those episodes? Are they metaphor blind? Blind to subtext? I felt the writers hammered me over the head with why Buffy and Angel could never work - to the point in which I wanted to say, enough already, can we please move on? I get it. But alas, I know people still shipped them, thought IWARY was terribly romantic, and basically everything about why they didn't work flew over these folks heads. My niece didn't get it. My brother didn't get it. Various online friends didn't get it. Very disconcerting. They are smart people too. Oh well. Not everyone thinks the same way.
Watched them again - curious to see if I'd change my mind. I didn't.
It's been a while since I'd seen them, and I forgot a few things? Like how Angel really doesn't see Buffy's perspective at all - and is in some respects similar in his behavior to OZ, Giles, Buffy's own father, and later Riley. Also how easily Angel is manipulated by Doyle's visions and his need for a purpose. It is his main motivator regardless of whether he is Angelus or Angel - he is motivated by being the champion/warrior. As Angelus - he embraced the evil and wanted to be worthy and send the world to hell. As Angel - he wants to be the champion of good. He can't see himself as anything else. And he needs an authority figure to tell him what to do - such as the PTB. He's basically the PTB's puppet. Without thinking about how Buffy would feel at all - he goes scampering to Sunnydale, lurks in the shadows, interacts with Willow, Xander, Anya, and Giles - but completely avoids Buffy - ostensibly to save her.
Angel, can you be a bigger more self-involved jerk? Seriously. He doesn't really save her, either in Sunnydale or in LA. Buffy is right - she's more than capable of taking care of herself. And she does in both cases. It's actually him - that she saves in LA. And he can't handle it - and scared that he'll be a liability or be in her way, and not a "champion" by her side - he turns back time, so he can go back to being the cursed vampire with a soul, leaving poor Buffy none the wise.
She doesn't get a say in it. Any more than she got a say in him leaving. Or in him lurking in the shadows watching her in Pangs (throwing her off her game - his being there - actually put her in more danger, then if he stayed away.) He doesn't talk to her about it. At all. Angel never does. Buffy never knows what he's thinking - he doesn't tell her things. About himself.
About anything. It's always cryptic - but never direct. He in many ways - treats her like a child that he needs to protect not an equal.
It's also telling that the only time she mentions her father - is in I Will Always Remember You. She's in LA visiting her Dad, and stops to see Angel.
When she leaves LA, we don't really hear about him, or not in a positive way? In Something Blue - when she thinks she is marrying Spike, it's Giles she asks to give her away. And she's happier. Her hair is different. She's lighter somehow. It's played for laughs. But she realizes once the spell is broken - that she's done with the bad boys. The vampires. Even with Spike, all they did was bicker - just like she bickered with Angel. And Something Blue is weirdly an echo of I Will Always Remember You, albeit a comical one. It's played for laughs, while IWARY is played seriously. In both,
Buffy is in an impossible relationship - with a man who can't fight, who is a liability, who doesn't really want her to take risks and fight, and can't really share her life. Their lives don't mesh. Spike can't be in daylight, and at this point in the story - he doesn't know if he can kill a demon, so feels he can't hurt anything. She has to save him. Just like IWARY when Angel turns human, and Buffy has to save Angel - and Angel can't handle being the one that Buffy saves - who is not capable of being powerful.
From Angel's perspective he's making a huge sacrifice. Sacrificing humanity, to save the world, and to save Buffy. And the PTB (alleged PTB) - we don't really know if the oracles are genuine or where Doyle's visions are coming from, do we ? - are telling him that he is. All he has to do is make things play out differently, he gets to learn from what happened, but Buffy doesn't. He takes the easy way out - in a way. Also, as Buffy points out - there's no guarantees either way. He assumes - by doing this he keeps her safe, but does he?
In some ways, Angel's choice is foreshadowing for Riley's. Just as Something Blue weirdly foreshadows Willow, Xander, Buffy, Anya, and Spike's choices later on. Not to mention Giles. Watching these episodes with an idea of what will come later is interesting - and makes me wonder if the writers truly built on previous episodes, without quite realizing it. The story for all its flaws tracks - and that is among the many reasons it continues to hold up today.
At the beginning of Something Blue - Riley is putting up the Lesbian Alliance Banner - later Willow becomes a lesbian. Riley discovers that Buffy is in love with and marrying Spike, and walks away confused and put out - in S6, he literally walks in on them sleeping together after having made love, and is put out. Xander is battling demons invading his basement with Anya, who later goes to call on D'Hoffryn - (which happens in S6 metaphorically and literally) to help Willow - who D'Hoffryn had taken for a confab into the demon realm. D'Hoffryn leaves Willow with his calling card. (Willow uses it to help Anya, returning the favor in S7).
One of the many missed opportunities of the series - is not forming relationships between Anya/Willow and Anya/Spike, who had better chemistry with the character and actress than Xander did. Anya was and is a far more interesting character than Cordelia or Harmony, they developed her a tad more in some respects.
Giles is rendered literally blind, when in later seasons, including this one, he is often metaphorically so.
Another interesting bit - that I didn't previously pick up on? Bachelor Party is about Doyle's "wife" - they are separated not yet divorced - having to reconnect with Doyle - to move on. And he's invited to her fiance's Bachelor Party - where the fiance wants to eat his brains in a ritual sacrifice - if he doesn't, they can't get married. She dumps the fiance but also divorces Doyle. The reason she left Doyle to begin with - was he was a half-demon, but then she hooks up with another demon.
Angel has a similar issue with Buffy - and it is at the end of Bachelor Party - that Doyle gets the vision about Buffy being in trouble - and the Powers manipulate Angel into going to protect Buffy, without talking to her. Instead of warning her in person, or informing her what is happening?
He lurks in the shadows, and talks to her friends, while she senses him but doesn't see him. Doyle is to Angel, what Willow is to Buffy. Doyle has left Harry for her own good. She's better off without him. He's moving on to Cordelia. Just as Angel has left Buffy for her own good and is moving on to Kate. Or trying to. Willow like Buffy is still hung up on Oz and struggling to move on, while Buffy is still hung up on Angel and struggling to move on to Riley, flirting briefly with Parker then through a spell Spike (who is basically a fill in for Angel in the episode). Doyle's visions push Angel into doing things, as does Willow's spell pushing Buffy, except, of the two, Willow's is not seen as helpful.
Buffy realizes at the end of the arc that she needs to stay away from the bad boys. Angel realizes at the end of the arc - that his purpose is more important to him than his love life. He is more interested in the "approval" of the Powers that Be, and being their champion (read puppet) than living a normal life. While Buffy, is the exact opposite, she'd much rather be the normal girl, living the normal life, than the champion. In some respects Cordelia fits Angel better - Cordy wants to be important. And Spike fits Buffy better - he wants to be alive.
Another interesting tidbit? Angel doesn't like human food until he's human. Prior to that - the taste doesn't do much for him, and he'll drink alcohol if that. He doesn't add seasoning to the blood either. And he'll drink tea, not coffee per se. While Spike loves human food, and loves to drink. He finds ways to make it tasty. I notice - how Spike wants a cookie in Something Blue, while Angel doesn't want human food at all - except when he is human. So clearly not, a vampire thing?
At any rate - by the end of the arc, in case I'd not already gotten the point? Buffy and Angel are over. The writers might tease a few more times. But that pairing doesn't work. Even if Angel was human - it would end the same way it did with Riley, or with Angel dead.
One of the things I always loved about Buffy - was she didn't need a man or a lover to make her complete. She was complete on her own. Well that and the fact, that cars and Buffy are unmixy things.
2. I managed to clean out my kitchen cabinets above the sink - so I know there are no bugs hiding in them. Also, I have too much food and don't need to go grocery shopping for a long time.
There's a lot of things I need to get rid of. And a lot of bean salads, chili, and bean soaps in my future.
Already managed to clear out the cans of tuna fish and salmon.
3. Sciatica is still plaguing me. I bought an "Aleve Topical Cream Rub" to see if that helps.
It helped a little. Couldn't walk that far, made it about ten blocks to and from the pharmacy, and gave up. Did that twice today actually. Also doing leg exercises.
Good news? The calves aren't tight any longer, and I can walk. Which means reducing the antihistmines helped, and increasing the water. Probably was caused by dehydration. Now, if I can just fix the sciatica - hopefully tomorrow's massage.
Watched them again - curious to see if I'd change my mind. I didn't.
It's been a while since I'd seen them, and I forgot a few things? Like how Angel really doesn't see Buffy's perspective at all - and is in some respects similar in his behavior to OZ, Giles, Buffy's own father, and later Riley. Also how easily Angel is manipulated by Doyle's visions and his need for a purpose. It is his main motivator regardless of whether he is Angelus or Angel - he is motivated by being the champion/warrior. As Angelus - he embraced the evil and wanted to be worthy and send the world to hell. As Angel - he wants to be the champion of good. He can't see himself as anything else. And he needs an authority figure to tell him what to do - such as the PTB. He's basically the PTB's puppet. Without thinking about how Buffy would feel at all - he goes scampering to Sunnydale, lurks in the shadows, interacts with Willow, Xander, Anya, and Giles - but completely avoids Buffy - ostensibly to save her.
Angel, can you be a bigger more self-involved jerk? Seriously. He doesn't really save her, either in Sunnydale or in LA. Buffy is right - she's more than capable of taking care of herself. And she does in both cases. It's actually him - that she saves in LA. And he can't handle it - and scared that he'll be a liability or be in her way, and not a "champion" by her side - he turns back time, so he can go back to being the cursed vampire with a soul, leaving poor Buffy none the wise.
She doesn't get a say in it. Any more than she got a say in him leaving. Or in him lurking in the shadows watching her in Pangs (throwing her off her game - his being there - actually put her in more danger, then if he stayed away.) He doesn't talk to her about it. At all. Angel never does. Buffy never knows what he's thinking - he doesn't tell her things. About himself.
About anything. It's always cryptic - but never direct. He in many ways - treats her like a child that he needs to protect not an equal.
It's also telling that the only time she mentions her father - is in I Will Always Remember You. She's in LA visiting her Dad, and stops to see Angel.
When she leaves LA, we don't really hear about him, or not in a positive way? In Something Blue - when she thinks she is marrying Spike, it's Giles she asks to give her away. And she's happier. Her hair is different. She's lighter somehow. It's played for laughs. But she realizes once the spell is broken - that she's done with the bad boys. The vampires. Even with Spike, all they did was bicker - just like she bickered with Angel. And Something Blue is weirdly an echo of I Will Always Remember You, albeit a comical one. It's played for laughs, while IWARY is played seriously. In both,
Buffy is in an impossible relationship - with a man who can't fight, who is a liability, who doesn't really want her to take risks and fight, and can't really share her life. Their lives don't mesh. Spike can't be in daylight, and at this point in the story - he doesn't know if he can kill a demon, so feels he can't hurt anything. She has to save him. Just like IWARY when Angel turns human, and Buffy has to save Angel - and Angel can't handle being the one that Buffy saves - who is not capable of being powerful.
From Angel's perspective he's making a huge sacrifice. Sacrificing humanity, to save the world, and to save Buffy. And the PTB (alleged PTB) - we don't really know if the oracles are genuine or where Doyle's visions are coming from, do we ? - are telling him that he is. All he has to do is make things play out differently, he gets to learn from what happened, but Buffy doesn't. He takes the easy way out - in a way. Also, as Buffy points out - there's no guarantees either way. He assumes - by doing this he keeps her safe, but does he?
In some ways, Angel's choice is foreshadowing for Riley's. Just as Something Blue weirdly foreshadows Willow, Xander, Buffy, Anya, and Spike's choices later on. Not to mention Giles. Watching these episodes with an idea of what will come later is interesting - and makes me wonder if the writers truly built on previous episodes, without quite realizing it. The story for all its flaws tracks - and that is among the many reasons it continues to hold up today.
At the beginning of Something Blue - Riley is putting up the Lesbian Alliance Banner - later Willow becomes a lesbian. Riley discovers that Buffy is in love with and marrying Spike, and walks away confused and put out - in S6, he literally walks in on them sleeping together after having made love, and is put out. Xander is battling demons invading his basement with Anya, who later goes to call on D'Hoffryn - (which happens in S6 metaphorically and literally) to help Willow - who D'Hoffryn had taken for a confab into the demon realm. D'Hoffryn leaves Willow with his calling card. (Willow uses it to help Anya, returning the favor in S7).
One of the many missed opportunities of the series - is not forming relationships between Anya/Willow and Anya/Spike, who had better chemistry with the character and actress than Xander did. Anya was and is a far more interesting character than Cordelia or Harmony, they developed her a tad more in some respects.
Giles is rendered literally blind, when in later seasons, including this one, he is often metaphorically so.
Another interesting bit - that I didn't previously pick up on? Bachelor Party is about Doyle's "wife" - they are separated not yet divorced - having to reconnect with Doyle - to move on. And he's invited to her fiance's Bachelor Party - where the fiance wants to eat his brains in a ritual sacrifice - if he doesn't, they can't get married. She dumps the fiance but also divorces Doyle. The reason she left Doyle to begin with - was he was a half-demon, but then she hooks up with another demon.
Angel has a similar issue with Buffy - and it is at the end of Bachelor Party - that Doyle gets the vision about Buffy being in trouble - and the Powers manipulate Angel into going to protect Buffy, without talking to her. Instead of warning her in person, or informing her what is happening?
He lurks in the shadows, and talks to her friends, while she senses him but doesn't see him. Doyle is to Angel, what Willow is to Buffy. Doyle has left Harry for her own good. She's better off without him. He's moving on to Cordelia. Just as Angel has left Buffy for her own good and is moving on to Kate. Or trying to. Willow like Buffy is still hung up on Oz and struggling to move on, while Buffy is still hung up on Angel and struggling to move on to Riley, flirting briefly with Parker then through a spell Spike (who is basically a fill in for Angel in the episode). Doyle's visions push Angel into doing things, as does Willow's spell pushing Buffy, except, of the two, Willow's is not seen as helpful.
Buffy realizes at the end of the arc that she needs to stay away from the bad boys. Angel realizes at the end of the arc - that his purpose is more important to him than his love life. He is more interested in the "approval" of the Powers that Be, and being their champion (read puppet) than living a normal life. While Buffy, is the exact opposite, she'd much rather be the normal girl, living the normal life, than the champion. In some respects Cordelia fits Angel better - Cordy wants to be important. And Spike fits Buffy better - he wants to be alive.
Another interesting tidbit? Angel doesn't like human food until he's human. Prior to that - the taste doesn't do much for him, and he'll drink alcohol if that. He doesn't add seasoning to the blood either. And he'll drink tea, not coffee per se. While Spike loves human food, and loves to drink. He finds ways to make it tasty. I notice - how Spike wants a cookie in Something Blue, while Angel doesn't want human food at all - except when he is human. So clearly not, a vampire thing?
At any rate - by the end of the arc, in case I'd not already gotten the point? Buffy and Angel are over. The writers might tease a few more times. But that pairing doesn't work. Even if Angel was human - it would end the same way it did with Riley, or with Angel dead.
One of the things I always loved about Buffy - was she didn't need a man or a lover to make her complete. She was complete on her own. Well that and the fact, that cars and Buffy are unmixy things.
2. I managed to clean out my kitchen cabinets above the sink - so I know there are no bugs hiding in them. Also, I have too much food and don't need to go grocery shopping for a long time.
There's a lot of things I need to get rid of. And a lot of bean salads, chili, and bean soaps in my future.
Already managed to clear out the cans of tuna fish and salmon.
3. Sciatica is still plaguing me. I bought an "Aleve Topical Cream Rub" to see if that helps.
It helped a little. Couldn't walk that far, made it about ten blocks to and from the pharmacy, and gave up. Did that twice today actually. Also doing leg exercises.
Good news? The calves aren't tight any longer, and I can walk. Which means reducing the antihistmines helped, and increasing the water. Probably was caused by dehydration. Now, if I can just fix the sciatica - hopefully tomorrow's massage.
no subject
Date: 2025-10-18 11:37 pm (UTC)