What limits him is that, in S1-2, he has very little screentime. That he uses much of that time encouraging her about school and family... on one side, this is boyfriend stuff (but not all boyfriends did this) ... but on another is indicative that these are things he finds of value to a person.
It's the getting lost in one another that is destructive. And that is what happens to Buffy and Angel. No one else can be in their circle. She can't be with her friends and be with Angel. Angel can't be a hero and be with Buffy.
Buffy can't be with her friends, and be with Angel? I'd dispute that. She could. She was. And it's certainly not something Angel asks of her. He's very supportive of her other relationships.
And yeah, Angel couldn't "be a hero and be with Buffy" in S2, arguably because he needed to grow the hell up. The fact that we are looking at a HS student and a guy who's had no real relationships for a century and expect "love" kind of points out the flaws of viewing things through a romantic lens. (Any more than it is trying to apply that lens in S7, when she's still only 22 and has barely left her own house.)
I'd also note that if you look at them after S7/S5, they are more suited for each other than they were in S2 given their shared leadership experiences and value systems. (That Xander doesn't accept or respect Buffy's values is an under-regarded lurking problem if they ever tried to make it as a couple.)
To the extent that people can't be with Angel - it'd due to the 'curse' - which renders him unfit for anyone. He can find people he is willing to mark time with, yes, but not someone he deeply loved.
It is no surprise that they don't really have friends in common
Because they have about 5 friends total between the two of them... Small sample size.
In fact, I think the problem isn't so much the characters - who have reasonably realistic views of romance given who they are - but the audience that is expecting very unrealistic things out of characters who were never supposed to be fully formed in the first place.
no subject
What limits him is that, in S1-2, he has very little screentime. That he uses much of that time encouraging her about school and family... on one side, this is boyfriend stuff (but not all boyfriends did this) ... but on another is indicative that these are things he finds of value to a person.
It's the getting lost in one another that is destructive.
And that is what happens to Buffy and Angel. No one else can be in their circle. She can't be with her friends and be with Angel. Angel can't be a hero and be with Buffy.
Buffy can't be with her friends, and be with Angel? I'd dispute that. She could. She was. And it's certainly not something Angel asks of her. He's very supportive of her other relationships.
And yeah, Angel couldn't "be a hero and be with Buffy" in S2, arguably because he needed to grow the hell up. The fact that we are looking at a HS student and a guy who's had no real relationships for a century and expect "love" kind of points out the flaws of viewing things through a romantic lens. (Any more than it is trying to apply that lens in S7, when she's still only 22 and has barely left her own house.)
I'd also note that if you look at them after S7/S5, they are more suited for each other than they were in S2 given their shared leadership experiences and value systems. (That Xander doesn't accept or respect Buffy's values is an under-regarded lurking problem if they ever tried to make it as a couple.)
To the extent that people can't be with Angel - it'd due to the 'curse' - which renders him unfit for anyone. He can find people he is willing to mark time with, yes, but not someone he deeply loved.
It is no surprise that they don't really have friends in common
Because they have about 5 friends total between the two of them... Small sample size.
In fact, I think the problem isn't so much the characters - who have reasonably realistic views of romance given who they are - but the audience that is expecting very unrealistic things out of characters who were never supposed to be fully formed in the first place.