Buffy and Angel

[jarv]

I remember when I was watching as a kid I HATED Riley. Pure pure hated him. I rewatched as an adult and actually felt quite sorry for him, he wasn't perfect but Buffy treated him like garbage. I was never keen on Spike/Buffy either, but as said above, he put himself through hell to try and be good enough for her. As an adult, I don't actually like her I think it was right Buffy end up alone but I'd like to think that she and Spike made their way back to each other. At least we got some more Spike in Season 5 of Angel!

 

[bibbitybitt]

I remember when I was watching as a kid I HATED Riley. Pure pure hated him. I rewatched as an adult and actually felt quite sorry for him, he wasn't perfect but Buffy treated him like garbage. I was never keen on Spike/Buffy either, but as said above, he put himself through hell to try and be good enough for her. As an adult, I don't actually like her I think it was right Buffy end up alone but I'd like to think that she and Spike made their way back to each other. At least we got some more Spike in Season 5 of Angel!

This is exactly how I feel except I still kinda hate Riley

 

[Definitelyme]

I think Riley was a bit of a whiner tbh. When Joyce was sick, for example, he was still whinging Buffy didn’t have time for him and off getting bitten by the prozzie vamps!

 

[Alexaj]

I don't think any of the men were right for Buffy. Angel was great for the first few years but by the end of the series they weren't in the same place. Riley was... OK. Spike was a really fascinating, spicy relationship but abusive (both ways). I'd like to think she just found a normal guy in the end and popped out a couple of kids (girls, obvs - mini slayers). But that's not very exciting, is it?

 

[derrygrl]

So I just rewatched seasons 1-3 and basically just skipped everything except all scenes with Buffy and angel because I just wanted to be wrapped up in their relationship again - am I OK?? I think when I first watched it when it was evening BBC 2 days it was probably my first viewing of relationship chemistry on screen and I always found angel sooooo fit

 

[caitlinh]

Ohhhhh Spike

I actually used to read the spuffy fanfic that was out round about them too


I see James Marsters is doing the cameo thing too now which makes me feel sad like he’s fallen on hard times

 

[Jelly Bean]

I've been watching all of Buffy again and am on S6. I had forgotten how good 'Once more with Feeling' is. How the characters through song reveal their true feelings like Buffy saying for the first time she had been in heaven not hell.
And Willow and Tara's clothes are so 90s! The long skirts, crop tops, chokers and tiny cardigans. Makes me feel very nostalgic.

 

[Lolly505]

I've been watching all of Buffy again and am on S6. I had forgotten how good 'Once more with Feeling' is. How the characters through song reveal their true feelings like Buffy saying for the first time she had been in heaven not hell.
And Willow and Tara's clothes are so 90s! The long skirts, crop tops, chokers and tiny cardigans. Makes me feel very nostalgic.

'Walk Through The Fire' was very nearly on my Spotify Wrapped card of 2020 (because I'd watched through the full show for the first time by Jan/Feb) - ended up being number 6

 

[onlyheretoorbit]

My stepmum got me and my sister into Buffy as kids. She would watch each episode as it aired and vet it in case it was too scary, and tape it for us to watch at the weekend. The only episode she ever banned was the one with the Gentlemen that steal voices. I recently re-watched the entire series and saw that episode for the first time - oh my god, they were so scary! Totally understood why she vetoed it, I never would've slept again.

As a kid/teen, I LOVED Angel. Dark, brooding and handsome But rewatching it as an adult, I think I preferred Spike - at least he was funny! The episode where they all lost their memories and Spike thought he was called Randy and that Giles was his dad cracks me up.

I enjoyed Angel, but it did get a bit ridiculous towards the end with Connor and Cordelia etc. - BUT I will say that Cordelia Chase had one of the best character arcs ever and they did her dirty in the end. Reading her recent statements about Joss Whedon made me so sad, she was one of my faves.

 

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

I have realised that despite having seen a fair few episodes of Buffy, and enjoying it back when it was on BBC2 (I think?) But not religiously watching I have never actually watched them all in order. So I started the other week and just this second finished Season 2, what a finale. They totally did Kendra dirty though. Also I always think (and I know it is for plot reasons/probably SFX budget reasons) why aren't the scooby gang armed to the teeth with holy water since it worked so well on Darla? Always resorting to hand to hand combat for some reason. If i was at Sunnydale I'd have made Giles fill supersoakers with holy water and get a modern crossbow

 

[Sideboard Bob]

I have realised that despite having seen a fair few episodes of Buffy, and enjoying it back when it was on BBC2 (I think?) But not religiously watching I have never actually watched them all in order. So I started the other week and just this second finished Season 2, what a finale. They totally did Kendra dirty though. Also I always think (and I know it is for plot reasons/probably SFX budget reasons) why aren't the scooby gang armed to the teeth with holy water since it worked so well on Darla? Always resorting to hand to hand combat for some reason. If i was at Sunnydale I'd have made Giles fill supersoakers with holy water and get a modern crossbow

I love hearing what people think of it with a fresh pair of eyes! None of these things crossed my mind at the time, or on rewatches!

You’re in for a treat as it goes on.

I agree with you about Kendra, she was a great character, and I‘d loved to have seen more of her dynamic with Buffy, with two Slayers co-existing.

 

[Emperor]

Never watched Angel but enjoyed Buffy. Only thing that slightly irked me was how (seems to happen in a lot of US shows as well as UK and may be a reflection of me being single) after a while, instead of kicking ass it had to go all love and angsty and who went out with who etc. I wanted a vampire slayer, not someone who goes from bloke to bloke.

 

[Miss.Chanandler.Bong]

Kendra’s accent is something else

 

[Sideboard Bob]

Never watched Angel but enjoyed Buffy. Only thing that slightly irked me was how (seems to happen in a lot of US shows as well as UK and may be a reflection of me being single) after a while, instead of kicking ass it had to go all love and angsty and who went out with who etc. I wanted a vampire slayer, not someone who goes from bloke to bloke.

Agreed!
Before the internet, my world of Buffy fandom was watching the videos and chatting to friends and workmates about the episodes, themes, story-arcs, and tbh the fashion!

When I first found Buffy fandom online it was all “Buffy and Angel vs Buffy and Spike” and (no disrespect to the shippers). I really didn’t care.

 

[Miss.Chanandler.Bong]

I had no intention of ever watching Buffy but I started watching it when it was shown on E4 in lockdown and fell in love with it.
I couldn’t believe I cried when she got class protector 🥹

 

[Sideboard Bob]

I had no intention of ever watching Buffy but I started watching it when it was shown on E4 in lockdown and fell in love with it.
I couldn’t believe I cried when she got class protector 🥹

Omg YES. I’m not joking I can’t even talk about the class protector scene without crying.

Love that you got into it during lockdown, I know its dated in some ways, but it is still timeless in others.

 

[CrackingOwlSanctuary]

It would have been great to have more Kendra but I even think they could have given her a better end. Jenny Calendar got a 'heroic' death even if it was delayed by redeeming herself with the curse translation. For a slayer to be done by three basic vamps and then hypnotised and killed was pretty weak in an overall great finale.

The angsty stuff has to be finely balanced, I saw a review that said the reason Buffy was so successful when it aired was unlike the other teen soap stuff with similar relationship story lines, the stakes in Buffy were life and death which is what it feels like to teens when they are dating. Angel wouldn't have been half as effective a villain in season 2 without the angst, and even Spike suffers from relationship angst regarding Drusilla.