Buffy, the Vampire Smoocher

[ptnewell]

Buffy-Angel Attunement Instances
These cases all involve a pretty much psychic connection. In the Buffyverse, at least, they rarely happen between anyone but Buffy and Angel. In many cases the script actually says Buffy “senses” Angel, rather than the usual “sees” or “hears”. I am interested in learning about any such special attunement instances between any other two individuals.
Buffy and Angel have such instances every season until Season 6 (when their only meeting, described by Buffy as "intense", was off camera). In AtS S1 (IWRY) Buffy speaks of her ability to sense Angel without seeing him.

1. S1x02 (“Harvest”). Buffy recognizes Angel behind her before turning around at the mausoleum entrance.

2. S1x04 (“Teacher’s Pet”). Buffy, sitting at the Bronze wearing Angel’s jacket, senses Angel behind her and looks around.

3. S1x07 (“Angel”) Buffy senses Angel watching as she exits the Bronze (he disappears before she turns around).

4. S1x07 (“Angel”) Buffy “knows” that Angel is in the Bronze without any specific evidence (but does not know that Darla is too).

5. S1x07 (“Angel”) Final scene. Buffy states that “It’s weird though. In his way, I feel like he’s still watching me.” As Willow points out, he is.

6. S2x01 (“When She Was Bad”) Angel spins around to face the entrance of the crowded Bronze just as (or before?) Buffy enters decked out for her sexy dance with Xander.

7. S2x01 (“When She Was Bad”) Buffy recognizes Angel behind her without turning around as she approaches the Bronze (to rescue Cordelia).

8. S2x22 (“Becoming Pt 2”) Buffy recognizes Angel’s soul has been restored within a second or two of it happening (despite not being aware of the possibility, since Xander misled Buffy about Willow’s message).

9. S3 (“Amends”) Buffy, needing to find Angel before sunrise, does so in an impossibly short time. She spends only a second or two looking around the mansion before finding the right trail then climbs the right hill and bursts through bushes to find him.

10. S3 (“Earshot”) After convincing Giles that she could read minds, which required detailed proof, Buffy heads out to check up on Angel. If he merely believed her claim without requiring proof, he would be ahead of the rest of the gang. The script:
The classroom scene fades to Angel walking toward his draped over doorway. Buffy opens the drapes. Angel brings up his arm, ..
BUFFY Oooh sorry. Sorry about the daytime. I just ducked out of school ...
BUFFY Um...you look good. I mean, I, I know I saw you last night, but sometimes things can change really quick. They sit down on the couch
BUFFY I mean really quick. Listen to me. I'm talking like Faith His eyes snap to hers, then he looks down again.
BUFFY You know, not that she was so bad to have around... You know, before the evil... You know, I think she was hurting a lot. And some people, protective type people, might be drawn to that I guess... Well, the thing about Faith-
ANGEL You can't get into my mind.
BUFFY How did you...why not?
The first coincidence is Angel heading toward the door (he cannot walk out) precisely as Buffy arrives. He then somehow realizes Buffy can now read minds, and that she is trying but failing to read his. That is pretty close to impossible. (She can read minds, but nobody who is present.) Buffy starts to ask how he knows, but doesn’t need to.

11. S3 (“Graduation Day Pt 2”) The final look between Buffy and Angel. Buffy first walked around looking for him, then quits, and stares fixedly the wrong way. Suddenly she jolts, and looks around with widened eyes to lock gazes with Angel.

12. S4 (“Pangs”) Truthfully, I only count this because Buffy tells Angel later that she sensed him. You can see her react a couple of times, but it is not as overt as the other instances I include.

13. AtS S1 (“I Will Remember You”) This is where Buffy tells Angel about her ability to “feel you inside” without seeing him. After Angel becomes human and approaches Buffy on the beach there is a nice case of Buffy proving she was telling the truth.

14. S5 (“Forever”) When Angel comes up behind Buffy at her mother’s grave, Buffy reaches back without looking around and puts her hand in his.

[spuffyfan4life]

May 7, 2009 9:30:21 GMT -5 ptnewell said:

The biggest charm of both BtVS and AtS lies in the close brother-in-arms relationships that develop among the principals. The Scoobies in particular regard one another as family with only rare estrangements. But Buffy’s dough will be baked someday. Comparing her three lovers is intriguing.



Buffy’s Professed Love (to the lover):
Riley: One of the many things that convinced Riley that Buffy did not love him was that she never said so, despite some fairly obvious prodding. She did decide to ask him not to leave town, after Xander talked her into it – she even ran, after Xander talked her out of walking.
Spike: In the Series final, after Spike decided to sacrifice himself, Buffy squeezed his hand and said “I love you.” Spike replied, “No, you don’t. But thank you for saying it.” Buffy gave him a tender look, and left without saying anything more.
Angel: In BtVS S2 “Lie to Me”, Angel asks for Buffy’s trust with “Do you love me?”, obviously assuming that she does. It catches Buffy by surprise, since they only recently started dating, and since Angel is not particularly expressive about feelings. She replies that she does love him, but is not sure she trusts him (having just seen him talking to Drusilla). Subsequently she professes her love for him (to him) on multiple occasions, including, among others, S2 (“Becoming Part 2”), S3 “Amends” and S3 (the Prom). There are several other strong implications of love (e.g., Buffy wears the Claddagh ring Angel gives her in S2 “Surprise” in the manner that Angel tells her signifies committed love, and Buffy leaves a notebook with “Buffy and Angel 4ever” written large at Angel’s place).


Gifts Buffy Wears (Visual Marking)
Angel gave Buffy three prominent gifts:
Silver Cross (“Welcome to the Hellmouth”). Buffy wears this cross for several years. It saves her life in the second episode.
Leather Jacket (given by Angel in S1) worn by Buffy occasionally for a few years.
Claddagh Ring: Given to Buffy by Angel in S2 “Surprise” to signify their committed love. Buffy finally leaves it behind in S3 “Faith Hope and Trick”, to mark moving past mourning for Angel. It is possibly connected to his resurrection.
Buffy is also marked by the bite Angel made in S3 “Graduation Day”. It shows up from time to time, e.g., prominently in Buffy vs Dracula (S5). Although both the Master (S1) and Dracula (S5) bit Buffy, neither left a mark, so Angel’s doing so is apparently poetic license.
Angel also gave Buffy a book of love poems by Browning on her 18th birthday with a single word inscription "Always". I don't think that book is seen again though.
Riley: None (or at least none shown)
Spike: None. He did show up to Buffy's 20th birthday party with a "bent box of chocolates" but left instead with Dawn to raid the Magic Box. He brought beer to Buffy's 21st B-party.

Buffy talks to others
Angel: Buffy mentions her love of Angel a few times when talking to others. For example in the S5 final (“The Gift”), she is discussing with Giles the possibility of killing Dawn to thwart Glory. She tells Giles that “I loved Angel so much” but knew that killing him was necessary and right, while killing Dawn was not. There are other explicit cases and several implicit. An example of the latter is BtVS S2 “What’s My Line (Pt. 2)”. Buffy: “Thank you for helping me save Angel.” Kendra: “…It is too strange that a Slayer loves a vampire.” Buffy (smiling): “Tell me about it.”
Spike, Riley: Buffy herself is never seen to tell anyone that she loved Riley or Spike. Andrew expresses his opinion that Buffy loves both Spike and Angel in S5 AtS, at the same time he (incorrectly, as it turns out) describes Buffy’s current infatuation with The Immortal.
S5 “Intervention” (Buffy to Giles) "I was never there for Riley, not like I was for Angel."

Other Buffy quotes:
(S2 "Reptile Boy" to Angel): "When you kiss me, I wanna die."
(S5 “Buffy versus Dracula” to Riley): "I'm your girl, and I'm gonna stay that way. "
(S5 "Fool for Love") “It would never be you Spike”
(S6, “Wrecked”, Spike tells Buffy that vampires make her hot.) Buffy says: “One vampire got me hot. One! He’s gone. You – you are just convenient.”
In S3 BtVS, Angel: “But you are still my girl?” Buffy: “Always.”
S5 BtVS “Forever”. Angel asks Buffy how long he should stay in town. “How about forever?” Buffy asks. “Does forever work for you?”
S6 “Dead things” Buffy tells Spike: “I am not your girl. I could never be your girl.” (Buffy says similar things on numerous other occasions.)
S3 BtVS “The Prom” (to Angel): “I’m never gonna change. I can’t change. I want my life to be with you.”
S7 “The Chosen” (Buffy talks to Angel about Spike): “I’m not giving you the brush-off. He’s not my boyfriend….But he is in my heart.” In the same conversation she implies that she does not see a long term relationship with Spike (“No I don’t see fat grandchildren in the offing with him”) but “sometimes” thinks she might end up with Angel. She warns him it would be a long ways off: “years if ever.”


Why They Left Sunnydale/Buffy
Riley: He thought Buffy did not love him. (Riley to Xander, S5 The Replacement) RILEY: I'm well aware of how lucky I am. Like, lottery lucky. Buffy's like nobody else in the world. When I'm with her it's like ... it's like I'm... on fire, going crazy if I'm not touching her. … But she doesn't love me.”
Spike: Died in BtVS Series Final (thinking that Buffy did not love him). In AtS S5 expresses several times the belief that Buffy does not love him. It is not clear whether this is the reason he does not return to Buffy. At any rate, he stays with Team Angel.

Intensity of the Breakup:
Riley: Buffy jokes with Giles about the breakup being the end of the world. When Giles laughs at her bantering tone, Buffy fixes him with a stern glare. “Didn’t you hear me about the end of the world?” When Giles looked abashed, Buffy told him, “Just kidding. Mostly.” Buffy smiles again.
Angel: Buffy sobbed on Willow’s shoulder (“The Prom”, S3): “I think horrible is still coming. Right now it’s worse. Right now I’m just trying to keep from dying.”
Spike: Even to the series final, Buffy denied Spike was her boyfriend, so there never was a formal breakup, per se. Buffy did tell Spike that their sexual relationship was at an end after discovering he was raising demon eggs in “As You Were”, S6. She seemed to have some pangs of regret about it, especially before Spike’s attempted rape. For example, at Xander’s abortive wedding, Spike asks Buffy whether it hurts her to see him with another woman. She replies “A little”, and seems to mean it.

Sex After Buffy (Time Elapsed from Leaving Buffy)
Riley: His return to Sunnydale was about one year after leaving, and he had then already been married for four months. So it could not have been longer than about six months.
Spike: Two minutes. Approximately two minutes after becoming corporeal again in AtS S5, he grabs Harmony, evicts a man from his office, and gets horizontal. To be fair, after the separation in BtVS S6 “As You Were”, he takes two weeks before having sex with Anya. (However he may not have waited the full two weeks, as he previously expressed an intention to take the date he brought to Xander’s wedding back to his lair.)
Angel: About 18-20 months (mid S2 AtS), mired in deep despair, he had sex with the soulless vampire Darla because “I just want to feel something again.” Interestingly, this closely matches Buffy’s expressed reasons for having sex with the then-soulless Spike (both Buffy and Angel felt numb and detached).

What the boys tell Buffy:
Angel in BtVS S3 “The Prom”: “You deserve more. You deserve something outside of demons and darkness. You should be with someone who can take you into the light.”
Spike said some variant of "I love you" more often than the other boys. In S6 Spike told Buffy: “You came back wrong.” He variously calls her an “animal”, a “demon”, “a monster like me”, that her friends would be shocked to learn the truth about her, and tells her she belongs in the shadows. Some variant thereof occurs in almost every episode in the middle third of S6 BtVS (and is evidently a factor in Buffy’s depression).

Attunement:
The close of BtVS S1 “Angel” shows one type of attunement, as Buffy and Angel finish one another’s sentences. However there is another type of attunement Buffy shows toward Angel, but not toward Riley, Spike, or anyone else. In AtS S1 “I Will Remember You” Buffy tells Angel: “…when you are around, whether I see you or not, I feel you – inside – and it throws me.” She is referring specifically to Angel's clandestine trip to Sunnydale in "Pangs", although a good example occurs later in IWRY (when Angel approaches Buffy on a sunny beach from behind.) This ability to sense Angel in particular is distinct from a general feeling that someone is watching. It shows up as early as S1 “Harvest”, when Angel appears abruptly behind Buffy. Buffy starts to talk to Angel without turning around (and she makes it obvious she already knows who it is). Similarly, when Buffy enters the Bronze for her showdown with Angel in S1x06 she “knows” that he is there (and says so out loud), but clearly does not know that Darla is also there. She has not seen or heard anything that would logically have indicated Angel in particular was in the Bronze (not in the shooting script, transcript, or DVD). S2x01 "Bad Girls" has another nice example.
A particularly touching instance of this attunement is in BtVS S5 “Forever”, when Angel, visiting Sunnydale for the first time in years, approaches Buffy from behind. Without looking back, she reaches behind her and puts her hand in his.
Converse examples with Spike exist, for example when he left town in S6 “Villains”, she enters his lair, and mistakes Clem for Spike. She is utterly unable to sense that Spike is gone. Likewise, when Spike returns in S7, and Buffy comes face-to-face with him in the basement she asks, “Spike? Are you real?”, and reaches to see if it is an apparition.


Final Words from the Boys:
Riley talking to Dawn (S5 “Shadow”) (verbatim from script)
DAWN: I'm really glad you're here.
RILEY: Thanks.
DAWN: Buffy's glad too.
RILEY: (smiles skeptically) Yeah?
DAWN: She sure cries a lot less with you than she did with Angel.
RILEY: (surprised) Angel ... made her cry a lot, huh?
DAWN: Everything with him was all ... eee, you know?
RILEY: All...?
DAWN: You know ... "my boyfriend's a vampire" crazy crazy. (Riley nods) Every day was like the end of the world. She doesn't get all worked up like that over you.
Riley looks stung, but tries not to show it. Dawn realizes she didn't say the right thing.
DAWN: I think you've been really good for her.
She smiles encouragingly. Riley tries to return her smile, but he doesn't really feel it.

AtS5 “The Girl in Question”
Spike: “Look! I know I don’t have a shot with her, all right!. Probably never did, but I still care about her, and I’m not gonna let her end up with a jerk like …you.”
Angel: “Hey, ours is a forever love.”
Spike: “I had a relationship with her too.”
Angel: “OK, sleeping together is not a relationship.”
Spike: “It is, if you do it enough times.”
(Ironically the ensouled Spike had, at most, one night with Buffy, the night before he died.)
…
Spike: “Can’t we just…lock her away in a box where no one can ever touch her...?”
Angel: “I don’t think she’d let us. She’s pretty strong.”
Spike: We could do a spell. Some sort of mind control.”
Angel: “Oh, she’d figure it out. You know, she’s pretty smart.”

Last Word to the Lady
BtVS S7 “Selfless” Buffy: “I loved Angel more than I will ever love anything in this life.”

Patrick Newell, May 2009

I'm going to agree with Greer. This clearly was stacked in your Bangel favour. I had high hopes at first but no. The first thing I noticed was mentions of her saying she loved them. You only mentioned Spike in the hellmouth. First off you completely agree with Spike that she didn't mean it when really you can't know. Second she said it to Willow in First Date "Why does everyone in this house think I'm still in love with Spike?"

Also your gigantic list of tokens from Angel. First the jacket you say it's worn throughout the seasons. It's not. It's in a couple of episodes in the first season then disappears. More importantly not everything has to have a token to prove it's validity. Buffy and Spike never got the chance for a real relationship so there wasn't much. Though now that I think of it she does take his lighter and still has it with her the next morning as he pulls it out of her pocket. I'm guessing she wasn't planning on throwing it out.

Lest we forget your complete ignorance of all things Spuffy season 7 except of course their final scene which you couldn't rightly ignore or everyone would notice. You mention all her poignant moments with Angel such as forever but things like just the look she gives Spike when she saves him from the First in season 7 or the "I'm not ready for you to not be here" in First Date. Or her emphatic "I believe in you". Not to mention their night in Touched and the fact that she spent every night after that with him. They didn't seem relevant to you?

I also have to take great offense to you saying it took Spike two minutes to get over Buffy. First he was non corporeal and there for longer than two minutes (it took less than that to ask how she was when he came back). Second, while I hate that he slept with Harmony it doesn't actually mean he moved on. Clearly since you're a Bangel do you think Angel's love for Cordelia meant he moved on? Or when he slept with Darla? Didn't think so. Third, Harmony herself (granted while going crazy) tells him that he wishes she was Buffy. Spike doesn't look all that surprised.

I really could go on, but I'll leave you with this. If you wanna talk about last words? Buffy's on her show were "I love you" to Spike and then later simply "Spike". Really don't think that was an accident.

[spuffyfan4life]

May 17, 2009 19:38:18 GMT -5 Joe said:

After reading this, how can people not say Buffy and Angel are soul mates? I still can't believe there are Spuffy and Biley fans out there.

Well of course you do, it leaves out everything that may work in their favor and twists the things that do into bad things. A list going over everything should be unbiased and this clearly is.

[Randi Giles]

May 31, 2009 1:24:40 GMT -5 spuffyfan4life said:

May 17, 2009 19:38:18 GMT -5 Joe said:

After reading this, how can people not say Buffy and Angel are soul mates? I still can't believe there are Spuffy and Biley fans out there.

Well of course you do, it leaves out everything that may work in their favor and twists the things that do into bad things. A list going over everything should be unbiased and this clearly is.

Agree. Very biased. And I will never choose Bangel over Spuffy not EVER.

[The Night Lord]

spuffyfan4life, I'm gonna give you some karma for your argumentive post. I completely agree with all that you've said about the Bangel/Spuffy factor

[Randi Giles]

Sept 26, 2009 17:28:56 GMT -5 The Night Lord said:

spuffyfan4life, I'm gonna give you some karma for your argumentive post. I completely agree with all that you've said about the Bangel/Spuffy factor

Yes I meant to give karma too. It was a very good post.

[sagewoman]

It is always great to see well though out posts that raise the discussion another level.

For anyon ewho found it biased - please add the examples that were missed. It is often difficult for someone with a favoured matching (i.e. Bangel) to clearly see the other examples (Spuffy and Biley/Ruffy???).

I like the fact that this post brought back some very good memories.

I like all three for different reasons. I have to say I am torn between Spuffy and Bangel...leaning more to Spuffy though.

What I love about Riley - he puts himself in her hands, he doesn't need to be the lead. He is not intimidated by her strength or superior skills. I love how he can look down at her, cup her head in his hands (he has wonderful hands) and kiss her with such tenderness. Yes, he lost his confidence, but even Buffy talking to Willow admitted that the bad boys were more exciting. And this was before Spike was hanging around much. Him being human and normal and in the military meant hecould understand purpose and the mission. He did find Sam pretty fast - but he was in pain, saw no future with Buffy and found another very strong woman to be with. I think Riley needed to be part of a pair. I doubt that Sam makes his skin hum like Buffy's did, but he did find someone who accepted him and whom he could compete with on a level playing field.

I know Buffy would not end up with Riley, but he was good for her while it lasted and it showed her how someone could love her without demanding much from her. It showed her that she cannot take her loved ones for granted as Riley could only take being second fiddle to pretty much everything for so long.

I won't comment on the other two - because Spike / Angel ...where would I start.

[buffyfan21]

Wow, can't believe I haven't stumbled upon this thread before now. Great analysis, ptnewell. *Gives karma* ;D

[drusillacakes]

Wow, after reading this, it's hard not to think that Angel and Buffy were meant to be together...

Although if you think about it, maybe there is no such thing as a soulmate for Buffy. No one lover seems to satisfy all of her needs. While it's true that Angel and Buffy were attuned to each other, they can't be together because they can never consummate their passion, and that will always be a crutch. While Spike and Buffy had that very strong physical connection, and that last night where he helped her realize her identity as the slayer, their relationship sort of trails off after Spike sacrifices himself. Does she really love him? I think she might, but we may not find out for a long time. I mean, she must know he's alive, right? In my opinion, I think 1) they have way too much going on in their separate stories right now to readdress this issue, and 2) it scares them to acknowledge their feelings. Also, Angel is her first love. That's a very special place that no other person can compete with--and since Spike is Team Angel now, I think he's always holding that in the back of his mind. With Riley, for a long time Buffy wished she could just lead a normal life, and do normal teenage things. Riley was probably the closest she'd ever get to a normal boyfriend. They had the best shot at growing old together and having those fat grandbabies. But even though he accepted her role as the slayer, he didn't have that carnal insight into what being the slayer means-- the darkness and death that it entails at least the same way that Angel and Spike do.

Buffy doesn't fit into any one category of a lover, so no one person can do it for her. Maybe she's destined to just to have passionate but fleeting love.

[xxxvaliumxxx]

fantastic analysis by both ptnewell and spuffyfan4life.

myself, i loved the relationship between buffy and riley.
i loved how tender, gentle and patient he was with her and i feel it was such an important part of her growning up.
she was burnt by angel and parker and moved on to riley without ever really loving him and took for granted that he would always be around.
but ultimately he couldn't deal with it and moved on to find a much more fitting relationship to have

as for hte bangel/spuffy arguement... i'm a fence sitter. i love parts of both relationships

[HannahSlayer]

That was awesome. It must have taken forever to do that.