Day 5 : Fav Bangel episode in S3 ?
I know it has been mentioned upstream so I'm sorry if I'm not being all that original but I have to go with Amends. It is such a pivital episode for their relationship and moreover for Angel.
I love that despite Buffy trying to stay away from Angel she can't help but worry about him. Her desperation at the idea that he is about to kill himself is powerful. Many people argue that they dislike that Angel didn't agree not to meet the sun due to Buffy's pleas for him to follow her inside but I think it was important for Angel to live for more reasons than just Buffy. The snow gave Angel faith that some higher power felt there was a reason for him to live, it was bigger than just him and Buffy. I think this inspires him to find his own purpose in life - where as before his sole purpose was helping Buffy. And this is good for their relationship because it is unhealthy for your entire universe to revolve around one person, healthy relationships are forged when two people have their own paths.
Nevertheless, Angel internalizes so much of what Buffy says to him on that hill top. She tells him that he has to fight and he tells her in Gingerbread that he is still sorting everything out for himself but "I do know its important to keep fighting, I learned that from you." She inspires him and I think that is pretty remarkable.
But more than this, I challenge you to find me a time where Angel is as vulnerable as this with anyone ever in the run of his entire show? Where he admits that he is weak, that he wants to give in to the darkness, that he is worried about not just his demon but the man. Never. Angel never shares a moment as raw and as powerful as this with anyone else. He lets Buffy see the very worst of him and yet she loves him anyway.
I watched a video recently its a vlogger that does BTVS reviews and she was reviewing "Never Leave Me" and the Vlogger had a segment about "why we love Spuffy" and she said a number of things that I disagreed with but one of the things she said was that Buffy never felt she needed to be polite with Spike and she hasn't done that with anyone else. And I thought of this episode.
Buffy is very honest and does not sugarcoat a thing with Angel here. She says if he dies now he will die a monster, she says she will not mourn for him, she tells him that he is weak and being a coward. Buffy is obviously angry with Angel for not fighting. I really love she does not hold back with him. She puts it all on the table. But she loves him. At the core of it she loves him so much and she wants them to fight together and its really beautiful.
(
@Grace - sorry for the repeat Amends review, I put alot of the same stuff on the B/R forum
😀 )
