Well, not to nit-pick, but I find it hard to believe that Angel was happiest with Buffy. What do you have to actually substantiate that opinion?
One moment of true happiness seems a strong enough indication for me. Apart from that there is IWRY.
When Buffy and Angel are given the chance to just love each other without the world falling down around them it is then, and only then, that we have ever seen either of them contented and blissfully happy.
And even when they can't have that contented bliss, which lets face it is not a small portion of the time, they stabilise each other. Just look at how they were with each other in End of Days. I don't think we had seen either of them have a smile reach their eyes for about two seasons before that. They look at each other though and they are all glowy.
Would you be happy in a situation with someone whom you deeply loved, and not be able to consummate that love without turning into a monster who would attempt to kill said love and all of her family and friends?
We all know how terrible their situation was, this is exactly why Angel had to leave. However, if he hadn't loved her, if the simply being in love with her, and she him, wasn't bringing Angel joy then we never would have had a problem.
Of course they both hated the curse and what it did to them but that didn't stop them loving each other and the inherent joy found in that emotion.
Bangel was doomed from the get-go. That's why it's so endearing, in a way. Tragic love. It's a re-telling of a classic story.
I would say the opposite. If Buffy and Angel were to go along with the so called prototype "doomed relationship" then they would have died from their separation alone. They would have ceased to exist without each other. Buffy and Angel are endearing because they reject this. Apart they continued to love each other but also evolved as people. They have had experiences and relationships that have nothing to do with each other. They continue on with their lives in the full knowledge that they may never get a chance but in the fullest hope that they will. That's a hero's kind of love, it maybe tragic but it certainly isn't a tragedy.
Their reunion in S8 is the same. They got mere moments where they could be the lovers that they have always been but who they are and the responsibilities of their roles gets in the way of them making the selfish decision and so they go back. They have no idea what will come of them but they will continue to love each other regardless. Together and apart.
As for Buffy being happy with Angel; sure, they had their moments, and no one is arguing that they didn't truly love each other, but if I'm not mistaken, the majority of their scenes involved her crying, or having to sacrifice something - am I wrong
If Buffy and Angel didn't sacrifice they wouldn't be the champions they are. If you want to see how he makes her happy look at season 3 and the dichotomy between the Buffy of the first 3 episodes and the Buffy of the next 19. The first girl is awash in absolute misery, the second girl is very different. Her life is far from perfect, but simply having Angel back in her life made her worlds happier than she had been.
As for the crying, well honestly I think it is a null argument. Apart from the time when he broke up with her, I can't think of a single time Buffy cried because of something Angel intentionally did to her. The rest of the time it was the situations they found themselves in. Those situations are no more Angel's fault then they were Buffy's. She cried because she cared, because her life was so unfair, not because Angel was hurting her.
Meeting Angel was the worst thing that ever happened to her. Angelus destroyed her, and having to send Angel to Hell disturbed her so much she quit slaying and left town. All Angel ever brought Buffy was pain. And now? I see no different.
There aren't words strong enough to say how much I disagree with this. Apart from the fact that if she hadn't met him that night she would probably be dead at the hands of Luke, you are boiling love down into something that only causes happy, fluffy emotions. Angel didn't bring Buffy pain, pain came to them. And despite all that they still loved each other. Neither of them or the people around them would be who they are if Buffy and Angel hadn't met.
Just because she loves him does not mean he is right for her
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No it doesn't, it's because they still love each other, when they have been given every reason not to, is why they are right for each other.
As for who Buffy was "happiest" with - well, that's relative. I think most would choose Riley. That is, until she found out that he was allowing vamp whores to get off on sucking his blood because he felt inadequate. Buffy was very insecure after that. She blamed herself for Riley leaving, when she had done NOTHING wrong
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Of course she had. She had completely neglected him and their relationship. She wasn't in love with him, he reached out to her and she would push him away. That isn't her fault, you can't will your heart to feel what it won't but she could have treated him better.
What I mean is that IMO Bangel deserves better then their real, authentic love being used as leverage (and each character, by extension, as pawns) by the Universe to bring about the destruction of mankind - a feat that both Buffy and Angel, in character, would be very much against.
Angel is destiny's bitch and always has been. It makes perfect sense for him to get fecked over like this by fate. The fact that Angel was manipulated and their love making brought evolution on to the next stage has no impact on their love or the bond they share. In fact, the Universe had intended for them to keeping going and completely wipe existence out. Instead, very much in character and very much against it, Buffy says Hell no and refuses to do as the Universe wants. And Angel, also very much in character, in an act that uncurls Twilight's vice grip around him, decides to go with her without a second's thought. Because he loves her.
If anything I would say this arc highlights how real, authentic and untouchable their love his. I don't think the even the Universe had banked on it.
