Buffy and Ben...

[AstridDante]

I really liked the flirty potential/dynamic between Buffy and Ben in Season 5. Damn him being a host for a Hell God. Spuffy is still life but for Buffy with a human, I much preferred Ben to Riley

 

[Faded90]

Good chemistry, also even though I despise his character by the end I thought she had good chemistry with Robin Wood. Before LMPTM and Empty Places where he became an insufferable prick with Oedipal interests in slayers I could have bought the two of them

 

[Myheadsgonenumb]

yes it's a shame about Ben ... but such is the life of Buffy. I think the same about Gage in Go Fish - that little wave he gives her from the swimming pool 💞. But ten minutes later he's the creature from the black lagoon. You can see why she dates so many vampires - at least she knows the score with them.

 

[Priceless]

I have to say Ben never did anything for me. I pitied the guy, but didn't find him particularly interesting. If there were no Spike my choice for Buffy would have been Robin Wood. He was interesting, good looking, intelligent and understood who she was, though I think in the end he'd have the same problem with Buffy that he had with his mum - the mission came first for them and he'd end up resenting that.

 

[AstridDante]

Got to say I never thought Buffy and Robin ‘fit’ or looked like a good match. Even with Faith it seemed a bit forced. I thought Buffy and Ben looked really good together, very cute guy but again (hell god alter ego aside) someone like him might not be enough for Buffy.

 

[Faded90]

Got to say I never thought Buffy and Robin ‘fit’ or looked like a good match. Even with Faith it seemed a bit forced. I thought Buffy and Ben looked really good together, very cute guy but again (hell god alter ego aside) someone like him might not be enough for Buffy.

Robin and Faith was extremely forced and is what makes me think he has a creepy Oedipal thing going on. Don’t get me wrong Buffy and Faith are hot why wouldn’t you be interested but he strokes their egos in a very obvious way from the get go. When they have sex in Touched it’s literally the first night they meet each other (not that I have an issue with the one night stand side things) but he acts like he knows her in this very deep way when he really doesn’t. We see him wax lyrical about Buffy all season then he’s telling Faith she’s a ‘pretty good leader’ (erm mate you’ve known her about 3 hours) then the next day acts put out she doesn’t give him his own special job.

 

[Myheadsgonenumb]

He also cuts her off mid sentence to correct her. Faith is stressing and talking about Buffy and she starts a sentence with 'and she's the only one who...' and he cuts her off with 'she's not the only one' - meaning Faith is also the slayer... but from the direction Faith was going in, it sounded like the end of the sentence was 'only one who understands' (what leading is like, how Faith is feeling right now) - which is backed up by the way she later talks to Buffy about how she had always been jealous of everything Buffy had and then when she took her place had never felt more alone in her life.
It just feels like Robin has an idea in his head of what a slayer is, based on the impression he got from his mom when he was 4. But, a bit like kids don't really understand that mommy is a person in her own right, Robin hasn't got the memo that slayers are people too and that Faith and Buffy are different to each other and different to Nikki. Since Buffy has failed him by turning out not to be his mom, he's now attaching to Faith - but he isn't interested in her, he can't even be bothered to listen to the end of her sentences - he just wants her to be Nikki. So he's going to force that impression on her whether it fits or not or whether it's what she needs to hear or not. Hence why he's so irritated the next day when Faith turns out to be Faith - and not Nikki - and treats him the way she does all her one night stands and not like the centre of her world.

Though this is now very far away from whether or not Buffy and Ben would make a cute couple and we will be told off for not staying on topic. Ben was given a raw deal. He behaved badly in the end but I don't know that he didn't do what anyone in his situation would, I suspect the world is made up of far more Bens than Buffys and it seems harsh to judge him too much for just not wanting to die aged 25. Probably he would have been better using the time he had in his body to get the hell outta Sunnydale (and thus taking Glory far away too) but he had a life to be getting on with, it was just bad luck that the key happened to be right where he was - and one could argue they should have got Dawn as far away as possible - it was as irresponsible of Buffy to keep Dawn in the same town as Glory as it was of Ben not to cut and run when he realised who Dawn was.
If they could have just fixed the Glory situation, things could have been good. He knew she was the slayer, he didn't seem to think much about it either way - it was neither a turn on nor a turn off. It was just a fact. We should never underestimate the potential of a normal boy who knows her secret and is neither threatened nor made horny by it. Gage and Ben both pass this test, Riley and Xander fail it (though Xander doesn't fail it as badly as Spike or Robin). It's not that Buffy can't be happy with a normal boy because she is the slayer, it's that the show chooses to kill off any normal boy she could potentially be happy with.

 

[Faded90]

He also cuts her off mid sentence to correct her. Faith is stressing and talking about Buffy and she starts a sentence with 'and she's the only one who...' and he cuts her off with 'she's not the only one' - meaning Faith is also the slayer... but from the direction Faith was going in, it sounded like the end of the sentence was 'only one who understands' (what leading is like, how Faith is feeling right now) - which is backed up by the way she later talks to Buffy about how she had always been jealous of everything Buffy had and then when she took her place had never felt more alone in her life.
It just feels like Robin has an idea in his head of what a slayer is, based on the impression he got from his mom when he was 4. But, a bit like kids don't really understand that mommy is a person in her own right, Robin hasn't got the memo that slayers are people too and that Faith and Buffy are different to each other and different to Nikki. Since Buffy has failed him by turning out not to be his mom, he's now attaching to Faith - but he isn't interested in her, he can't even be bothered to listen to the end of her sentences - he just wants her to be Nikki. So he's going to force that impression on her whether it fits or not or whether it's what she needs to hear or not. Hence why he's so irritated the next day when Faith turns out to be Faith - and not Nikki - and treats him the way she does all her one night stands and not like the centre of her world.

Though this is now very far away from whether or not Buffy and Ben would make a cute couple and we will be told off for not staying on topic. Ben was given a raw deal. He behaved badly in the end but I don't know that he didn't do what anyone in his situation would, I suspect the world is made up of far more Bens than Buffys and it seems harsh to judge him too much for just not wanting to die aged 25. Probably he would have been better using the time he had in his body to get the hell outta Sunnydale (and thus taking Glory far away too) but he had a life to be getting on with, it was just bad luck that the key happened to be right where he was - and one could argue they should have got Dawn as far away as possible - it was as irresponsible of Buffy to keep Dawn in the same town as Glory as it was of Ben not to cut and run when he realised who Dawn was.
If they could have just fixed the Glory situation, things could have been good. He knew she was the slayer, he didn't seem to think much about it either way - it was neither a turn on nor a turn off. It was just a fact. We should never underestimate the potential of a normal boy who knows her secret and is neither threatened nor made horny by it. Gage and Ben both pass this test, Riley and Xander fail it (though Xander doesn't fail it as badly as Spike or Robin). It's not that Buffy can't be happy with a normal boy because she is the slayer, it's that the show chooses to kill off any normal boy she could potentially be happy with.

Yes the she’s NOT the only one really annoys me,
He finishes her sentence and assumes what she’s going to say and I think it’s fairly obvious that’s not the direction she was going in. Yes I agree about only seeing her as a slayer (same as he did with Buffy) he may not objectify her as a sex object but he does objectify her and Buffy as slayers. We see this again in Chosen when he tells her he thinks it’s ‘isolationist slayer crap’ that she blew him off.
Obviously we the audience know that Faith has had the ‘get some get gone’ attitude to sex and men since before she was a slayer

On topic - Is Ben being either naive or selfish for pursuing Buffy when he knows Dawn is the key and keeping Buffy close is putting her and Dawn in risk of a boat load of danger if he transforms into Glory in their presence?

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

He's okay. If the Comics ever make it to College, he would be a good casual boyfriend, like Betty Brant, or Felecia Hardy, before he realizes he is trans-gendered and becomes Glory. I probably shouldn't give them ideas.

 

[AstridDante]

Yes the she’s NOT the only one really annoys me,
He finishes her sentence and assumes what she’s going to say and I think it’s fairly obvious that’s not the direction she was going in. Yes I agree about only seeing her as a slayer (same as he did with Buffy) he may not objectify her as a sex object but he does objectify her and Buffy as slayers. We see this again in Chosen when he tells her he thinks it’s ‘isolationist slayer crap’ that she blew him off.
Obviously we the audience know that Faith has had the ‘get some get gone’ attitude to sex and men since before she was a slayer

On topic - Is Ben being either naive or selfish for pursuing Buffy when he knows Dawn is the key and keeping Buffy close is putting her and Dawn in risk of a boat load of danger if he transforms into Glory in their presence?

Yes I agree that is naive and dangerous.

 

[AstridDante]

I think on a surface level if Ben didn’t have his alter issues, I thought he and Buffy looked really good together and he had a sweet vibe. He was a hottie (imo), a student doctor and a more genuine chemistry with Buffy, even though we didn’t get to see much of them, than Riley.

 

[Taake]

I agree, I felt like they had more genuine chemistry than Buffy and Riley, if I hadn't been Team Tara, I still feel like Willow and Riley had better chemistry than he and Buffy, and could've made a cute couple.

But, lol, this thread made me feel sad for Buffy. She likes Angel, turns out to be a vampire. She likes Riley, turns out to be a secret government guy. She likes Ben, turns out to be sharing a body with a hellgod that wants to kill her sister. I mean with that track record Spike makes a whole lot of sense as a partner, because at least she knows what's wrong with him before going into the relationship, lol.

It wouldn't really have fit the narrative they were building, but it would have been cool to have Buffy with Ben if he had been introduced in season 4 and they'd grown closer over time. Like even if she had dated Riley, it would've been cool to have Ben there and then reveal the Glory thing in season 5 as we viewers see Buffy growing to like Ben as more than a friend.

 

[AstridDante]

I agree, I felt like they had more genuine chemistry than Buffy and Riley, if I hadn't been Team Tara, I still feel like Willow and Riley had better chemistry than he and Buffy, and could've made a cute couple.

But, lol, this thread made me feel sad for Buffy. She likes Angel, turns out to be a vampire. She likes Riley, turns out to be a secret government guy. She likes Ben, turns out to be sharing a body with a hellgod that wants to kill her sister. I mean with that track record Spike makes a whole lot of sense as a partner, because at least she knows what's wrong with him before going into the relationship, lol.

It wouldn't really have fit the narrative they were building, but it would have been cool to have Buffy with Ben if he had been introduced in season 4 and they'd grown closer over time. Like even if she had dated Riley, it would've been cool to have Ben there and then reveal the Glory thing in season 5 as we viewers see Buffy growing to like Ben as more than a friend.

I agree, I felt like they had more genuine chemistry than Buffy and Riley, if I hadn't been Team Tara, I still feel like Willow and Riley had better chemistry than he and Buffy, and could've made a cute couple.

But, lol, this thread made me feel sad for Buffy. She likes Angel, turns out to be a vampire. She likes Riley, turns out to be a secret government guy. She likes Ben, turns out to be sharing a body with a hellgod that wants to kill her sister. I mean with that track record Spike makes a whole lot of sense as a partner, because at least she knows what's wrong with him before going into the relationship, lol.

It wouldn't really have fit the narrative they were building, but it would have been cool to have Buffy with Ben if he had been introduced in season 4 and they'd grown closer over time. Like even if she had dated Riley, it would've been cool to have Ben there and then reveal the Glory thing in season 5 as we viewers see Buffy growing to like Ben as more than a friend.

Ya that would have been an interesting take to have her grow closer to Ben in S5 I think they made a better fit. I loved how she flirted with him in the Bronze, they were so cute together. You are right at least with Spike she knew upfront what she was getting 😂

 

[Priceless]

Of topic, but would have loved to have seen a Willow/Riley romance (even thought I love Tara)

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Re: Rillow; Definitely. Willow brings out better qualities in Riley, and she seems like she would be a better match for a grad student. Plus Willow beating Buffy for a boy's heart would be a crowning moment of awesome for the character.

 

[forbuss]

Honestly... I strongly disliked basically every man Buffy dated - weren't they just all like... Not good enough?

I liked Angel the most - I like Spike season five onwards but I never thought of them as a serious thing.

Sometimes I really wish Buffy was the one who came out as being interested in women and dated Tara, instead of Willow. I know this may sound crazy to some, but just think of that beautiful chemistry we saw in season six with Gellar and Benson - it makes my heart warm.

Also agree with what some others have said - Buffy had fabulous chemistry with Principal Wood. And yeah I didn't like Ben...

 

[Btvs fan]

He's okay. If the Comics ever make it to College, he would be a good casual boyfriend, like Betty Brant, or Felecia Hardy, before he realizes he is trans-gendered and becomes Glory. I probably shouldn't give them ideas.

Felicia Hardy isn't a casual Girlfriend. She's the major Love interest behind Mary Jane and was Spider-Man as opposed to Peter Parkers love which gave him the opposite problem.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

Re: Totally not the point. Peter dated different girls at different points in his life. Because Peter is a aging comic Book character, him chasing after the same girl for generations would make him Archie. Buffy should be the same, because she's cookie dough, not Vampires and Riley but definitely never Xander. Plus, the whole Angel/Buffy Soulmates is something that's been done, one would want to avoid replicating plots that were done already.

Also, I want a comic plot where Scott Hope had to fight Robin, Angelus, Riley, Spike, Satsu, Ben/Glory and the Immortal so he can be with her, in Boom Comics Presents "Scott Hope, Volume 1." I really shouldn't give them ideas.

 

[Athene]

I think Ben would have been nice to Buffy so I could ship them. I have a lot of sympathy for Ben as a character though so it could be that.

 

[DeepBlueJoy]

I have to say Ben never did anything for me. I pitied the guy, but didn't find him particularly interesting. If there were no Spike my choice for Buffy would have been Robin Wood. He was interesting, good looking, intelligent and understood who she was, though I think in the end he'd have the same problem with Buffy that he had with his mum - the mission came first for them and he'd end up resenting that.

I liked him in the five seconds before we figured out he was time sharing with Glory! He did try to help, but probably shoudn't have though he likely saved Giles.

As for men in the Buffyverse that i really would have liked Buffy with? My number one is Graham Miller. He always seemed less neurotic and way hotter than Riley Whitebread.

Wood was hot too, but betrayal bothers me for some reason. I don't blame him for hating his mother's killer, but the end of the world is not time for vendetta.