I've been thinking lately about the similarities and parallels between two of Buffy's relationships (but mostly Bangel) and other shows such as Bella/Edward from Twilight and Cassie/Azazael from Hex.
Now I'm hoping this won't turn into a Bangel vs. Spuffy thread or a "Oh, Edward is so lame and he sparkles" (which is true but off topic) and I'm not trying to offend any Twilight fans etc.
I'm just wondering what makes the Bangel and Spuffy relationships work for me when I've never in my life been attracted to "bad boys" real life or fiction (I mostly go for Oz or Giles types) and why similar relationships fail so miserably on other shows.
Aside from the good writing, I initially thought it was the good vs. evil aspects of Buffy/Angel "Okay, the sweet, innocent girl falls in love with a demon, but the show never pretends he's anything other than he is, and, when she sleeps with him, he turns evil, tries to kill her friends and she has to kill him." I reasoned with myself. There are consequences for them ignoring the danger of their relationship. Part of the reason Bella/Edward doesn't work for me, is Edward is basically a "good" guy (in the author's warped twisted idea of what a good guy is) and Edward and Bella get married, she becomes a vampire etc. and live happily ever after 😕 The franchise seems to ignore the fact that there might be some consequences for a human to fall in love and settle down with demon.
But then when I was watching a UK show called Hex about a young blonde girl who falls in love after a long seduction with a demon named Azazael who doesn't love her and is almost pure evil (it's not a very famous show nor is it very good so I'm not recommending it) I failed to be interested in that relationship either. Sure, there were consequences for their actions and the sinister nature of the relationship wasn't ignored, but since he was so evil and there was really no gray area as to his character or motivations I just felt bored and unmoved.
So what I'm trying to get at is I guess I like Bangel and Spuffy not because Angel and Spike are dark, mysterious "bad boys" nor are they perfect little vampire knight in shining armour happily ever after dreamboats, but because, despite the fact that they are both vampires they are extremely human.
They have human desires, human feelings, human fears and weaknesses. Buffy isn't attracted to or in love with the mystery in them or the demon (in my opinion) but she is in love with the humanity. Maybe she can see it while many others can't because she herself struggles between the hostile "slayer" side of herself and the human "Buffy" side. I think a lot of people don't see the relationships this way. My dad quit watching Buffy early in the second season because he got sick of the Buffy and her vampires side of it and I've never been able to get him to give the show a second chance (though he loves Bones and Firefly).
Thoughts?
Now I'm hoping this won't turn into a Bangel vs. Spuffy thread or a "Oh, Edward is so lame and he sparkles" (which is true but off topic) and I'm not trying to offend any Twilight fans etc.
I'm just wondering what makes the Bangel and Spuffy relationships work for me when I've never in my life been attracted to "bad boys" real life or fiction (I mostly go for Oz or Giles types) and why similar relationships fail so miserably on other shows.
Aside from the good writing, I initially thought it was the good vs. evil aspects of Buffy/Angel "Okay, the sweet, innocent girl falls in love with a demon, but the show never pretends he's anything other than he is, and, when she sleeps with him, he turns evil, tries to kill her friends and she has to kill him." I reasoned with myself. There are consequences for them ignoring the danger of their relationship. Part of the reason Bella/Edward doesn't work for me, is Edward is basically a "good" guy (in the author's warped twisted idea of what a good guy is) and Edward and Bella get married, she becomes a vampire etc. and live happily ever after 😕 The franchise seems to ignore the fact that there might be some consequences for a human to fall in love and settle down with demon.
But then when I was watching a UK show called Hex about a young blonde girl who falls in love after a long seduction with a demon named Azazael who doesn't love her and is almost pure evil (it's not a very famous show nor is it very good so I'm not recommending it) I failed to be interested in that relationship either. Sure, there were consequences for their actions and the sinister nature of the relationship wasn't ignored, but since he was so evil and there was really no gray area as to his character or motivations I just felt bored and unmoved.
So what I'm trying to get at is I guess I like Bangel and Spuffy not because Angel and Spike are dark, mysterious "bad boys" nor are they perfect little vampire knight in shining armour happily ever after dreamboats, but because, despite the fact that they are both vampires they are extremely human.
They have human desires, human feelings, human fears and weaknesses. Buffy isn't attracted to or in love with the mystery in them or the demon (in my opinion) but she is in love with the humanity. Maybe she can see it while many others can't because she herself struggles between the hostile "slayer" side of herself and the human "Buffy" side. I think a lot of people don't see the relationships this way. My dad quit watching Buffy early in the second season because he got sick of the Buffy and her vampires side of it and I've never been able to get him to give the show a second chance (though he loves Bones and Firefly).
Thoughts?
