"Close your eyes"... BAM!!

[Chosen Enemy]

Every time I watch "Becoming", I can't seem to let go of something that bothers me. Now, don't get me wrong, these two Becomings are one of the best episodes EVER and I love the ending, even as a Spuffy. But I couldn't not wonder about something about it, about the part where Buffy says: "Close your eyes" to Angel and then stabs him brutally. Did she have to do it this way? Telling him she loves him, then to close his eyes and shocking him to death (literally) by betraying him and killing him. I don't know if it's a good word, but it felt like it, like a betrayel. The painful expression on his face when she stabs him after telling him she loves him, he trusted her when he closed his eyes. I couldn't not think how painful, emotionally, it was for Angel.

 

[Ms.Trick]

I think she did that because it was her way to say goodbye, but most of all, because she needed to distract Angel. There was no other option than killing him and he would probably have tried to defend himself (imagine, you have a total black out and wake up with your girlfriend trying to stab you, saying you just caused the world to end). So really, I think she did that so Angel would have no time to defend himself. I guess you can see it like a betrayal. But it had to be so hard for Buffy too 🙁

 

[brinkster130]

see this thread: https://www.buffy-boards.com/showthread.php?t=51133

 

[Kean]

She didn't do it that way to be cruel, quite the opposite. She had no choice but to send him to Hell, the portal was about to swallow the world whole and Angel's blood was the only thing that could stop it. She couldn't take the time to tell him what was going on, why it was happening and then throw in "BTW honey, I'll be sending you to Hell now".

Buffy did the only thing she could do, she made sure Angel knew that she loved him. Her love was the only thing she could offer him in those moments. Even if he didn't understand what was happening or why it was happening (which he didn't) he knew she loved him. And she knew he loved her.

I can't think of single other option available to her in that situation.

 

[mayfever]

I can't karma you again hun, but yeah, basically, what Kean said.

Of course it was a betrayal of sorts and Buffy was fully aware of that, but there just was no other way. I don't think that's fanwank, I really can't think of another option.

 

[BibliophileAnn]

I just thought of another reason Buffy had Angel close his eyes before she stabs him with the sword. Angel might have seen something in Buffy's eyes that gave away what she was going to do with it. She might have looked down at the sword and drawn his attention to it. So it was better if he didn't see it coming.

 

[The Unspoken]

I imagine filling him in on the specifics and going through an extended, teary-eyed goodbye would not only be anticlimactic, but also very painful for the both of them. So running that sword through him with reckless abandon is easier, in a way

 

[Zeppo]

I don't think it had anything to do with Angel, it had to do with what she had to do. It was the quickest way. Any time to think may make her second guess what needed to happen.

 

[Kean]

I don't think it had anything to do with Angel, it had to do with what she had to do. It was the quickest way. Any time to think may make her second guess what needed to happen.

Very true. If the decision was based solely or even primarily on her feelings for Angel, she wouldn't have picked the option that has her sending him to Hell.

I don't feel there is any real betrayal in this situation. Betrayal implies having a choice and Buffy didn't have one. Angel certainly didn't appear to feel betrayed when he came back.

 

[Seeing Red]

I don't think that Buffy was being cruel, I feel she was doing the opposite. When Angel's soul was returned he had no idea what he did while he was Angelus so I think that Buffy wanted to make it as unpainfull for Angel. I saw this action as a completely selfless act on her part and I think that Angel knew this also in his last few secounds.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

She betrayed him? How? I'm really confused by your post.

 

[Willow My Love]

I think that, by having Angel close his eyes, Buffy was showing that she really did love him. He didn't have to see the love of his life stabbing him through the chest with a sword. All he knew was that he was back with her, and she loved him. Yes, it's a sad moment, but it's also incredibly memorable and selfless and beautiful. Yes, she killed him, but she put aside herself to save the world. She could have had those last few moments with Angel, cradled in his arms where she was comfortable, but she knew what she had to do. That's why she ran away and became Anne. How could she go back to being Buffy once her world had completely crumbled?

 

[Carrrrgh]

When I saw this for the first time I was SHOCKED! lol I knew that Angel died and came back at some point in the show and I knew that Angels blood was the only thing that could close the portal but I seriously did not expect Buffy to "kill" him. I thought when they said blood they just meant blood like prick your finger and let some pour in. This is why I was so shocked when she stabbed him I was dumbfounded lol. Sad though, I can't even watch this episode anymore cause it just depresses me :-(

 

[Lindsey McDonald]

Yes, I agree with Willow My Love, she didn't want his last memory being her stabbing him. It was hard enough for her to do it: stabbing him while looking into his confused and hurt eyes would have been nigh on impossible.

 

[white avenger]

Yes, I agree with Willow My Love, she didn't want his last memory being her stabbing him. It was hard enough for her to do it: stabbing him while looking into his confused and hurt eyes would have been nigh on impossible.

But his last memory of her WAS of her stabbing him. and quite possibly having no idea whatsoever at that moment why she was doing it. At least that was what his expression looked like to me: pain, shock, fear, and a feeling of betrayal. I know that there wasn't really time for any sort of long conversation or explanations at that moment, and certainly Angel had a century in whatever kind if hell that he wound up in to consider and analyze Buffy's choice in the matter. Still, I think that maybe an, "I'm sorry. I'll always love you. If only there could have been another way..." might have been better at that moment than, "I love you. Close your eyes..." (Stab)...(Angel sucked into hell, not really sure why) At least that way he would have been more or less prepared for what was coming. He might have even grabbed the sword out of her hand, yelled something heroic, and jumped in voluntarily. Of course, that would have taken at least some of the feeling of guilt off of Buffy's shoulders, and might have given her any real reason to run away

Having said that, I have to say that this was without a doubt the best, most powerful, and heartbreaking scene that Sarah and David ever had together, throughout the entire seriesand I say with no Spuffy prejudice or sarcasm whatsoever that this is my favorite Bangel moment throughout the entire series, because it perfectly depicts what they have together: love that can only end in pain, sorrow, and death. The Shanshu Prophecy might give some hope later on, but at that moment, its existence and possibility don't enter into the picture whatsoever. At that moment, for the first time, they both truly know that the the major consequence of their love are that someone, quite likely innocent bystanders, will die. Maybe there's hope for them in some distant future (Okay, we KNOW that there's hope, and always WILL be hope for them, just as long as Joss deems it a marketable plot element-- Sorry, folks, just my deeply engrained sarcasm coming through) but at that moment, Buffy and Angel are the reincarnation of Romeo and Juliette, or the son and daughter, respectively, of the Hatfield and McCoy clans.

********

(Sorry, folks, I just noticed that this is an exclusive Bangel Group thread. Didn't mean to intrude in your discussion. Feel free to ignore everything that I just said.)

 

[Zeppo]

It's entirely rational. Anything else said in that moment would come out as a giant cliche (and Lord knows how quick some are to point out Bangel-cheese). "Close your eyes" brings Angel full-circle here, as he was turned into a vampire with those same words and now he was sent to hell with them. Beautiful. Also, if one needs to dissect and explain why Buffy did it without explination to him it's a little silly but here's a taste;

For one, had he realized what was going on and willingly jumped in, to say Buffy wouldn't have guilt of "I should've stopped him ... we could've found a way ... we could've died together ... I should have just killed him myself so I know he's gone ..." is not correct, it would still plague her. Wouldn't it you? Also, Buffy chose it to be this way, not Angel.

The last thing he got to do before being sent away was to kiss his love, Buffy gave him and her that gift. This scene works because it's simple and narratively bookends Angel up until that point.

 

[kndizzle]

She once and for all eliminates any conceivable future with Angel by killing him, something previous to this moment she had never admitted or even contemplated. She would have done anything - absolutely anything no matter the cost - other than what she did if it had been an option. She knew there was none and she acted. The reason it was so heartbreaking for her was because she had no choice. Arguably she loves him more in this moment than ever before, and she but knows that she cannot act any other way than she is about to.

This is the main paradox of their relationship: they share an all-encompassing love but have no way of truly living it. Their duties as protectors (and the individual character traits that each bring to this role) will effectively always keep them from truly being happy together, but will always prevent them from being happy with anyone else.

In my mind betrayal is a conscious act of choice, whereas I see Buffy's actions as of the opposite. She took the majority of her last moments protecting him, shielding him from what he had done, especially to her. To me this is an act of mercy, of purity, of love: the opposite of betrayal. Asking him to close his eyes was so she alone would have the vision of her plunging the sword through him as their final act with one another. It is the most important event in their relationship and one of the most important in their lives, and it's because they love one another so deeply. It started with their admission of love for one another, the act of love, the breaking of their love, and it's unavoidable concequences. "Close Your Eyes" is the moment where their love is the most inescapable but inevitable, just like Buffy and Angel together.

 

[Hero]

I know this is a serious topic and all...but...can I just say I love the thread title? "Close your eyes"...BAM!! made me chuckle.

 

[PassionBecoming]

Sad as it is, I think it was just the way it had to be done. No time for an explanation, "Oh, hey, Angel, you're back. *Hold each other* I love you so much. *Kisses* Ok, so, this kind of sucks, but while you were evil, you tried to end the world, so now I have to send you into Hell, ok?"

This is probably my favorite Buffy moment: awesome music, few words, all emotions on the characters' faces.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Sad as it is, I think it was just the way it had to be done. No time for an explanation, "Oh, hey, Angel, you're back. *Hold each other* I love you so much. *Kisses* Ok, so, this kind of sucks, but while you were evil, you tried to end the world, so now I have to send you into Hell, ok?"

This is probably my favorite Buffy moment: awesome music, few words, all emotions on the characters' faces.

I agree. I think in that moment, that was the way it had to be handled. It was hard enough on Buffy already without explaining to Angel what had happened and what she was going to have to do.