I wasn't a fan, but it doesn't have anything to do with wanting to see Angel with Buffy. I agree with Silum. I could have liked them as a couple, but it never felt like there was anything between them and then one day the writers sat down and said, "Well, she's the leading lady on the show. They should be involved somehow!" If they'd built it up naturally, I think I could have gone for it. But instead it's like there's nothing there and all of a sudden she's Angel's world a few episodes into season three. Also, I'd already watched most of Buffy by the time I saw season three of Angel (I think season seven was all I hadn't seen) and I'd pretty much gotten to the point where I understood how Joss ends relationships. I know people get excited over the ships in his shows, but I think his reluctance to EVER let his characters be happy in a relationship is also a kind of weakness in his writing. If I know everything is just going to turn to crap, how can I invest in a romance? Why am I going to care when it inevitably does fall apart? This is the same reason I've never really gotten into the Victor/Sierra romance he's began trying to sell on Dollhouse. But it felt particularly true with Angel and Cordelia because Angel as a character pretty much can't have love. It isn't because he fundamentally doesn't deserve it, but it is his curse. He can't experience perfect happiness. And all of the reasons he walked away from his relationship with Buffy would have applied to Cordelia as well. They couldn't get too close physically. He could never give her the kind of life she might want in the future, etc. So, to me, Joss trying to sell this relationship was kind of like a Broker trying to sell you a stock they've already assured you is going to lose money. And once the writers decided to try and sell this relationship, Cordelia's character started to suffer. In the first two seasons, she was the vision girl, she was funny, she was tactless. By the middle to end of season three, I just saw her as the love interest.
