Early or Later Couples?

A mix for me.
Cordy and Xander were much better than Xander and Anya for me (and Cordy/Angel for that matter).
I like Oz and Willow, but for a different reason than I like Tara and Willow. So I could take either.
I like the chemstry more between Spike and Buffy, than her and Angel, yet I can see value in both pairings. But I just find Buffy-Spike the more engaging narrative.
 
Apart from Willow/Tara, I'd say early couples are my faves. Bangel. Cordelia/Xander, those will always be my ships. Though I do like Willow/Oz, I prefer Tara just slightly more.
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
One of these days I will convert you and on that day I can die happy.
I dunno if overall I liked either better. However, I liked all the overlapping love/emotional triangles of the high school years. Now as for fave couples I liked Willow/Oz and especially Willow/Tara. I liked Giles/Jenny too. Angel/Buffy got a little long in the tooth in my opinion.
 
There's lots I like about the early couplings. I definitely prefer Willow and Oz, that one's for sure. I do prefer Briley to Bangel, but then there's parts of Spuffy I prefer to Briley too. If Spike and Dru count as an early couple then they're a big favourite of mine aswell.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
Iwearthecheese
Iwearthecheese
Karma for the 'shrug' symbol. :)
I kind of forgot about Briley. It's neither early nor late, just stuck somewhere in the middle. If I'd remembered it I might've given it a shout out 🙂
 
Skanky Vamp
Skanky Vamp
Like Stealers Wheel...
Iwearthecheese
Iwearthecheese
A clown to the left of him and a joker to the right.
GwenRaiden said:
There's lots I like about the early couplings. I definitely prefer Willow and Oz, that one's for sure. I do prefer Briley to Bangel, but then there's parts of Spuffy I prefer to Briley too. If Spike and Dru count as an early couple then they're a big favourite of mine aswell.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Yes - best couple - Spike and Dru!
 
I kinda see the early couples as fitting the whole high school scene - so they worked for that stage in life. But season 3 Bangel dragged, Oz didn't have much reason to grow because he was lacking in internal conflict, and the Cordy and Xander break up worked well.

Not all that fond of Xander and Anya because they made Anya a one note character. I do like Spuffy, and I really love Tara with Willow. I kind of felt bad that Olivia left Giles.

I also like Cordelia with Angel except for season 4. You're Welcome is perfect - I would have loved to see more of that dynamic. I love Wesley and Lilah - so complex - not so hot on Wesley and Fred. Gunn and Fred left me a bit cold too.
 
I'm definitely the later seasons because the relationships are more like real life, layered and complex. That goes for Angel too, I like Fred better with Wesley than Gunn, I liked Angel better with Spike than Cordy.
 
I like Angel better with Eve, then maybe Nina. Truth of the matter they could have gotten rid of ALL of the coupling in Angel and it would have been much better. Well, except for the triangle of Angel/Darla/Lindsey, that was necessary and Wes/Liliah. Everything else they could dump and not miss a beat and more than likely improve the story.
 
I have mixed feelings about Angel and Cordy. I actually think that by the end they were better suited than Buffy and Angel (You're Welcome) and that they were probably perfect for each other in a lot of ways.

But it just didn't work... It felt forced for the sake of putting Angel through yet more pain.

Fred and Gunn were dull as dishwater IMO. But I wouldn't have wanted to get rid of the Wesley and Fred romance - the Ilyria storyline wouldn't have been half as effective and hard-hitting without it.

Also would have preferred to see a romance playing out between Angel and Gwen instead of Nina - she was more exciting!
 
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bespangeled said:
Oz didn't have much reason to grow because he was lacking in internal conflict
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I personally believe that Oz had a lot more to offer than what the writers gave him (though he was amazing as is) and he certainly was going to have internal conflict in season 4, learning to balance his calm nature with his inner wolfyness. I think it would have been amazing, and I'm forever sad we didn't get to see his journey on screen.
 
Fuffy Baith
Fuffy Baith
I agree about Oz
For me, it's the early couples. But that could also be because I rewatch episodes from s2 and s3 the most. But I also just prefer Cordy than Anya and I love Oz, plus I'm a Bangel fan.

Taake said:
Anya, her sole purpose on the show was to be Xander's significant other,
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Yes that's part of Anyas problem. Tara suffers from that a bit too, but she gets better in s6 and Anya doesn't.
 
I prefer later for the most part, except in Xander's case. I like Xander/Cordelia better than Xander/Anya. Aside from that, though, I like Buffy/Spike and Willow/Tara better than Buffy/Angel and Willow/Oz (although I still thought Willow/Oz were pretty cute too.)
 
I prefer Tara to Oz.

I prefer Cordy to Anya.

I couldn't care less about Angel and Spike.

So I guess I am really split in the middle.
 
I prefer the early couples to the later ones, but that's partly due to nostalgia. The premise of Cordy/Angel is always fascinating to me (though I don't ship them in a romantic sense) but I found the execution to be lacking. Maybe that's why I could never get behind it. I loved Willow/Tara and Willow/Oz equally. They were the appropriate relationships for her for the times in her life. I don't mind Buffy/Riley, because again, that's what she needed at the time. Someone safe, reliable, trusting. Obviously, B/A will always be ultimate for me, but I understand Buffy/Spike, so...I guess in some ways, I could ship them. She needed a constant and that's what he was from S4(ish) onward.
 
I prefer the earlier couples just because it wasn't what the show was about. Whereas in later seasons it seemed to be the main focus of storyline so it turns into a supernatural soap opera, as Gunn once said. The amount of screen time given over to Spike being in love with Buffy, for me, bogged down the show. As much as I like Spike, I think the gang were sacrificed for his story.
 
Monkey Pants
Monkey Pants
Definitely agree
I like some of both. Willow/Oz is probably my all-time favorite, but I also appreciate Willow/Tara.

Xander/Cordelia definitely beats Xander/Anya.

I love Spike/Buffy, but can agree that it could have been played out a bit better. Spike/Drusilla was, of course, awesome. Almost all of the Angel/Buffy after season 2 was a bore to me.

In Angel... I just didn't care about 90% of the relationships. I would have been okay with Angel/Cordelia if it was developed correctly. Fred/Wesley and Fred/Gunn didn't do anything for me until season 5, at which point Fred and Wesley had a few episodes together before she died.

I guess the earlier couples were more fun, while a lot of the later, more mature relationships suffered from a lack of good development and execution.
 
Monkey Pants
Monkey Pants
Woz karma!!
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