Early or Later Couples?

[Buffy Summers]

My thoughts exactly ^^^^^

 

[white avenger]

Do you tend to prefer the main couples from high school (Willow/Oz, Buffy/Angel, Xander/Cordelia)? Or the ones from the later seasons (Willow/Tara, Buffy/Spike, Xander/Anya)?

A bit of both, actually. I liked high school Willow/Oz, though Tara was definitely better for Willow later. Likewise, high school Xander/Cordy was much better for me than Xander/Anya ever was, although I do have to admit that I think Cordy outgrew Xander rather quickly after she left LA. She and Angel grew into a near perfect couple, and I always thought that Fred and Wes were made for each other. I do also think that, once Cordy was no longer there, Angel and Nina really had a shot at being something special, if time had permitted.

And, of course, Buffy and Spike, or, more accurately, Joan and Randy, will always be, in my mind, the greatest coupling in the entire Buffyverse. If two people were ever born generations apart, but destined to be together, despite all odds, it is most definitely those two. Nine Seasons in fruition, and worth every minute of the wait.

 

[GwenRaiden]

Angel and Nina really had a shot at being something special, if time had permitted.

I agree, even if Angel/Nina felt like a more tame version of the perfect couple that could have been, Angel/Gwen.

 

[Athena]

I forgot how underused Gwen Raiden (the character, not @GwenRaiden on here!) actually was, in Angel. She had that thing with Gunn, but after that, she disappeared. 🙁

 

[Dolores]

Oh how I wish we had seen Angel and Gwen!

 

[white avenger]

the perfect couple that could have been, Angel/Gwen.

I forgot how underused Gwen Raiden (the character, not @GwenRaiden on here!) actually was, in Angel. She had that thing with Gunn, but after that, she disappeared. 🙁

Oh how I wish we had seen Angel and Gwen!

I had completely forgotten about Gwen. She and Angel could have been even better together than him and Nina, considering how she could make his heart go "pitty-pat" with a mere kiss.

(I just HAD to say that before someone else beat me to it)

 

[RomanticSoul]

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.

As a non-shipper this is exactly why I prefer the early Seasons couples over the later ones. Back in the early days it was all about the core 4 and their relationships. The romantic ones were mostly used to let us see a different side of the characters. And they were never the main focus (minus the Angelus arc but it was simultaniously a great growth arc for Buffy) of the show. Later Seasons it was all about those 'romantic' relationships to the point where the show completely split apart and the friendships were no longer there. Everyone was off in their 'couple camps'. I didn't tune in to watch a soap opera.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

I prefer Bangel and Spike/Drusilla over Spuffy because Spuffy was not healthy for either Spike or Buffy and dragged both characters down. Xander and Cordelia felt more natural as a squabbling couple than Xander/Anya but Xander/Anya were basically the comedy couple amongst the angst of Spuffy and Willow/Tara and so served their purpose in that respect. I'm split on Oz/Willow and Tara/Willow but I think I prefer Tara/Willow.

 

[Guy]

I loved the early relationships a lot... But the later relationships just mean so much more to me. Xander/Cordy were great, but Xander/Anya took things to a much more mature, adorable, and interesting place. Willow/Oz were cute as hell, but Willow/Tara made me laugh and smile and cry a lot more. And I always prefered Spike to Angel, simply as characters, so of course the Buffy/Spike relationship was more interesting than Buffy/Angel, to me.