(friend)ships

[gnarl]

I recently listened to an episode of the podcast "Dusted" where they where talking about 'Tabula Rasa' and they pointed out that at the beginning of the scene in the Magic Box Anya and Tara are thumb-wrestling. It made me wonder what their relationship was like and wish we'd gotten to see more of it.

So I made this thread so that we can talk about our favourite Buffy friendships: the ones we get to see, the ones we don't, the ones we wish we could have seen more of, the ones that never happened but should have.

 

[Priceless]

So many great friendships on the show. My favourites are Xander/Willow because it went through all the stages of friendship. They were best friends as small children but their frinedship lasted through adulthood. One had a crush on the other and this could have ruined their relationship, but their friendship was strong enough to withstand this, and their later acting upon their mutual teen lust. Willow changed so dramatically she was almost unrecognisable, but Xander remained incredibly loyal. There are so many times their friendship could have ended, with jealousy and petty betrayals, but they stuck together and I love that level of loyalty.

 

[Puppet]

Canon: I've always loved the Angel/Cordelia/Wesley dynamics of AtS S1 and S2, something that was unfortunately lost as the writers decided to ruin it with Cangel and Wesley's focus on Fred and only Fred. We also, imo, didn't get enough Cordelia/Wesley/Gunn in S2, or beyond that when Angel returned to their side; that was an interesting friendship trio. For Buffy, I agree with the OP on Tara and Anya and I can remember other times, such as their walk where they discuss the online community, super adorable. In a lot of ways, this friendship makes sense, because they're both on the 'outside' of the core Scoobies. I also wanted to see more of Giles and Anya's working relationship as they obviously cared a great deal for one another, if Grave is anything to go by.

Fanon: My years of fanfic have opened my eyes, I'll say. I'd love a more genuine friendship between Buffy and Tara that isn't relying on the basis of Willow's involvement, but is a separate matter. One of my absolute favorite fanon friendship pairings is Spike and Dawn, I think they should have used that more in S6, instead of only making Spike all about Buffy that whole season. I enjoy Spike/Giles, because I think these are two men who would get along if they could put aside their 'differences', and not just because they're both British, lol. And, of course, I adore Spike/Xander as friends 🙂

 

[gnarl]

@Puppet
I super agree wish everything you said. By Angel season 5 I was so starved for plain old friendship moments that the Spike/Fred friendship felt like a cooling soul-balm. Romance is great but it shouldn't take the place of other relationships.

On the Buffy side, there are so many story lines which would have been much more resonant if we'd seen more of the friendship between members of the Scooby gang (Anya and Giles, Buffy and Tara, Spike and Dawn etc.) e.g. Buffy's having to go after Anya when she slaughtered a frat house would have been so much more complex and meaningful if we had a better sense of the Buffy/Anya friendship as would their antagonism later in season 7.

Spike/Xander: I hope you're reading the comics 'cause season 10 has a super cute bond blossom (mixed metaphor much) between the two of them.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

Angel/Cordelia/Wesley dynamics of AtS S1 and S2, something that was unfortunately lost as the writers decided to ruin it with Cangel and Wesley's focus on Fred and only Fred. We also, imo, didn't get enough Cordelia/Wesley/Gunn in S2, or beyond that when Angel returned to their side

I agree on the great dynamic of the trio wes/Cordy/Angel in the early Seasons. I thought we got some good Gunn/Wes stuff before the Fred obsession/love triangle kicked in. I liked them in Pylea it was one of the things I enjoyed about the arc. I wish we would have had more Cordy/Gunn. We got first impressions where Cordy is like “I’m gonna be here for you” and then she kinda isn’t? Which is odd.

 

[Priceless]

I enjoy the Dawn/Spike friendship a lot. They're an odd-couple, but they both feel they are outsiders and don't fit in with the rest of the group and this bought them together.

 

[Fool for Buffy]

Gunn and Wesley is the best friendship because of all the ups and downs they go through and always coming out stronger. For the same reason, Willow and Xander is a close second. The Cordy Angel friendship is really sweet for the first two seasons but is definitely ruined by Cangel. Spike and Fred in season 5 is almost the only reason Spike is worth watching for the first 6 ish episodes, outside of him making the occasional joke at Angel's expense. And in the second half of season 5 we get a better Spike and Angel frenemieship, which is so much fun to watch.

 

[DeadlyDuo]

I like the Spike/Clem friendship and the Spike/Joyce friendship, it a shame we didn't see more of them.

 

[Mylie]

Angel/Faith is my favorite friendship of the buffyverse but I also love Buffy/Willow, it's just that I tend to favor other platonic relationships for Buffy before that one (Buffy/Dawn and Buffy/Giles). Willow/Xander is also lovely but I'm not really invested in it.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

Angel/Faith is my favorite friendship of the buffyverse

Second this. Especially in A&F s9. Loved their friendship there.

 

[BuffyBot22]

I really loved Angel and Cordy's friendship until they ruined it with Cangel.
It was a refreshing and surprising friendship.
They had so much they could have done with them as friends.
Turning them into "lovers" was one of the biggest mistakes that show ever made...

 

[sosa lola]

Buffy and Xander. It started with a boy infatuated with a girl and developed into a strong friendship between a man and a woman. What attracts me about them is that they both started out resenting their roles and seeking the gender norms because of peer and society pressures - Teacher’s Pet was the first episode to play with gender roles: Xander being the handsome brunet virgin about to be raped and Buffy being the small blonde hero kicking the door open to rescue the damsel. They will learn to love who they are and accept themselves for who they are instead of trying to fit in with the daunting expectations of gender roles.

It’s a beautiful story with so many ups and downs, so many interesting arguments, so many similarities in personality and storylines, so many different views on things, so many parallels, so many empowering speeches. They appreciate, dismiss, love, ignore each other. They grow closer and stronger as the years pass.

It goes through so many stages. My favorite would be the parental unit of S7 and S8.

One thing to say about the Buffy/Xander friendship: it never gets boring.

 

[Athena]

I really loved Buffy & Tara; they seemed genuine friends, despite everything else going on around them. Tara was the only person Buffy felt wouldn't judge her; I think that says a lot about their relationship.

I also have a lot of appreciation for Spike & Dawn, although I do think that if Dawn's sister was some random, Spike wouldn't be so invested in looking after her. He's only really doing it for Buffy, although I do think he is fond of Dawn.

Giles & Anya have a great working relationship, which is tantamount to friendship.

Cordy & Angel post Sunnydale, pre-Cangel.

 

[white avenger]

I always wanted Buffy and Faith to become really close friends, but probably not lovers

 

[Priceless]

I don't know if it is considered a friendship, but The Mayor/Faith was really interesting. The Mayor was using Faith, but it felt like he really did care for her, and she found an acceptance from him that she'd never felt before.

 

[HowiMetdaSlayer]

Always like the core scoobs' (Willow/Xander/Buffy) friendship the best. ♥

 

[sk]

Always like the core scoobs' (Willow/Xander/Buffy) friendship the best. ♥

Yeah, I think it is this simple.
It's such a major part of the show, the friendship between these three people, and it's also a huge part of what make the show special to me.

/SK

 

[gnarl]

Always like the core scoobs' (Willow/Xander/Buffy) friendship the best. ♥

Thats true, it's also so interesting to see a friendship as it grows and changes over the years. I think a lot of the time film and television shows us the first part of a relationship (be it romantic or otherwise) but not the rest, so it's great to see a friendship that doesn't arise and then stay completely static from there on out but continues to be built upon.

 

[RachM]

I love so many of the friendships/platonic dynamics in the Buffyverse. While the 'Verse sometimes falls short when it comes to romantic ships, I felt that for the most part the friendships on the two shows were very organic and well-developed. Dynamics which I particularly loved:

Willow/Xander - I loved the bond that these two shared, the history they had, the way they'd known one another all their lives and the fact that they always put one another first. Xander's love for Willow in particular was always amazing, and I loved seeing how over-protective he would get of her.

Buffy/Willow/Xander - love the dynamic of these three, especially in the high school years. They were three outcasts who found one another and bonded, and their natural and easy rhythm is amazing to watch.

Xander/Riley - I don't particularly like Riley but it was nice to see Xander have some male companionship for a while and I liked that he acted as Riley's confidant on a few occasions. The two seemed very comfortable around one another. Particularly loved their headlock/wrestling match in the episode Family ("He started it!" "He called me a bad name! I think it was bad ... it might have been Latin").

Wes/Gunn (before the show effed it up with the stupid love triangle) - these two were such an unlikely friendship but when it blossomed it was so sweet and funny and I loved how the two balanced one another and genuinely cared for each other. Gunn's concern when Wesley was shot in The Thin Dead Line was particularly touching.

Wes/Cordy - hated them as romantic options but loved them as friends, especially the snarky back-and-forth between them. It was really nice to watch them grow close and develop a deep and sweet bond.

Angel/Doyle - I've often wondered if Angel bonded so closely with Doyle because they're both Irish?? Either way, Doyle was the first real connection Angel made post-Buffy and I loved how Doyle often understood Angel on a level others didn't and how Angel helped Doyle become braver and shake off his apathy.

Angel/Cordelia - absolutely could not stand them as a romantic pairing but I adore the friendship between Angel and Cordy. It's light and fun and she understands him in ways other characters don't. Cordy is one of the few people who can make Angel genuinely light up and their playful banter and easy, natural rhythm is so much fun to watch.

Angel/Faith - love the dynamic between these two and the way they help one another on their quests for redemption. Faith is one of the only people who truly understands Angel's darkness and vice versa, and the two understand and connect on a very deep and real level. I honestly wish Faith had stayed on AtS rather than returning to BtVS, as I feel she worked better on that show and playing opposite Angel instead of Buffy.

 

[Bite-me]

Cordelia and Anya are clash of egos, I would have liked to have seen Faith and Anya interact, how do you think that would go?... my speculation, might they be really bad for each other? because Anya is judgmental and hypocritical the last thing Faith needs, she has a heart that does not response well to rejection, it would trigger all her issues or might she demonstrate how she much she has grown? tell Anya that the world doesn't owe her anything.... ha ha love to see Anya react to that!

Lorne/Andrew would be good buddies, drinking and board games, play charades with him, listen seriously and fatherly to his silly interests. Anya well clever is quick to the cutting jibe too, Lorne is good natured, so he would be able to tolerate Andrew, under his tutelage he could both grow up and keep his don't take life to seriously attitude.