Question Human Blood Vs. Animal Blood

[Lyri]

I've been rewatching BtVS over the last few weeks, and I'm currently at the end of S2 - when Angel was rocking his foundation-covered lips, lol. But it got me thinking.

I know the reason behind the makeup choices for Angel was to differentiate between Angel and Angelus, to show that he wasn't the same person. But, like [MENTION=8404]Blaze[/MENTION] said in her thread, is there an in-verse explanation for that change? And the only thing I could think of was the blood Angel was drinking.

Was there ever anything that said that there was a difference between human and animal blood, despite the obvious? Does the animal blood affect them in a different way?

 

[white avenger]

Spike and Angel always acted as though animal blood didn't taste as good as human blood, which is why Spike always seemed to prefer mixing something in his, and Angel made such an issue of mixing otter blood with his regular pig's blood in Season 5. I always imagined it was like comparing a diet soft drink to the regular one. You eventually get used to the flavor, but it's never quite as good as the real thing.

James said once that someone suggested that animal blood would allow a vampire to age, where human blood wouldn't (as a way to explain Spike appearing older if a movie were ever made) but I don't know whether that was from a fan or something that Joss and his writers were considering. Probably the former.

As far as canon goes, aside from the supposed flat taste, no nutritional difference was ever mentioned.

 

[Xin Rong]

I've been rewatching BtVS over the last few weeks, and I'm currently at the end of S2 - when Angel was rocking his foundation-covered lips, lol. But it got me thinking.

I know the reason behind the makeup choices for Angel was to differentiate between Angel and Angelus, to show that he wasn't the same person. But, like [MENTION=8404]Blaze[/MENTION] said in her thread, is there an in-verse explanation for that change? And the only thing I could think of was the blood Angel was drinking.

Was there ever anything that said that there was a difference between human and animal blood, despite the obvious? Does the animal blood affect them in a different way?

In season 3 of Angel W&H mix a little amount of Connor's blood with Angel's pig blood and it has a profound effect on his behavior, because it's human blood rather than an animal's.

Athough, Connor's status as a super being might have played a role in this.

 

[white avenger]

In season 3 of Angel W&H mix a little amount of Connor's blood with Angel's pig blood and it has a profound effect on his behavior, because it's human blood rather than an animal's.

Although, Connor's status as a super being might have played a role in this.

I thought that it was it was specifically Connor's blood, not just human blood, that caused such a change in Angel's behavior. That would fit in with the seemingly instinctual drive of newly created vampires to immediately track down and kill their families. Since Connor was Angel's only living family, that would seem to tie in.

 

[Xin Rong]

I thought that it was it was specifically Connor's blood, not just human blood, that caused such a change in Angel's behavior. That would fit in with the seemingly instinctual drive of newly created vampires to immediately track down and kill their families. Since Connor was Angel's only living family, that would seem to tie in.

Angel implies that it's due to it being human blood.

The vampire's instinctual drive is a entirely speculative assertion TBH, Angel killed his family 'cos he hated his father, Spike killed his mother 'cos he loved her, their human issues manifested when they became vampires, they didn't go and hunt down their family trees.

I can't think of any other time that you theory is supported, maybe Penn but I don't recall exactly.

The guy in CWDP doesn't mention a desire to go and kill family members?

Fray's brother doesn't seem to try and kill his older sister?

As far as we know, Harmony doesn't go after her family.

Dru/Darla's family were already dead I'm guessing.

Jesse goes for Cordelia in season 1, not his family.

 

[Lyri]

I don't know if it's as simple as Connor being related to Angel - I always assumed it was because Connor WASN'T human. His blood had properties that normal humans don't possess and that was why Angel reacted to it like he did. I didn't think it was simple because there was human blood mixed with his regular stuff.

I don't remember anything about any vampire saying that they weren't getting enough to sustain them on animal blood, or if their strength or skills were less because they weren't drinking human blood, which is the whole reason I asked. Angelus in S2 LOOKS different than Angel, not just the way he acts, there are physical differences, he's paler, his eyes are darker, and I know this is a technical, production reason, to make the difference obvious, but I was just wanted to see if there was an in-verse reason.