Except that they tried to kill each other, left each other for dead, etc.
Come on!!
That in itself can't really be used, as in other relationships in the Vampire world could also be seen as a pledge. The most noble of the Vampire, would see that as the ultimate romantic notion, besting your Sire...
BUT in the case of Darla and Angel there are too many documented occasions of saying, not suggesting, that these two were bound by a lust, but NEVER a love.
No amount of hypothesis and new age hippy thinking will ever counter both fierce denial from both parties, as well as the basic offhand comments they make. Neither Darla or Angel/us loved each other....there is no argument here. Just cold hard facts.
Well I have said before because he has a soul than it permits him to experience love. Then some others say no he is demon demons can't love or feel. Any living being with or without souls can experience emotions. We have Drusilla and Spike, James and Elizabeth, Buffy and Angel, Angel and Nina, Angel and Cordelia, Cordelia and Xander, Xander and Anya, Willow and Oz, Willow and Tara, Buffy and Riley, Spike and Buffy. And yes Angel and Darla who have behaved towards one another really no different than the other couples. The ones without souls have expressed passion, romance, initimancy all elements of love.
This statment is not a logical train of thought at all.
I see absolutely no reason for the long list of couples as all you have done is list them with no reasoning for doing so.
IF you were sticking to your theory that Demons can appreciate and experience love, i do agree, but instead of putting forth a solid argument, you have written a list of Demon/Demon, Demon/Human and Human/Human relationships.....your time would have been better spent identifying specific ones and giving a thorough analysis of how they, in your opinion, were in love and the proof. Instead you have given the entire list of relationships, in an unnecessary rant.
i.e
Demon/Demon
Spike and Drusilla or Elizabeth and James.
Both these are relationships that are, in my opinion, born from an actual love. I see the argument of the 'love' in these cases, as being born from a residual humanity, but to me, the reason its actual love as opposed to faux love, is the intensity of these relationships, and the length of them. Also, as i have stated before, and what PJ also commented on, IF its possible for a demon without a soul to experience one emotion, then its totally plausible for said demon to experience the entire range......
Demon/Human
Angel and Buffy, Spike and Buffy or Angel and Cordelia.
These couples both exhibit in some senses a form of true love, at least to a point. Angel's feelings towards Buffy are genuine, so much so that when he is reverted to his old self, Angelus, that he feels a disgust at the notion of it.
He doesn't want Buffy dead for loving him, he wants Buffy to pay for making Angel love.
Same with Spike. Spike is a romantic, thats his character. He see's love as an eternal pledge, one that exists beyond the here and now. He first shows this with Drusilla and goes to extreme lengths for this woman, one who, from our own view, wasn't as 'in love' with Spike, as he was with her. BUT when he begins to see Buffy on a different standpoint, we are lead to believe this is from season 2, he has a lust for her that is more then his passion of Vampire Slayer, its seeing her as an equal...in a strange way.
Before now, he had viewed the Slayer as his nemesis, he's Lex Luthor to the Slayers 'Superman', but with Buffy he finds that she isnt above anyone, she aknowledges her vulnerability, her humanity, and that inturn allows Spike to view his, thus allows him to realise the lust for the kill, is lost to the lust, then ultimate love, for Buffy.
Angel and Cordelia isnt born from a latent desire or lust, though an argument could be made for Cordelia being she thought Angel 'lush' when she first met him, but i do believe that their relationship is born from a mutual respect of each others status as a 'Champion' and even from the fact that they see a lack of potential 'mates' due to the nature of their lives.
This does not mean their love is actually any less important, infact i do believe it does breed to a point where Cordelia could bring out a moment of absolute Happiness in Angel.
Miscellaneous
Xander and Anya or Willow and Oz.
These relationships are hard to place in one specific catagory, as though arguably they are ALL Human, there is a demon side to each relationship.
Xander and Anya are both HUmans for the entire course of their full relationship, however, Anya still hold the residual aspects of her demon heritage for the entire run. We are constantly reminded that she is now a Human who was a Demon, yet while she was a demon, she retained a soul. So there is no difference to Anyanka and Anya, as they are the same person just in different situations.
Willow and Oz, again hold a difference in that Oz is a demon, but only for 3 nights a month.
BUT we see that this demon part of him, does and will eventually transcend the three nights and become a part of his life in general.
Yet there.
Without going over old ground in the some of the other relationships, i will end there.
NONE of the Human relationships that have been mentioned above have little or no bearing on this whole conversation because we know that humans are capable of love, as its part of us.