Was it good for Cordelia's character to move away from Sunnydale?

[Joshua]

Do you think it was good for Cordy's character to move away from the Hellmouth and Sunnydale?

Or do you think Xander needed Cordelia in his life? imo personally, I think moving to LA, working with Angel Investigations made Cordy grow up as a person.

Sure she had some growing up in late season 3 of BTVS but she was still immature (ie: Choices)

 

[Blaze]

Considering how her character turned out, thank god she moved to L.A.

I don't think she could have ever grown this much with the Scoobies, there was too much conflict with them. And sure they were friends, but I think she needed to be away from them and find her own way. Even on AtS, you can see that in later seasons she would still not fit in very well with the Scoobies.

Also, Doyle had a huge impact on her growth as a character, something she wouldn't have experienced in Sunnydale.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

Considering how her character turned out, thank god she moved to L.A.

I agree. I think the character of Cordelia fits in better in L.A. We see in Welcome to the Hellmouth, she's kind of jealous that Buffy lived in L.A. Her character got to grow a lot more and even though I'm not a big Cordelia fan and I don't prefer her on Buffy or Angel, but she had no where to go really in Sunnydale since she couldn't go to college.

However I really would have liked to see her return to Sunnydale even for an episode. Like maybe a family member died and she just happened to be there for a funeral and ran into Xander or Willow and then gets brought in on the 'monster of the week'. Then they could see how shes grown and she could see Xander in a more mature role and maybe even forgive him for the cheating thing. I think the thing in 'The Prom' was sweet but it wasn't, to me, a good reconciliation. I wanted a more mature apology and forgiveness. Xander apologizes but he was so immature about the whole situation and I think the later more mature Xander would give a more sincere apology about how much he betrayed and hurt her. And then a more mature Cordelia who is over the whole thing could be sincere in forgiving him. This probably could have happened maybe after 'Hells Bell's' or just sometime in season 6 because after that Cordelia becomes a higher being.

Anyways that just my fanfiction mind working. I thought it worked out fine for Cordelia(S1-midS3) on Angel as a character.

 

[chasesummers]

It felt natural for Cordelia to move from Sunnydale. She had nothing and nobody keeping her there, she couldn't afford University, I imagine she didn't want to stay working in Sunnydale so she moved to L.A. for the acting career she wanted.

This makes me think, Cordelia never said anything about acting career during Buffy which is sad because apparently she wanted to continue her studies.

Had she not moved to L.A. I would doubt she would still be around as a regular considering she's the character most distant from the scooby gang. I mean look at Season 4 of Buffy, all the gang split up, can't really see Cordy there.

I'm very glad she moved to L.A., Angel would have been absolutely boring. I just despise Angel Season 4, but whats done is done.

 

[Paramour]

That's a difficult question to answer. Knowing the series of events that led to her death started the moment she reconnected with Angel at that LA party, it's hard to say it was good for her. If she hadn't ran into Angel she never would have met Doyle, they wouldn't have fallen in love, he wouldn't have passed his visions to her, she wouldn't have had to allow herself to become part demon to bear the visions, she wouldn't have ascended to a higher plane, her body wouldn't have been hijacked by an ill-intentioned "Power That Was", she wouldn't have fallen into a coma as a result of bringing Jasmine into the world, and she wouldn't have died in that coma. No one knows what would have happened to Cordy if she had stayed in Sunnydale. It's hard to imagine her fitting back into Buffy's gang because she never really did and there was nothing left for her in that town. Moving to LA and working with Angel developed her into a character with substance and depth that we only ever saw glimpses of on BtVS. Whether or not that vision Skip showed her of what would have happened to Angel if she hadn't been there was true or just a manipulation, it's fair to say Angel wouldn't have been the same without her. She connected him to life and gave him the friendship and support that he would have been lost without. So for many reasons LA was a good move for her - She helped so many people and lived a life that gave her purpose and meaning. But dying at 22 is hardly an ending worthy of her character.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Considering how her character turned out, thank god she moved to L.A.

I don't think she could have ever grown this much with the Scoobies, there was too much conflict with them. And sure they were friends, but I think she needed to be away from them and find her own way. Even on AtS, you can see that in later seasons she would still not fit in very well with the Scoobies.

Also, Doyle had a huge impact on her growth as a character, something she wouldn't have experienced in Sunnydale.

Totally agree. Cordelia needed to get out into the world and become her own person. She needed to see that the world outside Sunnydale was a cruel place, and grow from that experience, and she did that. She turned out wonderfully.

 

[nightshade]

I don't think she would have fit in with the rest of the Buffy seasons, she had nothing really to offer the gang, she would have been another Xander in season 4, not in uni and trying to find another job as I doubt she would have stayed at the dress shop for long.

In Angel she found herself, became a part of the team which she never really was in Buffy

 

[Joan the Vampire Slayer]

Yes, absolutely moving to L.A. was a smart move for Cordelia. We all can benefit, I think, from leaving the security of our hometown and following our dreams. What would Cordelia have done in Sunnydale after high school? Cordelia had to leave to try her hand at being an actress, which was her dream. And as often happens, our Plan A doesn't work out, but luckily Cordelia found another calling which, in the end, gave her life more meaning than acting ever could have.

I'm not too concerned if Xander needed Cordelia, honestly. Xander did fine on his own.

This makes me think, Cordelia never said anything about acting career during Buffy which is sad because apparently she wanted to continue her studies.

What girl who grows up in SoCal doesn't dream of being an actress?

Perhaps her parents wanted her to go to college, but when that fell through, she probably figured why not try her hand at acting? What did she have to lose?

 

[VisionBoy]

I can't imagine her staying in Sunnydale. Cordy always though she was too good for such a small town. She has spoken about how getting out of Sunnydale would be a great thing. Sure moving to LA was a risk and certainly wasn't as glamorous as what she probably envisioned, but considering where she was at by the season 3 finale of Buffy, she probably didn't think she had all that much to lose.

Plus, I know we're talking about vampire slayers and what not here, but it made it a bit more realistic to me. I mean really, the odds of all the high school gang staying together, not one of them going away for either college or something else... it just doesn't tend to go that way.

 

[white avenger]

I think that the character benefited from moving to Los Angeles, and certainly Angel and his crew were better with her being a part of them, but I feel pretty certain that, if she had remained there in Sunnydale, she would have gone through pretty much the same maturing process, maybe by working with Giles in the Magic Shop while going to college on a partial academic scholarship, based on her S A T scores, and facing the day to day grind of not being the rich man's daughter anymore.and almost certainly, she and Xander would've gotten back together, (she was headed that way when he became her hero by paying off her prom dress) so we would have had to get by without the (less than) wonderfulness of Anya.

My point is, Cordy was going to grow up and become a more responsible member of whatever group she was a part of. Angel's crew would have suffered from her absence a whole lot more than she would have suffered from not knowing them.

 

[janas]

I wonder what would happen if Cordelia had remained in Sunnydale. Who we would have missed as characters? Anya? Spike? Both? Because (IMO) Cordelia is a mix of Spike and Anya.

 

[white avenger]

I wonder what would happen if Cordelia had remained in Sunnydale. Who we would have missed as characters? Anya? Spike? Both? Because (IMO) Cordelia is a mix of Spike and Anya.

Come to think of it, Anya could have replaced Doyle as Angel's demon in residence/Powers That Be liaison, and the person who took care of the books and finances for Angel Investigations. back in Sunnydale, Cordy could get the hots for Spike, which would serve to drive both Xander and Buffy wild with jealousy, and they could change the town's name from Sunnydale to Peyton Place.

 

[Buffy Summers]

I think Cordy could have returned at a later time, realizing that LA wasn't as great as she thought it was and having learned to appreciate Sunnydale.

I know they were trying to find Buffy a job and everything, but having Cordy turn up as the new guidance counselor would have been a great surprise.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I think that the character benefited from moving to Los Angeles, and certainly Angel and his crew were better with her being a part of them, but I feel pretty certain that, if she had remained there in Sunnydale, she would have gone through pretty much the same maturing process, maybe by working with Giles in the Magic Shop while going to college on a partial academic scholarship, based on her S A T scores, and facing the day to day grind of not being the rich man's daughter anymore.and almost certainly, she and Xander would've gotten back together, (she was headed that way when he became her hero by paying off her prom dress) so we would have had to get by without the (less than) wonderfulness of Anya.

My point is, Cordy was going to grow up and become a more responsible member of whatever group she was a part of. Angel's crew would have suffered from her absence a whole lot more than she would have suffered from not knowing them.

I kind of agree I think Cordelia would have grown up either way. I like the idea of Xander and Cordy meeting each other after Xander leaves Anya at the alter. It would have been great for their characters I think to see how far along they have come. And I prefer Anya not in her Cordelia role. I think she is much better when she shows her emotions and depth, and then it goes out the window to say stupid, albeit funny, stuff.

I think Cordy could have returned at a later time, realizing that LA wasn't as great as she thought it was and having learned to appreciate Sunnydale.

I know they were trying to find Buffy a job and everything, but having Cordy turn up as the new guidance counselor would have been a great surprise.

Yes! If they took Cordelia in a different place than AtS S4 I would have loved to see Buffy show up on her first day as a counselor only to be greeted by Cordy. That would be awesome!