Raki
Frenzied serenity
This ought to be a fairly universal question for any and all Bangel shippers, and it's interesting to me as a newbie to these boards and a relative newbie to Buffy fandom. It should reveal a little about how B/A resonates in different ways across a fairly broad selection of Bangel supporters. The question is simple – what moment across the whole Buffyverse made you ship Bangel? Not the first "Aww" moment, but the moment that made you think, "Yeah, that's it. That's my ship." It doesn't even need to be an Bangel interaction – it could be seeing her with Riley/Spike/someone else and realising how much you miss Angel. Anyway, I'll start. Warning: long, gushy story ahead.
I used to ship a lot when I was younger, and I came into Buffy already aware of the endless ship wars, seeing as Bangel vs. Spuffy is nearly as ubiquitous online as Harmony vs. Heron. I decided to go in blind so I could decide for myself. I immediately adored Bangel, especially once it got going in Season 2, but I wasn't quite ready to call it my ship at that point – after all, I hadn't even got to Spuffy, and I assumed that I couldn't take sides until I was done with it all. But Season 3 changed my mind – specifically, the scene on Kingman's Bluff in Amends. Something clicked, and I realised even before seeing Spuffy that nothing could possibly replace Buffy and Angel for me. It sounds presumptuous for me to make that kind of judgement so early in the series, but I was right. The scene isn't even my favourite B/A scene in terms of "cuteness" or chemistry, but it was the point where I saw how B/A tied into the wider narrative of the show.
Amends was a huge turning point in the Buffyverse, at least for me. It practically declares the mission statements of both BtVS and AtS. In some ways, it's among the least S3-like episodes of S3 because it transcends the main theme of the season (which I always interpreted to be Buffy's relationships with authority figures and institutions), but it's still integral.
In terms of B/A, Amends was a game changer. At the beginning of S3, Angel clearly felt a deep sense of devastation and loss. He'd tried to seek redemption in the arms of Buffy, but that had been made impossible. Under the weight of his crimes and the realisation that the promise that he'd allowed himself to believe in was a lie, he faced his darkest demons in the form of The First. As far as he was concerned, suicide was a selfless move – he even said, "The world wants me gone."
Buffy, meanwhile, demonstrated her characteristic strength in telling Angel how wrong he was to give up and that he'd die a monster if he committed suicide. His actions forced her to express in words one of the principal themes of BtVS and AtS: "Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do." It continually resurfaces in both later seasons of BtVS and AtS – this notion that strength means to keep living and fighting, that living is hard and painful, but it's ultimately what has to be done. Buffy has always been the character that I relate to best across the whole 'verse, and here was no exception. Buffy is awesome in this scene (side note: kudos to SMG for that perfectly executed "What about me?") and I was virtually pleading with Angel myself. Then came the snow.
Honestly, I don't need to know or care why the snow appears. Maybe it was the Powers That Be. Maybe it was Santa Claus (when he wasn't disembowelling children). It could have been Buffy for all I care. All that matters to me is what it was, which was proof that the world did not want him gone, that Buffy was right. Angel thought himself an irredeemable demon, symbolised by his being forced to hide away from the sunlit human world, but on that day, it accepted him. It was the moment when Angel's mission changed. He saw that his quest for redemption wasn't something that ended with the events of S2. He realised that to do what was right for Buffy, he had to redeem himself his own way, for his own sake, and that although she would stand by his side and love him, she couldn't hand redemption over to him. I believe it was the path he chose in Amends that ultimately led him to break up with her in The Prom, but I also think it was the right choice – I like to fondly imagine that someday, he does find that closure he needs, and that she chooses to take him back when that happens.
Amends gave Buffy and Angel a fresh purpose and defined key elements of their characters and of their respective shows. It shaped in a large part how I view the two shows and how central B/A is to my fandom – the moment where everything just came together. And with that, I think I've gushed enough.
What made you a Bangel shipper?
(One more thing: did anyone else think "Oh my God, that could be the answer to all their problems!" during the dream sex scene, even for just a second? I can't be the only one!)
I used to ship a lot when I was younger, and I came into Buffy already aware of the endless ship wars, seeing as Bangel vs. Spuffy is nearly as ubiquitous online as Harmony vs. Heron. I decided to go in blind so I could decide for myself. I immediately adored Bangel, especially once it got going in Season 2, but I wasn't quite ready to call it my ship at that point – after all, I hadn't even got to Spuffy, and I assumed that I couldn't take sides until I was done with it all. But Season 3 changed my mind – specifically, the scene on Kingman's Bluff in Amends. Something clicked, and I realised even before seeing Spuffy that nothing could possibly replace Buffy and Angel for me. It sounds presumptuous for me to make that kind of judgement so early in the series, but I was right. The scene isn't even my favourite B/A scene in terms of "cuteness" or chemistry, but it was the point where I saw how B/A tied into the wider narrative of the show.
Amends was a huge turning point in the Buffyverse, at least for me. It practically declares the mission statements of both BtVS and AtS. In some ways, it's among the least S3-like episodes of S3 because it transcends the main theme of the season (which I always interpreted to be Buffy's relationships with authority figures and institutions), but it's still integral.
In terms of B/A, Amends was a game changer. At the beginning of S3, Angel clearly felt a deep sense of devastation and loss. He'd tried to seek redemption in the arms of Buffy, but that had been made impossible. Under the weight of his crimes and the realisation that the promise that he'd allowed himself to believe in was a lie, he faced his darkest demons in the form of The First. As far as he was concerned, suicide was a selfless move – he even said, "The world wants me gone."
Buffy, meanwhile, demonstrated her characteristic strength in telling Angel how wrong he was to give up and that he'd die a monster if he committed suicide. His actions forced her to express in words one of the principal themes of BtVS and AtS: "Strong is fighting! It's hard, and it's painful, and it's every day. It's what we have to do." It continually resurfaces in both later seasons of BtVS and AtS – this notion that strength means to keep living and fighting, that living is hard and painful, but it's ultimately what has to be done. Buffy has always been the character that I relate to best across the whole 'verse, and here was no exception. Buffy is awesome in this scene (side note: kudos to SMG for that perfectly executed "What about me?") and I was virtually pleading with Angel myself. Then came the snow.
Honestly, I don't need to know or care why the snow appears. Maybe it was the Powers That Be. Maybe it was Santa Claus (when he wasn't disembowelling children). It could have been Buffy for all I care. All that matters to me is what it was, which was proof that the world did not want him gone, that Buffy was right. Angel thought himself an irredeemable demon, symbolised by his being forced to hide away from the sunlit human world, but on that day, it accepted him. It was the moment when Angel's mission changed. He saw that his quest for redemption wasn't something that ended with the events of S2. He realised that to do what was right for Buffy, he had to redeem himself his own way, for his own sake, and that although she would stand by his side and love him, she couldn't hand redemption over to him. I believe it was the path he chose in Amends that ultimately led him to break up with her in The Prom, but I also think it was the right choice – I like to fondly imagine that someday, he does find that closure he needs, and that she chooses to take him back when that happens.
Amends gave Buffy and Angel a fresh purpose and defined key elements of their characters and of their respective shows. It shaped in a large part how I view the two shows and how central B/A is to my fandom – the moment where everything just came together. And with that, I think I've gushed enough.
What made you a Bangel shipper?
(One more thing: did anyone else think "Oh my God, that could be the answer to all their problems!" during the dream sex scene, even for just a second? I can't be the only one!)
