Ok so I only voted for Buffyverse characters (which includes Ats it's all the same verse in my eyes)
Now first of all to a degree it makes sense that the characters that you think are the greatest are most likely to correlate with the characters you love. It's unlikely that you're going to say, I love that character but they were poorly developed. It would make me think that the reason you like them is pretty superficial (yes ladies we all like Spike's abs lol)
However it's still an interesting thread because although my favourites are Angel, Faith and Wes, I also gave honorable mentions to Spike and Buffy.
Ok starting with
Faith and
Wes, well I pretty much stated it all
here. As for others?
Buffy
No she's not my favourite character but we have to look at how the show has impacted so many of us and I don't believe you get that far with a show with a crummy lead. A successful lead draw us in, be engaging, and identifiable. Buffy takes us on a journey, leading us to grow with her feel for her and even at times be angry at her. What I loved about say Season 6 for example is that I was able to empathise with her, plead with her to get her sense of self back. The malaise was played well and actually cared about what she was feeling.
Few female characters have been able to be so influential without being a prosaic paradigm for feminism but where others fail, Buffy succeeds. She inspires us but she's also wonderfully flawed. Her mistakes are understandable even if we cannot agree with the some of the decisions made.
Spike
Again, not one of my favourite characters but we cannot ignore what an impact Spike has had on the Verse. If nothing else, on the forums he’s a ‘headline grabber’. He was the first of Buffy’s enemies that we can actually cheer on and is it any wonder why? Although he was evil in the beginning, he could see he was hopelessly in love and when he was heartbroken, hell, we could feel sorry for him.
Now the fun really started when he fell in love with Buffy. Many fans were divided over his intentions. We heard everything from: “He was actually treading the muddy waters to redemption”, to: “Everything he did was a selfish attempt the impress Buffy.”
And of course actually getting a soul in the first place?????? I mean come!!!! That almost turned the whole mythology about vampires on it’s head. Some celebrated his apparent deviation from the rule, others considered it a slight against the consistency of the show. Whatever your opinion, judging from the forum threads, you guys haven’t kept your opinions to yourself.
And isn’t this a character we would want to celebrate? Someone who can spark so much interest? This is why I’m voting for Spike. As long as there is interest in the show, there will be interest in Blondie Bear.
Angel
Now this is my man!!!!!
In a lot of ways I don’t know where to start. I suppose I could start
here.
Interestingly me liking Angel breaks most of my rules, as I rarely tend to identify with the lead but he’s a tragic hero so lonely and treads the line between salvation and damnation. From being a visual treat for Buffy and many viewers, to being a convincing lead in his own show. What I loved about the show and the character is that they went beyond the simple notion of redemption nor did the stick with the recovering alcoholic metaphor. We understand that Angel’s fragmented persona goes beyond good and evil, it speaks of a vain attempt to attain purity, finding him vacillating vigorously between idealism and cynicism. Many call on his questionable choices but I see a visionary who tries hard to see his concept beautiful world realised. People talk of what other characters achieved: Dying to save the world, getting a soul, having a rapid personality change, but when I see Angel, I see someone who goes beyond the clichés of being a hero. I see a man who hasn’t achieved the destination, someone who’s beginning to realise the journey is all.
My voting for Angel is because he’s the reason I fell in love with Ats, in the similar way that Buffy is the primary reason I loved Buffy. Without Angel there is no Ats. We don’t have the contradiction in terms, the subtle humour and wonderfully under the radar subversion of the classic heroic archetype.
