When Buffy let Angel drink her blood...

[dexeded]

...to save him, I didn't really get the message it was sending out. It's not just that I'm not a Bangel, but this self-sacrificing right before the Mayor's Ascension seemed foolish at best. This comes from the girl who said "No guy is worth your life ever." (In S7, granted.) From a pragmatic point of view, Angel would aid stopping the Mayor's Ascension, but Buffy could've beaten it without him. Although I suppose grief from his death would hamper her. From an emotional point of view, she did it because she loves him, which, while human, is utterly irresponsible as a Slayer. In Becoming Part II, she killed him (as Angel, not Angelus) to save the world. So in this instance, did she let Angel drink from her because she was confident he would stop once he regained her senses, leaving her with enough blood to live? That scenario doesn't seem that likely, though. What kind of message was that supposed to send out?

 

[BuffyElevated]

Buffy wasn't thinking clearly at the time she let Angel drink from her. At that moment, all she cared about was saving someone she loved. She wasn't thinking about the grand scheme of things and the fact that she was going to have to fight the Mayor, and the fact that if she wasn't able to fight him he'd kill all those people at Graduation. At that time in her life, when it came to Angel, she was always blinded by her emotions.

 

[Ripper666]

I think Buffy was insane. There was too much fear of loosing Angel. The message? Too difficult to put into words. Everybody here can add something new and after half a year we wouldn't have finished. Some may say, there was no message, I agree in the view that there was no specific message. I think there was a lot of " I really love you" and "you're NOT allone". A little bit of "I need you right now" and peaces of " We two can stand this out". There was pure panic and a (insane) plan to rescue Angel. Emotions vs brain. Emotions won...

 

[brinkster130]

did she let Angel drink from her because she was confident he would stop once he regained her senses, leaving her with enough blood to live?

Yes, that is exactly what she believed. She had confidence that he would be able to stop himself or that she would be able to stop him; so in her mind I don't think it was self sacrifice so much as doing what she could to save the person she was in love with.

 

[Gum Gnome33]

I understood where Buffy was coming from when she "forced" him to drink. Love, trust, and all the näivité of an 18 year old. Ultimately her fearlessness was admirable.

It's hard to say though whether she truly believe he'd stop, or that she would be able to stop him. On one hand I think that notion was part of her (hurried) decision making process, but also, she was so desperate and in love that she'd probably have gone ahead with it even if she'd had misgivings.

The main message that I took away from it, (aside from "Buffy loves Angel") is that apparently you can punch Angel 3 times in the face and he'll drink you until he snaps out of it and realizes what's he's done. It was an eye opening reminder that Angel is after all a vampire, and it established for us that the beast is always inside and can come out easier than we'd maybe thought, before.

 

[PrincessBuffy16]

From your point of view, yes, her actions looked really foolish. Risking her life before Mayor's ascension? Risking her life, at all?

But I think that scene was supposed to show us that Buffy trusts Angel. After everything, she still trusted him. The first time she made a big step with him (sleeping with him) it ended up, well not so pretty. This was a huge decision, feeding him her blood.. and she trusted him enough. She trusted him with her life. It was about love, not logic. Love isn't brains, children, it's blood..

 

[Rack]

*sigh* I think this is a pretty accurate illustration of how foolish, blind, and impulsive young love can be, and specifically how far young women will take this. BTVS's original concept (says Joss), was the allegory of high-school-as-horror-movie. "Sure, he may have tried to kill all my friends, but deep down inside I know he really loves me and is a really good guy and he'll change" transfers pretty easily into the oft-heard real-world "Sure, he may have ignored all my calls and treated me awfully and is always hanging out with that other girl and all my friends tell me I'm being stupid but I know he really loves me &c." Of course it was stupid for Buffy to do, but this humanizes her--she may be the Slayer but she's also a teenager--and it also lets us have 5 seasons of Angel. 😉 And this may take the conversation way off topic, but precious few of us are still with our First Big Loves. Getting your heart broken, making foolish decisions and learning from them, that's what makes our later relationships lasting and more mature (hopefully). Like the original post said, S7 Buffy would never have done this--because she grew up. Because it's the best show ever. 🙂

That's why I'm not a Bangel. Buffy is just too young to see her relationship with any kind of objectivity.

 

[white avenger]

I've heard several people here point out how "sensual" an act this was, but I never saw that. What I saw was a girl who had been fed on once before, who would have died from the experience if not for the timely intervention of a human friend who was able to resuscitate her in time. Sure, she loved Angel, and was willing to risk everything, even being unable to prevent the Ascension, in order to either keep him alive or die right there with him.

The look on her face once Angel began feeding looked to me like sheer terror, as though at that moment, all of her romantic delusions and dramatic resolve completely left her, being replaced with the realization that she was quite likely going to die within the next few minutes. Remember, in order to get Angel to feed, she had to provoke his demon. For all that she knew, Angel wouldn't have been able to take control once more in time to stop before killing her. And that, to me, is when she came to the realization that "no guy is worth your life. Ever."

 

[Skytteflickan88]

I've heard several people here point out how "sensual" an act this was, but I never saw that. What I saw was a girl who had been fed on once before, who would have died from the experience if not for the timely intervention of a human friend who was able to resuscitate her in time. Sure, she loved Angel, and was willing to risk everything, even being unable to prevent the Ascension, in order to either keep him alive or die right there with him.

The look on her face once Angel began feeding looked to me like sheer terror, as though at that moment, all of her romantic delusions and dramatic resolve completely left her, being replaced with the realization that she was quite likely going to die within the next few minutes. Remember, in order to get Angel to feed, she had to provoke his demon. For all that she knew, Angel wouldn't have been able to take control once more in time to stop before killing her. And that, to me, is when she came to the realization that "no guy is worth your life. Ever."

I agree and disagree.

First off, apparently she orgasmed. That was what the whole falling down and grasping the whatever(vase?) thing was. I didn't know at first, I thought it was pain, but I was told she had a orgsam(I think it might have been in a interview, where SMG was surprised that part wasn't censored on the channels that did censor stuff).

Then came the terror and the realization "Oh, he's not stopping, and I'm getting really weak" whe we look into her eyes, after the orgasm.

---------- Post added at 09:09 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:50 PM ----------

Now I read the transcript and it seems like Buffy didn't plan on dying at all

http://vrya.net/bdb/clip.php?clip=1328

Still a rash decision, like many above have said. Angel was weak and ill, and might not be able to control himself, and she didn't know how quick he would drink and how weak she would get.

 

[Living Dead Boy]

Well, at that stage in her life, she was still young, and like [MENTION=8356]HisMrs[/MENTION] said, blinding by her emotions for Angel. By season seven, she has matured into a confident, self assured young woman. I can see if she said "No guy is worth your life" then the next episode, she willingly lets herself get impaled by a train for a guy, but those were two different stages in her life.

---------- Post added at 03:28 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:15 PM ----------

[MENTION=8557]Skytteflickan88[/MENTION] ran over by a train. You know what I meant to say, gosh. 😉

 

[Skytteflickan88]

I wasn't sure what you meant, and that last sentence still doesn't make much sense. Did you somehow mean that season 3 Buffy and season 7 Buffy would react differently?

I for one think that right before a apocalypse, yes, season 7 Bufy would not risk her life like that in season 7. But I think she'd die for just about anyone, man or not, in less apocalypsy times. It's what she did every night; patrol, risking her life, to save others.

 

[Living Dead Boy]

I wasn't sure what you meant, and that last sentence still doesn't make much sense. Did you somehow mean that season 3 Buffy and season 7 Buffy would react differently?

Okay. What I'm saying is, it would have been hypocritical for Buffy if she were to say "No guy is worth your life" to Dawn, yet later on, she would act the same way she did with Angel in season three. I'm saying that when she let Angel drink her blood, she was young and in love and wasn't thinking clearly. Season 7, she would've have thought first before doing something like that. Like I said, two different stages in her life. The whole "impaled by a train" thing was just a metaphor. Are you understanding?

 

[Skytteflickan88]

Okay. What I'm saying is, it would have been hypocritical for Buffy if she were to say "No guy is worth your life" to Dawn, yet later on, she would act the same way she did with Angel in season three. I'm saying that when she let Angel drink her blood, she was young and in love and wasn't thinking clearly. Season 7, she would've have thought first before doing something like that. Like I said, two different stages in her life. The whole "impaled by a train" thing was just a metaphor. Are you understanding?

Yes. But I think the use of the Dawn scene from Him doesn't fit, considering Buffy didn't mean that one shouldn't sacrifice oneself to save a guy, she meant one shouldn't kill oneshelf to impress a guy. That's how I interpret her words anyway.

To sum up, in season 7, I think Buffy would still give her life for Angel. Just not right before a big fight.

 

[WWGD]

The emotional point of view is the only one you should be focusing on. Logic is often overridden by emotion, and yeah she has important duties as a slayer but one thing that makes her stand out is the fact that she cares deeply for her friends and has a very strong bond with them. This can be both an advantage and a disadvantage, but it really humanizes her.

 

[EvilWillow]

Seriously though, I have to take Xander's side on this (for once). I was pretty pissed at Angel for doing it, and letting his demon take over. He had a soul, he has obviously controlled his feeding before, so why not now? Why feed off the woman you love just because she provoked you? If he truly loved her, he would have resisted. But then again, we wouldn't have had the fantastic 4 seasons of Angel. (I excluded season 4)

 

[white avenger]

First off, apparently she orgasmed. That was what the whole falling down and grasping the whatever(vase?) thing was. I didn't know at first, I thought it was pain, but I was told she had a orgsam(I think it might have been in a interview, where SMG was surprised that part wasn't censored on the channels that did censor stuff).

Then came the terror and the realization "Oh, he's not stopping, and I'm getting really weak" whe we look into her eyes, after the orgasm.


Still a rash decision, like many above have said. Angel was weak and ill, and might not be able to control himself, and she didn't know how quick he would drink and how weak she would get.

So Sarah played that scene as though having the man who she loved transform into a blood sucking demon, sink his fangs into her throat, and use her for a soft drink was some sort of sexual rush? Spike was right. Slayers have a definite death wish.

And the Bangel shippers claim that Spuffy was based on self destruction and perversion?

 

[InsaneMystic]

So Sarah played that scene as though having the man who she loved transform into a blood sucking demon, sink his fangs into her throat, and use her for a soft drink was some sort of sexual rush? Spike was right. Slayers have a definite death wish.

And the Bangel shippers claim that Spuffy was based on self destruction and perversion?

This.

The whole thing - including planning murder to feed a Slayer to a vampire - just shows again how much Bangel brings out the worst in both parties involved. Icky ship, especially as all the abuse and degradation is played as if it was real love. (While S6 Spuffy rated just as high on the degrading abusiveness, at least it was shown with realism and honesty instead of the big romantic lie. And that's why I will forever prefer it over the ship from Hell, even during that dark age.)

 

[Skytteflickan88]

So Sarah played that scene as though having the man who she loved transform into a blood sucking demon, sink his fangs into her throat, and use her for a soft drink was some sort of sexual rush? Spike was right. Slayers have a definite death wish.

And the Bangel shippers claim that Spuffy was based on self destruction and perversion?

That's harsh. Throughout both series it is shown that a vampire feeding off a person, slayer or not, can be sexual. It's about the sucking, not necassarily the situation. It's a pleasure thing, seemingly equal to touching someone "there".

And you say slayers, plural, have a death wish because one slayer liked to get bit?

---------- Post added at 01:19 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:17 PM ----------

Seriously though, I have to take Xander's side on this (for once). I was pretty pissed at Angel for doing it, and letting his demon take over. He had a soul, he has obviously controlled his feeding before, so why not now? Why feed off the woman you love just because she provoked you? If he truly loved her, he would have resisted. But then again, we wouldn't have had the fantastic 4 seasons of Angel. (I excluded season 4)

He was dying. As in really really ill. He was posioned, feverish, was sometimes hallucinating. He couldn't control himself as well as usual.

This was Angel when he was mentally and physically instable.

 

[PassionBecoming]

I think Buffy was just focused on saving Angel at the point. She didn't want to focus on anything else. I also believe she trusted him with her life and knew he would stop himself. (Or maybe that death wish idea came into play and she didn't care what happened? 🙂 ) Either way, she was like "any other girl in love" as Joyce said.

 

[white avenger]

That's harsh. Throughout both series it is shown that a vampire feeding off a person, slayer or not, can be sexual. It's about the sucking, not necassarily the situation. It's a pleasure thing, seemingly equal to touching someone "there".

I think that what you're referring to is Riley's dalliance with the vampire ho and the scene with Faith and Wes in the vamp brothel, but correct me if I'm wrong. In both cases, the client was bitten on the arm or wrist, never the throat. The only other time that Buffy was bitten at that point was by the Master, and there wasn't anything sexual about it. Afterward, she was bitten, again in the throat, by Dracula, and, while his intention MIGHT have verged upon seduction, Buffy's reaction was only pain.

Traditionally, throughout fiction, and including Whedon's version of vampires feeding, the "sexual" bite is a far different thing from what the vampire does when actually feeding. Angel was feeding. Seduction never entered into it. Rape, possibly, but there was nothing gentle or loving about it. If Buffy couldn't recognize the difference, she is one sick little girl.