Which show had better Big Bads? Btvs or "Angel"

First off, agreeing with everyone on how great Wolfram and Hart was!

But to the big bads:

1. Glory
2. The Mayor/Faith
3. Angelus

I really liked the idea of Holtz but didn't really care for the way it was executed, and there's really nothing I liked about Cordy/Jasmine/The Beast.
So no Angel "big bad" makes my top 3, but I think that's cause Angel is set up differently than BtVS. Buffy had a set story arc for each season, while Angel focused on stuff that spanned across many seasons and was simply written differently.

I loved W&H but I don't put it on the list because that was pretty much the big bad of the whole show, which is awesome and different than the way they did things on Buffy (although for a personal preference I do enjoy the BtVS season arc set up more)...I think it's almost like comparing apples and oranges.

I liked Buffy overall more, but Ats really didn't have the big bad set up like Buffy did. W&H > The First though, every time.
 
I guess whether you call the Trio the big bad for 6 depends on how many episodes you think they need to be in or how bigger a role they need to play to be considered that. To me they count its just that they tried to go in a different direction with them. The Dark Willow thing was a twist on the whole big bad thing (and much more effective than the trio IMO), it might have been good if they had introduced that one earlier, except that her storyline with Tara was one of the highlights of that season so you would have lost out on some of that stuff.
 
I've never really considered the Trio to be a big bad. When I think season 6 big bad, I think Willow, even if it was only three episodes, I consider her more than the trio.
I think AtS did a far better job at human big bads with Holtz and W&H.

Overall, I think it's hard to compare, since the shows were actually structured quite differently. AtS has W&H as a big bad through every season, something BtVS never had. But then aside from W&H, Ats doesn't really have a definite big bad each season. Season 1 doesn't really have one, you could consider Darla and Dru big bads in season 2 but not for the entire season. Season 3 and 4: Holtz and The Beast/Jasmine respectively and then season 5 is back to just W&H and I guess The Circle of the Black Thorn. Ats was less reliant on a big bad season arc since it has W&H throughout all of it, which in my mind sort of makes it a different animal.

But generally, I guess BTVS had more clear and memorable big bads.
 
AnthonyCordova said:
This is somewhat of a difficult question for me too. I also agree with others that Wolfram and Hart are the best big bad for me...and the most interesting, for what we learn about them and also for what we don't know about them. I like the mystery and unresolved questions that surround them, and I love that we never saw them either.

Buffy had a lot of great big bads though, and some that were...not so much. But Wolfram and Hart just seemed so much more menacing, and they were never beaten either. They were more formidable because they played their game from behind the scenes, pulling strings. It's frustrating and intimidating fighting an opponent that doesn't even need to do it directly themselves.
Click to expand...

That's another thing, I really liked the mystery we were kept in regarding "The senior partners", how they are nothing but mentions. That something that always keeps you wondering element is a strong component of a gripping character or concept.
 
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