Why didn't Angel come back to Sunnydale after Buffy died?

R

Robb Stark

King in the North
Joined
May 30, 2012
Messages
2,588
Location
Tempe
Sineya
I was thinking about this today and how when he goes off on his trip around the world to deal with losing Buffy, he probably should have headed to Sunnydale. The Scoobies were having a pretty tough time without Buffy and things were falling apart pretty fast.

Also, remember that by this time, no one but Dawn had really accepted Spike as a friend, so it's not like Angel would have been rejected. They probably could have used him. Is there any real reason why he didn't go and help them? I mean, he was still running with the whole "help the helpless" theme then, and it's not like the Scoobies were scoring major slayage points...
 
The actual reason, of course, was that Buffy and Angel were by then on different networks, so crossovers would have to be very limited. Story wise, however, it would be hard to explain Spike and Angel, at that time, doing anything but going at each other's throats constantly, let alone cooperating in patrolling the hellmouth. As for the Scoobies being more apt to trust and accept Angel than they would Spike, I don't think that there would have been an appreciable amount of difference. Xander never liked Angel in the first place, and I seriously doubt that Giles could ever look at him without being reminded that the woman who he had loved was dead because of him.

From Angel's point of view, I don't think that the notion of returning to Sunnydale ever even occurred to him. Buffy was his only reason for ever being there, and she was dead. He felt no obligation to help patrol the hellmouth, any more than he did to see if Dawn was being properly cared for. The Scoobies might have liked and trusted him more than Spike, but not by an appreciable amount, and he, quite frankly, felt just about the same way about them. Plus, and this is probably the biggest factor, Angel is the type of person who crawls in a hole and grieves alone. It's hard, if not impossible, for him to share that part of himself with others. In order to deal with Buffy's death and refocus himself on his own mission, he needed quiet, solitude, and time. He couldn't have been able to have those things while surrounded by Buffy's friends.
 
Gum Gnome33
Gum Gnome33
[No message]
D
dexeded
[No message]
Another response is not really needed after that awesome post. 😀
U think that Angel was doing enough work in L.A. Without having to help out in Sunnydale. As soon as he had had enough time alone, he went straight back to investigating.
 
He should have gone to sunnydale, but I understand why he didn't, the scoobies were not his concern, and we have seen angel be selfish before, and do again. He took the time he needed to try and deal with his pain... nobody else would have been factored into his logic whilst in this pain.
 
Xin Rong said:
He should have gone to sunnydale,
Click to expand...

Why? He had a job to do, a duty he had undertaken. The Scoobies weren't his responsibility, and they could handle themselves. Besides, he hadn't been particularly close to any of them since leaving Sunnydale.

This thread has got me thinking: we never do see a scene with Dawn and Angel together, do we? We know that his memories has been altered too (Angelus knows who she is when he calls Buffy's house in AtS season 4), and Dawn has memories of him (which she unfortunately shares with Riley).
 
H
Hale Caesar
[No message]
VisionGirl said:
Why? He had a job to do, a duty he had undertaken. The Scoobies weren't his responsibility, and they could handle themselves. Besides, he hadn't been particularly close to any of them since leaving Sunnydale.

This thread has got me thinking: we never do see a scene with Dawn and Angel together, do we? We know that his memories has been altered too (Angelus knows who she is when he calls Buffy's house in AtS season 4), and Dawn has memories of him (which she unfortunately shares with Riley).
Click to expand...

Angel did have a job to do, but he chose that summer to hide away in a monastery rather than do it. While I agree about the Scoobies and their relationship with him, and I do understand his need for solitude in order to grieve, he should have, and possibly did, for all we know, at least offer, even if the offer wasn't as sincere as it might have been. One way or the other, patrolling the hellmouth was no longer his job.

As for Dawn, while we never have any sort of indication as to how they got along, my guess would have been, not very well. Everybody's memories of Dawn, as implanted by the monks, was that she had a huge crush on Xander at that time. That being the case, it doesn't take a huge stretch of the imagination to feel that she would share, or at least pretend to share, his opinions about most things, including his distrust and general dislike for Angel. That would make it very unlikely that they would be very close.
 
VisionGirl
VisionGirl
[No message]
D
dexeded
[No message]
He was busy fighting demonic monks.

Plus, the only thing Angel had in Sunnydale was Buffy. Why would he go back there to see a bunch of people that hated him?
 
VisionGirl
VisionGirl
[No message]
The Scourge said:
He was busy fighting demonic monks.

Plus, the only thing Angel had in Sunnydale was Buffy. Why would he go back there to see a bunch of people that hated him?
Click to expand...

To protect, or at least offer a little bit of help, to the people that mattered the most to the love of his life. I am very rarely a spuffy person, but the fact that spike stayed and did his best to protect dawn, even though buffy was dead and unable to see him do so, was very selfless and admirable, especially for a creature with no soul.
 
Xin Rong said:
To protect, or at least offer a little bit of help, to the people that mattered the most to the love of his life. I am very rarely a spuffy person, but the fact that spike stayed and did his best to protect dawn, even though buffy was dead and unable to see him do so, was very selfless and admirable, especially for a creature with no soul.
Click to expand...


They could take care of themselves. Angel didn't owe them anything. Besides, if Angel was going to stick around somewhere and help anyone's friends, it would be his own. But Angel needed time away from everyone to cope with Buffy's death. He has always been one to brood and mourn in solitude.

Spike interacted more with the Scoobies in 2 seasons than Angel did in the 3 he was on the show. Not to mention that Angel never really connected with any of them. Giles resents him, Xander hates him, he and Willow were never close, Joyce was already dead, and we don't even know what his relationship with Dawn was like. Did he go after her as Angelus. Who knows. She'd be properly looked after anyway.
 
H
Hale Caesar
[No message]
The Scourge said:
.

Did he go after her as Angelus. Who knows. She'd be properly looked after anyway.
Click to expand...

I think that there was a scene depicting a false memory of Angelus almost attacking Dawn, but being repelled by someone (Jenny maybe) using a cross. The actual scene, if I recall correctly, had involved Willow, not Dawn.
 
Angel didn't go back to Sunnydale because he had no place there anymore.

Also, Angel had to deal with Buffy's death in his own way. Why would be go back to Sunnydale? I think you overestimate how helpful Angel was. And he never really liked the Scoobies. His decision to not go back (even for her funeral) was probobly fully selfish. Seeing Buffy's friends? Seeing the places they used to spend time together in? I imagine that would have been too painful for Angel to bear. Frankly, I'm sure he was aware that they could have used his help, but he probobly figured that it wasn't his problem anymore. He had his own life and Sunnydale wasn't a part of it anymore.
 
VisionGirl
VisionGirl
[No message]
H
Hale Caesar
[No message]
The Scourge said:
Plus, the only thing Angel had in Sunnydale was Buffy. Why would he go back there to see a bunch of people that hated him?
Click to expand...
This was what I was about to say. The only thing that really ever tied him to Sunnydale was Buffy. If Buffy was dead, why would he want to go back there? Out of the Scoobies, the only one he was ever truly friendly with was Willow, but I wouldn't think they'd be such good friends that he'd stop over to pay her a visit.
 
VisionGirl said:
When was this? I don't remember that!
Click to expand...

I thought that I saw it somewhere, but maybe I just dreamed it. It stands to reason, though, even if nothing specific was ever shown, that there would be sort of false memories concerning Dawn during the period when Angelus was in Sunnydale.
 
white avenger said:
I thought that I saw it somewhere, but maybe I just dreamed it. It stands to reason, though, even if nothing specific was ever shown, that there would be sort of false memories concerning Dawn during the period when Angelus was in Sunnydale.
Click to expand...

Wait...what? You had a dream and thought it was real? 😱
 
[MENTION=10542]Hale Caesar[/MENTION] [MENTION=10354]VisionGirl[/MENTION] [MENTION=6758]white avenger[/MENTION]

It was in the comics, False Memories. There's a flashback which depicts what white avenger described.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom