From: daviderl31@yahoo.com   
      
   https://screenrant.com/buffy-the-vampire-slayer-couples-hurt-saved/   
      
       Everyone has a favorite Buffy couple and one they can't stand. Here are   
   the best and worst.   
       Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the most revolutionary television   
   shows of all time.   
       Action/adventure/sci-fi series still use terms like Big Bad to describe   
   their season’s major villain. Its impact on pop culture is tremendous.   
       The show works so well for so many reasons, it tackles so many themes   
   that are still relevant, but the main thing that keeps coming back has to be   
   the wide cast of characters and their sincere, often troubled relationships.   
       The Scooby Gang never has it easy when it comes to love. In some ways,   
   the show is defined by heartbreak.   
       People rarely just break up on Buffy, their relationships usually end in   
   profound loss, even for couples that fans aren’t even necessarily fans of.   
       Fans love their relationships and still speak passionately both about   
   the ones they love and the ones they hate.   
       There are certain boyfriends of Buffy’s that, even now, spark contempt   
   amongst the fan base, and there are still endless debates as to whether she   
   should have wound up with Spike or Angel.   
       There have been so many couples throughout seven seasons of Buffy the   
   Vampire Slayer that it is worth going through each of them to determine   
   which ones actually hurt the show, as well as which ones saved it.   
      
       Here are the 10 Couples That Hurt Buffy The Vampire Slayer (And 10 That   
   Saved It)   
      
           20.  HURT: BUFFY AND SCOTT HOPE   
       Many people don’t even remember Scott Hope, but he was one of three   
   recurring characters introduced in the season three episode “Faith, Hope and   
   Trick”, with the other two being new slayer Faith and vampire Mr. Trick.   
       While he might not have made an impact, he was Buffy’s boyfriend for an   
   entire chunk of the season.   
       Everyone expected Buffy to eventually break up with Scott to get back   
   together with Angel, but that didn’t happen.   
       Instead, Scott broke up with her after she continued to keep him at arms   
   length.   
       The fact that this relationship for the show’s central character had no   
   real impact definitely didn’t help the show and barely registers as an   
   afterthought now.   
      
           19.  SAVED: BUFFY AND SPIKE   
       It should be clear right off the bat that the couple’s actual time   
   together was abusive and manipulative and not great for either of them, and   
   that’s why it won’t top this list.   
       However, there are still many people who believe that Buffy and Spike   
   belong together. That’s because the pairing made sense, even after it was   
   mishandled.   
       Spike went through so much to win Buffy’s affection and Buffy could   
   count on him and confide in him even when she couldn’t go to her friends.   
       While the end of season six was a disastrous turn, the seventh season at   
   least gave fans hope that one day they could get back together as a mature   
   couple.   
      
           18.   HURT: GILES AND OLIVIA   
       it was great to see Giles move on after Jenny’s tragic loss and have   
   some kind of mature adult relationship after the destruction of the high   
   school and the loss of his job as both librarian and watcher.   
       However, his relationship with Olivia ultimately went absolutely   
   nowhere.   
       It would have been perfectly fine for them to just be two people keeping   
   things casual with no real need for serious feelings, but the show attempted   
   to expand their relationship a couple of times and it never worked.   
       Olivia learned the truth about Sunnydale and Giles in “Hush”, and   
   suggested that it might be too much for her to handle.   
      
           17.    SAVED: GILES AND JOYCE   
       While the two of them never got together in the long run, there were   
   always clear feelings between Giles and Joyce, particularly in the third   
   season.   
       These feelings were best exemplified in “Band Candy”, in which both   
   characters are reverted back to a teenage state and lose their adult   
   inhibitions, resulting in them copulating on the hood of a police car.   
       Buffy later finds out about this in “Earshot”.   
       Even though Joyce and Giles never really pursued a relationship after   
   that episode, there was a sincere respect and trust between them.   
       While it was wise for them not to get together in the long run, their   
   brief pairing together proved to be a lot of fun for fans.   
      
           16.   HURT: SPIKE AND HARMONY   
       This was funny at first. However, the joke wore out quickly as the   
   relationship went on. Spike’s treatment of Harmony was manipulative and   
   abusive, to the point that he even staked her without realizing that she had   
   become invulnerable.   
       He did not know that it would not dust her when he did it, which is a   
   huge red flag for a vampire relationship.   
       He continued to see Harmony even after becoming aware of the fact that   
   he was in love with Buffy and even used her as a rebound in the fifth season   
   of Angel, even after he had gotten his soul back — though she was at least   
   aware of it that time and managed to call him out.   
      
           15.  SAVED: RILEY AND SAM   
       it’s no secret that most people weren’t a fan of the Buffy/Riley   
   relationship throughout season four and into season five.   
       They had far from the passionate drive that she had had with Angel.   
       For many fans, they never even wanted to see her with anyone but Angel,   
   so no one was going to compare.   
       It was clear that Riley was not the one, though, and the show even   
   commented on that numerous times.   
       Riley left during a devastating season five departure and when he   
   returned, he was married to a woman named Sam.   
       It turned out to be the best for both Riley and Buffy. He settled down   
   with someone who can share the same lifestyle.   
      
           14.   HURT: WARREN AND KATRINA   
       This relationship definitely served its purpose by showing what a   
   terrible human being and hateful misogynist Warren turned out to be.   
       This was a guy who built a robot girlfriend and then abandoned her   
   without her understanding why and without telling any of this to Katrina at   
   the time.   
       When Warren tried to win back Katrina’s trust, it turned out to actually   
   be part of his plan to hypnotize her into being his slave, which then   
   backfired causing Warren to assault her and end her life.   
      
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