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   It makes sense that Buffy and Angel were so desperate to remain in each   
   other’s lives in some capacity that they were willing to try anything. Their   
   denial of the situation is also understandable. It would seem though, that   
   since the two never laid any foundation of friendship prior to becoming   
   romantically involved, that such a relationship was never going to happen.   
      
      
   13 ONLY BUFFY UNDERSTOOD THE DICHOTOMY WITHIN   
      
   When a person is a sired, their soul leaves the body and a demon “sets up   
   shop” in its place. That demon has the memories of the body’s former   
   resident, but it’s not the same person. Despite the fact that this was   
   explained multiple times to multiple Scoobies, it doesn’t make much sense   
   that Buffy was the only one who understood that Angel and Angelus were   
   categorically different people.   
      
   Sure, Buffy was in love with him, which made it easier for her to cut him   
   some slack. Plus, Angelus took the life of the woman that Giles loved, so he   
   couldn’t really see straight on the matter. Xander’s vision was always   
   clouded by jealousy. So, it makes sense that it would be a bitter pill and   
   all, but it would seem that someone other than Buffy could’ve grasped the   
   concept.   
      
      
   12 THEY DIDN'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON   
      
   As previously stated, Buffy and Angel had never been friends and never   
   really could be. This is partially due to the epic nature of their love   
   story, but it’s also hard to ignore the truth of the matter: those two had   
   nothing in common. Age may not always be a factor, but with a divide that   
   significant, it really kind of is.   
      
   The decade between them alone would’ve made matters difficult, but two   
   hundred twenty-four years? Buffy and Angel were literally born in different   
   centuries, came from vastly dissimilar backgrounds and really had no common   
   interests, except perhaps for that whole saving the world thing. To be fair,   
   that’s a pretty big one and sometimes people are drawn to one another   
   regardless of whether or not they have much to discuss. Seriously though,   
   what did they talk about?   
      
      
   11 THEY NEVER TRULY MOVED ON FROM ONE ANOTHER   
      
   We all remember our first love: the undeniable melodrama, the unbearable   
   emotional pain, and the palpable excitement. As intense as the experience   
   is, most of us eventually leave it in our rearview mirror. Some people marry   
   their high school sweethearts, but not many.   
      
   Bangel came to an end due to circumstances beyond their control, not because   
   they fell out of love. This does make moving on more difficult, but neither   
   of them ever truly did. Buffy had some unfortunate dating experiences,   
   eventually winding up with “Captain Cardboard,” and Angel found himself   
   shoehorned into a romance with Cordelia. Over time, Buffy developed a deeper   
   relationship with Spike and Angel did care for Nina. However, nothing ever   
   seemed to compare to the feelings that they had for each other.   
      
      
   10 HE KIND OF FOLLOWED HER   
      
   If YOU has taught viewers anything, it’s that all of those rom-com tropes   
   may seem dreamy in theory, but in practice, they’re incredibly unsettling.   
   Everything often comes down to chemistry, because let’s all be honest, if it   
   was Principal Snyder following Buffy in the shadows before actually ever   
   speaking to her, no one would’ve found it even the tiniest bit romantic.   
      
   Buffy and Angel became such a legendary love story that it’s easy to forget   
   that the vampire with a soul kind of followed the slayer from afar long   
   before they met. Sure, it all worked out and Angel never had any ill   
   intentions towards her. However, it wouldn’t be so well received today. The   
   upcoming reboot likely won't have a twenty-six-year-old man lurking in the   
   shadows of a teenage girl.   
      
      
   9 SHE INITIALLY LOVES HIM BUT DOESN'T TRUST HIM   
      
   In season 2 episode “Lie to Me” Buffy admits that she loves Angel, but   
   doesn’t   
   trust him. It’s fair that she’s unsure of the vampire. After all, the   
   slayer   
   is certain that he’s lying about his connection to Drusilla and doesn’t   
   know   
   exactly where she stands. Buffy is also pretty new to the whole love thing.   
      
   Even still, if Buffy doesn’t know him well enough to trust him, it seems a   
   bit of a stretch that she’s confident enough to say that she loves him. In   
   fact, at that point, Buffy really didn’t know Angel that well at all. Their   
   relationship did deepen over time and was certainly bolstered by good   
   writing and the undeniable chemistry between Sarah Michelle Gellar and David   
   Boreanaz. However, when Buffy made that statement, love without trust didn’t   
   make too much sense.   
      
      
   8 ANGEL’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT   
      
   Even the biggest Angel fans will tell you that Angelus is the more   
   interesting character, at least during his stint on Buffy the Vampire   
   Slayer. It wasn’t until he headed to the mean streets of Los Angeles that   
   Angel really came into his own.   
      
   Luckily, the vampire with a soul at the heart of Angel was clever, sincere   
   and at times, even funny. The writers were able to let Angel take himself a   
   bit less seriously and it really worked. His power level also seemed to   
   increase over time, but that could be said of Buffy as well. The fact   
   remains that the Angel of the spinoff was a very different character and it’s   
   kind of a bummer that he only made brief and occasional appearances in   
   Sunnydale after he left.   
      
      
   7 THEIR RELATIONSHIP WAS ALL DARKNESS AND NO LIGHT   
      
   As previously mentioned, the vampire with a soul and the slayer didn’t have   
   much in common. Perhaps this is why their romance, swoon-worthy though it   
   may have been, was also kind of a downer. Seriously, what did they have to   
   discuss besides the impending doom facing them at any given moment?   
      
   Despite her unconventional calling and it’s accompanying pressures, Buffy   
   was seen enjoying herself with the Scoobies on plenty of occasions. Okay, so   
   they mostly hung out at the Bronze, but that’s life in a small town. Buffy   
   and Angel rarely seemed to have any actual fun together. Well, they did go   
   ice skating that one time. Again, it’s easy to get wrapped up in their   
   undeniably compelling romance, but how often did those two actually make   
   each other smile?   
      
      
   6 GELLAR IS TEAM ANGEL, BUT BOREANAZ THINKS ANGEL’S SOULMATE IS DARLA   
      
   Darla (Julie Benz) and Angelus (David Boreanaz) in Buffy the Vampire Slayer   
   There has long been a fan divide over whether or not Buffy belonged with   
   Angel or Spike - sorry, Riley. Both ensouled vampires have ardent   
   supporters. Although Buffy wound up with Spike in the comics, at least for a   
   time, the series wrapped up with no clear indication of who she chose.   
   Gellar weighed in on the matter when BtVS turned twenty, stating that   
   although Spike understood a different part of the slayer, that to her,   
   Buffy’s   
   true love would always be Angel.   
      
   Boreanaz, on the other hand, claimed that Angel’s soulmate was the woman   
   that he spent over a hundred years with, Darla. At the time of the   
   interview, Buffy and Angel were on different networks and Angel’s sire (and   
   their child) were a large part of the season arc. It’s unclear if Boreanaz   
   would still be Team Darla today.   
      
      
   5 JOSS WHEDON IS TEAM SPIKE, DESPITE FEELING THAT BANGEL IS EPIC   
      
   It’s no secret that Joss Whedon wasn’t a huge fan of Angel, finding it much   
   easier to write for his soulless counterpart. Most fans know that he enjoyed   
   writing for Spike. James Marsters’s incredible performance earned him a near   
      
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   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)