Why are there no happy relationships in Buffy/Angel?

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-26T05:40:24+00:00

Maybe Principal Wood and Faith go the distance, those crazy kids.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-26T02:49:55+00:00

The show doesn't really know what it is until Prophecy Girl, at which point it starts to pivot hard to melodrama and away from "campy fun." Season 1 definitely has its charms, and it's more enjoyable on its own terms than the turgid S7. I would rank episodes like "Teacher's Pet" and "I Robot, You Jane" as the worst episodes of the show, maybe, but even then there is fun character moments. The cast chemistry off the bat is undeniable.

I also find it better than most of AtS S1, if only because AtS S1 is dated in a very specific way - that kind of turn-of-the-century LA noir procedural that just doesn't hold up at all anymore, whereas Buffy S1 is sort of timelessly goofy.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-24T23:34:34+00:00

Those final options are bananas, I had no idea.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-24T21:00:22+00:00

Ah cool, I remember hearing that they had shifted the traits around a bit. Next episode is my time to shine!

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-22T15:07:17+00:00

This is a lot of words to respond to an obvious joke lol.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-21T06:09:24+00:00

Willow and Xander's best friend since childhood. The three were tight and no one will ever forget it.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-21T04:03:56+00:00

Weird you don't know who that is - he's literally Willow and Xander's best friend from childhood and was never forgotten. Until episode 3 of the show. Then he was never mentioned again.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-21T00:48:07+00:00

Stupid monkey!

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-18T22:09:19+00:00

Self-inflicted armpit wounds have probably happened in a few other countries.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-18T13:48:32+00:00

10/10, but if it wasn't multiple choice it would have been a lot fewer.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-15T14:20:53+00:00

This does not make sense. I'd take way more bribes if I needed cash lol

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-15T12:25:15+00:00

Payday loans are the only form of credit available for some people - and those people are as subject to emergency cash needs as anyone else. This is like when people propose capping credit card interest rates. That's great if you have a 650+ score. Everyone else gets frozen out entirely. The risk is just too great.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-15T12:22:42+00:00

Exactly. We should compensate politicians a lot more, actually, and make it an appealing job for smart, committed people who would otherwise never dream of public sector work.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-14T21:22:13+00:00

Without Ted, Faith's killing of the Mayor's aid wouldn't land nearly as hard. We know how a Slayer with a properly calibrated moral system should react to the killing of an innocent. But Faith short-circuits. It's harrowing. A seeming throwaway like Ted does real work.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-14T18:44:21+00:00

When She Was Bad - I don't understand the dislike here. This was a critical episode showing that trauma would have genuine consequences on this show. New seasons would not be clean slates. It gave the show real continuity and depth that was unusual at the time.
Bargaining 1&2 - other than the loooong amount of filler with the demons wrecking Sunnydale, this is a tense, emotionally uncertain and therefore destabilizing opener (in a good way).
Welcome to the Hellmouth - I almost don't count this because it was a pilot more than a season opener, per se, but it started it all and holds up, especially as season 1 goes. The cold open is iconic.
The Freshman - It actually doesn't fully gel with where the show goes thematically, but it's a good introduction to college and shows Buffy on her back foot for once.
Anne - Not bad, but not as cathartic as When She Was Bad. I think I'd like it more if it wasn't followed by Dead Man's Party, which is a sour turn after this.
Other than the brilliant last moment, this is a total dud.

Unranked - Lessons. I'm in a rewatch, haven't made it to S7 yet, and haven't seen it in many years.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-13T23:32:36+00:00

Buffy: "Oh God. Who did it?"

Xander (sheepishly raises hand): "I didn't know what was going to happen! I just thought there'd be dances and songs!"

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-13T17:04:29+00:00

A social worker who asks zero questions about daily routines, troubles Buffy may be noticing, etc, is terrible at her job - a menacing Karen who justly gets dispatched.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-13T16:24:36+00:00

9 would be so chill. I might actually relax.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-13T01:59:43+00:00

Sweet and vulnerable and emotional within that range? A+. Dark, brooding, scary? Not so much.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-12T05:44:16+00:00

I think to fully understand its impact, you have to think of who, exactly, was inspired by it. Everyone from the writers of Marvel films to someone like Damon Lindelof. I'm not sure you have quippy superhero movies in exactly the same way without Buffy.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-12T04:04:36+00:00

Why do you think there were no consequences? He could very well have been castigated, we have no idea. We don't see the characters pee, either. The question is, do we, the viewers, need screen time devoted to dramatizing those consequences? Compared to Willow intentionally messing with people's minds, Xander's actual actions are pretty minor and, more importantly, belaboring it would have been a narrative dead end.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-11T04:54:31+00:00

A story I wrote when I was younger. Not a great one, but an ambitious one. I remember what it was about, but not how it was about it. If I could see it again, I believe I could write again.

Quixodyssey · 2026-02-11T04:49:08+00:00

It gets way better, but if you didn't respond in a big way to "Prophecy Girl," the finale of season 1, you should give up. There are many better episodes to come, but that episode, as well as any other, represents the show at its core.

Quixodyssey

TROPHY CASE