Why Bangel Endures

[RachM]

BtVS has been off the air for close to fifteen years and the Bangel relationship was technically over in Season 3, yet Buffy and Angel as a couple still endure. They are often listed (in very high spots) on “Best TV Couples” lists, referenced in popular culture and almost always brought up during discussions about human/vampire relationships and vampire fiction in general. Even the BtVS Twenty Year Reunion Special used the couple as the front cover. So what is it about them that endures?

I would theorise that it comes down to the epic scope of their love, the way it’s portrayed as transcending the average love story, the way they are shown to always love and want one another and the way the narrative portrays their love story. I would also say that it has something to do with the fact that they were one of the first major vampire/human love stories in modern pop culture as well as the palpable chemistry between Sarah and David.

What do you guys think? Is there just something magical about this ship that make it endure? Is it down to the chemistry of the actors involved? Is it because no other human/vamp relationship has managed to capture that same tragedy and epic feel? Share your thoughts!

 

[Skanky Vamp]

Honestly, I think the only reason Bangel endures is because of Angelus. Were it not for Angelus it would be any other relationship. Angelus is what elevate Bangel from the typical teen show love story to something that transcends the genre. Angelus took Bangel from generic teen love story to something more 'adult' and substantial. Something more epic.

 

[RachM]

Honestly, I think the only reason Bangel endures is because of Angelus. Were it not for Angelus it would be any other relationship. Angelus is what elevate Bangel from the typical teen show love story to something that transcends the genre. Angelus took Bangel from generic teen love story to something more 'adult' and substantial. Something more epic.

I don't quite agree (mostly because I hate when Bangel is references to as a "teen" love story, because despite Buffy's age, IMO it was far deeper than that) but I do understand where you're coming from. A lot of articles which discuss the romance often reference the Angelus period. But I don't think it's just that aspect, as there are other vamp/human relationships which focus on the moral ambiguity of vampires.

 

[EarthLogic]

Brief answer before I go to bed:
R.e. magazines and media:

• First major pop- culture vampire romance couple - on an iconic cult TV show
• Sarah and David had tons of chemistry - 'course it helps that they're both incredibly hot!
• Classic tragic star-crossed lovers angle

Magazines and celebrity / entertainment blogs are suckers for the above reasons, so it makes sense they'd go for the ship. It's fandom and academia that actually considers them on a deeper level, and of course it's from within these that arguments against it, or in favour of Spuffy/ other relationships arise.

For popular culture and fiction - I'll leave that for tomorrow, but Mr. Pole above has hit the nail - or at least one major nail - on the head IMO.

 

[Skanky Vamp]

there are other vamp/human relationships which focus on the moral ambiguity of vampires.

Yes, but what Bangel did was go beyond moral ambiguity. Hell, even if Angel stayed dead, as was the original intent, I think Bangel would be lesser. It's that he came back and how the relationship continued.

Also, I mistyped on the second part. I didn't mean a teen love story but a teen show with a love story as I said in the first line. There is a huge difference.

 

[RachM]

Yes, but what Bangel did was go beyond moral ambiguity. Hell, even if Angel stayed dead, as was the original intent, I think Bangel would be lesser. It's that he came back and how the relationship continued.

You're definitely right, and now that I think about it, it really is the tragedy of Bangel which makes them so epic and that tragedy would not have come about were it not for the Angelus period.

Although, I still think that had David and Sarah not had such amazing chemistry, this ship may not be remembered as well as it is to this day.

 

[Mylie]

It's definitely their story and the epic/tragic side to it. The Angelus period definitely made it a cult ship just like it helped make the show the phenomenon it turned out to be. I think people also love star-crossed lovers stories and doomed relationships in general and this one is very well told and acted.

I think the fact that the relationship never had closure also helped. It left fans wanting more in a way.

 

[crazysoulless]

The ship has such a classic dynamic that has been around a long time but I can't think of anyone doing it well on tv before, it was popular in some romance novels. So whenever a ship has that dynamic (Max & Liz, Bill & Sookie, Stephan & Elena, Castiel & Dean, Dimitri & Rose), people recognize Angel & Buffy in it and it's become sort of the Bangel archetype.

Every ship fits within a trope but very few are the frontrunners of one. They've surpassed the Romeo & Juliet and Beauty & the Beast archetypes since R&J just have the claim of "star crossed" in it's most basic form and B&B never mature beyond the "I love you" (they get their happily ever after directly following it).

 

[The Bronze]

There are a lot of contributing factors that have already been mentioned. I would add that the back end of Season 2 and into Season 3 was some of the best of the show. The events in Becoming had a massive impact on the viewer so you're naturally routing for the relationship to work when Angel comes back. When they decide it can't work for reasons outside of their control it leaves a permanent what could/should have been feeling.

 

[BibliophileAnn]

All good points. I think why Bangel endures is in part because the character and actors are memorable. It was created well, acted well, and written well. It strikes a chord with the viewers and youn want them to succeed and be together. The tragic part of it appeals to a lot of people. Bangel endures because it is the kind of love that does.

 

[crazysoulless]

I think what I love the most is how they are soulmates and when they're together it's not about settling or being happy enough or being in the now or gratitude or just not wanting to be lonely. They see each other as their other half, their happily ever after.

In Once Upon a Time, the Charming family have a thing about their love being so strong they'll always find each other. They get separated but they'll always reunite because it's the stuff of fairytales. The journey is long and full of chaos but it always leads them home to each other.

Buffy: How did you find me here?
Angel: If I was blind I would see you.
Buffy: Stay with me.
Angel: Forever. That's the whole point.

There were so many hints on both shows Angel & Buffy are more than just a ship.

Angel was cursed with a soul in 1898 but the Powers That Be waited until 1996 (98 years) for Buffy to be activated and the Watchers Council to send someone to recruit her and then the PTB sent someone to recruit him, driving him thousands of miles from NY to CA to see her become the Slayer.

In Hope Faith & Trick, Buffy placed her claddagh ring on the floor where she sent Angel to Hell and seconds later he was returned. The ring (a symbol of their love) acted as a totem and locked into him in another dimension.

In s4, 5, 6, & 8, it was shown/referenced that Buffy still had Angel's fang marks on her neck. The only physical injury her accelerated healing couldn't touch.

In IWRY, Buffy sensed Angel when he was completely human.

And of course s8.

 

[Mrs Gordo]

Simply put, I think the story endures because it is an atypical love story for its time. Joss & Co. took an often used trope (forbidden/star crossed lovers) and he gave it such a unique twist. Back in the late 90's there was no Twilight or TVD or vampire romance novels. It was Dracula and Ann Rice. And even then we had never seen then this story told where it was the girl who was the stronger of the pair and the one whose sacred duty it was to kill the very thing that she had fallen in love with.

Back before BtVS s5, Angel and Buffy falling in love was painted as this incredibly unlikely and rare event. They were supposed to be inherently in opposition to each other. Angel may have a soul but he is also a demon. Buffy was a girl but she was also THE Slayer. It's not just that they were told by their families or society that they couldn't/shouldn't be together (think Romeo and Juliet) but it's that their very natures should have assured that they wouldn't fall in love. Darla alludes to Angel loving Buffy as being sick and doesn't believe for one second that Buffy would accept his "true face", Spike talks about how Angel falling in love with a slayer makes him want to heave in In the Dark. Whistler comments on how the Powers didn't really think this would happen "nobody saw you coming."

In the Riley one shot (s8), Whistler says "There are lots of possible futures, Angel. It's just that some of them aren't very likely. You and Buffy falling in love, that was one of those -- a longshot that paid off." (Again emphasizing that they really didn't think it was likely that Angel and Buffy would fall in love).

And yet, they did. And the reason they do is that both of them broke the mold. Angel was "different" because although he was a vampire he had a soul. Buffy was "different" because although she was a Slayer she wasn't your typical slayer, born and bread to be a tool of the Watcher's Council, she had friends/family a normal life and a huge capacity to love.

And I think that as time goes on and even as the story progressed some of the unique aspects of the origin for that relationship were somewhat forgotten. But at the time of it's inception, this love story was rare and one of a kind. And I think that is a large part of why it has endured and why it remains one of the most significant relationships in pop culture. And why Joss calls it, "the grandest love story I'll ever tell."

*this was my 3,000th post* 😎