The Ballad of Buffy and Angel
At the beginning of the series, Buffy was pretty bubbly,
even in the face of vampires trying to kill her. She would sometimes
feel lonely, abused, tired, or just upset, but she's remarkably strong
and resilient, and handled her duty with aplomb. Then, she met him.
Angel. The one vampire with a human soul. Though they knew
they should stay away, they were drawn to each other. Their fates
became entwined as far back as Los Angeles, when Whistler first brought
Angel to see her. But it wasn't until they kissed for the first time
that he revealed himself, quite by accident, because he briefly lost control
of the demon.
The meddling of Darla, who was one of the oldest vampires record, (not
to mention Angel's sire), nearly brought their story to a premature conclusion.
Darla bit Buffy's mom, and though Angel saved her Buffy thought that Angel
had bitten her. The two faced off, and Angel told her the story of
the curse. Darla tried to kill Buffy, but Angel killed her instead.
For the next year, the two tried to avoid each other, but gradually became
closer. Much closer. She fell in love with him, and he proved
time and again that he loved her. She was his salvation, and he was
her guardian and protector. But they became more. They became
lovers. But no one, not Buffy, not Giles her watcher, not Angel,
and not even Jenny Calendar, the gypsy sent to watch Angel, expected what
happened. After a night of passion with Buffy, Angel lost his soul.
"One moment of contentment, one moment where the soul...no longer plagues
his thoughts, that soul is taken from him." Without a soul, Angel
was just another demon, called Angelus, but one with a special vendetta
against Buffy.
The first time Buffy came up against Angel, she had the chance to kill
him but couldn't do it. Every other time they faced each other, Angel
managed to escape. He continued to taunt her. He killed people
and sent their demonic forms to Buffy. He tormented all her friends.
And then, just as Jenny was about to restore his soul, he murdered her.
The murder of Jenny Calendar was the impetus Buffy needed to finally kill
him. Angelus over played his hand, pissing her off enough to put
past her love for the being once called Angel. She didn't get the
chance, because Giles was in mortal danger, and she need to save him while
Angelus made good his escape. From then on, he avoided her.
But Willow, the heir-apparent to Jenny Calendar, had found the curse.
Despite Xander's protests, Willow began to work it. Drusilla came
to the library, however, and knocked Willow into a coma, kidnaped Giles,
and murdered Kendra, the other Vampire Slayer.
Angelus prepared to raise Acathla, a demon which would suck the whole world
into hell. Whistler, the same demon who had brought Angel to her
in the first place, told her that once the gate was opened, only Angelus'
blood would close it, and it would take Angelus to hell with it.
Buffy was prepared to do whatever it took. Giles was out of the game,
and Jenny was dead. Willow was battered, Xander, Cordelia, and Oz
couldn't be of any help. Buffy was kicked out of her house and out
of school. She had nothing left to lose.
With help from Spike, Buffy was able to defeat Angelus and nearly killed
him. But just before she did, he was wracked by pain–Willow had worked
the curse, and Angel's soul was restored. But it was too late.
The gate had opened.
In a tragic coda to their
story, Buffy and kissed one final time before she stabbed the sword into
his chest, closing the gate and sending Angel to hell. That proved
to be too much for her, and Buffy left town, trying to put her past behind
her.
The story of Buffy and Angel is by no means over. But where it will
go next, no one can really tell...
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