by L Dulac

Created on: June 30, 2008

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's depth and humor is unmatched on television and certainly in all areas of the Buffyverse. Angel is a spinoff and while an excellent one, it still cannot stand up to the original.

Before the beginning of Angel the TV series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer had three solid seasons of apocalyptic mayhem behind it. The relationships between Buffy, her friends ("the Scoobies")and her family added a realistic dimension to the show. This came as a surprising and welcome offset to the fantastic and supernatural elements of the show. Buffy dealt with how to handle what life throws at you whether you ask for it or not. How to be "special" when you want to just be "ordinary." How to risk everything because you have to, even if you don't want to. Doing what is best for everyone else even if it is the worst for you. Buffy's mission is selfless. She is the slayer because she was chosen. She makes the hard choices and does right because it is right.

Angel chose a different direction. From the beginning, it lacked some of the humor of Buffy, obviously trying to be darker than its predecessor. It had its own kind of charm, much of it coming from Angel himself and of course, that newly-broke and slightly-less-shallow Sunnydale defector, Cordelia Chase. But to say the Los Angeles setting was "otherworldly" would be kind. LA's population seethed with demons and vampires, and hardly any had the wit of the Sunnydale villains. The fantasy element in this show was ingrained into every scene. There were far more flashbacks.

The main theme of the show was redemption. Angel tries to atone for his hundreds of years of evil deeds. Angel is out to do good for others but also to help himself. While certainly understandable in the face of his crushing guilt and pain, his motives are to some extent, selfish. Redemption is a noble goal but impossible to achieve through your own actions.

Finally, however, unfair it seems, Angel could not be the Angel we loved on Buffy without her by his side loving him. Without his and Buffy's angst, something was missing from Angel. Buffy could move on. With the Scoobies mostly intact, Buffy was still Buffy. She still had her mission. And the loss of Angel made it only all the more real. Buffy as the slayer always had to face loss. Buffy can be without Angel and still be Buffy. Angel without Buffy just has something missing.

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