I haven't actually been reading the comics, but I've been keeping up enough to know that I agree with you (plus, I agree in general based on the TV-canon crossovers).
The Connor thing is especially important. Like, okay, ignore the fact that Angel has all these other friends and earthly attachments. That's super lame, and bad characterization, obviously, but I could almost live with it. But he has a fucking son. You just...can't ignore that. Parenthood means a big shift in priorities for most people, and Angel is definitely one of them. Does he mention that he has a child at ALL in the comics? Even if not by name? If not...yeah. If it is impossible to work the plot you want with the characters you have, you need to either come up with new characters, or a new plot.
This was my biggest problem with Angel's appearance in S7, too (since yo mentioned it...) If it had just been Cordy's coma Angel was dealing with when he showed up, I could have bought it better. Clearly, that scene was the writers trying to remind us that Buffy and Angel have this epic doomed love. Which, yeah, I'm not a huge fan of, but if Buffy can leave that scene and go back to her relationship with Spike, I would be fine thinking Angel could leave it and go back to morning Cordy. I do think part of Buffy and Angel will always love each other/love the relationship they had, so in a Connor-free AU, I could theoretically get behind that scene as a general concept, even if the tone was annoying for me.
But as it is...no. Angel's love life should NOT have been the foremost thing on his mind. As you say, if he'd shown up all depressed, and acted jealous more out of force of habit than anything else, that I could have bought. But, I'm sorry. He just gave up his son. There is no way that he cares as much about is potential future with Buffy as he seemed to, at least not at that moment. I can't believe he'd have the mental energy. I can try to fanwank it as an emotional defensive mechanism, but that doesn't sit well with me at all, given that Angel is normally broody mcbroody face.
In conclusion, word. Yes, these shows were in the same verse, but it doesn't mean you can cross them over willy-nilly, without respect for what happened to the characters in-between crossovers. It's insulting to the fans (I mean, heck, I think the S7 Angel-Buffy reunion would have been much MORE interesting if it had had an in-character Angel -- and it probably would have made me more inclined to watch Angel sooner, since it would have hinted that there was actual development going on).
(And, hell, it's not like it's impossible to do an okay crossover. I think the Doctor Who/Torchwood crossovers -- both Jack on Doctor Who and Martha on Torchwood -- are decently respectful to the respective characters and their growth. At least they didn't make me go "WTF am I watching, and what happened to the character I knew?").
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The Connor thing is especially important. Like, okay, ignore the fact that Angel has all these other friends and earthly attachments. That's super lame, and bad characterization, obviously, but I could almost live with it. But he has a fucking son. You just...can't ignore that. Parenthood means a big shift in priorities for most people, and Angel is definitely one of them. Does he mention that he has a child at ALL in the comics? Even if not by name? If not...yeah. If it is impossible to work the plot you want with the characters you have, you need to either come up with new characters, or a new plot.
This was my biggest problem with Angel's appearance in S7, too (since yo mentioned it...) If it had just been Cordy's coma Angel was dealing with when he showed up, I could have bought it better. Clearly, that scene was the writers trying to remind us that Buffy and Angel have this epic doomed love. Which, yeah, I'm not a huge fan of, but if Buffy can leave that scene and go back to her relationship with Spike, I would be fine thinking Angel could leave it and go back to morning Cordy. I do think part of Buffy and Angel will always love each other/love the relationship they had, so in a Connor-free AU, I could theoretically get behind that scene as a general concept, even if the tone was annoying for me.
But as it is...no. Angel's love life should NOT have been the foremost thing on his mind. As you say, if he'd shown up all depressed, and acted jealous more out of force of habit than anything else, that I could have bought. But, I'm sorry. He just gave up his son. There is no way that he cares as much about is potential future with Buffy as he seemed to, at least not at that moment. I can't believe he'd have the mental energy. I can try to fanwank it as an emotional defensive mechanism, but that doesn't sit well with me at all, given that Angel is normally broody mcbroody face.
In conclusion, word. Yes, these shows were in the same verse, but it doesn't mean you can cross them over willy-nilly, without respect for what happened to the characters in-between crossovers. It's insulting to the fans (I mean, heck, I think the S7 Angel-Buffy reunion would have been much MORE interesting if it had had an in-character Angel -- and it probably would have made me more inclined to watch Angel sooner, since it would have hinted that there was actual development going on).
(And, hell, it's not like it's impossible to do an okay crossover. I think the Doctor Who/Torchwood crossovers -- both Jack on Doctor Who and Martha on Torchwood -- are decently respectful to the respective characters and their growth. At least they didn't make me go "WTF am I watching, and what happened to the character I knew?").