Cordy/Angel meta

[next_to_normal]

There's a thread on the BSV forum on the Cordy/Angel relationship, and I'll probably get around to posting this there  when I get a chance, but I figured I might as well jot down my thoughts while I was thinking them. Also, I've been trying to post more stuff here besides fic and memes, and for the most part, people seem to like the meta, so here goes.

I was never really into Cordy/Angel. I mean, I get objectively why they'd make a good pairing, but I just wasn't invested in them. (Also, I think the things that would make them a good pairing are the same things that made them a fantastic friendship, so why mess with a good thing?) So, last night, I was watching "Spin the Bottle" (thank you, Scarlet), and I finally figured out what about the ship turns me off.

It's trying to be Bangel.

It's as though the writers felt like the best way to compete with the Buffy/Angel relationship was to make Cordy/Angel just as star-crossed - even though the relationship was completely different. The thing is, Cordy and Angel had this deep friendship Buffy and Angel never had. And it didn't have to be romantic - their chemistry reminds me a lot of early Buffy/Willow, or season 5 Angel/Spike. (In fact, Cordy's relationship with Angel is exactly like Spike's. They both know him better than anyone, they're the ones to always call him on his shit, and they're the best at bringing out both petty!Angel and hero!Angel... and omg, I just realized that Spike was totally brought in to replace Cordy twice.)

Er, yeah. Where was I? Right. Angel and Cordy, totally different foundation from Angel and Buffy. But as soon as Angel recognizes his feelings for Cordy, the writers start throwing up one artificial roadblock after another, trying to come up with ways to keep them apart, when there's really no good reason to. First it's Groo, then Cordy disappears, then she's back but she's lost her memory, then she remembers everything, but she knows too much, then the Connor thing, and then he's evil, and then she's evil, and by the time we get to the coma, instead of thinking how sad it is that they missed their chance and they'll never be together, I'm going ZOMG, thank goodness it's finally OVER! Which I don't think was the intention...

The thing is, Bangel was star-crossed because they really could never be together. Even without the vampire/Slayer obstacle, or Angel's slippery soul, their relationship was teenage and idealistic, and that never, ever works out in real life. But Cordy and Angel were different. They had a solid friendship, and there was no good reason they couldn't turn it into a relationship, if they'd just, y'know, put a little effort into it. But instead we get two years of UST and pining away, and the whole time I'm thinking, "Be together. Don't be together. It doesn't matter. Just stop angsting about it." (Which, incidentally, is what I spent much of the early seasons saying to Buffy and Angel.)

If they wanted to go the relationship route with Cordy and Angel, the model shouldn't have been Bangel, it should have been Spuffy. Sure, Buffy and Spike were messy, and complicated, and occasionally just plain awful, but they were real. The conflict between them was internal, not some external roadblock that keeps them apart (and, IMO, internal conflict is always a better story than external conflict). And that's what I wanted to see from Cordy/Angel (or would have wanted to see, if I'd actually cared about them getting together).

Or maybe I'm just completely anti-pairing on Angel, since this episode also reminded me how annoying the Wes/Fred/Gunn triangle was. I didn't mind Fred and Gunn together, but with Wes pining away... I mean, holy crap, boys, stop fighting over her! She's not worth it!

I can't actually think of any ship I liked on that show (except for the implied Spangel). Cordy/Doyle? Mostly one-sided and he was gone too fast for me to get invested. Angel/Fred? Totally hero worship and icky. Wes/Lilah? I... kinda block that out since it was during the parts of season 4 I dislike. Cordy/Connor? No explanation needed. Lindsey/Eve? I just hate Eve, so anything that gives her more screen time is bad. Wes/Fred? Weirdly obsessive and by the time they got together, I think Wes was more in love with the idealized version of Fred he'd pined for than the actual girl. Angel/Nina? Blah. Nina was practically a non-entity.

It's funny, because although I clearly have my preferences (*cough* Spuffy), I don't have any problem with the other canon pairings on Buffy (except Willow/Kennedy), and I regularly incorporate them into my fics. But Angel, for some reason, is like pairing kryptonite to me.

Comments

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

I thought they were doing really great with the subtext bewteen the two of them, the growing friendship that was deepening into romantic love over time, until Fred started spouting off about Moira and crap.

Exactly! Now see, I think that's when I began actively disliking the Cordy/Angel thing. It felt unnatural and forced to me.

then why is shipping Spike with him so much more accepted than shipping Cordelia with him?

Keeping in mind that I'm not much on Spangel either...I think perhaps that would be because Angel and Spike had such a long history together and they had love for Buffy in common.

[clawofcat.livejournal.com]

She does, but her fic is archived at her personal site called "I'll be Your Mirror." Here's the link: http://www.sand-in-my-shoes.com/mirror/. "A Smaller God" is the Wes/Lilah fic that I would recommend. She also has an incredible Spike/Faith series. Definately give all her fiction a try. She writes a lot of different pairings.

Here's the likeadeuce fic "Perpetuity." http://community.livejournal.com/that_one_time/1652.html
If you go to her LJ, you should be able to find quite a few fics about Lilah in her tags. They are both really solid authors. I've had many hours of enjoyment reading their stories.

Happy reading!

[next_to_normal]

Aww, I'm sorry. Which one was it, Lindsey/Angel? It's nothing personal, I find it very hard to buy almost all slash pairings. I can do Spangel, and that's about it...

[samsom.livejournal.com]

It felt unnatural and forced to me.

Not always. When they were allowed to just interact, their chemistry, their love for each other, does come through very naturally. There is this very real love and affection in their eyes when they look at each other. But things like recycling the ghost-lovers possession and Angel's stumbling inability to verbalize what he wanted tended to bring out my impatience.

And no way would Cordy *ever* dress Groo up as Angel and *not* realize what it meant.

[next_to_normal]

Ha! Nice to know I'm disrupting people's daily routines with my meta. :)

You've got some great conflict ideas that would've been way better than what we saw - that's exactly the kind of thing that would've made me interested in the C/A relationship.

And I have to wonder if Cordy and Spike are so much alike in their relationship with Angel, then why is shipping Spike with him so much more accepted than shipping Cordelia with him?

Well, I can only speak for myself, but it basically comes to down to my love of Spike, and his chemistry with Angel. I've never gotten the sense from people that C/A was unacceptable - but then, I mostly hang around the Spuffy shippers, and we like C/A because it gives the Bangels something to hate besides us. :)

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

Heee! Yes, I'm a Lindsey/Angel girl.

That's perfectly okay, honey. You either feel something for a ship or you don't. For example, I adored Buffy/Riley but I liked Buffy/Spike just as well (well, up until half-way through season 6, that is.) I loved Xander/Anya too.

I find it very hard to buy almost all slash pairings.

There's a *lot* of slash pairings I can't see happening but I suppose you could say that I'm not blind to the possibilities being there. The subtext was so blatant, it's hard not to be aware of it.

[a2zmom.livejournal.com]

From everything I've ever read, that is exactly what they were planning, so I am incredibly relieved they didn't go there.

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

I totally agree with all of that.

Also? I love that icon!

[samsom.livejournal.com]

You should see some of my other ones. :D

[menomegirl.livejournal.com]

LOL! I like that one, too. I remember that scene. Wow, it's been awhile since I watched that episode.

[kimrae1977.livejournal.com]

Love the icon! The near-sex in that ep was so hot. *sigh* what could have been....

[samsom.livejournal.com]

Maybe 'accepted' isn't the word. Maybe the word I'm looking for is mainstream or popular (though I loathe that word, popular)


we like C/A because it gives the Bangels something to hate besides us. :)

*dies laughing*

I love Spuffy for other reasons, but omg, DITTO, BABY!
Though there are some lovely ladies on my flist who ship B/A, and, I don't dislike B/A. I accept that it's part of the canon, and that Angel and Buffy loved each other. What I don't accept is that they are incapable of loving others, maybe even *more* than they loved each other. And I can't see them going back to each other after Sanctuary. There's too much water under the bridge, too much growth and developing into different people in the both of them that it would be like de-evolving in a way.

*hops off soapbox*

[samsom.livejournal.com]

I don't care for the recycled plot but two of the many good things that came out of WitW is 1)Cordelia got some finger action from Angel, and 2)Angel said Cordelia was the most beautiful girl he's ever seen. Given that he's over two hundred years old? Yeah.

[next_to_normal]

It's funny which ships have the largest followings. I do wonder sometimes what makes certain ships more appealing than others.

I definitely agree with you on B/A, so take all the time you want on that soapbox. :)

[goodbyebird]

hehe I already poked about likeadeuce's journal last night, and bookmarked her entire Lilah tag, so looking forward to sitting down with that. Bookmarked the fanfic site too now, so plenty to sink my teeth into. yay!

[goodbyebird]

It wasn't a big risk, sure, but it was there.

[clevermonikerr.livejournal.com]

I agree with a lot of this. I loved Angel and Cordy's friendship, and would have enjoyed seeing a friendship-turned-lovers plot with them, but I did not enjoy the way it was done. They could have gradually realized their feelings without Fred and Lorne calling it the 'love of champions/Kryumption' when they already had a pretty epic OTP on that show. It could have been a different, quiet kind of love that would have been different.

Also, I don't think B/A was especially teenaged or idealistic, Angel realized he should live in her honor when she died. Buffy knew she couldn't have forever with Angel but was able to take comfort in what she could have after her Mom died, they had their moments of melodrama but I generally don't have that view of the pairing.

[kudagirl.livejournal.com]

I wish they had been able to go with Cordy being the big bad for that season. I loved seeing Buffy and Evil Willow fighting so would have enjoyed Angel going up against Cordy.

I really disliked the whole Cordy/Connor bit. It was icky for me. Hated that Groo just walked away and was never heard of again. That was a bit of poor writing for me.

[serendipityxxi.livejournal.com]

Can I get a link to that Cordy/Doyle fic?

[wehavedental.livejournal.com]

Very insightful! I enjoyed reading this. Mostly, though, I just wanted to say I adore your icon. <3

Kudos.

[next_to_normal]

Yeah, I think the kyrumtion thing was right around where I started rolling my eyes at the pairing, lol.

The reason I see Bangel as teenaged and idealistic is because they both seem more in love with the idea of each other than actually in love. Especially for Buffy - everyone thinks they're madly in love and they've found their soulmate at seventeen, but it's rarely true. And Angel has put her up on a pedestal because she's pure and good and everything he's not. They don't see each other - they see idealized versions of each other, which they can never live up to. I think most of the time, they bring out the worst in each other, and once they start acting like adults (like the moments you mentioned), it's pretty much the death knell for their relationship.

[next_to_normal]

Thank you! That's a rockcherry icon. :)

[lothy.livejournal.com]

I found your post through a newsletter; it was interesting to read because I both agreed with you and violently disagreed with you ;)

I'm a Cordy/Angel fan. It's my favourite pairing from the entire Buffyverse, partly because Cordy & Angel are two of my three favourite characters (the other being Anya), and partly because I love relationships that are based in friendship. That's why I don't support pairings like Buffy/Angel (all passion no friendship) or pre-soul Spike/Buffy (where Buffy didn't even like him), but do quite like, for instance, Willow/Tara, where they always seemed to be good friends as well as lovers, and even have a certain fondness for Angel/Nina as two friends with a slight attraction for each other having a realistic and temporary relationship.

So I disagree with you over my opinion of the *concept* of the Angel/Cordelia romance, but I agree with you completely over the *way* that it was written. The constant, constant obstacles in their way - even Buffy & Angel managed to have a while together before having to break up; Cordy and Angel never managed to get a single kiss until seconds before she died. Why do TV people think that a relationship can't be interesting unless it's 99% angst?

When I get my craving for Cordy/Angel, I'm more likely to turn to fanfiction than my DVDs, because really, what episode could I turn to that wouldn't depress me?

I don't think that all TV friendships should turn into relationships, by any means. But I do think that any good relationship should actually involve the two participants being friends... and that's why I'm glad that B/A, as passionate as it was, and as much chemistry as they had, was over before Buffy graduated. It really would never have worked.

[lothy.livejournal.com]

Ah, one of my favourites :)

[clevermonikerr.livejournal.com]

Yeah. And Waiting in the Wings just seemed like a bad copy of I Only Have Eyes for You, which is one of my favorite Buffy episodes, so your point really hit me :).

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on the Bangel stuff, I didn't see them that way.