next_to_normal (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
next_to_normal) wrote2008-08-15 10:30 am
next_to_normal) wrote2008-08-15 10:30 am
Entry tags:
Cordy/Angel meta
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.
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.
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).
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.
no subject
See, this is why I enjoy Spangel, even though it was totally sexless canon-wise (what we saw of it, anyway), but it was less complicated. It cut through the bullshit. And we didn't have all that angst garbage that we all O.D.ed on anyway from everyone else. Just two guys, not holding anything back. It was more fun that way, I tells ya.
Also, Spike makes an excellent Cordelia replacement. As much as I love her character (before she became damaged goods anyway), Spike did it better--two times. And that is totally unbiased, cause I love her too.
And yes, *way* too long...
no subject
Okay, that right there should have indicated how perfect they were for each other. Two people who can't ever have sex. Who else are they going to date but each other?
I changed my mind. I'm sold.
As much as I love her character (before she became damaged goods anyway), Spike did it better--two times.
Hmm... I don't think Spike actually did all that good a job of replacing Cordelia in Buffy. I mean, he was an excellent character in his own right, and far surpassed the role he was intended to fill, but as a Cordy replacement? Not so much. I think Anya ended up doing that, which is why they had to find other things for Spike to do (which worked out better for everyone).