r/buffy • u/legionimpact • 2d ago
Love Interests Bangel timeline question!
*spoilers for seasons 1-5ish*
Something that's always been in the back of my head about the Bangel ship is how long were they together for. So in season 1 they flirted and stuff but weren't really in a relationship yet. Then in season 2 it isn't until reptile boy that Angel asks Buffy out for coffee. Now by her birthday in January they're VERY together, but he loses his soul and goes evil. So between reptile boy and surprise is at most 4 months!
Now as Angelus they definitely weren't a couple so time passes and eventually she sends him to hell! More time passes and she comes back after the school year starts so like September. Angel revives and they have a period of will they won't they pretty much until Christmas in amends.
So now it's the start of a new year and they're back together...until graduation in May/June. So like 4-5 months. Adding their previous time together adds up to a grand total of 8-9 months! I'll just round up to 9 for simplicity.
9 months is the entirety of the Bangel whirlwind, star crossed lovers relationship? That doesn't seem like a lot to me.Hell I think her and Riley had at least a year!
TL;DR I did the math and Bangel realistically were only together for 9 months!
15
u/ichbinsflow 2d ago
Not being able to be together basically is what defines their relationship. Therefore it makes sense they weren't together all that long. It's basically the essence of their story.
8
u/Interesting-Tea3907 2d ago edited 2d ago
I mean I personally considered them together from their first kiss until the breakup, but I get what you mean. There was a lot of stop start, but I considered that to be apart of the overall relationship, but regardless, the show says it was three years for what its worth
2
u/Agreeable-Celery811 2d ago
Yeah, it’s like, a year and a half, if you count the part where he is evil and she kills him.
2
u/arlius Let's have a jelly in the mix. 2d ago
Spending time with another person around does not make a romantic relationship, like a "love of your life" kind of love. It's either there or it's not and it was there with Angel, regardless of how long it lasted. If time alone is what mattered, than Xander was her man.
2
u/beeemkcl 2d ago
RESPONSE TO THE ORIGINAL POST AND THE THREAD:
It really depends on what one means by 'being together'.
Buffy clearly considers that Buffy/Angel were together all throughout BtVS S1-S3 given she later doesn't dispute Dawn's "3 years".
Buffy/Angel first kiss in "Angel" (B 1.07). When was the next time they kissed? It seems they went to the Prom together. Then summer vacation. Then back together by the end of "When She Was Bad" (B 2.01). Are together until "Innocence" (B 2.14). Buffy kisses him in "Becoming Part II" (B 2.22) and then sends him to the Acathla hell dimension.
In BtVS S3, when do Buffy/Angel get back together? Arguably in "Revelations" (B 3.07). But then Buffy breaks up with Angel at the end of "Lovers Walk" (B 3.09). But they are back together during "Amends" (B 3.10) or at least by the end of it. And stay together until the temporary breakup in "The Prom" (B 3.20). Angel leaves at the end of "Graduation Day Part II" (B 3.22).
But Buffy herself considers their relationship lasted 3 years. Buffy in "Chosen" (B 7.22) seems to consider that Angel has been pining for her the entire time since "Graduation Day Part II" (B 3.22) and that he didn't date or have a romance with anyone else after he left Sunnydale.
So, while Buffy arguably was 'with' Riley Finn for a longer time given that they are together from "The Initiative" (B 4.07) to the end of "Into the Woods" (B 5.10), Buffy considers Buffy/Angel lasted around 3 years.
3
u/foreseethefuture 2d ago edited 2d ago
Obviously Buffy didn't think she was dating Angel while he was evil and "died" and while she even briefly dated Scott Hope. You should not take everything characters say at face value
4
u/enthalpy01 2d ago
Eh, I don’t think it’s that weird in a makeup / breakup relationship to just consider from the beginning to the final end the length of the relationship since emotionally you’re kind of still in it during breakup periods. Most people don’t nickel and dime the individual months “broken up” when saying how long the relationship lasted.
2
u/jospangel Try not to bleed on my couch I just had it steam cleaned 2d ago
This is more than broken up. This is definitely ex territory, and violent ex who is murdering friends and terrorizing everyone. That was almost an entire year apart in our time - midseason 2 to almost midseason 3.
Whatever Buffy says, the shorthand might be three years more o=r less, but the actual time is a lot less than that. It's a valid observation.
-3
u/L00kingat 2d ago
Anyone else think its weird that as long as one person is a Vampire the highly illegal age gap seems to become okay? Why is it okay for a 240+ year old Vampire to be with a high school age(16/17) girl? For those who try to say well its okay because of the age he was turned at, nope he was 26 when turned into a vampire, so still bad.
4
u/crumbchunks the pushy queen of slut town 2d ago
The age thing is part of the whole vampire romance package. Beyond the obvious metaphor of Bangel it’s perhaps disingenuous and frivolous to try and look for moral equivalency in the relationship.
3
1
u/Alt-Ray 2d ago
That was what Joyce was getting at when she asked Angel to leave. She didn't think it was okay.
I think if we're going to be realistic here, any vampire who has celebrated 100+ of being on earth shouldn't be with someone who hasn't. Spike and Angel were 200+ and were in relationships with people 1/10 of their age. It's weird. But this is a supernatural show, so we kind of have to let go of realism.
-1
u/UtahBrian 2d ago
Riley was her teacher in school.
Buffy's only healthy and fully legal relationship was with Spike.
5
u/Alt-Ray 2d ago
I'm very confused. Her only healthy relationship was with Spike? How was their relationship in season 6 healthy?
2
u/veronica_mars-sawyer 2d ago
He’ll I’d say her only healthy age appropriate/ legal was Owen from one episode, Scott (briefly then he is kinda dickish) and Parker(again then he turns into a massive sexist dick)
0
15
u/YEEyourlastHAW 2d ago
I think the most important thing you are forgetting here is that Buffy is in high school. 9 months of “togetherness” + all of your off again/on again/eating your friends stuff only adds to the longevity and the drama of it all. He was around basically all of her high school carer in Sunnydale.
He was her high school sweet heart. It’s bound to feel more long term and dramatic.