I certainly agree that Angel doesn't actually play the protector role -- the gap between what he is and what he's supposed to be is the point. But I think I'm going to have to stand pat on the basic draw for Buffy. She's already "the lights dim when he's around" before she finds out he's a vampire. We see the way she responds to him giving her his coat -- a protective gesture. It's not surprising to me that a girl who has to save the world might want to be taken care of. Buffy is no damsel, but a part of her wants to be. It's a complicated mix, but I think the evidence of a latent desire to be the damsel is overwhelming: she loves that he gives her his coat when she shivers; she pulls to him after the master is dead in PG even though he played a not particularly important role in the outcome; Halloween is all about wanting to be his damsel, and he hasn't fully talked her out of it at the end because in the next episode she's still mooning over Drusilla's dress; She runs to him for protection in Surprise when Spike sics the gang on her; her whole fear about Cordelia being ultimately attractive because she's such a girl. Oh, and the annoying little girl voice she uses with him. I'll keep pointing it out as we go forward, but Angel's supposed to be the savior. None of that has bad boy vibe to me.
That doesn't, of course, mean that's all there is. Motives being dense and all. Does she expect him to fail her deep down? That I don't see. But I do see him as reflecting thanatos along with eros for her. I think it's intoxicating to her that he represents both safety and threat. She has a lot of rage, and I think that's in the mix as well. There's the fact that the two of them are the only ones who straddle the demon-human boundary. Not to be underestimated, because it's clear that her 'otherness' is a problem for her. Note that these themes amplify for Buffy and I think that's part of why we open on season 2 with them as a 'couple' despite remarkably little interaction bewteen them for the rest of season 1. We'll see what you think when we get to Prophecy Girl. Anyway, her view of Angel is interesting. Not just Daddy. But definitely not not Daddy. I actually think the fact that she wrestles with the desire to be a girl to be protected and cherished is what makes her an interesting figure. She'd be less so if she were a Sarah Connors-style woman who most definitely does not need a man around sort.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-09-14 07:09 am (UTC)That doesn't, of course, mean that's all there is. Motives being dense and all. Does she expect him to fail her deep down? That I don't see. But I do see him as reflecting thanatos along with eros for her. I think it's intoxicating to her that he represents both safety and threat. She has a lot of rage, and I think that's in the mix as well. There's the fact that the two of them are the only ones who straddle the demon-human boundary. Not to be underestimated, because it's clear that her 'otherness' is a problem for her. Note that these themes amplify for Buffy and I think that's part of why we open on season 2 with them as a 'couple' despite remarkably little interaction bewteen them for the rest of season 1. We'll see what you think when we get to Prophecy Girl. Anyway, her view of Angel is interesting. Not just Daddy. But definitely not not Daddy. I actually think the fact that she wrestles with the desire to be a girl to be protected and cherished is what makes her an interesting figure. She'd be less so if she were a Sarah Connors-style woman who most definitely does not need a man around sort.