Buffy reacts with childlike (and generally uncharacteristic) fear in both cases; we could perhaps surmise that since Buffy's reaction to Sid is rooted in her childlike fear of dummies, maybe some of her strong reaction to Angel in her bedroom has to do with some childhood fears as well.
I think we have to put in mind that Buffy is still young regardless of her calling and burdens. Fear of dummies and clowns is very common among older folks as well. As for why she screamed when Angel turned into a vampire, I see it more in the sense that this is the guy she's in love with and this is their first kiss and then BAM!!! OMG!! He's a vampire! NO!!
If it was someone random, she wouldn't have been this scared and shocked.
I think it's instructive to think about this in regard to Giles' relationship with Xander, Willow, and the other non-Buffy Scoobies: he is never entirely comfortable with them in his life (he comes close with Willow, though she does, yes, nearly kill him), and as much as he cares for them they're not his generation and not exactly his family.
I think Giles does form a special bond with Willow later. She's his favorite after Buffy, it's very clear how much he loves and values her in the airport goodbye scene in S6. The others, not so much, not even Xander.
There's a clear distance between Giles and Xander -which is more on Giles' part. Giles is more Xander's friend instead of a parental figure, and while Xander does have a desire to see Giles as a surrogate father ("I was into that for a while," Xander says in Restless,) Giles clearly doesn't want that.
I'll add that for Xander in particular, the line between genuine concern over death and self-interest is very blurry,
Perhaps my example doesn't fit here, but it was Xander who suggested killing Ben in The Gift, before he showed disgust at what he said.
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Date: 2010-09-20 09:16 am (UTC)Buffy reacts with childlike (and generally uncharacteristic) fear in both cases; we could perhaps surmise that since Buffy's reaction to Sid is rooted in her childlike fear of dummies, maybe some of her strong reaction to Angel in her bedroom has to do with some childhood fears as well.
I think we have to put in mind that Buffy is still young regardless of her calling and burdens. Fear of dummies and clowns is very common among older folks as well. As for why she screamed when Angel turned into a vampire, I see it more in the sense that this is the guy she's in love with and this is their first kiss and then BAM!!! OMG!! He's a vampire! NO!!
If it was someone random, she wouldn't have been this scared and shocked.
I think it's instructive to think about this in regard to Giles' relationship with Xander, Willow, and the other non-Buffy Scoobies: he is never entirely comfortable with them in his life (he comes close with Willow, though she does, yes, nearly kill him), and as much as he cares for them they're not his generation and not exactly his family.
I think Giles does form a special bond with Willow later. She's his favorite after Buffy, it's very clear how much he loves and values her in the airport goodbye scene in S6. The others, not so much, not even Xander.
There's a clear distance between Giles and Xander -which is more on Giles' part. Giles is more Xander's friend instead of a parental figure, and while Xander does have a desire to see Giles as a surrogate father ("I was into that for a while," Xander says in Restless,) Giles clearly doesn't want that.
I'll add that for Xander in particular, the line between genuine concern over death and self-interest is very blurry,
Perhaps my example doesn't fit here, but it was Xander who suggested killing Ben in The Gift, before he showed disgust at what he said.