It's funny how the character of Darla started from a random Vampire who was supposed to be killed by Willow - with holy water in the second episode of S1 of Buffy to a fleshed out developed tragic character. Gotta love the development.
Angel was a show about cruelty and the hope of redemption, a hope that is constantly squashed. Their relationship is a perfect reflection of the themes of the show. Amazing analysis.
Beautifully put, Darla and Angel were so enthralling. And Julie really cared for Darla making her performance so captivating. I loved Buffy and Angel but Buff never understood the complexity of his life. Re-watching Angel now, and Darla is always a treasure in the show.
With Buffy, you see him through the eyes of a teenager. He's her first love. It's much more wholesome. His relationship with Darla is more interesting because it's through the eyes of an adult, an adult who's not a good person, and it's a relationship where they both managed to bring out and constantly nourish the horrible aspects in themselves and each other. She's older, and she pretty much stole his life, but then you find out that she didn't exactly have it great either. It gets messier and messier and the drama makes it better. Despite the messiness of it all, you can tell it was worth fighting for, and I think during that season where he tries to "save her" he's at his best as a character. It's not just her. And yes Julie Benz makes her this ethereal beauty who's both very manipulative and cruel, yet somehow a damsel... Which is a balance that's very hard to achieve. You want her to live but you know something deeply messed up would have to happen in order for it to be possible, and just when you realize she won't, she does, but that doesn't go well either.
Angel was an all time fave show of mine. I really enjoyed your analysis on Darla + Angel. They were my favourite “couple” to see on screen just because of how tragic and complicated it was. With Bangel, I could never really fully get over the idea of Angel being 200 years older than Buffy who had been 15-16 at the time they started their relationship. I was also interested in knowing more about Darla before she became a vampire. I kept hoping for one episode about her origins, but the one we got, while written beautifully, was still pretty vague. But I guess that does go with the theme of Darla not remembering anything about her human past. She clearly had painful memories she wanted to avoid, given how she definitely preferred her vampire life over her human one.
Darla probably had the record for most deaths in the series at 4. Died as a human when The Master turned her into a vampire, staked by Angel, turned back by Dru and staked herself to birth Connor.
She also died in the unaired pilot AND in Angel season 4 she came back for a cameo and "died" when she took the body of the girl who was sacrificed for Jasmine. So if yu count them, then it's 6 times
OMG I love this! I’m so glad I came across this. While the entire fandom is at war over Buffy/Angel or Cordelia/Angel, for years I’ve been over here quietly like ~ my favorite is Angel/Darla and apparently very very few agree with me 👀 thank you for this!
I’m a Cordelia/Angel shipper but I’ve always been fascinated by Darla and Angel’s connection and what she brought to the table. Their reunion scene in S2 really brought home that it was Darla first and that Buffy was just a reflection of that.
One moment that was so sad, is when they realised that Darla couldnt physically give birth to Connor, becuase her body was dead and she couldnt go in to labour... That's why she staked herself, it was the only way to save the life of her baby.
You're so insightful with your videos and the fact you do them on shows like Buffy, Angel and Charmed makes me so happy because I don't see many videos on them. You just got a new subscriber ❤
I like that’s it’s not their love for eachother that heals them... Cus that would have legitimized the lie of toxic love, trying to fix eachother. It turns out their love for their child heals both of them and turns them into more...friends or kindred beings.. whose shared pain is finally understood by one another... but not in a romantic way.
Masterful! I have noticed that the sex with Darla parallells Buffys sex with Spike. Your ending line about a relationship rooted in darkness ending in light made me wonder how far that parallell goes.
I can pinpoint the flashbacks in The Prodigal as the moment where I really fell in love with Darla and realised how incredible Julie Benz is. It's been great to see her have a prolific career afterwards but she'll always be Darla to me lol
This was a great video. I never understood Darla. Probably because I was so young when Angel originally aired. This breakdown shined alot of light on her. I just never really thought about their relationship and the many layers there were to it. 🤔 This was a great vid. 👏
Hard to believe they wanted to bring her back in season 3 showing her on a rooftop making a monologue and slipping off, accidentally staking herself and nobody knowing her fate as a joke. The rooftop thing had already been done in Buffy where Spike does it only to be tasered and taken by the Imitative anyway.
Loved the buffy the vampire series but I loved the Angel series even more. Even watching buffy I always wanted more about angels story. Angels show was a lot more darker than buffys. Shame we didn’t get season 6 on tv but it’s on comics. I always said Buffy was for teenagers and the Angel series was for Adults and teens. Will always be one of my favourite tv shows ever 🙌🏽🙌🏽
Drusilla never takes her eyes of Angel as Darla drinks the blood. Dru makes Angel pay for every person he gleefully murdered in front of her, especially her family.
Angel try to save Darla the same way he saved Faith. But the thing he neglected is that Darla rubb on to him like no one else. They have a beautifully tragic relationship.
I just read a comment in a S2 reaction video that put the character of Darla in general down because they didn't like that Angel wasn't listening to his friends. I just remember thinking that typing something in reply will not get me anywhere. I don't think the person behind the comment understood the complexities of the relationship or even the fact that Wesley, while not fully understanding the Angel/Darla relationship, still understood it wasn't just obsessiveness (as he said when he talked to Virginia about Angel firing the group).
Darla started off being a textbook villain.. hated the world, was dealt a bad hand, given new lease by the master, went on to sire her own student and partner, held no pity, remorse or hesitation in killing and conquest. Yet she goes on to gain new and unlikely humanity in her resurrection which may or may not have been due to being pregnant while she was briefly alive again.. maybe the humanity and life from her unborn child leeched into her, or maybe because she's the only vampire to get pregnant with an actual life, maybe the self sacrificial love bond is something that is normal for an undead parent- whichever way, she changed and was no longer driven by basic hunter instincts. When her own creation (Angel) stopped killing and changed with his soul restored, she got angry, disappointed as she saw it as a failure on her part to create another evil demon like her, and was a wasted investment. Because she also loved him in her own complicated vampire way, she couldn't kill him like she would a conscious, good living person, but likewise couldn't abide the stink of humanity radiating from him- reminding her of the awful life she had while she was alive. So she moved to hoping he got fixed but going their seperate ways and her pretty much rejoining the order of Aurelius underground, effectively ending the four member group with Spike and Dru. Through all that 200 year turmoil Angel even with his soul never stopped loving Darla even though she was evil and twisted, she was still the one who granted him his escape from drunken mundanity to immortal freedom. So he respects her always for that. A part of Angel probably also stuck around hoping that Darla would one day regain her soul too. He was scared to death of being alone.
I wish conner could have know how much his parents loved him...also I actually liked angel and darla together. It wasnt romantic but they would have been an effecient team motivated by their parental duties
@@shayla106 it was and it wasnt. It was sexy I'll give it that 😉 She still had his attention. And I think it could have become romantic cuz they did have a passionate past. But I get that he was desparate when he slept with her. He used her to escape which was different with buffy because that time he was at perfect peace ( self forgiven). But I do think that if she had stayed on the show they would have fallen in love. They could have actually made it work, possibly more than the other Angel pairings.
@@WitchChangkyun Yup after seeing everything Angel did for him and his new life to helping him to understand what love is he was able to move on with his father
Beautifully broke down and I LOVE how the how addresses the word DARKER-side. because as humans we can relate to all of these things in different ways. In real life, another show and character I relate Angel with and too is Dylan from 90210 ( thegrea l Luke Perry rip)tv show. Dylan/Angel mirror each other other than the supernatural part. And debates about their love interests mirror each other too.Bringing another icon The Joker says in the Dark Knight tells Bat man he uses a knife to see a person open up. In that moment of router you see who and what the truth is. Same when Spike has that vampire tourther Angel(about the ring that can truly make a vampire immortal in the sunlight) Spike calls Buffy an addiction. The Vampire is sorta like Drusilla, he stabs him and asks him what does he really want and he says to be forgiven. He knows as longas he's a vampire no matter what he's doomed to hell. Thus brings me to Spike and Angel who loves Buffy more. Spikecan love and obbesses but he still had chip inn his head "weather or not"he wanted a soul or not. He still was a vampire.Now if he went their and asked if he could fight to be a man again maybe it be different. But its like having a bad addiction and you take medicine for it. I don't wanna offend anyone in saying that either cause either way its hard. But that's why it took Angel 100 years t learn truly what he did wrong was the things he put others through. When he finally was forgiven he wished away not because he truly didn't love her. He knew the bigger picture was her to fulfill her calling and duties as the slayer. Buffy would have died if he stayed that way. I think he loved Buffy more than anything. Darla he loved in a different way. Their relationship caused pain to others.
Spike got the chip taken out when it started eroding. Riley gave Buffy the power of command and she chose to take it out rather than fix it. Spike also chose to journey to get his soul back so he deserved Buffy. Took her long enough to see how much he always did for her and how he was always there and had her and her family/friends backs. They were a great team. Spike loved her without a soul and protected her. Angel was pure evil without his. Angel started out the indecisive one and then Buffy was with Spike. It was maddening on both sides honestly.
wonderful video, one of my favorite couples in the buffyverse, i’m a SUCKER for my baby darla 🥵❤️ their relationship to me is so much more fleshed out, mature, complicated, and darkly beautiful than bangel
When Darla (Angel's sire ) turn into human and sick , Angel tried to take care of her , "Vampire Diaries" copied that storyline with Katherine ( Stefan's sire) turn into human and were dying , Stefan tried to take care of her .
Well, Twilight ripped Angel off too 😅 The problem is, I guess, when a guy's teen love interest, with him being a 100+ year old vampire, is not a slayer and he's not meeting her because they hang out in the same circles because they're both hunting vampires... It starts to not reflect the best on the guy 😂
When Darla was brought back as human by means of a supernatural spell, how did she remember all the things he (angel) & her did during centuries of evil doings?? He remembers because he is still a vampire the time she came back with the aid of wolfram & harts spell.
This is why I’ve always stood by the notion of Buffy being (mostly), a rebound for what he knew before. Because Angel was struggling with a serious identity crisis, and because he really did not have a choice to return to his former life, becoming involved with her was an “antidote” to prolong the serious work that he himself had to do. I think it’s very much like when an older man goes through a divorce and takes a younger partner. He couldn’t really love Buffy, a teenaged girl, without truly embracing his unique identity. He was mourning a century long companionship- a deeply psychological bond overdue for closure.
@@pp-vf8ls Happiness has so many different forms- including escapism. Just because you can take comfort in another person doesn't necessarily mean that you love them. I reiterate: Angel was incapable of loving Buffy. He was only able to love, and feel validated, by the love she gave him.
@@pp-vf8ls but this proved to be untrue. When he thought he had sex with Cordelia, he also lost his soul, because Cordelia could also make him perfectly happy. At the end of the day, the only thing it takes for him to be perfectly happy, is to be with the one he loves, even though the person he loves can change. The thing about Darla, is because she couldn’t have a soul, and he didn’t have a soul when he was with her, they couldn’t truly love each other.
@@ellagrace7569 By the time he'd slept with Cordelia, his character had solidified so much. Whatever lingering yearnings he had for Darla were pretty much brought to a close. Loving Cordelia took maturity, for both of them, and I'm sorry, but I just don't think he was in that position for Buffy when he was a mess and she was 16.
@The White Witch He was an identity-less mess and she was barely an adult. That's not love, that's attraction and co-dependency. Can't really vouch for post season 3 since it wasn't explored (unless it was in the comics.) He lost his soul because he found comfort and acceptance. Happiness, sure, but not selfless love.
I really liked the Darla and Angel storyline. I didn't like the Connor storyline, as it killed off Darla and we were left with the Connor, Jasmine, Cordelia storylines, which didn't sense and really was not invested in those.
Btvs has a lot of comic references. When Darla remembers Budapest, is that an avengers reference establiched in the comic or is it the other way around?
@@sophiasatterley8008 considering she was possessed, it was rape because she didn’t consent (and obviously she would NEVER). And since he didn’t know who he was actually sleeping with, he didn’t consent to sleeping with Jasmine, so that was also rape. Joss framed it like it was no big deal.
I would've still been mad even if Connor was likeable because Darla is my absolute favourite and they had to kill her off, but he is quite possibly the worst character ever invented. I do have sympathy for him as he was manipulated his entire life, but the writers really worked overtime to make him impossible to like.
They're first love. They have biological son Connor together. Connor is their salvation. Children like Connor is redemption of parents like Angel and Darla. Connor have three moms in his life is his biological mother Darla, his surrogate mom Cordelia Chase and his adoptive mother Colleen Reilly.
Much as he deeply cared about Darla, I definitely think it would be between Buffy or Cordelia for his true love :) With Darla, it was more complicated than that; I don't think what he felt for her was love so much as a desire for her to have the chance at true life and humanity. He *understood* her, and I think because of that he both cared about her for her own sake and also felt like if he could help her get her second chance he could come to some greater forgiveness of himself as well. In the end, I think the show wanted us to come away still seeing Buffy as very much Angel's true love. I personally think that was a big disservice, though, to just how much Cordy meant to him. So I guess, realistically based on the writing we actually got and the way the story ended? It was Buffy. Based on the *potential* that was there? I can easily see Angel and Cordy having developed very much into true loves if they'd had the chance. Their foundation of best friendship was so incredibly strong, and they knew each other way better than Buffy and Angel knew each other by the end. But they got cut off before they could really fully take off.
By Angel's own assertion, Angelus is incapable of love. Buffy is commonly agreed upon as Angel's true love. Whatever Angel felt for Cordelia would have had the same tragedy he and Buffy already went through. Disregarding the comics, I think Buffy would have staked Angel if she knew he was shaking up with Cordy of all people.
The show WAY overdid the cruelty and brutality that Angelus and Darla and Spike and Drusilla inflicted on innocents. And because of this, it was next to impossible to root for any of them or even regard them with sympathy. Frankly, the technicality that they didn't have souls when they unleashed their savagery is the show wussing out on the concept of atonement, accountability, repentance and redemption. IF Angelus NOT having a soul was the reason he did that, once he was ensouled, why should he be "atoning" for anything Angelus did? After all, he did NOT have a soul when he did those things, right. Human beings WITH souls do terrible things like the Wolfram & Hart folks. They should be the ones repenting, atoning and seeking redemption. THIS never really made much sense to me. Regardless, there are great thematic elements in the show, particularly of redemption, and service...being a noble crusader to help those in need as Angel says: Nothing in the world is the way it oughta be. It’s harsh…and cruel…but that’s why there’s us…champions. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what we’ve done, or suffered. Or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be.
Nah, to me the fact that they went as far as they did with the cruelty was kind of the whole point: challenging us as the audiences' empathy to see that anyone, no matter how destructive they may have been, can be worthy of redemption if they're willing to put in the long, hard work to get there. And the thing about them being soulless when they committed their atrocities is that... a lot of the other characters, and even we the audiences, do tend to differentiate, but Angel working to atone for what he did as Angelus isn't really about how other people see him. HE doesn't experience his souled self and his unsouled self as two different entities; he carries all the memories of everything he thought, felt, and did without a soul very much as having lived it himself. He also lives with the darkness that exists in him every day, so he knows that it's by no means something that only exists when he doesn't have a soul; on the contrary, it's his conscience and moral compass that has to work around the clock to keep it in check. So it ultimately doesn't really matter if most OTHER people don't blame him for the things he did when soulless, because his journey is about him finding a way to live that allows him to be more right with himself.
@@stephaniel2850 I really like your point about ensouled Angel seeking to make amends for the evil that "unsouled" Angelus did. It's NOT about guilt, or shame, or regret, or remorse or accountability; rather, it's about Angel choosing to spend his life, his energy waging a battle against the evil that occurs. In that way, he's tormenting the passenger within him, Angelus, by tipping the scales the other way. Angel is punishing Angelus by doing good. When Faith saved Angel, and worked to bring him back, during the Orpheus induces soul-scape, Angel explains that even when he had a soul, he at times gave in to the demonic thirst within him; he fed the bad wolf that dwells within. The ancient Cherokee legend about two wolves that reside in the heart of every person. One is good, the other is evil. Every day, in every moment, a person chooses which one to feed and that determines his actions and ultimately his moral destiny. Angel...in some sense, is counter-balancing the libidinous, self-serving, weak, self-centered Angel that made the choice to succumb to Darla's seduction whereby he "died" and opened the door to the emergence of Angelus. It's a powerful narrative about choosing to do Good for the sake of Good itself, and not because of some reward or personal gain of absolution or redemption.
Liam/Angel has NOTHING to atone for what a demon did with his possessed mind and body. He feels responsible because he has to share those memories and feels weak at times for wanting to give up e.g. banging Darla to lose his soul. Angelus is not Liam. Liam's memories were just a template for the blank slate newborn vampire. Angelus was born from Darla's tutelage and her inclusion in The Master's savage bloodline. I absolve Angel of all he feels guilty of.
@@RoosterMontgomery So from THAT perspective, is the re-ensouled having ANY connections to Liam (aside from his memories including his attachments/resentments) or is Angel someone/something else entirely?
@@victorpradha9946 Angel is just Liam's new name because philosophically speaking, Liam is dead. He has been almost for almost a century. Angelus is suppressed and unable to do anything. So as Angel, he had to begin a new life, unable to be either of his old selves. Angel/Angelus isn't as complicated as the show sometimes make them out to be.
What a bunch of crock listen when Darla first met Angel she wanted him yes but she did not ask him if he wanted her she can tell that whole situation and then when he got a soul she left him after she became human up until Connor all she wanted to do is when ovulating stop giving the woman a pat on the back
When Darla staked herself to save their child, I cried so hard. After all her evil, she committed the greatest sacrifice.
It's funny how the character of Darla started from a random Vampire who was supposed to be killed by Willow - with holy water in the second episode of S1 of Buffy to a fleshed out developed tragic character. Gotta love the development.
And Angel started from a random stalker to a vicious killing machine
Angel was a show about cruelty and the hope of redemption, a hope that is constantly squashed. Their relationship is a perfect reflection of the themes of the show. Amazing analysis.
I really find, on rewatches, that I fall more and more in love with this complex relationship.
its unique for sure
Beautifully put, Darla and Angel were so enthralling. And Julie really cared for Darla making her performance so captivating. I loved Buffy and Angel but Buff never understood the complexity of his life. Re-watching Angel now, and Darla is always a treasure in the show.
With Buffy, you see him through the eyes of a teenager. He's her first love. It's much more wholesome.
His relationship with Darla is more interesting because it's through the eyes of an adult, an adult who's not a good person, and it's a relationship where they both managed to bring out and constantly nourish the horrible aspects in themselves and each other.
She's older, and she pretty much stole his life, but then you find out that she didn't exactly have it great either.
It gets messier and messier and the drama makes it better. Despite the messiness of it all, you can tell it was worth fighting for, and I think during that season where he tries to "save her" he's at his best as a character. It's not just her.
And yes Julie Benz makes her this ethereal beauty who's both very manipulative and cruel, yet somehow a damsel...
Which is a balance that's very hard to achieve.
You want her to live but you know something deeply messed up would have to happen in order for it to be possible, and just when you realize she won't, she does, but that doesn't go well either.
Julie Benz played Darla so well. Not to mention what a beautiful women she is
Angel was an all time fave show of mine. I really enjoyed your analysis on Darla + Angel. They were my favourite “couple” to see on screen just because of how tragic and complicated it was. With Bangel, I could never really fully get over the idea of Angel being 200 years older than Buffy who had been 15-16 at the time they started their relationship.
I was also interested in knowing more about Darla before she became a vampire. I kept hoping for one episode about her origins, but the one we got, while written beautifully, was still pretty vague. But I guess that does go with the theme of Darla not remembering anything about her human past. She clearly had painful memories she wanted to avoid, given how she definitely preferred her vampire life over her human one.
The character development on these two... Amazing.
Darla probably had the record for most deaths in the series at 4. Died as a human when The Master turned her into a vampire, staked by Angel, turned back by Dru and staked herself to birth Connor.
Spike,no Connor
@@yanisallagui4778 What are you talking about?
She also died in the unaired pilot AND in Angel season 4 she came back for a cameo and "died" when she took the body of the girl who was sacrificed for Jasmine.
So if yu count them, then it's 6 times
OMG I love this! I’m so glad I came across this. While the entire fandom is at war over Buffy/Angel or Cordelia/Angel, for years I’ve been over here quietly like ~ my favorite is Angel/Darla and apparently very very few agree with me 👀 thank you for this!
I’m a Cordelia/Angel shipper but I’ve always been fascinated by Darla and Angel’s connection and what she brought to the table. Their reunion scene in S2 really brought home that it was Darla first and that Buffy was just a reflection of that.
Even the Master unerstood that the relationship between Darla and Angel was deeper than anyone could imagine.
@@marybender1993 100% Darla is a dark version of Buffy and Dru is dark version of Cordy.
One moment that was so sad, is when they realised that Darla couldnt physically give birth to Connor, becuase her body was dead and she couldnt go in to labour... That's why she staked herself, it was the only way to save the life of her baby.
Couldn't they cut her, do a cesarean to get the baby out? I didn't watch, so maybe, you could explain? :)
@@kaatux1 There was some vague mystical excuse, so no.
Darla episodes are masterpiece
This is one of the best relationships that made it on screen.
I rewatched Buffy recently but it's been years since I saw Angel, I remember really liking their relationship
You're so insightful with your videos and the fact you do them on shows like Buffy, Angel and Charmed makes me so happy because I don't see many videos on them. You just got a new subscriber ❤
This was amazing!!! Darla is hands down my favorite Buffyverse vampire
mine too! i love her
I like that’s it’s not their love for eachother that heals them... Cus that would have legitimized the lie of toxic love, trying to fix eachother. It turns out their love for their child heals both of them and turns them into more...friends or kindred beings.. whose shared pain is finally understood by one another... but not in a romantic way.
Masterful!
I have noticed that the sex with Darla parallells Buffys sex with Spike. Your ending line about a relationship rooted in darkness ending in light made me wonder how far that parallell goes.
I can pinpoint the flashbacks in The Prodigal as the moment where I really fell in love with Darla and realised how incredible Julie Benz is. It's been great to see her have a prolific career afterwards but she'll always be Darla to me lol
This was a great video.
I never understood Darla.
Probably because I was so young when Angel originally aired.
This breakdown shined alot of light on her.
I just never really thought about their relationship and the many layers there were to it. 🤔
This was a great vid. 👏
I find it really really interesting, looking back, how Darla and Buffy look physically almost identical. Ummm...
Hard to believe they wanted to bring her back in season 3 showing her on a rooftop making a monologue and slipping off, accidentally staking herself and nobody knowing her fate as a joke. The rooftop thing had already been done in Buffy where Spike does it only to be tasered and taken by the Imitative anyway.
Loved the buffy the vampire series but I loved the Angel series even more. Even watching buffy I always wanted more about angels story. Angels show was a lot more darker than buffys. Shame we didn’t get season 6 on tv but it’s on comics. I always said Buffy was for teenagers and the Angel series was for Adults and teens. Will always be one of my favourite tv shows ever 🙌🏽🙌🏽
Great video! I love the relationship between Darla and Angel, it’s just so interesting! And you explained its complexity so well!
Drusilla never takes her eyes of Angel as Darla drinks the blood. Dru makes Angel pay for every person he gleefully murdered in front of her, especially her family.
not only the murders, but the mental torture too. can't say i blame her.
I will forever be waiting for your video on Bangel vs Spuffy
Why?
@@CJPDeQueen because it's the debate never resolved on the show
Darla's character was gone way too soon. And she's so 🔥
i have been waiting for a video like this! love this!
Stefan and Katherine's relationship were clearly inspired by Angel and Darla. Angel and Darla are my favorite relationship in Buffyverse.
@@goddessmelanisia but these scenes are not tvd books.
Darlas and angel's relationship to me is like klaus's and Hayley’s relationship. Hayley gave her life for Hope and Darla gave her life for connor
Angel try to save Darla the same way he saved Faith.
But the thing he neglected is that Darla rubb on to him like no one else.
They have a beautifully tragic relationship.
This was epic 🙌🏽 Well Done.
I just read a comment in a S2 reaction video that put the character of Darla in general down because they didn't like that Angel wasn't listening to his friends. I just remember thinking that typing something in reply will not get me anywhere. I don't think the person behind the comment understood the complexities of the relationship or even the fact that Wesley, while not fully understanding the Angel/Darla relationship, still understood it wasn't just obsessiveness (as he said when he talked to Virginia about Angel firing the group).
Darla started off being a textbook villain.. hated the world, was dealt a bad hand, given new lease by the master, went on to sire her own student and partner, held no pity, remorse or hesitation in killing and conquest. Yet she goes on to gain new and unlikely humanity in her resurrection which may or may not have been due to being pregnant while she was briefly alive again.. maybe the humanity and life from her unborn child leeched into her, or maybe because she's the only vampire to get pregnant with an actual life, maybe the self sacrificial love bond is something that is normal for an undead parent- whichever way, she changed and was no longer driven by basic hunter instincts.
When her own creation (Angel) stopped killing and changed with his soul restored, she got angry, disappointed as she saw it as a failure on her part to create another evil demon like her, and was a wasted investment. Because she also loved him in her own complicated vampire way, she couldn't kill him like she would a conscious, good living person, but likewise couldn't abide the stink of humanity radiating from him- reminding her of the awful life she had while she was alive. So she moved to hoping he got fixed but going their seperate ways and her pretty much rejoining the order of Aurelius underground, effectively ending the four member group with Spike and Dru.
Through all that 200 year turmoil Angel even with his soul never stopped loving Darla even though she was evil and twisted, she was still the one who granted him his escape from drunken mundanity to immortal freedom. So he respects her always for that. A part of Angel probably also stuck around hoping that Darla would one day regain her soul too. He was scared to death of being alone.
I wish conner could have know how much his parents loved him...also I actually liked angel and darla together. It wasnt romantic but they would have been an effecient team motivated by their parental duties
It was romantic. That’s why when Angel started having sex with her, he almost list his soul. It’s only thanks to the bad guys that he didn’t.
@@shayla106 it was and it wasnt. It was sexy I'll give it that 😉 She still had his attention. And I think it could have become romantic cuz they did have a passionate past. But I get that he was desparate when he slept with her. He used her to escape which was different with buffy because that time he was at perfect peace ( self forgiven). But I do think that if she had stayed on the show they would have fallen in love. They could have actually made it work, possibly more than the other Angel pairings.
I think Connor knows Angel does love him at the end of the series in season 5 when he’s finally mentally stable.
@@WitchChangkyun Yup after seeing everything Angel did for him and his new life to helping him to understand what love is he was able to move on with his father
@@4wheal Connor have three moms in his life is his biological mother Darla, his surrogate mom Cordelia Chase and his adoptive mother Colleen Reilly.
Amazing work Rache!
Never shoulda killed Darla. The show wasn't the same without her.
Very good analysis 👍
Beautifully broke down and I LOVE how the how addresses the word DARKER-side. because as humans we can relate to all of these things in different ways. In real life, another show and character I relate Angel with and too is Dylan from 90210 ( thegrea l Luke Perry rip)tv show. Dylan/Angel mirror each other other than the supernatural part. And debates about their love interests mirror each other too.Bringing another icon The Joker says in the Dark Knight tells Bat man he uses a knife to see a person open up. In that moment of router you see who and what the truth is. Same when Spike has that vampire tourther Angel(about the ring that can truly make a vampire immortal in the sunlight) Spike calls Buffy an addiction. The Vampire is sorta like Drusilla, he stabs him and asks him what does he really want and he says to be forgiven. He knows as longas he's a vampire no matter what he's doomed to hell. Thus brings me to Spike and Angel who loves Buffy more. Spikecan love and obbesses but he still had chip inn his head "weather or not"he wanted a soul or not. He still was a vampire.Now if he went their and asked if he could fight to be a man again maybe it be different. But its like having a bad addiction and you take medicine for it. I don't wanna offend anyone in saying that either cause either way its hard. But that's why it took Angel 100 years t learn truly what he did wrong was the things he put others through. When he finally was forgiven he wished away not because he truly didn't love her. He knew the bigger picture was her to fulfill her calling and duties as the slayer. Buffy would have died if he stayed that way. I think he loved Buffy more than anything. Darla he loved in a different way. Their relationship caused pain to others.
Spike got the chip taken out when it started eroding. Riley gave Buffy the power of command and she chose to take it out rather than fix it. Spike also chose to journey to get his soul back so he deserved Buffy. Took her long enough to see how much he always did for her and how he was always there and had her and her family/friends backs. They were a great team. Spike loved her without a soul and protected her. Angel was pure evil without his. Angel started out the indecisive one and then Buffy was with Spike. It was maddening on both sides honestly.
Very interesting analysis 👍🏻😊
wonderful video, one of my favorite couples in the buffyverse, i’m a SUCKER for my baby darla 🥵❤️ their relationship to me is so much more fleshed out, mature, complicated, and darkly beautiful than bangel
When Darla (Angel's sire ) turn into human and sick , Angel tried to take care of her , "Vampire Diaries" copied that storyline with Katherine ( Stefan's sire) turn into human and were dying , Stefan tried to take care of her .
Well, Twilight ripped Angel off too 😅
The problem is, I guess, when a guy's teen love interest, with him being a 100+ year old vampire, is not a slayer and he's not meeting her because they hang out in the same circles because they're both hunting vampires...
It starts to not reflect the best on the guy 😂
This was really well done and thought out. Will you be looking at the relationship between Angel and Connor in the future?
I have a Connor-centered video currently in the works which will touch on Angel and Connor's relationship/dynamic
This channel is so interesting.
When Darla was brought back as human by means of a supernatural spell, how did she remember all the things he (angel) & her did during centuries of evil doings?? He remembers because he is still a vampire the time she came back with the aid of wolfram & harts spell.
The human mind. It remembers regardless of the soul. The memories of the human mind form the template for the newborn blank slate vampire.
This is why I’ve always stood by the notion of Buffy being (mostly), a rebound for what he knew before. Because Angel was struggling with a serious identity crisis, and because he really did not have a choice to return to his former life, becoming involved with her was an “antidote” to prolong the serious work that he himself had to do. I think it’s very much like when an older man goes through a divorce and takes a younger partner. He couldn’t really love Buffy, a teenaged girl, without truly embracing his unique identity. He was mourning a century long companionship- a deeply psychological bond overdue for closure.
but, Angel even says that only Buffy can make him perfectly happy
@@pp-vf8ls Happiness has so many different forms- including escapism. Just because you can take comfort in another person doesn't necessarily mean that you love them. I reiterate: Angel was incapable of loving Buffy. He was only able to love, and feel validated, by the love she gave him.
@@pp-vf8ls but this proved to be untrue. When he thought he had sex with Cordelia, he also lost his soul, because Cordelia could also make him perfectly happy. At the end of the day, the only thing it takes for him to be perfectly happy, is to be with the one he loves, even though the person he loves can change. The thing about Darla, is because she couldn’t have a soul, and he didn’t have a soul when he was with her, they couldn’t truly love each other.
@@ellagrace7569 By the time he'd slept with Cordelia, his character had solidified so much. Whatever lingering yearnings he had for Darla were pretty much brought to a close. Loving Cordelia took maturity, for both of them, and I'm sorry, but I just don't think he was in that position for Buffy when he was a mess and she was 16.
@The White Witch He was an identity-less mess and she was barely an adult. That's not love, that's attraction and co-dependency. Can't really vouch for post season 3 since it wasn't explored (unless it was in the comics.) He lost his soul because he found comfort and acceptance. Happiness, sure, but not selfless love.
I really liked the Darla and Angel storyline.
I didn't like the Connor storyline, as it killed off Darla and we were left with the Connor, Jasmine, Cordelia storylines, which didn't sense and really was not invested in those.
Can we have a Tara video please?
Btvs has a lot of comic references. When Darla remembers Budapest, is that an avengers reference establiched in the comic or is it the other way around?
I hated conorr😅😅😅... What a waste.. All this drama for a child like that!??? He was horribleee
He became a whiny little shit.
I hate him he is such a pain. Plus his thing with Cordelia was totally weird. She was practically his mum.
@@sophiasatterley8008 considering she was possessed, it was rape because she didn’t consent (and obviously she would NEVER). And since he didn’t know who he was actually sleeping with, he didn’t consent to sleeping with Jasmine, so that was also rape. Joss framed it like it was no big deal.
He’s definitely the worst character in the entire Buffyverse for me I didn’t even hate Warren as much as I hated Connor .
I would've still been mad even if Connor was likeable because Darla is my absolute favourite and they had to kill her off, but he is quite possibly the worst character ever invented. I do have sympathy for him as he was manipulated his entire life, but the writers really worked overtime to make him impossible to like.
Great video
Darla is best girl.
isn't syphilis curable?
It is if you get treated in time. If left untreated it can destroy your brain and stuff, so she was probably too far gone.
They're first love. They have biological son Connor together. Connor is their salvation. Children like Connor is redemption of parents like Angel and Darla.
Connor have three moms in his life is his biological mother Darla, his surrogate mom Cordelia Chase and his adoptive mother Colleen Reilly.
Would have loved Darla and Angel to be together for good
Bangel 4ever❤
no
Comment war....is Darla, Buffy, or Cordelia....Angel's true love?
Much as he deeply cared about Darla, I definitely think it would be between Buffy or Cordelia for his true love :) With Darla, it was more complicated than that; I don't think what he felt for her was love so much as a desire for her to have the chance at true life and humanity. He *understood* her, and I think because of that he both cared about her for her own sake and also felt like if he could help her get her second chance he could come to some greater forgiveness of himself as well.
In the end, I think the show wanted us to come away still seeing Buffy as very much Angel's true love. I personally think that was a big disservice, though, to just how much Cordy meant to him. So I guess, realistically based on the writing we actually got and the way the story ended? It was Buffy. Based on the *potential* that was there? I can easily see Angel and Cordy having developed very much into true loves if they'd had the chance. Their foundation of best friendship was so incredibly strong, and they knew each other way better than Buffy and Angel knew each other by the end. But they got cut off before they could really fully take off.
Cordelia is Angel's true love. She's his anchor. She made Angel smile the most and bring the best of him the most of all.
By Angel's own assertion, Angelus is incapable of love. Buffy is commonly agreed upon as Angel's true love. Whatever Angel felt for Cordelia would have had the same tragedy he and Buffy already went through. Disregarding the comics, I think Buffy would have staked Angel if she knew he was shaking up with Cordy of all people.
And then they fucked up conors character 😅
Conner was such a boring dud. How did that happen with having such dynamic parents?
Hell sucks.
I shipped them more than Bangel 🤷🏼♀️
same
Because two ruthless killing machines are so...shippable!
I like Darla and Angle more than Angle and Buffy
I think I like her the most out of all of his love interests because she's so messed up and complicated.
The show WAY overdid the cruelty and brutality that Angelus and Darla and Spike and Drusilla inflicted on innocents. And because of this, it was next to impossible to root for any of them or even regard them with sympathy. Frankly, the technicality that they didn't have souls when they unleashed their savagery is the show wussing out on the concept of atonement, accountability, repentance and redemption. IF Angelus NOT having a soul was the reason he did that, once he was ensouled, why should he be "atoning" for anything Angelus did? After all, he did NOT have a soul when he did those things, right. Human beings WITH souls do terrible things like the Wolfram & Hart folks. They should be the ones repenting, atoning and seeking redemption. THIS never really made much sense to me. Regardless, there are great thematic elements in the show, particularly of redemption, and service...being a noble crusader to help those in need as Angel says: Nothing in the world is the way it oughta be. It’s harsh…and cruel…but that’s why there’s us…champions. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what we’ve done, or suffered. Or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be.
Nah, to me the fact that they went as far as they did with the cruelty was kind of the whole point: challenging us as the audiences' empathy to see that anyone, no matter how destructive they may have been, can be worthy of redemption if they're willing to put in the long, hard work to get there.
And the thing about them being soulless when they committed their atrocities is that... a lot of the other characters, and even we the audiences, do tend to differentiate, but Angel working to atone for what he did as Angelus isn't really about how other people see him. HE doesn't experience his souled self and his unsouled self as two different entities; he carries all the memories of everything he thought, felt, and did without a soul very much as having lived it himself. He also lives with the darkness that exists in him every day, so he knows that it's by no means something that only exists when he doesn't have a soul; on the contrary, it's his conscience and moral compass that has to work around the clock to keep it in check. So it ultimately doesn't really matter if most OTHER people don't blame him for the things he did when soulless, because his journey is about him finding a way to live that allows him to be more right with himself.
@@stephaniel2850 I really like your point about ensouled Angel seeking to make amends for the evil that "unsouled" Angelus did. It's NOT about guilt, or shame, or regret, or remorse or accountability; rather, it's about Angel choosing to spend his life, his energy waging a battle against the evil that occurs. In that way, he's tormenting the passenger within him, Angelus, by tipping the scales the other way. Angel is punishing Angelus by doing good. When Faith saved Angel, and worked to bring him back, during the Orpheus induces soul-scape, Angel explains that even when he had a soul, he at times gave in to the demonic thirst within him; he fed the bad wolf that dwells within. The ancient Cherokee legend about two wolves that reside in the heart of every person. One is good, the other is evil. Every day, in every moment, a person chooses which one to feed and that determines his actions and ultimately his moral destiny. Angel...in some sense, is counter-balancing the libidinous, self-serving, weak, self-centered Angel that made the choice to succumb to Darla's seduction whereby he "died" and opened the door to the emergence of Angelus. It's a powerful narrative about choosing to do Good for the sake of Good itself, and not because of some reward or personal gain of absolution or redemption.
Liam/Angel has NOTHING to atone for what a demon did with his possessed mind and body. He feels responsible because he has to share those memories and feels weak at times for wanting to give up e.g. banging Darla to lose his soul. Angelus is not Liam. Liam's memories were just a template for the blank slate newborn vampire. Angelus was born from Darla's tutelage and her inclusion in The Master's savage bloodline. I absolve Angel of all he feels guilty of.
@@RoosterMontgomery So from THAT perspective, is the re-ensouled having ANY connections to Liam (aside from his memories including his attachments/resentments) or is Angel someone/something else entirely?
@@victorpradha9946 Angel is just Liam's new name because philosophically speaking, Liam is dead. He has been almost for almost a century. Angelus is suppressed and unable to do anything. So as Angel, he had to begin a new life, unable to be either of his old selves. Angel/Angelus isn't as complicated as the show sometimes make them out to be.
Darla was like a Mother to Angel
He has such a weird Oepidus complex with her
@T. Sheree Marshall someone here isn't watching much of PH 😂
Angel & Darla > Angel & Buffy
I know you hate me but only truth hurts 😉
What a bunch of crock listen when Darla first met Angel she wanted him yes but she did not ask him if he wanted her she can tell that whole situation and then when he got a soul she left him after she became human up until Connor all she wanted to do is when ovulating stop giving the woman a pat on the back
what does this even mean
Buffy x Angel is the worst couple