I'm So Chatty!: Wesley Wyndam-Pryce and the Shipping News

[sunclouds33]

lokifan also asked me for two Wesley ships that I love and one Wesley ship that I dislike. Just as with CJ Cregg, I also went overboard and needed to write a whole separate entry.

Wesley/Lilah: LoveAngel sucks at established ships- except for Angel/Darla and Wesley/Lilah. I think Wesley/Lilah just might be my favorite. Wes/Lilah is a hugely popular ship

Comments

[sunclouds33]

Wesley = my favorite guy in the Buffyverse.

I get the s1 love for Wes/Angel but really their relationship leaves me cold for all the reasons you stated that make Wes and Buffy's treatment of Angel similar. I actually can't stand that about Buffy and it was my least favorite characteristic of Wesley's. Yeah, I hear ya. Buffy had the benefit of Xander aggressively and the other Scoobies more gently questioning how much risk to others and how much of hero is Angel. Basically, all of AI is a group think tank for Angel (which is like...the opposite of what a *real* think tank should do- LOL

[sunclouds33]

Wow, like you put every ethical dilemma in the 'verse here. LOL

[sunclouds33]

In S3, Faith "only" killed Allen Finch (accidentally) and Mr. Worth (brutally and maliciously). She was helping the Mayor orchestrate a genocide and she viscerally threatened/almost killed other people like Willow, Buffy, and Xander. I don't think Faith was leaving such a trail of destruction that she merited an execution

[sunclouds33]

I'm much more sympathetic to Buffy. Buffy is a child-soldier. One way to ensure a child-soldier's blind devotion is for a powerful man to step up as an ally that she'll need in this war so she has a chance of living/protecting her nearest and dearest past the age of 16- i.e. Angel's whole opening pitch in Welcome to the Hellmouth/The Harvest.

Plus, Buffy got involved with Angel when he seemed and you know, *was* super-humbled and unassuming because of his past. She got involved and fell in love before learning that his soul was detachable. Bangel didn't appear dangerous at the start.

[sunclouds33]

Glad that I upped the sympathy for the Buffster! I think Buffy *took* Angel's turn the hardest- and that does mean quite a bit because Buffy did feel genuine pain at Angel turning. However, yes, Giles lost the most. I don't think Willow quite reacted with the most pain as Buffy. However, Willow received a lot of empirical pain from S2 Angelus. She was viscerally threatened in Innocence and Passion. Willow loved Jenny as a teacher and mentor. I don't know if Willow dwelt on this, but Willow lost a potentially wonderful resource and mentor in Jenny as Willow embarked on her career as a witch. Angel's Acathala plot landed Willow in a coma in the hospital and we don't know how long it took or how many painful, time-consuming rehab sessions Willow needed to walk again. Last we saw in Becoming, she was in a wheel-chair because a big-ass bookcase fell on her teensy, non-slayer body