I think it's mostly because that show did some season one course correction, and for it to really work in a binge setting you'd have to build to it with some season one episodes, which, eh.

Hmm. I don't know. I could see Angel being a bottom but Angelus didn't seem to be one to bend over backwards to make Spike happy.

Him showing up with flowers because he truly did care about Joyce and not just because of her Buffy connection is one of my favorite Spike moments.

Yeah but those aspects were so effective that four years later they tried (and failed) to pull the same trick with Willow.

Doesn't it say so much about the show that Passion isn't even the best episode of that season?

Oh wow, yeah that would've worked a lot better for me. As it stands, I always wished the stakes weren't world ending but more small scale. Like Angelus trying to break her by taking out all the Scoobies at once. As it stands it feels like they needed an ending and figured this one would do.

I discovered Buffy in college (thanks Netflix) and every time Spike entered I did the same cheer. Early Spike was just the coolest character, and even later Spike had great moments (out for a walk…bitch).

*Biker bar goes nuts*

Don't get me wrong. I LOVED the Mayor. He's my second favorite Big Bad and his relationship with Faith was great. I think he just never came off as scary to me as Angelus did at his best. (Though he came damn close when he tried to kill Buffy in her hospital bed)

I'll admit Boreanaz could be hammy sometimes, but when he had his "game face" on, he stepped up his game considerably. Like how Olivier would channel characters through prosthetic noses.

Yeah they just needed to throw up something so we could leave comments about how the show never topped Angelus.

Exactly. All it ever was was a game to him. His whole schtick was more "death by a thousand cuts" than world domination. It's why the "world ending demon portal" plan never sat well with me when it came to Angelus' character.

Ah Spike's entrance was what locked me into the show for the long haul. It was just so fucking COOL. I hated how they defanged him later on. (Though I still loved him)

Angelus is far and away my favorite Big Bad of the series. He relished in over the top villainy which was fun to watch, but then would do something like kill and strong Willow's fish together or stalk Jenny Calendar in the school before snapping her neck and you'd find him pretty horrifying. Add that with his…

That's definitely fair! Yeah Xander was given a lot of slack in the show, but I no more than almost any other character. I guess I never understood the overwhelming hate Xander gets while the other flawed characters are beloved.

I think they hit on this in Angel by having Spike look at Angel when he's stressed and saying "you need to relax. You're looking old".

Yeah, they were leaving so much in the tank for a Faith and Spike spin off that never happened.

Aww man! The ending of Angel is probably my favorite ending to any tv show and really sums up the whole point of the series!

I think you may be falling for Spike's charm a bit too much. Spike murdered hundreds of people, and would've murdered the Scoobies a thousand times over if it wasn't for the chip. He also attempted to rape Buffy while not under a coyote possession. I love Spike, but he's definitely a lot worse than Xander.

I don't know why I felt the need to defend how great he is. It's not like it's even arguable. You're right that other than Hammil, the animation and prologue could've gone through a great many more drafts.