For fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the debate over who Buffy should have ended up with has continued raging long after the show ended. Was Buffy always meant to be with Angel, her first star-crossed love? Or should the slayer have risked it all for bad boy Spike, the other vampire with a soul? Recently, Buffy star Alyson Hannigan weighed in with a third option: Buffy should have dated her character, Willow. Keep reading for more on Hannigan's take, and for more from the cast, here's What Sarah Michelle Gellar Says Her Kids Think About Buffy.
"Actually Buffy should have dated Willow," Hannigan tweeted on Nov. 11.
Fans were surprised and delighted by Hannigan's suggestion. Willow had come out as a lesbian on the series, but her relationship with Buffy was always strictly platonic. When one of Hannigan's followers expressed concern that the actor meant Willow should have dated Buffy instead of Tara—Willow's girlfriend who was infamous killed during the show's sixth season—Hannigan made sure to clarify, "After obviously."
But why is Hannigan weighing in on Buffy's love life in 2020? The origin of this conversation might come as a surprise. Politician and activist Stacey Abrams ignited the discussion when she clarified her identity as a Spuffy shipper (someone who believes Spike and Buffy should have ended up together).
"To be fair, Angel was the right boyfriend for Buffy coming into her power," Abrams had tweeted on Nov. 9. "Spike was the right man to be with as she became the power."
Before offering her own theory, Hannigan cheekily retweeted Abrams' assessment of Buffy's relationships with the comment, "I'll vote yes to that!"
It's tough to say if Hannigan was being completely sincere in her belief that Buffy and Willow belonged together, or if she was trolling. She might also have simply wanted to inject new life into a fandom debate that will seemingly never end. Nevertheless, she's not the only Buffy alum to have an opinion on the show's romantic relationships. Read on for more thoughts from the cast, and for a look back at other memorable TV pairings, check out The Most Beloved TV Couples of All Time.
1 Sarah Michelle Gellar is Team Angel.
Buffy herself, Sarah Michelle Gellar, threw a grenade into the shipping wars at Entertainment Weekly's Buffy reunion in 2017.
"People ask who I thought was Buffy's ultimate and I get a lot of hate and a lot of death threats—seriously," she told EW. "There was something so beautiful to me about the Buffy and Angel story. I think that Spike understood a different part of who Buffy was and I think she needed to understand that and discover. But for me as Buffy, I think Angel." And for more fun content delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
2 James Marsters is Team Neither.
At the same reunion, James Marsters—who played Spike—shared his own feelings on the debate over Buffy's one true love. Ultimately, he seemed to come down on the side of neither Angel nor Spike.
"People like to fight. They like to get into teams and push against the other team and prove the other side wrong," he told Entertainment Weekly. "I think what the show was saying very clearly was that Angel was her One, but it was impossible. I think the show was equally clear that Spike was not the right answer."
Nevertheless, the actor contended that there may have been hope for Buffy and Spike down the line. "I always said if you give Spike enough time to figure out what to do with his new soul, he could grow into the vampire that deserves her," Marsters added. And for another flashback, here are The Biggest '90s TV Teen Idols, Then and Now.
3 Danny Strong is Team Stacey Abrams.
Danny Strong, who played Jonathan on Buffy and has since become a successful film and TV writer, succinctly agreed with Abrams' opinion on why Angel and Spike were both right for Buffy at different times in her life. "Yeah, I can see that," he replied on Twitter.
The other members of Buffy's nerd trio—Adam Busch and Tom Lenk—also responded to Abrams' tweet. "Relationships are all about timing," Busch tweeted, while Lenk offered a succinct, "WHOA." And for some real-life couples who connected while acting, check out these Celebrity Couples Who Met on Set.
4 Charisma Carpenter is Team Cordelia.
But if Buffy belonged with Spike in the end, who should Angel have ended up with? Cordelia, of course. At least, that's the belief of Charisma Carpenter, the actor who played the character on Buffy and its spinoff, Angel.
"Cordelia was right for Angel because she kept him on his path," Carpenter replied to Abrams. And if you're a fan of Buffy and Angel, you'll enjoy revisiting these TV Plot Twists That Completely Blew Our Minds.
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