Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum Nicholas Brendon gives his honest take on the spinoff series Angel. Brendon played Xander Harris on Buffy, appearing in all but one episode of the seminal teen dram, and, in the years since the series went off the air, Brendon’s character has maintained a divisive reaction with the fanbase. Some viewers argue that Xander is the perfect human character in a show filled with the strange and supernatural, a fact that is deployed to hilarious and touching effect in the Xander-centric episode “The Zeppo.” For others though, Xander is remembered for moments where he hasn’t been a great friend to the show’s titular slayer.
That dynamic was most evident in the first three seasons of Buffy. During those high school years, Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Buffy was involved in a romantic relationship with the broody vampire Angel (David Boreanaz). Xander was never quite convinced that Angel, even with a soul, was good enough and didn’t shy away from letting Buffy know about it. In new remarks from Brendon, it appears that the same was true off-camera, as well.
Interviewed for the new book Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts, Brendon spoke to author Evan Ross Katz about working with Charisma Carpenter. Carpenter played Cordelia Chase on Buffy for the first three seasons, before exiting to join the spinoff. Brendon was very complimentary of Carpenter’s performance, saying that he would miss his frequent scene-partner and on-screen love interest once she left for Angel. But when mentioning the spinoff itself, Brendon was less enthused. “Angel, in my opinion, is worse than those Twilight f–ckers,” Brendon opines. The full quote is transcribed below.
“It was weird that Angel got a spin-off. Because how does the most boring character in TV history get a spin-off? Why don’t we break down Angel? Uh, no, there’s nothing to break down. It’s just a brooding little guy. Angel, in my opinion, is worse than those Twilight f–ckers. I’m not sure if I’m talking about David or Angel at this point now.”
Katz reacts to the comments by noting that perhaps Boreanaz and Brendon aren’t the closest of friends, possibly alluding to the alleged friction between the two actors that have long been discussed by fans. But whether that’s the case, or whether Brendon is simply playing up his dislike to playfully channel what Xander might say, Brendon’s reaction gets to a lot of different points: how Angel, as a character, came across on Buffy – filtered through the gaze of a teenage girl in love – versus how he became his own character in the spinoff. It also touches on the fact that Carpenter never returns to Buffy once she departs, one of the many ways that the spinoff changes the dynamic of Buffy‘s beloved high school seasons.
It is, perhaps, the biggest ‘what if’ for fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: what if the spinoff never happened? What would change, in terms of the story? What would change for Cordelia, who evolves then derails then dies in one of Angel‘s most derided character trajectories? In many other ways, of course, the spinoff would eventually become completely different and superior to the show it originated from. But at least for Brendon, he doesn’t see what the fuss is all about.
Source: Into Every Generation a Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts