they had one of the few mature relationships we saw on either show

Is this in regard to Angel and Darla? I can see this where they're sitting in the motel and DArla's finally accepted that she's going to die and she's beginning to appreciate how far Angel went for her--all her reactions during Angel's trial are just wonderful--and he's pledging to stay with her till the end--

I almost hate to see Drusilla come through the door.

Yeah, I think B/A either you wave your hands frantically at the screen and go "look! See? Right there!"

There are moments when I see the attraction, but it's very much a Knight and his Lady sort of thing, not simply a man and a woman. Oddly, it's the Sadie Hawkins/50's ghost ep where I see it strongest, that moment when the ghosts leave and it's Angelus and Buffy staring at her, and Angelus bolts instead of ripping her head off.

I almost hate to see Drusilla come through the door.

Oh, that's heartbreaking. Not least because Drusilla has no idea what she's doing.

Ugh. That just reminds me how bitter I am that they got Juliet Landau back in more than one episode for the final season and (comparatively) wasted her appearances on being a frilly love object in flashbacks rather than resolving anything with a modern day empowered Drusilla.

Part of me wishes she'd been in the lab holding Fred's head down over that sarcophagus, unbeknownst to anyone else.

a modern day empowered Drusilla

"Crush" is the last time we see Dru in 'real time' isn't it.

Part of me wishes she'd been in the lab holding Fred's head down over that sarcophagus, unbeknownst to anyone else.

Oh man, Drusilla so would have done Illyria's bidding. They'd had to have gotten Juliet for an extended run though. That could have been fun. Although I'm not sure how long Illyria would have put up with the crazy.

he almost ate a baby for her. That's gotta mean something.

That's an interesting choice of an example, because it seemed to me as though he did not do that for Darla, but because he was desperately tired of being alone, and lonely, and different. He did not want a soul anymore, he wanted to go back to the way he used to be before that, when life was quite easy. And he needed to convince Darla, who was leading their little group, that he could be exactly the same as he was, so that he could have his old life back. It was, again, a rather impersonal thing. If it was the master traveling with them, then he would have almost eaten a baby for him. (I would've chosen Spike or Drusilla to replace her, but Drusilly wasn't competent and driven enough to lead then, and Angel has too many Spike issues for that to be a clean substitution.)

Yeah, I think B/A either you wave your hands frantically at the screen and go "look! See? Right there!" (me) or you don't, in which case it makes no sense whatsoever.

I'm with Katie. And the lack of seeing makes no sense whatsoever to me. (Mostly kidding.)

Somebody wayback once noted that Angel reacted while Buffy acted. Buffy consistently showed a strong ability to improvise and exploit weaknesses in her enemies. Angel's plans sucked and they were usually reactions rooted in Must Protect Damsel.

However, I will note that as Angelus he was a master of protracted campaigns of terror (Driving Dru mad, Giles' Romantic Night 'O Death, playing Big Rubber Satan). Maybe a souled-up Angel is an overemotional/irrational Angel. (Maybe a souled up Angel is a bit of a damsel himself. Sort of like Xander.)

In that respect they butched him up a bit for his own show, but he was forever being saved/nursed back to health by Buffy when they were together.

Oddly, it's the Sadie Hawkins/50's ghost ep where I see it strongest, that moment when the ghosts leave and it's Angelus and Buffy staring at her, and Angelus bolts instead of ripping her head off.

t sigh

One of my favorite episodes ever.