Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Lois & Clark Lois/Clark vs Buffy relationships

I've been alternating between watching Lois & Clark and Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs when I work out. Since I know several people on this board like both shows, I wanted to hear what you thought. Why does the Lois & Clark relationship work so well when Buffy's boyfriends just don't? Both Clark and Buffy have 'superpowers'. Both are fighting against evil for the forces of good. Both have concerns that their partner, being normal, would be vulnerable (think of Riley here for Buffy). Clark and Buffy are normal emotional beings that need love and support which they get from parents, friends and significant others.

So why does the romantic relationship work for Lois & Clark but not for Buffy?

Could it be the general tone of the shows? Superman tends to be lighter in nature. While Superman deals with villains, demons from Hell might be considered to pack more of a punch at a deeper level. Is Buffy's world so dark that she doesn't want to drag some one 'normal into it? But...there's her friends that have been there all along. Of course she cares about them and their safety.

Is it due to the nature of their power? The Slayer comes from darker forces?

Is it merely a sexist issue? That men have trouble dealing with a powerful woman? Then again, Angel and Spike were just as powerful as Buffy but neither of those relationships went very far.

Or maybe Josh Wheddon wanted to keep an angsty tone so Buffy will never have a successful romance as a result?

What do you think?

Joan

Never really thought about it. But I'd attribute a lot to the fact that Buffy was set in the highschool/college scene, while LnC are past-college. So, they're in different stages of their lives. Also, Buffy died a lot. And why her friends kind of managed relationships, well, at least Willow ended up happy, and you can't really fault the monsters for the whole Anja/Xander blow up, instead of Buffy. The slayer's always been kind of a loner in past millennia. And last but not least, a lot of TV-PTB believe that a show with a happy primary couple is on the best way to a fizzling end.

So, random chance. Some luck out more than others?

Michael

I'm thinking that it's difficult to maintain a two super powered (i.e. slayer / vampire, two superhero) relationship, which is one of the reasons Superman and Wonder Woman never worked out (in the past and hopefully in the future)... tooooo much power together in a relationship makes for one combustable relationship.

Lois, being non-super powered, brings another aspect to the relationship. It doesn't mean that she's the less-equal member of the duo, since, in my opinion, Clark brought more love. Also, it reminds Clark that he has to be more careful with her and he has an place to go (other than to his folks) where he can get away from being a superhero.

I agree with Michael. Lois and Clark were in a different stage in their lives, a stage where the testing phase of relationship is basically through and the settling down phase had begun.

Buffy was in high school and college and nowadays that's a bit early for settling down. I believe that she could have worked things out with Riley if he hadn't bailed so quickly after she dumped him and they had had time to reconcile.

I always liked Spike and hoped they could make it work; besotted Spike is the reason I kept watching Buffy. True, that relationship was disfunction on it's ear, but Spike was willing to get his soul back to win her love, which was more than she was willing to do for him. I was actually working on fanfic story (that summer before he got his soul back coincidently) which had Spike summon his soul and it came to Sunnyvale (dale?) in its new reincarnated body (as a missionary of all things).

I wanted to clobber Xander after what he did to Anja, especially since it was HIS idea to get married in the first place.

From what I've watched of Smallville (first 4 seasons) the Buffy / Angel relationship (super powers aside) is very similar to the Clark / Lana relationship. They are soulmates that are cursed never to be together. Either that or it's the whole high school drama thing again.

That's an excellent point! Lois and Clark have established themselves as adults and are confident on their career paths. Buffy being younger is still figuring things out.


Isn't that the truth? That would certainly put a different perspective on things for her. In fact, I always thought her return from the dead had something to do with her odd relationship with Spike. I never did fully understand that.


I think you're onto something there. I haven't made it through much DVD commentary on my Buffy sets but Joss has said something to the effect of "it's all about the angst/pain".


Joan

Good point. In most successful couples, they complement each other with their differences. They balance each other out.

I agree there. They each bring different attributes to the table. Lois' belief in Clark bolstered his confidence when he first decided to be Superman. Her continued support is essential to Clark's well being. I wasn't seeing this with Buffy and Riley. When things got tough with her mother, she shut him out.

I thought he left her because he was feeling neglected and useless. He could no longer fight along side her. Maybe he could've worked through that issue but, as I mentioned before, Buffy didn't lean on Riley when she was stressed. That always confused me because she did love him. Did she not trust him? Or did she feel she had to deal with it (her mother's illness/Dawn) all alone?

Buffy and Spike confused me but, like you, I was touched when he got back his soul for her. I really wanted that to be more of game changer. Your idea sounds like fun.


I have a confession. I never liked Angel. He always came off as arrogant to me. In fact, it took me years to warm up to David B. as an actor. When I was discussing relationships on Buffy with my friend, we focused on later seasons. But Angel is always there. And as much as I hate to admit it, that's most likely the crux of it. Angel is her soul mate but they can never be together. Thus, Buffy can never be with her true love so she will never be truly happy. Lois is Clark's soul mate and they are together.