A/N The creator and show runner of Grimm also worked on the Buffy and Angel shows and he's on record as saying Grimm is the equivalent of Buffy, with the major exception being that he was able to have more control and allowed to maintain his vision. I recently found an interview that said that Angel was in fact never meant to be a vampire at all, he was meant to be an actual angel, a fallen angel, maybe being guided back on the path. What kind of show might we have gotten if that was the case? Joss wanted the vampires to be ugly, unrepentant evil and the Angel character to be a messenger, like the angels in the bible stories are. The decision to change him to a vampire and then a vampire with a soul upset Joss. Apparently he kept trying to kill him off after that. Losing the soul, going to Acathla's Hell dimension and he was never supposed to come back. It was really annoying to Joss that the network kept insisting on their narrative verses his own. Fans may have loved the twisted and unrealistic romance, but the show's creator sure didn't.
I also read a fan theory on a discussion board that Angel was actually supposed to be Angelus all along and just manipulating Buffy, that too would have fit Joss' vision of vampires being total evil. It seems he never did have as much control over the show as he wanted or that people want to believe he had. Season 2 had already been plotted out and it seems SMG was a big fan of the original concept, mainly because it was something she campaigned for over the course of the entire show, Buffy falling for Xander, at least for awhile, after he saved her in the Master's lair. 'When She Was Bad' was the start of the rewrite of that season. Big difference. Not that he didn't have a good deal of control, the destruction of Cordelia's character was all on him because he was so mad at Charisma Carpenter just for getting pregnant in real life. It seems the network didn't object, largely because they'd decided to end the Angel show anyway, season 5 wasn't going to happen and ending the show with Angel and Cordelia having been manipulated all along just so Cordelia could birth Jasmine was apparently also fine with them. Season 5 was a last minute decision and kind of a joke on Joss' part (puppet Angel anyone?) ;). And Spike was only brought in because he was a fan favorite and Joss could poke more fun at him (ghost Spike) with more unwitting manipulation of both of them this time.
A popular fan theory is that the Trio, because of their use of cameras to spy on the group, was meant to represent the audience. Which makes you wonder how so many fans manage to miss what that must say about how Joss was feeling about the audience by this time. They 'steal' a diamond, for a bright idea. They're rapists and attempted rapists, (Spike). They're murders, (Angel/Angelus). And they're really out of touch with reality. And let's not forget, they're responsible for Buffy thinking she's in an insane asylum and Joss being tempted to say she was there all along. Which says something about what he thought the show became.
Buffy is supposedly a show about female empowerment, because the Buffy and Willow characters end up being so powerful mystically. However it was intended to be three friends, Buffy, Willow and Xander, fighting evil on equal terms. Which is why the beginning of the show and the end of the show, show the same scene, Buffy, Willow and Xander together, resolving to fight the evil. SMG is on record as not wanting to be involved in the comics or the reboot because she wanted the final message of Buffy to be the last word on the subject. The message? The sharing of power.
You know what female empowerment isn't? Tearing down men so woman appear even stronger and always right in comparison to them. The writer, Joss, has the character, Xander, express concern over the character, Willow, dating a werewolf, stating the werewolf is dangerous and could potentially harm her. That's all it's meant to be, concern. Buffy tells him it's not his decision and the fans immediately decide he's actually trying to control who Willow dates because he's a misogynist. It's not what the writer intended, but it's what the fans want to believe, because the writer himself is a misogynist. The writer's intention is for people to see the potential danger and the concern, the fans interpretation is something else.
Xander states his problem is with Anya having sex with Spike, an evil vampire. Again, Joss is trying to put out his narrative, all vampires are evil. Anya says that because Xander broke up with her he has no say in who or what she has sex with and fans immediately decide that Xander thinks he owns her. Again, not what the writer wanted them to actually hear. After all, Xander was meant to be Joss' voice on the show, but not Joss himself.
Why this author's note? Because I have encountered the same problem, repeatedly. No matter how many times I state my intention in a story I'm writing or how many times I respond to a PM or review reiterating the point I'm trying to make in my story, there are people who refuse to hear what I am saying and twist it to fit their own narrative. Further, they want to force me, often through the use of abusive language, to change my opinion and writing to match their opinion. I'm not going to change my views or my opinions and I will continue to site behind the scene interviews and discussions as part of my stories. Something else you need to bear in mind, Xander Harris and all these characters are fictional characters, the problems of the actors and writers are not the problems of the characters. Joss was an abusive asshole, Xander Harris was an abused character, not an abuser himself. Nicholas Brendon was an alcoholic who eventually got clean and is trying to fix his mistakes. Don't confuse the character with the writer and actor. And to the anonymous guest who keeps writing cruel reviews based off of the few bits of personal information I've posted on my profile and authors notes, please stop, it won't get you anywhere and it won't stop me from writing my stories the way I want to.
I'd really like to see a Buffy show where Joss' actual ideas were allowed to play out, the three main characters being equal. Angel being either an actual Angel or always being Angelus, no middle ground. Xander and Cordelia remaining together and Buffy's love interests being normal and not walking, demon possessed corpses.
I have nothing against vampire romances where the vampire is not intended by the author to be a demon animated corpse, I've read some really good ones where they're a different souled species or humans who have machines (nanites) extending their lifespans. Lyndsay Sands writes those, the nanites use minerals and metals found in the blood to replicate themselves but since the body can't produce enough, the human needs extra blood. One reviewer suggested I do a Xander as Vampire story, I can see Xander's hate of vampires being so strong he'd suicide if he became one. Unless he became a different kind of vampire. What do you think? Should my next story be a Xander vampire? Not that this one is quite done yet. Though there will be no Trio or Glory in this particular story. Johnathan and Andrew are both Wesen in this story and in a much better place emotionally and mentally than on the show. Glory and Dawn have no place in this story because Buffy isn't even a Slayer and Joyce is the most powerful. And it would be a really short fight if Joyce with a Troll God hammer went after Glory for threatening her baby! 8)