The Debate About Buffy’s Best Love Interest Was Already Definitively Ended 9 Years Ago

More than two decades after Buffy the Vampire Slayer went off the air, the show remains a fan favorite and cult classic, and fans are still talking about many of the characters, storylines, and choices the show made. In fact a few recent events—both devastating in their own ways—have stirred up discourse about the show yet again. Just a few months ago, Buffy fans were crushed by the news that the planned Buffy the Vampire Slayer sequel series, Buffy: New Sunnydale, had been cancelled by Hulu, with little indication that the concept would get off the ground elsewhere.

More recently, on June 5, the death of beloved actor Anthony Head, who played Buffy Summers’ mentor Rupert Giles on the show, was announced, breaking fans’ hearts yet again. It makes sense that both bits of news have fans revisiting some of the most heavily debated topics about the show, and that includes conversations surrounding Buffy’s love interests over the years. In fact, fans continue to disagree on who Buffy’s best love interest was overall—but Buffy actress Sarah Michelle Gellar has actually already addressed this topic, cementing the single best romantic partner in the show.

Buffy Summers’ Love Interests Remain a Hot Topic

Of Buffy’s various love interests throughout Buffy the Vampire Slayer, there are really three that fans consider her true romantic relationships (or at least the most important): Angel, Riley Finn, and Spike. There are fans of each for various reasons, making these the three most heavily debated romantic partners for Buffy. Fans of the show will know that Buffy and Angel’s romance was passionate, intense, and really her central relationship in the show, despite the fact that they ultimately do not end up together. For many fans, this couple represent true soulmates, and that makes them the best.

Others argue that Riley Finn was Buffy’s best romantic partner, due in no small part to the fact that Riley caused Buffy the least distress. As the only human among these three, given that Angel and Spike were both vampires (yes, there’s some complexity around human souls, but that’s getting in the weeds), Riley wasn’t nearly as complicated or as dangerous in various ways for Buffy. However, the flip side of this is that many fans find Riley boring, and for that reason, they can’t see Riley as Buffy’s best love interest.

Finally, Spike was an incredibly complex character, and he was an equally complex love interest for Buffy. Spike started out as a total villain, and it understandably took viewers quite some time to trust him at all. While his feelings for Buffy were ultimately proven true, and he actually became a genuinely charming romantic partner for Buffy, one incident takes him off the table for many fans, and that’s his attempted sexual assault of Buffy while he didn’t have a soul. It’s that latter point that makes this more complicated, but it was still very difficult to move past.

With Buffy having such a complicated, nuanced romantic history, it makes sense that there are debates regarding which love interest was the best, and there are fair points to be made on all sides. However, one romantic partner stands out as the best among the rest—and Sarah Michelle Gellar herself agrees.

Sarah Michelle Gellar Herself Has Ended This Debate

While fans make some good points in favor of Riley and Spike as Buffy’s best love interest, Angel has to be considered the best overall. From the moment he was introduced and the two first encountered one another, there was a clear chemistry and intensity between them, and that never really dissipated, even after they had called it quits. No, Angel wasn’t perfect—he made his fair share of mistakes, both when he had a soul and when he didn’t—and it’s true that they don’t end up together.

Yet, Angel was Buffy’s first true love, and a case can certainly be made for them being soulmates. What’s more, it seems that Sarah Michelle Gellar agrees when it comes to Angel being Buffy’s best romantic partner (and, surely, she would be the one to know and have the final say). In fact, nine years ago, Gellar weighed in on this debate and gave a definitive answer.

Per Page Six, while speaking at Entertainment Tonight’s Buffy the Vampire Slayer reunion event in 2017, Gellar said, “People ask who I thought was Buffy’s ultimate, and I get a lot of hate and a lot of death threats, seriously…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.”

Particularly given that Gellar indicates that she is answering the question as Buffy, this feels like as definitive an answer as possible regarding who Buffy’s best love interest truly was. Undoubtedly, fans will continue to debate this point, and everyone is, of course, entitled to their own opinion on this point. As it stands, though, this is certainly a solid defense for Angel being the best overall.

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