Yikes this one is hard. Honestly there are no good romances on this show. At least, no romances that end ell and aren't tainted by the way they end. I love Willow and Oz but how that ends really sucks. Same wih Willow and Tara. Xander has good relationships that he always screws up. And each other Buffy's relationships have good aspects but are tainted in the end. So which of these ill-fated romances to choose? I know I'm Giles-heavy these days, but that won't continue forever. So...
Rupert Giles and Jenny Calendar
They respected each other. They had a wonderful and playful repartee. She was sexually aggressive in a way that charmed him but was not overwhelming. And the electrical charge in those scenes when she was making innuendo towards him? Damn.
His relationship with Jenny was one of the last self-centered acts Giles ever committed. She got wrapped up in the disastrous consequences of his youthful black magic and still cared about him. And when Jenny kept secrets from Giles and Buffy that led to Angel's turn back to evil, he eventually forgave her even though Buffy didn't. Jenny was a breath of fresh air for Giles, a foil who loved Burning Man and technology and didn't mind teasing him about his tweed and uptight Britishness. And yet, they cared about each other deeply.
This makes her death even more devastating. The expression on Giles' face when he walks into his house, hearing the romantic music and seeing candles and rose petals, is adorable--the excitement mixed with adoration and anticipation--and it makes what he finds waiting for him soul-crushingly sad. He immediately goes off to kill Angelus, the only time that he seeks revenge and violence on behalf of any individual except for Buffy.
And his love for her stays with him. Jenny is the mask that Drusilla uses to torture Giles at the end of Season 2, and the only thing that could break him. He loved her and, though he does have a seemingly casual affair with Olivia late in the series, Giles never really commits himself emotionally to anyone again for the rest of the series.
Maybe this romance is only seemingly best because it never got to be carried through to its ultimate end. Because of Jenny's death we never got to see what nightmares could have awaited them-what they would both have to compromise and sacrifice, the emotional turmoil that would have undoubtedly been in their future. But the way it was, it was beautiful.
To end on, this segment of adorableness/sexiness from Season 2 episode "The Dark Ages":
Oh! Thank you so much for loaning me
the Forrester book. It's wonderful.
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
it was so romantic, so evocative.
That edition was my father's. I must
have read it 20 times.
You know how you have to dog-ear
your favorite pages so you can go
back to them?
(alarmed)
You have to what?
Well, I practically folded back every
page. So I underlined the passages
I really wanted to discuss.
(queasy)
Underlined?
But then I spilled coffee on it and
I couldn't even read it.
Coffee. On the first edition.
(smiles)
I'm lying, Rupert. The book's fine.
I just love to see you squirm.
Oh. Well, I trust I gave good squirm.
Did anyone ever tell you you're kind
of a fuddy duddy?
Nobody ever seems to tell me anything else.
Did anyone ever tell you you're kind
of a sexy fuddy duddy?
That part usually gets left out. I can't
imagine why.
This weekend --
Would you like to go out?
I think I'd like to stay in.
This Saturday night, then?
Saturday night. I'll see if I can
make you squirm.
Did it just get hot in here?
Tomorrow I discuss my least favorite season. Place your bets now.
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