I find Angel's decision to leave very wise and selfless. I had a lot of respect for him when he made that decision. Hmmmm. Except this is what Buffy told him in 'Lovers Walk':
Buffy: I'm not coming back. Angel just looks at her. Buffy: We're not friends. We never were. And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. (shakes her head) Or Spike, for some reason. What I want from you I can never have. You don't need me to take care of you anymore. So I'm gonna go. Angel: I don't accept that. Buffy: You have to. Angel: How can... He takes a step toward her, and she backs away. Angel: There's gotta be some way we can still see each other. Buffy: There is: tell me that you don't love me.
It's the way he refuses to listen to *her*, and yet makes exactly the same decision later on when other people (The Mayor, Joyce) tell him to. Yes he was wise to leave, but he should have left when Buffy told him to - he was being incredibly patronising by not taking her seriously then. (Don't get me wrong, I love Angel. And his tendenccy to make decisions for others is an inherent character trait that's there from beginning to end. But it's not a nice thing.)
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Hmmmm. Except this is what Buffy told him in 'Lovers Walk':
Buffy: I'm not coming back.
Angel just looks at her.
Buffy: We're not friends. We never were. And I can fool Giles, and I can fool my friends, but I can't fool myself. (shakes her head) Or Spike, for some reason. What I want from you I can never have. You don't need me to take care of you anymore. So I'm gonna go.
Angel: I don't accept that.
Buffy: You have to.
Angel: How can...
He takes a step toward her, and she backs away.
Angel: There's gotta be some way we can still see each other.
Buffy: There is: tell me that you don't love me.
It's the way he refuses to listen to *her*, and yet makes exactly the same decision later on when other people (The Mayor, Joyce) tell him to. Yes he was wise to leave, but he should have left when Buffy told him to - he was being incredibly patronising by not taking her seriously then. (Don't get me wrong, I love Angel. And his tendenccy to make decisions for others is an inherent character trait that's there from beginning to end. But it's not a nice thing.)