Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for 7 seasons and featured one spin-off, Angel. Considered a unique and amazing show of its day, it is still appreciated and loved many years later. There are even college courses dedicated to Buffy the Vampire Slayer studies. We learn that in the legacy of slayers, the heritage that Buffy inherits, she’s unique also because she has friends. While these friends can’t exactly know what it’s like to be a slayer, they do help Buffy and keep her grounded.
Additionally, they’ve courageous and become formidable allies throughout the series, some even become magical. Cordelia is grouped with Buffy’s other friends, but is she really her friend? Or is their friendship superficial and one of convenience, rather than being deep and real? When we take a step back, they don’t seem to be real friends. Here is why.
They Don’t Keep In Touch
Cordelia moves away from Sunnydale after high school to try her luck in the acting world in L.A. Buffy doesn’t keep in touch with Cordelia. The only reason that Buffy sees Cordelia when she visits L.A. is because of Angel since Cordelia works at Angel’s business. Likewise, Cordelia doesn’t call or communicate with Buffy. Matter-of-fact, most of the Scooby gang doesn’t keep in touch with Cordelia except maybe one work-related call from Willow. Likewise, we don’t see Cordelia come back to visit her hometown either.
Once Cordelia leaves Sunnydale, she is out of their world. When Cordelia goes through pain in L.A. (and a coma), we would have thought her friends would have come to see her or check up on her. The fact that Buffy doesn’t do so shows that they aren’t real friends.
They Are Both Alphas And Compete
Before Buffy was the slayer, she was very much like high-school Cordelia. She was popular and a cheerleader. Buffy even calls herself vapid, insinuating that Cordelia is as well. However, we know that both are very smart characters, even when wearing the cloak of the popular girl.
Since both Buffy and Cordelia are alphas, they don’t blend as easily as Buffy does with the rest of her group. Cordelia sees Buffy as competition, more than a friend. Buffy sees Cordelia as having something that Buffy can no longer have–the popular girl with a normal life.
Cordelia Tries for Angel
On the spin-off Angel, Cordelia and Angel develop a sincere friendship as well as feelings for each other; they have a love story and relationship. However, on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cordelia only wanted Angel because he was hot. The fact that he was with and into Buffy didn’t matter.
Friends usually leave each other’s significant others alone. Cordelia doesn’t. It’s only when she realizes that she doesn’t have a chance with Angel that she moves on. Before that, she tries for him, even knowing that he and Buffy are into each other.
They Don’t Have Heart-to-Hearts
While there are maybe one or two moments where Buffy and Cordelia reach an understanding with each other, in general, these two don’t have heart-to-hearts. In some ways, they have more in common than other characters. Both were very popular girls and understand the power and pressure that comes with the role. Additionally, both have had family problems that they try to hide from their friends.
Buffy was awakened to be the slayer, and Cordelia ended up with a power of her own. Both powers were painful, and both made them into better people. We would have loved to see a heart-to-heart, but they never really connected in that way, unlike Buffy’s other friends.
Buffy Tries to Steal Cordelia’s Crown
Cordelia campaigns to become homecoming queen. All of the gang is helping her, except Buffy who decides that she also wants to be homecoming queen. She tries to steal votes and people’s favor from Cordelia. Her friends become so frustrated by these mean girl tendencies that they arrange for Buffy and Cordelia to be in a limo together in order to talk and make-up.
We can understand that Buffy misses being a normal girl, but she put her former-mean-girl energy in this campaign, directing it all at Cordelia.
Cordelia Wishes that Buffy Never Came to Sunnydale
After Xander breaks up with Cordelia and Cordelia’s popularity is at an all-time low, she’s angry and down. At this time, she meets a vengeance demon (Anya before she became part of the group), who grants her wishes. Cordelia decides that her life was turned upside down because Buffy came to live in Sunnydale and that her life would be better if that had never happened.
She learns quickly that she was wrong. However, the fact that she wished for this, shows how little she thinks of Buffy and how little she considers Buffy her friend.
They Fight And Mock Each Other A Lot
If Cordelia and Buffy were to be seen as having any relationship, it would be frenemies except without the fierce love that pulls many frenemies (like Serena and Blair of Gossip Girl) back together. These two constantly jab and belittle each other. Cordelia even (and hilariously so) mocks Buffy and Angel’s dramatic-love in Angel.
Buffy belittles Cordelia’s intelligence. These two don’t really like each other. They are together because sometimes they have to be, not because they want to be.
Xander Is the Only Reason Cordelia Hangs Out With Buffy
Let’s be honest, the only reason that Cordelia hangs out with Buffy and the gang is that she’s dating Xander. She cares about Xander so much that she’s willing to leave her popular-girl world and join his supernatural-fighting world. If she hadn’t dated Xander, Cordelia would never have become a temporary Scooby.
She wouldn’t have cared to spend time with any of them, especially not Buffy. Thankfully, Xander brought her into the group, and she handles the shock of the supernatural world very well, but she doesn’t forge a true friendship with Buffy.
They Don’t Socialize Apart From the Others
While we see Buffy hanging out with Willow away from the group or with Xander, she and Cordelia never meet for coffee. The only couple times that Buffy did hang out with Cordelia was because someone wanted Cordelia to bring Buffy.
On their own, they don’t hang out. Cordelia hangs out Buffy only when she’s with Xander, otherwise, she doesn’t seek out Buffy’s company. Likewise, Buffy doesn’t seek out Cordelia’s.
They Seem to Actively Dislike Each Other
It may be the competition and jealousy that these two have of each other that keeps them from sharing a connection. In truth, they seem to actively dislike each other. They constantly jab at each other, and they never really take the time to get to know one another. They are together due to mutual friends, not because they are friends.
We would have loved for a friendship to have developed, especially after Cordelia grew as a character in Angel, but it never happened. They never were really able to become real friends, although we would have liked to have seen that.
