While Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot is officially happening, and this news has predictably been met with a lot of reservations. For the revival to feel like a worthy continuation of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the new series will need to both address the shortcomings of the original show and celebrate its successes. This is a hefty ask for any series.

Even if Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot fixes Tara’s death with a retcon, the show will still have to contend with disgraced creator Joss Whedon’s role in shaping the voice of the original show. Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s revival could be great, but there are a lot of pressing questions the show must answer for it to work.

Buffy's Revival Can Settle The Debate Over Angel & Spike

Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s Reboot Will Most Likely Reveal Her Ultimate Love Interest

One of the most urgent debates that Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot will almost certainly have to settle is whether Buffy herself ends up with Angel or Spike. Whether viewers were ers of “Bangel" or “Spuffy,” whether Buffy should end up with Angel, Spike, or neither of them is perhaps the oldest debate in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s fandom. The original series never settled the question of who Buffy's true love is, or who she ends up with in the future.

Spike died in Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s ending but came back in season 5 of Angel. However, an unseen Buffy was dating someone else entirely when Spike and Angel worked together in season 5 of the spinoff, much to their shared chagrin. Considering her long, complicated, and problematic history with both love interests, it would be a valid storytelling choice for Buffy to end up with either character or neither of them. As such, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot almost certainly has to at least address the debate in some way.

Why Buffy Being With Angel Is More Likely Than Spike

Buffy’s Actor Preferred This More Canonically Stable Paring

Although Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot bringing back villains and ing characters from the original show won’t be feasible in every case, it is reasonable to assume that both Spike and Angel will return to the revival. Both characters played pivotal parts in the original series, with Angel and Spike acting as major villains in season 2 and becoming complicated love interests later in the series. Since Sarah Michelle Gellar is set to return and executive produce the reboot, it is worth noting that she is Team Angel (as is her real-life daughter).

After all the trauma that Buffy endured, it is easy to imagine Gellar wanting a happy ending for her most famous character and her preferred love interest, Angel. However, this only makes sense if viewers assume that the star needs to choose between one of Buffy’s two most famous love interests. While both Spike and Angel are great characters, they also both have dark, morally murky histories with Buffy (particularly Spike).

Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s revival will need to feature the duo in some capacity.

This means it would not be too surprising if Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot opted to sidestep the issue entirely. Buffy might not end up with either of her most famous love interests, much like True Blood’s heroine Sookie Stackhouse didn’t end up choosing Bill or Eric in that supernatural fantasy show's finale. That said, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s revival will still need to feature the duo in some capacity. Even if they are still pining over her, and she has sworn off both of them, Angel and Spike are too central to simply forget about them.

The Problem With Buffy Bringing Back Angel & Spike

Angel And Spike’s Visible Real-Life Aging Might Be An Issue

Unfortunately, there is a practical problem with bringing back Angel and Spike, which wouldn’t be an issue for Buffy, Willow, Giles, and other human characters. Vampires don't age but real-life actors do, meaning David Boreanaz and James Masters both look substantially different from their original incarnations of Angel and Spike. This was already evident by the time of Angel's later seasons and, while both actors have aged well, it has been over two decades since the original series ended.

Thus, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s reboot will need to either explain why the pair have both aged, recast them, or de-age them digitally. Recasting would inevitably prove extremely divisive and de-aging is both expensive and often uncanny, so the first option seems like the most sensible here. Spike and Angel could be made human, which would also make them more vulnerable as characters, but the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot could also come up with an alternative paranormal explanation upon their return.