One of the many upsides to having a lot of obsessions is getting to go back revisit ones that have taken a backseat. Tonight while eating dinner, I indulged in going back to an obsession that was fairly prominent in college, my love of Angel. I loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer too but as time has gone on, I’m able to separate these two shows more and more and appreciate Angel as its own show apart from Buffy.
I know I’ve talked about this on here before but what I liked so much about this series was its focus on the core group of characters and the plot, the big bads, the season arcs never strayed away from this tight group of Angel, Inc. Whereas in Buffy I felt that much of the conflict came from external forces pushing down on the Scooby gang, in Angel it is all internal demons trying to force their way out whether literally as in Fred’s case or more subtly with Gunn and Wesley.
And you still cannot beat a show that turns its hero into a puppet.
It amazes me that now, years after Angel went off the air, I’m still so upset that it was cancelled. I’ve made peace with Arrested Development’s three seasons and I’m even coming to grips with Pushing Daisies leaving us so soon, but I don’t think I’ll ever get over Angel being cancelled after 5 seasons. Especially when Season 5 was so good! I was a big fan of the new direction the show went in the fifth season. I liked the whole idea of Angel fighting from within the belly of the beast and at times being corrupted by the power of that. It was so much fun to see Fred in her element, finally being proactive and not just the damsel in distress or the love interest. Gunn rocked as a hot shot lawyer. And Wesley…well, what can you say about Wesley and his transformation from geeky watcher to James Bond, bad ass book man?
After the season long episode that was Season 4, it was so refreshing to have the stand alone episodes of Season 5. “Life of the Party,” “Destiny,” “Soul Purpose,” “A Hole in the World”/”Shells”, the redemption of the Connor character in “Origins,” and, of course, “Smile Time” are among my favorite episodes of the entire series. But we musn’t forget the true tragedy of ending Angel too soon: the missed opportunity to flesh out the best partner they ever got for Angel in Spike. What at first was an awkward melding of the Buffy Spike and the Angel Spike turned into my favorite couple of the entire Buffyverse. Angel and Spike, or I should say David Boreanaz and James Marsters, clashed so beautifully, played off each other so well that it doubles the heartbreak of this show’s premature cancellation. Just imagine what stories the writers and Joss Whedon could have come up with for a sixth season with those two!
Despite my continuing anger that Angel was cancelled, I’m a big supporter of how the show went out. Looking back on it, Wesley had to die. It was really the kindest ending to give to that character, a chance at peace and to be with Fred again. I still love Angel’s line to Connor in that final episode: “As long as you’re safe, they can’t hurt me” or something like that. The last shot is the money though. I love that it ends on an action swing from Angel. Never stop fighting, even when all hope of winning is lost.
Yeah, I just love this show. Like Friends and early Will & Grace, I never get tired of watching it in all its various stages. I still find it moving, I still find it funny and I’m pretty sure I’ll find it entertaining for a long time.
And have I mentioned the puppet episode? Seriously, that might be my favorite 42 minutes of television of all time.
