Angel

Time, in it’s own merciless manner, marches steadily along a linear path. As we move from one day to the next, we can never return to yesterday. There’s no rewind button and no do-overs. Once a day is gone, it’s gone for good. Tomorrow may very much resemble the Friday of last week, but it is in actuality a completely unique day. March 7, 2003 is gone forever, and no day in the future will ever be its exact twin.

The human character behaves in a very similar fashion. Although a person does not necessarily change on a regulated basis, once he has there is no going back. He may act similarly to how he used to, but he is not the same. A person’s character is created from the sum total of his life experience, and there is no way to remove past events and experiences from the equation.

It’s a tough lesson to learn. There are often times in our lives when we long for days gone by. However, there are other times when we are thankful that things are different. With time, we can expect change. With ourselves, we can initiate it. However, In both cases, we cannot reverse it.

This is why both Angelus’ and Wesley’s attempts to transform the current Faith into the old, self-loathing Faith failed miserably. She’s not the same woman she was when she strapped Wesley to a chair and slowly tortured him. She not the same woman she was when she begged for death. Sure, they can incite feelings of rage or regret by invoking memories of her past behavior, but they are never going to transform her into the woman she was.

No, because she’s a changed woman. Even though she still carries some of the rage and confusion of her past, she is still a woman that has learned (and is still learning) her lesson. Just as each day is not always dramatically different than the one before it, each change in a person’s character is not always easily registered. There is a journey involved. It’s a journey Faith has been committed to ever since she turned herself in at the police station.

Along that journey, Faith has learned that there are lines that good, responsible people should not cross. These are lines that Wesley seems to be willing to push her past. He wants Faith to become as ruthless as Angelus, but at what cost? Is stopping Angelus worth not only the sacrifice of his own life, but the sacrifice of Faith’s redemption as well? Does he seek to push her onto yet another path, one that would lead her to drastic changes once again?

Fortunately for Faith, she seems unwilling to let others push her onto any path. She’s grown into a woman who has learned to trust her instincts and decisions. Hopefully she knows that if she stoops to Angelus’ level and becomes as uncaring, ruthless and cruel as he is, then she will be no better than he. It’s cliché, but true. She has the power to hurt and destroy as easily as Angelus, so why hazard traveling down that road? The Fang Gang should be using good to overcome evil, not more evil.

It could be that Wesley was testing Faith to see if she really did cling to the ideals that heroes believe in, but stabbing that woman went too far. Risking unleashing a deranged slayer on the world by pushing Faith to the edge is going too far. There are lines, people, lines! Big, fat lines that read: Cross This and Get Your Butt Kicked by Major Consequences!

Don’t believe me? Then just ask Fred and Gunn. Sure, the professor was pretty evil. He sent people into horrible demon dimensions where they were either tortured or killed. It seems like he’d be a good candidate for disposal by the righteous brigade, doesn’t it? He deserved to die.

Unfortunately, the fact that this guy was a human and under human laws pretty much meant that this was not their call to make. Now their relationship is falling apart, their guilty secret is eating away at their friendships, and their hands are forever stained with the blood of another. There is no going back to the way things used to be.

Yes, they may have helped people by getting rid of that evil man. Wesley may help save a whole bunch of people by only hurting a few. However, the price is taken out of their conscience. "What does it profit a man, if he shall gain (and in this case, save) the whole world but lose his own soul?"

The world is shrouded in gray, especially for those battling the forces of evil. That’s fine and understandable. The gang can stay in the gray, debate the ethics of their actions and keep fighting the bad guys, as long as they don’t cross over to the black. We need to believe in heroes - heroes that help people, help each other and stand up for what is right. Because often there really is a right and a wrong, and it’s important that the true champions choose right whenever they can.

Bat Gang Bites

It looks like Connor, despite the earlier assumption made when he was a baby, isn’t quite human. So, what is he? Part obnoxious teenager, part vampire? It would explain his superhuman abilities. However, there’s also a chance that Evil Cordelia is further manipulating Connor by making him believe he isn’t human. It could merely be another ruse to cement the bond between the two and help explain the rapid growth of "their" baby. At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. We can only hope that Evil Cordelia is one of those bad guys who fully explains all the intricate details of her plan when her true nature is revealed. We know now that her plan is to use the threat of Angel’s soul to convince Angelus to do her bidding. Angelus is fully aware of what transpires in Angel’s body, but he’s trapped; buried under all that goodness. If she really does have the ability to keep him forever buried under Angel’s soul, do you think she’d be kind enough to perform that little ritual for the gang after she’s been defeated? What if a slayer became a vampire? It was Buffy’s greatest fear - to become the very thing that she is destined to destroy. Now Faith stands on the brink of realizing that fear. If she retained her slayer abilities after the transformation, she might very well be the most powerful vampire the world has ever known. Yikes.

Looks like the gang really does need a break. They’ve lost their notes, they’re unknowingly harboring the big bad, Angelus is finally ready to start taking orders and their best hope for survival is getting the life sucked out of her neck. They might just get the boost they need, because NEXT WEEK . . .

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The world’s most powerful witch takes a trip to Los Angeles! Willow pops in to try and help restore Angel’s soul while Angelus and Faith share a few special moments together.

Until then, rent Blade and Batman and try to figure out if Angelus was giving some kind of clue by quoting those two movies. Is it a random coincidence, a figment of my imagination or a revelation of Angelus’ cinematic preferences? And was Fred channeling Princess Leia for a minute there? You tell me.

See you next week!