Angel

Well, I’ve covered Buffy the Vampire Slayer here on Jane After Dark, and my nephew, who loaned me his Buffy DVDs, also got me into Angel. Nearly everyone I talked to about Angel said they just couldn’t get into it. After Buffy, maybe everything else pales in comparison.

I have to say, I really only started watching Angel out of respect for Buffy and Joss Whedon, and because I really loved the character of Angel (and David Boreanaz is not hard to look at). I was alternately watching Buffy and Angel at the same time (one disc of Buffy, one of Angel, and so on); it was a good way to do it, because there were a few crossover episodes that made a lot more sense watching them that way.

Now, down to brass tacks. Angel ran for five seasons, and it took me three seasons to really get into it. The first three were just sort of meh for me, but I got through them by forcing myself to alternate with the Buffy discs (look, Jane, you can’t watch another disc of Buffy until you watch a disc of Angel!). It was a good strategy. Part-way into season three of Angel, I was finally looking forward to seeing what happens next.

I will say, though, that by season four, Angel really turned into a very different show than when it started. You had Cordelia basically lying in a coma for much of the season, after the weirdly hot sex she had with Angel’s son, Connor (and Oh.My.God. I just realized that Vincent Kartheiser plays Peter Campbell in Mad Men - I had no idea!). But the "case of the week" format that started the series was completely out the window (along with the female cop - whatever happened to her?), with demons and other-dimensional creatures taking center stage. Andy Hallett’s musical demon Lorne is one of my favorite characters, and I was saddened to hear of his recent death.

Vincent Kartheiser of AngelWhile I loved the Connor story overall, I couldn’t really get into the thing with him and Cordelia being the "parents" of Jasmine. However, I just watched the last episode of season four, "Home," and it’s definitely the best of the series so far, reminiscent of the best episodes of Buffy. Angel making a deal with Lilah about taking over Wolfram & Hart in exchange for giving Connor a new life with a normal family — and everyone’s memory wiped clean of Connor except for Angel (I think) — was just heartbreaking. Especially the end scene with Connor looking in the window of Connor’s new life, having a joyful dinner with his family before heading off to college.

Skimming the episode list of season five, which I’ll start this week, it doesn’t appear that Connor makes an appearance (or...does he...?), and for that, I’m really sorry. I love his character, but I guess my vision of he and Angel fighting the good fight together into the future doesn’t come to pass.

One thing missing for me from Angel which was always present in Buffy is romance. There are bits of it here and there, but the relationships are totally dysfunctional — Angel and Darla, Wesley and Lilah, and Cordelia and Connor, to name a few. Fred and Gunn were good together, but not a lot of spark there. I’m still hoping for a Fred/Wesley pairing, as well as an Angel/Cordy pairing. Come on, season five! Deliver the goods!

So what’s my assessment on Angel so far? Good series, darker than Buffy, love the characters, and looking forward to season five.

What about you? Did you love Angel as much as Buffy? Moreso?