Some of which makes sense, except for one very pragmatic point. It's Angel's show. Chances are the prophecies? Are about the guy in the title. Thing is, Angel is the most tragic hero Joss ever created. It SUCKS to be Angel. So if there are prophecies? They're not gonna be about rewards. Shanshu, if he gets it, will be awful. If somehow Spike gets it, it'll be a happy thing for him.
But I personally think Shanshu, like the Cup of Perpetual Dew? Is a big red herring. Someone or something wants the two vamps with souls at eachother's throats. Which means to me, in order to defeat the Big Bad, they're gonna have to work together. Who says they can't BOTH Shanshu? There are 4 billion Slayers running around now, why not two vamps with souls? Why not two vamps with souls who Shanshu? It wouldn't be as if Wes hasn't made mistakes in translations before.
Yeah, I wanted to make that point, too, but this essay wasn't about the meta (well, not that kind of meta).
And yeah, I'm not sure proto-whatever demon language was big on articles - could be that the 'the' is 'a' or even that vampire and destiny are meant to be plural. Or that it's not a prophecy at all - perhaps that's the natural order of things - once a vampire gets a soul, eventually it Shanshus.
Wow! That is interesting idea! I have never considered this one. Yes, Spike, or Angel, or both - but every vampire with a soul... To cool to be true, I guess. Again, nobody really knows what shanshu really is. May be to die as a human, may be to become a human, but there may be a catch in it too - to become a human as they are, or of their real age (centuries), or without memories, or newborn babies, or something else. Just to screw everyone up... I personally prefer "vampire as perpetual adolescense" metaphor, so growing up as becoming a human would make sense to me. But that's me and not ME
I agree, like I said, the shanshu is not necesserily a reward, hence why they're not even sure on which side of the apocalypse the vampire with a soul will be.
I personally think that both sides want Angel and Spike opposed, fighting one another and the only way they can win is by standing together and finally cutitng those strings, choosing their own fate.
Having a destiny is not necesserily a good thing. In fact, it ties you up, keeps you from making choices. Spike's strenght has been his ability to choose, to do things cause he wants them, not because they were dropped on him, no choice about that.
Spike wants a destiny because he thinks it gives him somethign special, something his, what he doesn't realize is that he's already got that. His ability to choose is special. And the moment they both realize that, is when they can find freedom, for both of them.
And given how "Chosen" played out, a big part of me fully expects that this "Angel & Spike fight to be the souled vampire of record" thing is a red herring on a most simpler level. That we're going to wind up with a scenario with far more than just two souled vampires. And that the first Vampire to Shanshu might well be neither Angel nor Spike. It would be the "Homecoming" solution all over again, and I think it'd be hilarious in-story and on a meta-level.
I mean, yeah, there's a part of me that wants Angel to be human and walk off into the sunlight with the human of his choice, but most of me doesn't think that Angel would ever be happy with that. Not in the long run. That he'd always be wondering who he was condemning to death by not being there to save them. I think the only way that Angel could live as a human and be at peace with that is if there were no more demons to fight.
In many ways, IWRY was his "Helpless". The huge sigh Buffy has in "Chosen" is not that she can quit being the slayer now. That's never going to happen. But now, she can take a sabbatical (which, I think she desperately needs) without feeling amazingly guilty that "X" people died the night she took off.
Her responsabilities have shifted, now, to where her real burden is safeguarding the legacy she's been laying down over the past seven years, more than the actual battles. I think some sort of similar understanding is what Angel would need in order to be able to live with a life where he isn't a Warrior. That's one respect, among many others, in which I think Buffy and Angel share remarkably similar mindsets.
But, so far, the way the W&H arc has played out, that seems to be something Gunn is far more equipped to handle. Though one suspects Gunn actually won't be able to handle it.
Right. They really do have a lot in common when it comes to the way they fight for good - of course, some of that is because Buffy is the person who taught Angel how to fight for good, so it makes sense that he echoes her.
And yes, Buffy needs a break. I really hope she's off having a grand old time and if she ever comes on Angel, we get to see a more relaxed and rested Buffy.
And Gunn's arc is interesting. Actually, in rewatching S2, it's interesting how natural becoming a lawer seems to fit who he was presented as - he was always the one who understood how W&H worked - tax write-offs and such.
What really helped sell it to me, were his comments in the numero Cinco episode to me. That he's looking to the law as a tool for helping the community. For me, that's a key aspect of his character that goes all the way back to his introduction, and which I find underused. As heroes, I've always found the ME characters more gripping when I can feel the connection they have to their communities and the people they are looking to help.
But then, I went to grad school in Public Policy and have lots of pals with Social Work degrees...
Oh, yes, I adored that he's doing things for the community. Made it make even more sense - he can do wide-scale good at W&H that can be felt on the level of the streets. Reminds me of what he said about Nabbit - "Well, you let me know when some of that coin trickles down to these parts."
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But I personally think Shanshu, like the Cup of Perpetual Dew? Is a big red herring. Someone or something wants the two vamps with souls at eachother's throats. Which means to me, in order to defeat the Big Bad, they're gonna have to work together. Who says they can't BOTH Shanshu? There are 4 billion Slayers running around now, why not two vamps with souls? Why not two vamps with souls who Shanshu? It wouldn't be as if Wes hasn't made mistakes in translations before.
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And yeah, I'm not sure proto-whatever demon language was big on articles - could be that the 'the' is 'a' or even that vampire and destiny are meant to be plural. Or that it's not a prophecy at all - perhaps that's the natural order of things - once a vampire gets a soul, eventually it Shanshus.
We just don't know.
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I personally prefer "vampire as perpetual adolescense" metaphor, so growing up as becoming a human would make sense to me. But that's me and not ME
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I personally think that both sides want Angel and Spike opposed, fighting one another and the only way they can win is by standing together and finally cutitng those strings, choosing their own fate.
Having a destiny is not necesserily a good thing. In fact, it ties you up, keeps you from making choices.
Spike's strenght has been his ability to choose, to do things cause he wants them, not because they were dropped on him, no choice about that.
Spike wants a destiny because he thinks it gives him somethign special, something his, what he doesn't realize is that he's already got that. His ability to choose is special. And the moment they both realize that, is when they can find freedom, for both of them.
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I mean, yeah, there's a part of me that wants Angel to be human and walk off into the sunlight with the human of his choice, but most of me doesn't think that Angel would ever be happy with that. Not in the long run. That he'd always be wondering who he was condemning to death by not being there to save them. I think the only way that Angel could live as a human and be at peace with that is if there were no more demons to fight.
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Her responsabilities have shifted, now, to where her real burden is safeguarding the legacy she's been laying down over the past seven years, more than the actual battles. I think some sort of similar understanding is what Angel would need in order to be able to live with a life where he isn't a Warrior. That's one respect, among many others, in which I think Buffy and Angel share remarkably similar mindsets.
But, so far, the way the W&H arc has played out, that seems to be something Gunn is far more equipped to handle. Though one suspects Gunn actually won't be able to handle it.
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And yes, Buffy needs a break. I really hope she's off having a grand old time and if she ever comes on Angel, we get to see a more relaxed and rested Buffy.
And Gunn's arc is interesting. Actually, in rewatching S2, it's interesting how natural becoming a lawer seems to fit who he was presented as - he was always the one who understood how W&H worked - tax write-offs and such.
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But then, I went to grad school in Public Policy and have lots of pals with Social Work degrees...
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I'm really looking forward to how this season unfolds.
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