Make Your Own Miracle
I’m one of those people who points at any time something good happens to Angel that isn’t directly explained and says ‘Jasmine did it.’
Although it is discussed as a possibility, it’s never confirmed that The First was the one who returned Angel from Acathla’s hell dimension.
It is my interpretation is that this is because it was not The First that did this but instead… (wait for it)… Jasmine.
Why?
Because I feel that The First and Jasmine work for such opposing goals.
No, we don’t know if Jasmine if good or evil. Heck, I don’t think she really fits in a standard alignment. The world doesn’t work in black and white, why should the villains?
However, The First is after crazy anarchy and just evil evil evil everywhere.
Regardless of the fact that Jasmine eats people (“Cool.”) she still is out there to make them happy and content. She’s actively trying to pacify the, admittedly aggressive, human race. The opposite of what The First wants.
So, doesn’t it feel natural that they would antagonise one another?
Bringing Angel back from the dead seems like a lot of work just to kill Buffy. And, The First is okay with Angel committing suicide in 3.10 “Amends.” So, it can’t be too desperate to keep him around. Why would it bother to bring him back for such a simple goal, and then not even care if he dies?
It wouldn’t.
Jasmine, however, did need Angel.
She’s a Power; a god. She helped create Connor, so why not bring back Angel in the first place? It makes since, to me at least.
“You have any idea how many lines have to intersect in order for a thing like this to play out?”
It makes sense for Jasmine to have brought back Angel, to create Connor, to create herself.
“I needed a miracle, so I created one.”
The First ended up in Sunnydale and happened upon, or possibly sought out, Angel, but did not bring him back from Hell. Angel would have no more significance to The First than Spike did later. So while The First used Angel, or attempted to at any rate, I don’t think it could be bothered to expend the energy and effort it would take to return him from Hell.
It also explains the snow at the end of "Amends." Jasmine didn't want Angel to die, of course. So, snow!
Also, this just makes the scene of Cordelia finding the snow-globe Angel got for Connor in Ats 3.19 "The Price" so much more awesome. Angel says he doesn't know why he bought the snow-globe, and Cordelia refers back to the events of "Amends."
Jasmine was looking over baby Connor. (Well, obviously, but this just adds some nifty symbolism to the whole thing.)
Anyhow, Jasmine and The First are Big Bads at the same time, on opposing series. Season four of Angel the Series has two unexplained appearances of deceased characters.
First, Lilah returns to Wesley in 4.13 “Salvage.” This one is a little foggier. Since it starts off with Lilah pushing away the tarp she’s under and had her grab Wesley’s arms at one point, it could be that the entire interaction is simply a figment of Wesley’s mind, especially since he is so unsurprised at finding himself conversing with a dead woman. “I’m not even here. I’m just a figment in your devilishly handsome head.”
However, it could also be that some of the things that occur are Wesley’s imagination, the physical things, and that it actually is The First with whom Wesley is conversing.
Or, a third explanation could be that at the beginning of the conversation, Wesley is simply talking to his thoughts. When Lilah rises up, still in her dirty sweater and with blood caked to her skin, she is only Wesley’s mind. When the prettied up Lilah appears, her hair curled and in her business attire, then Wesley is talking to The First.
This version of Lilah taunts Wesley at having been unable to save her (standard First MO), but she doesn’t really do much to advocate against Jasmine. She also does put her hands on Wesley’s shoulders, though Spike responds at one point as if The First, in the guise of Drusilla, is touching him (7.01 “Lessons), so it is possible that, if a person believes they can feel The First, they will feel The First. They’d psyche themselves out psychologically.
I’m not convinced that Lilah is The First. Darla, who appears in 4.17 “Inside Out,” on the other hand, I’m not really thinking is Darla.
“You can’t be my mother.”
“I have her memories. Her feelings.”
Notice the lack of denial. She isn’t saying she is Darla, it’s more of a; ‘I’m close enough.’
All she does here is attempt to thwart Jasmine’s plans. She speaks with Connor at length in an attempt to dissuade him from performing actions that will allow Jasmine to take her own form.
"Darla” seems surprised that Jasmine can see her. As we learned over on Buffy, 7.08 “Sleeper” comes to mind, The First can chose to appear, and not appear, to whomever it wants to. Does this apply to gods?