Angel. The Fall

[moscow_watcher]

The main complaints against Angel's arc I saw online boil down to two claims: a) Angel is out of character and b) to service Buffy's journey, Angel is destroyed.

Judging by Jeanty's Q&As, Angel's arc in season 8 is over. He won't be in #40. It's time to sum up his story. What the hell has happened to him?

Comments

[shipperx]

I attribute it the the glow influence. *shrugs* Then again, Stormwreath up-thread thinks it's a normal human reaction. Maybe it's denial. Maybe. I don't know. It's the part that grates me the most.

My beef with the comics is that we don't know. We're told a few things and a dog tells us a few things and there are plot holes to drive a fleet of trucks through. The Q&A's only make things worse. We no longer really know what Angel did or didn't do. We aren't sure what he knew or didn't know. We don't know how much control he had over the things he did do (and it's debatable what that even was). On the other hand we do know that the biggest of his mistakes he's hardly responsible for at all. That's not a character arc. That's smoke and mirrors leaving confusion in it's wake and topping it off with treating characters like marionettes. The whole 'glow' thing was invented because the writers themselves knew they were pushing characteration to the breaking point and beyond and they needed 'glow' to cause it to happen. That's a big ol' red flag right there. THe fact that they had to have a last minute Riley one-shot that hadn't been planned but was the only thing to even take a stab at showing what if any motivation Angel had is another big red flag. That was added, and it ws added after the fandom reaction of WTF?! The execution was poor and the planning apparently equally so. I remained unimpressed with what it's delivered. The fact that the primary story is over and we still don't know how much he knew, how much he did, how much he planned, and how responsible he is for any of it just speaks very, very badly for both plot and characterization. Metaphor can't trump that for me.

I meant real-life revolutionaries

I understand, but real life revolutionaries were revolting against the status quo due to actual events on the ground. Sure, it can turn ugly -- in fact it usually does. But Angel is kicking up the status quo backlash to take down a small group of people based on questionable timelines told to him by an unreliable source. It's not really the same thing. I understand what you're saying. I do. And I think that such a thing can be interesting. http://shipperx.livejournal.com/577418.html Scroll down to the bottom and read my review of Mockingjay. I just think that Whedon and Dark Horse haven't executed their concept with even half the clarity or even the skill of that Young Adult novel. And given, this is Joss Whedon, that's just hella disappointing.

[moscow_watcher]

The Q&A's only make things worse.

Yes. I agree wholeheartedly. Everybody brings their shipping preferences (I'm guilty, too) and the interviewees try to please everybody.

On the other hand we do know that the biggest of his mistakes he's hardly responsible for at all. That's not a character arc.

I think his biggest mistake was not telling Buffy. And he is fully responsible for it. I understand that there is a segment in this fandom who finds such decision very romantic and sweet - Angel trying to save Buffy from herself, a strong and competent male saving a damsel in distress... Then again, who knows - maybe if he'd told her, maybe the whole Earth was destroyed, not only Sunnydale.

But the history doesn't have a Subjunctive mood. Even in Jossverse with it's parallel realities, I can't imagine Joss letting Angel undo what he has done.

THe fact that they had to have a last minute Riley one-shot that hadn't been planned but was the only thing to even take a stab at showing what if any motivation Angel had is another big red flag. That was added, and it ws added after the fandom reaction of WTF?!

I guess you have a point here - although I don't know much about behind-the-scenes, especially about Riley one-shot.

And I think that such a thing can be interesting. http://shipperx.livejournal.com/577418.html Scroll down to the bottom and read my review of Mockingjay.

I will read it. Thank your for the link.