Why We Fight: An Essay on Truth and Purpose

[lynnenne]

Wow, I have a lot to say about this episode. I think it's one of the most underrated of the series. I know the setting seems crazy and random, but there's actually a point to it-like most things on this show.

Why We Fight: An Essay on Truth and Purpose
Written for fantas_magoria; prompt here

Frank Capra is best known as the Oscar-winning director of idealistic,

Comments

[kallysten]

to the risk of paraphrasing Irene Adler, smart is the new sexy
*claps*

[lynnenne]

Aw, thanks. *blushes*

[kita0610]

I love you.

[lynnenne]

ILU you too, bb. Like Angel loves his boys, except not in a dirty way.

[rebcake]

Oh, this is interesting. Yes, there were some things I hadn't thought of, including the Capra thing, which really ought to have been immediately apparent from the title. Sigh.

This episode is a fascinating commentary on the season as a whole, as you've beautifully laid out. Excellent work.

[lynnenne]

Thank you. I really think that, thematically, this season hangs together better than any other. It's nearly impossible to talk about any one episode in isolation.

[kita0610]

I really agree. I think that given all the changes they were forced to make, they had to design the arc(s) around everything missing+everything new in a way that would make sense to long term viewers and any new ones they were hoping to capitalize on. The result was some spectacular, creative writing. For all the characters.

[lynnenne]

And there's nothing about it that feels pasted together or poorly retconned. It flows as if it had been designed that way from Day 1 of the series. My favorite season of TV ever.

[rahirah]

That's a very interesting analysis! It often seems to me that even with a soul, Angel is basically amoral - he doesn't really seem to care how many other people's families he destroys in the process of saving his own. I didn't always think that, but the longer the show went on, the more evidence piled up in favor of it.

[kita0610]

I totally agree with the last bit (see Buffy killing herself to save the world AND her sister, whereas Angel would have put the whole world into hell and not looked back just to save Connor)- but isn't amoral NO moral compass? His is just. Skewed in favor of his own loved ones. It exists, it just isn't one you want to live in unless you ARE one of his own.

[rahirah]

I tend to think of immoral = actively evil, i.e. you'll go out of your way to hurt someone for the hell of it, and amoral = you do what benefits you or your loved ones, regardless of the consequences to anyone else, but you're not necessarily looking to cause random people grief otherwise.

[kita0610]

Hunh. I have no idea if I agree with those definitions because uhm, how do I philosophy? But it seems to me that based on them, MOST of humanity would be amoral a good bunch of the time. It's an interesting spectrum though. I prefer shades of gray in my stories. (But not THE story shades of gray.)

[trepkos]

Wow! Great analysis!

[lynnenne]

Thanks. :)