I will always be more of a Buffy fan than an Angel fan, but since I watched the show pretty extensively back when reruns aired on TNT (I think they still do, but I'm not sure) I know that the show gets much better than the pilot episode indicates. Don't get me wrong, the pilot is pretty good, as far as pilots go. I enjoy seeing Angel's character being given a more fully realized personality, one that isn't merely being in relation to Buffy's character, and Angel's conflicted nature and dour expressions can be overbearing if not for his absurd sense of humor.
Was I annoyed with the exposition? A little, since I was already familiar with Angel and his backstory. But I understand why the creators chose to include it, since they were trying to pull in new viewers in besides the Buffy fanbase. It's a situation of compromise.
Speaking of compromise, as Hannah mentioned in her post, the theme of making atonement that runs throughout this episode of Angel is an interesting one. Can we ever fully atone for the wrong we've done? Is it a simple matter of checks and balances, or is it just an imperfect conciliation of virtue for vice? I'm not sure.
I think what is admirable about Angel is that even though no one is forcing him to save perfect strangers, he still feels compelled to act on their behalf. He could just as easily get a job as a freelance writer and stay inside all day! But then that would be a boring show. It's much more exciting to live in a hotel and rescue people. Or at least attempt to rescue them, which is an interesting turn of events in this episode. Whedon demonstrates that even when we try to do the right thing, we are incapable of exercising full control over someone else's actions or fate.
On a tangential side note, I've always wanted to live in an abandoned hotel, so this show represents some measure of wish fulfillment for me. But moving on.
As for Doyle and Cordelia, I prefer the latter over the former. Doyle arrives out of nowhere and for some mysterious mission-like reason, which I found to be awkward. Ever heard of knocking on someone's abandoned hotel apartment door? In this episode I guess he acts as an impetus for Angel's reintegration into a life with purpose. I do like that Cordelia, a seemingly vapid, shallow character, is given more depth. Her presence in the show makes total sense to me. I both hate her and love her and see her, as Doyle does, as Angel's connection to life and living, as well as a familiar and comforting link from his past.
1 comment:
I love your comment about Cordelia being a comfort. Now that I think about it, I think I could see her as always having been an element of comfort on Buffy too, b/c even when she is being a bitch, she is being REAL and grounding a show that is rooted in some pretty crazy supernatural stuff.
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