*sigh* Another Christ Figure... I Like Him Though

In the Angel episode "Hero" Doyle dies. Sad moment of my life. For one he becomes the cliche "christ" figure that ends up sacrificing himself to save many lives, regardless of the fact that they are half-demons, whom he saves. Admirable, I know, however I noticed that he did so more out of guilt than for wholehearted selflessness. Doyle, as flashbacked in the episode, has had a previous experience with the "Scourge", where they killed entire clans of his demon race. This puts Doyle in a bit of a shock as he looks around the room as if he should be fearing for his life.

I do admire however the symbolism that is presented with Doyle's death. Because he is half demon one could argue that in his death he was saving the humanity of all that would die before him. Doyle transforms into his demon form when he jumps into the "Beacon of Light" and deactivates it however in doing so it kills him. As he dies he transforms back into a human as his demon side withers away before the light and though it kills him, Doyle does so with a human smile. This death symbolizes the cleansing of Doyle's past inaction and purification to redeem himself as he dies in his human form, thus saving the rest of the half demons.

Even though the death of Doyle causes me a bit saddened it happened in a way that is fitting of any person who is trying to make right things that they may not have been able to in the past, granted I'm not saying everyone should die to save the masses just to right a wrong but that it is "never too late" to change the way your life is led.

Hierarchy within the Demon World

In this episode I found myself drawn to the hierarchical dynamics within the society of demons. The Scourge believes that they are the superior group of demons. They are 'pure bloods'. They represent every group of people, throughout history, who have ever believed themselves to be superior to another group. I found them comparable to the German Nazi's because of their quest to eliminate the 'half bloods' and create a race of 'pure blood' demons. This leaves those, deemed inferior, to live in hiding just as the Jewish people were forced to do during the Nazi invasion. Their 'Hitler style' leader justifies the killing of 'half bloods' by stating that these actions are what "The higher order demands." He sends them forth to finish the job of eliminating the 'half bloods' with the 'beacon of light'. The 'beacon of light' destroys anything with human blood. I found it curious that they call this 'death tool' a 'beacon of light'. A beacon is a guiding light. Its name gives an image of purity and salvation, neither of which is what the 'half bloods' will receive when it detonates. Maybe it represents what The Scourge believes is the light to creating their demon purity and saving them from inevitable annihilation from demon/human mixing . It is a twisted belief, yes, but fear rooted in ignorance creates a powerful emotion and, sometimes, devastating outcome. In this case, of course, evil does not triumph and Doyle is giving the opportunity to atone for his prior inaction.