I’ve recently finished watching all of the Angel episodes. However, Seasons 2 and 4 really puzzle me. Let’s start with Season 2.
Darla gets brought back from the dead… for what? To turn Angel evil? It has been a while since I’ve watched that show, but I believe Wolfram & Hart people say several times that wasn’t why she was brought back. So why, then?
She haunts Angels dreams for a while, robbing him of precious sleep. And then suddenly stops. Why?
Angel gets progressively more evil throughout the season, until he has sex with Darla. Then he’s fine. Why does he get more evil? Is it due to lack of sleep? Because he is reminded of his Angelus days with Darla? Because he is conflicted about saving her?
OK, on to Season 4. What’s the deal with the Beast? How exactly does this fit in with the Jasmine plot? I know, Jasmine (Cordelia at the time) was supposed to be his master. But what was the point? If the Beast had its way, and blocked out the sun for the entire world, what good would that do Jasmine?
W&H has often said that they like Angel “gray.” And Darla was intended to keep him “gray.” Also to keep him tired and distracted.
Because he figured out that he wasn’t just dreaming about her; she was really there.
It’s not evil, so much as adopting an “ends justifies the means” approach. Also, instead of focusing on helping people, he was focusing on taking down Wolfram & Hart. He wasn’t evil, he was just ruthless in pursuing a goal (destruction of W&H) that he saw as righteous.
In Darla, he saw the ultimate “save.” Perhaps he thought that if he could save Darla’s soul, he would ultimately regain his own.
Allowing the undead and other sun-phobics free run would create chaos, which would then be cured by the “benevolent” Jasmine. At least that’s how I saw it.
Speaking of Angel, I’m at the tail end of S3 on DVD which is where I started watching the series in real time. Just wondering if we ever find out why Sahjahn’s hated Angel so much.
I also didn’t realize that the prophecy about the vampire devouring his son actually came through, just not in the way Wes imagined it would be.
Darla was brought back to mess with Angel and keep him gray. It worked up until Darla was revamped. That’s when Angel went on the rampage against W&H. When that failed, he had sex with Darla, presumably thinking he would lose his soul again. Once he realized he wouldn’t, he went back to being a good guy again.
I presumed the Beast was necessary to create the conditions necessary for Jasmine to be ‘conceived’ inside Cordy when she had sex with Connor.
Sahjahn doesn’t hate Angel at all. Sahjahn is (was) indestructable. A true immortal. Except, you know, for some kid who would be born to two vampires. Can’t have that! Sahjahn’s mission wasn’t about anything as petty as revenge, that’s what Holtz was for. Sahjahn just wanted to save his own life.
Essentially. What pushed him into his Beige!Angel mode (Lorne commented that Angel’s aura was off…beige…) was when Dru vamped Darla. Sleeping with Darla did not cure him at all. He didn’t get his epiphany because he slept with Darla. His epiphany really was a result of Holland Manners showing him that Earth is hell. Angry and extremely dissatisfied with that conclusion, he ignored Kate’s suicide call and had crazy monkey sex with Darla. When he didn’t lose his soul, and he realized he still had time to save Kate, he realized “if nothing you do matters, all that matters is what you do.” Darla didn’t push him to that conclusion. Sleeping with Darla was the lowest of his low point, and from there, all he could do was go up.
The sleep thing really doesn’t have much to do with anything. It was a cute way to fuck with the audience and Angel. If she became his obsession and the one who truly understands him (remember the content of his dreams. She was really “the perfect wife”. Understanding, sexy, devoted, loving.), it cuts him off from his family. Before he realized she was really back, he was so happy in his dreams with her that he wanted to go back to sleep. he wasn’t getting less sleep. he was getting more and more because it was his escape from reality. As far as plans go, it wasn’t too bad. It simultaneously took him out of the game and also made him long for Darla’s return. I imagine it was very addictive for him, because of course, he could never be truly happy…
Right. Remember W&H does not want Angelus and they do not want Angel dead. They want him alive for the Apocolypse and they want him on their side (as Angel, not Angelus) and they want him to stop fucking up their plans.
She was using a sleeping potion on him. She explained all of that to Lilah. When she stopped using it, he stopped dreaming of her.
As for the Beast? The Beast was acting as Cordy/Jasmine’s servant and essentially was there to be a distraction. Look at all the trouble they went to because of what the Beast did. Unleasing Angelus, breaking out Faith, etc etc. And for what? Nothing. The true evil was literally under their noses the entire time, but they were running ragged chasing after the Beast and they didn’t realize it in time. The Beast was also supposed to protect Cordelia long enough for Jasmine to be born.