De-Evolution of Angel

[shipperx]

:
So, I'm trying to understand the various Allie and Jeanty Q&A's:

*      In the comics we see Twangel cheering on the anti-Slayer crowd, urging his followers to find stuff to turn people against Slayers, turning up the heat on  the persecution of Slayers, and Twangel announcing that he had to do these things in order  'to bring Buffy low' ( to get her super-special super powers), so he beat Satsu  and plays 'general on the sidelines' figure at the 'epic' battle that kills hundreds of Slayers.


*     Then we get the about-face and are told that Twangel hasn't actually harmed anyone.  He's been trying to help (squints really had to see how.  Still have nothing.  We just need to take on faith that without his invisible interference things would have been worse than they are and worse than the unknown alternative... that we also didn't see.)
 
 

*      But we still had that Twangel had to don the mask to 'bring her low' [though apparently, according to the Q&A and Twangle's 'explanation,'  he actually didn't do anything to accomplish that goal and was secretly 'helping' -- in direct opposition to his stated goal (and even though we never see him helping the slayers) ]  in order to bring about Twilight.


*      Except now Jeanty tells us that Twangel didn't know that Twilight meant space-frakking or the death of the world or... well, let's see....

Looks like Angel basically didn't know anything-- not what Twilight was, how it was activated, what it involved, what it meant, or what it did (nothing wrong with volunteering for a mission like that!).  He did, however, know that it was 'better' than the alternative (whatever that was). So, um... he 'knew'  the alternative was 'worse' than the Twilight that he had no understanding of ... because a talking dog told him so.  Makes perfect sense, right?  Who couldn't be persuaded by that?  He's not stupid at all!  And besides, he didn't actually do anything except the helping stuff that we didn't see.


*      So in pursuing the creation of the Twilight  [that he didn't know what it was but had decided  to  'bring about' by doing ... something (though we're not entirely sure what... which is okay because he had no idea what it would be either) ]

Well, anyway, after he did or didn't do whatever it was he thought he needed to do (but he didn't know what he actually needed to do) to bring about Twilight (whatever he thought that might be), we -- and he -- see that it's destroying the world.  So how does he react?  Twangel wants to stay in his special world even though he can see that it's bringing about the end of the world.  He even gives the circular logic of the present universe being replaced, but Scoobs, who are in the world that is being replaced, would be okay... somehow.  In the dead, replaced world that's coming apart at the seams.  

 

Makes perfect sense, right?  (  Huh?  )
 
 

*    And it's only because Buffy was going back to the world, leaving him in Twilight alone, that Angel decided to go back to the world that was being destroyed, that he didn't seem particularly bothered by it being destroyed (because he wasn't willing to help it until Buffy made him do it) but apparently -- we're now told -- he had no idea was going to be destroyed (other than his standing there witnessing its destruction and not caring very much).  In summary, he didn't actually know what 'bringing about Twilight' actually meant, so he didn't actually intend any of what he did (whatever that was that we're still not clear about).  And he did it just 'cause a talking dog told him to.


*    Then we get Twangel being taken over by Twilight so we can be extra doubly sure that he's really, most sincerely not in control over what he does at the end...even though he's not responsible for any of the rest of it either. 

 

So, let me sum up Twangel's 'character arc' of Season 8:

Angel didn't know anything.   He didn't do anything.  And anything he did do or it looks like he did, he's not actually responsible for except for the 'helping' stuff that we didn't see.  But he's gonna feel really bad about... something (not that he did anything, knew anything, or was actually responsible for anything) so feel really bad for the guy, okay? 

Great character arc, huh.


    

Comments

[ms-scarletibis.livejournal.com]

I always saw it as the next step in other worldly things. They covered religous aspects, and then there was...

Aliens :P

[rahirah]

The Indy movies riffed off the pop culture adventures of the times: in the 30s, it was mystical artifacts in Darkest Africa. In the 50s, it was aliens. I had some problems with the movie, but the aliens weren't one of them.

[ms-scarletibis.livejournal.com]

Ah. What didn't you like about it if not the aliens?

[rahirah]

It's kind of hard to define. It seemed too much focused on the special effects and chase scenes and not enough on the characters...and yeah, I know, special effects and chase scenes are par for the course. It's just... surviving a nuclear explosion in the first ten minutes is over the top even for an Indy movie. I had much the same problem with the second movie (and I did like the fourth one better than the second.)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Generally, I thought that the better movies were the ones where the audience had some sort of knowledge or relationship to it. That's one of the problems with the whole exotic witchdoctor stuff in #2 and why the Search for the Grail was so successful. The audience had a lot of association with that one.

[ms-scarletibis.livejournal.com]

Really? Huh. "The Temple of Doom"--I favor that over "Raiders of the Lost Arc."

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Really?

I skip over Temple of Doom. I prefer even the aliens to it. :]

[ms-scarletibis.livejournal.com]

I think I liked the chemistry between Indy and...crap, what was her name? Also, it seemed to have more action, and was quicker paced. It's probably my favorite one, with the "Last Crusade" coming in second.

Oh! Also, as a kid, I got to walk across that awesome bridge. Scared my mother, but I liked it.