the name "angelus"

POSTED BY: est120
UPDATED: Saturday, February 5, 2005 12:25
VIEWED: 5535
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EST120

Friday, January 14, 2005 4:57 PM

okay, i probably completely missed it, but does darla give angel his name? his name was originally liam, right? also, what was darla's name originally or spike's (was it william?) and drusilla?

KNIBBLET

Friday, January 14, 2005 4:58 PM

That would be a poncy, evil version of Angel. Any questions?

"Just keep walkin, preacher man."

EMBERS

Friday, January 14, 2005 5:26 PM

after Liam was turned he returned to his parent's home and was invited in by his sister,
who thought he was an angel
(she knew he had died)
he eats his whole family, but I think the sister's mistake became the basis for his name...

Yes, Spike's real name was William (Liam is the Irish version of the name William...but I don't know that that means anything).

I've never heard any other name for Drusilla....

JEWEL

Friday, January 14, 2005 5:28 PM

Darla mentions in season 2 that her name wasn't Darla the first time she was human, but it had been so long she couldn't remember what it was.

AMYEL

Friday, January 14, 2005 5:53 PM

They never explained Drusilla's name at all, but I assumed it wasn't her real name considering the historical connotations.

Drusilla was the sister of the Roman emperor Caligula. Caligula was sexually involved with his sister from adolescence until her death when she was a young woman. Many years later, Caligula had a daughter and named her Drusilla. When Caligula was assassinated, Drusilla was also killed.

Drusilla, or whoever she was before, was a part of a pious Catholic family in Victorian England, and I doubt they'd name a daughter of theirs Drusilla. I always thought that Angelus named her Drusilla as kind of a joke after she was turned. They were quite the incestuous little vampire family. Drusilla thought of Angelus and Darla as her Daddy and Grandmum, but of course she had lots of sex with Angelus (and apparently, occasionally with Darla too).

Dru was made so crazy that maybe she wouldn't even remember her real name either. Or she would know, but it's not like she's able to answer any questions with a simple direct statement.

RHYMEPHILE

Friday, January 14, 2005 8:29 PM

The history behind his name was also mentioned in the first season of Buffy -- which you need to start watching next, Est. According to Giles, Angelus meant "one with the angelic face." Take that as you will. They never discussed how he was named that, however.

And interestingly enough, when Spike first pops up in Sunnydale, in the Buffy Season 2 episode "School Hard," he mispronounces Angelus's name.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"My office! Burgled! Plundered! Purloined! Ha ha ha...loins."

-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law

CYBERSNARK

Saturday, January 15, 2005 3:22 PM

An "angelus" is also the tune that church bells ring out.

"Darla" is an archaic version of "darling."

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We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

JEWEL

Saturday, January 15, 2005 4:37 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RhymePhile:
And interestingly enough, when Spike first pops up in Sunnydale, in the Buffy Season 2 episode "School Hard," he mispronounces Angelus's name.

I remember Joss saying in one of the commentaries that when Angel got his own show he insisted that Angelus be pronounced a specific way (emphasis on 2nd syllable).

DIRTYBROWNCOAT

Sunday, January 16, 2005 12:08 AM

A lot of people got it wrong in Buffy's second season...you'll notice that they use Spike's mispronunciation (at least James Marsters does) a couple of times throughout that season, 'specially after he reverts to Angelus.

Simon: You...you came for us.
Mal: You're on my crew.
Simon: Right. I guess I just didn't...you don't even like me.
Mal: You're on my crew. Why we still talking about this?
-Safe

EMBERS

Sunday, January 16, 2005 1:00 AM

yeah, I understood that Joss had always meant for it to be pronounced w/the accent on the second sylable...
but he hadn't made that clear,
and James (and undoubtedly the director) were thinking of Los Angeles (accent on the Ang)

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