the angel finale

POSTED BY: est120
UPDATED: Thursday, October 28, 2004 20:26
VIEWED: 8023
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EST120

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 1:46 PM

okay, TNT has run the course of angel in their 5pm time slot (the actual series finale airs today). having already seen the finale, and finally getting to see "power play", i wanted to know what people thought about how the series wrapped up. here are some of my thoughts (WARNING! there are some spoilers, but i am not putting the tags on to cover them up!!!! read with caution!):

1. the story line with the black thorn felt so rushed (albeit, because the writers may not have had time to expand as much as they would have liked). i never got a real sense about just HOW powerful the circle was. it would have made angel's "suicide" mission a little more palatable.

2. i have only seen from the middle of season 3 to the end and most of season 1 (except for the season finale), but why does angel kill lindsay? i know they have been at odds, but lindsay does seem to be on their side. he even says to eve that he believes angel will be fair to him.

3. in power play, when angel is about to kill drogyn, does drogyn know that angel is there to kill him? drogyn says "thank you" right before angel bites him and breaks his neck. drogyn is under the impression that angel sent demons to kill him, so would be know that angel is there to finish him off or does he really think angel is going to save him?

that is all i can think of right now, i may add more later. i would love to hear some people's thoughts!

RHYMEPHILE

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 2:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by est120:

(spoiler space left)

1. the story line with the black thorn felt so rushed (albeit, because the writers may not have had time to expand as much as they would have liked). i never got a real sense about just HOW powerful the circle was. it would have made angel's "suicide" mission a little more palatable.

If you look back around the time they found out they were cancelled, it was *just* after the 100th episode celebration. Which, y'know, sucks. But I've found that after watching Season 5 again knowing what I know is about to happen, it's a little better the second time around. except for that gorramn-awful Halloween party episode. *shudder* The first time I saw the season I was disappointed, but watching it unfold every day on TNT is a bit better to digest.

Unfortunately, the Black Thorn arc had to be thrown together after they found out they were cancelled. I think they did an admirable job of bringing together all the baddies from the season to this one evil circle of power. Yeah, more time would have been justified, but what are you gonna do? Maybe we'll find out the writers' true intentions on the commentary.

As to #2, I think I'm going to have to watch it again tonight. Lindsey was always working against Angel this season and wanted him dead -- in fact, that was why he came back to LA, as we learned -- and I think Angel did it out of self-preservation. He really couldn't trust Lindsey not to squeal to the Senior Partners about what was going to happen. When you watch the earlier seasons you'll see where Angel's mistrust comes from. Lindsey has double-crossed Angel before.

And #3, the Drogyn...y'know, when Angel first goes to the Well, he greets Drogyn like an old pal. I can't remember the two of them ever meeting, or did I miss something? I guess the writers wanted us to assume that Angel and Drogyn had met before, but I know it wasn't within the episodes of the show.

Perhaps the "thank you" was his happiness at being released from torture from the Black Thorn. BUT -- and that's a big one, capitalized -- when Wesley is describing who the Drogyn is to Gunn after Gunn's "Aragorn" crack (hee!), Wes says that Drogyn is immortal. So Angel couldn't have killed him with just a simple vampire bite. Sloppy writing? Or was it done on purpose? The Circle had to have known Drogyn was immortal. So I don't get it either.

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

-- Phil Sebben, Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law

EST120

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 2:31 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RhymePhile:
Wes says that Drogyn is immortal. So Angel couldn't have killed him with just a simple vampire bite. Sloppy writing? Or was it done on purpose? The Circle had to have known Drogyn was immortal. So I don't get it either.

well, angel does break drogyn's neck after he bites him. i think that kills him rather than the bite itself.

one other question is when hamilton breaks into spikes basement apartment and confronts drogyn and illyria, it is clear that drogyn and hamilton know each other. since drogyn was only in a couple episodes, this relationship is never explained in any detail. i wonder why it was put in there.

CYBERSNARK

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 2:49 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by RhymePhile:
As to #2, I think I'm going to have to watch it again tonight. Lindsey was always working against Angel this season and wanted him dead -- in fact, that was why he came back to LA, as we learned -- and I think Angel did it out of self-preservation. He really couldn't trust Lindsey not to squeal to the Senior Partners about what was going to happen. When you watch the earlier seasons you'll see where Angel's mistrust comes from. Lindsey has double-crossed Angel before.

Agreed; Lindsey was useful to Angel, for now, but he'd proven that he couldn't be trusted. Having Lindsey killed was really no different than Mal offing Crow. Don't leave a living enemy at your back.

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

GROUNDED

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 7:21 PM

Immortal does not equal invincible - vampires are immortal and they can be killed. I'd say he says 'Thank you' because he believes Angel is saving him.

As for the story being rushed, I do think it was a little rushed but not because of the cancellation. With the self-contained episodes being so important this time round I think it was plotted this way from the get go. Joss has mentioned in interviews that they barely changed anything (if anything at all) once they knew S6 was off. All they really needed were one or two mentions of the Circle in eps preceding Power Play and they'd have been sorted.

MAUGWAI

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 8:33 PM

As to the Lindsey question: Lindsey tried to leave Wolfram and Hart in season one and went back because of his greed. Then he brought Dru in to turn Darla back into a vampire after Angel had spent a good deal of time and effort convincing her to accept mortality. Lindsey also ran Angel over with his truck. And after finding out that Lindsey's new hand was evil, he quit Wolfram and Hart and insinuated that from now on he would be a better man. Yet here he is, a couple of years later, back to evil.

So I think part of it is Angel's general hatred of Lindsey. Some of it is the fact that no matter how repentant Lindsey seems at the moment, his history has shown that he will always return to the dark side. There's only one way to deal with that in the world of the supernatural.

"Dear diary, today I was pompous and my sister was crazy."

SLOWSMURF

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 11:07 PM

It was rushed, no denying that. However, I think it was also more or less the original plan. It might've been slightly less rushed feeling, but they didn't want overall gigantic arcs this season, so they might've been required to only have a two parter even.

Kinda sucks, but I still loved the finale. It was the perfect way to end the show in my opinion.

DIETCOKE

Tuesday, October 26, 2004 11:57 PM

Just saw it again tonight. Boy that Wesley death scene gets me every time....Question for the group. Why did Angel have Lorne, of all people, kill Lindsey?

FRSCPE1

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 12:01 AM

Because Angel wanted Lindsey to have to go out in the way that he never suspected, by the least worthy (in Lindsey's eyes) member of the Fang Gang.

GROUNDED

Wednesday, October 27, 2004 10:15 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by frscpe1:
Because Angel wanted Lindsey to have to go out in the way that he never suspected, by the least worthy (in Lindsey's eyes) member of the Fang Gang.

Angel didn't want to have to kill Lindsey. But since he felt he had to, it only makes sense that he'd chose someone Lindsey wouldn't suspect.

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