That was beautiful. What a send-off. For me, it was note-perfect.
t sigh And now I really do have to study. But, so good.
Gimme some milk.
Jayne ,'Jaynestown'
Angel 5: Is That It? Am I Done?
[NAFDA] This is where we talk about the show! Anything that's aired in the US (including promos) is fair game. No spoilers though -- if you post one by accident, an admin will delete it.
billytea - May 19, 2004 6:15:46 pm PDT #826 of 3531
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
ted r - May 19, 2004 6:16:47 pm PDT #827 of 3531
"You got twelve, and they got twelve. The old ladies are just as good as you are." -Dr. Einstein
Had a great time at Trudy's viewing party (thanks Trudy and guests!).
Alas, plane to catch in the morning so no time to read the comments or sum up my feelings, except I thought it a flawless end to a great season. (And, y'know, series.)
I thought the "thanks from your friends at the WB who stabbed you in the back" was also sort of fitting in a Bush's America kind of way.
When I get back I promise to read all gazillion Angel posts I missed. (Or maybe not ALL...)
askye - May 19, 2004 6:17:36 pm PDT #828 of 3531
Thrive to spite them
What Micole said.
Jessica - May 19, 2004 6:18:02 pm PDT #829 of 3531
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
I'm sifting through old Angel-related LJ entries, and I found this exchange between Cindy and me, from right after the cancellation was announced:
Cindy: I'd like him to reach a decision that he doesn't want to Shanshu--that he'll deliberately remain a vampire.
Me: I think I'd like that too.
Micole - May 19, 2004 6:22:35 pm PDT #830 of 3531
I've been working on a song about the difference between analogy and metaphor.
I wanna tell you how it?s gonna be
You?re gonna give your love to me
Love that lasts more than one day
Well love is love and not fade away
Well love is love and not fade away
Well love is love and not fade away
Well love is love and not fade away
Not fade away
Not fade away
And love is why they fight: love for the world and the people in it, love for what might be better than it is. Cf. Angel's speech to Illyria in "Shells," before Wesley shoots Knox.
Or:
Go out in a burst of glory; don't fade away.
Or:
"Why We Fight" prefigured the season's end thematically, the way we all kinda suspected it did: because death isn't the worst thing that can happen to a hero. Because heroes are willing to die, if their cause is just. Lawson dies, and (unknowing) sells his soul, to complete a mission; Angel kills him, and damns him, for a greater cause. So Wesley dies, and Lindsey's damned, and Lorne damns himself, and Angel goes down fighting a dragon (you know he always wanted to be a knight in shining armor), and they all go down fighting the good fight, in the end.
They're compromised knights in stained armor. Angel arranged for the death of one ally and killed another himself. He violated what he wanted to be, he betrayed the ideals he proclaimed when giving speeches to Cordelia and Illyria, and he did it for the same reason the security head in "Conviction" fought him: for conviction. For his ideals.
And Gunn has the wrist stakes, like Wesley in S4, like Angel in "City of"; he's inherited the fight. And Connor lives; there's something worth fighting for, maybe there's someone out there who will take up the fight.
I don't see this as an unambiguous triumph. But I do see it as a triumph just the same.
I said I'd be happy with a tragic ending as long as it was a heroic tragedy and not a nihilistic one; a heroic tragedy is what I got, and I'm happy with it.
Except for the part where the WB cheated me of an extra year because they're FUCKING BASTARDS.
Jessica - May 19, 2004 6:26:40 pm PDT #831 of 3531
And then Ortus came and said "It's Ortin' time" and they all Orted off into the sunset
For people who've been avoiding entertainment news for fear of spoilers, in an interview earlier this week, Joss said that the theme/arc of S6, had they gotten one, would have been:
"If you buck the system and do your best to make it collapse, what if it does?"
Micole - May 19, 2004 6:26:59 pm PDT #832 of 3531
I've been working on a song about the difference between analogy and metaphor.
Small moments I liked:
- You know, for all that I've detested Spike for years and years, I really did adore that poetry slam thing. It was perfect.
- Hamilton's blood making Angel stronger, which I didn't see coming and which made total sense, in this perfect convergence of metaphor and literal interpretation of the vampire figure
- Connor! Connor coming back to fight
- Harmony betraying them all
- Wesley not being saved by a lie in the end
Beverly - May 19, 2004 6:27:39 pm PDT #833 of 3531
Days shrink and grow cold, sunlight through leaves is my song. Winter is long.
I'm just barging in to whine. The power supply to my computer was taken out at 4:30 this afternoon by a roving band of--no, by a random stroke of lightning. I missed the watch-n-post. I missed it. I saw the ep, but I watched alone, with not even the Buffistas to mark the event with.
I have to finish packing, and then it'll be back to post #601 (marked) to catch up. I missed you all. We'll not see Angel's like again, I'm certain.
Steph L. - May 19, 2004 6:28:56 pm PDT #834 of 3531
I look more rad than Lutheranism
Go out in a burst of glory; don't fade away.
That's what I thought the title referred to -- "It's better to burn out that to fade away."
Micole - May 19, 2004 6:29:32 pm PDT #835 of 3531
I've been working on a song about the difference between analogy and metaphor.
Oh, thank you, Jessica. That's neat.
Also, in my phantom S6, Wesley's contract had a perpetuity clause. Or possibly he comes back as the new liason to the partners. Or Gunn does. I'm still thinking about it.
This coexists perfectly with the ending where they all die fighting the good fight, and also Buffy and Faith come back in a righteous rage and slay more Evil ass, because I contain contradictions and multitudes like that.