Minearverse is NAFDA, Cindy. No need for the whitefont.

Cordelia's growth to me was more about filling in the empty spaces of what she was on Buffy, seen in Helpless:

BUFFY: Cordelia, would you drive me home?

A quick break in Cordy's Cordiness, actually care and concern comes over her face

CORDELIA: Of course.

This was back when Buffy was my girl, and we never really saw Cordy be anything but a bitch.

And so, the scene on the roof, "I'll kill you dead" when Angel asks if she'd take down Angelus, was where I wanted to see Cordy go. Angel's sister, his ally, the only one with a life outside of demony boogeymen, not a potential Angel fuckhole.

Cordy was never Mother, never should have been. It was the destruction of the character. If they needed a mother figure, they needed another actor. Not our girl.

I like that scene in "Helpless."

If they needed a mother figure, they needed another actor. Not our girl.

Besides, I thought that was what Lorne was for.

My sense of Cordelia's potential was that she would be, you know, Cordelia, in the Shakespearean sense. The one who calls power on its nonsense. (Not the passive-aggressive stuff, nor yet the marrying the king of France.)

The person who can honestly say, "Tact is just not saying true things" is the person I want in charge of bitching out the hypocrites.

Hmmm. Should have been working, recently. Instead, watched four episodes of Wonderfalls in a row in our lounge. Other people in the lounge seemed to enjoy it. Kept requesting the new episodes.

Sigh. Miss that show.

Still love Jaye.

Besides, I thought that was what Lorne was for.

Victor wins the prize! I'm not sure what the prize is.

My sense of Cordelia's potential was that she would be, you know, Cordelia, in the Shakespearean sense. The one who calls power on its nonsense.

THIS! THIS THIS THIS!

Cordy the Way She Should Be would have made Cordy the Way She Turned Out cry and cry.

Our Cordy is pragmatic. She loves in a very honest way and cuts to the chase (no pun) with surgical precision. Cordy would have found the balance between a life and heroism (that Buffy never could), not sacrificing herself for others ALL the time and living in a state of constant martyrdom.

If the other characters were supposed to reflect Angel in some way, Cordy should have reflected Angel's wish for a normal life.

Cordy would have dated and redecorated and we'd see her making plans with friends and such, in between the battle.

2) the Buffy problem somehow addressed

This was my main problem when I hadn't watched for a bit and heard that blasted radio promo talk about "Cordelia, the love of Angel's life". Almost drove the car off the fricken road.

I like both Manuel and Wyoming.

I finally finished the book. It certainly is a product of its time, isn't it. I found the treatment of women, casual racism, and the lack of certain technological innovations (like cell phones, which are now so ubiquitous) hard to get past. Still the plot was interesting. I'm intrigued to see what Tim will do with it. So, Tim, if you can say and would like to, will you be modernizing the story from the book?

My sense of Cordelia's potential was that she would be, you know, Cordelia, in the Shakespearean sense. The one who calls power on its nonsense.

Exactly. This was the girl who respected both Buffy and Angel, and chose to help both for a mix of noble and selfish reasons, but had absolutely no illusions about either of them. Every flaw stood out under her withering gaze, and got commented on—a bursting of the martyr/messiah bubble that both characters sorely needed as their shows' runs went on.

If I ever double back and do 5-minute recaps of Season 4 prior to the reveal of Cordelia's possession by the Big Bad, I'm going to call her Regan.