I have a question about "Surprise" and "Innocence", which I watched with a friend last night. What, exactly, was Jenny Calendar supposed to be doing in Sunnydale re: Angel? It always sort of makes sense while I'm watching the episode, but when I try to think about it afterwards, I get confused.

She was sent there by her Romanian Gypsy People to "watch" Angel, right? But she didn't have any real information on what would make him go evil again? Because she tells Buffy how sorry she is, and how she would have told her if she'd known that sex would turn him into Angelus. So I have no idea what she was actually supposed to be doing. I mean, keeping an eye on Angel is all well and good, but if you don't know how to prevent him from losing his soul, it doesn't make much sense. And then Buffy and Giles get mad at her for not telling them she was there to watch Angel. But she was still on their side, right? She wanted him souled just as much as they did. I guess I just don't understand why she had to keep that secret from them.

It was Joss's first retcon, and one of his better ones, too.

She was sent there by her Romanian Gypsy People to "watch" Angel, right? But she didn't have any real information on what would make him go evil again? Because she tells Buffy how sorry she is, and how she would have told her if she'd known that sex would turn him into Angelus. So I have no idea what she was actually supposed to be doing. I mean, keeping an eye on Angel is all well and good, but if you don't know how to prevent him from losing his soul, it doesn't make much sense. And then Buffy and Giles get mad at her for not telling them she was there to watch Angel. But she was still on their side, right? She wanted him souled just as much as they did. I guess I just don't understand why she had to keep that secret from them.

Well there isn't anything more specific that makes Angel loses his soul than experiencing one true moment of happiness in which he ceases to suffer for all the evil he wrought. Doesn't she make a point of telling Uncle Enyos that Angel still suffers, that he even makes amends, and saved her life?

I've always just accepted that she understands that if he stops suffering he'll lose his soul, and she was just to report back to her elders, if she saw that happening. I figure when he took Eyghon into himself and saved her life, she started to get lax and probably thought his conscience was strong enough if he took such a risk for someone he barely knew.

Besides, she's not really on Buffy and Giles' side. She's on assignment from a people who serve vengeance. Still, had she told them it was possible for him to lose his soul--which I don't think any of the Scoobies gave too much thought to, Angel included--odds are they would have done some research.

t heresy I don't find it unbelievable that she didn't tell them though, because I mostly think Jenny was a little nasty anyhow, and I greatly enjoy watching Angelus snap her neck.

Is there a reason why the Master's bones remain when he dies? This doesn't happen with any other vampires in the Jossverse, right?

She wanted him souled just as much as they did. I guess I just don't understand why she had to keep that secret from them.

I never quite understood the "losing soul forever" addendum anyway, at least in terms of why you'd try to prevent it. I could buy it as a curse on whoever made Angel happy avec soul, because they figured whoever did that deserved the Angelus treatment, but I don't get why you'd have any of your people anywhere near Angel if that was a possibility.

If punishing Angelus was the main thing, and I think it was, it makes a lot more sense to have whoever made Angel happy lose their soul, because one would assume that would make Angel more miserable, instead of giving Angelus a "get out of soul free" card. Maybe that would have been too powerful a spell (and would have necessitated BUFFY going evil - which would have been interesting, but probably deadly ratings-wise).

Is there a reason why the Master's bones remain when he dies? This doesn't happen with any other vampires in the Jossverse, right?

The fanwank has always been that he was so old and powerful that he didn't dust completely, but they never said why on the show, plus Kakistos was at least as old and dusted nicely.

First big-time hand wave situation the show gave us, actually. Well, that or why Buffy in "Nightmares" didn't go evil when she became a vampire in Giles nightmare.

I never quite understood the "losing soul forever" addendum anyway, at least in terms of why you'd try to prevent it.

I forget. Did Angel know that was a term of the curse before he lost his soul in S2? I can understand it as a term of the curse if the accursed knows about it, because I would imagine that a soul which was restored in order to make a person feel horrific guilt forever, would somehow make the accursed feel like he deserved to feel this horrific guilt forever, but I can't see it doing any good unless the accursed knew about the get-out-of-soul-free clause.

I forget. Did Angel know that was a term of the curse before he lost his soul in S2? I can understand it as a term of the curse if the accursed knows about it, because I would imagine that a soul which was restored in order to make a person feel horrific guilt forever, would somehow make the accursed feel like he deserved to feel this horrific guilt forever, but I can't see it doing any good unless the accursed knew about the get-out-of-soul-free clause.

The Buffy equivalent of DR. STRANGELOVE'S doomsday device.

But it only is effective...if you tell everybody! Vy didn't you tell anybody?!???!

The fanwank has always been that he was so old and powerful that he didn't dust completely, but they never said why on the show, plus Kakistos was at least as old and dusted nicely.

maybe it was the difference between a piece of library table and a big wooden post?

Question on Bones. Is that 8PM Eastern? Because then it's 7 Central and I want to check it out, too.