I think that Angel's quest for atonement was also, partially, a quest for wholeness
I love this idea.
Something Plei (I think, I could be conflating) said sparked the thought that what AtS was really all about was Angel finding his own self-determination. To that end, he had to break free of trying to please Darla, or live up to Buffy, or follow the directives of the PTB and find his own way.
And I can almost tie that into the current discussion. He hadn't really broken free of Darla until, well, I'm not sure. Maybe libkitty is right and sleeping with her without going evil was the turning point. Maybe convincing her that she could live as a human even if she was dying (before Drusilla vamped her) gave him power over his internal Darla, as it were. In any case, when he got his soul back, it was Darla who left him, and he was both rudderless and without hope of winning her back. And when he left Buffy (any of the times he left Buffy, for that matter) it was for her sake. He had that abstracted idealized internal Buffy at least until the Girl in Question.
Amazon just alerted me to order the Angel soundtrack album, "Live Fast, Die Never".
It has the Christian Kane song! And Lorne singing "It's not easy being green!"
It's already available to ship through Amazon UK. (I've had mine for about 2 months already.)
I guess what I'm trying to say is that for me, it seems as though Darla is very much a symbol in Angel's mind.
See, that's exactly how I think he saw Buffy: "If I can help the Heroic Princess and win her love, that will prove I'm Good now." He is the one with the fairy-tale mentality. Again, some of that is just because I can't understand what they actually liked about each other. There's a point at which I just throw up my hands and figure the hellmouth had something to do with it.
I do think he and Darla cared about each other a lot, though. In their own special way.
I mean, so much of their history together was tied up in not caring-- about each other, or anyone else.
I thought they were like Valmont & Merteuil, y'know? They understood and respected each other at a profound level. I always had this problem where, to me, "Heartthrob" is about how they had one of the few mature relationships we saw on either show, but I'm not sure if it was intended that way or if I just have a few issues. Ahem.
But come on, she rescued him from Holtz; he almost ate a baby for her. That's gotta mean something.
Again, some of that is just because I can't understand what they actually liked about each other. There's a point at which I just throw up my hands and figure the hellmouth had something to do with it.
Heh. Strega is me here.
I always found the B/A relationship confusing at best.
Yeah, I think B/A either you wave your hands frantically at the screen and go "look! See? Right there!" (me) or you don't, in which case it makes no sense whatsoever.
they had one of the few mature relationships we saw on either show
Is this in regard to Angel and Darla? I can see this where they're sitting in the motel and DArla's finally accepted that she's going to die and she's beginning to appreciate how far Angel went for her--all her reactions during Angel's trial are just wonderful--and he's pledging to stay with her till the end--
I almost hate to see Drusilla come through the door.
Yeah, I think B/A either you wave your hands frantically at the screen and go "look! See? Right there!"
There are moments when I see the attraction, but it's very much a Knight and his Lady sort of thing, not simply a man and a woman. Oddly, it's the Sadie Hawkins/50's ghost ep where I see it strongest, that moment when the ghosts leave and it's Angelus and Buffy staring at her, and Angelus bolts instead of ripping her head off.
I almost hate to see Drusilla come through the door.
Oh, that's heartbreaking. Not least because Drusilla has no idea what she's doing.
Ugh. That just reminds me how bitter I am that they got Juliet Landau back in more than one episode for the final season and (comparatively) wasted her appearances on being a frilly love object in flashbacks rather than resolving anything with a modern day empowered Drusilla.
Part of me wishes she'd been in the lab holding Fred's head down over that sarcophagus, unbeknownst to anyone else.
a modern day empowered Drusilla
"Crush" is the last time we see Dru in 'real time' isn't it.
