Review - Angel (1999-2004)

       Hey guys, Chuck here, and it's finally time to return to the world of Buffy with its spin-off series Angel. Airing for five seasons on The WB, Angel was created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, and stars David Boreanaz as Angel, along with a revolving door of series leads such as Charisma Carpenter, Glenn Quinn, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards, Andy Hallett, Amy Acker, Vincent Kartheiser, James Marsters, and Mercedes McNab, along with recurring cast members like Elisabeth Röhm, Christian Kane, Stephanie Romanov, Daniel Dae Kim, Keith Szarabajka, Alexa Davalos, Jenny Mollen, Sarah Thompson, Gina Torres, and Adam Baldwin, with Buffy cast members Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Seth Green, Eliza Dushku, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau, and Tom Lenk all appearing in a mix of recurring and guest roles. 

        Starting off around the same time as Buffy season four, Angel debuts with the title character in Los Angeles, continuing his fight against evil. However, he seems somewhat directionless, and finds himself being approached by Allen Francis Doyle, a half-breed of both human and Brachen demon, who serves as a messenger from the Powers That Be via psychic visions. Using said visions, Angel is able to face various threats and save innocent lives. Joining Angel and Doyle in this mission is, surprisingly, Cordelia Chase, who moved from Sunnydale to Los Angeles to try and become an actress, and agrees to work with Angel and Doyle in the newly minted Angel Investigations private investigation firm. 

         Attempting to thwart Angel and his team at every turn is the demonic law firm of Wolfram & Hart. Overseen by a trio of demons referred to as the Senior Partners (the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart), the firm represents many in Los Angeles who do evil things, and tend to be either vampires or demons. The two lawyers who tend to be the most frequent thorns in Angel's side are the duo of Lindsey McDonald and Lilah Morgan, who have been compared to Rocky and Bullwinkle characters Boris and Natasha. And, that comparison isn't inaccurate, but they are far more competent that the cartoon villains ever were. 

        And, as I mentioned before, there were times when an episode of Buffy would have its plot continue on the subsequent episode of Angel. In my Buffy review, I referenced how in the Buffy episode "The Harsh Light of Day," Spike and Harmony dig up Sunnydale looking for the Gem of Amarra, eventually finding it. Well, in the Angel episode "In the Dark," Buffy sends the ring to Angel, with Oz dropping it off. But, Spike follows it to Los Angeles, teaming up with a local vampire who wants the ring for himself, and Oz teams up with the Angel Investigations trio to stop the vampiric pair. And, at the end, Angel smashes the ring, destroying it for good. Some time later, Doyle sacrifices himself, passes the visions onto Cordelia, and dies a heroic death. Sorry n after, Angel and Cordelia are joined by former Watcher turned demon hunter Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who has one of the biggest transformative arcs in the series, which we'll get to later. 

      Some time after Wesley joins the team at Angel Investigations, Faith makes her way to Los Angeles, and is hired by Wolfram & Hart to take down Angel. However, he manages to begin her path to redemption, which leads Buffy herself, having previously had a role in the episode "I Will Remember You," to show up and send Faith to jail for her crimes in Sunnydale. After a fight with representatives of the Watcher's Council, who tempt Wesley with his position as a Watcher back, Faith turns herself in to the Los Angeles Police, confessing her crimes. And, speaking of the LAPD, Angel has an ally within the department in the form of Detective Kate Lockley. 

      As the series progresses, we learn about the Shanshu prophecy, which implies that Angel with be on the front lines during the apocalypse, and it will end with Angel being made human once more. But, as it's unclear which side of the conflict Angel will be on, Wolfram & Hart decide not to kill Angel, but instead manipulate them to their side. How? By resurrecting his sire and former lover: Darla. Darla was in a number of early season one episodes of Buffy, but was little more than a loyal servant of The Master. In Angel, however, she has a magnificent storyline, and Julie Benz brought much greater depth to the character than when she appeared on Buffy.

        Also, as the series goes on, Angel Investigations adds a few new names to the roster. First , we have Charles Gunn, a vampire hunter leading a street gang of young vampire hunters, but loses his confidence when his younger sister winds up getting sired and becomes a vampire. Next to join up is Lorne, which is short for Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan. Lorne is an empath demon from Pylea, who can read emotions whenever people sing in his nightclub. And, this is how we get a humorous scene of Angel singing, albeit badly, the song "Mandy" by Barry Manilow. Now, the second season ends with Cordelia being abducted and taken to Pylea, which is where Angel Investigations rescues a young woman who joins their team: Winifred Burkle, or Fred for short. Fred is a timid but brilliant bookworm, who becomes more confident in herself the more time she spends with Angel and the rest of the team, and she finds herself at the center of a romantic triangle between herself, Gunn, and Wesley. In addition, the firm relocates from its original location in a small office to an abandoned hotel, the Hyperion, which Angel visited in the past. 

       The storyline involving Darla's resurrection takes an interesting turn when she learns that she was brought back as a human, and is dying of the  illness she was previously dying of before she was sired by The Master. Angel endures trials to try and save her life, but her resurrection makes it impossible to save her from her illness. But, Wolfram & Hart show up with Drusilla, who re-sires Darla, and the two go on a vampiric murder spree. And, after sleeping with Angel, when he's at such a low point he tries to break his curse but fails, something impossible happens to Darla: she's impregnated with Angel's child. But, as she cannot physically give birth due to being a vampire, she stakes herself to allow her and Angel's son, whom Angel names Connor, to live. 

         At the time Connor is born, an enemy from Angel and Darla's past, Holtz, is brought forward in time to get his revenge on the pair. And, when a dimensional year opens up between our world and a Hell dimension called Quor-Toth, Holtz grabs little Connor and jumps in to Quor-Toth, where Angel can't follow. Some time later, and Connor returns as a teenager, and he holds a fierce grudge against Angel due to his upbringing at Holtz's hands. As for how he went from a baby to a teenager in just a few weeks, let's just say that time moves faster in Quor-Toth than it does in our dimension. Connor, upon the death of Holtz, feigns an effort to form a bond with Angel, and winds up leaving him in a metal box which drops to the bottom of the ocean. Also, Wesley gets the boot from Angel Investigations, Lorne leaves for Las Vegas, and Cordelia ascends to a higher plane.

         And now, I have to talk about what many fans see as Angel's weakest season: Season Four. This season sees Wesley rescue Angel from his watery prison, but still be on the outs with Angel, who rejoins Gunn and Fred, and berates Connor for his actions. Also, Team Angel finds a new ally in the form of Gwen Raiden, a cat burglar with the power of electricity. In fact, she attempted to kill Angel with her power. But, instead, she briefly restarted his heart, and the two share a kiss. Also, Cordelia returns from the higher plane, albeit with amnesia. In the episode "Spin the Bottle," Lorne attempts to restore her memory, but ends up mentally reverting Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn, Angel, and Fred to who they were at seventeen years old. And, yes, this was one of the funnier episodes of Season Four. 

        One of the interesting elements about Angel is that we get to learn more about Angel's past, predominantly when he was still roaming around as Angelus. And, we meet a number of figures who teamed up with Angelus when he wasn't rolling with the trio of Darla, Drusilla, and Spike. For instance, in the episode "Somnambulist," we're introduced to Penn, a vampire that was sired and trained by Angelus, and continued to operate using Angelus' MO from the time they teamed up. Penn, portrayed brilliantly by a pre MCU Jeremy Renner, was a fun one-off character that shows how often Angel's past comes back to haunt him in this series. Another figure from Angel's past that becomes a major threat during Season Four is a demon called The Beast, who is practically unkillable and has the power to block out the sun, creating eternal night over Los Angeles. 

        In the case of The Beast, however, all knowledge about him was erased from our dimension long ago. However, someone who WASN'T on our plane when that knowledge was erased was Angelus, this Wesley surmises that Angelus can be of some help in eliminating The Beast. So, Angel's soul is removed, Angelus is restored, and he inevitably escapes. So, how to wrangle Angelus AND The Beast? A Slayer. But, which one? Well, Buffy isn't an option due to everything happening in Sunnydale, and she won't hesitate to kill Angelus. So, Wesley drives upstate to bust Faith out of prison and bring her back to Los Angeles to help out. 

       With Faith in the game, Angelus manages to turn on The Beast, destroying him with the only thing that can destroy him: a piece of himself. Yep, it was that simple. With The Beast gone, the sun returns, and now Faith and the Angel Investigations team need to recapture Angelus, which they do by drugging him when he attempts to feed on Faith. And, as Angelus and Faith witness past events in Angel's history, Fred calls Willow in to restore Angel's soul again. This works, despite interference from Cordelia, who has been possessed by The Beast's master, currently growing inside her, with Connor being the father of it. Yikes.

      But, in order to come into being, the blood of an innocent is needed. But, the Powers That Be try to stop it by sending the spirit of Darla to talk sense into Connor. It almost works, but Cordelia manipulates him. Angel arrives to try to stop it, but the being growing inside of Cordelia is born as a fully grown woman: Jasmine. Jasmine is a hell goddess who, with her words and presence, can make people be kind and peaceful. But, exposure to her blood makes someone see her true, hideous form. And, speaking her true name aloud breaks her spell over everyone. So, to save the world, Team Angel is forced to end a mystical form of world peace. They succeed, Jasmine is destroyed, and Wolfram & Hart decide to give control of their Los Angeles branch to Team Angel. Initially hesitant, Angel agrees on the condition that Connor has his memories altered, and be given a normal life. 

      And, now we come to Season Five, where Angel runs the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart, with a young woman named Eve as his liaison to the Senior Partners, and Harmony as his secretary. Oh, and the amulet he gave Buffy in the final season of Buffy? Well, it came back to him, and brought back Spike as an incorporeal being. Not quite a ghost, but still able to pass through solid matter and tethered to the Wolfram & Hart building. But, after a few episodes, he is made corporeal again, and sticks around by choice. So, Spike is back, as this was a stipulation from the network. 

     There are a lot of fun episodes in Season Five, one of which introduces Nina Ash, a young woman who becomes a werewolf, and after being saved from a cult who eat werewolves, she cuts a deal with Angel to come to the office during the full moon and spend the cycle in the cells below, thus protecting her sister and niece from her wolf form. And, at some point, she and Angel start seeing each other romantically, and even have sex at one point near the end of the season. Don't worry, it doesn't break his curse and release his soul. Thankfully. Another fun one is "Smile Time," where demonic puppets fun a children's show, and they absorb the souls of children who watch THROUGH the television. This episode sees Angel himself turn into a puppet, and it's hysterical. Another episode sees Connor return, and a combination of his old memories, and those of people who knew him, are released from the captivity of a demon warlock named Cyrus Vail, and Connor now has a mix of his old and new memories both. 

      But, we sadly must say goodbye to Fred, as she winds up getting taken over by the spirit of the all-powerful demon goddess Illyria. Also, because she got too personal and friendly with Team Angel, Eve is replaced as liaison to the Senior Partners by Marcus Hamilton, who is a no-nonsense guy who is extremely strong and incredibly loyal to the Senior Partners. We also get a last moment with Cordelia, in spirit, as she sees Team Angel one last time, and says a final farewell to Angel himself, passing one one final vision from the Powers That Be. 

     Enter the Circle of the Black Thorn, a group that carries the will of the Senior Partners on our plane of existence. Among their ranks are such demons as Izzerial the Devil, Cyrus Vail, Archduke Sebassis, Senator Helen Bruckner, and the Legion of the Fell Brethren. Angel, who uses a pure being named Drogyn the Battlebrand to manipulate a lie to convince the Black Thorn that he's corrupt, winds up in their ranks. The quartet of Spike, Wesley, Gunn, and Lorne, all believing this façade, learn of Angel's true plan: eliminate the Black Thorn, a which will unleash the Senior Partners' wrath on Team Angel. And, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, and Lorne decide to be part of Angel's insane plan. But, before things get started, he has everyone spend the day as they wish to. And, of course, Angel gets a coffee with Connor, who is understanding of Angel's choice to mess with his memories. 

     So, Angel sends Wesley after Cyrus Vail, Lorne to back up Lindsey as he takes down a few members of the Black Thorn, Illyria to "make trophies of the spines" of Izzerial the Devil and three other members of the Black Thorn, Gunn after Senator Bruckner and her pack of vampires, and Spike after the Legion of the Fell Brethren. As for Angel himself, he poisoned Archduke Sebassis' favorite drink: the blood of his slave. So, who is Angel going after? Hamilton. Yep, Angel and Hamilton fight, with help from Connor, and Angel ultimately wins. Izzerial, Cyrus Vail, Senator Bruckner, the Legion, and every other member of the Black Thorn is killed, Lorne shoots Lindsey dead for good measure, and Wesley dies in Illyria's arms. The series ends with Angel, Spike, Gunn, and Illyria meeting, and facing down an army of demons, as well as a massive dragon flying overhead, as Team Angel faces the wrath of the Senior Partners. 

      So, with such a cliffhanger ending, where did the series go from here? Well, that was it. Because Joss asked the network execs at The WB for an early pickup for a sixth season of Angel, the execs decided to cancel the series after the end of Season Five. But, luckily, the story continued in comic book form with Angel: After the Fall, where the city of Los Angeles is in Hell, Spike and Illyria are working together, Connor is working with Gwen and Nina to protect the innocent, Gunn has become a vampire, and Angel is still fighting against the wrath of the Senior Partners, with Wesley's spirit acting as a new liaison to the Senior Partners. After that storyline in the comics, Angel's story continued in co.ic form, but it wasn't as good as After the Fall. 

       All in all, I am a big fan of the series Angel, as it's the series that truly introduced me to the brilliant works of Joss Whedon. The performance of David Boreanaz as Angel is fantastic, and getting more of Buffy alumni like Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia, Alexis Denisof as Wesley, James Marsters as Spike, and Mercedes McNab as Harmony is a genuine treat. As for the other lead cast of Angel, J. August Richards, Amy Acker, and Vincent Kartheiser were phenomenal as Gunn, Fred, and Connor, while both Glenn Quinn as Doyle and Andy Hallett as Lorne were both phenomenal talents taken way too soon, and they will both be missed. 

        Tonally, Angel is definitely more mature than Buffy, which definitely works to its advantage. Allowing for a more mature theme by comparison to the more teen oriented Buffy genuinely allows the stakes to be a lot higher, and the writing to be a lot sharper. And, for the most part, the writing on the parts of Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, and the writing staff was definitely sharp, clever, and thoroughly entertaining. Seeing vampires, some from Angel's past and some new ones, as well as some uniquely designed demons like Archduke Sebassis and Skip, the latter of whom was definitely a fun demon character, was a great way to expand of the world that Buffy and Angel are part of. And, despite the notion of an evil law form coming off as redundant, Wolfram & Hart adds a unique dynamic to the series, as it sets up that Angel and his crew, who technically operate outside the law, have to contend with enemies who have the law on their side through the demonic law firm. 

       Let's face it, vampires and television have kinda gone downhill in recent years. So, instead of watching the recent AMC adaptations of Anne Rice's work, maybe hop onto a streaming service and check out Angel, as it's a series that, even twenty years after its cancellation, still holds up with its writing, action, and characters. 

       Alright guys, this is Chuck signing off, and I'll be back in the next review.