Angel acting out of character.

[thetopher]

So I've just watched 'Welcome To The Hellmouth' and 'The Harvest' and was struck by how out of character Angel was. I guess I must've forgotten.

So, knowing now all about Angel being recruited by Whistler in New York and then travelling specifically to watch over Buffy, does anybody have any fan-theories as to why Angel would act this way? Being all cocky and, well kind of obnoxious?

I'm thinking that Angel's trying to 'play it cool' and act like wasn't completely besotted with Buffy from the first moment he saw her. (As he confessed to her in 'Helpless')

Typical guy! 🙂

 

[Blaze]

s1 of BtVS is one of the reason why I don't like Angel on BtVS. I'm sure you'll get better explanations from others who understand his character better, but me, well I agree with you. This cockyness doesn't feel like Angel. He's just not very fleshed out in s1, and I almost wonder if they changed his character a bit when they realized how much he was liked. In s1 he just seemed to lack substance, lack a reason for what he does and why he does it. It's like they hadn't invented his story yet (this is not just Angel, I get the same feeling with Darla, who I'm very indifferent to on Buffy but grew to love on AtS).

To me, Angel will always be a far superior character in AtS.

 

[Kean]

I think "acting cool" is a good theory to use because the reality is that the writers didn't intend to keep him around very long and also, it took Boreanaz awhile to you know, learn how to act.

By the next episode we see more of who Angel would become, the seen in the crypt where he Buffy asks him if he knows what it's like to have friends, that's the start of it. I think they do a good job in Angel S1 of showing how awkward Angel is when trying to make connections or approaching people, so you can trace that back to Welcome to the Harvest. In Buffy S1 and early Angel, he still had no clue how to reach out to people nor did he understand why they responded to him.

 

[Kairos]

I think he was trying to keep Buffy at arm's length. He was already attracted to her and knew there was a danger of her reciprocating before she knew he was a vampire, so he presented himself as someone she wouldn't easily trust. That would keep the situation from becoming too emotionally complicated, as well as making her use her brain and intuition to decide how she felt about him, rather than her hormones.

Of course, this plan worked perfectly....

 

[Black Eye Guy]

I think it was a little bit of him already liking her and playing it cool.

I think it was also cuz he was putting on a character, if he'd let too much of his real self show she would have found out he was a vampire.

It also makes sense that he was filled with a false over-confidence, since he'd just spend whatever hundreds of years having no goal and now suddenly having something to do.

I don't think it was out of character though.

He was a similar way in The Wish when Buffy showed up.
And we saw instances of it in Angel, where he'd put up a false confidence or cockiness and Cordy or Wes would smack it down.

 

[Kana]

I agree with those who say that Angel was 'playing a role'. Angel is actually a remarkable actor but after meeting Buffy, the mask quickly fades and he goes from cocky and aloof to tortured and vulnerable.