Angel signs "Anger"

[Ethan Reigns]

In "Not Fade Away", Angel is directed to sign away his right to become human by signing the Shanshu Prophecy original. At 06:46 of the episode, he signs, but the signature reads "Anger" and no one calls him on it or adds a witness signature (which would have clinched it even if he had signed with an "X").

In Angel After the Fall, he is said to be still the subject of the Shanshu prophecy because the document was never filed. After all, all the witnesses were dead and there were no witness signatures and no one from the Circle of the Black Thorn was left. It seems like the writers on Not Fade Away left a perfectly good dramatic point that was fumbled away in After the Fall.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Maybe the fact that he signed the wrong name and the fact that there was no witness signature was on purpose, so the writers could come back later and defend Angel by saying "Well, technically, he never signed the contract!"

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Maybe the fact that he signed the wrong name and the fact that there was no witness signature was on purpose, so the writers could come back later and defend Angel by saying "Well, technically, he never signed the contract!"

That's my point, the After the Fall writers didn't have to just say the document never got filed, they could have used this.

 

[brinkster130]

Do we know for sure he signed Anger rather than Angel? A sloppy lower case "L" could look like a sloppy lower case "R".

 

[Robb Stark]

I've seen "Not Fade Away" a few times and I've never noticed that before. I've heard this theory floated around a bit though, and I always kind of assumed it was just a sloppy signature. I mean, if I remember correctly, Angel did just have his hand punctured by a pen so he could sign in blood.

Plus, going from what was happening at the time, I don't think Angel would have risked that. He killed Drogyn to ensure the Circle of the Black Thorn would take him at face value and accept him. I don't think he'd try something so...crude that late in the game. Plus, Angel freely told his team that he wasn't expecting to survive the final battle against Wolfram & Hart. I don't really see why he would say that and then not sign correctly, although that could be him hedging his bets I suppose.

In the end though, I think Angel fully intended to sign the Shanshu away.

 

[Ethan Reigns]

As I recall, his left hand was punctured and he used his right hand to sign.

 

[Robb Stark]

As I recall, his left hand was punctured and he used his right hand to sign.

Ah, okay, I wasn't sure.

You know what's possible? I know from interviews and commentaries that S5 was not intended, at all, to be the final season of Angel until Joss overextended himself and pressed the studio for an early renewal. And you can kind of tell that there are certain storylines that weren't expanded on as much as they seemed like they would be. Nina and Illyria in particular both seemed like they had way more stories to tell than what we wound up seeing. It's possible Angel's faux signature, if indeed it wasn't him signing "Angel" could have been another one of those stories that they would have built more on in S6.

 

[white avenger]

But, just to toss a little technical element into the argument, even if he had signed "Angel," would it have mattered? His real name is Liam (last name unknown) Angel was more or less a title ("the vampire with the angelic face") according to Giles in Season 1 or 2, just like William Pratt was called either "William The Bloody" or "Spike," though neither was his real name.

 

[Vamp Jenny]

But, just to toss a little technical element into the argument, even if he had signed "Angel," would it have mattered? His real name is Liam (last name unknown) Angel was more or less a title ("the vampire with the angelic face") according to Giles in Season 1 or 2, just like William Pratt was called either "William The Bloody" or "Spike," though neither was his real name.

Good point.

I always guessed Angel was just a really bad writer...I was sure we'd seen his name before and it had been written the same way, though...

 

[VisionGirl]

Does anybody have screencaps to prove this?

 

[Ethan Reigns]

Does anybody have screencaps to prove this?

I checked the screencaps online and they only show Angel writing the "A" at the beginning of his name. Maybe someone who has this stored on a hard drive can provide the capture. It is at 06:46 where it is visible.

 

[nrb2222]

screen grab

not sure what it says

 

[VisionGirl]

That could easily be an L.

 

[EvilBuffy]

His signature is seriously much more legible than mine. Nobody could figure out what mine says after the quick two or three second scribble I jot down.