Angelus in Season 4

[Flannen]

To be fair, I haven't seen the whole season properly - I only recently watched Orpheus and the episodes leading up to it...BUT...does anyone else think that Angelus was somewhat lacking?

I don't know what it is but I just don't think he was played as well as he was in Season 2 of Buffy? I can't put my finger on it but I think he needed to be more cocky and arrogant...? Just me?

Maybe he just needed those leather trousers?! I know I needed him to have leather trousers 😀

 

[white avenger]

It seemed to me that in Season 4 of "Angel" he was played somehow smarter and more cruel than he had been in Season 2 of "Buffy," but that might just have been because he didn't have Spike or Drusilla to play off of. (I'm probably not expressing it right, but, anyhow, yeah, he was definitely a different Angelus. Maybe getting stabbed and sent to hell for a century by Buffy sort of changed his outlook on unlife.)

 

[Flannen]

I dunno, I kinda think he was crueller in Season 2. Angelus in Buffy was sooo obsessed with causing as much damage as possible and he was so intent on hurting Buffy, which I just didn't get with these episodes. Maybe it's cos Buffy made him Angelus in Season 2 he was so preoccupied with her...but wasn't in Angel Season 4 - now I'm not making sense!

 

[clemsgirlfriend]

I also found him lacking in As4 compared to Bs2. He seemed more quietly creepy and menacing in AtS vs in BtVS, he was more pompous and loud and arrogant with his evil. I preferred the pompous version from Buffy to the creepy version from Angel, though obviously both are evil and you wouldn't want either of them around trying to kill you and your friends...

 

[Kean]

I agree...he wasn't quite as menacing in Angel as he was in Buffy. I think it has alot to do with the fact that he wasn't going after Buffy, who was the main character of the show. Him tormenting her is always going to be more interesting than him going after Connor, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred. Whether Buffy is your favouite character or not Angelus messing with her will resonate more because of who she is. Also, he was stuck in a cage for prolonged period while he was out this time. It's hard to be as threatened by his presence when he is locked up. Also, In Buffy we were essentially seeing Angelus presented as Buffy and the Scoobies percieved him, because the show is told from that perspective but Angel is told from his perspective.

What really made Angelus such a scene stealing character in Buffy was that there was no one else like him and the characters had never been hurt so much by anyone else. That isn't the case in season 4 of Angel. We know he isn't the real big bad here, we know he is going to go away and we will get Angel back soon. I think that really makes it harder to take him seriously. No matter how many times I watch season 2 of Buffy I can't help but get caught up in the feeling of not quite knowing what was going to happen. The season never loses that freshness (for me anyway) but in Angel we all knew how it would end before it even began.

 

[Flannen]

Thanks Kean, think you hit the nail on the head and managed to put into words what I couldn't!

I really wish that the S2 Angelus had been involved in the mind walk sequence. I have to admit, I kinda cringed watching it. It just seemed so...cliche (for want of a better word). I guess its not really fair to compare him to S2 Angelus when the situation etc was so different.

He just didn't make me angry when he was tormenting Faith the way he did Buffy. I just shuddered every time he called her 'Faithy' LOL - couldn't help it!

 

[Frketson]

the only complaint about angelus in s4 is that he didnt get to kill anyone (i dont think) if he had dones some more serious damage to humans or nearly killed fred and gunn or something, it would have been great when angel came back and the others wouldnt trust him and would harbour feelings of hate for him etc.

 

[Revolver]

Yet again, my opinion seems to differ from that of the general consensus. I think David Boreanaz had grown A LOT as an actor since the first couple seasons of Buffy. As such, I found his performance in Angel season four to be much better than in Buffy season 2.

 

[Flannen]

Yet again, my opinion seems to differ from that of the general consensus. I think David Boreanaz had grown A LOT as an actor since the first couple seasons of Buffy. As such, I found his performance in Angel season four to be much better than in Buffy season 2.

I agree that David Boreanaz had certainly grown as an actor, and I don't think it was his performance I had problems with...

Ah I think I've just put my finger on it and found the word I was looking for - I just don't think I was as convinced. Yes, I think that may be it.

 

[BuffyElevated]

Well I am just now watching all of season 4... I stopped watching after the first few eps when it originally aired 'cause I was disgusted by Cordelia and Connor together, and I have to say I still feel the same way, but anyway my bro gave me his S4 and S5 of Angel to watch so I'm watching them to say I've seen the entire season. 😛 Anyway, I definitely agree that Angelus was scarier to me in BtVS. Maybe 'cause he wasn't locked in a cage then, but he definitely seems to be all about the talk on Angel.

 

[Vampmogs2]

I agree he wasn't as good as he was in Btvs season two.

When he was in the cage he was brilliant. He was terrifying, subtle and emotionally manipulated everyone as he did to Buffy in season two. However, when he got out of the cage he was far too over-the-top and loud, I preferred the quieter more sinister Angelus of Btvs s2. He wasn't very frightening when he was being loud and obnoxious.

Take for example the hallway scene in ‘Innocence’ when he tries to kill Willow. It was scary because he was so subtle and so quiet. Now image the Angelus of s4 in that position with his big gestures and boisterous attitude.. It wouldn’t have had the same effect.

Like I said.. Caged Angelus worked brilliant, when he was out of the cage he was slightly disappointing. Not bad but nowhere near the brilliance of s2 Angelus.

I'm not sure why they wrote him the way they did in Ats s4... In all the flashbacks of Ats he's a lot more like the Angelus we see in Btvs s2, calm and collected and terrifying. In Ats s4 they changed him completely.

 

[Big Damn Hero]

I think the best Angelus of "Angel" was that in Series One of Angel, when the actress slips him the happy pill in the champagne. We only got 5 minutes of him but it was 5 brilliant minutes.

 

[passions1989]

I think the best Angelus of "Angel" was that in Series One of Angel, when the actress slips him the happy pill in the champagne. We only got 5 minutes of him but it was 5 brilliant minutes.

I posted this question on another thread so I'm going to post it here as well: do you guys have a link of the actress Rebecca and her last 10 minutes of interaction with Angelus after feeding him the drug? I too have always felt that David's acting as Angelus in the episode 'Eternity' from season one was better than his acting as Angelus in 'Soulless', 'Calvary', 'Release' and 'Orpheus'. I've been searching for a video clip of it for the past few months on Youtube and I couldn't find it. It would be really great if you guys could post a link of it! 😀

 

[Kanazaka]

In retrospect, I think I was amused and entertained by Angelus in Season 4 of Angel, and not frightened or worried by him. I especially liked his interaction with Faith, as it was tense, exciting, nuanced, and challenged both of them as fighters (intellectually and physically, and it Faith's case, emotionally). Also, I enjoyed his insults of the rest of characters, more for their insights and humor than their creepiness, but some of them were quite effective. But I agree that in Season 2 of Buffy, Buffy and Angelus's conflict was more emotionally charged because Angel was in love with Buffy (and vice versa). Therefore, it possessed more depth and was more powerful.

 

[MinwaraYana]

I agree. He's not the same as we see in S2 of Buffy. Not mention the fact that he's got more puffy face and smiled with grinning, not the sexy half smile like in Buffy s2. I think Angelus in S4 of Ats is too good to be true. I mean, sorry, he's such a loser. But I don't know, maybe he isn't that bad in Ats S4 because he doesn't have Buffy to play with.

 

[Airam]

Yeah he definitely wasn't on the same caliber as Buffy S2 Angelus, no where near as sexy 😉 Perhaps DB shoulda gone back and watched his S2 performance just to keep continuity with little mannerisms like his grin, cause I agree there was a big difference there.

 

[Sunnydale Siren]

just finished watching "Awakening" and something is bugging me.

Didn't the Gypsy curse cause Angel to remember ALL his evil misdeeds in the past?
Yet no recollection of his history with The Beast?

Perhaps a continuity goof by the writers or some duplicity goin on here. Either way, a little Angelus is always fun for me.

 

[BillyidolwannaB]

^i think they explain that bit at some point.

 

[Sweetescape]

I agree he did lose some of his spark for me. No evil grin or broodily standing behind bushes! Lol just seemed kina tame from what wed seen of him in Buffy season 2. However i loved his laugh when you realise he's back,now that was creepy!

 

[Safer]

Yeah it was tame but funny.

His portrayal in Destiny is perfect. If you watch that and then imagine that Immortal Psycho having sex with Buffy it doesnt really work.

He seems like the real Angelus in that episode vicious and pschotic.

I think Angel having a soul for the past 100 years changes Angeluses personality somewhat.

Also the networks couldn't have there main charcter be to villianous because lets face it if that where real life i'm pretty sure he would've killed them all.