Best Character Progression?

[Andy]

(I didn't find anything recent, but please let me know if this has been discussed before!)

So I have been thinking a lot about the characters and their individual arcs throughout the series (some even starting in Buffy), and I've been thinking about who had the best development. Personally, I'd have to say my top three choices are Wesley, Cordelia, and Darla.

Wesley I would say is my number one, though Cordy is a very /very/ close second, and if the writers didn't drop the ball on her in season 4, I think she would have been tied.

Wes definitely had the most drastic change, but it worked. He started off as this straight-edge Watcher from England with the biggest stick up his arse, and then he turns into this dorky demon hunter. He stays stagnant with the dorkiness until he meets Fred, and the real change happens when he steals Connor. After that he's this rugged, (handsome), and ruthless killer. He lost the respect of his friends and the woman he loves, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Cordelia went from being this one-sided ditzy cheerleader to almost a motherly figure for the whole gang. I feel she ended up being one of the more well rounded characters before her untimely end. The only weird thing is that her development happened all in one moment at the end of Angel Season 1. I would have liked to see her slowly change, but at least she got interesting.

Darla on the other hand has had hundreds of years worth of blood, murder, and destruction under her belt. By the end of her run, she has a motherly instinct, and she sacrifices herself for the sake of her son. Not only that, but she is sent to Connor later in the series and begs him not to kill that girl - something not normally seen by a vampire.

I do know Darla and Cordy weren't really seen in season 5, but I wanted to put this here to include the whole series. And if anyone disagrees, I'm up for a scholarly debate. 🙂

But yeah! Opinions. I want to know everyones opinion.

 

[thetopher]

My top picks, in no particular order, and this would be for consistent character growth throughout the Seasons:

Wesley: for all the reasons you described, he grows with each and every Season he's in. Just a really layered and interesting character. Alexis Denisof is fantastic.

Willow: from Season 1 to Season 5 she has a strong arc that makes for great veiwing, then it goes out the window in S6 and 7, improves a little in the comics though.

Cordelia: Really doesn't grow that much on Buffy, but does a lot on Angel.

Faith: Every time she shows up she evolves in a new/interesting way- this continues well into the comics.

Spike: Don't like what he changes into, but he changes a hell of a lot from S4 of Buffy right on through into Angel.

Others like Darla, Buffy, Xander do develop, but not really consistantly in my view, sometimes they go backwards, stall or whatever.

 

[chasesummers]

Definitely Cordelia.
From the beginning, you won't expect her to have this much growth till the end of Angel. It was a very interesting journey to see her evolve into a sophisticated, mature and loving woman, still keeping her wittiness and lovable character.

 

[white avenger]

I would be temped to say Gunn, since hewent from basically a street thug to a brilliant attorney, but that would probably be cheating, since his legal expertise was the result of a W&H spell.

Then there's Fred, who went from a frightened little girl, cowering in a cave in an alien dimension, to a very nearly all powerful hell god, but, once more, there was magic involved.

Cordy? From air head actress wannabe to Higher Power, but, again, magic was involved.

So, I'll just say Wes, since he went from Watchers' Academy head boy and rogue demon hunter to both capable and formidable, if often grubby, second in command of Angel's team.

 

[Andy]

My top picks, in no particular order, and this would be for consistent character growth throughout the Seasons:

Wesley: for all the reasons you described, he grows with each and every Season he's in. Just a really layered and interesting character. Alexis Denisof is fantastic.

Willow: from Season 1 to Season 5 she has a strong arc that makes for great veiwing, then it goes out the window in S6 and 7, improves a little in the comics though.

Cordelia: Really doesn't grow that much on Buffy, but does a lot on Angel.

Faith: Every time she shows up she evolves in a new/interesting way- this continues well into the comics.

Spike: Don't like what he changes into, but he changes a hell of a lot from S4 of Buffy right on through into Angel.

Others like Darla, Buffy, Xander do develop, but not really consistantly in my view, sometimes they go backwards, stall or whatever.

I haven't actually read any of the Faith comics yet, despite the fact I own half of them. I really do like her character, though - she changes a whole lot, but her development took some u-turns by the end of the series. She was well written though, and I'm glad that still continues through the comics. 🙂 I will agree with you on all your other points, too.

Definitely Cordelia.
From the beginning, you won't expect her to have this much growth till the end of Angel. It was a very interesting journey to see her evolve into a sophisticated, mature and loving woman, still keeping her wittiness and lovable character.

Totally agree. I don't think anyone expected anything out of Cordy, and I'm so glad she got the development she deserved.

I would be temped to say Gunn, since hewent from basically a street thug to a brilliant attorney, but that would probably be cheating, since his legal expertise was the result of a W&H spell.

Then there's Fred, who went from a frightened little girl, cowering in a cave in an alien dimension, to a very nearly all powerful hell god, but, once more, there was magic involved.

Cordy? From air head actress wannabe to Higher Power, but, again, magic was involved.

So, I'll just say Wes, since he went from Watchers' Academy head boy and rogue demon hunter to both capable and formidable, if often grubby, second in command of Angel's team.

A lot of characters had supernatural help in terms of their development. Like Angel kind of stayed stagnant for the entire series until he had his soul removed and Connor came along because he had something to care about.

Fred did have some amazing development, and Amy did some incredible acting. Switching between the God-King and the lovable Fred was so wondeful to see. I don't really include Illyria as part of Fred's development because they really are two separate entities.

I think I might be biased against Gunn though, because he always just had an annoying warriors spirit and he was too aggressive for my taste. I think turning him into a lawyer was sort of a way-out because otherwise he would have been completely useless at W&H.

 

[Aimee]

Wes.
All the characters develop in some way (even Andrew!) but definitely Wes.
Everyone has pretty much already summed up his many transitions so I won't but wow, he goes through an epic change. It's not a one thing, then the opposite thing, type of change like Cordelia. It's not a slightly predictable change like Willow. Wes changes many times in believable & often tragic ways.

 

[bespangeled]

Well, technically I'd say Fred if you include Illyria.

Wesley overall changes more than almost anyone in the universe. But then he regresses once his memories are tampered with. I really find him interesting in every incarnation.

Willow is like a pendulum - from very good girl to evil destroy the earth/killer - and then to a comfortable center. Spike is an off balance pendulum - from flashy sociopath vampire to souled 'throw yourself to the lions' kinda guy (or the fire).

 

[dtrain24]

Wesley and Cordelia. For the reasons everyone else has described, for both.

Wesley goes from geeky watcher into badass. He's had his moments in the series where I've loved him, and those where I've hated him. Someone mentioned it before, but I agree that Alexis Denisof did a fantastic job portraying him.

Cordelia goes from popular school-bully to a caring big-sister esque role to AI that wants to make the world a better place.

Both HUGE transformations.

 

[bespangeled]

Wesley and Cordelia. For the reasons everyone else has described, for both.

Wesley goes from geeky watcher into badass. He's had his moments in the series where I've loved him, and those where I've hated him. Someone mentioned it before, but I agree that Alexis Denisof did a fantastic job portraying him.

Cordelia goes from popular school-bully to a caring big-sister esque role to AI that wants to make the world a better place.

Both HUGE transformations.

I don't see Cordy as having changed that much in Angel, but I think it's because I saw her as pretty perfect to start with - the caring, wisdom and humor, as well as her total lack of tact were all there for me in the beginning. I saw the seeds of that change once her parents lost all there money.

Pompous Wes moving to someone with a woman caged in his closet - yeah, I'm with you there. Denisoff is an amazing actor - wish there were more opportunities to see him.

 

[dtrain24]

I don't see Cordy as having changed that much in Angel, but I think it's because I saw her as pretty perfect to start with - the caring, wisdom and humor, as well as her total lack of tact were all there for me in the beginning. I saw the seeds of that change once her parents lost all there money.

Pompous Wes moving to someone with a woman caged in his closet - yeah, I'm with you there. Denisoff is an amazing actor - wish there were more opportunities to see him.

I see your point on Cordy. Talking about from Buffy to now, she changed a lot, nobody can deny that. But you're right, she didn't change a whole lot once she started on Angel.

Though one can argue she started to care less about money and more about actually helping those in need as the show progressed...big leap in that area when Doyle died now that I think about it.

 

[AnthonyCordova]

I liked the arcs of many of the characters. I'd also like to give some extra credit to Amy Acker, who was so smooth and convincing in her change from Fred to Illyria. But I have to agree with other posters that Wes' development was my favorite. What I liked most is that everything seemed to change for realistic reasons. As the stories in Angel changed and became more convoluted and as different writers would take turns adding their influence on the stories and the characters, Wes changed in appealing but always also realistic ways. His development seemed to happen very naturally and never forced (as for example Willow in later seasons, where it felt like the writers consciously intended for her to change in certain ways and forced it on her. And I like Willow btw.) Wes seemed to change organically and naturally by comparison.

 

[danajsparks]

I think Gunn's moral development is pretty interesting, if not necessarily always good. He begins with a pretty idealistic black/white understanding of good vs. evil, but he gradually learns to see things in more shades of grey (e.g. demons don't deserve death simply because they're not human.) He evolves into a character who is willing to kill Fred's professor, willing to help Gwen steal her electricity blocking device, and, eventually, willing to regularly make moral compromises in his role as an attorney at W&H. His role in Fred's death is a huge wake-up call for him that his moral compass has swung too far in the wrong direction.

 

[Blaze]

to

 

[Dorthansdotter]

First of all, im a little surpised there's no mention of Dawn yet? Granted, this thread isn't that long. But still, she wen't from Cosmic energy/key, to downright annoying teenager and ended up, in her own words "Junior Watcher". I think that is a progression to be noted.

That being said, i'm still not overly fond of the brat/key/fictional gone very real sister. The only thing i really like about her is that they put her in the show without any 'splainin til she'd been feutured for some time.

I think the best character progression would be Giles or Wesley (taking the Angel-series in to the equation). Or Oz. Even though he feutures kind a' briefly he goes a long way.

Anyways... I'm going with Giles. I think the fact that he is not one of the main characters during the second half of the show is a brilliant statement of his growth. He just keeps on keeping on even though he's not there. He re-appears all the more insightfull and calm. Taking on the role of a bearing pillar during the end. That just keeps on, right up til he aknowledges the brilliance of Buffy's master plan with the potentials (that kind a' pinnacles he's characters role i think).

Now, i'm guessing some of the characters (hopefully) keeps on progressing through the comics that follow the tv-shows. Can't really speak for that since i havn't read 'em.