Harmony deserved better

[GothicBuffy]

I finished watching Angel a few weeks ago and the way Angel spoke to Harmony and treated her in general really rubbed me the wrong way. Yes she's a soulless vampire, but she's still working on the side of good and was mostly harmless. She worked hard at her job and Angel was overly gruff and rude to her and treated her like crap. It always bothered me. Harmony deserved more recognition and friendliness.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

I think Angel's thoughts on the subject were pretty clear. Harmony is a soulless monster, she has no good in her, and will betray him when she gets a chance, and Angel will be responsible if she kills any additional humans. I also think the Spike rule applies. Angel hates Spike because he reminds him that William the Bloody Awful Poet was murdered by one of his creations, and Harmony is a classmate of Buffy and Cordelia that he couldn't save. Remember, Angel doesn't make the same distinction between body and soul that the Watchers make, to him, Angel is the Damnation of Liam, and every vampire walking is the damnation of some prior innocent soul.

 

[thrasherpix]

And yet I bet Harmony was treated better than a woman like her (minus the vampirism) would be in any other big law firm in Los Angeles, and probably better than the actress who plays Harmony by Hollywood.

 

[thetopher]

Angel let her keep her job, didn't stake her and gave her a nice reference when W&H was gonna be sucked into hell. That's plenty for a monster like Harmony.

He was rude to her? I saw him mostly tried to ignore her/tolerate her, and then he was annoyed at her the times that he couldn't.

 

[LemonBanana]

I think Angel just felt like he was wasting his time on her. I love Harmony (to a point) and I think she was that much needed humour... and its always nice to see a (not so) friendly face again haha! Harmony was a bit like how she was as a human and a vamp, and Angel didn't like her with the whole vamp thing and he probably just found her a little annoying in genral!

 

[Myheadsgonenumb]

Harmony certainly deserved greater credit than Angel gave her - she voluntarily gave up human blood and was safe around humans without the benefit of a soul. It isn't easy for her, but she does it- and yes, she gets something out of it, but she's still denying her nature and struggling with that every day - and that supports the side of good. I'd like to see Angel do the same without his soul. Oh no wait ...

He doesn't really have the right to his high horse on that one, just because he has a gypsy curse.

So - he knows she'll inevitably betray him and turn back, can see the future can he? Even if she can't keep it up for eternity, he should still be encouraging her while she is doing the right thing. Every day Harmony sticks to the pigs blood is another human saved. And it seems pretty obvious to me that the more encouragement she gets the longer she'll stick to it.

You can't treat someone badly because you 'know they will inevitably betray you' and then act like you were right all along when the inevitable betrayal comes... maybe if he had been a bit nicer, it wouldn't have happened.

 

[TriBel]

Yes...she deserved better (though I don't know "deserved" is the right word). She does literally "earn" better in the comics. Ironically, I think she makes her name in the media industry.

So - he knows she'll inevitably betray him and turn back, can see the future can he?

Figuratively speaking, he can because he's on a teleological path of redemption and, as implied by Angel/Angelus Liam/Angel he tends towards very rigid binary definitions. I don't think Angel's world view can contain Harmony's complexity so he simply labels her as evil. @AlphaFoxtrot 's explanation works for me.

I suspect Harmony is the vampire equivalent of Buffy (?), something random or unpredictable, that flies under the radar and throws the system into chaos. Both BtVS and AtS have episode titles borrowed from Chaos Theory: Entropy and Supersymmetry. I don't understand the physics behind chaos and string theory but it was a metaphor thing back in the day.

Lol! I love that Spike might be the Doctor and keeps sleeping with her: "First do no harm". I also like that her name contains its own contradiction within it Harmony.

 

[Priceless]

I have a real soft spot for Harmony. She tries her best in whatever she does, but she's just not particularly competent as a vampire. Her real competency comes as an assistant in a lawyers office, but who could have seen that coming? Given a role, some respect and tasks to complete, she's a marvel. She seems to instinctively know what different demons/customers want and she delivers. She is a much better employee of W&H than Angel. Perhaps Angel sees in Harmony a vampire who could be good, who is good, something he couldn't be without a soul.

I love how her character grows in the comics. She becomes a superstar, has her own tv show, takes part in Dancing With The Stars etc. and best of all, she outlives everyone else.

 

[Taake]

So - he knows she'll inevitably betray him and turn back, can see the future can he? Even if she can't keep it up for eternity, he should still be encouraging her while she is doing the right thing. Every day Harmony sticks to the pigs blood is another human saved. And it seems pretty obvious to me that the more encouragement she gets the longer she'll stick to it.

You can't treat someone badly because you 'know they will inevitably betray you' and then act like you were right all along when the inevitable betrayal comes... maybe if he had been a bit nicer, it wouldn't have happened.

Or because of Disharmony?

Harmony wants to belong, she will act according to the group she wishes to belong to. That is s trend with her character.

Wes got her a job so she decided to be ”good” for a while. But as endless Spike discussions suggest, vampires without a soul don’t think as humans do. Their version of love or being good is warped by being soulless.

Trusting Harmony got Cordelia nothing. Angel barely knew her, why on earth should he give her the benefit of the doubt against all logic?

Spike tried to be good for love, and still often got it way wrong. Harmony tried to be good for a tedious job with good benefits, not a sense of desire to do good, it just seems naive to think she’s keep that up for particularly long.

 

[thetopher]

She is a much better employee of W&H than Angel.

I'm sure that Hamilton thinks so.

But seriously, for all Harmony's nice-ness she has no moral core, she is evil even if she is friendly and bubbly. She drinks pig's blood because she will be killed if she doesn't, not because she cares about people and is taking a moral stand.
By betraying Angel to the senior partners she is betraying everyone of the gang, including Spike and Lorne who at times treated her with respect (well, Lorne did I guess). Did Harmony care? Nope, she just played the victim and whined about not being trusted and included in the plan, even though (ironically) she was.
Honestly, in the end, Angel showed Harmony respect, admitted that she was good at her job and even useful in the fight against a great evil, even if that was never in her nature.

Btw- I truly dislike Harmony in the comics, where the writing just gave up on portraying vampires with any consistancy in order to tell the story they wanted. 'Harmony's Rules' are a joke.

 

[Spanky]

But seriously, for all Harmony's nice-ness she has no moral core, she is evil even if she is friendly and bubbly.

I don't think not having a soul is equal to evil. There were vampires on both shows that I wouldn't necessarily call evil.

She drinks pig's blood because she will be killed if she doesn't, not because she cares about people and is taking a moral stand.

People didn't give her any reason to care about them. What with calling her evil just because she doesn't have a soul. And not being able to trust her and always being suspicious of her. If people ostracized you like that I bet it'd be hard for you to care for them too. Especially when you are more or less super-powered.

Honestly, in the end, Angel showed Harmony respect, admitted that she was good at her job and even useful in the fight against a great evil,

He just never bothered to tell this to her when it could have mattered and made a difference. He waits until he ruins her career and her undead life before offering his praise to her.

 

[Angel6]

Harmony was nothing more than a character inserted to add some comic relief. Angel is badly mischaracterised through a lot of Season 5, and it’s a woefully inconsistent season of television.