Is Angel Lame?

[EvilBuffy]

I don't think 'lame' is what I would use to describe him. I was so happy in S3 when he left Buffy. On his own show, he's good. It just seems that whenever Buffy is around, he turns into one of the most boring characters ever.

 

[brinkster130]

Is Angel lame? NO.

Do you think that Angel is more lame than Angelus, or that Angel is a less interesting character as his feelings for Buffy develop?

No, I found Angel interesting in season 1 of BTVS and I still was interested in him throughout BTVS and Angel. As far as Angel/Angelus goes...I don't think either was lame; I found both quite interesting.

 

[Abby27]

I will say I liked how Angelus is portrayed in "Buffy" more so than in "Angel." In Buffy, you really get that he was in this human body and he is pissed and ready to make Buffy pay for making him feel like a human. In Angel, he's playing mind games a lot, which I guess is all he could do considering the situation he was in.

 

[prophecygrrl]

I hate Angel. I do think he's really lame. This whole "Oh god I did so much evil, oh god" thing he's got going on is awful. And as I explained on this board before (and then people told me I didn't have any idea how vampires in the buffyverse worked) I'm pretty sure it goes like this... when Spike and Angel got their souls back, they got William and Liam's souls back... Liam was a jerk... Angelus was a murderous jerk... Angel was a guy who was a jerk who didn't want to be a jerk. He knew he was a jerk and a murder in the past he was terrified of becoming that person again... and then he became that person again time and time again EVEN WITH HIS SOUL (the W&H people, Twilight, etc)... and it was like we knew in the end the evil would win out with Angel... And again, that to me was the message of the end of Ats... the whole "would you rather live as a monster, or die as a good man" thing... it just got frustrating. I want to believe in my heroes... not know they're going to fail even though they try really hard not to.

I'm kinda the opposite. I loved when Angel was operating in gray moral areas, because that's what made it so real. He's the guy who would literally lay down his own life to save someone and do some good in this world, and at the same time recognized that being a hero means shouldering all kinds of burdens- including making the difficult decisions that no one else wants to.

 

[Aloverssoulz]

I love him on Buffy and ANGEL the same <3 He's amazing

 

[A Flawed Fashion]

Simple answer: no. 🙂

 

[Username]

No, I don't think that he's lame, he's great.

 

[sisterofmercy]

I think in Buffy he was definitely lame, but when he went to LA he manned up a bit.

 

[xaphania]

Yes. And kinda no.

I was bored by him on BtVS. Bored, bored, bored. What's interesting about tall, dark and brooding? The B/A plot didn't interest me and aside from that Angel was pretty superfluous in BtVS. S3 Angel was particularly annoying.

However I do like him on AtS. He grew a personality, and a sense of humour. He got interesting. Part of this is having the time to do that - it's his own show, after all. But I think a lot of it is to do with being away from Buffy, and being surrounded by people who complement him more (Wesley, Cordy, Doyle, Gunn etc.)

I still don't love him, he'll never be a favourite character of mine, but once he gets away from Sunnydale and starts up AI, he becomes a far more interesting and likeable character.

 

[Tome]

No. Angel was definitely boring at times on BtVS, but once he moved to his own show, he became much more interesting. He's still not a *fav* of mine - even on his show - but his character had more layers, and didn't just brood all day. 🙂

 

[Willow My Love]

Personally, I love Angel. I always have. I can't help it, I love the good guy. I love that he's trying to atone for what he's done because he can feel remorse. Before he gets his own show, he tries to stop the world from ending on more than one occasion. It was Angelus that tried to end it, not Angel. I think Angel is way more interesting than Angelus. Angelus was kind of one note. You can't play a chord with one note. Then, Angel gets his own show, and he goes out helping individual people, and working for the Powers That Be. He protects those he loves fiercely. Angel really is a champion.

 

[Wishing Oceans]

I definitely thought that he was lame on Btvs. He really didn't do much, besides going around brooding. Once he was transferred over to AtS, there was a change. He made jokes. He displayed emotion. He made friends. He was, dare I say... Interesting! 😛

And I do think that a large part of that was due to no longer being around Buffy. When he was with her, I don't think that he concentrated on anything else, including himself (well, other than how he wasn't good enough for her 😉 ). There wasn't room amongst the Buffy worship to develop the character. He was just "Buffy's Boyfriend". And, as witnessed in IWRY, when Buffy shows up again, boom, it's pretty much all about the romance and tea.

 

[LondonDude]

Angel was lame in Buffy because he boring and we didn't know much about him. He was just Buffy's boyfriend who is a vampire. Other than Buffy he didn't really socialize with other people when he was Sunnydale.

In Ats he made new friends, made jokes and he didn't brood a lot. He was actually interesting. We learned more about his past and his history with Darla and Spike.

 

[InsaneMystic]

Lame doesn't begin to describe him. I utterly despise the Bad Hair Dude. Except when he's soulless, then he's kinda cool - especially as he then lacks the hypocritical lameness of his souled persona (btw, persona means "theatrical mask" in Latin/Greek, and that connotation is very consciously intended im my use, tyvm).

Basically, of course, he reminds me too much of how I've been for way too long of my life, myself. I find it impossible to forgive him for that.

 

[Kean]

Is Angel lame?

No, he is not.

Infact...

 

[Hale Caesar]

Is Angel lame? Is Charlie Sheen a loser? No, Angel is amazing!

I think he really does become a much more interesting character once he leaves Buffy. I was skeptical at first, because he wasn't that dynamic in Buffy (well expect for when he turned into Angelus!), but my doubts quickly went away when I saw that he was able to have some great stories to tell. Plus, remember in "Sanctuary" when Angel told off Buffy? That was not lame lol

 

[TheVoid68]

In answer to the OP, I believe that Angel became a much more well-rounded, entertaining and interesting character once he moved onto his own show.

But that's not an interesting story. I don't want to watch a story about a horrible person trying to be a good person. I don't like my heroes to be horrible people. Like I said, I want to believe in my heroes... not know they're going to fail. And I don't generally respond well to horrible people at all. I don't like bad people. It was hard for me to get to a place with Buffy where I could pick a favorite villain because I don't like bad people.

You may disagree, but I believe that it is Angel's choice to be a good person that makes him a good person. As a wise man once said, it is not where we come from, but our choices, that make us who we are. Yes, Angel at heart is nowhere near a perfect paragon of goodness. But he tries to do the right thing. I can forgive his mistakes because he is always trying to do the right thing.

 

[Kean]

I just re-read the thread through and lots of people say they thought Angel was boring on Buffy, which fair enough, I suppose he was in a way. I'm wondering though, does anyone actually find him fascinating on Buffy?

Many have cited his constant brooding as a reason for his (apparent) "lameness". Personally, I never got that. I like the quiet, intense ones 😉 But seriously, what fascinated me the most about Angel is that he was existing at all. That he functioned on any level whatsoever. The guilt he must have been dealing with, not just as Angelus but during the hundred years in which he did nothing. Being in Sunnydale and seeing these children take up the fight, it must have humbled him in ways he didn't even think he could be humbled. I mean, I get tied in knots of guilt if I so much as hurt someone's feelings, I can't do anything, not until I make it right with the person. I just think the will he had to have to get through all of that, and do it internally too, was massive.

 

[Marisa]

I just re-read the thread through and lots of people say they thought Angel was boring on Buffy, which fair enough, I suppose he was in a way. I'm wondering though, does anyone actually find him fascinating on Buffy?

Many have cited his constant brooding as a reason for his (apparent) "lameness". Personally, I never got that. I like the quiet, intense ones 😉 But seriously, what fascinated me the most about Angel is that he was existing at all. That he functioned on any level whatsoever. The guilt he must have been dealing with, not just as Angelus but during the hundred years in which he did nothing. Being in Sunnydale and seeing these children take up the fight, it must have humbled him in ways he didn't even think he could be humbled. I mean, I get tied in knots of guilt if I so much as hurt someone's feelings, I can't do anything, not until I make it right with the person. I just think the will he had to have to get through all of that, and do it internally too, was massive.

I found him fascinating on Buffy when I first saw him. He was so mysterious and I liked that smile he was always doing. I loved him in season two with that whole Angelus storyline. I love Angel I support Angel. I think it was his being with Buffy. Not that him and Buffy weren't great it was the him almost only being Buffy. It was like that was the only thing he was. It would have been better if they made him interact with all the other characters more would have been better. I mean Willow was always pretty good to him that for example could have been an interesting friendship arc.

I for one don't mind Angel and his struggles. I love his show and love him so much. He is one of my favorite characters. Him brooding and struggling is interesting to me. Sometimes he can take the brooding to far but hey everyone messes up on to the next part him messing up and going dark in some ways without being Angelus is interesting to me. I just find him more interesting on Angel. I do love what you said about the humbling part I never thought about that before.
Plus who can resist the dark avenger? Come on now.

 

[Kean]

I found him fascinating on Buffy when I first saw him. He was so mysterious and I liked that smile he was always doing. I loved him in season two with that whole Angelus storyline. I love Angel I support Angel. I think it was his being with Buffy. Not that him and Buffy weren't great it was the him almost only being Buffy. It was like that was the only thing he was. It would have been better if they made him interact with all the other characters more would have been better. I mean Willow was always pretty good to him that for example could have been an interesting friendship arc.

I for one don't mind Angel and his struggles. I love his show and love him so much. He is one of my favorite characters. Him brooding and struggling is interesting to me. Sometimes he can take the brooding to far but hey everyone messes up on to the next part him messing up and going dark in some ways without being Angelus is interesting to me. I just find him more interesting on Angel. I do love what you said about the humbling part I never thought about that before.
Plus who can resist the dark avenger? Come on now.

Maybe it's because I'm pretty fond of brooding myself that I find him so interesting. I would just love to know what is going through his mind. How he put himself back together again to a get to a point where he felt strong enough that could leave Buffy. Not only was he in love with her but she had been the one to reintroduce him to society and being around people again. I can only imagine how hard it would have been to take away that safety net.

I think if Angelus hadn't happened you would have seen a much more social Angel. I feel he would have interacted with the Scoobies a Hell of a lot more, especially Willow and Giles. But, Angelus happened about 6 or 7 episodes after Angel and Buffy became a real couple. Any budding or potentially deeper bonds Angel was going to make with the Scoobies were severed, irretrievably, by Angelus.