Overall, the guy who saw the show for the first time says that he definitely prefers it to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but still thought Buffy ended better.
He doesn't see the ending as positive like many do. If anything, it was proving Holland Manners right, especially if W&H can just reappear as they did at the end in season 4. It was pointless.
'Course Angel says it doesn't matter more than once through the series, and here he lives that, but it's hardly heroic in how he did it. He can't believe he'd still listen to a Higher Power after what happened, either.
If he wanted to go "grey morality" and be an anti-hero instead of a hero then there are many other options. We talked about them and it was interesting, but I don't know if it would've made for interesting TV. If it did, it would start to feel more like Babylon 5, which isn't necessarily bad (I love that show), but it wouldn't be what the fans are used to and unlikely to attract enough of those who would like that vibe.
That aside, this was otherwise arguably his favorite season, and even the last episode hit him in a way that will haunt him for some time.
He and I are going to do a rewatch of a couple of eps or so from both Buffy and Angel to compare/contrast, probably this weekend, but after that I think I'll be taking a break from all things Jossverse.
He, on the other hand, is actually going to checkout After the Fall. Since what he and I like and dislike are not the same, he might actually enjoy them.