LadyLavinia
Scooby
I have a problem with Lindsey's little speech to Angel near the end of "Underneath". Through him, Whedon seemed to be pointing out that Angel had brought about an apocalypse by giving in to the life of a corporate executive at Wolfram & Hart's. By ignoring his duties as a "Hero", Lindsey accused Angel of accepting the world as it is, instead of trying to make it better by fighting its evils.
It seems to me Lindsey (and Whedon) do not understand that wrapping one's life around fighting evil or being the "Hero" is not really going to achieve anything. Not really. No matter how many apocalypses that Angel and the AI Team avert, no matter how many times certain aspects of life seem to improve, the world will not change. At least not "˜underneath'. Evil will always exist. The person or persons that the AI Team will save . . . will eventually die. And for every step forward made by humanity, it will take two steps back. The AI Team (and on BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, the Scoobies) has been fighting a war that will never end. No matter how many battles they win or evil beings they destroy, the Team will never will the war against evil. And evil will never win. I think that Ambassador Delenn from BABYLON 5 said it best, "The war is never completely won. There are always new battles to be fought against the darkness. Only the names change."
One may ask, how can the AI Team save the world, if they do not fight? Is the fight really necessary? Or worth it? People would probably say yes. They will reason that despite its evils, the world can be a wonderful place. But is it really? Or is this all an illusion, harbored by humans? Is the fight against "evil" so important to humans, because they are afraid to die? Because they believe in the self-preservation of humanity? Instead of the world being wonderful, despite its evils, what if the world is a seething mass of ugliness underneath its beautiful surface. What if this is a state of existence that has never changed, and never will?
I am not a churchgoer. Nor am I an atheist, like Joss Whedon. I simply dislike organized religion and believe that spirituality is something that should remain a private matter for the individual. I don't think it should be a reason for social gatherings, or a moral code for the masses. My mother, on the other hand, is a Penacostal. Nearly two years ago, she had asked me to accompany her to a Penacostal Church conference in Phoenix. The conference had its usual mix of sermons and musical arrangements. However, one minister said something that caught my attention. He said that humans should not devote their full attention to fighting evil. Instead, finding God should deal with finding God. This seemed like a conservative Christian's version of self-realization. And as a liberal who dislikes organized religion, his remark seemed right on target for me.
Perhaps this is why I have so much trouble with Lindsey's words to Angel. I had the feeling that Whedon wanted us to believe how important it was for Angel and his friends to fight evil "“ to fight "the good fight". Or to be heroes and champions. Yet, by focusing upon their "heroic" journey, the AI Team may end up ignoring something more important "“ namely self-realization. By focusing their attention on "the good fight", the AI Team may not take the time to learn about themselves. To find the inner spirit within them. By doing the latter, the gang would have the opportunity to prepare themselves for a better world following their deaths. Somewhere similar to where Buffy's spirit had found brief happiness, following her death in BtVS's "The Gift".
Fighting the "good fight", I believe, is not the way to achieve spiritual contentment in the end. Or the Great Reward. Even Buffy had discovered this. Granted, she was able to reside in some kind of spiritual haven for a brief time. But in the end, she ended up back on Earth, near the Hellmouth. She had probably thought that being the Slayer and sacrificing herself would finally give her a chance for the rest she had so much desired. Perhaps the real reason Buffy never had the chance to enjoy her "reward" is because she had never bothered to prepare herself for it, in the first place. Sacrificing oneself in a grand gesture just did not give her the reward she wanted. However, she now has a second chance. One of the things I liked about BtVS's "Chosen" is something that many fans disliked "“ her "cookie dough" speech. Granted, the words had sounded a little silly and immature, but the idea behind her words seemed sound. Buffy had come to the realization that she needed a little self-realization to become a better and happier person "“ to find herself. She needed to discover who Buffy Summers really was and not define her existence around a boyfriend, or her position as a Slayer or a "champion".
I wish I could say the same about Angel and the AI Team, but after listening to Lindsey's words, I fear that they will never achieve Buffy's ephinany. It seemed quite apparent that Whedon wants to focus upon the importance of Angel's role as a hero. This also seem apparent in Angel's words to Connor in Season 4's "Deep Down" "“ "But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done, or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world is what it should be, to show what it can be."
Poor Angel. Talk about self-delusion. In the past, he had seemed so focused upon being a champion and trying to make the world a better place. During Season 5, he had made the mistake of simply going through the motions, wallowing in his guilt surrounding Connor and giving in to Wolfram and Hart's plans for him. But Lindsey (and possibly Whedon) want him to make an even bigger mistake "“ namely re-focus his attention to fighting evil and being a hero. In the end, being a champion will not get Angel anywhere. Nor will it make the world what "it should be". Why? The world will never really change. And by being a "champion", Angel might fall into an even bigger trap than being Wolfram and Hart's puppet, which is the same trap that Buffy nearly fell into back in BtVS's Season 7. By focusing his life around being "a champion", Angel might end up following the old Watcher Council's mistake by succumbing to ruthless self-righteousness and an arrogant belief of one's goodness. These are the very traits that led the old Council to their destruction. A fate I believe that Angel would probably like to avoid.
It seems to me Lindsey (and Whedon) do not understand that wrapping one's life around fighting evil or being the "Hero" is not really going to achieve anything. Not really. No matter how many apocalypses that Angel and the AI Team avert, no matter how many times certain aspects of life seem to improve, the world will not change. At least not "˜underneath'. Evil will always exist. The person or persons that the AI Team will save . . . will eventually die. And for every step forward made by humanity, it will take two steps back. The AI Team (and on BUFFY, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, the Scoobies) has been fighting a war that will never end. No matter how many battles they win or evil beings they destroy, the Team will never will the war against evil. And evil will never win. I think that Ambassador Delenn from BABYLON 5 said it best, "The war is never completely won. There are always new battles to be fought against the darkness. Only the names change."
One may ask, how can the AI Team save the world, if they do not fight? Is the fight really necessary? Or worth it? People would probably say yes. They will reason that despite its evils, the world can be a wonderful place. But is it really? Or is this all an illusion, harbored by humans? Is the fight against "evil" so important to humans, because they are afraid to die? Because they believe in the self-preservation of humanity? Instead of the world being wonderful, despite its evils, what if the world is a seething mass of ugliness underneath its beautiful surface. What if this is a state of existence that has never changed, and never will?
I am not a churchgoer. Nor am I an atheist, like Joss Whedon. I simply dislike organized religion and believe that spirituality is something that should remain a private matter for the individual. I don't think it should be a reason for social gatherings, or a moral code for the masses. My mother, on the other hand, is a Penacostal. Nearly two years ago, she had asked me to accompany her to a Penacostal Church conference in Phoenix. The conference had its usual mix of sermons and musical arrangements. However, one minister said something that caught my attention. He said that humans should not devote their full attention to fighting evil. Instead, finding God should deal with finding God. This seemed like a conservative Christian's version of self-realization. And as a liberal who dislikes organized religion, his remark seemed right on target for me.
Perhaps this is why I have so much trouble with Lindsey's words to Angel. I had the feeling that Whedon wanted us to believe how important it was for Angel and his friends to fight evil "“ to fight "the good fight". Or to be heroes and champions. Yet, by focusing upon their "heroic" journey, the AI Team may end up ignoring something more important "“ namely self-realization. By focusing their attention on "the good fight", the AI Team may not take the time to learn about themselves. To find the inner spirit within them. By doing the latter, the gang would have the opportunity to prepare themselves for a better world following their deaths. Somewhere similar to where Buffy's spirit had found brief happiness, following her death in BtVS's "The Gift".
Fighting the "good fight", I believe, is not the way to achieve spiritual contentment in the end. Or the Great Reward. Even Buffy had discovered this. Granted, she was able to reside in some kind of spiritual haven for a brief time. But in the end, she ended up back on Earth, near the Hellmouth. She had probably thought that being the Slayer and sacrificing herself would finally give her a chance for the rest she had so much desired. Perhaps the real reason Buffy never had the chance to enjoy her "reward" is because she had never bothered to prepare herself for it, in the first place. Sacrificing oneself in a grand gesture just did not give her the reward she wanted. However, she now has a second chance. One of the things I liked about BtVS's "Chosen" is something that many fans disliked "“ her "cookie dough" speech. Granted, the words had sounded a little silly and immature, but the idea behind her words seemed sound. Buffy had come to the realization that she needed a little self-realization to become a better and happier person "“ to find herself. She needed to discover who Buffy Summers really was and not define her existence around a boyfriend, or her position as a Slayer or a "champion".
I wish I could say the same about Angel and the AI Team, but after listening to Lindsey's words, I fear that they will never achieve Buffy's ephinany. It seemed quite apparent that Whedon wants to focus upon the importance of Angel's role as a hero. This also seem apparent in Angel's words to Connor in Season 4's "Deep Down" "“ "But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done, or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world is what it should be, to show what it can be."
Poor Angel. Talk about self-delusion. In the past, he had seemed so focused upon being a champion and trying to make the world a better place. During Season 5, he had made the mistake of simply going through the motions, wallowing in his guilt surrounding Connor and giving in to Wolfram and Hart's plans for him. But Lindsey (and possibly Whedon) want him to make an even bigger mistake "“ namely re-focus his attention to fighting evil and being a hero. In the end, being a champion will not get Angel anywhere. Nor will it make the world what "it should be". Why? The world will never really change. And by being a "champion", Angel might fall into an even bigger trap than being Wolfram and Hart's puppet, which is the same trap that Buffy nearly fell into back in BtVS's Season 7. By focusing his life around being "a champion", Angel might end up following the old Watcher Council's mistake by succumbing to ruthless self-righteousness and an arrogant belief of one's goodness. These are the very traits that led the old Council to their destruction. A fate I believe that Angel would probably like to avoid.