I thought it would be would be good to look back on some of the major events in Angel that shaped the show. I feel season 1 introduced us to the universe & season 2 built upon it and made it better, but season 3 introduced a lot of grand events which carried over to future seasons. I wanted to discuss some issues I had with them & ask you guys some questions in regards to them. Feel free to add events you feel should be discussed as well, but for now here are mine.
Pregnant Darla
I'll start here because this is the first big thing that happened in season 3. A mystical vampire pregnancy is definitely different, but the problem is that it almost feels like the writers came up with it and dint know how to justify it. Sure Jasmine said it was a result of the trails, but a lot of the things she said were just retconned a whole season later.
Do you guys feel there could have been a way to end her character arc without becoming pregnant?
Connor
He played a huge role in both seasons 3 &4 from infancy to the teenage years. I don't think I really need to say much about his character, but It seems like the writers wrote him into a corner & didn't have much use for him as a child or teenager. A lot of Connor's story arc in relationship to Angel seemed to be about responsibility.
Do you think Angel was the type of show that could introduce a kid/teenager or was it out of place?
Also I mentioned before responsibility seemed to be an aspect of Angel & Connor's relationship. Do you think this theme could have been explored with out a child & if so how? If you don't think it could be explored what other themes do you think season 3 could have explored without a child/teenager in the mix
Cordelia's character development/Cordy the big bad
Cordelia's development from the start of season 3 onward is a big deal & kind of a mixed bag especially when it comes to season 4, but I'll start at season 3. In season 3 her visions are getting worse & she becomes half demon, but not much is done with that & at the end of the season she's moved to a higher plane & then brought back down to be the big bad for season 4. There are a few things I take issue with in regards to this & the first is her becoming half demon & from that two more issues stem from it.
1 Doyle was half demon & the visions still hurt him so why would Cordelia becoming demon be any different?
2 She was sent to a higher plane by the end of the season & returned with no powers at the beginning of the so concept really didn't get much use from its introduction so why was it even used to begin with?
This leads into season 4 & regardless of whether or not Charisma got pregnant she was salted to be the big bad for that season. I always thought it was an interesting idea even with the pregnancy, but didn't really make much sense because Cordelia didn't really have a reason to become evil.
I'm not sure how true this is, but I've read that it was rumored the reason Cordelia would become evil had to do with her half demon side corrupting her. Its an interesting idea & seems fair enough especially considering Skip told her there would be side effects & we saw none for the whole time she had the powers
There were a lot of ideas in her character arc, but from season 3 onward how would you structure it from season to season?
Should have became half demon or should there have been an alternative way to get rid of the pain from the visions?
Should Cordelia have eve been an option for season 4's big bad?
Cangel's relationship
Another part of Cordelia's character exploration over these two seasons was a brief romantic interest in Angel. This was an odd relationship in my opinion & it also seemed very forced. There's always been feelings there between the two, but their relationship always seemed similar to Buffy & Xander where they were really close friends so when the writers tried to push the idea of a romance it seemed out of place.
In addition to forcing them together it also seems like they forced conflict between them by introducing Groo to create a love triangle. After the forbidden love with Buffy & the self destructive relationship with Darla I don't think it was necessary for Angel to have a love interest.
Did you like the idea this relationship or did it seem forced?
Pregnant Darla
I'll start here because this is the first big thing that happened in season 3. A mystical vampire pregnancy is definitely different, but the problem is that it almost feels like the writers came up with it and dint know how to justify it. Sure Jasmine said it was a result of the trails, but a lot of the things she said were just retconned a whole season later.
Do you guys feel there could have been a way to end her character arc without becoming pregnant?
Connor
He played a huge role in both seasons 3 &4 from infancy to the teenage years. I don't think I really need to say much about his character, but It seems like the writers wrote him into a corner & didn't have much use for him as a child or teenager. A lot of Connor's story arc in relationship to Angel seemed to be about responsibility.
Do you think Angel was the type of show that could introduce a kid/teenager or was it out of place?
Also I mentioned before responsibility seemed to be an aspect of Angel & Connor's relationship. Do you think this theme could have been explored with out a child & if so how? If you don't think it could be explored what other themes do you think season 3 could have explored without a child/teenager in the mix
Cordelia's character development/Cordy the big bad
Cordelia's development from the start of season 3 onward is a big deal & kind of a mixed bag especially when it comes to season 4, but I'll start at season 3. In season 3 her visions are getting worse & she becomes half demon, but not much is done with that & at the end of the season she's moved to a higher plane & then brought back down to be the big bad for season 4. There are a few things I take issue with in regards to this & the first is her becoming half demon & from that two more issues stem from it.
1 Doyle was half demon & the visions still hurt him so why would Cordelia becoming demon be any different?
2 She was sent to a higher plane by the end of the season & returned with no powers at the beginning of the so concept really didn't get much use from its introduction so why was it even used to begin with?
This leads into season 4 & regardless of whether or not Charisma got pregnant she was salted to be the big bad for that season. I always thought it was an interesting idea even with the pregnancy, but didn't really make much sense because Cordelia didn't really have a reason to become evil.
I'm not sure how true this is, but I've read that it was rumored the reason Cordelia would become evil had to do with her half demon side corrupting her. Its an interesting idea & seems fair enough especially considering Skip told her there would be side effects & we saw none for the whole time she had the powers
There were a lot of ideas in her character arc, but from season 3 onward how would you structure it from season to season?
Should have became half demon or should there have been an alternative way to get rid of the pain from the visions?
Should Cordelia have eve been an option for season 4's big bad?
Cangel's relationship
Another part of Cordelia's character exploration over these two seasons was a brief romantic interest in Angel. This was an odd relationship in my opinion & it also seemed very forced. There's always been feelings there between the two, but their relationship always seemed similar to Buffy & Xander where they were really close friends so when the writers tried to push the idea of a romance it seemed out of place.
In addition to forcing them together it also seems like they forced conflict between them by introducing Groo to create a love triangle. After the forbidden love with Buffy & the self destructive relationship with Darla I don't think it was necessary for Angel to have a love interest.
Did you like the idea this relationship or did it seem forced?
Aimee
Yes to much of this. Also, I think Cordy & Angel made good friends but I just didn't buy them as a couple