Not Fade Away: Did You Like It?

I thought it was absolutely brilliant. SUCH a departure from the way he ended Buffy. A perfect middle finger to the powers that be that cancelled the series as well as a totally different approach to the message in both Buffy and Angel.

The ending of Buffy was about hope. She never asked to be the slayer...it was something that was forced upon her when she was, effectively an innocent. Her story was about recognizing her destiny, but also about giving her back the life she had lost through being a slayer. By having all the potentials realize their destiny, Buffy was able to finally rest. That last shot of the gang standing outsides the ruins of Sunnydale was just brilliant.

In contrast, Angel's journey was about redemption. He had done a lot of evil in his life, and through his own choice decided that he needed to right those wrongs. It's because of this that he had to not only give up the possibility of a "reward" at the end of it all, but also recognize that there was no "end" to it all. There was no point where he could lay down and rest. He had to keep fighting in order to redeem himself. They all did. Not Fade Away was about realizing them, looking death right in the face and saying

"Personally, I want to slay the dragon".

I don't think Joss could have done it any other way.
 
I really adore this ending. Just the fact that it's a kind of death mission but that they're all heros... There's sadness, happiness, humor, and triumph. I always get tingles when the remaining cast members are standing outside in the rain preparing to take on the army. I think every bit of it was brilliant (though I do agree that Lindsey's "last day" scene could have been different) and I couldn't have asked for a better ending. You know that they're all fighting and they really have made legends of themselves if only for a few moments.
 
laianna said:
I really adore this ending. Just the fact that it's a kind of death mission but that they're all heros... There's sadness, happiness, humor, and triumph. I always get tingles when the remaining cast members are standing outside in the rain preparing to take on the army. I think every bit of it was brilliant (though I do agree that Lindsey's "last day" scene could have been different) and I couldn't have asked for a better ending. You know that they're all fighting and they really have made legends of themselves if only for a few moments.
Click to expand...

I agree and really enjoyed this episode because of some kind of uncertainty not as it was in Buffy's 7th season - they just face the evil ones and we can only guess what will happen next
 
The whole episode was pure genius.
Right up untill the end,that was Einstein stuff,pure brains.
I didn't want to see the end,it was more powerful as it was.
Theres no way they got outta that one,or they shouldn't have anyway,there was too many of them.
They knew that it was a one way journey.
Haven't seen the comics so dont know what happened at the end(S8)
Willow could have done a spell and wiped them all out!
 
Loved NFA. It's 'never surrender' and, don't remember who said it but, Angel finally is fighting against the wall, fists and fangs, in pure Spike's style.
 
I love how not everything is resolved. The heroes have the upper hand for the most part, they only lost one person. It's good they got to kill everyone they wanted to. I wish we could have gotten to see the Senior Partners. Or the aftermath of the fight of the alley. My favorite quote is probably Spike saying, "You're supposed to wear that red stuff on the inside."
In lieu of all they were about to face, his quirky attitude still pulls through. I'm more than sure that the huge giant thing would have squished them. But the part that gets me most about the ending is how Angel is able to say something and not even two seconds later, he swings and hits something. I'm pretty sure if whatever he hit was that close, it would have tried to strike first.
 
As Joss said, The Fight against evil was never going to end, therefore it was impossible to have a happy ending.

Might as well go out fighting.

Or you can look at it as Chrisitian Kane did. I heard him in an interview on a podcast where he said that the network realized what a mistake they made after they cancelled Angel, but Joss did not want them trying to do a remake or revive it with new actors or anything dumb like that, so Joss said "WE'RE KILLING ALL OF YOU!"
 
I didn't like it. Don't get me wrong, I can see reasons for why people did, and the Fred/Illyria/Wesley stuff was awesome. But the whole ending of the series, not just this episode, seemed rushed. I hated that they introduced things throughout the season, then either never did anything with them (like the tats Lindsay used to hide from the Sr Partners - that had so much potential!), or them introducing Illyria, then weakening her down. Why not just leave her powerful, and use her to fight the Sr. Partners? I hated the way that after 5 years, we just get "well, the Sr Partners are too powerful, so let's take out their earthly minions, who btw just happen to be a bunch of random clowns introduced throughout the season and never had anything to tie them together until just right now, when we decided to make them this secret organization representing the Sr. Partners," type of thing. It was rushed, and unsatisfying.

There are many ways they could have fought the Sr. Partners and made it believable. And even if Team Angel had beaten them, there still would have been other evils to fight. The battle against evil would continue, just this one evil would be defeated. But after 5 years of Angel vs Wolfram and Hart, I wanted to see SOMETHING happen there, not him and his friends taking out a bunch of 1-shot villains who didn't really mean anything to me because they hadn't been important until just then.

I think season 5 as a whole was a letdown for me. It had a lot of great episodes, but still somehow came up flat. It even had a lot of great ideas and themes - I love the IDEA of Angel trying to fight the darkness from within, and using their own resources against them, only to discover that the darkness just uses him instead. Its a great concept. But poorly implemented. If Angel would have known about the Circle much sooner, and been infiltrating it for a lot longer, then maybe. But basically 1 episode he suddenly starts "going bad" and at the end of that episode we find out its an act, and then the next episode the show ends. This needed to be done over half the season or so. Look at s2 for example, when Angel starts "going bad", hooks up with Darla, fires the team, etc. It takes place over a series of episodes, and we can see his progression (regression?) step by step. It made it so much more powerful, and so much more real. This needed something along those lines.

Now I realize the shows ending was a surprise to the creators. But this season still ran its full length - it didn't end like 3 episodes early or anything like that. And though I'm certain they were forced to make changes, it just felt like they could have done so much more, and ended things so much better. As an episode, this was a really good one. But it isn't just one episode standing alone. Its the final one. It needed to have a sense of conclusion, one way or another. It needed to FINISH TELLING THE STORY that I'd been following for five years! Unlike Buffy, who had a different "big bad" every season, Angel really had just Wolfram and Hart. Yes, there were others, and there were distractions like Holt, Connor, the Beast, and Jasmine. But in the end, it was all about the firm, and the prophecy. Angel signs away the prophecy (seriously? Why would this even matter? If its foretold, its foretold.), and we're left w/o any conclusion for the firm. There was no resolution to anything.

Anyways, sorry for the rant, I just get bitter when I think about how this show ended. It was one of my favorites of all time (and Fred remains my favorite TV character of all time), but maybe that just adds to the bitterness. It could have ended so much better.
 
But that's the thing. The story never ends, because the fight will never end and the senior partners and wolfram and hart will never be defeated. They are just too big.

But I see where you are coming from. It would have been nice for a little more closure. I remember watching it for the first time and saying WTF? But after I really thought about it, I liked it. I think it's a kind of you either hate it or love it sort of thing.
 
I didn't like the end either the first time around but now I love the ending. Not so much the final episodes because they do seem rushed. Even though I get why and I like the idea behind them. But I love the final scene. To me it couldn't get much better than that even if the baddies running towards them just reminds me of LOTR and that I don't like (I do love the LOTR movies I just don't want to be thinking about them at that moment). But as for the concept I have nothing to complain about.
 
E
Emzzie
[No message]
I loved the ending of NFA. It felt like the more realistic and different way to end it. Especially compared to Chosen, where once again its Buffy, 'somehow', managing once again to beat a virtually invincible enemy once again. Same old. They got the concept right with Angel.
 
ok i just watched the last episode...wow i finished Angel...and i still can't believe it...one of the most amazing episodes of the series...
Angel's great plan,the heroic fight by the whole team,Connor's comeback to save his father,Illyria making an "emotional" connection and kicking ass!Wesley and Illyria/Fred's meeting and Spike kicking ass!Also Angel vs Hamilton...i was like"you go Angel boy!!!"
I was surprised when Lorne killed Linsday...Lindsay never saw that coming!!!
I see now why Buffy needn't be there for the season finale,this episode shows the purpose of Angel and his team...fight no matter what...fight even though you know you might die...but still you have done the good thing.But i still think they should have called the slayers for help...i mean hell breaks loose in L.A and they are 4 against what?thousands?
I have a bitter taste inside me...i want more!!!i know there is a comic but i would like to see another season on tv...it left me craving for more.

And also...the Shanshu prophecy!So it is proven that it is meant for Angel...he will play a big part in the Apocalypse and he will be human as a reward...so the black Thorn makes him sign because he in that way will never turn against them...so he doesn't need that reward?i just wanna see their way of thinking...
I was really sad when he signed,i could see his eyes.And then his talk with Harmony.He knows what a choice he made...what is your opionion on that matter?someone enlighten me please!
 
Eleftheria said:
And also...the Shanshu prophecy!So it is proven that it is meant for Angel...he will play a big part in the Apocalypse and he will be human as a reward...so the black Thorn makes him sign because he in that way will never turn against them...so he doesn't need that reward?i just wanna see their way of thinking...
I was really sad when he signed,i could see his eyes.And then his talk with Harmony.He knows what a choice he made...what is your opionion on that matter?someone enlighten me please!
Click to expand...

My thoughts are simple on this matter. The fact that he is willing to sign away the prophecy just proves that he deserves the reward in the first place.

What the outcome of the prophecy is in the end? My guess is as good of yours. I've not read the comics myself. Only read a few recaps.
 
I cried just like I always do. I hated it at first, but once I got my hands on the comics I got over it. I will say, however, that if the story was not continued in comic book form I would still be pissed today.
 
I just finished Angel today. When I finished I thought I might have missed putting an episode on my iPod! What!? That's the END!? I loved it though. It was really perfect, esp since I know at least Angel and Spike make it (thanks to the comics, which I haven't read but know about). Overall, season 5 was my favorite season. It was funnier, mostly because of Spike. And just more interesting, somehow.
 
I finally finished Angel tonight, and I liked the ending. I might say I even liked it more than the finale of Buffy (almost more anyway... or at least a close tie!)

The scene where Wesley died was beautiful -- I was sobbing when Illyria turned into Fred, especially when she started crying. I love that Illyria felt grief for him afterward.

I also liked how each character spent their "last day," especially Angel, Spike, and Wes.

The final scene was perfect. I wanted to hug everyone that made it when they met back at the alley. For some reason, seeing Gunn stumble into the alley in the rain made my heart swell (he isn't my favorite character by far, but whatever he said, something like "I knew the fang boys would make it!" was just so good.)
 
I was pissed that Wesley wasn't by Angel side at the end... But to be honest, when I saw them exchange a glance before they all split for their 'day' I felt it was gonna be the last time they see each others.

On the other hand, I didn't expect Lorne killing Lindsey AT ALL. It didn't like, make me go OMG in front of my screen, but it was really a surprise. I'm sure if there would have been a next season, Wesley and Lindsey wouldn't have died. There's no way you kill a character with so much potential as Lindsey. Talking about him, I thought the battle he had with Angel in 'You're welcome' was very underwhelming =( I expected something nasty to happen, but nah, it just ended all so quick.

Back to this episode. I had two reactions toward the ending... First I had no clue the episode was ending there. I knew that was the last episode, but I thought it would have, you know, a 'happy ending' or whatever. So when they finally meet up in the alley(which is awesomely well done and cool, I love how rain always fall during key moments in the series, like with Faith crying, Darla killing herself for Connor and i'm sure there was a few more i'm missing) it looked to me like there was gonna be some big crazy fight with Angel dieing to save Spike or Illyria in the end or something(kinda like how BtVS ended). But no, it just ENDED as Angel swing his sword. I felt speechless... both because the last 2-3 lines were totally awesome but also since I expected something bigger than that.

Afterwards I read about how the series came to end and i'm really sad I couldn't sign the petition and all that since I wasn't watching then =( That probably explains all the things that seemed a bit rushed near the end of the season, one of them being the Circle of the Black Thorn(I was like, wth, why would we care or be afraid of these peoples?).

In conclusion, I liked it(not as much as some episodes through out the series though). Particulary the scene with Angel having his last speech to his friends with Marcus not seeing any of it. That was really nice how they all lift their hands showing they believe in Angel. Too bad Cordy couldn't be there.

But yea, the alley scene, going back behind the Hyperion to end it all... awesome!
 
I loved the episode, but I hated the ending. In the Buffy ending, I felt inspired, empowered, hopeful, optimistic, happy, but sad it was over and wanting more all at the same time. But still, I could feel it was a closure. I felt complete. But with the Angel ending, I just feel empty. I just watched it a few minutes ago, and I still feel as though they stopped filming without an ending. It feels... incomplete. I still liked it overall though, and loved the Illyria and Wesley connection. They're pretty cute together. "The man who made her feel human." 😀
 
I hated the ending, but the scene were Wesley died was beautiful. I cried my eyes out. Though I agree with Zalos, I think Wesley should have been at Angel's side at the ending.
 
Man, I love it.
I'm so glad I decided to watch Angel.
Wesley dying was so sad. The ending was brilliant although I do understand the frustration with people.
It was the series finale and to most that don't know about the comics, that was it so it's frustrating not knowing how it ended.

I still LOVED it though, and I loved everything about season 5.
Awesome way to end the series.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom