Rapid aging Connor, a mistake?

[CordelliasHeart]

I am in no sense calling it an ex Deus machina, solely, because yes, Rapid aging in a Hell Dimension ins a preexisting aspect of the franchise.

Nevertheless, It seems to me something that was done because they could only come up with so many plots to do wiht a child charachter., more then anything else.

 

[Dazza]

I was thrilled when they rapidly aged him. When they first made it clear a baby was on the way I was like "what the hell!" because I was dreading having a baby on the show for multiple seasons, and I couldn't imagine how the writers would make it work. If the baby aged at a regular rate it would have been a drag. I imagine that's part of why they did it.

 

[fredthe3rd]

I'd have thought they had the whole storyline planned from the start of the season (or even the previous season when they brought darla back). I don't think they'd have made darla pregnant if they hadn't thought up the holtz storyline.

I always thought they could have done more with Connor. Yes they made him stronger than other people but having a child of two vampires could have been taken in all sorts of interesting directions.

 

[white avenger]

Rapidly aging Connor in some way was just about the only viable way to integrate the character into the story line of the show. Working an infant into a show like "Angel" would just take too much time away from the primary "mission" of the show, action, to have worked. "Angel" isn't a family show like "Father Knows Best," or "The Bill Cosby Show," and there was simply no place for an infant in its story line on any sort of long term basis. The baby had toj be eliminated in some fashion, and I would rather see it done this way than killing him off in some manner.

 

[Taake]

While I'm generally a big disliker of the 'rapidly aging' thing that happens to a lot of kids on a lot of shows the excelerated aging of Connor is actually something I'm on board with. While it was cute to have an infant around for a few episodes it's too hard to make it work long-term on a show like Angel and it was far more interesting to see Angel interact with and have a troubled relationship to his teenage son rather than him being an adorable doting father (which was cute but much like happy couples in TV-land it doesn't make for the most interesting stories...)

Also I love Connor.

 

[HisMrs]

Rapidly aging Connor in some way was just about the only viable way to integrate the character into the story line of the show. Working an infant into a show like "Angel" would just take too much time away from the primary "mission" of the show, action, to have worked. "Angel" isn't a family show like "Father Knows Best," or "The Bill Cosby Show," and there was simply no place for an infant in its story line on any sort of long term basis. The baby had toj be eliminated in some fashion, and I would rather see it done this way than killing him off in some manner.

Agree. Although I absolutely hated Connor after he came back. I understood it was necessary to move the plot forward the way it needed to be. I just wish Connor hang been such a bratty butthole.

 

[Cali1079]

I think rapidly aging Connor was a good idea. Not only was he a lot more appealing to fans but there was a chance for him to have a story of his own.

 

[Xin Rong]

I didn't like it, because it was so obviously gonna happen, just like Chris and Wyatt in Charmed were to a lesser degree. However, I do think it was a necessary evil in order for his story to be successfully told, the alternative would have been a baby weighing the gang down until the shows end, Connor being born as an adult like Jasmine, or time travel which doesn't seem appropriate for angel.

 

[Buffyverse Fan]

I always thought they could have done more with Connor. Yes they made him stronger than other people but having a child of two vampires could have been taken in all sorts of interesting directions.

I still hold out hope they'll expound on Connor in the ongoing series. I didn't like AS3/4 Connor at all, but all of his later appearances I found great

 

[Buffy Summers]

I still think that Connor should have turned out to be Billy when he became an adult

 

[nightshade]

I can understand why they did it, as having a baby on Angel really wouldn't have worked long term, but think that a baby Connor being killed storyline would have a bigger impact than rapid ageing in a hell dimension. Connor being killed off while more obvious would have tied the season up better and allowed the team to bond together again, also setting up a different reason for them to go up against W&H.

 

[Mr Trick]

It was a mistake because it made him more annoying

 

[Kana]

Yeah, I liked it. I'm one of those weird people who actually liked teenage Connor, but I actually liked him best in the last few episodes of Season 3 of Ats.

 

[thetopher]

Shows like 'Angel' are all about character interaction, and there's only so much drama that can be wrung out of Angel baby-talking and changing diapers.

Angel needed a son that could talk back for it to be interesting, so yeah I think it needed to happen. In fact as soon as Holtz jumped through that portal I figured that that's the way it was headed.

 

[VisionBoy]

When I think about supernatural shows, most of them had a way of either getting them out of the picture after so long or finding a way for them to interact with the other characters.

I remember one of the most blatant was My Hero, when their baby turned out to be a talking super baby. Damn, some of the stuff I used to watch

But other shows did similar things:
Being Human had one season with the baby being a main part of the story. They flashed forward to her future adult self throughout and ended the season killing her off.
Charmed also brought in future versions of the kids and did a season arc centered around time travel/alternate dimensions right after the baby was introduced.
Could even count Dawn really. Bring in a child for Buffy to look after, but have a reason for her to be a teenager right away.
A few other shows I can think of did time jumps between seasons so the kids were old enough to play a role (Ghost Whisperer for example)

So yeah, I can totally understood why they did it in AtS. Baby stuff just wouldn't fit into the series long term in my opinion.

 

[Fuffy Baith]

I'm fine with Connor coming back as a teenager, it's what they do with him in S4 especially that I don't agree with. But yea they couldn't just keep a baby around for the rest of the show. Angel lives a dangerous life and that is no environment for a baby. I do feel really bad for Angel though not being able to see his son grow up.

A few other shows I can think of did time jumps between seasons so the kids were old enough to play a role (Ghost Whisperer for example)

They did that with Desperate Housewives and at first I was so confused because I wasn't paying attention to the show.

 

[AnthonyCordova]

I agree with everyone else, it had to be done. I like Connor a lot too, even S4. Or, I should say, I like him in the sense that I find what he adds to the show during his time as interesting.

 

[KatPratt]

I have mixed feeling about Connor being aged to be honest. On the one hand, I get that it was an action show (a dark one at that) and that having a baby around would have slowed down the action and screwed with the flow of the story but I really was always left wondering what Connor would have been like had he raised by Angel and the gang, what kind of father Angel would have been had not been dealing with a kid who hated him, what relationship would he have had to the others that kind of thing. That being said I understand it wasn't really practical and Angel being as dark as it was, making Connor hate Angel was another facet of that. I did like the closure we got for his storyline in season 5 that was cool. I'll always wounder about what could have been though.

 

[bespangeled]

I would have loved to see him come back as an evil preteen. Because having Connor old enough to live on his own makes things easier. But what do you do with an evil child? Chain him up? Dope him up? Do spells?

And it would make the season 4 scene that we all loathe disappear. Or make it funny as hell....

 

[Anyanka Bunny Slayer]

It was a mistake because it made him more annoying

And amazingly enough, he managed to give Dawn a run for her money in the "sulking teen" department.