Redemption..They All Went Through It Right?

[CharmedSlayer85]

A lot of things dealing with Buffy and Angel is this whole concept of redemption and returning back from a dark place and that of course was an overarching theme on Angel and even Buffy in the case of Willow and eventually Faith. However it seems to me the ONLY character that didn't seem to have to seek redemption or some type of guilt trip or apologizing for anything was Anya. I mean she's the oldest character that's ever been in Buffy's camp and one of the oldest characters they've shown in the series and yet despite all the murder and chaos she commited as a demon it seems like she's the only one that didn't really care about it when she became human. I mean even during here transition to human life and even well up until she became a demon again she would always talk about her demonic past and the curses she commited and would brag about it like it was the greatest thing ever. I mean yeah she went through her phase in "Selfless," but it's like the very next episode it was as if none of it ever happened, except for the reminder with D'Hoffryn sending people to kill her. I mean of course she shouldn't feel guillty for "Selfless," cause those people were brought back to life, but I mean Anyanka has murdered more people than Spike and Angel combined but yet they fight harder to redeem themselves.

 

[VisionGuy]

Well Anya did choose to become a demon in the first place. She knew what she signed up for and that she would be wreaking havoc on unfaithful men. Angel and Spike on the other hand, were made demons against their will. The fact that some demon wearing their face went around killing everybody made them feel responsible so they sought redemption.

 

[Lyri]

Anya was cursing men before she became a Vengence demon, it was the reason D'Hoffryn decided to make her a Vengence demon in the first place, her power called to him. so it makes sense that she wouldn't really feel guilty, because she did enough things as human, with her soul intact.
and during 'The Wish' all that happened to Anya was that she had her powers removed. she was forced to live as a human child. there was no mention about having her soul restored or anything, she just sorta latched on with the people she thought she could fit in with the best...the people who dealt with the things she used to cause. and the fact that she was attacted to Xander, yeah.
but that brings up another question...does Anya have a soul? was her soul removed when she became a demon? hmm...*ponders*

 

[Black Eye Guy]

I posted a thread on this a while ago, I thought Vengence demons where an intresting demon, because it seems like they still have their soul, but are vengfull for what happened to them!

Did Anya actually comit that many murders as a demon? we know she just kinda messed with people, turning them into snakes, boils that kinda thing, I know she did some killing. But Venence doesn't usually mean death cuz thats not as much fun vengefully speaking!

But in Selfless we see anya feel bad for killing the frat boys, so it does seem like she had a soul at the time of being a demon.
Maybe the reason she doesn't feel bad is in the title of what she is a Vengence demon, She believes that the people deserved what they got!

 

[definition of insane]

I think it's quite possible that Anya had a soul during her first stint as a vengence demon, seeing as a soul doesn't necessarily make you feel guilty if you do bad things. When she was first turned into a demon she may have felt remorse she possibly just fled so after a thousand years of maiming and taking off so that you didn't have to deal with the consequences...that's a long time to develop a habit.

When she tries to get Xander to come with her in Graduation, you can see that the type of thing she's used to, but being human limits your ability to just take off at the first sign of danger (as opposed to teleporting). Do we actually know if she did make a run for it or just hid out? Then she's learning all these new aspects of humanity that she hasn't had to deal with for a really long time and by the time she's back to being a vengence demon, she knows that it's wrong but she thinks it's the only way she'll feel better.

And then we have this in End of Days:

ANYA: Well, I guess I was kinda new to being around humans before. But now I've seen a lot more, gotten to know people, seen what they're capable of and"¦ I guess I just realized how amazingly screwed up they all are. I mean, really, really screwed up in a monumental fashion.
ANDREW: Oh.
ANYA: And they have no purpose that unites them so they just drift around blundering through life until they die"¦ which they know is coming yet every single one of them is surprised when it happens to them. They're incapable of
thinking about what they want beyond the moment. They kill each other, hich is clearly insane"¦ and yet here's the thing. When it's something that really matters, they fight. I mean, they're lame morons for fighting but they do. They never"¦ they never quit. So I guess I will keep fighting, too.

I think that in itself is some sort of redemption. Like Anya has finally realised what it means to be human and to not back down.

That's just my horribly explained theory anyway.

 

[Xin Rong]

Then again if you think about it their are plenty of people out there without any demon who can do horrible things and not feel any guilt or reorse

 

[Your Creamy Coolness]

I think it's quite possible that Anya had a soul during her first stint as a vengence demon, seeing as a soul doesn't necessarily make you feel guilty if you do bad things. When she was first turned into a demon she may have felt remorse she possibly just fled so after a thousand years of maiming and taking off so that you didn't have to deal with the consequences...that's a long time to develop a habit.

When she tries to get Xander to come with her in Graduation, you can see that the type of thing she's used to, but being human limits your ability to just take off at the first sign of danger (as opposed to teleporting). Do we actually know if she did make a run for it or just hid out? Then she's learning all these new aspects of humanity that she hasn't had to deal with for a really long time and by the time she's back to being a vengence demon, she knows that it's wrong but she thinks it's the only way she'll feel better.

And then we have this in End of Days:


I think that in itself is some sort of redemption. Like Anya has finally realised what it means to be human and to not back down.

That's just my horribly explained theory anyway.

I was gonna say the same thing and also add that her death was sort of redepmtion too.

 

[Panda]

Did Anya actually comit that many murders as a demon? we know she just kinda messed with people, turning them into snakes, boils that kinda thing, I know she did some killing. But Venence doesn't usually mean death cuz thats not as much fun demon, She believes that the people deserved what they got!

didn't halfrek say somethings to anya about their war stories/memories how anya had come up with the best vengence events and most gory kills? not to mention how many died as a result of her wish granting abilities (i.e. xander, willow, cordelia, and even buffy in 'the wish').. i guess murders by her own hand wouldn't have been that many but setting another line of events in motion would have affected hundreds of lives most likely.

 

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

Did Anya actually comit that many murders as a demon? we know she just kinda messed with people, turning them into snakes, boils that kinda thing, I know she did some killing. But Venence doesn't usually mean death cuz thats not as much fun vengefully speaking!\

if she wanted to torture them for the vengeance and vengeance fun though, then she would have come up with something really torturous to do to them. she could have done other horrible kinds of torture, that sum up the saying, "a fate worse than death", and if it is indeed "worse than death" for the victims, then she still should need to redeem herself, just like she would for killing people. in addition, there is what panda said about halfrek saying anya was the best at taking vengeance, or whatever that was, and the fact that people could have died as a side effect of her wishes, by her hand but indirectly. look at 'beneath you', for example. the guy who had been turned into a worm-like demon could have killed nancy, and he could have died from spike driving a rebar through him.

as far as her redemption itself, i think there is merit to what DOI said.

EDIT:
here's what hallie said, from the episode 'lessons', which i think is what panda meant:

HALFREK: You were the single most hard-core vengeance demon on the roster and everybody knew it. Do I have to mention Mrs. Cholgosh?

then later, she says:

HALFREK: No deaths, no eviscerations. You’re not goading women into anything inventive and you’re not delivering when it is.

mentioning deaths implies anya had killed a lot of people when she was first a vengeance demon.