passions1989
Townie
- Joined
- Jan 15, 2009
- Messages
- 35
- Age
- 36
Okay I'm aware that there already is a thread regarding the episode eternity (opened by none other than me) but this topic is a little different since it has nothing to do with David's acting skills as Angelus but rather about the whole concept of the happy-pill.
One of the things that I have frequently noticed in many reviews of this particular episode is that almost every fan seems to assume that angel had "lost" his soul in this episode. But this is where I will have to disagree because there is lots of evidence in this episode pointing to the contrary: that Angel NEVER lost his soul.
First of all if angel did indeed loose his soul due to the happy pill, then don't you think that Cordy and Wesley would have needed to do a soul-restoration spell (either on their own by calling in a shaman or by calling Willow to do it) to bring back Angel's soul? So since Angel went back to being normal within a few hours without the help of a soul-restoration spell, its seems to me to be quiet obvious that the soul never left his body in the first place.
Second of all, I remember Wesley having a conversation with Cordelia about what kind of circumstances could lead to Angel experiencing perfect bliss in order to cause him to loose his soul. Whats so curious about the script is that this scene (where Wesley is having this conversation with Cordelia) takes place exactly few scenes before Angel and Rebecca have their drinks and Rebecca slips in the happy pill. To quote Wesley: "Angel's moment of true happiness occurred because he was with Buffy. You realize how rare that is "“ true happiness? - And what are the odds he's find that with an actress." True happiness, real happiness is pure. It has a purity to it that cannot be imitated by drugs. Hence it cannot be found in drugs. And Wesley is absolutely right when he says that it was not that Angel had sex with Buffy that he went evil, but being with Buffy, just being around her, spending time with her, loving her, and most importantly being loved back in return was something that Angel has never experienced before. We know that as a human, Liam never had any real loving relationship with another woman, considering the fact that he was a womanizer. All the relationships he's had back then were purely sexual and there was no real love or true love to any of the relationships. And of course after he reverted to Angelus, we can all say with absolute certainty that Angelus and Darla never loved each other. This too was a sexual relationship (that too, a very dark and twisted one) between two individuals who shared a lot of evilness in
common. Basically the demonic version of what it means to be
'soulmates'. And after he got his soul back he lived in isolation from humans for at least a hundred years before he finally met Buffy and decided to start helping her. So all that 100 odd years of loneliness, guilt, pain and coupled with the fact that he has never truly loved or been loved in return, in other words, he has never experienced true love were all slowly disappearing once he met Buffy and started working with her and falling in love with her. Real love and real happiness are inter-connected and have something in common and that is purity. Angel was already 'happy' being around Buffy. Having sex with Buffy was like fuel being added to a fire that was already burning (so to speak). My point is that angel lost his soul not because he had sex with ANY woman, but because he was having sex with the woman he loved AND who loved him unconditionally in return. That was the breaking point.
Which leads me to my third point: my second point is supported by evidence from the season 4 episode 'Awakening' regarding the importance of circumstances and how they play a vital role in causing Angel to loose his soul. Angel didn't loose his soul in 'Awakening' because he had sex with Cordy, but it happened because of circumstances. You guys need to re-watch the episode to know what I'm talking about. If you re-watch the episode you will notice that everything that Angel ever really wanted takes place in that episode. Cordelia breaking up with Connor, apologizing for her behavior to
Angel and asking his forgiveness, Wesley apologizing for the very first time to Angel about his kidnapping Connor, to Connor returning his love and respect to Angel for the very first time and apologizing to Angel for his bad behavior, and finally Angel saving the world and bringing back the sunlight. Angel having sex with Cordelia (the woman he truly loved and who loved him in return) to wrap up the day in the end was like adding fuel to fire here, considering the fact that Angel was already 'happy' before the scene took place, due to circumstances and the manner in which it was played out.
So when you put all these points together, I think it is quiet obvious that Angel never lost his soul during the last 10-15 minutes of 'Eternity'. A mere drug cannot bring on such a huge event.
And when you take into consideration most of the events that take place in season 2, Angel never really needs to loose his soul in order to go back to being evil. I think the soul functions more as nagging feeling in your gut rather than leash/dog-collar (sorry but I couldn't come up with a better metaphor). It is entirely unto the individual whether he/she wants to choose to listen and obey that nagging voice or choose to continue on with his/her own evil ways. The key word here is "choice" You can choose to be evil or you can choose to live your life according to your conscience.
Anyway I just sort of wanted to clear this up, since I have noticed that this whole Angel-really-lost-his-soul-in-Eternity-myth seems to still be a very popular myth among us angel-fans. And I wanted to see what all of your thoughts were on the whole subject.
One of the things that I have frequently noticed in many reviews of this particular episode is that almost every fan seems to assume that angel had "lost" his soul in this episode. But this is where I will have to disagree because there is lots of evidence in this episode pointing to the contrary: that Angel NEVER lost his soul.
First of all if angel did indeed loose his soul due to the happy pill, then don't you think that Cordy and Wesley would have needed to do a soul-restoration spell (either on their own by calling in a shaman or by calling Willow to do it) to bring back Angel's soul? So since Angel went back to being normal within a few hours without the help of a soul-restoration spell, its seems to me to be quiet obvious that the soul never left his body in the first place.
Second of all, I remember Wesley having a conversation with Cordelia about what kind of circumstances could lead to Angel experiencing perfect bliss in order to cause him to loose his soul. Whats so curious about the script is that this scene (where Wesley is having this conversation with Cordelia) takes place exactly few scenes before Angel and Rebecca have their drinks and Rebecca slips in the happy pill. To quote Wesley: "Angel's moment of true happiness occurred because he was with Buffy. You realize how rare that is "“ true happiness? - And what are the odds he's find that with an actress." True happiness, real happiness is pure. It has a purity to it that cannot be imitated by drugs. Hence it cannot be found in drugs. And Wesley is absolutely right when he says that it was not that Angel had sex with Buffy that he went evil, but being with Buffy, just being around her, spending time with her, loving her, and most importantly being loved back in return was something that Angel has never experienced before. We know that as a human, Liam never had any real loving relationship with another woman, considering the fact that he was a womanizer. All the relationships he's had back then were purely sexual and there was no real love or true love to any of the relationships. And of course after he reverted to Angelus, we can all say with absolute certainty that Angelus and Darla never loved each other. This too was a sexual relationship (that too, a very dark and twisted one) between two individuals who shared a lot of evilness in
common. Basically the demonic version of what it means to be
'soulmates'. And after he got his soul back he lived in isolation from humans for at least a hundred years before he finally met Buffy and decided to start helping her. So all that 100 odd years of loneliness, guilt, pain and coupled with the fact that he has never truly loved or been loved in return, in other words, he has never experienced true love were all slowly disappearing once he met Buffy and started working with her and falling in love with her. Real love and real happiness are inter-connected and have something in common and that is purity. Angel was already 'happy' being around Buffy. Having sex with Buffy was like fuel being added to a fire that was already burning (so to speak). My point is that angel lost his soul not because he had sex with ANY woman, but because he was having sex with the woman he loved AND who loved him unconditionally in return. That was the breaking point.
Which leads me to my third point: my second point is supported by evidence from the season 4 episode 'Awakening' regarding the importance of circumstances and how they play a vital role in causing Angel to loose his soul. Angel didn't loose his soul in 'Awakening' because he had sex with Cordy, but it happened because of circumstances. You guys need to re-watch the episode to know what I'm talking about. If you re-watch the episode you will notice that everything that Angel ever really wanted takes place in that episode. Cordelia breaking up with Connor, apologizing for her behavior to
Angel and asking his forgiveness, Wesley apologizing for the very first time to Angel about his kidnapping Connor, to Connor returning his love and respect to Angel for the very first time and apologizing to Angel for his bad behavior, and finally Angel saving the world and bringing back the sunlight. Angel having sex with Cordelia (the woman he truly loved and who loved him in return) to wrap up the day in the end was like adding fuel to fire here, considering the fact that Angel was already 'happy' before the scene took place, due to circumstances and the manner in which it was played out.
So when you put all these points together, I think it is quiet obvious that Angel never lost his soul during the last 10-15 minutes of 'Eternity'. A mere drug cannot bring on such a huge event.
And when you take into consideration most of the events that take place in season 2, Angel never really needs to loose his soul in order to go back to being evil. I think the soul functions more as nagging feeling in your gut rather than leash/dog-collar (sorry but I couldn't come up with a better metaphor). It is entirely unto the individual whether he/she wants to choose to listen and obey that nagging voice or choose to continue on with his/her own evil ways. The key word here is "choice" You can choose to be evil or you can choose to live your life according to your conscience.
Anyway I just sort of wanted to clear this up, since I have noticed that this whole Angel-really-lost-his-soul-in-Eternity-myth seems to still be a very popular myth among us angel-fans. And I wanted to see what all of your thoughts were on the whole subject.
