Was it Joss' plan the whole time?

[Cohen]

I know he was planning on offing Doyle since the Pilot, it's even mentioned Glenn knew about it from the beginning. But was it also his plan the whole time to bring back Wesley? Did he know he wanted Wesley back at the end of Season 3 of BtVS? OR did the get to that point in the season and think "here's a good character that has some story to tell, let's move him to LA"?

 

[Cast No Shadow]

Are you looking for a conclusive answer or an opinion?
I think he knew from around S3 of BtVS that Wesley was a multi-faceted character that could bring a lot to a show like Angel. Character growth and development is Joss's forte, and he does it brilliantly with Wesley.

 

[Leeson]

I think Joss' comment that it was a decision made from the beginning is party line BS.

"I actually have more fun writing Wesley than I do Doyle," says Whedon of the character, who began life during season 3 of Buffy before finding his way into Angel's universe. "When Wesley came on, we were finding our legs. He was a part of that, and though he doesn't get much props for it, Alexis has made it alot of fun to write. Glenn Quinn's greatest talent was glowering, and we already had David Boreanaz doing that. It was a banjo act and a banjo act. When we brought Wesley in, the element was there that we needed. Plus, he's a hoot."

[Fury] confirmed what many suspected: The death of Doyle (Glenn Quinn) on "Buffy" spin-off "Angel" last season was not planned from the start of the series.

"Joss has bandied about, 'I love the idea of putting a character in the main credits as one of the stars of the show and then kill him right off the bat,'" Fury said. "But in the case of Doyle, he didn't want to kill off Doyle. It just became a situation. The work situation became difficult.... It's hard enough to make a television show without the headaches."

I personally really think Fury is telling the truth, here. I think that Glenn Quinn's problems weren't very convenient on set. I hate to speak ill of the dead, but we already know he had a drug problem.

As for Wesley, I really think that was a decision Joss made when he decided Doyle needed to be gone (which, I think was into the season a bit). I think he probably went through a few options and that he ended up with Wesley because the character had so much potential. Nothing needed to be awkwardly fit or retconned for Wesley to come in and grow as a character. I also think he liked giving Cordelia a more meaningful position in the group, because the character she started as probably would have ended up finding something different as an eventuality, and this way she added an integral piece to the team puzzle.

That said, I really would've loved to see a dynamic between Doyle and Wesley. Especially since, at first, Wesley still seemed to be a little (if ambiguously) sweet on Cordelia. It would have been nice to have some human drama. 🙁

 

[kndizzle]

In Joss' commentary of I Only Have Eyes For You (BtVS 2.19) he said that the moment when Buffy and Angel are possessed by the man and woman respectively was the moment he realized David could carry his own show. He was so convincing in a feminine role, he knew that David as an actor had much more depth he could explore, and that it might require his own show to achieve. From then on I think he also realized that Angel's story of redemption was going to go beyond Sunnydale.

 

[Hale Caesar]

There is conflicting stories. I heard that he did planned to kill Doyle from the beginning and bring him back in Season 4 to help fight evil Cordelia. Unless someone finds an interview or something, we will never know for sure

 

[Leeson]

There is conflicting stories. I heard that he did planned to kill Doyle from the beginning and bring him back in Season 4 to help fight evil Cordelia. Unless someone finds an interview or something, we will never know for sure

That's the problem: the interviews are conflicting. Everyone's given different lines about it. Joss has given several.