Would ATS be better if it started with Wolfram & Hart Acquisition?

[WillowsFaith]

Season 5 is a beloved season for Blending Comedy & Supernatural Storytelling better then previous seasons. Taking over Wolfram & Hart made the show feel bigger and more effective for Team Angel. Do you think the entire Show would have worked better if this plot point happen earlier In it’s Run? Regardless of continuity, Spike, and Cordelia Plot that would alter. I think W&H gave more for Gunn, Fred and Lorne to do overall. S5 also nails the Mature tones, while still being wildly entertaining. Do you feel the overall show would have been more interesting if Angel acquired Wolfram & Hart in season 3 or earlier?

 

[Stake fodder]

I really liked S5, too. But I'm not sure the tension of the evil firm vs. good guys could have been sustained for several seasons. I agree, though, that everyone having their own, specific job was helpful to highlighting and delineating characters, and they could have done a lot more with that if they'd had more time.

 

[thrasherpix]

I recall a conversation some time ago about how W&H under Angel could've become the demon version of Babylon 5...which would not appeal to all (but seems like a more useful plan than what Angel came up with at the end of s5), though I personally would love to see the lore explored more (many of the techno-magical eps of B5 could be adapted for a show like this, especially when souls can be snatched from the ether).

And Angel would find his efforts to broker a peaceful coexistence without predation sabotaged by BOTH the Higher Powers AND the Senior Partners (and the zealot agents and soldiers of both), though as a figure of prophecy (and as part of the eternal petty game between the Powers) neither would strike at him directly (as long as he didn't strike at them), which would be similar to the war between the Vorlons and the Shadows (and their devoted servants) in Babylon 5 (and also the aftermath if Angel managed to bar both sides from overt interference, as the Vorlons and Shadows were forced to quit the field to leave it to the younger species to find their own way and balance, some of the former servants of Shadow attempting to become the new Shadows and such).

 

[Plasma]

The acquisition feels impactful because you’ve had four seasons of getting to know these people and the tangled webs that they have woven.

I don’t think it would have been a good idea to do it before S5. S3 in particular would have been a bit of an odd choice, considering that Angel had started to go down that path but rebounded during S2. Maybe have it be a plot point during S2, where he is getting so dark that W&H invite him to join them, but not a full blown structural decision.

 

[fauxindigo]

I don't think so. It was perfect having W&H in the background as an overarching enemy from season 1 leading all the way up to the season 5 acquisition; it makes it so much more impactful. The only thing I would've liked to see was where Cordelia would have fit in in the acquisition. I like to think that she wouldn't have accepted the offer and so it wasn't meant to be that she was alive/conscious at this time to make that choice (but who knows bc she did accept/choose to become part demon in order to keep the visions). I like how it worked out though that she avoided it all and came in for one great episode in season 5 to turn the metaphorical mirror on Angel and make him realize how crazy they were to accept W&H's offer.

 

[AlphaFoxtrot]

No. Season 5 happened because Season 4 failed, at least as far as the network was concerned. Clearly, Season 2,3 & 4 were the series the creators wanted to do, but after Buffy left the air, and Firefly was cancelled, they didn't have leverage to negotiate. I like Season 5, I feel it breath new life into the show, and it kinda of got back to basics, how does a young adult retain their youthful idealism while climbing the corporate ladder? But, it wasn't a place the creators wanted to go.