Question Your opinions of Not Fade Away as the Angel finale?

[Enemies]

Hi just wanting opinions about Not Fade Away as an ending to Angel. IMO I was a little disappointed that we didn't get to see a little bit of the fight before the credits rolled but I did enjoy the different circumstances the fang gang found themselves in.

Anyone else?

 

[Chosen Enemy]

Since the show's cancellation was sudden, they hurried up to wrap things up in a short period of time, and it shows. It was way rush and didn't do much. If they had more time, I'm sure it would have been better. They added things like Wesley's death, Connor, and things like that to add more effect. But it was a little messy IMO. Although, I like this episode. As a finale, it was a little rush, yeah.

 

[white avenger]

I hate cliffhangers, especially series finale cliffhangers. To me, they show nothing but the writers and producers' contempt for fans that have been loyal throughout the run of the series. There didn't have to be an ending where every little loose end was tied up in a neat package, though that would certainly be nice, but leaving the entire cast either dead or in imminent danger of becoming so, is most definitely NOT the last scene that we should see.

So, my opinion of "Not Fade Away" is, that an episode, it was good, but there should have been another hour in order to settle everything enough to at least leave some ray of hope for the future.

 

[Enemies]

yeah I felt disappointed by the cliffhanger too. I was just like: 'how am I supposed to know what happens now?' this was before I realised they did an Angel comic.

 

[white avenger]

yeah I felt disappointed by the cliffhanger too. I was just like: 'how am I supposed to know what happens now?' this was before I realised they did an Angel comic.

Well, as far as "After The Fall" was concerned, the explanation of how they survived the battle was almost as lame as saying that Angel had been in a coma ever since Spike beat him to the Cup Of Eternal Torment, and dreamed the whole thing. It was right up there with the way that Bobby Ewing returned to "Dallas" after being killed. His wife, Pam, dreamed the entire season. Or the finale of "St Elsewhere, where the entire SERIES was revealed as being just the imagination of an autistic child.

 

[Tammy]

I refuse to watch the last episode of Angel when i re-watch the series because it upsets me. I used to watch it and after sit there convincing myself it was okay and a good way to end the show lol. I havent read 'after the fall' so i don't really know what supposed to happen, i have flicked through the magazines and it all just seems a bit silly?
I think they had the potential to at least show a good chunk of a fight, the had a cool troll thing and a dragon and i think we deserved it.

 

[Aloverssoulz]

I refuse to watch the last episode of Angel when i re-watch the series because it upsets me. I used to watch it and after sit there convincing myself it was okay and a good way to end the show lol. I havent read 'after the fall' so i don't really know what supposed to happen, i have flicked through the magazines and it all just seems a bit silly?
I think they had the potential to at least show a good chunk of a fight, the had a cool troll thing and a dragon and i think we deserved it.

Everyone ends up A-OK so no need to be sad ^_^

 

[Goby]

I absolutely positively LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Not Fade Away. It's one of my favorite episodes of TV ever. It is my favorite episode of Angel, and one of my favorite episodes in the Buffyverse.


It is brilliant on so many levels, and I think the ending is perfect. Does it matter if they defeated the bad guys? Would they all have lived happily ever after? Does it matter if they died during the final fight? Unfortunately they are going to die someday while fighting evil.... does it really matter when?

 

[Zeppo]

I've followed many shows but never have I been as upset with a series finale as I was with this episode. They also chose to continue Buffy in some capacity, letting us know where she went and giving us small details about her life. Awesome, they got the message across they wanted to about fighting but totally threw away any closure to any of the players that forwarded the message. I like how the appocalypse was never shown and I think it's a brilliant season finale. I was - and am - upset. Cordelia and Wesley should've been standing with them in that alley, not Spike and a brand new character (Illyria). But it is what it is.

 

[Hale Caesar]

The first time I watched the episode I was upset. Then when I watched the DVD special features and understood what the message of the episode was and I could appreciate it a lot more. That's the key with Not Fade Away, the message, it's all about never giving up and always finding the strength to continue, which was exactly what Angel (the character) was all about.

However, I am still f*kcing pissed the show got cancelled and we never got season 6, but the episode was still great

 

[VisionGirl]

I absolutely positively LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE Not Fade Away. It's one of my favorite episodes of TV ever. It is my favorite episode of Angel, and one of my favorite episodes in the Buffyverse.


It is brilliant on so many levels, and I think the ending is perfect. Does it matter if they defeated the bad guys? Would they all have lived happily ever after? Does it matter if they died during the final fight? Unfortunately they are going to die someday while fighting evil.... does it really matter when?

I completely agree! The whole point is to keep fighting. Angel knows that he will never win the war, so why do we need to see the end of this particular battle? This is more about the characters, their decisions & motivations, then the specifics about the battle.

But I'm noticing some dichotomies lately between members here. Some members really seem to want things specified & "wrapped up", others are more OK with the subtle moments. For example, we've had discussions about: whether Spike & Buffy should have "the talk" in season 9 (regarding why neither contacted the other post season 7 & what "no you don't" means); whether Joss should've spelled out that the fire in their hands at the end of Chosen really refers back to Spike giving her the fire back; whether Angel & Buffy should have a big all-out talk about Connor & Cordy; and whether Angel should tell Buffy about IWRY.

I personally am OK with things as they are in regards to most of these (less sure about the last one though), but other members really want to see things resolved. So maybe your overall POV affects whether you like things like NFA.

 

[Goby]

POV. Everyone has it, and it certainly colors what we get out of Joss's work.

This episode for me is the "For Whom The Bell Tolls" of television.

Probably my all-time favorite novel is "For Whom The Bell Tolls." The protagonist's name is Robert Jordan.

Jordan and Angel are similar. They both are idealists who have traveled to change the world. They are both fighting evil. They are both willing to die for their beliefs. In fact, they know they will die.

Robert Jordan says one of the most famous lines in literature:

I have fought for what I believed in for a year now. If we win here we will win everywhere. The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.

And the last line of For Whom the Bell Tolls is:

He could feel his heart beating against the pine needle floor of the forest.


There is no doubt in my mind what happened in either NFA or FWTBT. For me, Angel and the Fang Gang died fighting "the good fight." I know the comics say otherwise, but there was really no way for them to win (BTW, I haven't read Season 6... please don't spoil me).

Wesley died a hero. I could not imagine a more dignified death. I hate BtVS Wesley. But AtS Wesley is possibly my favorite character. I love his honor. I love his faults. I love that he is a real person.

In the final scene, did they run away? No, they were prepared to die. They died like heroes. Somehow their deaths meant something. They sought to change to world, and perhaps they did. But they all died with honor.

Hmmm... I just thought of another Hemingway quote:

The dead do not need to rise. They are a part of the earth now and the earth can never be conquered. For the earth endureth forever. It will outlive all systems of tyranny.

Those who have entered it honorably ....already have achieved immortality.


This episode is absolutely perfect.

 

[Marisa]

Well over time I have come to really love it. I mean I think it ended well with the tone of the series. It always about the mission and doing what you can no matter what and that is what they did until the very end.

Now I am always going to wish we could have had more. I hate cliffhangers but for some reason this one didn't big me like some others I have seen. I just get mad because I am like darnit every time it ends lol. Overall I think it was good because it was so different from the Buffy finale. I think it is because they packed so much into the series I feel lucky to have gotten that. Would I object to more? Of course not and 75% of the time I wish we had more, but with series I have come to learn take what you can get. Plus there are comics 😛

 

[Jay Jade]

I loved this episode, but was expecting at least another season after watching this ep. It was a little rushed, and my imagination sucks too much to think of exactly what happens next straight after this.

This was one of the best episodes of Angel that I have ever seen, ever

Yeah, there are comics to follow after Not Fade Away, but I can never pay attention to comics, I always space or have some random song playing in my head. I can't concentrate on comics at all.

Oh if only they stayed for a S6...

 

[This Year's Girl]

It was beautiful in a way, them possibly going down fighting. But I was really disappointed when I watched it, I felt the characters deserved more than just be left hanging like that. Never read the comics, but someone told me what happned after, and now I just think that's what happened. Feels better.

 

[MandaMeena]

Season 5 was never my favorite season of Angel, and even though a few people who I *sob* love didn't make it to the end, I liked it! I didn't mind the cliffhanger. In fact, I prefer series finales that do stuff like that! The Sopranos had a sort of *snap to black* ending which made a lot of people mad, but I thought it was great.

Also, I think people were expecting a nice little cutesy wrap up like there was for Buffy. In the end, she (well, mostly Spike) defeated the bad guys in that humongo battle. It ends with a smile on her face which left me with a nice, warm feeling. But I like that Angel's didn't. That's been his story of redemption this whole time. No rest for the wicked! 🙂

 

[The Scourge]

I loved Not Fade Away. It was much better than Chosen.

During season 3 of Buffy, if you would have told me I'd cry when Wesley died I'd have laughed myself silly.

As for the 'cliff-hanger' ending, I just imagine that they all died fighting.

 

[zobothehobo]

When I first watched it, I was pissed. I typically don't like things that end in cliffhangers... but then I re-watched and I totally got it. It was the perfect ending for the show. It doesn't matter whether they won or lost the final battle, it only matters that Angel choose to fight. And it was pretty obvious by the end they were going to loose... but again, that didn't matter. Angel made his choice to die a hero instead of live as a monster (which he knew if he stayed at Wolfram and Hart much longer, he'd become). Ats was never about winning or losing, about good triumphing over evil like Buffy was... it was about making the choice to fight. Making the choice to even try. It's about how sometimes the lines between good and evil are blurry, and sometimes they really don't exist at all... but that doesn't mean you shouldn't try. At least that's what I got from the show... and looking at it that way, NFA was the perfect finale.

 

[OhWow]

I understand that they were in a hurry to wrap things up because of the stupid cancellation. So I am easy on the finale. But that doesn't mean I like it.

1. Boooo! Wes dies!
2. WTH Lindsey dies?! No.
3. Did anyone else die? I don't know...that's how forgettable this episode is for me. Ouch.
4. Cliffhanger? Really? Cancellation and then a cliffhanger! So cruel.
5. Most of all I felt it was extremely rushed.

One thing I enjoyed.

1. We got back to the "old" Angel. Screw W&H. Screw the prophecy. Screw the Powers That Be. Let's just do what's right. Help the helpless. Fight the good fight.

Overall I'd give it a 5/10. I'd have to re-watch it to get a more accurate rating though.

 

[Goby]

I understand that they were in a hurry to wrap things up because of the stupid cancellation. So I am easy on the finale. But that doesn't mean I like it.

1. Boooo! Wes dies!
2. WTH Lindsey dies?! No.
3. Did anyone else die? I don't know...that's how forgettable this episode is for me. Ouch.
4. Cliffhanger? Really? Cancellation and then a cliffhanger! So cruel.
5. Most of all I felt it was extremely rushed.

One thing I enjoyed.

1. We got back to the "old" Angel. Screw W&H. Screw the prophecy. Screw the Powers That Be. Let's just do what's right. Help the helpless. Fight the good fight.

Overall I'd give it a 5/10. I'd have to re-watch it to get a more accurate rating though.

Please rewatch it...... we'll wait. 😉