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

OhWow said:
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.
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I don't think Angel went back to helping the helpless in NFA he had his friend murder an unarmed man who was actually helping him at the time, he murdered Drogyn an innocent just to get into the Black Thorn in the first place, who were just puppets that could be replaced anyway. If anything season 5 of ATS, is what made me think Angel was Twilight from the very begining. Although NFA was a good episode, but I wasn't really impressed with Angel at all, though everyone else came off better.
 
"Not fade away" as a series finale had everything I could have wanted from it. Honestly, I couldn't be more pleased. It was dramatic, heart-wrenching and ended inconclusively, leaving you to make up your own mind about what happened to Team Angel (of course then came After the Fall which gave some answers but that's just an added bonus that I personally didn't feel a specific need for.)

It may be harsh that not all of them made it out but I like that. To me it's unrealistic to think that they would all have made it through the journey of the series. And to have them all stand gloriously tall at the end would have irritated me. I take dramatic pathos over happy endings any day 🙂
 
VisionGirl
VisionGirl
Yes, especially that last statement!
Goby
Goby
Absolutely agree!!!
NFA is incredible!!! It's one of my favorite Angel episodes ever and I think it's a PERFECT ending. Granted, the comics do help a bit in my decision because I know that there's a bit more to the story there, but I still love NFA. I love the message and what they tried to do and I'm glad that the show went out like that. It was very brave. Just like its heroes, huh? 😉
 
wickedtiger86
wickedtiger86
Just like it's heroes. :)
M
Marisa
[No message]
Tome
Tome
;)
citiegal17 said:
I don't think Angel went back to helping the helpless in NFA he had his friend murder an unarmed man who was actually helping him at the time, he murdered Drogyn an innocent just to get into the Black Thorn in the first place, who were just puppets that could be replaced anyway. If anything season 5 of ATS, is what made me think Angel was Twilight from the very begining. Although NFA was a good episode, but I wasn't really impressed with Angel at all, though everyone else came off better.
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What!? I forgot about that lol. I haven't seen in months. I only saw it once. Yea my bad...just disregard that post because I obviously need to re-watch it. 😱
 
I think it ended on the perfect note.

A Cliff Hanger seemed to be better then some ending with "And they saved the world!" which would be kinda of a reply of Buffy with the Season 7 Ending.

The ending episode also showed what happened with a few of the characters like how Illia cared about Wesley. Maybe another hour may have made it somewhat better but in all it was done perfectly.

If I wanted to see a "Happy Ending" especially on something like Angel it wouldn't have seemed right. A Dark show with a Disney ending? I don't think so.
 
VisionGirl
VisionGirl
[No message]
M
Marisa
[No message]
I was distraught when Angel was cancelled and it really tainted my perspective. I avoided rewatching it for months, because I took it so personally as the end of the Buffyverse.

Now, I'm able to look back on it with slightly less misery and say it was pretty good. 🙂
 
S
Spikefan31
Awesome banner!!! :)
Harlan Phoenix said:
One of the core themes of Angel is that the battle against evil is never truly over.

I thought Not Fade Away was incredible.
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Completely agree. The symbolism of the ending was perfect.

I loved the finale so much. It reinforced everything the show stood for, and actually sums up why I prefer Angel to Buffy.
 
Goby
Goby
[No message]
I loved this ep as well. I love that they were all willing to fight when it really mattered. I loved that the end was open. It would have been tragically beautiful, had they all died in the fight. But at the same time it really doesn't matter. Since the comics came out we know what happened.

But, like what everyone has said before, it's about the choice.

Also, gotta throw in some Spike love, as he was the first to raise his hand to fight when Angel asked. 😀 I try to throw some of that in wherever I can.
 
Tome
Tome
Spike is always up to kick some ass! ;)
At first when it ended I just stared at the screen. I wanted moreeeee! But it does completely make sense. They will always be fighting, that part is never going to end. While Buffy does end with a big victory, it does make sense that Angel would end in a fight. Angel has always been a bit more about the ongoing battle rather than the various cases (Idk if I like that word, but I can't think of another one) or instances of demon activity. Buffy finds a demon, fights it, kills it, and then BAM done. That is just how the show works.

I was really, REALLY sad that Wes died. No offense, but I figured that Gunn would die before Wes would die. Although Wes doesn't really have anything to live for.

I LOVED when Lorne shot Lindsey. It was hilarious! If he didn't die, then I would've been disappointed because Lindsey isn't trustworthy. He only looks out for his best interests, and Angel and co. should've (and do) know that. Plus Lorne killing him with a gun mob style was just awesome.

I don't like how Harmony got off so easily. That is just me.
 
When I first saw it and the screen went black after the ending, I thought there was more. Once I realized there wasn't, I wasn't really disappointed. I was curious about what happened to the characters.

At the time, I never saw the show before the final episode. But I once saw the entire series up to the finale, I realized how much of a great episode it was. I don't care if it was rushed in certain areas or didn't tie up the fates of the characters in a neat little bow. It paid attention to character and went out on a high note that goes to the core of who the characters are and will get to me every time I watch it. Because of that, I'll pretend After the Fall doesn't exist because it ruins the impact of the finale for me.
 
The first time I watched it I was Huh? What? That's it?

but now I quite like it, the odds are stacked against them and they still fight.
 
I thought it was a beautiful ending, and I liked the idea of the team going out in a blaze of glory. The show was never about happy endings, it was about the fight. And the fight never ends.
 
H
Hale Caesar
Karma for this awesome post
A
Appelsapientje
This is exactly what I think as well.
SlayerFest
SlayerFest
[No message]
It was a great episode in my opinion but as the finale it was hard to take, Angel is my favourite show of all time and I remeber being so damn angry after watching it. It left us all hanging so badly, not knowing what was going to happen to the characters we all loved, if there was going to be a season six it would have been the best finale to a season ever but instead it was almost the worst thing ever. To this day I still cant understand why Angel was not picked up for more seasons, the trash that is constanly on TV makes me weep for the past.
 
Anarchy said:
It was a great episode in my opinion but as the finale it was hard to take, Angel is my favourite show of all time and I remeber being so damn angry after watching it. It left us all hanging so badly, not knowing what was going to happen to the characters we all loved, if there was going to be a season six it would have been the best finale to a season ever but instead it was almost the worst thing ever. To this day I still cant understand why Angel was not picked up for more seasons, the trash that is constanly on TV makes me weep for the past.
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The Angel finale is all about the message. "Not Fade Away" is what Angel and his Fang Gang have been about from the beginning, never giving up no matter how bad things get. Angel and pretty much the whole Fang Gang have all been fighting since the show started.

It didn't end up being something stupid like a giant battle with no real message **cough Buffy series finale "Chosen" cough**

I do understand why some people don't like "Not Fade Away", at the end of the day cliffhangers are still cliffhangers. But what changed my mind was when I considered the same message of "never giving up", and how this is what both Angel and his show have both been about. But still, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
 
T
The Scourge
[No message]
I'll be honest. For those who enjoy reading comics it was a great way to end a TV show and start on the comic books. For those of us who don't enjoy reading comic books...It sucked. lol. I was like wait..that's it? After 5 years of Angel..and that's all ya got? I admit I wasn't very happy. Then again I didn't like Chosen either. I'm not a fan of using a cliff hanger as an ending.
 
Zombierella said:
I'll be honest. For those who enjoy reading comics it was a great way to end a TV show and start on the comic books. For those of us who don't enjoy reading comic books...It sucked. lol. I was like wait..that's it? After 5 years of Angel..and that's all ya got? I admit I wasn't very happy. Then again I didn't like Chosen either. I'm not a fan of using a cliff hanger as an ending.
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I wrote a long post on Page 1. I have never read the comics, but for me it wasn't a cliff hanger. I knew what happened. They lived their lives as heroes, and they died as heroes.
 
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T
The Scourge
[No message]
I guess it just urks me that in order to find out what happens after Not Fade Away you have to read the comics. They don't really give you an option there.
 
When I first watched the finale I thought it was a bit stupid as I wanted to find out what happened. Then, after understanding more about the philosophical themes involved in the show, it made a lot more sense to me upon a rewatch. Angel is a show about defining yourself and giving your life purpose whatever the obstacles, so by ending it how they did it's a reminder that Angel is fighting and will always fight, so him getting back into that mindset it actually quite a great way of ending things.
 
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