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Revision as of 16:52, 7 September 2019
- ↳ Note: This article is about the vampire. For other uses, see Angel.
- “...Doesn't matter what you try. Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become. 'Cause you know what? I'm Angel. I beat the bad guys.”
- ―Angel[src]
Angel was one of the most well-known vampires in all of vampiric history, legendary for both his savage villainy and his great heroism. Born Liam in 1727 in Galway, Ireland, he was sired by Darla in 1753, taking the name Angelus, and was dubbed The Scourge of Europe, earning notoriety for being one of the most sadistic and brutal vampires in history. Both the Master and the First Evil recognized and appreciated how purely evil Angelus was. He was also known as The Demon with an Angel's Face or The One with the Angelic Face because of his physical beauty. However, in 1898, Angelus was cursed by members of Clan Kalderash as vengeance for killing a member of their clan. They returned his soul, forcing him to live eternally in guilt over the countless crimes he had committed.
In the late 20th century, Angel, as he began calling himself, became an ally and lover of the current Slayer, Buffy Summers. After the two were forced to realize their limitations as a couple, Angel left Buffy and moved to Los Angeles. Strongly believing that even someone as damned as him possesses the potential to become a harbinger of good and redemption, he became a Champion of the Powers That Be and dedicated himself to "helping the helpless" with the Angel Investigations in the hope of achieving atonement.
Eventually, Angel adopted the identity of the masked Twilight and gathered a cabal of humans and demons who had become wary of the rise of multiple Slayers. As Twilight, Angel sought to keep these forces distracted as well as make Buffy grow more focused and stronger, and at the same time, try to keep the Slayers' deaths as low as he could. Angel was later discovered to be under the control of Twilight, a sentient dimension who had been manipulating him all along to destroy the Earth and recreate itself in the Earth's place. When Angel came to his senses and rebelled against Twilight, it possessed him and battled against the Scooby Gang in the ruins of Sunnydale, where Buffy destroyed the Seed of Wonder, causing the end of magic. After being purged of Twilight, Angel fell into a catatonic state.
Upon awakening, Angel, along with Faith Lehane, once again dedicated himself to redemption, this time by resurrecting Giles. He eventually succeeded, and was soon after forced into conflict by Whistler, who wished to unleash a mystical plague over the world, even if it meant killing millions of people. Angel managed to reason with him, causing Whistler to give up his life by sacrificing himself. Once the world was saved, Angel decided to stay in London and help the people in the new Magic Town.
Biography
Liam
- Angel: “I was a man once.”
- The First: “And what a man you were. A drunk, whoring layabout and a terrible disappointment to your parents.”
- — Angel and the First Evil[src]
Angel was born a human named Liam in Galway, Ireland in 1727 to a linen and silk merchant and his wife. Angel would be described being disillusioned with the women of his era, and showed distaste for noblewomen in particular, describing them as "incredibly dull, simpering morons". Above all, he sought to meet someone "exciting" and "interesting".[3] By his twenties, Liam had become a drunken, whoring layabout,[4] whose only real ambition in life lay in someday seeing the world. Liam's father displayed near-constant disappointment in him, and was not reluctant to call him out on his shortcomings. Despite his strained relationship with his parents, he and his little sister, Kathy, had mutual affection for each other.[5]
Promising to show him the world, Darla and Liam meet.
At the age of twenty-six, after a habitual night of drunken debauchery and failed attempts to seduce the family's only maidservant, Liam and his father got into a heated argument; enraged by his son's chronically reckless behavior, his father declared that Liam was wasting his life, and slapped him across the face. Liam argued that he was only what his father had made him, and voiced his decision to leave home. Though his father told him that he would only end up homeless and alone, Liam stormed out. He went to a tavern, where, drunk once more, he caught the eye of a seemingly affluent woman. After being kicked out of the bar for fighting, he followed the woman — the vampire Darla — into an alleyway, where she promised to show him a whole new world, and then sired him.[6]
Angelus
- “Angel. He was the most vicious creature I ever met... I miss him.”
- ―The Master[src]
Liam's gravestone.
Liam's body was buried; at some point during the night, he rose again. Darla visited his grave, where he had his first taste of blood when an grounds keeper caught them and accused them of being grave robbers. In response to Darla's assertion, Liam set about slaughtering his entire village. First, he massacred his own family, whose blood he later described as the "sweetest of all". Liam's little sister, Kathy, had believed her brother had returned to her as an angel, and ignorantly invited him inside the family home. He killed her first, and then murdered his mother. As he killed his father, Liam boasted that despite his father's disapproval, he had managed to make something of himself after all. Whilst gloating over his father's corpse, Darla cruelly deflated Liam, claiming that in the end, his father had claimed the victory because his condemnation would haunt Liam for the remainder of his existence, while his father's suffering, while painful, had been very brief.[5] Liam, as Angelus, would later employ this same logic in regard to Drusilla.
Liam took the name "Angelus", presumably inspired by his sister's mistaken belief that he was an angel. He was later described in historical volumes as the "one with the angelic face", and the "demon with the face of an angel."[7] After leaving Ireland behind, Angelus and Darla cut a bloody swath through Wales and Northern England before reaching London in 1760. During Angelus' first meeting with Darla's sire, the Master, he openly mocked the older vampire, and showed no fear despite the Master's greater age, power and authority. Angelus expressed no interest in the Order of Aurelius' plan to destroy the human world and bring about the return of the Old Ones, as he preferred the hedonistic pleasures of the world above. Ironically, Angelus' protege Spike would betray him and foil his own plan to destroy the world over a century later for similar reasons.[8] Afterward, he confronted Darla about her decision to remain underground; won over by Angelus' fearlessness, Darla chose to leave with Angelus, and temporarily abandoned her sire and Master.[9]
Angelus becomes known as the "one with the angelic face."
May, 1764: Angelus and Darla killed the wife and infant son of vampire hunter Daniel Holtz, and turned his young daughter into a vampire, forcing him to destroy her.[10] Holtz then devoted himself to capturing Angelus and Darla, and chased them across Europe. He managed to kill almost four-hundred other vampires in the process.
1765: Angelus and Darla had a near miss with Holtz in Arles after making too much noise by ordering room service and then eating the waiters. Darla fled to Vienna, knocking out and abandoning Angelus in a burning barn and riding off on their only horse. After meeting again in Vienna and eating a troubadour in Madrid, Angelus and Darla became acquainted with the vampires James and Elisabeth.[11]
1767: Holtz tracked them down in Marseilles and managed to put numerous arrows in Angelus.[11]" After voyaging to Morocco, Holtz briefly lost them in northern Africa.
1771: Holtz tracked Angelus to Rome and captured him. With the assistance of Monsignor Rivalli, Holtz tortured Angelus while trying to figure out how to get Angelus to help him to capture Darla. But instead, Darla came to the rescue with a horde of vampires. Darla declined to kill Holtz, telling Angelus that she was having too much fun tormenting him and he was now "like family." With this, Holtz abandoned his hunt and retired to York until 1773 when a demon named Sahjhan offered to take him to the future in exchange for his promise to kill Angel and Darla in the future.[12]
Angel and the newly sired Penn.
1786: Angelus sired a Puritan by the name of Penn, who mimicked Angelus by wreaking havoc on his father and killing his family. Over time, he began copying Angelus' "signature" of the time, carving a cross-shaped mark on the face of his victims in order to spite God. The two appear to have maintained a relationship throughout Angelus' time as a soulless vampire, as they were scheduled to meet in Italy before Angelus' soul was restored.[7]
1789: A lone Angelus encountered the Beast in Prussia, standing in a field of bodies. The Beast sought Angelus' aid in killing the Svear Priestesses, a group who wished to banish the Beast, whom he could not kill himself. When Angelus declined to assist the Beast, he was violently attacked, but a group of Svear priestesses banished the Beast while Angelus was passing out.[13]
December 25, 1838: Angelus won a card game in Dublin, Ireland, and when his opponent, a man named Daniel who was to be married the next day, could not pay, he took his winnings by killing him.[4]
1860: a young woman named Drusilla from London caught the attention of Darla, who then presented her to Angelus as a gift. Drusilla was "cursed" with the "sight"; the ability of foresight, something her mother saw as "an affront to the Lord." Drusilla and her sisters were all noted to be virgins, and Drusilla was described as being "sweet, pure and chaste." While posing as her priest in order to torment her, Angelus killed her family in front of her, which caused Drusilla to flee to a convent. On the day she was to take her holy orders, Angelus massacred the convent. After having sex with Darla on top of Drusilla, Angelus finally pushed her over the edge into complete insanity. It was at that point that he turned her into a vampire. Drusilla was Angelus' "masterpiece", an everlasting testament of his finest cruelty, as her immortality meant that her torment would never end. Drusilla joined Angelus and Darla, as the duo became a trio.[14][15]
William meets Angelus.
1880: Desiring a companion of her own, Drusilla sired the mild-mannered and lovesick poet, William Pratt, to whom Angelus served as a mentor and role model for a while.[16] William went so far as to consider the elder vampire his sire and "Yoda."[17] Angelus taught William about the art of mass slaughter, including an incident during a wedding party where Angelus beat the groom to death with his own arm. When he realized how much William cared for Drusilla, Angelus had sex with her just to hurt him and teach him a lesson, an action William would never forgive.[18] He abandoned Angelus' mentorship, and took on a reckless, rebellious persona that brought constant danger to Angelus' group, but remained a romantic at heart.
1883: Angelus killed a female servant named Margaret during a luxurious Christmas party in London. The woman had a young son, whom Angelus killed afterwards.
1888: William got himself, Angelus, Darla, and Drusilla chased out of London and into an abandoned mine shaft in Yorkshire by an angry mob. Angelus and Darla outwardly wondered why they hadn't yet killed William, who had taken the alias "Spike", for his dangerously rebellious behavior. Angelus made an attempt to threaten him with mention of the Slayer, but Spike, who had never heard of the Slayer before, became instantly intrigued, and went on to develop a long-lasting obsession with the idea of killing a Slayer. He would eventually murder two Slayers, and became a particularly renowned vampire as a result.[16]
1890: Angelus attended a production of Giselle by the Blinnikov, a Russian ballet troupe run by Count Kurskov. Despite being soulless, he was moved to tears during the performance.[19] The same year, Angelus and Spike used a trick that involved them holding hands and beheading their enemies with a length of wire in St. Petersburg, Russia.[20]
1894: Angelus and Spike were captured in Rome, Italy by henchmen of The Immortal, a mysterious and seductive being with whom they both had a fierce rivalry. The two male vampires were restrained while the Immortal had a threesome with Darla and Drusilla, something that, incidentally, the female vampires never allowed Angelus and/or Spike to do. Angelus and Spike attempted to take revenge on the Immortal, but failed miserably.[21]
The curse
- “You don't remember. Everything you've done. For a hundred years. In a moment, you will. The face of everyone you have killed — our daughter's face — they will haunt you and you will know what true suffering is.”
- ―Kalderash Elder to Angelus[src]
Angelus is cursed with the restoration of his soul.
1898: Angelus' unlife took a pivotal turn when Darla kidnapped the favorite daughter of the Clan Kalderash in Borşa, Romania, as a "birthday present." Angelus took his time and brutalized her before raping and killing her. [22] To avenge her death, the Kalderash cursed him with the Ritual of Restoration, which restored his human soul, thus afflicting him with a conscience and condemning him to an eternity of remorse for the crimes and atrocities he had committed while soulless.[6] Bedraggled and dirty, looking like a beggar, he attacked and tried to feed on a woman, but was unable to, hampered by his restored conscience.
An ensouled Angelus follows Darla to China in 1900.
June, 1900: In China, during the Boxer Rebellion, Angelus tried to resume his life with Darla, who had abandoned him after finding out that his soul had been restored, but found himself able to kill only animals, murderers, and rapists while protecting innocents from Darla. Darla noticed this, angry at his deception and inability to kill innocent humans while Spike had recently killed a Slayer. She confronted him about it gave him the chance to prove himself by feeding on a baby whose parents Darla killed. He realized that he cannot be a monster anymore and apologetically refused, as he instead chooses to quickly rescue the child by taking it and quickly jumping out of a window to flee from Darla. This can be one of Angel's first redeeming and truly heroic act in his existence, proving that despite his past as Angelus, Angel truly he has the potential to be a selfless savior.[9]
Angel arrives in the New World.
1902: Angelus fled and lived in self-imposed isolation, controlling the temptation to feed by avoiding humans altogether. He traveled to the United States, and arrived in New York City via Ellis Island.
1920s: Angelus spent some time in Chicago, where he saved a little lap dog from being run over by a car; however, finding himself tempted to feed on the dog's owner, a young woman who tried to seduce Angel, he harshly rejected her.[23] In Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Angel had a disagreement with a demon named Boone over a "señorita", for which Boone called him out. Angel fought Boone for three-and-a-half hours until the sun came up and Boone honorably let him go.[24] Angel then spent time in Missoula, Montana during the Great Depression.[25]
Angel and Spike during World War II.
World War II: Angel was coerced into undertaking a secret mission by the Demon Research Initiative. When they call him Angelus he informs them that he has shortened his name to "Angel". They sank him to the bottom of the ocean to rescue an American submarine crew from three vampires the Nazis had captured as part of their paranormal research activities: Spike, Nostroyev, and The Prince of Lies. After the American crew had captured the German submarine, the vampires had escaped their bonds and murdered most of the crew; the few survivors sought refuge behind a locked hatch. After the submarine suffered damage from a depth charge, Angel was forced to sire a mortally wounded Ensign Sam Lawson, as he was the only person who was able to repair the damage, and while Angel didn't care about the mission, he needed it to succeed to get the US government to leave him alone, and he needed the submarine so he would not get trapped on the ocean floor. After these events, Angel went underground until the war was over.[26]
1940s: Angel spent some time in Las Vegas, where he gets acquainted with the gangster Bugsy Siegel.
Angel in Los Angeles during the 1950s.
1952: Angel was a resident of the Hyperion Hotel in Los Angeles. During this time, Angel attempted to stay to himself, avoiding interaction with other residents and patrons. Despite the numerous strange incidents, murders and suicides running rampant throughout the hotel (caused by a demon), he looked the other way when his help would have made a difference. After finding a young woman named Judy Kovacs hiding in his room, Angel tried to preserve his isolation, first by disarming and removing the man chasing her, then by ejecting Judy. However, her repeated attempts to interact with him allowed the two to form a budding friendship, which was very surprising and rare for Angel at that time in his life. Meanwhile, hotel staff and residents, including Judy, continued to become warped and Angel decided to help. He discovered the presence of a Thesulac demon, a paranoia demon affecting the humans in the hotel, but by the time Angel learned how to defeat it and obtained the items required, the entire hotel was overcome with pathological paranoia. Mad with demon-induced hysteria, the hotel residents and staff turned on Judy after their suspicions were raised by a private detective. To save herself, Angel's new friend pointed the mob in his direction, saying he had been found with blood. With rabid fury, they ambushed Angel, beat him, and then hanged him. Embittered by the consequences of becoming close to a human, Angel abandoned Judy and everyone else. Instead of destroying Thesulac, as it was in his power to do, even when the demon gave him the opportunity, he personally gave the vicious demon free reign to prey upon and ravage the inhabitants of the hotel unhindered.[27]
1960s: Angel meets the Rat Pack multiple times in Las Vegas, giving advice to Sammy Davis, Jr.
1967: Angel attends Elvis and Priscilla's wedding reception in Las Vegas, since he attends the first taping of the Carol Burnett Show in Los Angeles.
Angel in the 1970s.
Late 1970s: In New York, Angel witnessed a robbery at a doughnut shop. After the robber shot the employee and fled, Angel stayed with the man as he died. Unable to resist the sight and smell of the clerk's still-warm blood, Angel succumbed to his urges and fed on the body. Deeply disgusted by his own weakness and realizing he could never be a part of human society, Angel fled the shop, and then exiled himself to a life of homelessness, living in alleyways and feeding on rats.[23]
1996: The reclusive and emotionally tortured Angel was sought out by a demon named Whistler, who persuaded him to join the fight against the evil that had corrupted him and to help the newly-activated Slayer, Buffy Summers. Angel traveled to Hemery High School in Los Angeles, where he witnessed Buffy being called as the Slayer and her initial training under her Watcher, Merrick, as well as her emotional turmoil caused by her new duties and her parents' deteriorating marriage. Filled with a new purpose in life, Angel resolved to help the Slayer, with whom he had fallen in love, and moved to Sunnydale, where Buffy was predestined to move the following year.[6]
Sunnydale
- “A vampire in love with a Slayer. It's rather poetic... in a maudlin sort of way.”
- ―Rupert Giles[src]
Angel kisses Buffy for the first time.
Angel had fallen in love with Buffy the moment he'd laid eyes on her in Los Angeles. Soon afterward, he moved into his own apartment in Sunnydale, where he put himself on a strict diet of pig's blood. He didn't show himself until after Buffy had relocated to Sunnydale with her mother; he met her in an alley, at which time he warned her about the Harvest and gave her a silver cross for protection.[28] Though they had a mutual attraction to each other, Buffy was not aware of Angel's vampiric nature until several weeks after their first meeting. They kissed in Buffy's bedroom, which caused Angel to unintentionally reveal his vampire face.
Though he fled, Buffy was privy to his secret, and sought to kill him after she mistakenly believed he had attacked her mother. In reality, Angel's sire, Darla, had tricked Joyce Summers into inviting her inside and then bit her. Angel battled with Darla, and managed to kill her when Buffy involved herself in the fight. Afterward, he revealed that he was unique among his kind for possessing a soul, as a result of the curse placed upon him as a punishment for murdering the favorite daughter of a Romani clan.[29] In the following days and weeks, Buffy came to realize that she had fallen in love with Angel. Though they both tried to deny their feelings, they simply could not resist their growing passion, and eventually began dating.
Spike and Drusilla's arrival in Sunnydale during Buffy's sophomore year created tension in her relationship with Angel. When she witnessed him talking to Drusilla in a park, he was forced to give Buffy and the Scoobies insight into his particularly bloody history. He was subsequently kidnapped by Spike's minions in order to restore Drusilla to health. Though Buffy managed to rescue him in time to save his life, Drusilla still recovered.[30] She and her lover then sought to reawaken a demon called the Judge to bring an end to the human race. Angel was tasked with traveling abroad to hide one of the pieces of the Judge. Before leaving, he gave her a Claddagh ring for her seventeenth birthday, a traditional courting gift in Ireland. Before he could depart, he was apprehended by Spike and his followers, who planned to have him watch Buffy die at the hands of the newly arisen demon.
Buffy and Angel share a moment of pure happiness.
They escaped Spike's minions and fled to Angel's apartment, where they consummated their relationship. Because Angel experienced a moment of pure happiness, his curse was lifted and his soul was once again removed. He reverted to his soulless state, and swiftly returned to his old ways. Furious and disgusted that Buffy had caused him to feel love, he vowed to destroy her in a way similar to what he had done to Drusilla.
Angelus allied himself once again with Spike and Drusilla and took residence in their factory. Resenting the humiliation he felt because Buffy had made him feel like a human being, Angelus took immense pleasure in tormenting the Slayer and her friends. First, he helped Spike and Drusilla deploy the Judge to incinerate the human race.[31] After Buffy destroyed the Judge, Angelus embarked on a guerrilla campaign, lurking in the shadows, preying on Buffy's classmates, sending her gruesome messages, drawing pictures of her as she slept and leaving them in her bedroom. He even revealed the fact that Buffy had sex with him to her mother Joyce, pretending to be an obsessed, unstable, love-struck boyfriend.
Angelus' reign of terror culminated in his murder of Jennifer Calendar, which served him in two ways. First, he eliminated an enemy (Jenny was born Janna of the Kalderash Clan) and destroyed her work just as she had managed to successfully decipher the lost curse which could be used to restore his soul. Second, Angelus used Jenny's death to viciously torment Rupert Giles, Jenny's paramour and the person whom Buffy depended on the most, being her Watcher. Enraged, Giles went out and tried to kill Angelus, though only succeeded in burning down the factory he lived in.[32]
Along with Spike and Drusilla, Angelus then moved to an abandoned mansion. After Angelus orchestrated this masterpiece of terror, Drusilla drew his attention to a new opportunity for destruction and chaos. Angelus widened his focus and began a scheme to awaken the demon Acathla and bring about the end of the world. Buffy was determined to stop him. Not knowing how to perform the ritual, Angelus kidnapped Giles and tortured him, wanting to know how to do it, though also doing it for the sake of his own enjoyment.
Buffy sends Angel to hell in order to save the world.
In their final fight, Angelus was defeated by Buffy during a full-blown sword fight. Just the vortex into Acathla's dimension was opened, Buffy's best friend, Willow Rosenberg, used the ritual Jenny had rediscovered and preserved to restore his soul. Since Acathla could only be stopped by the blood of the individual who activated him, Buffy was forced to impale her beloved Angel to save the world. Impaled on the Slayer's enchanted sword, Angel could only stand there as he was sucked into the closing vortex.[33]
A few months later, Angel was unexpectedly released from this hell dimension, reappearing in his mansion in a feral state.[34] Because time can flow differently in other dimensions, he had experienced a century of brutal torment while only a few months had passed for Buffy, and had been reduced to a feral state. Buffy aided him in secret, fostering his rehabilitation. Angel remained feral and she had to chain him up, but he eventually broke out and came to Buffy's rescue when one of her classmates turned into a monster and attacked her. Angel killed him and finally recognized Buffy afterward, regaining his sanity.[35]
Angel returns from a hell dimension in a feral state.
When they discovered that Angel had returned and Buffy had not told them, Buffy's friends were furious, though Angel managed to win back some good faith and acceptance in the gang after he saved Willow from being killed by the corrupt former Watcher Gwendolyn Post.[36] Angel began to suspect that his return from Hell was not accidental, that he must be meant to serve some unknown purpose. That fear—that this purpose was not for the cause of good—grew in Angel's mind at Christmastime as he began to experience what he believed to be hallucinations. However, he was actually being haunted by the First Evil, who claimed to be the one that freed him from Acathla's hell (a claim that remains unconfirmed). The First, able to adopt the appearances of Angelus' victims, drove Angel ever closer to the brink of madness by lashing him with guilt and, ultimately, tempting him to end it all by losing his soul once again and killing Buffy in the throes of passion. In despair, Angel chose to kill himself by waiting outside for the sun to rise, rather than risk the life of his beloved. To Angel's shock and consternation, an apparent miracle occurred and it snowed so heavily that Christmas morning that the sun was blotted out all day. Buffy meanwhile, had stopped the order of monks that were summoning the First, ending Angel's torment. From that moment, he began to entertain the hope that his return might have some purpose for good after all.[4]
Angel tries to help Faith.
When the latest Slayer, Faith Lehane, began to go rogue after accidentally killing the Deputy Mayor, Angel attempted to rehabilitate her and nearly succeeded, but his chances at redeeming her were ruined by the interference of Buffy's new Watcher, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, and a special ops team sent by the Watchers Council, who only succeeded in driving Faith even farther down the path of darkness.[37] Later, when Faith began working for the evil Mayor, Richard Wilkins, as a double agent, the duo attempted to force Angel to revert to his soulless state once again and appeared to succeed; fortunately, this was in fact revealed to be an elaborate ruse masterminded by Buffy and Angel, with some help from Giles, to expose Faith's new loyalties.[38]
After that miraculous snowy day in southern California, Angel and Buffy tried to build an actual relationship, taking in the occasional movie, getting away on more scenic patrols, and enjoying moonlit picnics in the cemetery. But it was not to be. Even before their one and only night together, Angel had worried about Buffy's future with him, his inability to give her a family, or even a remotely normal human life. Upon hearing his own concerns reflected back to him from such disparate sources as Mayor Wilkins and Joyce, Angel at last made the difficult decision to leave Sunnydale and Buffy, hoping to give her some semblance of a normal life. Angel broke up with Buffy in the sewer right before her prom night, but went to the dance to let Buffy have her perfect high school moment.[39]
Angel drinks from Buffy, nearly killing her.
Before the Mayor's Ascension, Faith infected Angel with the Killer of the Dead, a poison specifically designed to kill vampires that could only be cured by the blood of a Slayer, in order to distract Buffy. Having failed to bring a dead Faith to Angel to cure him, Buffy forced Angel to feed on her. Even though Angel resisted at first, he was enraged when Buffy hit him enough that he indulged himself on Buffy's blood, almost killing her but stopping before he could drain her completely. Having quickly recovered from his poison, Angel rushed Buffy to the hospital where he stopped the grieving Mayor from smothering Buffy.[40]
Angel promised Buffy that he would stay until Sunnydale High School's graduation day, to help avert the Mayor's Ascension. He also warned her that, if they survived the ordeal, he would leave without saying goodbye, as it would be too painful to do so. They survived with Angel commanding a small number of fighters to surround the Mayor's vampire henchmen. After the destruction of Sunnydale High, Angel, with a last, long look at the Slayer, kept his final promise and departed for Los Angeles.[40]
Los Angeles
Angel Investigations
Angel meets Doyle in Los Angeles.
In Los Angeles, Angel again began to isolate himself from humanity, in order to combat the lust for human blood that had been awakened within him after feeding on Buffy.. Soon enough, he received support in his attempts to redeem himself in the service of others. First, Allen Francis Doyle, a half-Brachen demon and fellow Irishman with precognitive abilities was sent by the Powers That Be to be Angel's guide. Doyle encouraged Angel not to shy away from human interaction, warning him that isolating himself from humanity would eventually lead to him forgetting why they need to be protected, and feeding on them. Almost immediately thereafter, Angel ran into Cordelia Chase, a former classmate of Buffy's who had moved to Los Angeles to find wealth and fame. The trio formed Angel Investigations, a private detective agency whose mission statement was to "help the helpless." Doing this, Angel attracted the attention of the evil law firm, Wolfram & Hart.[25]
The trio managed to do a lot of good, but when Doyle had a vision of Buffy in danger at Thanksgiving, Angel immediately returned to Sunnydale to help against Hus, a Native American vengeance spirit accidentally set free by Xander Harris' construction crew. However, Angel made his presence known to all of the Scoobies except Buffy under the belief that his presence would only distract and endanger her even more.[41]
Buffy and Angel enjoy his human state.
Upon discovering the truth, Buffy, hurt that Angel never revealed his presence to her, immediately traveled to Los Angeles to confront him, and the two agreed to stay away from one another for the time being. Just as she was about to leave, however, the two were attacked by a Mohra demon. Though the duo succeeded in wounding it, the Mohra escaped, and Buffy and Angel immediately tracked it down in the sewers. The two became separated, and Angel seemingly killed the demon, and in doing so, its blood mixed with his own and resurrected him, making him human again. Buffy and Angel revealed in finally being able to be happy together, but Angel soon discovered that the Powers That Be had not yet offered him forgiveness as he had not sufficiently atoned. When Angel was nearly killed by the regenerated Mohra, Buffy managed to slay it with his help. Realizing that he would only ever be a burden to Buffy, and would be unable to protect her as a human, Angel made an impossibly painful decision: he had the Oracles rewind time to reverse his transformation into a human, leaving no one but himself with any memory of the incident.[42]
Eventually, Doyle, Angel's trusted friend and sole connection to the Powers That Be, sacrificed himself to save a group of innocents, leading Angel to become even more protective of those few he held dear. Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, who had briefly served as Watcher to both Buffy and Faith in Sunnydale, arrived in Los Angeles around that time, claiming to be a "rogue demon hunter," a "lone wolf sort" who only worked solo. After their first case, however, Wesley was eager to stay and assist Angel and Cordelia, who had inherited the visions from the Powers that Be from Doyle, in their mission.[43] A few months later, they were joined by lifelong demon fighter Charles Gunn after Angel resolved a vampire-human street conflict that was turning in favor of the former.[44]
Angel stays on Faith's side in her path for redemption.
During this time, three young Wolfram & Hart associates, Lindsey McDonald, Lee Mercer, and Lilah Morgan, attempted to have Faith assassinate Angel. After an intense battle in which Faith seemed to have the upper hand, Faith broke down and pleaded with Angel to kill her.[22] Even as Buffy, the Watchers Council, and the Los Angeles Police Department pursued Faith, Angel continued to help her. When Faith gave herself up to the police, he and Buffy got into an argument, during which Buffy used her relationship with her new boyfriend, Riley Finn, to attack him. In response, Angel launched a tirade against Buffy, reminding her that, while it was great that she had moved on, he himself could not and had no one with whom to share his pain, culminating in him telling Buffy that she didn't know him anymore and that she had no right to just show up with her "great new life" and tell him how to do things in "his city" before harshly ordering her to go back to Sunnydale.
Immediately afterward, Angel regretted his words and traveled to Sunnydale to make amends. Though he ran afoul of Riley and the Initiative in the process, he managed to get to Buffy and apologize, who also apologized for butting into his life, and Angel departed after informing Buffy that he didn't like Riley, much to Buffy's amusement.
Later, Angel and his teammates uncover the Shanshu Prophecy. The prophecy reveals that the vampire with a soul will play a pivotal role in the apocalypse, and upon fulfilling his destiny, would be rewarded by being made human.
To Angel's shock, Wolfram & Hart brings back Darla as a human.
The Angel Investigations team enlisted the help of demon karaoke bar-owner, Lorne, initially known only as the Host. Both prescient and empathic, Lorne could sense the futures of humans and demons when they sang. As Angel continued to help the helpless in Los Angeles, his good deeds began seriously to disrupt the plans of Wolfram & Hart. In an attempt to control him, the firm resurrected his sire and former lover, Darla, though she came back as a human rather than as a vampire. Angel became obsessed with Darla on two fronts; at first, he wanted to prove that she was actually back and not just a figment of his imagination and second, he desired to save her when it was revealed that she was dying from the same disease that was killing her before she was sired by the Master. Wolfram & Hart then summoned Drusilla, who turned Darla into a vampire again. Angel felt such deep anguish at his failure to save Darla, and such intense fury at Wolfram & Hart for their machinations, that he fired his crew and embarked on a bitter, ruthless vendetta against both the law firm and the newly reunited Darla and Drusilla. At his darkest moment, Angel allowed Drusilla and Darla to slaughter a number of prominent Wolfram & Hart employees, even locking them in the room to ensure that none would escape.
Eventually, Holland Manners succeeded in completely breaking Angel's spirit by telling him that the power of Wolfram & Hart came from the evil within humanity itself and that nothing Angel did would ever amount to anything; depressed and tortured, Angel had sex with Darla in an attempt to shed his soul, but only found perfect despair rather than perfect happiness. An epiphany followed the desperate act,[45] and Angel realized that his purpose was still to do all the good he could, even if he couldn't do all the good he wanted to. Having hoped to get Angel back, Darla was disgusted and infuriated by Angel's epiphany, and left Los Angeles. The group finally reconciled, and Wesley was appointed the official leader. But Angel's relationship with his teammates, particularly Cordelia, was strained, though things improved rather quickly.
After the death of Buffy's mother, Angel returned to Sunnydale to comfort Buffy, and the two spent a night discussing how life would continue after Joyce's death. Angel assured Buffy that she was strong and would find her way over time, and offered to stay in Sunnydale as long as she needed him, though she knew that he could not stay for long. Nonetheless, Buffy appreciated that he came, and he remained with her until sunrise.[46]
Afterward, Cordelia was sucked into Lorne's home dimension of Pylea, and the Angel Investigations team followed her. Eventually, after Angel defeated the undefeated Champion of Pylea, the Groosalugg, they returned with a new team member, Winifred "Fred" Burkle, in tow, and learned that Buffy had died.[47][48]
Fatherhood
Devastated by Buffy's death, Angel spent several months mourning her in a Tibetan monastery in Sri Lanka, returning despondent and believing that he had betrayed Buffy by continuing to live while she was dead, though Cordelia assured him that he was in fact honoring her memory by continuing to fight the good fight in Buffy's stead. After Buffy was resurrected a few months later by Willow, Angel was overjoyed and immediately went to meet her between Sunnydale and Los Angeles.[1][49]
Angel helping Darla, who was pregnant with their human son.
Despite his still untarnished love for Buffy, Angel eventually realized his previously platonic love for Cordelia had grown romantic. Before he had a chance to confess his feelings, however, Darla returned, miraculously pregnant. The previous year, Angel had endured trials in order to win a new life for Darla as she was dying.[50] However, Darla had already been given a second chance at life and Angel's prize seemingly went to waste. However, thanks to the one night of passion the two shared together, Darla became pregnant which was thought to be impossible for vampires. Influenced by the soul of the child growing inside her, because she was dead and therefore could not give birth to the child, Darla staked herself, leaving only a crying baby. Angel was overcome with parental love, and named their child Connor, in recognition of his Irish heritage.
False prophecies, time travelers, and betrayal led to Angel losing his infant son to an old enemy, Holtz, who abducted Connor soon after his birth, taking him to the dimension of Quor'toth, where time passed differently. Wesley unintentionally brought about the kidnapping due to uncovering a false prophecy that stated "the father will kill the son," and Angel attempted to kill Wesley in the hospital; Wesley was subsequently fired from Angel Investigations, while Angel resumed his position as the team's leader. Unexpectedly, Connor returned days later, a young man of 18 or so who had been raised by Holtz to be a warrior and to believe that Angel was a soulless monster. Holtz took his own life in such a way that Connor was led to believe he was killed by Angel, making Connor hate his father and be determined to make him pay for the suffering he had caused Holtz and others. Connor then sank his father to the bottom of the ocean in a steel coffin, while Cordelia ascended to a higher plane, the feelings shared between her and Angel still left unspoken.
Angel continually tries to do the best for his son, Connor.
Rescued by Wesley from his watery prison, Angel's relationship with Connor was strained. It was complicated further by the return of an amnesiac Cordelia, who preferred to stay with Connor because he told her the truth while the others lied to her (albeit because they thought it was for her own good).
When a very powerful demon known only as the Beast arrived and began an attempt to bring forth an apocalypse, Angel's worst fears were realized when he had to strip himself of his soul and revert to his evil self in order to defeat it, after Cordelia had a vision of soulless Angel facing the Beast in the past which Angel did not recall (It was later revealed that a spell had been cast before the Beast's arrival which erased all reference to it in this dimension, with Angel being immune because he technically didn't exist when the spell was cast). While soulless Angel did indeed overcome the Beast, and was also deft enough to realize that the Beast was a mere "flunky" serving an even more powerful evil; the Beast he knew was only interested in smashing and slaughter, and it was unlikely that it would have become smarter in the years since his initial encounter with him.
Angelus returns and taunts from within his cage.
Although he was momentarily free to wreak a little havoc of his own while soulless, Angel was recaptured and re-ensouled after a battle with Faith. Faith defeated Angel but when she refused to kill him, he regained the upper hand and drank from Faith, who had injected herself with the Orpheus drug. Faith (who had almost died in her quest to capture him) and Willow helped to accomplish Angel's restoration via a brief but violent internal mental battle between his soulless and souled states.
After his soul was restored, Angel, using information that he had acquired during his freedom, figured out that the enemy he had been battling was a little closer to home than the group had previously considered. He realized that whatever the Beast's "boss" was, it was using Cordelia's body to carry out its plans, and it had seduced Angel's son Connor over to its side, warping the youth further and increasing the gap between Angel and his son. After battling and defeating the divine being known as Jasmine, Angel was offered the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart as their thanks for ending world peace by killing Jasmine. Angel acted against all of his instincts and made a deal with his sworn enemy in exchange for them erasing Connor's memories and giving him a normal life, and trying to find a way to cure Cordelia who had gone into a coma.
Soon after the events in Los Angeles, Angel traveled to Sunnydale to give Buffy an an amulet that he had obtained from Wolfram & Hart because he was told that it would play a role in the upcoming battle with the First Evil and had to be worn by someone with a soul, but more than human — a champion. He saved Buffy from getting killed by Caleb, but she insisted that she finish the fight on her own. After the fight concluded, they shared a kiss while being unknowingly watched by Spike, along with The First Evil. Angel wished to fight with her in the battle, but Buffy told him to go prepare his crew for a second front in case the Scoobies failed to stop the First. Angel then discussed with Buffy, Spike, the return of his soul, her feelings for him, the future. and if he had a place in it with her. She told him that it would be a long time, if ever, but she sometimes saw a future with him. Accepting this, Angel returned to Los Angeles to prepare the second front, hoping he would not have to use it, and told Buffy, "I ain't getting any older."
CEO of Wolfram & Hart
Angel's year spent running Wolfram & Hart was one marred with challenge and self-doubt. Trying to battle evil from within the belly of the beast proved to be more difficult than even he had imagined, with the lines of good and evil becoming ever more gray with every action taken, and he soon discovered that his friends and allies in the Scooby Gang, including Buffy, had deemed him untrustworthy. Shortly after Angel assumed control of the law firm, matters were further complicated when Spike appeared as a ghost, emerging from the amulet Angel had given Buffy and that was then sent back to Angel in the mail. Now both possessed souls, and both were still in love with Buffy; they had evolved into very different heroes in the war against evil. Forced to co-exist, they waged a protracted, insidious battle of wills, ending when they finally came to an understanding and accepted their unique brotherhood on their journey to redemption.
Angel and Spike fighting for the Shanshu Prophecy.
When they battled over the Cup of Perpetual Torment — supposedly the key that would determine which of them was the true vampire champion — Spike told Angel "You had a soul forced on you. As a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you've done. Me, I fought for my soul, went through the demon trials, almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. Because I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny." Although Angel denied this claim at the time, the fight ended when Spike defeated Angel for the first time in their century-plus association, making Angel believe that Spike was the vampire with a soul spoken about in the Shanshu Prophecy. However, Spike's victory and subsequent role as a champion was later revealed to be part of Lindsey McDonald's plans to undermine Angel's confidence and new position, allowing Angel to regain his focus and faith in himself after a final meeting with Cordelia. With Lindsey out of the way, Spike and Angel came to an understanding that let the two of them operate as a lethal team when the two ended up fighting side-by-side, using their long experience of each other's skills to operate in near-perfect tandem.
While investigating the sinister children's program, Smile Time, Angel was turned into a puppet. Puppet Angel managed to stop Smile Time's plans and save the children of Los Angeles. He remained a puppet for several days until the spell wore off. It was around this time that he realized werewolf Nina Ash was attracted to him, and the pair started dating.[51]
Angel was elated when Cordelia finally awoke from her coma. Cordelia and Angel discussed how skewed he got from his path and how lost he was without her, Cordelia was shocked to learn that he and the others had taken over "Evil Incorporated." Before Cordelia took her leave, she and Angel finally revealed their feelings for each other, culminating in a kiss.[52] The kiss, more than just a symbol of love, was instrumental in Angel returning to his path; Cordelia passed onto Angel a single vision, which came later that night, and Angel realized what he had to do.[53]
Angel was later reunited with his son, Connor, when the latter was forced to fulfill his destiny by killing the demon Sahjhan. As a result of this, Connor's memories were returned to him and he remembered that Angel was his father.[54]
Angel and Connor reunited.
Angel finally understood that he would never be able to completely stop the forces of evil, but that he could temporarily sever the Senior Partners' hold on Earth and stop their apocalyptic plans. To this end, Angel pretended to delve deeper into the darkness and fooled the Senior Partners and his teammates into thinking that he desired to join the Circle of the Black Thorn, the Senior Partners' instruments on Earth. He even went so far as to sign away his candidacy for the Shanshu Prophecy to prove his loyalty, exploiting the Circle's inability to realize that he would do good for its own sake rather than to receive a reward.
Together with his comrades, Angel prepared to destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn, a battle that none of them expected to survive. He instructed his teammates to spend the day as if it was their last as he spent it by visiting Connor who revealed to his father that he regained his memories and appreciated what Angel did for him but wanted to keep it at that. Later that night, Team Angel assassinated the members of the Circle of the Black Thorn with Angel taking on Marcus Hamilton with the help of Connor. In this effort, Gunn was badly wounded, and Wesley was killed. Gunn manages to make it to the meeting point, the alley behind the Hyperion Hotel, where he, Angel, Spike, and Illyria engaged in battle with the dark armies that the Senior Partners had sent against them.[55]
Fall of Los Angeles
Angel faces the fall of Los Angeles.
During the battle, Angel was teleported away from Gunn and towards the dragon he later befriended, who had been tricked in fighting for Wolfram & Hart; Gunn was dragged away and subsequently turned into a vampire.[56] The Senior Partners sent all of Los Angeles to a hell dimension between moments of time, turning the city into an apocalyptic battlefield full of demons.
At the same moment, they rendered Angel human to deprive him of his strength and immortality when he needed it most; unaware of the change, he leaped off a rooftop, breaking his legs and back. He was discovered by Wesley, who returned as a ghost to act as liaison between Angel and the Senior Partners.[57] The dragon took Angel back to W&H, where he relied on neo-primitive healing salves and incantations to repair his broken body. The process took months, and Angel spent every second awake and in agony; to endure the pain, he spoke to an imaginary Cordelia. Believing he was talking to him, the dragon came to believe its own name was Cordelia.[58]
Angel is horrified by a vision of his role in the Shanshu Prophecy.
With his body healed, Angel, using various spells and enchantments to provide himself with his vampiric abilities, began patrolling the hell-ridden city with the dragon Cordelia, rescuing citizens and sending them, anonymously, to a safe-house run by Connor, Nina, and Gwen Raiden. His mission was complicated by the deaths of the Demon Lords who had taken control over areas of Los Angeles.[59] Angel declared war on the Demon Lords, challenging them to a battle to liberate the city.[60] Initially alone in the fight, he was soon aided by his old friends, Spike, Illyria, Connor, Gwen, Nina, Groosalugg, Lorne, and Wesley,[61] and successfully tricked the Lords into killing themselves with the Hagan Shafts.[62]
Following their victory, Team Angel returned to their old base, the Hyperion Hotel,[62] where Angel resumed his patrols of the city. After killing a nest of vampires, Illyria revealed to the group that Angel was no longer a vampire, leaving Connor feeling angry and betrayed. When he asked Illyria to seek out the most powerful vampire in "Hell-A", Angel was horrified when she led him to Gunn.[63] Defeating Angel in battle, Gunn undid the magicks keeping Angel alive, reopening every wound he had suffered since turning human.[64]
Angel becomes human and temporally dies.
As she died, Angel was visited by the spirit of Cordelia to facilitate his passing, but Angel resigned himself to death after receiving a vision from the Senior Partners regarding his role in the Shanshu Prophecy; himself standing alone surrounded by corpses and destruction.[58] However, last-minute encouragement from Connor inspired him to keep fighting, and .[65] Angel's friends healed his injuries, but at the same time, Gunn caused Illyria to revert to her true form.[66] As Illyria prepared to end all existence, Angel devised a plan to stop her; he had Betta George telepathically force Spike and Wesley's memories of Fred into Illyria's mind. The distracted Illyria was then taken down by the Senior Partners' forces. Meanwhile, Connor was mortally wounded by Gunn and died in his father's arms.[67]
Angel gains fame after saving LA.
Realizing that the Senior Partners needed him alive for their plans, Angel provoked Gunn into beheading him with the flaming sword. As planned, the Senior Partners reset the timeline to the last point Angel was alive, the moment before Los Angeles was sent to Hell. This time, Angel rescued Gunn before he was sired and took him to a hospital, and tearfully reunited with a resurrected Connor. However, the Wolfram & Hart building had mysteriously vanished from existence, and everybody remembered their time in Hell, making Angel and his allies city-wide celebrities recognized for their heroism.[68] Giving Cordelia the dragon over to Groosalugg to remain as inconspicuous as possible, Angel reopened Angel Investigations.[69]
Twilight
- “Powerful people — governments — lining up to wipe out the "terrorists" you created. Demons weren't thrilled either. I put on a mask, talk about "Master Plans"... distract them. Keep the body count as low as I can while I push.”
- ―Angel[src]At some point, Angel gained new abilities after a meeting with a shape-shifting higher power, including flight and invulnerability, which he quickly used to save a damaged airplane.[70] With governments and demons fearful of the new Slayers created by Buffy and plotting to destroy them, Angel was approached by Whistler, the very same demon who originally put him on his heroic path, and the higher power itself, who presented him with numerous possible future scenarios, those of which that depict Angel fighting alongside Buffy, ending with both of them dying in battle, and insisted that the only way for Angel to save them both was to fight against Buffy,[71] stating that if Angel did not do so, the entire world would go to Hell like Los Angeles did.[72]
Angel takes on the identity of Twilight and assembles an anti-Slayer organization to save the world.
Though initially reluctant to deceive Buffy, Angel assumed the identity of "Twilight" and gathered a cabal of those most likely to oppose the Slayer army, consisting of several demons, members of the United States military such as General Voll, and Lieutenant Moulter, as well as Buffy's old enemies Warren Mears and Amy Madison, and her ex-boyfriend Agent Riley Finn, the latter of whom was acting as a double agent for Buffy, though "Twilight" was aware of this fact. His supposed goal was to bring about the end of magic and eliminate all Slayers. However, his true goal was to keep the anti-Slayer forces distracted with his supposed "master plan," thus allowing him to coordinate the anti-Slayer movement and limit the potential damage that might result had these factions struck independently, while at the same time give Buffy a concrete threat to fight against, keeping her focused and ready for the challenges that lay ahead, while also guiding her into a position where she would somehow acquire powers similar to his.
As Twilight, Angel orchestrated the training of rogue Slayer Genevieve Savidge by the warlock Roden, which resulted in the deaths of both threats to Buffy, a mystical missile attack on the HQ of the Slayer Organization and full scale siege on the Tibetan monastery where lived Oz and his wife Bayarmaa. During the siege, Twilight left behind his "seconds" — Amy, Warren, and the General — to kidnap Giles, Faith, and Andrew.
The masked Twilight reveals his identity.
He took them to his headquarters, which was magically cloaked three seconds in the future, though Buffy tracked him down when the cloak was undone by Willow and Amy. Confronted by Buffy — now possessing strength, invulnerability, and flight like his own — Twilight chose to reveal his true identity to her. Though initially enraged by this, Buffy, under the influence of a glowing aura, was moved when Angel explained his plan, and kissed him. The two give in to their passions after being apart for years and start engaging in an act of passionate airborne sex, subsequently finding themselves in a paradise dimension. Giles explains to the others that the current events tie in to a prophecy of a supernatural upheaval where the world shall be recreated after a Slayer changes the world, with Buffy and Angel having been selected to serve as the catalysts of that change.[73]
Despite the prospects of eternal happiness with Angel in the new paradise dimension, Buffy chooses to return upon witnessing her friends and family fighting the resulting demonic hordes. Angel agrees to join her, only for the fight to be interrupted when Spike appears claiming to have the answer to the current crisis.[74] Later, Buffy confesses to Angel that it was the "weirdest best day" of her life and tells him that he had her heart. However, given Angel's currently tense relationship with Spike, as well as the Scoobies' current hostility towards him, Buffy asked Angel to help protect the Slayers from the currently-attacking demons while she went with Spike to investigate his claims.[70]
Under Twilight's influence, Angel murders Rupert Giles.
While in the midst of doing so, however, Angel encountered the same higher power who granted him his new powers, this time in the form of a winged lion. The power revealed itself to be the very dimension, itself called 'Twilight,' that Buffy and Angel chose to abandon, and insisted that Angel and Buffy finish what they started. To this end, Twilight seemingly possessed Angel and sent him to the ruins of Sunnydale to stop the Scoobies and Spike. Although Buffy was able to keep Angel occupied long enough to destroy the Seed of Wonder, Angel killed Giles before he was returned to normal.[75] Angel awoke to his senses, initially completely unaware of what he had done. Xander quickly jumped on him and started brutally attacking him, grabbing the slayer scythe as he was about to stake him. Angel weakly defended himself, reminding him of his possession, yet barely put up a fight against Xander. However, Angel was spared when Buffy saved his life and prevented her friend from killing him.[76] Following this, Angel had been reduced to an apparently catatonic state, with Faith taking care of him in the London flat that Giles left to her as she feels that she was the only person who will not judge Angel for his actions as Twilight due to her past experience with redemption[77]
Resurrecting Giles
- Faith: “ And I'm all for using the Watcher's files to help people who need help, demons who need killing, the whole nine. But you gotta stop obsessing over every detail of his life. If you wanna take his place without going crazy--”
- Angel: “Take his place? I could never take his place. I'm going to bring Giles back to life.”
- — Faith Lehane and Angel[src]
Angel reveals to Faith his intention to resurrect Giles.
In London, Angel was confined to Giles' flat where he remained in a state of intense depression for a prolonged period of time. Faith cared for him and in an attempt to speed up his recovery, read him passages from Giles' old Watchers Diaries. After he heard about a little girl who was playing host to a demon, he suddenly recuperated, donning his redemptive mindset once more. He accompanied Faith to the girl's residence, and as the demon was slaughtered he received a rush of Giles' memories detailing the day he'd fallen in love with Jenny Calendar. On the way back to their apartment, Angel told Faith that Giles' writings about the girl had "opened his eyes" and then sent her on her way, informing her that he could go home alone and wait for her, as she had other things to do.
Later, when Faith returned to the apartment after spending several hours in Brixton with her fellow Slayers, she openly questioned Angel about his time under the guise of the masked Twilight. She was particularly interested in knowing if he had murdered Giles in his own right mind, or if he had been taken over by Twilight's influence at the time. While he did not deny that he had been dominated by Twilight during the actual murder, he reminded Faith that he had been himself on many other occasions, and that he now had more blood on his hands than even Angelus. He told her that he wanted to continue Giles' work where he'd left off, helping people in need, and also revealed the true reason why he had recovered so suddenly. He had decided to bring Giles back to life.[72]
Angel fights side-by-side with Faith.
One night, Angel saved Nadira's life from a vampire, but fled in order to avoid being seen by Faith's Slayers (most of whom wanted him dead for his actions as Twilight). Faith found him, and asked him how he intended to resurrect someone who had died a natural death. He disclosed that he would work Giles' soul rather than his body; while Faith still seemed skeptical of his plan, she agreed to help him.[78] The pair followed a lead to a demon dealing Mohra blood, which Angel hoped to use to recover Giles' body once his soul had been restored. He tracked down the blood at a demon auction, but just as they had managed to claim it, Angel's old associates Pearl and Nash suddenly attacked.[78] The demon siblings engaged Angel and Faith in battle, but Faith managed detain them by planting Mohra blood in Nash's pocket. The other demons at the auction ran for a chance to get it while Angel and Faith went to examine the basement of the establishment. To their intense disappointment, they discovered in the new magic-less world, Mohra blood did not regenerate dead flesh with stability, but triggered perpetual regeneration until the victim was decapitated. Still determined, Angel began researching other methods of restoring corpses back at their apartment; when Faith came downstairs, he surprised her by speaking in a British accent and asking for tea.[78]
Reliving Giles' memories, Angel chose to visit a cemetery where the Watcher had once witnessed the deaths of his friends at the hands of a Lorophage demon: an insect-like beast that fed on emotional trauma. While there, he followed the scent of blood to a seniors' home, where he came across a deranged young man slaughtering the residents. After taking care of the problem, he sparred with Faith on the roof of their building, and discussed the emergence of a new "it" vampire, known as Mother Superior, who ran a cult in a nearby church. Angel quickly brought up the possibility that the same Lorophage demon that had killed Giles' friends when he was younger was responsible for the bouts of psychosis blighting the city, as victims of Lorophage attacks oftentimes lost their sanity as a result of their trauma being brought to the surface too suddenly. The two went to an old associate of Giles, Alasdair Coames, for help. Angel realized that a vampire might be controlling the Lorophage through hypnosis. They followed a lead to Mother Superior's church, only to find both the Lorophage demon and a completely sane Drusilla.[79]
Angel forces the Lorophage to feed on itself.
Angel reminisced about the moment he'd first laid eyes on Drusilla over a century ago. Her purity had driven him to want to mold her into his "masterpiece." Seeing her again with her sanity restored, he desperately asked her how she had managed it, causing her to reveal that the Lorophage demon had consumed the traumatic memories that had caused her lunacy. She had chosen to help people with her newfound clarity, but as Angel was aware, her efforts had gone in vain. He attempted to kill the Lorophage to prevent further problems, but it easily fought him off. Drusilla then offered to remove his suffering. He refused, and along with Faith, left the church. He met Faith's father back at the apartment, and urged her to reconnect with him; he then went to the Easter End of London, to the old house where Drusilla had lived with her family as a human. Drusilla was already there waiting for him, and once again begged him to let her take away his pain. He refused again, and then urgently apologized for what he had done to her as Angelus; however, she declared that she no longer cared. She was able to see that he had attached a magical item known as the Tooth of Ammut to his body, which he intended to use to draw the fragments of Giles' soul trapped in demons and other mystical sources into his body.[80]
When he arrived at the apartment again, he and Faith confronted her father, who revealed that he had come to ask his Slayer daughter to kill a mobster for him. She turned him down, but when the man showed up looking for him, she and Angel were forced to fight him off; in a moment of rage she cut off the man's hand, and in remorse, fled the scene.[81] Angel followed her to Drusilla's church, where she had hoped to have her pain alleviated by the Lorophage. Although they initially accepted Drusilla's gift, Angel convinced her to reject it with the justification that the loss of her pain would only deprive of her of the emotional strength she had gained through maturation. Angel then forced the Lorophage to feed on itself, releasing the torment it had consumed from Drusilla, Faith and its other victims. Drusilla begged Angel not to force her to take back her pain, but as it returned to her body she once again lost all sense. Before running away, she gave Angel a teary and foreboding message, foretelling his dark future involving the three "voices" that would soon come to inhabit his body. Having saved each other once more, Angel and Faith made an uneasy truce. Faith declared her appreciation to Angel for continuing to believe in her, and as they walked away together, they reflected about Drusilla's past as a saintly human. Faith proclaimed Drusilla to be a mess, and although Angel openly agreed with her, he made the closing statement: "But before she met me, she was beautiful."[82]
Back at the flat, they were surprised to find two young women: Giles' great aunts, Lavinia and Sophronia Fairweather, who had been powerful mystics before magic was removed from the world. After dealing with the unfortunate effects of the aunts magical deals, Angel and Faith were suddenly visited by Willow Rosenberg.[83] Having already deduced Angel's plan to bring Giles back, Willow dismissed him as he was selfish, stupid, reckless, and delusional to think that his attempts would not end in disaster, particularly after all of the pain and suffering she put Buffy and the rest of the gang through after Buffy's own resurrection. However, despite her misgivings, Willow decided to help Angel with his plans because she herself needed him, stating that she needed Connor to bring magic back to Earth; in order to regain her magic, she needed to travel to another dimension where magic still existed and 'soak up' the energy from there, but the only dimension that could still be accessed from this world was Quor'toth as there were never any portals to Quor'toth in the first place. Having discovered a ritual that might allow her to access Quor'toth using the residual energy in the Scythe as a "battery", Willow needed something from the target dimension to access it in the first place, requiring Connor due to the time he had spent in that world.
Angel was unsurprisingly furious with Willow for wanting to involve his son in her plans, at which point Willow snapped and blasted him for comparing her to him before breaking down in tears and insisting that the Earth was dying without magic and she needed to save it. Seeing Willow's inner turmoil, Angel was more sympathetic and agreed to take her to Connor and talk to him, but made it clear to Willow that it was Connor's choice to go along with her plan. Making their way to Los Angeles, the group reunited with Gunn and Connor, the latter of whom unhesitatingly agreed to Willow's plan because he had seen what was happening and knew that Willow was right. Using the Scythe to carve symbols into Connor's body, Willow managed to open an entrance to Quor'toth in the Hyperion Hotel.[84]
Willow's plan proved successful. In Quor'toth, Connor served as a guide, while Willow reminded Angel about the possible consequences of being in another dimension. They eventually came across dog-like demons who worshiped Connor; wanting to help them, Connor stayed behind. As Willow attempted to open a portal to the World Without Shrimp, they were attacked by the Old One called Quor'toth.
Angel absorbs a fragment of Giles' soul from the Scythe.
Willow tried to fight him off, but was at first overcome. Angel encouraged her by prompting her to reflect on how weak she had become without magic. As Willow regained her confidence, the magic began to corrupt her.[85]
In an attempt to calm her, Angel convinced Willow that she was strong enough to fight both the darkness and the demon. Still, she could not control herself, and transformed into "Dark Willow." She dropped a mountain on Quor'toth, and preached her desire to rule over the entire dimension. As she rampaged, Angel concocted a plan. Faith launched him into the sky, where he managed to sink his teeth into Willow's throat. His plan worked, and Willow returned to normal and fainted from fatigue. Angel struggled briefly with the urge to continue feeding on her; startled and frightened, he instructed that Faith kill him. She came close to doing so at his request, but was stopped by both Willow and Connor. In the wake of the battle, Angel and Willow managed to reconcile to a degree. She revealed that although she hadn't yet forgiven him, she couldn't hate him either. She allowed him to take the fragment of Giles' soul from the Scythe, and he, Faith, and Connor returned to Los Angeles while Willow and Connor's worshipers escaped to the World Without Shrimp.[86]
Angel confronts Whistler at a pizzeria in London.
Back in London, Angel met up with Whistler at a pizzeria on the anniversary of their first encounter in New York. Angel was furious with him when he realized that he was working with Pearl and Nash, and would have resorted to violence, had Whistler not broken his wrist and ordered him to sit down. After the two reminisced about the day they had met, Whistler criticized Angel for abandoning their plan before its completion. Unphased by Whistler's accusations, Angel justified that his friends had been in danger, and that he had simply wanted to help. He inculpated Whistler for allowing so many people to die for his cause, and for manipulating both him and Buffy in the past. Whistler did not deny this, but calmly revealed that Angel and Buffy's meeting had been predestined long ago. He also told Angel about his parents, a pureblood demon and an agent of the Powers That Be, who had been eliminated as a result of their forbidden relationship.[87]
Surprised by the revelation of Whistler's background, Angel became more sympathetic. Whistler then told him that before the Seed of Wonder had been destroyed, he had experienced one final vision, relaying a horrid possible future. Whistler told Angel that he wanted his help to prevent it, warranting that having some people die would be better than allowing the world end. Angel admitted his appreciation to Whistler for giving him a purpose, and for allowing him to meet Buffy, but expressed that he wouldn't participate in anything that would sacrifice the lives of innocent people, despite Whistler's fixation on "balance." Angered, Whistler attacked Angel and nearly staked him before managing to stop himself, remarking that Angel was still his "favorite kid" and he didn't want to kill him. Regardless, Whistler warned Angel that he would not be so lucky should their paths cross again.[87]
Angel and Faith successfully restore a corpse using the Crown of Coils.
Angel and Faith then traveled to Peru to retrieve the Crown of Coils from a demons' lair. As they fought the demons, the creatures continuously regenerated; according to Angel, people had suspected this to be an ability of the demons themselves, but Angel realized afterward that they had been restored because of the Crown's influence. He was proven right when he tested it on one of the demons' victims—the decomposed corpse became fresh once more, but because the body had no soul, it remained dead. Faith wondered aloud if the Crown would have the same effect as Mohra blood, but Angel had no answer. The two subsequently returned to London, where they put the Crown in Alasdair Coames' care for the purpose of having it studied, and went to the cemetery where Giles' had been buried to exhume his remains. Upon digging up his coffin, they were shocked to find his body missing; upon returning to their apartment, they realized that the body had been taken before it was ever buried, as the ground had been untouched.
Angel battles Ehygon.
Nadira and her fellow Slayers arrived unexpectedly, carrying with them the body of a dead Slayer. She expressed to Angel that she was aware of his plan to bring Giles back to life, and ordered him to resurrect the young woman, Marianne, who had been murdered by his "child", Drusilla. Angel refused, and told Nadira that resurrecting Giles was only possible because his life had been so deeply steeped in magic. Angry and stricken by grief, Nadira attacked Angel, and threatened him. She quickly left with her team when she received a text about a possible solution.[88]
Fed up with her problems with her Slayers, Faith lost patience and blamed Angel for her fellows' lack of trust in her. She made it clear that they were done working together after she finished helping him to bring Giles back. Understanding the truth of her statements, Angel complied without complaint. Together, they went to the funeral home where Giles' body had been brought to piece together that had happened to it. The Fairweather sisters informed them that Ethan Rayne had been on the guest book for the funeral, much to Angel and Faith's confusion, because he had been killed by General Voll during the Twilight crisis. Angel quickly surmised that Eyghon the Sleepwalker had possessed Ethan Rayne during the funeral, and had begun possessing Giles' body since. He also stated that the last fragment of Giles' soul rested within Eyghon.[89]
Soon afterward, Angel and Faith came across Nadira and her fellows fighting against zombified Slayers and Giles' body possessed by Eyghon. Angel and Faith immediately joined the battle. When Faith was hit by Eyghon, Angel fought against him, but was injured in the process. Eyhgon then escaped through a broken window.
Giles, Angelus, and Angel sharing one body.
At Alasdair's, Angel and Faith regrouped their forces. Angel admitted that he had known Eyghon was alive since his time as Twilight, and that the demon owned Giles' soul, which made his resurrection possible in theory. Faith then shared the fact that Eyghon had made a deal with Whistler, Pearl and Nash to create a perfect zombified world without magic. Consequently, this plan tied heavily into the new world revolutionized by Whistler. Angel then decided that he would be the one to attack Eyghon, as he believed that he would be immune to the demon's ability of possession. Spike, who Angel had called earlier for assistance,[90] also appeared at Alasdair's residence.[91]
During their reunion, Angel and Spike bickered—as usual—about both each other and Buffy, much to Faith's exasperation. Still, their vehemence was not as strong as it once had been, and they managed to focus on coming up with a strategy. They were interrupted by Eyghon, who had tracked them down at Alasdair's place. Spike and Angel worked together very effectively to defeat Eyghon, and almost succeeded in capturing him, but were hindered when Eyghon possessed Spike's body despite the fact that he already housed a demon. Ehygon attempted to overtake Angel as well, but was met with resistance by the three beings already inhabiting Angel's body. In the midst of battle, Angel became erratic; Angel, Angelus and Giles in turn took over his body. When Giles briefly took control, he managed to decapitate Eyghon, which instantly killed him and ended his control over the dead—the final piece of Giles' soul was absorbed into the Tooth of Ammuk.
Angel begins to lose sanity with three presences inside his body.
In the wake of the fight, Angel continued to shift between the three presences, much to Spike and Faith's concern. Because Angel was the only individual with detailed knowledge about Giles' resurrection, they were forced into an unlikely partnership to come up with a new plan to restore Angel's sanity.[92] As Angel suffered from his bout of insanity, he muttered about the death of Jenny Calendar from Giles' perspective. Observing this, Faith and Spike decided it was best to chain him to the wall in her basement. Together, they went to retrieve the Essuary, a magical item within which Giles' soul could be stored, from a den of soul-consuming demons called Enders.
When they returned, Spike was ordered to watch over Angel in the basement while Faith and the others performed the ritual. Spike ranted to a still deranged Angel about his own insecurities in regards to his relationship with Buffy. Angel regained consciousness at some point, but did not make it apparent until Spike admitted that he had always admired Angel for his ability to move on from Buffy. He spoke up, much to Spike's surprise, and sadly confessed that he hadn't moved on from her either. In gratitude for helping him, Angel gave Spike Harmony's phone number. The following morning, he and Faith caught Spike exiting the bathroom shower with Harmony. He jokingly expressed that if he had set anyone up but Harmony, he would have felt sleazy, and then left to get breakfast with Faith.[93]
Angel prepared to set up Giles' resurrection with a special incantation he found, intending to use Alasdair's artifacts as well. While getting into another argument with Spike, it was interrupted when Faith received an unexpected call from Buffy back in San Francisco. Angel instantly questioned her if Buffy was able to come and help them, appearly overtly hopeful and eager. Faith denied this, explaining that she was too busy helping "some sick girl named Dawn." Spike was shocked at her phrasing and tried to remind her she knew Dawn. Angel was puzzled at his outburst along with Faith, expressing a lack of awareness of Buffy even having a sister. Both of them had lost their memories of her since she was losing her magical essence due to the loss of magic, so Angel and Faith would be the first to forget her since they interacted little with her.
Angel admits to Spike that he is not yet over Buffy.
As a frustrated Spike left the two (being the only one who actually knew Buffy's connection to Dawn), Angel forced his attention to return to bringing Giles back. As planned, he went to Alasdair to borrow his magical items only to have the archmage refuse him. Tense and becoming increasingly more impatient, he threatened him and then accused Alasdair of working for Whistler, acutely noticing how it was strange that his items have not been raided yet. After turning out wrong in his judgement and the archmage's criticism of Angel's selfish motivations, he somehow won him over and was able to use the magical artifacts. After a deep-to-heart with Faith, the plan was set in motion and the spell was chanted. However, complications arose due to appearances of Whistler, Pearl, and Nash, intending to steal Alasdair's collection. Wanting to buy time, Angel and Faith fought against their enemies fiercely. Eventually, the trio retreated when they got what they wanted. Sophronia, Lavina, and Alasdair successfully finished the incantation and Giles' body was struck with magical energy.[94]
As the others were ordered to focus on their memories of Giles to make sure they pulled it off, Angel expressed his desperate need to fix what he did as he thought about when he had killed him. Successfully, Giles was brought back alive, albeit trapped in the body of his twelve-year old self. Despite this setback and Giles' initial displeasure of being brought back by him under these circumstances, he was undeterred and insisted they would find a way to fix this as well. Angel was flippant of these consequences, too relieved and happy that he had brought Giles back in one piece (more or less) to measure it with the appropriate degree of seriousness recommended. As Giles used his knowledge and experience to pinpoint the location of Whistler, Pearl, and Nash, they set out to oppose them after coming to a consensus that not all of them will make it out alive in the battle.[95]
As Whistler began to distill magic into a ball, Angel immediately tried to stop him, only to be distracted when Nash fought against him instead. Eventually, Nadira arrived and while she was still in no way forgiving of Angel, she seemed to acknowledge that he was not the "true" bad guy, instead launching herself at Nash for her revenge. Angel again attempted to reason to Whistler over the wrongness of killing so many innocent people, not feeling any desire to kill him. Once again, he did not listen and remained fixed in his belief that he was "saving" the world. Angel fought against Whistler, only for him to transform into a blue-horned demon with very strong melting abilities. Nash had gained control of the plague ball, and prepared to drop it on the people below. Lavinia threw Angel another a sword, and he attempted to stop Nash, only for him to easily deflect it.
After Giles threw a magic fire ball, Nash dropped the plague ball. Angel and everyone else immediately tried to catch it, but ultimately could not stop it in time. The people below began to mutate into monsters, Angel and the others looking on in helpless horror.[96]
After ordering Faith to retrieve the pure magic orb, Angel resumed his face-off against Whistler. He once again tried to talk him out of his obsession with releasing the plague across the world, the two conflicting heavily with their differing idealogies. Angel roughly grabbed Whistler's horns and forced his attention to the people transforming into monsters below them, giving a moving speech about how the "necessary losses" were people with lives and that it cost too much to sacrifice so many. While he appeared to somewhat doubt himself, Whistler did not change his mind and insisted it was the only way and that he had gone too far to stop. Shoving him away, he managed to escape Angel and prepared to launch the magic plague across the world. Angel acted quickly and grabbed his wrist. Giving up trying to reason with Whistler, Angel challenged his benefactor to a duel, declaring that, since Whistler had always said that it was always the "big moments" that defined a person, now it was time to find out.[97]
The two traded blows, each trying to seize control of the magic orb. Angel managed to get it and punctured it on one of Whistler's horns, trying to release the pressure to stop the explosion. Whistler somehow saved himself, but the act weakened him and reverted him back to his human form. Angel reiterated the damage he was causing and implored him to stop it. This time, Whistler was convinced and told him he wanted to help despite the cost. Whistler absorbed the magic into his own body so no one would get hurt, but the price was his death. Angel was sad by his passing and took a brief moment to grieve for him before rounding up his group to tend to the changed humans. He helped out with the people, but rejected Alasdair's implication of him becoming the next balance demon.
After Faith's choice to go on her own away from London, Giles informed Angel that he was also leaving for San Francisco to return to Buffy, something he had been expecting. The two share a friendly moment together, Angel telling him that he wanted to stay in London and help the mutated people who needed guiding.[98]
Magic Town
With Giles and Faith having departed London, Angel initially does what he can to maintain control of the rising magical disturbances, with only the occasional aid from Sophia and Lavinia. However, after meeting with Nadira — whose magical mutation had stabilized and who appeared to possess some insight into the workings of "Magic Town" — Angel has begun to work with her, her insights directing him to locations where he can do specific good, such as preventing Pearl acquiring bottled magic. While investigating recent murders with Sophia and Lavinia's aid, Angel witnessed a newly-turned vampire walking in sunlight and displaying a greater resistance to the usual anti-vampire weapons, confirming that the restoration of magic has changed the rules for new vampires. When Amy Madison approached him for help to resurrect Warren, Angel initially contemplated accepting the request due to his role in Warren's death, but when Amy revealed that her true plan was to lure Willow to London so that she could get revenge, Angel instead confronted her with Nadira, whose innate sympathy with the magic of Magic Town allowed her to turn Amy's traps back on herself and turn Amy into a rat.
While walking along a street after this battle, Angel was shocked to encounter what appeared to be Fred. With Nadira's help, Angel speculatively established that the new rules of magic had caused some old spells to 'reset', resulting in Illyria's resurrection being 'undone' and allowing Fred to exist once again, although she retains memories of her time in Illyria. He is subsequently reunited with Faith when she returns to Magic Town as part of her new job with Zane Pharmaceuticals, but the company's attempt to assist him in assessing Fred's condition results in Illyria taking control once again. However, Angel and Faith are able to contain Illyria long enough for Fred to regain control, Angel reflecting that, despite the complications of Illyria's return, he is grateful that Fred has been restored. To celebrate her return, Angel takes Fred on a trip to Ireland when she expresses a wish to see more of the world, the two visiting Galway to see where Angel grew up, although they become caught up in a plan by various witches to gain power through the fear generated by tours of Angelus's first murder spree and the blood of a Gachnar demon.
When the Scooby Gang found themselves facing the demon Archaeus — the demon who originally turned the Master into a vampire, and hence the source of the Aurelius bloodline — they called Angel for help, during which he learned that Buffy and Spike had started dating again. Although Angel assisted in defeating Archaeus and accepted Buffy and Spike's relationship, he noted to Willow as he left that he doubted that the relationship will last, recognizing over the years that Spike seeks relationships that he believes will 'save' him from himself, only to push his partners away and convince himself that his problems are simply unfixable.
Having returned to Magic Town, Angel explains the situation to Faith and Fred after Archaeus manages to abduct Nadira, but while searching for her, he is confronted by Archaeus and Drusilla and temporarily reverted back to Angelus before he manages to collect himself. Archaeus later attempts to call down the spirit of Magic Town itself to ally with him, but despite Archaeus attempting to present himself as open to debate where Angel just wanted to attack him, when the spirit witnesses Angel's allies run to join him despite the danger where Archaeus's forces only obey him out of fear, it allies with Angel to trap Archaeus in the golem body Archaeus had intended to offer the spirit, sealing the demon away.
Personality and traits
- “The greater scheme, the big picture. Nothing we do matters. There's no grand plan, no big win. If there's no great, glorious end to this, nothing we do matters. All that matters is what we do. 'Cause that's all there is. What we do. Today. I've fought for so long. For redemption, for a reward, finally just to beat the other guy but I never got it. [...] All I want to do is help. I wanna help because I don't think people should suffer as they do. Because if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world.”
- ―Angel[src]Angel tends to be reserved and is often seen as more wounded up and uptight in contrast to other characters, sometimes even rivaling Wesley and Giles. His most prominent and mocked trait was his tendency to be overly gloomy and brooding. Before moving to Los Angeles, he was inclined to spend much of his time alone, and was never open with friends or allies, with the exception of Buffy to an extent, though he still kept quiet about his past from her, as he felt it would disgust her. The sins he committed when soulless are constantly at the back of his mind, to a degree where he felt for a very long time that he did not deserve happiness or redemption. He defied Whistler's wishes for him to help Buffy at first, and many years later, when he was offered a chance to live without his vampiric weaknesses with the Gem of Amara, he chose to destroy it instead, justifying that he needed to continue living with his punishment.[99] He also refused Drusilla's offer to remove his pain with her Lorophage demon because he felt that his guilt drove him to do good and kept Angelus at bay.[82] While Angel's belief in his mission for redemption fluctuates frequently over being worth it, he still continued to help others as a champion.
Angel was quite self-detrimental and was prone to long spells of doubt, depression and regret. He still felt that he was far from deserving of contentment, but worked tirelessly to prove himself to his peers and the Powers That Be. Still, for a long time he believed himself a lost cause. When he fed off the body of a shop keeper in a moment of weakness in the 1970s, he resigned himself to a life of homelessness, and was not stirred out of it until Whistler showed him Buffy Summers approximately twenty years later. Though this state of mind changed somewhat when he fell in love with Buffy, it wasn't until he learned about the Shanshu Prophecy that he truly began believing in himself and his actions. Angel was also established as detached from reality, and didn't find many things in his life he could look forward to. Unlike humans, who grow and learn as they age, Angel was frozen in time.[100] He has an almost unhealthy obsession with his destiny; he will follow almost any metaphorical road as long as he believes it will help people (specifically Buffy or himself) to achieve what they were destined for. Because of this, he could easily make dangerous decisions. This was made most obvious when he allowed himself to be manipulated by Twilight for what he believed was the greater good. Under Twilight's influence, he was indirectly responsible for the death of two hundred slayers — defending it on the grounds that more would have died if he had done nothing —, created a dimension with Buffy that threatened to destroy Earth itself, and later and brutally murdered Giles (although it should be noted that Twilight was directly in control of Angel when he killed Giles rather than Angel doing it himself).
Angel was a quiet, private individual. He tended to keep up a stoic and brave face, similar to Oz in that regard. This personality trait partly contributed to his established dislike of parties, preferring to either not be at one or remain on the sidelines if he had to.[101][102] Despite this, he nonetheless displayed a tendency to throw taunts and insults to his enemies or just those he intensely disliked. Angel also possessed a sense of humor despite his serious personality, usually in the form of dark sarcasm. He was also very self-conscious, and worried what other people thought of him very often. He believed he had little talent with words, and disliked public speaking.[103] During his first year in Los Angeles with Angel Investigations, he displayed an acute lack of people skills, and was very anti-social and reclusive. He worried constantly what people would think of him, and was reluctant to drink blood around his friends. Simply put, Angel had difficulty trusting others, and it took him a long time to feel comfortable around his companions. Eventually, Angel became more comfortable with himself and social interaction the more he connected with people in Los Angeles, noting after a few months that he had come to think of his new colleagues as his family. He could also be unintentionally blunt in his reasonings and manner of speech, though this eventually became less frequent over the years. Angel's speech patterns were also established as cryptic and sometimes abbreviated, much to Buffy and others' frequent irritation. He had a tendency to bottle up his emotions, feelings and problems behind stoicism, causing him to appear difficult to read and secretive. According to his friends and despite his constant objection, he rarely smiled and only openly cried on one occasion.[103]
Angel was also somewhat of a natural nurturing figure, easily sympathizing with the hardships of others and taking it upon himself to be the one to guide them through it. His chivalry and sensitivity frequently made him prone to seeing others as his complete responsibility, specifically "damsels in distress".[104] Angel's protective instincts towards others are intensified towards those he deeply loves, even to the point of being somewhat extreme. This is made most obvious through his interactions with Connor, Cordelia, and Buffy. Because of his borderline martyr complex, Angel has repeatedly sacrificed his own happiness for the sake of the world or individual people who mean a lot to him, such as giving up his humanity to in an attempt to save Buffy from her prophesied death[105] and destroying the Gem of Amara. However, while Angel enjoyed "helping the helpless", he was also especially motivated by the prospect of redemption in the form of Shanshu. The thought that he might someday be forgiven for his past and allowed to live on deeply affected him, causing him to latch on to it immediately. Over the years, Angel became increasingly disillusioned with the Shanshu Prophecy, eventually coming to believe that the prophecy was wholly unreliable, causing him to focus on doing good for the sake of it rather than for a reward. After having been possessed by Twilight he came to believe that redemption would be impossible because of all the damage he had caused with a soul and without.[106]
For most of his ensouled depression, Angel's opinion of people was mostly uncaring and negative despite his newfound guilt for his sins.[107] However, after meeting Buffy and seeing the well of inner strength she possessed, his outlook on humanity slowly changed. He naturally associated them with "always trying", no matter the cost, and more than once made reference to their right to choose over others' attempts to impose their own will on them. Angel admitted on two separate occasions he admired that about people, citing it as one of aspects that drove him to atone,[104][108] a sharp contrast from his soulless counterpart who did not have faith in the "human condition" and believed their only purpose was to suffer and die.[109] However, unlike Buffy, who adamantly refused to kill humans no matter how evil they were,[110] Angel had no such reservations and would kill a human easily if they murdered or threatened innocents; for example, he unhesitatingly killed the human assassin Vanessa Brewer, whom Wolfram & Hart repeatedly prevented from being brought to justice for her crimes, when she was hired by them to kill the Holy Triumvirate.[111]
Angel admitted to hating the stereotype that vampires sleep in coffins during the day; when asked why he wasn't sleeping in a coffin, Angel angrily explained that the idea of sleeping in coffins originated from "ignorant media" and that vampires are perfectly capable of operating during the day as long as they avoid exposure to direct sunlight.[43] Furthermore, he also had a dislike of churches, though this was due to the fact that he often preyed on nuns while soulless and they brought up bad memories rather than atheism or blasphemy.
Angel's viewpoints on battling evil was often seen as mostly realistic and cynical. It never made much of a true difference in the end, good would never truly triumph over evil because it would always come back. However, Angel would also state that it was important to keep trying because things were important enough to fight for.[4] However, he would eventually convince himself that he could make a difference, redeem himself, and receive some sort of reward for it. This thought process eventually triggered Angel into a massive depression after being severely thwarted by several obstacles (Wolfram & Hart, Darla's resurrection), changing his outlook and attitude. For a few months, he became more hardened and emotionless to the point he had fired his entire crew from Angel Investigations. Angel would even indirectly kill several human lawyers of Wolfram & Hart by locking them in a room at the mercy of Drusilla and Darla in his obsession to take them down.[112] After a misguided one-night stand with Darla in a moment of weakness,[113] he snapped out of his depression and returned to himself for the most part. Angel would return to his "never winning" belief, but a more elaborated version: "If nothing we do matters, than all that matters is what we do."[45] Following Whistler's self-sacrifice to save the world and the advice he parted with him, Angel gained a certain degree of peace with himself. He stated to Giles that "helping the helpless" was a redundant saying since everyone, including yourself, was at one point helpless and they would eventually need someone as well.[98]
Despite his constant stoicism, Angel was more than capable of forming close bonds with others, particularly his Angel Investigations associates. He could be roused to anger when they were harmed or threatened in any way, and openly threatened to kill Lilah Morgan when she tortured Cordelia to force him to work for her,[114] and nearly smothered Wesley to death when his actions resulted in Connor being trapped in Quor'toth.[115] He was devoted to those he cared about, and has been shown to be willing to do almost anything for their safety and well-being. Strong examples of this include him wiping an insane Connor's memory so he would live peacefully with new parents[116] and taking away his chance of being together with Buffy as a human under the believed notion that he was saving her from death by constantly risking her life to protect him. [117] Still, he would on occasion put them below the "bigger picture", particularly the fate of the world. He came very close to ending Cordelia's life to prevent Jasmine from being born,[118] fought ferociously against an insane Connor,[116] lied to his friends and killed his longtime friend and ally Drogyn to trick the Circle of the Black Thorn into believing that he had been corrupted, and tortured Buffy under the guise of Twilight for an entire year so the world wouldn't be sent to Hell. Of course, he was manipulated into believing Twilight's influence was good, and beat Buffy down to her lowest point so she could be empowered.
Angel also had an obsessive streak in him, most prominently seen when Darla was resurrected by Wolfram & Hart and later with his desire to bring Giles back from the dead. Angel had been seen many times to be obsessively single-minded in his plans or goals, to the point that he occasionally disregarded his moral code and crossed a line; he can be impulsive, often running blindly down any path he believed would help redeem himself and not bothering to think about the consequences of his actions until it was too late, something that Willow criticized him over.[84] Because of this thought process, he often ended up causing more trouble than he prevented. Angel also believed for years that the ends justified the means up to a certain extent and has been seen doing morally wrong acts for the "greater good", examples being Lindsey (he instructed Lorne to kill him),[119] and actions as Twilight.[120] However, after his bad decisions as Twilight, Angel's big picture thinking issue began to lessen and he was much less eager to commit acts with the "the ends justified the means" mentality in mind. This became most clear with when he explicitly told Whistler that he would not help him "save the world" if it meant killing innocents and causing any more collateral damage. Angel seemed to learn his lesson, arguing that Buffy had made him realize that condemning innocent people to die for the "greater good" to such an extreme was wrong and far too costly.[74][87][97]
Angel could be considered to an "artist" in many ways. He described evil as an art, and created "masterpieces" out of people through intense physical and emotional torture. Out of all the sins he committed, Drusilla lived on as a relic of the very worst of his immoralities. He had a very artistic slant in regards to villainy, and in a conversation with Spike about the natures of good and evil, said: "I couldn't take my eyes off them (victims). I was only in it for the evil. That was everything to me. It was art... The destruction of a human being." On a more positive note, he was also an excellent sketch artist, and possessed a photographic memory that he used to his advantage. Literally, Angel was the "artist", while Spike was the "poet". Angel's appreciation of arts and theater manifested into an enjoyment of ballets even when he was evil.[121] He would also once admit an interest in mysteries and detective work, partly hinted at earlier on in the name of Angel Investigations.[122]
Angel often naturally adopted a controlling persona around people, especially those he was closest too. Xander once took notice of this, and mockingly called him "Bossy the Cow."[14] However, this also made him a natural leader towards others. He was always one of the first to come up with ideas and usually made quick, effective decisions. Despite his limited knowledge over most pop culture and educational attributes, Angel was usually fairly intelligent in other aspects. He was level-headed and logical most of the time, making him a frequent voice of reason in most situations. Another notable trait of Angel's was his tendency to make life-changing decisions for other people without their consent or knowledge, showing a fairly prominent degree of subconscious self-righteousness. He never did this out of spite, always believing he was only doing the right thing for others. With his loved ones, Angel was especially driven by a desire to make things better for them, even if the latter disagreed with what he wanted them to have. Unfortunately, this makes him very narrow-minded, ornery, and self-willed. Despite his almost trademark stubbornness, he could be impressionable and easily swayed by the thought of destiny. Such cases include his quick acceptance of the taking up the mantle of Twilight because of Whistler and his misguided period in Wolfram & Hart. Angel, while not exactly quick to anger, could become irritated at times. People who have annoyed him most include Spike, Xander, and Harmony.
Despite being over two-centuries old, Angel was not the most mature individual. Buffy even compared his maturity to that of a twelve-year-old during one of their reunions.[123] He could be childish, petty and utterly proud. For example, he was annoyed and pretended to be unimpressed when he heard Lindsey singing at Caritas,[124] and showed intense displeasure at Spike for regaining his soul, as it caused him to feel less unique.[125] He also expressed a childish distaste of riding on the back of a motorcycle with other men on two occasions: first, with Wesley, who tried to make him wear a pink helmet,[126] and later, with Spike.[127] Spike also called Angel a "drama queen"[128] and Cordelia once noted that he was melodramatic.[129] He's particularly sensitive to criticism, usually trivial, such as ones about his looks or nit-picky comments about himself. Angel could also be braggy and sometimes pretentious, shown when he recounted stories of his battles to the people of Pylea (who had hailed him a hero) and was even smugly flattered by their continuous admiration of him, admitting to Lorne that it was nice to be not have to deal the moral ambiguity judgments he often got at home.[130]
Angel was prone to unattractive and very obvious bouts of jealousy and possessiveness. Angel himself was very aware of this (though he rarely admitted it), but made little effort to hide it. The most frequent cases of him showing this side of himself stem from Buffy's other romantic relationships, most notably Riley Finn and Spike to a greater extent.
Angel was also a fan of pop culture to some degree, enjoying Barry Manilow's music[131] and being a fan of ice hockey;[132] indeed, part of the reason he originally founded Angel Investigations was because of his liking of old detective novels.[133]
During his darker phases, Angel also smoked, such as his reversion to soulless state in 1998,[31] his ensouled depression pre-Buffy,[134] and his dark phase in Los Angeles in late 2000.[135]
Angel vs. Angelus
- “Look, I'm weak. I've never been anything else. It's not the demon in me that needs killing, Buffy. It's the man.”
- ―Angel to Buffy[src]
Angelus versus Angel
While Liam was a human and Angelus a vampire, Angel was something else: a demon with a human soul, a hybrid of man and vampire. With the exception of while amnesiac, Angel would not take back his birth name of Liam.[136] As Angelus, he considered both the physical and mental destruction of a human being to be artistic, while he frequently struggled with his vampiric urges as Angel.
Angelus was several times referred to as perhaps the most evil and brutal vampire in existence, even surpassing his comrades in the Whirlwind, murdering more people in his first hundred years of activity then any of them in their entire lives. Angel once told Lindsey McDonald "I'm the greatest mass murderer you've ever met," despite the fact that Lindsey had previously met all the former members of the Whirlwind.[55] Even the Master, an ancient vampire known for his evil, once commented that Angelus was "the most vicious creature [he had] ever met."[29] Besides being a mass murderer, Angelus was also a rapist, known for sexually assaulting many of his female victims, such as the Romani girl that lead to his being cursed. He was also known to use the threat of rape as a psychological weapon, shown when he, while locked in a cage, gleefully reveals that "they're not a lot of things I wouldn't mind doing to that [Cordelia's] body. Other than the obvious."
Angel, by contrast, enjoyed the feeling of helping people and doing what was right, and desired to atone for the atrocities he committed while soulless. His soul provided him with constant torment with memories of his past, as his photographic memory allowed him to recall, in perfect detail, each face of his past victims. While once fighting because he believed he was making a difference in the battle between good and evil, and that he would gain measure of redemption upon completion of this task, he altered this view after having an epiphany about his fight, and altered his reasons. He once explained these reasons to Kate Lockley by saying: "All I want to do is help. I want to help because I don't think people should suffer as they do, because if there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world."[45] He did not always seem to believe it was actually possible for him to gain redemption for his evil actions, once telling Spike that he believes his escape from Acathla's dimension was not an escape, but only a "short reprieve," and that he still believes he would go to hell when he die.
The distinction between Angel and Angelus was somewhat blurred. Immediately after regaining his soul, the entity that would come to define himself as Angel initially appeared unaware of what he had done as Angelus, and was initially horrified at the memories of what he had done. Once he was past the initial trauma, he spent some time immediately after regaining his soul simply acting like Angelus with a conscience, secretly horrified with his past crimes but acting like Angelus to the point that he was able to deceive Drusilla and Spike into believing that he was still the same vampire as before. However, he eventually accepted his new status as a vampire with a soul; initially only killing murderers and rapists, when Darla put him in a position where he would have to kill an innocent baby to 'prove' himself, he instead took the child away from Darla. By the 1950s, Angel had developed to a point where he was compared to "Angelus without the sadism," possessing a cynical view of the world and generally uninterested in social interaction without actually wanting to kill anybody. At one point, he briefly attempted to help a young woman escape prosecution for her mixed-race heritage before she turned on him in a panic under the influence of a Thesulac demon, Angel subsequently abandoning the hotel to the demon's influence even after it offered him the chance to kill it, although he eventually atoned for this action by returning to the hotel to eliminate it once and for all.[27]
It takes a few moments for Angel to remember Angelus' actions whenever the curse takes effect.[6][33] Angel once reverted to Angelus without his curse being broken, due to having been secretly fed a happy pill that, while under its effects, made him experience perfect happiness.[137] The two are indeed shown to be separate personas, both struggling within Angel's mind for control,[23] with Drusilla noting that Angelus was always whispering to Angel in the back of his mind to encourage him to submit to his vampiric instincts, although Angel rejected this idea and claimed that he was used to ignoring what people have to say to him.[80] In support of this, Angelus appeared genuinely scared for the first time in his existence when Jasmine threatened to return him to his prison within Angel's mind, where he would be forced to watch forever. When all reference to the Beast was erased from this dimension, Angel was also affected, while Angelus was not, as he did not technically exist when the spell was cast. Further evidence can be found in the fact that Angelus considers himself a separate being to Angel, often referring to Angel as though he were a separate person. Also, when Angel fought with Eyghon the Sleepwalker when Eyghon was fully manifested in this plane, he confidently stated that, while Egyhon could overpower one or two personalities, he was more resistant to Eyghon's influence as he currently had three personas in his body (Angel himself, Angelus, and the soul of Rupert Giles, whom Angel was trying to resurrect); after Eyghon's defeat, Spike, Faith and Alasdair Coames all referred to Angel and Angelus as separate entities in Angel.
Despite them acknowledging each other as separate entities, when speaking of Angelus' crimes, Angel often referred to him in the first person, talking about Angelus's crimes as his own, but will, at other times, refer to him as a separate entity. For example, when taunted by the First Evil,[4] Angel cried out, "It wasn't me!" Though the names "Angel" and "Angelus" are typically used synonymously, there was a distinction, which Buffy noticed: when Angelus tried to taunt her by claiming that Angel never really loved her, she stated: "That doesn't work anymore. You're not Angel."[31] However, he appeared to have gone by the name of Angel long before meeting Buffy face to face, as he corrected the Demon Research Initiative when they referred to him as Angelus.[26] At one point, Angelus did refer to himself as Angel ("Wrong. I am Angel. At last.") — although this could just mean that he regards himself as the true personality, while Angel was "just something that [he was] forced to wear" — and was constantly referred to as "Angel" by both Drusilla and Spike during his time in Sunnydale, suggesting that Angelus, before being ensouled, considered the name to belonged to him (indeed, as the Master pointed out, "angelus" was just the Latin version of "angel"). It was Jenny Calender who first made a distinction between the two personalities (the Scooby Gang always referred to him as Angel while he was active in Sunnydale, although Angel Investigations — with the exception of Connor — drew a clearer distinction between the two identities when Angelus was released once again), Jenny stating that "Angelus is back" when learning about the true nature of his curse.
Angelus had been shown to resent many of Angel's habits and was disgusted by them, such as his love for Buffy, his loyalty and compassion towards his teammates in Angel Investigations, his twenty-year period of feeding on rat blood after giving into his desires by drinking from a murder victim, and his enjoyment of Barry Manilow. Additionally, due to Angel's relationship with Buffy, Angelus was greatly disgusted by the fact that while with a soul, she had made him feel human: when Buffy and Angelus were possessed by the ghosts of a murder-suicide couple and freed from their influence after the ghosts reaffirm their love and kiss,[138] Angelus was so horrified and disgusted by this intimate contact with Buffy that he immediately ran off and frantically scrubbed himself in the fountain of the Crawford Street Mansion, remarking that love had "violated him" and deciding that he needed "a really vile kill" to completely cleanse himself. However, Angelus did not truly hate Buffy, as he did not feel pure hatred towards anything, and even seemed to lack the ability to do so. This was shared by Angel, who once commented that he had "given up on hate a long time ago," and that he/Angelus never killed purely out of hatred, but rather because of his shear sadism.[129] Unlike Angel, Angelus was unaffected by the Judge, a demon who could incinerate any being with "humanity" (more specifically the ability to feel the complete range of human emotions), thus proving that Angelus was seemingly a complete sociopath who was incapable of experiencing emotions properly. Nonetheless, Angel's seeming inability to hate made him the only known male immune to the misogyny-inducing touch of Billy Blim. However, Angelus, despite being purely evil, was capable of great sadness on rare occasions, as he was moved to tears by a performance of Giselle which he attended in 1890. Angel also shared this quirk, and still remained in awe of the ballet,[19] linked as well to their mutual appreciation of the arts. Although it was only later admitted by Angel, both he and Angelus both (secretly) enjoyed Spike's poetry, although Angelus was always too proud/embarrassed to ever admit it.[131]
Both identities showed themselves to be skilled improvisational actors, Angelus easily able to win the trust of his victims, while Angel managed to fool such opponents as a random Wolfram & Hart lawyer to the entire Circle of the Black Thorn into believing that he belonged to their respective affiliations. Each possessed essentially the same combat style, although Angelus tended to taunt his opponents to put them off-guard, such as when he fought Buffy and the Beast, while Angel was generally a silent combatant unless the other person talked to him first. Both demonstrated a skilled use of psychology outside of battle; Angel retained Angelus' understanding of the psychosis of such criminals as stalkers, giving him a unique insight into many of his enemies, while Angelus regularly exploited Angel's knowledge of his allies to play on their weaknesses, such as Buffy's natural insecurities about her sexual performance after losing her virginity, mocking Xander's crush on Buffy with the knowledge that Angel got to her first, mentioning Wesley's affair with Lilah where Fred could hear it, revealing Angel's knowledge that Gunn and Fred killed Professor Seidel (while Angel had kept quiet about it and let them think he believed the claim that Seidel fell into his own portal), and taunting Connor about the deaths of Holtz and Darla.
Cordelia, while possessed by Jasmine, once commented that Angelus was dangerous because he "lies with the truth," providing enough information to turn his enemies against each other while withholding some crucial details like Angel's own feelings about the topics Angelus would discuss. For example, when talking with Connor, Angelus implied that Darla and Holtz killed themselves because they hated Connor, whereas Darla staked herself for the sole purpose of ensuring Connor's survival (although Holtz's death was an extension of his obsession with punishing Angelus). Despite this shared awareness of each other's thoughts, the two's different natures meant that they still could not understand their other self, Angelus commenting that he failed to understand Angel's concern with the "human condition," regarding humans' only purpose as being to suffer and die, while Jasmine noted that Angelus appeared to have a greater understanding of opponents like the Beast than Angel does.
Another key difference between Angel and Angelus was that Angelus, though pure evil and incapable of feeling love, was known for brutal acts of "love", such as giving Drusilla a fresh human heart as a Valentine's Day gift. Additionally, he would use others' relationships to torment his enemies; for example, he placed the recently-slain body of Jenny Calendar in Giles' bed, along with a few clues to make it appear as though Jenny had set up a romantic evening for them.[32] During his stay in Sunnydale, Angelus repeatedly broke into Buffy's home to watch her sleep and drew portraits of her and her mother then left them behind for Buffy to find. Angelus also snuck into Willow's house, killed all of her pet fish, then strung all of them together in an envelope for Willow to find. One of Angelus' most notorious crimes was when he killed three children and set them all up in bed to make them appear to be sleeping, and their father didn't realize the truth until he kissed one of them good night and noticed how cold they were.[4] Angel, by contrast, was often aware of the importance of love even if he often shied away from it because of both his guilt about his past and the curse on his soul, forming strong familial bonds with his teammates at Angel Investigations. He described his relationship with Cordelia as "family" only a few months after they started to work together.[139] During his relationship with Buffy, he gave her a cross, a claddagh ring, and a book of poetry for her birthdays.
Additionally, Angelus was not only an expert in torture, but a complete sadist. When contemplating torturing Giles for information on how to awaken Acathla, Angelus remarked that the last time that he had tortured someone, they hadn't even invented the chainsaw, and even told Giles that he hoped that he wouldn't reveal the information just so he would have the opportunity to torture him. Indeed, Giles later remarked that Angelus had in fact tortured him for several hours largely for his own amusement. While Angel possessed Angelus' knowledge of torture, and used it on occasion, such as when he tortured Linwood Murrow to try to learn how to open a portal to Quor'toth to save his son, typically he acquired information by intimidating those enemies who knew about his past as Angelus into thinking that he would torture them rather than actually resorting to such measures, to the point where Gavin Park gave in and started talking about what Wolfram & Hart had deciphered after extracting Lorne's latest vision from his mind after Angel appeared in his office before the vampire even touched him.
Another difference between the two was their views on killing humans. While Angelus didn't hesitate to kill humans and in fact enjoyed it, Angel avoided it as much as possible. Angel would kill an evil human if the need arose, shown in his willingness with Vanessa Brewer, but would not kill under other circumstances unless he was certain of its necessity, as shown most keenly by the fact that he generally avoided killing anyone at Wolfram & Hart directly himself regardless of the valid reasons and varied opportunities he possessed to do so. After Angel got his soul back the first time and was trying to convince Darla to let him rejoin her, she revealed that, while he had been killing again — Angel trying to be what Darla expected because he didn't know what else to do with himself —, he had only been killing rapists, thieves, and murderers, in short, only evil humans.
Angelus' Achilles' heel was his own narcissism and ego: he was prone to excessive talking, and his constant need to taunt his opponents or brag about his accomplishments when he had them on the ropes was often used against him by his victims, either to try to escape or fight back. Spike once remarked that Angelus "bloody well talk[ed] them to death before [he] kill[ed] them." For example, in his final battle with Buffy, Angelus defeated the slayer, but his excessive talking allowed her to regain herself and fight back, ultimately beating him. Similarly, when fighting Faith, he was shown to be superior in combat, but his taunts sent her into a rage that allowed her to beat him back, although he still managed to beat her when she let her guard down. Although Angel was equally aware of his combat skills and reputation, he typically talked with his opponents prior to battles rather than during, once convincing an opponent not to bother fighting him, and exploiting opportunities to end a fight, whereas Angelus would allow his foe to live so that he could mock them before delivering the killing blow.
Overall it would seem that Angel and Angelus were, in general, two separate identities sharing the same body, but their shared memory causes them to consider themselves almost one person. Angel felt remorse over the crimes of Angelus and considered himself to be condemned to Hell for those crimes. However, the Powers That Be seemed to believe Angel and Angelus were one as they viewed him responsible for his actions as he was given missions to by them to atone. Also, Angel would referred to himself as Angelus and vice-versa, suggesting that they both considered the names interchangeable, although Angelus seemed to only do this to taunt others, usually referring to Angel as a separate person, and even correcting those that call him "Angel". Notably, despite having his soul restored, Angel would struggled with the same vampiric urges while soulless. However, he acted on these urges while soulless, but when ensouled his humanity hold him back. Each identity clearly loathed what the other brought to their shared existence, with Angel hating himself for his vampiric urges and his crimes while soulless, while Angelus hated Angel for the humanity his soul provided him. When the separate personalities fought under the effects of the Orpheus drug, Angelus expressed pleasure at finally being able to take his frustrations out on Angel for all the things he had made him watch, while Angel confirmed that he had waited a long time for the chance to fight his demon self.
Appearance
- Giles: “There's mention over two hundred years ago in Ireland of Angelus, the one with the angelic face.”
- Buffy: “They got that right.”
- — Giles and Buffy[src]
Angel's most readily identifiable characteristic was his hair which varied in length. As a human and Angelus he often sported either long, shoulder-length hair, either down or in a loose ponytail. After regaining his soul, he cut his hair shorter by the 1920s, occasionally slicked with a side part. In the next five decades, Angel kept his hair that way until the 1970s where had grew out his hair again. Since the late 1990s during his tenure in Sunnydale, Angel's hair was consistently spiked upward at the front with styling product (a fact that he was apparently unaware of, due to his reaction upon seeing his reflection in a mirror during a trip to Pylea). The length seemed to be slighter shorter around 2002 and while CEO of Wolfram & Hart, he sometimes had his hair combed over. Around the fall of Los Angeles, Angel returned to his notable spiked look.
Angel had a very distinct appearance and style of dress, traditionally wearing full-length, black wool dusters, a light brown trench coat, or a shorter leather jacket, black trousers and black dress shoes. Although his dress shirts tend to vary in color, they are often in gem tones and other dark colors. While he initially wore untucked white button down shirts with black dress jackets and a black leather bomber jacket (which he gave to Buffy), he began wearing white undershirts, white and black wife beaters, a red velvet shirt, gray and black soft pullovers and long-sleeved dress shirts in colors such as blue and red. The notable exceptions to this rule were when Angel wore a Hawaiian shirt while undercover,[140] a cream pullover identical to his darker ones to make a customer more comfortable,[141] an uncharacteristic white and yellow striped dress shirt while under Jasmine's thrall and a loud Italian sports jacket[21] (although this last was only because his usual clothes were damaged by a bomb planted by the Immortal and there was nothing else available for him to wear). In 1998, as Angelus, his style somewhat changed, noticeably the black leather pants he wore throughout his this period (something that both Cordelia and Lorne have referenced). As well as the leather pants, his shirts were generally silk button shirts in black and red, as well as paisley button shirt, though his full length black wool duster remained.
Angel has a tattoo of a bird with the letter A in the tail on his back.
While in the Twilight persona, Angel wore a black leather duster along with metal chest armor, black pants, black gloves, black boots and a red, black and gold mask.
Angel has been considered to be physically attractive to others numerous times, noted especially his legendary title as the "one with the angelic face". After his first meeting with Buffy, which left her with a bad impression, she still described him as 'gorgeous',[28] embarrassingly calling him a 'honey' after claiming most girls would find him attractive "if they have eyes" and describing him as a 'hunk' in her diary and that his eyes were 'penetrating'.[142] His looks took not only the interests of Buffy but also Cordelia, Faith, Fred, Kendra Young, Anya Jenkins and various other women. He has even caught the attraction of males. Xander, though in anguish, commented that Angel was "buff" and a very attractive man when first seeing him,[143] Lorne had a tendency to affectionately call him "angelcakes", Oliver Simon openly stated Angel was a "beautiful man" without even being properly acquainted,[25] while a rude television commercial director assumed he was a male-model.[144] Angel seemed largely surprised or unresponsive to these claims; he did admire himself when looking in a mirror in Pylea, although this could have been simply because he hadn't seen himself for several centuries apart from a brief glimpse after he was turned human by Mohra blood.
Despite this, Spike, being Spike would mock his appearance in terms of his hair, claiming he used 'Nancy boy hair gel'[145] and Doyle who, thinking Angel had slept with his love interest Cordelia, described Angel's forehead as "overhanging".[146] Spike had also made note of his forehead, mockingly giving him the occasional insult of "Captain Forehead".
Powers and abilities
- “You get lucky, you might last ten minutes. Really lucky, and you're unconscious for the last five.”
- ―Angel warns Griff of what he's capable of.[src]Enhanced vampire abilities: Angel had the standard powers and vulnerabilities of a vampire; he was immortal, regenerated damage, possessed superhuman physical attributes, and had heightened senses, able to track people by scent alone. He was also vulnerable to holy items and sunlight, could be killed by decapitation and a stake to the heart, needed to regularly ingest mammal blood to maintain his vitality, and could not enter the residence of a living human without being invited by a resident. Due to his advanced age, however, he was considerably more powerful than an average vampire; for example, he was able to run at such speeds that he appeared to teleport several meters,[24][114][113][147], was strong enough that he could lift up a heavy security gate[148], survive explosions and falls from skyscrapers with little injury,[149][150][113] and withstand prolonged exposure to sunlight and holy items to no ill effect. He also possessed a high pain tolerance, able to withstand prolonged periods of torture without succumbing.[145]
Angel fighting vampires during the graduation battle.
Advanced combat: Angel was a highly skilled combatant and generally fought unarmed, using circular attacks such as spinning kicks and back hands. In addition to his proficiency in many forms of martial arts, he mastered many varieties of weapons, favoring broadswords and sometimes axes. He was even more dangerous whenever Angelus took over, since his soul-less self often fought with no remorse. During his lifetime, Angel successfully stood up to and defeated a wide variety of powerful and skilled opponents, including Buffy Summers, Faith Lehane, Marcus Hamilton and Connor, amongst others. Additionally, Angel beat Spike on numerous occasions, only losing to his protege once, when he was discouraged and suffering self doubt, in their century plus association.[18] Following Darla being sired by Drusilla, a cold, ruthless and driven Angel was shown to have single-handedly defeated around twenty vampires and demons in one fight.[135] Angel was also able to physically dominate The Beast, forcing the demon to its knees before finally succumbing to The Beast's strength. Even when human, Angel was able to defeat opponents far stronger than him, including briefly getting the better of Spike, before Illyria stepped in, and defeating Charles Gunn who was, at the time, a vampire.[103]
Psychic abilities: Angel also possessed some cognitive abilities; he had a photographic memory[151] and displayed a psychic connection to those he had sired on at least one occasion.[7] While running Wolfram & Hart, he was given Cordelia's visions[53] on her last day on Earth;[52] however, he believed that this was a "one-shot deal," suggesting that this ability was not permanent.
Demonology and Occult aptitude: Because of his age, Angel had immense knowledge of both demonology and history (on occasion rivaling that of Giles and Wesley).
Sorcery: Angel also had some experience in magic, able to perform spells, exorcisms, and glamours, although he preferred to rely on others' expertise if the option was available rather than doing them himself.
Immunity: Though not exactly a "power," Angel was immune to Billy Blim's power to induce misogyny because, as he explained, he gave up on hate long ago, and even as Angelus, he never felt anger or hate towards any of his victims.[129] As Angelus, he was unaffected by the Judge's incinerating touch, as unlike his ensouled self, he had no humanity for the Judge to burn out.[31]
Psychological manipulation: As Angelus, he displayed considerable skill in manipulating others' emotional states, using psychological tactics to attack both the Scooby Gang and Angel Investigations both times when Angel lost his soul, though the most notable example was his driving Drusilla insane. He was also an expert in torture as both Angel and Angelus.
Leadership and tactical skills: Additionally, Angel was highly intelligent, possessed strong leadership skills, and had a natural flair for strategies and tactical planning; although he initially followed Buffy's lead when working with the Scooby Gang, this could have been based around his own social uncertainty after decades of isolation and/or his attempt to help her grow as a Slayer, demonstrating greater skills and confidence when he moved to Los Angeles to set out on his own. Angel also appeared to be a master of intimidation; when Connor broke free of his restraints and beat down Gunn and Fred, Angel, despite his weakened condition after three months trapped at the bottom of the ocean and only a limited amount of recently-ingested blood to restore himself, quickly stood up to Connor and ordered him to sit down, which he did after only a slight hesitation.[152]
Art and writing skills: He had "very nice handwriting"[55] and was a gifted artist, using charcoal crayon and China ink to draw portraits.[32]
Motorist skills: Angel could drive and had a good eye for cars, owning a black 1967 Plymouth GTX and a Dodge Viper, along with an entire garage full of other cars as W&H CEO.
Multilingualism: Angel could speak several languages, including English, Korean, Tibetan, Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish, French, Belarusian, Romanian, and German, and attempted to learn the language of the Vinji and Sahrvin demons via an instruction tape[153]
Other abilities: Angel was competent, but uncomfortable, with modern technology; he frequently struggled to understand cellphones (once claiming that they must have been invented by a "bored warlock") and confused computer terminology such as "chatty rooms.".[154] He also knew how to change diapers, but claimed to be more familiar with pins than the "new-fangled fasteners" of disposable brands.[155] He was also a convincing improvisational actor, deceiving Faith and Mayor Richard Wilkins as well as later the Circle of the Black Thorn and his own allies into believing that he had either reverted to Angelus or gone corrupt.[38][53] Additionally, according to Cordelia, Angel possessed remarkable cooking skills "for someone who's on a liquid diet."[43]
The fall of Los Angeles
Following the Fall of Los Angeles, Angel was turned human by the Senior Partners as a way to deprive him of his strength when he most needed it. He used various enchantments to keep up the appearance that he was still a vampire and heal the worst of his injuries. However, following the temporal fold performed by the Senior Partners, Angel regained his vampire abilities and handicaps.
Twilight
As Twilight, Angel had obtained new abilities, including flight and invulnerability. The precise source and limit of his new abilities are unknown, but he survived having a tree thrown at him without any apparent side-effects, the tree simply splintering off his chest. He also showed immunity to sunlight and all vampire weaknesses, and his new abilities also seemed to have altered the conditions of his curse, as he had sex with Buffy without losing his soul. His pre-existing abilities, such as his strength, speed, agility, reflexes, and senses, were also greatly enhanced. He had apparently reverted to his original strengths and weaknesses following the destruction of the Seed of Wonder and the "death" of Twilight.
Relationships
- A recurring joke was that Angel seemed to have a preference for small, blonde women, as the majority of his love interests were blondes, with the exceptions of Cordelia (who had blonde highlights at one point) and Rebecca Lowell. Angel's love life had never been very active, originally because he held a reluctance to get close to someone and possibly lose his soul. However, he eventually realized he could have "positive sex" through his relationship with Nina.[53]
Gallery
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The Angel article has a Photo Gallery. |
Behind the scenes
- He was portrayed by David Boreanaz, Rance Howard in "Carpe Noctem", and Zach Hanks in Season Eight Motion Comic.
- Angel was supposed to be a one-time character until David Boreanaz was found.[156] Boreanaz had already been cast at the time of the Unaired Buffy pilot, but did not appear.
- Nathan Fillion, who played Caleb later on in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, auditioned for the role of Angel back in early 1996.[citation needed]
- Angel has a tattoo on his shoulder-blade of a griffin from the Book of Kells, with the addition of the letter "A" beneath it.
- The first time it was planned that Angel would lose his soul, Joss Whedon was doubtful of Boreanaz being capable of portraying the cruelty of Angelus; however, Whedon would later come to state that Boreanaz scared him in "Becoming, Part Two". Boreanaz impressed Whedon so much playing Angelus possessed by the spirit of Grace Newman that he was given his own show.[citation needed]
- Angel has appeared in by far the most episodes in the Buffyverse, for a total of 166 episodes. Buffy and Willow are next, with 146 and 147 episodes respectively. He has also appeared in the most seasons of the Buffyverse (all seasons of Buffy and Angel except for Buffy season 6) for a total of 11.
- He is the only character to appear in the pilots and finales of both Buffy and Angel.
- Along with Cordelia, Darla and Harmony, he is one of only four characters to appear in both the first season of Buffy and the final season of Angel.
- Along with Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander, he is one of only five characters to appear in both the pilot and series finale of Buffy: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "Chosen".
- Along with Lindsey McDonald, he is one of only two characters to appear in both the pilot and series finale of Angel: "City Of" and "Not Fade Away".
- Along with Cordelia, he is one of only two characters to appear in the pilot episodes of both Buffy and Angel: "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "City Of".
- Along with Spike, he is one of only two characters to appear in the series finales of both Buffy and Angel: "Chosen" and "Not Fade Away".
Appearances
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1 | |||||||||||
| "Welcome to the Hellmouth" Appears |
"The Harvest" Appears |
"Witch" Absent |
"Teacher's Pet" Appears |
"Never Kill a Boy on the First Date" Appears |
"The Pack" Mention |
"Angel" Appears |
"I Robot, You Jane" Mention |
"The Puppet Show" Absent |
"Nightmares" Absent |
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight" Appears |
"Prophecy Girl" Appears |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 2 | |||||||||||
| "When She Was Bad" Appears |
"Some Assembly Required" Appears |
"School Hard" Appears |
"Inca Mummy Girl" Absent |
"Reptile Boy" Appears |
"Halloween" Appears |
"Lie to Me" Appears |
"The Dark Age" Appears |
"What's My Line? Part One" Appears |
"What's My Line? Part Two" Appears |
"Ted" Appears | |
| "Bad Eggs" Appears |
"Surprise" Appears |
"Innocence" Appears |
"Phases" Appears |
"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" Appears |
"Passion" Appears |
"Killed by Death" Appears |
"I Only Have Eyes for You" Appears |
"Go Fish" Appears |
"Becoming, Part One" Appears |
"Becoming, Part Two" Appears | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Anne" Vision |
"Dead Man's Party" Vision |
"Faith, Hope & Trick" Appears |
"Beauty and the Beasts" Appears |
"Homecoming" Appears |
"Band Candy" Appears |
"Revelations" Appears |
"Lovers Walk" Appears |
"The Wish" Appears |
"Amends" Appears |
"Gingerbread" Appears | |
| "Helpless" Appears |
"The Zeppo" Appears |
"Bad Girls" Appears |
"Consequences" Appears |
"Doppelgängland" Appears |
"Enemies" Appears |
"Earshot" Appears |
"Choices" Appears |
"The Prom" Appears |
"Graduation Day, Part One" Appears |
"Graduation Day, Part Two" Appears | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 4 | |||||||||||
| "The Freshman" Vision |
"Living Conditions" Absent |
"The Harsh Light of Day" Mention |
"Fear, Itself" Absent |
"Beer Bad" Absent |
"Wild at Heart" Absent |
"The Initiative" Absent |
"Pangs" Appears |
"Something Blue" Mention |
"Hush" Absent |
"Doomed" Absent | |
| "A New Man" Absent |
"The I in Team" Absent |
"Goodbye Iowa" Mention |
"This Year's Girl" Mention |
"Who Are You?" Absent |
"Superstar" Absent |
"Where the Wild Things Are" Absent |
"New Moon Rising" Mention |
"The Yoko Factor" Appears |
"Primeval" Absent |
"Restless" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 5 | |||||||||||
| "Buffy vs. Dracula" Mention |
"Real Me" Absent |
"The Replacement" Absent |
"Out of My Mind" Mention |
"No Place Like Home" Absent |
"Family" Absent |
"Fool for Love" Flashback |
"Shadow" Mention |
"Listening to Fear" Absent |
"Into the Woods" Mention |
"Triangle" Mention | |
| "Checkpoint" Absent |
"Blood Ties" Absent |
"Crush" Mention |
"I Was Made to Love You" Mention |
"The Body" Absent |
"Forever" Appears |
"Intervention" Mention |
"Tough Love" Absent |
"Spiral" Absent |
"The Weight of the World" Absent |
"The Gift" Mention | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 6 | |||||||||||
| "Bargaining, Part One" Mention |
"Bargaining, Part Two" Absent |
"After Life" Mention |
"Flooded" Mention |
"Life Serial" Mention |
"All the Way" Mention |
"Once More, with Feeling" Absent |
"Tabula Rasa" Absent |
"Smashed" Absent |
"Wrecked" Mention |
"Gone" Absent | |
| "Doublemeat Palace" Absent |
"Dead Things" Absent |
"Older and Far Away" Absent |
"As You Were" Absent |
"Hell's Bells" Absent |
"Normal Again" Absent |
"Entropy" Absent |
"Seeing Red" Absent |
"Villains" Absent |
"Two to Go" Absent |
"Grave" Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 7 | |||||||||||
| "Lessons" Mention |
"Beneath You" Mention |
"Same Time, Same Place" Absent |
"Help" Absent |
"Selfless" Mention |
"Him" Absent |
"Conversations with Dead People" Absent |
"Sleeper" Mention |
"Never Leave Me" Mention |
"Bring on the Night" Absent |
"Showtime" Absent | |
| "Potential" Absent |
"The Killer in Me" Absent |
"First Date" Absent |
"Get It Done" Absent |
"Storyteller" Absent |
"Lies My Parents Told Me" Mention |
"Dirty Girls" Archive |
"Empty Places" Absent |
"Touched" Absent |
"End of Days" Appears |
"Chosen" Appears | |
| Tales | |||||||||||
| "Prologue" Absent |
"Righteous" Absent |
"The Innocent" Absent |
"Presumption" Absent |
"The Glittering World" Absent |
"Sonnenblume" Absent |
"Nikki Goes Down!" Absent |
"Tales" Absent | ||||
| Broken Bottle of Djinn Absent |
Tales of the Vampires Absent |
"Father" Absent |
"Spot the Vampire" Absent |
"Dust Bowl" Absent |
"Jack" Absent |
"Stacy" Absent | |||||
| "Some Like It Hot" Absent |
"The Problem with Vampires" Absent |
"Taking Care of Business" Absent |
"Dames" Absent |
"Antique" Absent |
"Numb" Appears |
The Thrill Absent |
"Carpe Noctem" Absent | ||||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 9 | |||||||||||
| "Magical Mystery Tour, Featuring the Beetles" Absent |
Freefall, Part 1 Absent |
Freefall, Part 2 Absent |
Freefall, Part 3 Absent |
Freefall, Part 4 Absent |
Slayer, Interrupted Absent |
On Your Own, Part 1 Absent |
On Your Own, Part 2 Absent |
Apart (of Me), Part 1 Absent |
Apart (of Me), Part 2 Mention |
Apart (of Me), Part 3 Absent | |
| "In Space No One Can Hear You Slay" Absent |
Guarded, Part 1 Absent |
Guarded, Part 2 Mention |
Guarded, Part 3 Absent |
Billy the Vampire Slayer, Part 1 Absent |
Billy the Vampire Slayer, Part 2 Absent |
Wonderland, Part 1 Absent |
Wonderland, Part 2 Absent |
Wonderland, Part 3 Vision |
Wonderland, Part 4 Vision |
Wonderland, Part 5 Absent | |
| Welcome to the Team, Part 1 Mention |
Welcome to the Team, Part 2 Absent |
Welcome to the Team, Part 3 Absent |
Welcome to the Team, Part 4 Mention |
The Watcher Flashback |
The Core, Part 1 Absent |
The Core, Part 2 Absent |
The Core, Part 3 Absent |
The Core, Part 4 Absent |
The Core, Part 5 Absent |
Love vs. Life Absent | |
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 10 | |||||||||||
| New Rules, Part 1 Mention |
New Rules, Part 2 Mention |
New Rules, Part 3 Absent |
New Rules, Part 4 Absent |
New Rules, Part 5 Absent |
I Wish, Part 1 Absent |
I Wish, Part 2 Mention |
Return to Sunnydale, Part 1 Absent |
Return to Sunnydale, Part 2 Absent |
Day Off (or Harmony in My Head) Vision | ||
| Love Dares You, Part 1 Absent |
Love Dares You, Part 2 Mention |
Love Dares You, Part 3 Mention |
Relationship Status: Complicated, Part 1 Flashback |
Relationship Status: Complicated, Part 2 Appears |
Old Demons, Part 1 Appears |
Old Demons, Part 2 Appears |
Old Demons, Part 3 Appears |
Freaky Giles Day Absent |
Triggers Absent | ||
| In Pieces on the Ground, Part 1 Mention |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 2 Absent |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 3 Absent |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 4 Absent |
In Pieces on the Ground, Part 5 Mention |
Own It, Part 1 Absent |
Own It, Part 2 Absent |
Own It, Part 3 Absent |
Own It, Part 4 Absent |
Own It, Part 5 Absent | ||
| "Where Are They Now?" Absent | |||||||||||
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 12 | |||||||||||
| One Year Later Appears |
Future Shock Appears |
The Reckoning Appears |
Finale Appears | ||||||||
Angel
| Angel: Season 1 | |||||||||||
| "City Of" Appears |
"Lonely Heart" Appears |
"In the Dark" Appears |
"I Fall to Pieces" Appears |
"Rm w/a Vu" Appears |
"Sense & Sensitivity" Appears |
"The Bachelor Party" Appears |
"I Will Remember You" Appears |
"Hero" Appears |
"Parting Gifts" Appears |
"Somnambulist" Appears | |
| "Expecting" Appears |
"She" Appears |
"I've Got You Under My Skin" Appears |
"The Prodigal" Appears |
"The Ring" Appears |
"Eternity" Appears |
"Five by Five" Appears |
"Sanctuary" Appears |
"War Zone" Appears |
"Blind Date" Appears |
"To Shanshu in L.A." Appears | |
| Angel: Season 2 | |||||||||||
| "Judgment" Appears |
"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" Appears |
"First Impressions" Appears |
"Untouched" Appears |
"Dear Boy" Appears |
"Guise Will Be Guise" Appears |
"Darla" Appears |
"The Shroud of Rahmon" Appears |
"The Trial" Appears |
"Reunion" Appears |
"Redefinition" Appears | |
| "Blood Money" Appears |
"Happy Anniversary" Appears |
"The Thin Dead Line" Appears |
"Reprise" Appears |
"Epiphany" Appears |
"Disharmony" Appears |
"Dead End" Appears |
"Belonging" Appears |
"Over the Rainbow" Appears |
"Through the Looking Glass" Appears |
"There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" Appears | |
| Angel: Season 3 | |||||||||||
| "Heartthrob" Appears |
"That Vision- Thing" Appears |
"That Old Gang of Mine" Appears |
"Carpe Noctem" Appears |
"Fredless" Appears |
"Billy" Appears |
"Offspring" Appears |
"Quickening" Appears |
"Lullaby" Appears |
"Dad" Appears |
"Birthday" Appears | |
| "Provider" Appears |
"Waiting in the Wings" Appears |
"Couplet" Appears |
"Loyalty" Appears |
"Sleep Tight" Appears |
"Forgiving" Appears |
"Double or Nothing" Appears |
"The Price" Appears |
"A New World" Appears |
"Benediction" Appears |
"Tomorrow" Appears | |
| Angel: Season 4 | |||||||||||
| "Deep Down" Appears |
"Ground State" Appears |
"The House Always Wins" Appears |
"Slouching Toward Bethlehem" Appears |
"Supersymmetry" Appears |
"Spin the Bottle" Appears |
"Apocalypse, Nowish" Appears |
"Habeas Corpses" Appears |
"Long Day's Journey" Appears |
"Awakening" Appears |
"Soulless" Appears | |
| "Calvary" Appears |
"Salvage" Appears |
"Release" Appears |
"Orpheus" Appears |
"Players" Appears |
"Inside Out" Appears |
"Shiny Happy People" Appears |
"The Magic Bullet" Appears |
"Sacrifice" Appears |
"Peace Out" Appears |
"Home" Appears | |
| Angel: Season 5 | |||||||||||
| "Conviction" Appears |
"Just Rewards" Appears |
"Unleashed" Appears |
"Hell Bound" Appears |
"Life of the Party" Appears |
"The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco" Appears |
"Lineage" Appears |
"Destiny" Appears |
"Harm's Way" Appears |
"Soul Purpose" Appears |
"Damage" Appears | |
| "You're Welcome" Appears |
"Why We Fight" Appears |
"Smile Time" Appears |
"A Hole in the World" Appears |
"Shells" Appears |
"Underneath" Appears |
"Origin" Appears |
"Time Bomb" Appears |
"The Girl in Question" Appears |
"Power Play" Appears |
"Not Fade Away" Appears | |
| Angel: After the Fall | |||||||||||
| After the Fall, Part 1 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 2 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 3 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 4 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 5 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 6 Flashback |
After the Fall, Part 7 Mention |
After the Fall, Part 8 Mention |
After the Fall, Part 9 Appears | |||
| After the Fall, Part 10 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 11 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 12 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 13 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 14 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 15 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 16 Appears |
After the Fall, Part 17 Appears |
Epilogue Appears | |||
| Spike | |||||||||||
| Asylum, Part 1 Mention |
Asylum, Part 2 Absent |
Asylum, Part 3 Absent |
Asylum, Part 4 Absent |
Asylum, Part 5 Absent |
Spike: After the Fall, Part 1 Mention |
Spike: After the Fall, Part 2 Appears |
Spike: After the Fall, Part 3 Vision |
Spike: After the Fall, Part 4 Mention | |||
| Alone Together Now Appears |
What Happens in Vegas, Slays in Vegas Absent |
Everybody Loves Spike Absent |
You Haven't Changed a Bit Vision |
Bedknobs and Boomsticks Mention |
Something Borrowed Absent |
Give and Take Absent |
Stranger Things Absent |
Spike: Into the Light Absent | |||
| Angel & Faith | |||||||||||
| Live Through This, Part 1 Appears |
Live Through This, Part 2 Appears |
Live Through This, Part 3 Appears |
Live Through This, Part 4 Appears |
In Perfect Harmony Appears |
Daddy Issues, Part 1 Appears |
Daddy Issues, Part 2 Appears |
Daddy Issues, Part 3 Appears |
Daddy Issues, Part 4 Appears |
Women of a Certain Age Appears | ||
| Family Reunion, Part 1 Appears |
Family Reunion, Part 2 Appears |
Family Reunion, Part 3 Appears |
Family Reunion, Part 4 Appears |
The Hero of His Own Story Appears |
A Dark Place, Part 1 Absent |
A Dark Place, Part 2 Absent |
A Dark Place, Part 3 Absent |
A Dark Place, Part 4 Absent |
A Dark Place, Part 5 Appears | ||
| Death and Consequences, Part 1 Appears |
Death and Consequences, Part 2 Appears |
Death and Consequences, Part 3 Appears |
Death and Consequences, Part 4 Appears |
Spike and Faith Appears |
What You Want, Not What You Need, Part 1 Appears |
What You Want, Not What You Need, Part 2 Appears |
What You Want, Not What You Need, Part 3 Appears |
What You Want, Not What You Need, Part 4 Appears |
What You Want, Not What You Need, Part 5 Appears | ||
| Angel & Faith: Season 10 | |||||||||||
| Where the River Meets the Sea, Part 1 Appears |
Where the River Meets the Sea, Part 2 Appears |
Where the River Meets the Sea, Part 3 Appears |
Where the River Meets the Sea, Part 4 Appears |
Old Habits Appears |
Lost and Found, Part 1 Appears |
Lost and Found, Part 2 Appears |
Lost and Found, Part 3 Appears |
Lost and Found, Part 4 Appears |
Lost and Found, Part 5 Appears | ||
| United, Part 1 Appears |
United, Part 2 Appears |
United, Part 3 Appears |
United, Part 4 Appears |
Fight or Flight Appears |
Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part 1 Mention |
Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part 2 Appears |
Those Who Can't Teach, Teach Gym, Part 3 Mention |
A Little More than Kin, Part 1 Appears |
A Little More than Kin, Part 2 Appears | ||
| A Tale of Two Families, Part 1 Appears |
A Tale of Two Families, Part 2 Appears |
A Tale of Two Families, Part 3 Appears |
A Tale of Two Families, Part 4 Appears |
A Tale of Two Families, Part 5 Appears | |||||||
| Angel: Season 11 | |||||||||||
| Out of the Past, Part 1 Appears |
Out of the Past, Part 2 Appears |
Out of the Past, Part 3 Appears |
Out of the Past, Part 4 Appears |
Time and Tide, Part 1 Appears |
Time and Tide, Part 2 Appears |
Time and Tide, Part 3 Appears |
Time and Tide, Part 4 Appears |
Dark Reflections, Part 1 Appears |
Dark Reflections, Part 2 Appears |
Dark Reflections, Part 3 Appears |
Dark Reflections, Part 4 Appears |