#angel season 5

[thequeenofsastiel]

You know, technically, Spike never actually said that he and Angel were intimate only once. He says: "Angel and me have never been intimate. Except that one--" and then he stops himself. We have no idea what word he was about to say next. It could have been "time," sure, and that's probably what they meant. But since we don't know for sure, he could have also been about to say "year" or "decade". I choose to believe "decade". Because no one can stop me.

[mycatismyfriend]

Wesley "This is fine" Wyndam-Pryce

[angelustheimmortal]

Does Angel giving Harmony a reference make any sense after finding out she betrayed him? No. Is it hilarious and make Angel look like the sweetest boss ever? Yes and the scene will never fail to make me laugh.

[bloodlessmarriage]

god i hate angel the series for what the writers did to fred (and every other female character), but i gotta admit illyria is kinda slay like, "i wanna keep spike as my pet," girl same

[the-chosen-half-of-one]

[ID: A gifset of a grieving Wesley and newly resurrected Illyria having a conversation at the end of Shells (Angel, Season 5 Episode 16), staring down thoughtfully at Illyria's sarcophagus in the lab in the direct aftermath of her taking over Fred's body before discovering her own power ruined.

Illyria *walking toward the viewing area*: We cling to what is gone... *turning towards Wes*

Is there anything in this life but grief?

Wesley *stepping forward alongside her, but not facing her*: There's love.

There's hope... for some.

There's hope that you'll find something worthy.

That your life will lead you to some joy.

That after everything... you can still be surprised.

Illyria: Is that enough?

*She turns to Wes again, almost desperate* Is that enough to live on?

*Wesley merely looks at her, face unreadable, without responding*

End ID]

[enigmatist17]

I finished Angel season 5, and I've cried more in the last two days than I have in the last few months.

No one was allowed to be happy, and seeing both Cordelia and Wesley taken from us has absolutely gutted me, I haven't stopped crying yet.

I love Angel Investigations, and my heart breaks for them :(

[rock-and-compass]

Episode 5.8 – Destiny

Precursor - I wrote about the fifth season of Angel many years ago - probably around the time that the season 8 comics were first being published. I originally published these meta essays over on LiveJournal and I've decided to re-post them (as written), mostly for archival reasons. I love season 5 of Angel. It's such a shame it got axed before it could get the envisioned 6th and 7th series

Written by David Fury and Steven DeKnight

The concept of destiny is an interesting one. On one hand is the idea that life is a series of predetermined events that are inevitable and unchangeable. On the other is the thought that destiny is shaped by choices, decisions and the utilisation of free will and thus the individual is the architect of their own outcomes. Most people would argue that they ascribe to the latter version. The high value placed on individualism, self-determination and personal autonomy in Western cultures certainly supports this position. However, humans, being the contradictory creatures that they are, also often talk of ‘luck’ and ‘fate’ as determining factors. We rationalise disappointment or failure with “It was not meant to be” or “it was just bad luck”, we romanticise events and relationships by saying they are ‘fated’ or ‘destined’. So at the same time we claim the right to determine our own destiny, we also make allowances for some all-powerful universal force that can also influence or determine outcomes. 

Destiny has always been important in the Buffyverse. Buffy is the chosen slayer. It is her destiny, her fate to fight the forces of darkness despite the fact that this will inevitably lead to a premature death. Her choice as ‘the one’ was outside her control, she did not volunteer for the position; it was thrust upon her whether she liked it or not. Destiny intervened, big time. Buffy’s reaction is to accept destiny’s calling, but on her terms. She gathers a band of reliable allies where other slayers have fought (and died) alone; forms a partnership with her Watcher where previous slayers have been subservient and changes the rules of the game by empowering multiple slayers and thus challenges destiny’s insistence on the chosen one. 

Destiny is also very important to Angel too. First, fate catches up with him in the form of a curse that derails his demonic existence and then, more particularly after he is returned from the hell dimension to which he was sent in Becoming (part 2). Fate intercedes on his behalf and engineers his return. But it gets him thinking and wondering why a mass murdering monster such as he would be the recipient of such mediation when he deserves no better than eternity in hell anyway. In Amends he seeks Giles’ opinion: 

Angel: I should be in a demon dimension suffering an eternity of torture. Giles: I don't feel particularly inclined to argue with that. Angel: But I'm not. I was freed, and I don't understand why.

And so he begins a process of self-examination; why is he here and what is his purpose? These reflections have particular importance to the souled vampire who has laboured with the guilt and shame of his past deeds for some time. Angel comes to the conclusion that the purpose for his existence is to make amends for his past actions.  Once he arrives in Los Angeles he is accosted by Doyle, a friendly demon who passes on messages from the mysterious ‘Powers That Be’, a metaphor for divine fate if ever there was one. The PTB are an all-knowing, all-seeing entity who can intervene in the day to day activities of humankind if they so desire but usually, in their infinite wisdom, choose not to. But they do choose Angel as their champion.  They give him missions; they encourage him to reconnect to his lost humanity by helping the helpless. They treat him with distinction, like he’s special. Well, he is one of a kind after all. 

The discovery of the Shanshu prophecy does nothing to diminish Angel’s growing self-concept of ‘uniqueness’.  It, in fact, proves it. The prophecy foretells the fate of a vampire with a soul who will play a major role in the apocalypse and who will win the reward of living and dying as a human. And, as there’s only one candidate in existence it becomes Angel’s unquestioned destiny to one day fulfil the prophecy. 

Um…, did we say there was only one candidate? That’s not quite right though. There was only one candidate but then the game changed. That other vampire, that little upstart Spike went and got himself a soul too. All bets are off kids. 

Destiny opens with a flashback to 1880, just days after William has been sired by Drusilla. In the Angel season two-episode Darla we see Drusilla, after complaining of the lack of attention she’s receiving from Angelus, advised to go and create her own plaything. Drusilla is enamoured with the suggestion: 

Dru:  I could.  I could pick the wisest and bravest knight in all the land - and make him mine forever with a kiss. 

Moments later William bumps into the trio as he rushes from recently endured social humiliation and romantic rejection (as seen in B5.07- Fool for Love).  Darla jokes at the sight of him "Or you could just take the first drooling idiot that comes along." …But Drusilla seems to see something in this tender-hearted stranger and seeks him out to create her companion.  Drusilla, of course, possesses ‘the sight’. She has psychic ability and can see the future but, thanks to Angelus, she is also quite mad, so it is difficult to know if her ramblings are actual divinations or just eccentric babble.  ‘Macha’ at the now defunct Tea at the Ford (in a meta that was titled “the joker and the thief: boundary and cauldron issues”) raises the tantalising possibility that Drusilla made Spike for the express purpose of impacting Angel's future, perhaps in some sort of revenge for how she herself was created. The King of Cups expects a picnic indeed, and just maybe that long awaited birthday has finally arrived. 

So Drusilla takes her new creation home to meet daddy. He assesses the new arrival as ‘another rooster into the henhouse’. Drusilla worries that Angelus is cross with her for turning William and making him one of them but Angelus seems quite eager to play with the new toy. He entices William into a game of ‘chicken’, holding their hands in a beam of sunlight until smoke spirals from their palms. William, though reluctant at first, quickly works out the rules and enters into the spirit of the sport. They laugh and Angelus declares that they will be the best of friends. Angelus is willing to teach the younger vampire the ways of the world as long as he knows his place and William seems to instinctively look up to and want to impress Angelus. Thus their relationship begins, an abominable [grand]father and son  with just a hint of competitiveness already beginning to infect. 

Back in the present day, some 120 years later, Spike and Angel are not the best of friends. Spike wants an office, Angel won’t give him one. Spike’s sick of nesting in someone else’s roost and it seems that as soon as he’s forced to share space with the old grand-sire that’s always exactly what he must do, play second-fiddle to his elder, be the second, superfluous rooster. Time to challenge some boundaries. Harmony gives Spike a package that has been sent to him, care of Wolfram and Hart. She opens it for him and a blinding flash emanates from within, apart from that the box is empty. Spike goes to continue his argument with Angel only to discover that he can’t actually walk through walls anymore. He’s no longer a ghost. He’s solid. He’s back. From the minute he’s back in corporeal form Spike makes his presence felt.  

Spike: Hey. I'm—(touches his chest) I can feel (touches Angel's chest) Angel: Hey. Stop touching me 

And that’s it in a nutshell. Angel just wants Spike to stop touching him, touching his world, touching his reputation, touching his conscience, touching his limitations, touching his identity. Spike takes the cup of blood out of Angel’s hand and drinks without hesitation. It neatly foreshadows coming events and begins to set up the dual juxtapositions of Angelus-William and Angel-Spike. Spike’s first priority is to feel. He sees Harmony, with whom he’s had prior dalliances (see season 4 and 5 of BtVS) and automatically sets about charming her into a quick ‘nooner’. He doesn’t have to try too hard. Angel denies permission but darn, Spike doesn’t follow orders anymore and Angel has little choice but to watch them depart. Meanwhile the office is in chaos. The phones have all gone crazy, the security and computer systems are all playing up and no one knows why….

Back in 1880 we find Angelus and William post the shared slaughter of innocents. They are the best of friends. William is in awe of Angelus, he’s a bloody killing marvel. He’s learning from the best. But he still doesn’t quite get it. Angelus offers him a drink, but William rejects the offer:

William: No, that's your spoils, mate.  Angelus: I've had my fill. Go on, take her.  William: Nah. I think I might go and find Drusilla. She's prowling for street urchins in the east end. Make her happy if I joined her for a bit.  Angelus: She's special, isn't she? Our Drusilla.  William: More than that. She brought me into this world. Where I was meant to be. It's like... she's my destiny

You can’t say that Angelus didn’t give him fair warning. ‘Sharing the spoils’, ‘‘our” Drusilla; this vampire life is clearly more . . . communal than William’s still human influenced, strictly defined rights of ownership allow. Angelus doesn’t correct him then and there, instead he sends William on his way with a fatherly warning to be back before sunrise and a silent resolution to teach the young pup a lesson. Ironically, at this stage, it is William who believes in destiny.  He believes that Drusilla siring him was destiny and that they are destined to be together forever.  William, despite being a vampire, is still somehow in possession of human reasoning and romanticism. Remnant human impulses allow him to think of Drusilla as his fate, stop him taking another man’s ‘spoils’, motivates the desire to make another happy and indeed, leads one to sire one's mother out of love. Funnily enough it is this retention of human emotions that causes Angelus to decide that William is a little dim. Hell, what kind of daft vampire has to be told that the rules of the game have changed? 

Angel and crew put two and two together and realise that Spike’s re-corporealisation is the reason for the office going haywire.  Eve arrives on the scene to confirm their suspicions. 

Eve: Upshot is we've got trouble with a capital "T," and that rhymes with "P," and that stands for "prophecy." Shanshu. Maybe you've heard of it?  Angel: Oh, God. That again. Yeah, I'm familiar. So?  Eve: So it talks about a champion; A vampire with a soul who'll play a pivotal role in the apocalypse, for good or evil. Anybody's guess - That part's hazy.  Fred: I thought the Shanshu had to do with Angel becoming human again after—  Eve: That's just the epilogue, princess. And, for the record, the prophecy doesn't call Angel by name.  Gunn: Hold on. You're saying because Spike's back, you think he's—  Eve: I don't think anything. All I can tell you is his very existence is disrupting the order of things. 

A glitch in the system, his very existence is disrupting the order of things. These are great analogies for the character of Spike who has often been accused of being a glitch in terms of the whole series; that he destroyed Buffy-lore by making it possible that vampires could exercise control over their inner demon and feel human emotions (Weinman, 2003). The writers defend Spike by arguing that he is an anomaly in the vampire world (Destiny, DVD commentary) and indeed, his inclusion in the series allows for much more interesting possibilities than bland rule-bound monsters ever could. (And is he really an anomaly? Drusilla, Harmony, that smart vampire from Buffy season 2, even Darla post-resurrection, Holden, the vamps in the blood den that Riley frequents... they all show some non-typical vampire behaviours at times)

Eve acts the innocent as she explains but Fred is suspicious:

Fred: You knew this would happen. All that time I was working on re-corporealising Spike, you never mentioned…

Eve denies the accusation and hits the ball back into their court by asking ever so sweetly how they managed the feat. Meanwhile, the encounter taking place between Spike and Harmony is not especially romantic. On Spike’s side it is a purely physical act, driven by a need to feel after the prolonged deprivation of all senses. Harmony is affected by the harbinger curse and accuses Spike of using her as a substitute for his ‘Slayer whore’, and she’s got a point, it wouldn’t be the first time.   

Angel is in denial about what is happening and, more particularly, why. He doesn’t want to believe that Spike’s presence and more significantly his, in Angel’s opinion, dubious status as a ‘champion’ has anything to do with anything. But Eve is insistent:

Eve: Fact, Jack. There's only supposed to be one candidate for the vampire with the soul hero part in the big show. Two of you and the wheel of destiny starts to spin off its axis. That's why everything and everyone is going mad.   

A little bit later and Spike wants to leave them all to it and head off to Europe and, by implication, Buffy,  but the news that the Big Cat (the conduit to the Senior Partners) is gone forces Angel to take the threat seriously and to ask Spike to stay until the problem can be sorted out. Eve suggests they need to determine who the prophecy is about in order to stave off universal destruction. Angel lets it slip that he’s recently read the Shanshu and now Spike is instantly suspicious:

Spike: Hold on. You read the prophecy? The one you don't believe in? Uh, load of rubbish, you said? Well, isn't that bloody interesting. 

Hang on! If the old bastard has been reading it, must mean he believes it so maybe there’s something to it after all?  So, in the absence of Wesley they go to Wesley’s department, to an expert named Mr. Sirk. He tells them about some newly translated verses that speak of the Cup of Perpetual Torment from which the prophesied vampire with a soul is predestined to drink. 

Spike: Perpetual torment? Just know that's not gonna taste very good Sirk: "He will have the weight of worlds upon him, binding his limbs, grinding his bones to meal until he saves creation... or destroys it."  Spike: Uh...right. So, what's in it for me?  Sirk: The vampire will have his past washed clean.  Angel: And live again in mortal form. Yeah, that part I know. 

So, Spike glosses over the torment part, after all, suffering, torment and high personal costs are not new experiences for him, and he wants to know what’s in it for him. Sirk supplies the answer which Angel then completes. He knows it by heart. That promise, that reward, that destiny. He’s tried not to believe, to hope, but it’s hard when you’re a ‘prophecy boy’ to ever completely forget or disregard. So, the solution to their problems is obviously to get Angel to drink from this cup. Spike objects. Why are they all so sure it's Angel? 

Angel: Ah, come on Spike, you really think this is about you? 

And in that short sentence Angel attempts to put the usurper back in his place. He dismisses any possibility that Spike could qualify as a hero and therefore the possibility that Spike could have anything to do with ‘his’ prophecy. But apparently this is not something they can argue about. It’s destiny. The drinker of the cup is preordained and can’t be altered. Luckily, the newly discovered parts of the prophecy pinpoint the exact location of the cup. It’s in an abandoned Opera House in Nevada, just waiting for the right vampire with a soul to show up and drink. 

Angel: I really don't have much of a choice. If it's there, I'm just gonna have to accept that the prophecy's real, and hope that it stops this madness. In the meantime, you're in charge. Keep this place quarantined till I get— Where's Spike?

Spike is, of course, nowhere to be found. While Angel is standing around talking, being cloaked in his own martyrdom, Spike is already in action and doing. Thus perfectly demonstrating one of the key differences between Angel and Spike– one says, the other does, inertia versus action. On their way to Death Valley the rivals share a heated telephone exchange in which Angel comes within inches of claiming the Shanshu, which he has always believed was his, as his: 

Angel: You think this is a game? People are dying.  Spike: And one of us is going to stop it. Hey, what do you know? I vote for me.  Angel: There's no voting. It's a prophecy. And the Shanshu's not about you, Spike.  Spike:  Still can't accept it, can you? Sad, really. All these years believing you're the signified monkey, only to find out you're just a big hunk of nobody cares.  Angel:  I really wished you stayed a ghost.  Spike: But I didn't, did I? Burned up saving the world, and now I'm back for real. Wonder why that is? Oh, wait. 'Cause I'm the one, you git! 

‘It’s not about you’, Angel tells Spike. The gap in the information is of course Angel screaming silently “It’s me! It’s my prophecy! Now back off brat!” To make matters worse Spike vocalises Angel’s worst fear. “All these years believing you're the signified monkey…” He had to believe he was special, why else would he have been bought back from that Hell dimension? Why else would the PTB have made him their hall monitor?  He has to be special.

Spike beats Angel to the Opera House but waits for Angel to arrive before heading for the cup. For Spike, it’s not just about fulfilling the prophecy, it’s about a confrontation, one he’s been dying to have for a long time. 

Spike: Here we are, then. Two vampire heroes, competing to wet our whistle with a drink of light, refreshing torment Angel: Is that what you think you are—a hero?  Spike:  Saved the world, didn't I?  Angel:  Once. Talk to me after you've done it a couple more times.  Spike:  Done talking, mate. Got a prophecy needs fulfilling. Ta. Angel:  Spike! Damn it! 

Angel is still dismissing Spike’s candidacy because of his lack of hero-credibility. He thinks he knows the real Spike, and that guy’s not a hero; demons don’t change, and besides, Angel’s always been the superior one, and that certainly hasn’t changed. Has it?

Back in 1880 we see William returning from an unsuccessful attempt to find Drusilla. He finds Angelus indulging in some carnal pleasures with, William assumes, his ‘spoils’ from earlier in the evening. But it is not the unfortunate bride; it is Drusilla that Angelus is rutting and William is visibly crushed. 

Drusilla: The little children didn't come out to play. Did you miss me, pretty William?  Angelus:  I'm sure he did, Dru. After all... you are his destiny.  Drusilla: Oh. That's so sweet. 

And then Angelus laughs at William and his odd, foolish, romantic notions of Destiny and then Drusilla joins in. They both laugh at his absurdity. William gets angry, directing his fury squarely at Angelus…

Back in the opera house Angel reaches the cup. It’s right in front of him. All he has to do is take a few steps forward, reach out, grab it and it’s his. But he doesn’t. He hesitates. Spike arrives, landing just behind Angel. They both look at the cup:

Angel: So... what do we do now?  Spike: (sighs, punches Angel, smiles) What do you think?

Actions speak louder than words yet again; Angel hesitates, asks for guidance, talks too much. Spike goes for action, draws Angel into this long-coming confrontation.  

Spike: Come on! Let's see how much soul you really got in there. 

And so it begins, this epic fight between student and master, ‘father’ and ‘son’, that is about so much more than drinking from some stupid cup. Vicious punches are thrown and it is obvious that both are relishing this opportunity to finally have a crack at the other. Spike gets the upper hand and sends Angel flying backwards. As Angel lands he inadvertently comes into brief contact with an ornate crucifix. Angel recoils in pain and kicks the offending relic away. Spike laughs:

Spike: Oh, yeah. Look at you. Thinking you're the big saviour, fighting for truth, justice, and soccer moms—but you still can't lay flesh on a cross without smelling like bacon, can you? 

Spike belittles Angel’s superhero stance, substituting a cheap icon of middle-America for the usual ‘American way’. Spike is really asking; how can a superhero, defender of the helpless, really be a hero if he can’t touch a cross, if he is still innately evil? The cross or crucifix is significant here because it is the ultimate symbol of redemption. The crucifix is a Christian symbol that signifies Christ’s death and resurrection and the bearing of sin on behalf of humanity and ensures that, if faith is placed in the resurrected Christ, then forgiveness of sins is guaranteed as is as an eternity spent in heaven. The crucifix has always been important in vampire mythology. In Eastern Europe, burial with a crucifix was believed to prevent rebirth in vampiric form and increasingly in nineteenth century vampire literature, the cross became recognised as a weapon with which to ward off vampires, the holy symbol being a direct [and painful] contrast to demonic evil.  So if Angel is still not able to so much as touch a cross then what does it say about him and his crusade for redemption? Angel dismisses Spike’s observations not by arguing his case but by countering, “Like you’re any different”. The challenge has been thrown and Spike takes on the argument, he reckons he’s got a pretty good case:

Spike: Well, that's just it. I am. And you know it. You had a soul forced on you—as a curse. Make you suffer for all the horrible things you'd done. But me . . . I fought for my soul; went through the demon trials. Almost did me in a dozen times over, but I kept fighting. 'Cause I knew it was the right thing to do. It's my destiny. 

Spike is sure that the acquisition method of their souls makes all the difference. Makes his superior, makes him superior. It allows him to make ironic reference to ‘destiny’, a concept he no longer professes any faith in, just to rub Angel’s nose in it. Confidence and self-belief are Spike’s biggest advantages over Angel at this moment. Angel is so lacking in these vital elements that he can’t even mount a decent argument against Spike’s logic; he can’t formulate the words to defend himself. Time and time again in this banter-filled battle he resorts to cheap shots and low blows. 

 Angel:  Really? Heard it was just to get into a girl's pants. 

Um, no, he already did that, before he got the soul. That wasn’t the reason. But nevertheless, the allusion to Buffy and the belittlement of Spike’s motivation to retrieve his soul certainly get Spike increasingly riled.  In the course of the battle Angel again finds himself within striking distance of the cup. Again he’s hesitant; again Spike is able to make a counterattack. The fight goes on with Angel continuing to deride Spike’s mental capacities while Spike continues to question Angel’s hero-status because of his apparent allegiance with Wolfram and Hart and openly questions which side of the line Angel is fighting on. Angel counters with an enigmatic, “Little more complicated than that”, then can’t resist having another dig at Spike, “But you always were a bit simple... Willy”. Angel, confidence suddenly higher now that the upstart is back in his place, strides towards the cup…

A flashback to 1880 reveals Angelus repelling a weak, ineffectual attack from William with embarrassing ease. And so we get a look at how vampire hierarchy works, how the game is played.  The boy needed to learn so Angelus taught him. And the first rule is that Angelus is the boss. And the second is that in the world of vampires you can take what you want, when you want it, but nothing is yours. There is no ownership or exclusivity.  Spike tries to argue that he and Drusilla are ‘forever’ and sort of convinces Dru to the idea,  it's romantic and strange and enticing in this harsh reality of vampires and it changes the whole reading of the Spike/Drusilla relationship.  Angelus is scathing, “Ah, still the poet now, aren't we, Willy?” then taunts William into making another attack on him on behalf of Drusilla. 

Back in the present day the fight is reaching its climax:

Spike: Come on, hero. Tell me more. Teach me what it means. And I'll tell you why you can't stand the bloody sight of me. Angel: Tell it to your therapist.  Spike: 'Cause every time you look at me... you see all the dirty little things I've done, all the lives I've taken... because of you! Drusilla sired me... but you... you made me a monster Angel: I didn't make you Spike, I just opened up the door... and let the real you out.  [Spike picks up the cross and hits Angel with it, knocking him across the room. Spike continues to hold the cross in his hands.] Spike: You never knew the real me, (only when his hands begin to smoke does he throw the cross away) too busy trying to see your own reflection... praying there was someone as disgusting as you in the world, so you could stand to live with yourself. Take a long look, hero. I'm nothing like you! 

And so we get to the crux of why Angel hates Spike; because he is at the end of the day, Angelus’ greatest creation.  A reflection made in Angelus’ image so that he can look upon himself in all his glory. Drusilla might have been a work of art in the destruction of a human mind, but Spike, well he’s a masterpiece, he’s killed two slayers, he’s second only to the grand sire in notoriety, he’s a chip off the old block: he’s a legacy. And somewhere deep inside him, ‘Angelus’ is proud.  But he makes Angel uncomfortable. He represents everything that Angel hates, or at least he used to… Spike may be an Angelus production, but he turned his back on that, changed, challenged the demon, did what Angel never could, and it galls him that this little upstart might just be better. And to seal the argument Spike picks up the crucifix and hits Angel with it, sending him flying across the room, he holds it, deliberately and prolonged, demonstrating his superiority not only in the ‘flesh on cross’ stakes but also the redemption and demonic reconciliation stakes and brings us back full circle to the beginning of the argument once more. They are different and it seems that the method of soul restoration really does matter. But a hundred-plus years' worth of conviction that someone is your inferior is a hard thing to budge, and Angel doggedly clings to what he knows despite all argument and evidence to the contrary:

Angel: No. You're less. That's why Buffy never really loved you; because you weren't me. 

Who’s clinging to a ‘forever’ love now huh? So Spike decides on a base reminder; “Guess that means she was thinking about you... all those times I was puttin' it to her” he says, succeeding in getting Angel back into the fight. “Let’s finish this” Angel says menacingly and slips into game-face. Spike follows suit. It is kind of strange that it has taken this long for the vampire brows to appear, but now that it’s a fight to the finish, to the death, it’s no use denying what they are. The final phase of the fight is quick and to the point. Both give as good as they get but Spike manages to gain the upper hand, simultaneously kicking Angel to the ground while snatching a fragment of wood out of the air. Once the wood is in his hand he instinctively adopts a staking stance, hesitates for a moment, and then drives the wooden stake home into . . . Angel’s shoulder. Angel cries in pain and reverts to his human face. 

Spike: Probably should've dusted you, but honestly... I don't want to hear her bitch about it.

So, Spike doesn’t kill the old sire at the end of the fight, he chooses to show mercy where perhaps, had the roles been reversed, Angel would have shown none. Then to add salt to the wound, Spike reminds Angel that he does have a relationship with Buffy; that he doesn’t want to hurt her, that Angel’s death would hurt her and that he won’t be responsible for that. And even sweeter, is the unmistakable assumption that he will be communicating with ‘her’ in the near future whether Angel likes it or not. It is beyond his control. 

Spike takes the cup, he’s won the right, but still Angel tries to dissuade him:

Angel: That's not a prize you're holding. It's not a trophy. It's a burden. It's a cross. One you're gonna have to bear till it burns you to ashes. Believe me. I know… So ask yourself: Is this really the destiny that was meant for you? Do you even really want it? Or is it that you just want to take something away from me? 

It’s a nice insight into Angel. The promise of the Shanshu has not been all hugs and puppies; we knew that, but Angel actually sees it as nothing more than a torturous burden. You’d think he’d be happy to be well rid of it. But he’s not because it’s His Destiny and he wants it more than anything, he needs the punishment, the torment to earn his forgiveness, earn his redemption. It’s his proof he’s worth saving but it’s slipping between his fingers like water the more he tries to hold on to it. He tries to warn Spike, tells him about the downside to being a prophecy boy and finally tries to challenge Spike into revealing why he wants it anyway? Is it to be a champion or to take something from Angel? Spike’s reply is characteristically honest. A bit of both actually. 

By drinking the cup Spike stakes a claim for this destiny not because he believes in the destiny, but because he can. He’s the ultimate advertisement for free will. William/Spike was a good student. He learnt his lessons well. He learnt the ways of the vampire, accepted his place in the hierarchy and forsakes his belief in destiny. Angelus was an excellent teacher. It prepared him well for the break-up of the family, when it was just him and Drusilla. And they thrived together; he killed another slayer and garnered a notorious reputation. It was all going swimmingly until a mob in Prague got the better of them, nearly killed Dru and forced recuperation on the Hellmouth of Sunnydale. That’s when things started to go off track. The return of Angelus made the duo a trio and Spike lost his place at the top of the tree, as Dru’s favourite, now his elder was back. And then their audacious plan of unleashing hell on earth necessitated Spike’s allegiance with the Slayer to defeat them and win back his ‘true love’. Drusilla never quite forgave him for that and so Angelus was right; theirs was not a forever love, she was not his destiny, and he was lost. On his return to Sunnydale, the hand of fate intervened, or was he just in the wrong place at the wrong time? The Initiative shoved a chip in his brain that effectively ended his days of hunting humans. It should have been the end of him. He should have ended his days as a guinea pig in a science laboratory but instead Spike now starts to develop his gift of thumbing his nose at ‘fate’. He escapes, goes to Buffy for help, and adapts to the new situation. Giles makes an interesting observation in The I in Team:

Giles: Um, thinking about your affliction and, ah, your newfound discovery that you can fight only demons; it occurs to me that . . . I realize this is completely against your nature but I-I-I-- Has it occurred to you that there may be a higher purpose-- Spike: Ugh! You made me lose count. What are you still doing here? Giles: Talking to myself, apparently.

Giles puts the suggestion out there, a higher purpose, a destiny; but Spike will have none of it and he continues that way, doing things on his own terms for his own reasons. He makes his own destiny thank-you very much. Chip in the brain? Seek asylum from your worst enemy. No purpose to existence?  Find purpose in Slayer’s kid sister. In love with the Slayer? Forge a relationship with her. No soul? Get one. Not a champion? Become one. A ghost? Learn to affect the world around you despite the limitations! Want it? Want it badly enough? Then make it happen. Spike has never needed a higher purpose, a prescribed destiny to act. He is the master of his own destiny, and his seizure of the cup is a practical demonstration of this. 

But . . . the cup is a fake. It’s not perpetual torment, it’s Mountain Dew. The search for the cup has been a wild goose chase set up by god-knows-who in a deliberate ploy to god-knows-what.

Angel and Spike high tail it back to Wolfram and Hart where the chaos has not abated. Gunn has fallen under the harbinger curse, and turned his crazed attention on Eve, pinpointing her as the cause of all the troubles, singling her out as untrustworthy and a dangerous enemy who wants to kill them all. He’s sedated and restrained along with other victims. Sirk has disappeared leaving them with no clues as to who master-minded the plan to dupe them and no clue as to how to stop the madness.  But the second problem is resolved when just as suddenly as it began, the curse wears off and things return to normal.

Eve explains that the Senior Partners have been working on the problem from the start and have managed to temporarily restore equilibrium to the universe. She asserts that they don't know a thing about it and that they are as angry as Angel about the whole thing. Angel is both dubious and suspicious. The events of the day don’t seem to have had a lasting impact on Spike – but why would they; sure the cup was a fake, but he got his solid back on, got lucky, had an awesome fight and got to be the bigger man by not killing Angel so he could only feel good about the outcome. Angel on the other hand…

It’s his turn to be crushed. He confides in Gunn that Spike beat him. Gunn doesn’t understand; Wesley would have, but Angel has to explain it to Charles:

Angel: No, you don't...He won the fight, Gunn... for the first time, doesn't matter if the cup is real or not. In the end, he... Spike was stronger. He wanted it more.  Gunn: Angel, it doesn't mean anything.  Angel: What if it does? What if it means that...I'm not the one? 

And if he’s not the one then what the hell is he? Everything he thought he was, everything he’s fought to be. Suddenly there are question marks where once there was certainty.  

By episodes end it is clear that Eve and ex-Wolfram and Hart lawyer Lindsey McDonald, are partners in the plot to undermine Angel, they are the puppeteers masterminding this great performance:

And we are left wondering did they know what would happen once Spike was reintegrated with the World? Was the chaos real or somehow manufactured along with the new bits of the prophecy and the cup as part of the elaborate ruse? It seems apparent that the duo is behind the retrieval of the amulet from the ruins of Sunnydale and the postage of both it and the re-corporialisation box to Wolfram and Hart. It begs the unanswerable question whether they actually provided or engineered, through Lilah, the use of the amulet as a bargain sweetener in the take-over deal, and who they actually wanted to wear it. In Lineage, Eve alluded to the suggestion that the amulet had indeed been worn by its intended target after all, but this then invites speculation of how they could possibly guess that Buffy would give it to Spike. Speculating is all we can do because it’s never fully explained.  Probably doesn’t matter. The disruption to the universe does seem real though. People are going bloody-eyed and turning ‘postal’, and more significantly, the Big Cat, the conduit between the firm and the senior partners is gone, replaced by a howling abyss. Surely this is more than Eve and Lindsey could achieve on their own and undetected?  It is also important to note that Wesley’s absence is integral to the success of their cup scam. Eve needs her ‘expert’ to be the one to interpret the prophecy and direct them to the cup. It would seem that Eve and Lindsey were aware of the implications of the amulet and the real consequences of re-corporealisation, and therefore they had to bide their time and wait for an opportune moment before allowing Spike to become corporeal again. Team Angel is now on red alert but looking at the Senior Partners in suspicion. Eve seems pleased with this outcome.

And Spike didn’t kill Angel, she tells Lindsey, surprised but not perturbed. Is that what they wanted, or did they want Angel dead? Or didn’t they care? Seems they can work with whatever outcome. It’s a start.

Next up - Angel 5.9 Harm's Way

[christopherburdett]

I am sharing makeup effects work I did 20+ years ago. Starting things off is part 1 of the Werewolf we made for the 5th season of Angel. LOADS of info and details on the blog - which has been flagged for adult content for some reason: https://christopherburdett.blogspot.com/2024/10/from-archives-werewolf-angel-season-5.html #buffythevampireslayer #btvs #angel #werewolf #monster #makeupeffects

[stormofstarlight]

Cavemen would easily beat astronauts in a fight. Astronauts actually get a lot weaker in space, their muscle mass decreases because there's less gravity so it takes less effort for them to do things. Meanwhile, cavemen generally lived very active lifestyles and would be used to fighting and hunting. They might even have prearranged strategies they use regularly. It might not even come down to a fight, they'd drive the astronauts off a fucking cliff

[wikiangela]

ngl I could see Fred with Spike before I'd even wanna look in the direction of Fred with Wesley lmao

like, I don't think I ship it, but Fred and Spike are having some moments rn and arguably having more natural chemistry than Wes and Fred ever had sns

[willowmosby]

I genuinely really love this cause it's not something that I've ever really thought about and I can tell you why if you care. If you don't care then feel free to skip this knowing I think Spike being in season 5 was one of the best things the writers ever did for the show.

I never noticed this really because Angel and Spike as well lived characters are exactly the type that would be petty and stupid about the whole situation. Angel the character isn't one that can learn a lesson after just one mistake. He makes mistakes (that are relatively similar) every single season, it's what drives the plot of the show. And He is not super secretly a deeply petty person. One who is also tortured by his mistakes. No matter how in the right Spike has been, is, or will be Angel will never not be a bit bitchy about it. He wants to be the hero, for better or worse, and he has for so long seen Spike apose that ( reminder we have no idea how much of Buffy S5, 6&7 Angel know the full context of). And I do think he understands Spike has changed but he personally is petty and bitchy about it. We, the audience, and many of the other main cast of characters go along with that as Angel is the main character and therefore are thematic and moral focus.

And I don't think that it's a narrative negative here because for as long as we have seen Spike and Angel they have had a bitchy and antagonistic friendship (and/or romance if you're feeling extra subtext-y). Even when they are both evil they would rather do anything than simply agree with each other, I mean Spike helps Buffy stop Angelus ending the world for what are mostly pretty petty reasons.

Plus Spike as a character needs something to rebel against and in this season part of it is the perception that Angel (and the team) have of him.

Ok, never watched much of Angel outside of s5, but I understand that the sort of thesis statement of the show/character is "If nothing we do matters, all that matters is what we do."

Explain to me why then, if this is the crux of Angel, everyone and their mother bitches about Spike getting his soul back? Implying that it's inherently selfish and because it was selfish, it means next to nothing?

This line presents the concept that action bears more weight than reason. It doesn't matter why you do good as long as you are doing it. Because to do good, regardless of why or what you may gain, is good.

You can never be perfect. You can never fix everything. But the things you do are your legacy. "If there's no bigger meaning, then the smallest act of kindness is the greatest thing in the world."

I personally believe that Spike got his soul for himself as much as he did it for Buffy because the concept of man vs. monster had been a Massive part of his character arc. Pre-soul he couldn't be either and therefore was nothing in his own eyes (not helped by being repeatedly dehumanized either.)

Spike made a choice that Angelus never would've. He chose the man over the monster.

Regardless, Love is apparently not a good enough reason to get his soul back, according to some. They argue that because he fought for it from a place of romantic Love that it doesn't matter. That the reason behind the action was selfish and therefore meaningless.

But the fucking point of Angel is that action is more important than reason. That the struggle, the fight is more important than the why of it. Essentially, whatever gets you through it is, and should be, enough.

Spike fought his nature because he had something to fight for. Love is not inherently selfless or selfish, it isn’t good or evil. It's a feeling that can be turned into a verb, to action. What you chose to do with Love is what codes its nature.

Spike in the past has done horrible things. Despite the constant "Spike fans kind of forgot about" bullshit, no one argues that he hasn't done terrible things. But this one action/choice was singular. No one had ever done it before. No one ever Wanted to do it before.

Whether you consider it selfish, the Love Spike felt drove him to be better. Because of that Love, he chose to be better. He took action and fought to be better.

If nothing you do matters, all that matters is what you do.

Spike made a choice to be a man and not a monster and fought for it. That Matters.

Regardless of the fact that anyone with a soul can do good or evil, we know Spike does good with one, which reflects back and makes the action of getting it good. It's cyclical goddamnit!

With a soul, he is selfless. He remains by Buffy's side, not out of an inability to let her go, but because she chooses it. He stands his ground and sacrifices himself to save the world despite Buffy telling him she loves him and to leave. He doesn't waver because it's the right, good thing to do.

Whether or not you think he was selfish in the lead up should not matter. He is the only vampire to ever make this choice. Spike got his soul back and did good with it, by the ethos of Angel, that's what matters.

[thequeenofsastiel]

I love that despite the fact that Angel had spent the entire time since Spike came to W&H deeply annoyed by Spike's presence, when he saw that Dana had chopped off Spike's hands, he instantly yelled for the med team to come down. "Now!" Just like when Illyria was about to kill Spike and Angel threw Spike aside and took the stake for him. Whenever Spike is in REAL danger, all of Angel's surface disgust for him vanishes, and he becomes deeply protective.

Also he visited Spike in the hospital because he was concerned about him and couldn't keep himself away and I think that's sweet 🥰

[kyri45]

We love MK, child of un-divorced. The next update will be more gay. And fluffier.

Shadowpeach Bio Parent AU (PREV / FIRST / NEXT )

before saying anything, read the stuff under the cut

About wukong and macaque

Both these bitches did wrong, but remember that MK saw the vision starting from the fight itself, not what happened before. He then read the chapters of the book and read that Macaque also attacked. I personally think he's mostly hurted by what Wukong did, not because it's worse of what Macaque did, but because he idolized Wukong for so long, and while he know he did so many wrongs in the past, his vision of a "hero" dissapeared in this moment. He s mostly dissapointed let's say. Of course it's not the best of things to put tour heroes on a pedal because you will always be dissapointed. I guess MK learned the lesson...

About what MK said in panel 8

Our monkey boy is remembering his own very stupid thing he sacrificied himself without trying to talk it out with the others AND using the circuit on Wukong.

About the posters

Yes they were Monkey King posters. MK ripped them immediately after the vision because he still was not sure was reality and vision and was scared.

About the eye

Because I would prefer no one dies of angst, his eye is fine, it s more like symbolism.

[blorbodiaz]

mhmm

[kyliafanfiction]

I know that the official narrative of Season 5 is that Team Angel was losing their way at Wolfram and Hart, becoming corrupted, etc, but the writers did a very poor job of showing it.

Like, the worst you can say they did was Gunn helping an antiquity get through customs. Like, yes, that ended up being Illyria’s casket, but helping a guy make some money on illicit smuggled artifacts, all Gunn thought he was doing, in exchange for what he was able to do with the legal upgrade he was re-upping, seemed like a reasonable trade, because it *was*.

In Season 5, we see multiple times the good they could do working on the scale W&H allowed. If not for them, that one kid and his whole school would have been killed to stop the Black Tomorrow. And that bit with the cult leader who was too well-connected to go at directly... if he was too well connected for W&H to go at, do you really think AI would have been able to attack them (and successfully kill them all) without any problem? 

Or that bit where Gunn uses W&H’s resources to open the orphanage for vampire victims kids, banish the fire demons to another dimension and shut down the company dumping demon waste into the water?

The groxlar demons that ate babies? Remember how W&H was trying to get them to stop? We don’t see how the negotiation ended, but they seemed to be on a good start, and W&H has the resources to make that stick better than AI would have.

Without W&H’s resources and access they would have found out about the Smile Time demons far too late to do anything (it was only 7 kids by then)

Like, yes, the heroes made compromises, and as I’ve outlined before, if they really wanted to have the heroes try to take down or actively work to hurt in a big way Wolfram and Hart (a multinational, multidimensional law firm that goes well beyond L.A.) they had options, involving working to bring down the place within.

But it doesn’t mean they lost their way. and I object strong to the burn-down-the-system-all-compromise-is-bad core of the ‘moral’ of Season 5. Especially since it also all but asserts that throwing your life away ineffectively is heroic just because it is.

So yeah. Mutant Enemy can give me the official line on Season 5 all they want. They were wrong then, both in the big picture, and frankly, they were wrong about their own damn show.

Additional reading if someone wants to know more of my (many) thoughts on AtS Season 5:

(They’re all old posts because I don’t really write meta anymore, but I stand by pretty much all of them still)

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/150635189012/how-it-should-have-ended-angel-season-5

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/157834725517/how-it-should-have-ended-angel-season-5#notes

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/150615258627/i-would-love-to-hear-how-s5-of-angel-would-have

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/149954308962/also-probably-a-very-unpopular-opinion-not-fade

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/149112358992/alkenifanfiction-i-was-just-re-reading-the-rant

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/144988256222/so-much-about-angel-season-5-enrages-me-i-mean

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/149244529822/the-good-they-did-in-season-5

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/157834830487/i-will-be-forever-bitter-about-the-way-angel

https://kyliafanfiction-archive.tumblr.com/post/132502005942/re-angel-the-series-season-5-episode-22-not

[oxygenisachoice]

Watching supernatural for the first time in the year 2024