This 26-Year-Old Supernatural Drama Spinoff Changed Everything About the Original Series (& Somehow It Paid Off)
Original article at CBR
The fan-favorite vampire with soul got a beautiful sendoff from Buffy the Vampire Slayer at the end of Season 3, helping to defeat the Mayor and then disappearing into the night. That wasn’t the end of his story, though. The next year, Angel premiered, giving the titular character his own show and a chance to shine out from under the Slayer’s shadow. Notably, this spin-off shook up numerous elements of the original series, changing locations, stars, aesthetics and tone. However, despite all these changes, Angel became a success and, for some fans, even became better than Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Angel shifted the action from bright, suburban Sunnydale to dark and dirty Los Angeles and, in doing so, dramatically changed the feel from that of Buffy. Where the original series was largely a teen drama, albeit full of supernatural threats, Angel was more of a noir detective story. Where Buffy featired a protagonist struggling with growing up and shouldering new responsibilities, Angel was a centuries-old vampire driven by guilt and a search for redemption. In many ways, they were fundamentally different shows. Still, the spin-off was able to honor what came before while carving its own, exciting path.
Angel Was Darker and Grittier Than its Predecessor
- “Los Angeles” are the very first lines spoken during the premiere of Angel and the series begins with the titular character describing the city.
- The premiere of Season 2 of Angel also features Lorne making a similar speech about L.A.
- Many classic noir films are set in L.A.
It’s appropriate that Angel was set in the city of Los Angeles. After leaving Sunnydale to be far from Buffy, the heroic vampire could have gone anywhere, but the writers chose to place him in a location intimately tied to noir stories and style. Often portrayed as a seemingly glamorous paradise with a seedy underbelly, countless stories of murder, intrugue, and broken dreams have been told in L.A. Placing Angel there signified that it would be a different show from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
While Buffy the Vampire Slayer certainly never shied away from grim topics or depressing endings, it also had plenty of humor and optimism. The episodes of the first season ended with happy endings and the Scooby Gang remained a constant source of support and companionship for the Slayer. Meanwhile, Angel began with the protagonist isolated and withdrawn. Angel was on his own in a coldly unfeeling city, missing the love of his life and still burdened with the guilt of lifetimes worth of atrocities committed by the demon that once controlled his body. The pilot episode even saw him fail to protect the woman he was meant to protect. While he was able to take revenge on the vampire responsible, he was still left with the knowledge that he couldn’t save everybody.
Angel also broke with Buffy by featuring moral ambiguity and less black-and-white heroes and villains. Buffy made mistakes but was always a noble hero. The big bads were always unambiguously evil beings bent on harming innocent people. Angel, on the other hand, had a darkness lurking inside him, and his closest allies struggled with their own past sins and negative traits. From Cordelia’s mean girl behavior in high school to Gunn’s inability to save his sister, each was haunted by their own flaws and failures.
Antagonists, like Lindsey, also displayed elements of good hidden inside, raising questions about what makes someone a villain and who can be redeemed. Others, like the possessed boy in the Season 1 episode “I’ve Got You Under My Skin,” offered examples of wickedness in unsassuming guises, reminding viewers that life is complicated and the lines between good and evil are often blurred. These sorts of questions and struggles fit perfectly into Angel‘s larger themes of guilt and redemption.
Angel Sought Redemption and Purpose
- Angel loses his soul and returns to his evil ways once during Buffy the Vampire Slayer and once during Angel.
- In Season 1 of Angel, he also briefly loses control to the demon inside him when he’s drugged.
- Angel shook up the formula of Buffy by having one major villain, the evil Wolfram and Hart law firm, who serves as an antagonist throughout the series.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in focusing on teens in high school, and later college, was primarily about growing up and maturing. Many of the monsters, especially in the early seasons, were metaphors for the struggles of adolescence and the fears associated with teen angst. Buffy spent the first season coming to terms with her role as the Slayer and her mother’s discovery and reaction to her job served as an allegory for a teen coming out to her family. The Scooby also dealt with their own growing pains, from bullying and peer pressure to first loves and heartbreaks. Meanwhile, Angel was very much about characters who were adults with years of experience and regrets.
Of course, the main character carried the most guilt on the show. While Angel technically wasn’t responsible for the crimes his body committed while his soul was gone, he still remembered and felt them deeply. Angelus killed and tortured for decades before being stopped by a Romani curse and, even during his time on Buffy, Angel plainly felt there was no way he could make amends for the suffering he caused. His spin-off was primarily about his quest for redemption and that of his friends and allies.
Angel’s first new companion, Doyle, carries regret for failing to save a group of good demons being persecuted by a group known as The Scourge. In the Season 1 episode, “Hero,” he sacrificed himself to save a different demon community, completing his arc and earning forgiveness in a bittersweet moment that marked his departure from the series. With Doyle’s death, Wesley joined Angel’s team, having been fired by the Watcher’s Council and haunted by his time as Faith’s Watcher. Finally, “Rm w/a Vu” revealed that Cordelia was deeply embarrassed by her actions in high school and desperate for a sign that she had earned redemption in a cosmic sense.
Nearly every major character on Angel was searching for absolution and many episodes revolved around this theme in one way or another. When combined with a setting known for haunted characters filled with regret and dark secrets, it made for a show that was dramatically different from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. These changes, however, worked in Angel‘s favor, allowing it to distinguish itself as an original story.
Angel Honored Buffy While Being Original
- The first episode of Angel and the first episode of Season 4 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer subtly overlap.
- Buffy receives a phone call, with no one speaking on the other end, during the Season 4 premiere.
- In Angel, it’s revealed that he was the one calling, missing her but ultimately second-guessing himself and hanging up.
Angel pulled off a challenging feat for any spin-off. It managed to feel fresh and unique while still honoring the show that inspired it. It was always clear that the new series was based in the same universe as Buffy, but it never seemed like a simple copy. In the first season, this was aided by regular crossovers of plot and characters, like Spike’s hunt for the Gem of Amara and Faith’s flight from Sunnydale after briefly swapping bodies with Buffy. It also helped that the monsters and lore transferred seamlessly from the original show to the spin-off.
While much darker than Buffy, Angel still had hints of the humor that the former show was known for. Further, each series had the same hopefuly and compassionate message, highlighted by kind characters who were always willing to sacrifice for one another and for the greater good. It’s difficult to find a fan of the show who doesn’t love the other as well. Angel may be different in themes and tone, but it’s still a series about friendship and fighting the supernatural.
Angel is spin-off that, on the surface, looks nothing like the series it spun off from. A new setting and style quickly differentiate it from what came before. Great writing and performances, and a respect for the original made it a hit in its own right, however. Any fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer who, somehow, never checked out Angel, will surely find it a distinct but somehow familiar treat.
Original article at CBR
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