
Before Buffy the Vampire Slayer Ended, Did Angel Slay the Dragon? We Now Know
The beloved Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise continued beyond the end of its tenure on TV, the finale of its spin-off Angel – which featured a cliffhanger ending, cutting off just as the eponymous vampire-with-a-soul set out to slay a dragon, an open-ended plot question that the Angel sequel comic provides the perfect answer to.
Angel: After the Fall – which featured a story by franchise creator Joss Whedon, and was written and illustrated by multiple creative teams over the course of its run, starting with Bryan Lynch and Francisco Urru – shows the aftermath of the events of “Not Fade Away,” in which all of Los Angeles was literally sent to hell.

After the Fall revealed that Angel did indeed have a confrontation with the dragon, but he did not “slay [it]” as he expresses he “kind of” wanted to do in the TV show’s finale. Instead, their face-to-face ended with a very different outcome.
In An All-Time Heroic Moment, Angel Didn’t Slay The Dragon – He Saved It
“Gunn,” From Angel: After the Fall #8 – Written By Brian Lynch; With Art By Scott Tipton, Mirco Plerfecerlcl, Fablo Mantovanl, and Michele Buscalferri
In fact, not only did Angel find a way to tame and befriend the dragon in the comics, but used it as an opportunity to memorialize a familiar face from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer cast. The earliest issues surprised readers by showing Angel aided frequently by the large dragon. After the Fall #6-8 flashed back to the battle itself, with #8 revealing that, after witnessing “one of Wolfram & Hart’s lackeys controlling the dragon,” Angel formulated a plan, and it worked. By killing the dragon’s ogre handler, Angel got the dragon to follow his command.
This stands as an oddly triumphant arc for Angel, as he unexpectedly managed to save a creature that he thought he’d have to kill
The dragon becomes instrumental and incredibly useful in helping Angel, but things take a turn for the worse after Angel: After the Fall #11, where a returned Gwen Raiden – the electrifying mutant from Angel‘s fourth season – betrays Team Angel and tries to kill Connor, Angel’s son and arguably the Buffy franchise’s most hated character. The dragon intervenes, saving Connor’s life at the cost of his own. Despite the loss of the dragon’s life, this stands as an oddly triumphant arc for Angel, as he unexpectedly managed to save a creature that he thought he’d have to kill.
Angel Named The Dragon Cordelia in Honor Of The “Buffy” and “Angel” Main Character
A Beautiful Tribute, If Accidental

Angel: After the Fall #12 marked the unexpected return of franchise fan-favorite Cordelia Chase. Angel told her about his nights with the dragon, recalling how he used to vent about his past with Cordy. One night, Angel quickly realized that whenever he said Cordelia’s name to his flaming steed, the dragon though Angel was referring to the dragon. Even the original Cordelia was flattered that Angel accidentally named his pet dragon after her. Truth be told, it was a fitting homage to one of the show’s most important characters.
Cordelia was an OG Buffy character the show wasted, but she found new life on Angel. Cordy helped humanize Angel and, in many ways, protected him from catering to the darkest parts of himself. Similarly, Cordelia the Dragon is Angel’s protector; the dragon saved Angel’s life numerous times, and as Angel expressed, he found a legitimate kinship with it in his friends’ absence. One of Angel’s last lines in “Not Fade Away,” was “I kinda wanna slay the dragon,” but instead, Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s ex managed to tame it in a way that honors a franchise fave.
Original article at Screen Rant
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