Characterization In The Buffyverse — ‘Angel’ Season 2, Episode 12

This is part of a bi-weekly series concerning the characterization of Buffyverse characters. Arguably the best place to begin reading this series is at the beginning, but that is up to each reader. As a reminder this column will cover major and some minor characters from the shows Buffy The Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and Angel (1999-2004). Other Buffyverse media, such as the graphic novel Spike: Into The Light (2014) are not pertinent to this series. Also there will be no referencing real world events that have direct relation to either show in this bi-weekly series. Although this series does reference things that have no direct relation to the show in order to examine things such as metaphors and literary analogues.

This week: Angel (David Boreanaz) meets a human from his past. Meanwhile, Lilah Morgan (Stephanie Romanov) and Lindsey McDonald (Christian Kane) — along with others from Wolfram & Hart — pay tribute to a former employee.

(Warning of spoilers from this point on!)

(Trigger warning for mentions of stalking, rape, and torture)

Angel is out of character when he seemingly teleports from Lilah’s car after threatening her like his soulless persona might do. Also, the way he words the threat implies rape and torture, which is supposedly impossible for him with the curse. Of course, stalking Anne Steele (Julia Lee), along with his attempting to manipulate her, should be as well. Yet, he does have a history of stalking even with the curse (Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 21, “Becoming, Part One”). Arguably, viewers still see the curse working since Angel apparently feels guilty enough about some of his actions to give Anne the money.

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce (Alexis Denisof), Charles Gunn (J. August Richards), and Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) all see a little regression from their development one episode prior (Season 2, Episode 11, “Redefinition”). They felt confident in moving forward without Angel at the end of that episode, but at the beginning of this one they are waiting for him to call. Cordelia is also continuing to have her visions activate in a slapstick type manner (Season 2, Episode 10, “Reunion”). While this does not make her a gag character, it does make her reactions seem the same as Spike’s (James Marsters) in terms of providing levity (Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 4, Episode 20, “The Yoko Factor”). This change in her characterization is debatably more obvious upon rewatching Angel numerous times. As for Gunn, he seemingly displays more of an ability to strategize by outmaneuvering Wesley in the board game. It also exposes another side to his personality which, along with his more casual manner, gives the sense that he is moving away from the “tough black man from the streets” stereotype.

Zorn (James Pomichter) means to act as a way to detect Angel and other vampires at the charity event. But instead of being just an obstacle for Angel to overcome, he also acts as a plot device to give Angel a disguise via Zorn’s cloak.

Boone (Mark Rolston) is a supposedly “eternal” blue demon with a particular code of honor. Whether he actually is eternal or just able to live a long time is unknown. Since there is no confirmation of his fate he could be alive still. Yet, because of Angel allowing his more violent desires to reign, it is more reasonable to assume Boone dies in their fight. If such is the case, then Boone is not actually eternal by the standard definition. As for his personality, he is similar to the character Marv from writer and artist Frank Miller’s Sin City.

Merl (Matthew James) continues to act as an informant under duress. Since both that and his flippant nature remain the same, he keeps providing some degree of levity.

Nathan Reed (Gerry Becker) serves to remind viewers that Lilah and Lindsey have higher ups who consider the two on figurative thin ice at the firm. Besides this attitude and purpose, he is not memorable.

Dwight (Jeffrey Patrick Dean), Serena Tate (Jennifer Roa), Liza Reynolds (Deborah Carson), Scott Reynolds (Unknown), Holden Raynes (Jason Padgett), Thomas Jenkins (R. Martin Klein) and Mrs. Jenkins (Unknown) all attend the not-for-profit event for Anne’s shelter. Since they only serve to populate an event, they are more set pieces than stock characters.

Anne is more certain of herself and less naive than in the past (Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 3, Episode 1, “Anne”). Unfortunately, the fact that she and Angel both fail to recognize each other despite the past event they both share makes them seem stupid (Buffy The Vampire Slayer Season 2, Episode 7, “Lie To Me”). In her case, though, the other members of the vampire club did sometimes resemble him. As for her development, she appears to become even more wary — and perhaps cynical — of the world after the events in this episode. Notably, this sees exemplification via her talk of about washing the dollars.

Holland Manners (Sam Anderson) only makes an appearance in a video for the charity event, which means he has no growth in this episode. However, he does have characterization in the form of being a parody of advertisements by organizations that ask for money yet seemingly do nothing to help.

Lilah comes off as having more of a level head when it comes to consequences from Wolfram & Hart despite her fear of Angel. She also states the obvious to Lindsay in a way that borders on being cliché.

Lindsey remains reckless when it comes to dealing with Angel. His presumption of Boone being useful against Angel without verification of Boone’s history with the vampire proves this.

This episode relies on a lot of misdirection with Angel, Anne, and Boone agreeing to things offscreen. Thus, one can debate whether these three have good characterization in comparison to the rest of the non-stock supporting characters.