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Why We Fight.
(or: Angel and his boys)
This is a far better episode than I remembered. And the way the themes of the season and foreshadowing run through it are painful to watch. Painful in a good way, you understand - it just knocked the air out of me somewhat, in that ‘God they’re all going to die and they’re telling us right now!’ Not that they haven’t done that from the beginning:
ANGEL: We're gonna change things. We came to Wolfram and Hart because it's a powerful weapon, and we'll figure out how to wield it.
WESLEY: Or kill ourselves with it.
‘Conviction’
Because (as they will discover) it is not possible to wield that weapon without killing themselves in the process...
There's also this bit, with Corbin Fries' son:
BOY: They didn't have a lot. I got 'Punisher'.
MATT: My dad won't let me read that.
BOY: Oh, man! It's so good. He kills everyone.
Joss is *evil*! But he's very good at it!
Before I continue I must rec
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the_royal_anna’s post on 'Why We Fight'. Lots of gorgeous metaphors and the most hysterical imagined future of AtS!ETA: Also check out
frenchani's post. Lots of good thoughts!But - back to my thoughts, such as they are. The episode really is very much a stand-alone in story terms. We get a few bits of continuity right at the beginning (Eve’s missing, Gunn can’t remember some legalese, Fred complains about Knox messing up with an experiment.)
And then Lawson shows up:
LAWSON: Actually, I came to see your boss. Angel and I are... old acquaintances. I was friends with him back in the day, back when he was in his patriotic phase.
At first I thought that he’d said ‘paternal’, but that was obviously just the subtext coming over a little too loud. ;)
I love the flashback btw - the ‘Demon Research Initiative’, the way they know exactly who Angel is...
MILITARY MAN: Something was on that ship. Have you ever heard dying men screaming for their lives, Angel?
MAN IN BLACK: Course he has.
Lots of good continuity in this episode:
Vampire : They starve you. When you're ready to bite your own arm, they shoot out one of those packets. You drink, and the next thing, you're gone. And that's when they do the experiments.
Spike : And, uh, they are? The government? Nazis? A major cosmetics company?
‘The Initiative’
Not to mention these fantastic lines:
ANGEL: Spike! We need them, OK? I'm not getting trapped at the bottom of the sea.
SPIKE: And I'm not getting experimented on by his government.
ETA: There's also Nostroyev claiming to have been Rasputin's lover, which proves Buffy's theory that there might have been a link between Rasputin and vampires ('Checkpoint'). Whether he actually was one is of course left unanswered!
Anyway, it all brings us to the sub and Lawson and Spike. Watching I think it’s fairly obvious that Spike does NOT know about Angel’s soul (or *if* he does he doesn’t think it has made any difference):
SPIKE: Angelus... this is Nostroyev and the Prince of Lies. Nostroyev, Prince of Lies, this is Angelus. (nods, grins) The Angelus.
We can see that he’s rather proud of being the one who knows the famous guy. And although he acts out, he obeys Angel throughout. And Angel plays his cards so that Spike won’t work out what side he’s on - Spike reckons he’s just on his own side, as usual.
LAWSON (to Angel): You knew about this?
SPIKE: He did?
ANGEL: It was part of the mission.
SPIKE: What mission? Oh. I get it. You're playing both sides against each other.
ANGEL: Spike—
SPIKE: No, I respect that.
And this is again very interesting. We’ve had a lot of mentions of Angelus/the monster inside so far in the season, and we see Angel walking the line beautifully here. Like he will at the end of the season - when he will again kill someone heroic for the sake of the mission...
Now I’m not going to go into all the Lawson/Connor parallels since I already wrote about them in my Spike on AtS essay - please check it out if you want to look at that side of it. (Lawson is Angel’s other failed son, unable to cope with life.)
But it’s not just Connor who looms over this episode - it is the concept of family - and Angel’s bonds to those he has sired:
LAWSON: May I speak freely, sir? I recognize there's a lot going on here that I don't understand... but those monsters butchered my crew... and apparently they're in the S.S.
ANGEL: Spike's not in the S.S. He just likes wearing the jacket.
LAWSON: Yeah, that doesn't help me understand why we're working with him or keeping him alive, for that matter.
ANGEL: I got him under control.
LAWSON: That's not the point. He killed my captain, sir.
ANGEL: We may be able to use them. We don't have much of a crew left.
LAWSON: I don't think we'll need 'em.
ANGEL: They're extra hands.
LAWSON: They're monsters. And I don't know why we—
ANGEL: You don't need to know why.
And again a little later:
ANGEL: He'll [Spike] do what I tell him.
LAWSON: 'Cause you know each other. From before this, right?
ANGEL: Something on your mind, son?
Nostroyev and the Prince of Lies get staked the moment they misbehave, but Spike... not so much. Or Lawson. They’re family. And - in another bit of beautiful continuity - Angel will have an almost identical discussion another half-century later:
Angel: (gets between Buffy and Spike) Buffy, we still need him to find the others.
Buffy: (lowers her stake) Need him? He's probably just got them locked up in the factory.
‘Lovers Walk’
I’ll get back to the family stuff, but first I’m going to look at the mission part:
ANGEL: We gotta bring this sub in. Those are our orders. Isn't that the point? Following orders?
LAWSON: There's a difference between orders... and purpose, sir. [...] And I've been scared out of my mind since I signed on for this duty, but I can keep it together, I can even handle dying, if I know it's for a greater purpose.
And Angel, at W&H, is of course searching for a purpose. As he tells Spike at the end:
SPIKE: Then what was he looking for?
ANGEL: A reason.
This is the episode after Cordy died. Remember at the beginning of ‘You’re Welcome’ Angel decided to quit - and then Cordy woke up. She tried to help him, but at this point he’s still lost - looking for a way to use W&H. To find some meaning to his life. And then (it’s never made completely clear, but I think it’s after Fred dies) he will get that vision - will be told how to wield the weapon that is W&H, and what the consequences will be. For him and his crew. And this is where this episode really shines:
LAWSON: Oh, put your hanky away. I know how important the technology they pulled from the sub was to helping us stop the Germans. Sounded like a fair shake. One person damned to make the world safe for future generations. (looks over at Angel's gang) Except these guys.
He has Wesley, Gunn and Fred tied up - the three who’ll be dead (or dying) by season’s end. And Angel will have damned himself, signing away the shanshu reward.
Lawson (pre-death) has a wonderful statement that really cuts deep and made me sit up and take notice:
LAWSON: We wouldn't do that. You don't win a war by doing whatever it takes. You win by doing what's right.
But as we know Angel will do whatever it takes to ensure a win - or the closest he can get. No matter the price. (He *wants* to do what’s right, desperately, but sadly his world doesn’t work like that...) And there is another exchange later on that is utterly chilling:
LAWSON: They [the crew] swore to give their lives for their country... just like me. Besides, I'm hungry.
ANGEL: They're still your men.
LAWSON: But they're not the mission... are they?
The mission is what matters... and Angel will ask *his* men to give their lives for the mission:
ANGEL: Power endures. We can't bring down the senior partners, but for one bright, shining moment, we can show them that they don't own us. You need to decide for yourselves if that's worth dying for. I can't order you to do this. I can't do it without you. So we'll vote. As a team. Think about what I'm asking you to do, think about what I'm asking you to give.
‘Power Play’
I know a lot of people dislike that ‘helping the helpless’ stopped being the mission, but Angel’s plan didn’t come out of nowhere:
ANGEL: Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. - It's harsh, and cruel. - But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be.
‘Home’
He’s trying to 'show the world what it can be', which is the one thing he can’t do as CEO of W&H. He has that big shiny weapon - and there’s no one else to wield it. That power, that choice, is his alone. And he knows that there’s a world full of Slayers and Anne’s, each doing their bit to help people.
But this is all very sad and depressing. Let’s get back to the family stuff.
SPIKE: Air's about gone. Your new boy better get the engines running before the fish start flopping.
Angel’s new boy... that he really ought to have staked. Should we hold Angel responsible for Lawson's crimes?
Anyway, I noticed that at the end - when Angel sends his boys away - there are two clear groups. Angel and his offspring and the soldiers. Angel might have come to help the humans, but he’s still one of the demons. And not just that, but the one who created them. Angel can never, ever be the straight good guy.
But - he lets his new boy go. For someone with such a paternal streak, he really isn’t very good at bringing up his children. His only success (if it can be so termed) is Spike (and that of course was in great deal due to Spike’s own nature)... what I mean is, that Spike was the only one that he ‘brought up’.
At the end of the episode, we of course have that beautiful scene with Spike and Angel silently looking out into the sunshine. Angel’s other boys all lost - Connor mind wiped and Lawson dusted. (Not counting Penn. He was just dull.) But Spike is there still - the one son that Angel didn’t have to save.
But although I love that scene, that’s not where I want to end. Because I noticed something this time. It’s this moment:
SPIKE: Bloody brilliant. Turn the poor sod to save the ship. Then make him dash for dry land before Mr. Sunshine scorches him a new one. (cocks his head to the side) You're still a dick. (grins)
ANGEL: Yeah. I am.
SPIKE: Bollocks.
Because as Angel watches Spike climb up the ladder, he smiles. And I have no way of describing that smile except as affectionate!
I swear I’m not making it up - go look for yourselves! (
hesadevil made a youtube vid here!) It’s the same smile I imagine a parent smiles when their teenage son has been caught smoking, crashed his motorbike, continually skipped school and then come home drunk at 3am before passing out on his bed. A ‘Yes he’s an idiot, but hey - he’s still my boy. Not like I wasn’t just as bad, back in the day. Sure he's a hell-raiser, but I gotta admit - the kid's got spirit!’To quote
germaine_pet’s wonderful fic Shanshu Blue:He’d let out a howl of joy in mid-air, fit to rival a whole pride of lions. You had scowled in his direction, but inwardly you’d smiled.
That’s my Spike & Angel.
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‘The Initiative’
Although I liked this episode more than a lot of the people at TWoP did, I do have a problem with this bit of retconning. Are we supposed to believe that Spike forgot about The Initiative? Because I don't remember us ever getting a hint that Spike knew anything about this group during S4 Buffy.
Anyway, it all brings us to the sub and Lawson and Spike. Watching I think it’s fairly obvious that Spike does NOT know about Angel’s soul (or *if* he does he doesn’t think it has made any difference)
Oh, I'm sure he knew about the soul. In Darla they have the raid on the gypsy camp in order to find a way to get Angelus's soul removed. [Dru: "Angelus is gone on away. Where is he?"] If Dru knew, Spike did too. I think at that point, Spike just didn't care about the soul. And this goes back to my argument that Spike didn't start to hate Angel until mid-Season 2 of BtVS when he betrayed Spike by 1) working for the Slayer, and then 2) the way he treated Spike while Spike was recovering from his injuries. I think that while Spike accepted a lot of stuff from Angelus when he was first turned, it's pretty obvious that their relationship was on a completely different level after 20 years together (The Girl in Question) and certainly in this episode.
SPIKE: Then what was he looking for?
ANGEL: A reason.
I love that scene at the end because it shows more than probably anything else (except maybe Angel's visit to Spike's beside in Damage how really close these two are no matter how much they rail against each other. Despite everything, there a very tight bond there.
Angel can never, ever be the straight good guy.
And I think that's another of the big differences between Spike and Angel, because I truly believe that Spike can be the straight good guy, and it all comes from the manner in which they received their souls. Angel had his thrust upon him as a punishment. Sure, now that he has it, he does his best to keep it, but when he loses it, Angelus is right there – front and center. But Spike, of course, chose his soul – the demon *chose* to be souled. Granted, it had no idea how much pain that would bring, but I have no doubts that if somehow Spike lost his soul, he'd still be able to control the monster. Because, well, he's Spike. And Spike ain't your normal demon. *g*
But Spike is there still - the one son that Angel didn’t have to save.
Because Spike saved himself. :)
Once again, a lovely meta. I so enjoy reading your thoughts on these episodes. And I'm continually amazed at how much I remember from a season I haven't watched since it first aired. Usually I can't remember what happened in a show I watched last night ;P
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Well first and foremost I just think the whole thing is funny, so I'm not too hung up on how much sense it makes. Secondly Spike never learns about the Initiative itself - all he finds out is that the Nazi's and the US government are trying to turn vampires into soldiers and experimenting on them. Perfectly plausible that it'd be a wartime effort only.
If Dru knew, Spike did too. I think at that point, Spike just didn't care about the soul.
I don't think Spike ever saw that Angel had actually changed - apart from leaving them of course.
this goes back to my argument that Spike didn't start to hate Angel until mid-Season 2 of BtVS
Hmmm... I think there was plenty of resentment to build upon. He didn't exactly look thrilled when he found Angelus screwing Dru. But - yes I think they learned to get along. Things would have been v. different in S2 if Darla had still been around and Spike hadn't been injured.
Despite everything, there a very tight bond there.
*nods a lot*
I truly believe that Spike can be the straight good guy, and it all comes from the manner in which they received their souls.
Yes - and also with what sort of people they are (William was a good man - Liam wasn't). I think that Angel recognises this, which is one reason he tries to send Spike away in AHITW - he doesn't want Spike to be destroyed by W&H like he is.
I have no doubts that if somehow Spike lost his soul, he'd still be able to control the monster. Because, well, he's Spike.
Did you ever read my fic Lost Soul? I think you'd like it! ;)
Because Spike saved himself. :)
Exactly! :)
Once again, a lovely meta. I so enjoy reading your thoughts on these episodes.
Thank *you* for reading and for your lovely comments. :)
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Yes, but again, this is still very soon after Spike had been turned, in fact he was still "William". He may have hated him at that point in time, but by the time Angel is cursed, their relationship was much different, one of mutual respect and affection based on the scenes in The Girl in Question and even Spike's reaction to seeing Angel in School Hard.
I haven't read Lost Soul, but certainly shall now. *g*
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Maybe not affection, but respect certainly...
I haven't read Lost Soul, but certainly shall now. *g*
Heh. I ought to have a self-pimp icon...
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I feel that this is necessarily the case. William wasn't a bad man, but neither was he shown as a particularly good man. Rather, he was shown as being not much of a man at all - and what he reacts so strongly against as a vampire.
Angel and Spike are very complementary individuals. Spike wants to be heroic and he wants to get bad guys, and he's empathetic to friends in indivudual interactions -- but he's also someone who does not really care very deeply about people in a more general sense. (Which is why he has so much trouble getting the concept of 'collateral damage') Spike the hero, without someone more visionary guiding him, is in danger of being a Tick-style Bull-in-a-China shop.
Controlling the monster is only half of his battle. Controlling the man is the other part - and Spike's own blessing and curse is that he's not thinking about his human potential for evil - only the demon's. He's not paralyzed by self-doubt that Angel is, but he's also a little less on guard against more human failings.
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Now that is a *very* good point!
Re. William then I think he *is* (was) a good man, but - as you point out - this can be a two edged sword. Just look at Willow ("I'm very seldom naughty.").
And of course Spike isn't William, just like Angel isn't Liam. What I love most about Spike's arc in S5 is him trying to find out what sort of person he is.
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BTW I don't know if you remember that old post of mine:
http://frenchani.livejournal.com/29778.html#cutid1
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Oooh, that's neat.
And your post is very interesting - thank you for the link! And I think you're right, especially about all the names are coded. Except for the Nostroyev - but then I guess he's just there to give Angel another Alpha Male to fight. :)
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I think Elisi speaks out of turn. She's a bad, bad girl forgetting about us, isn't she, Miss Edith? All the rest of Daddy's children are dust now, and so's Daddy himself, but here we are, still happy and hungry. I think we'll pay her a visit soon, show her just how successful Daddy's daughter is.
(Sorry. ;) It was a great analysis, honest!)
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Bwahahaha! I *did* think about Dru, but since this was so boy focussed - and Dru such a very special case what with him having worked on her *before* she was turned, which he never did with the boys - I thought it would be OK to leave her out! *g*
(Sorry. ;) It was a great analysis, honest!)
No worries! And thank you! :)
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::is very happy:: I love it when that happens! (I write a lot of meta! Are there any other episodes you dislike? It's very likely that I've written something somewhere! *g*)
And new friends are always welcome! :)
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I had a post about whether or not Angel should have staked Lawson (http://dlgood.livejournal.com/19444.html). My own thought was that Angel should probably have staked both Spike and Lawson in the submarine, but should have spared Lawson in 2004.
I also had a post about the episode and WWII era submarines (http://dlgood.livejournal.com/99435.html), because I'm working with submarines these days...
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Thank you for the link. I skimmed it quickly, and yes I see where you're coming from. But - and this is the point that the episode turns on - Angel didn't have a mission to give to Lawson (Harmony is content fetching blood, I couldn't see Lawson in a role like that). He says as much to Spike. ("Then what was he looking for?"/"A reason.") Angel is himself struggling with finding a reason. I love that you brought in Faith, because it shows how far he's fallen from who he used to be. He doesn't feel he has anything to offer 'the hopeless' anymore - as we see in 'Conviction' when he kills Hauser. I think that maybe Connor broke something in him - if he couldn't even help his own son, the person he loved above anything else ever, then what has he got to offer others? There's a lot of S6 Buffy in Angel - the inability to see beyond the mess he's in for starters. But where Buffy's problems were caused by others, Angel is responsible for the place he's ended up.
Oh what a lot of thoughts! Thank you! :)
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we see Angel walking the line beautifully here. Like he will at the end of the season - when he will again kill someone heroic for the sake of the mission...
Are you talking about his crew? Because Angel doesn't explicitly kill them. They go to their deaths, but they make their own choice, and they know what they're signing up for.
Angel does deliberately have Lindsey killed, however; and Lawson's death could be seen as a foreshadowing of this. It's interesting that the name "Lawson" conjures up parallels with Lindsey, who was also the Law's son during his tenure at Wolfram & Hart.
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Damn but S/A has *totally* eaten my brain!
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Why am I not surprised? *g*
Are you talking about his crew?
I'm talking about Drogyn. Lawson was sacrificed to save the sub, Drogyn to get Angel into the Black Thorn. Except of course the latter killing was far darker... but he does whatever it takes!
Lawson's death could be seen as a foreshadowing of this.
Oooooh! The whole 'I'm going to kill you if I ever see you again.' Nice.