elisi | Meta: Angel in 'School Hard'.

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Meta: Angel in 'School Hard'.

So, I watched School Hard on Spike's birthday, and then (thank you

molly_may for the link - I’ve read it before, but couldn’t remember where) read this very excellent review by Alira.

She’s rather scathing towards Angel, and towards the end has this to say (I’d question the ‘trustworthy’ part myself! *g*):

Buffy learns that Spike’s playful, resourceful, quippy, trustworthy, and very very good at fighting. That in his way, he's honourable. That he's easily bored and can't keep to a plan. That he's a good dancer. :)

What she doesn't learn is that Angel is basically useless. :)

Now is this true? Or rather - because Angel really isn’t very helpful at all - *why*? (Angel can be very useful indeed, we know that.) Alira seems to think that it’s because he doesn’t want to take responsibility for his part in creating Spike (and Dru), and that when he’s being less than truthful about Spike, it’s because he can’t see the other as anything except a mirror of himself - who he used to be. Now there is obviously a lot of truth in this, but I don’t think that it’s at the heart of Angel’s reasons to act the way he does.

*I* think it’s about family. Back in S1 we had Darla, and her determination to kill Buffy resulted in Angel killing her. An action that I think was very, very hard for him - remember he wanted her so much, he even tried to be with her after the soul. And now, in ‘School Hard’ he must feel the most horrible case of deja vu... because once again his family arrives in town.

But first of all - Buffy and Angel (quoting Alira again):

Buffy: "It was a 'maybe see ya there' kinda deal."
Angel: "You said you weren't sure if you were going."

I don't know. If this is a love of destiny, Angel's sure dragging his pre-destined feet.

Of course Angel is dragging his feet. Because Angel doesn’t have a clue. He knows that he loves Buffy, yes. But what are her feelings for him? What does she want? And should he even be there at all? Also of course he has great trouble deciphering her signals. The thing is, he hasn’t had 400 dates in his 200 years - he’s had Darla, Dru, and probably shared his bed with countless women... but he’s not been dating. So he’s unsure about Buffy. About himself and Buffy.

Now I’m going to very briefly jump to ‘Lie To Me’:

Angel: Do you love me?
Buffy: What?
Angel: Do you?
She takes a moment to consider her answer.
Buffy: I love you. I don't know if I trust you.
Angel: Maybe you shouldn't do either.

Now most people agree that this is very manipulative, which is of course true. But I suddenly saw this in a new light. Saw the reason behind the question - because it reminded me of this:

BUFFY: Not to me. Kill her, why do I care?
SPIKE: Here's why. If you don't admit ... that there's something there ... some tiny feeling for me ... then I'll untie Dru, let her kill you instead.
‘Crush’

Spike wanted to make sure that his sacrifice wasn’t in vain. To know that Buffy understood the enormity of what he was prepared to do.

Now going back to Angel... Angel already sacrificed Darla, and by ‘Lie To Me’ he knows that he has to choose sides again - and he wants to make sure that it isn’t in vain. It might not be very noble, but it is understandable (Angel ain’t exactly a Champion yet - he’s very much in the process of evolving, of beginning to understand what it means to fight the good fight). Dru was the worst thing he ever did... and she was also his masterpiece. His Child(e). Destroying her would cost him enormously.

Dry loves him, he knows. She also trusts him not to hurt her. If he takes Buffy’s side - through and through - he knows that he will probably end up killing his own family. Again. His life would be so much simpler if neither girl loved him - and if he didn’t love them back. His default setting for the last century has been to run away... now he’s slowly learning to take a stand.

But... let’s get back to ‘School Hard’ - because then he was still sitting on the fence. Or trying to at least. (He likes those fences. Just look at AtS S5!)

First there is his very cryptic warning to Buffy:

Giles: Well, he can't be any worse than any other creature you've faced.
Angel: He's worse. Once he starts something he doesn't stop until everything in his path is dead.

Alira notices that this is not actually a very truthful portrait of Spike - and she’s right. So why does Angel speak as he does? I think he’s hoping to scare Buffy - to stop her going after Spike. He’s saying, in not so many words, “This guy is really dangerous. *I* think so. So stay away!”

Of course he then just leaves, since he doesn’t want to be quizzed about his motives.

To briefly jump ahead to the end: After Spike shows that he’s seen through Angel’s deception, Angel runs away. But - in doing so he gets all the minions to follow him and then proceeds to dust a fair number, before the last few run away. He leaves Buffy with Spike - alone. And although Spike is all for a fair fight, I doubt he’d have objected hugely to having a minion or two around to lend a hand. Angel evened the odds, whether by design or by fluke. And - avoided having to choose sides, the way he had to do when Darla fought Buffy.

But... to the main part between Spike and Angel: the meeting. Now, I don’t care that the submarine stuff in ‘Why We Fight’ was the stuff of gratuitous retcon... because what it does, is make sense of Angel’s plan. Why would Angel show up, pretending to be Angelus? Because he’d done so before - and it worked!

He arrived on the sub, and took charge. Two points:

1) He knew Spike was there:

Angel: It's OK, Lawson. I know what I'm up against. Don't open up this door for anything other than me.

2) He let Spike call him by his old name:

Spike: Angelus. They'll let anyone in here. [...] Angelus... this is Nostroyev and the Prince of Lies. Nostroyev, Prince of Lies, this is Angelus. (nods, grins) The Angelus.

Now there is the question of whether Spike knows about Angel’s soul. And having thought about it, I think he *does* know - Darla knew, and Dru probably sensed it. However, I don’t think he understood the implications. He knew it’d changed Angel somehow, but from their time together in China he knew that Angel was still killing people (even if they were only thieves and lowlives). And also that it’d made Angel into a reclusive. The fact that it might make Angel ‘good’ probably never occurred to Spike. I’m basing this on only a couple of lines, but note the word ‘still’:

SPIKE: You're still a dick.
ANGEL: Yeah. I am.
SPIKE: Bollocks.

Angel plays him very well onboard the sub, and his insistence on not eating the crew - because they need them to get back up - is a perfectly valid excuse. I know people say that Spike is being written as stupid in that ep, but I’m not so sure...

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.

Is Spike wrong? [a discussion for another day, I know. But, by and large, Angel’s motives are to get the job done so he can get the hell out. Nothing noble about him at that point.]

Anyway, on the sub Angel takes charge, and Spike falls in line:

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: We gonna have a situation, sir?
ANGEL: He'll do what I tell him.

(Also note that Angel does not kill Spike (or Lawson). They’re family.)

So, is it any wonder that Angel tries the same tactic again? It’s not particularly smart, true, but if it had worked he might have been able to keep Spike and Buffy apart (talk about a doomed project!) - to keep sitting on that fence, like he did on the sub. Maybe even send Spike away. We know that he tries to talk Dru into leaving in ‘Lie To Me’:

Angel: If you don't leave it'll go badly. For all of us.

Who does he mean by ‘us’? *ponders*

And we see that Angel tries to warn Spike off Buffy, just like the tried to warn Buffy off Spike:

Spike: So, why're you so scared of this Slayer?
Angel: Scared?
Spike: Yeah. Time was you would've taken her out in a heartbeat. Now look at you. I bet this, uh, tortured thing is an act, right? You're not... housebroken?
Angel: I saw her kill the Master. Hey, you think you can take her alone? Be my guest.

Message: “I *am* scared of her. So you should be too! Stay away!” (Of course she’s a *Slayer*, and Spike does have a bit of an obsession...)

But - there are of course a lot of factors against Angel in SH, more than just Spike’s obsession. In ‘Why We Fight’ they were both in a hostile environment, without any support, and didn’t know what each other had been up to. But in SH Spike has inside knowledge, since I’m sure he talked to The Anointed One/the minions and found out what Angel had been up to. And maybe Angel was just a tad too friendly... maybe not. They used to be friends after all... which I think is a point worth noting. Angel happily grabs Xander and uses him as bait (no love lost there) - never gets close to anyone really except Buffy... He will in fact not have a proper friend until Doyle shows up in AtS. Spike (apart from being family) is therefore probably the closest Angel has ever had to a friend (see Destiny and TGiQ).

All of which adds up to a lot of conflict and Angel-sitting-on-fences. And - because of that - being somewhat useless. ;)

(I must be the weirdest Spuffy fan ever. I mean, what sort of person watches SH and writes about *Angel*? ::shakes head at self::)

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I mean, what sort of person watches SH and writes about *Angel*? LOL

I haven't seen it for some time - but as I was reading that I thought about the 2 of them and their actual relationship with Buffy - Spike was "fist and fangs" ... or willing to be there and watch as Buffy took the lead (when he was souled in the latter part of 7) ... Angel does tend to lurk ... in a creapy way. But here has a chance to take out Spike - or at least some minions ... and all he tends to do is warn Spike off. (Thus speaks a Spuffy fan!!)

Thus speaks a Spuffy fan!!
Well there's a reason I'm a Spuffy too... *g* The thing to remember is that Spike and Angel have such hugely different personalities. And that Angel had *no one* when he got his soul. One reason, I think, that he drifts for a century is that he just doesn't know what to do.

Spike remarks how odd a Slayer Buffy is, since she has family and friends... well he himself is (by S4, 5, 6, 7) a very odd vampire too, working/bonding with humans. When he gets his soul he has somewhere to go, someone to show him the way forward.

Buffy of course does the same for Angel in S1-3, but he is so much more set in his ways, and the split between demon and soul so much larger, that it takes a lot longer. Actually you could see Buffy's acceptance of her Slayerness as going hand-in-hand with Angel's acceptance of who *he* is, in those early seasons.

Very good points. Angel maybe being forced to kill family, and also two members of his family he has "bonds" with, would be hard for him. He may feel strongly for Buffy, but he has a history with Dru and Spike, and feelings for them.

I do believe that Spike talked to the minions and found out about Angel's actions in Sunnydale before he arrived. In WWF Spike knows that having a soul doesn't make for a good person. After all it is during WWII, so lots of souled humans are doing bad things. Why shouldn't Angelus, even with a soul. It is only because of Angel's actions in S1 that Spike has learned to distrust him.

I do think it is very difficult for Angel to dust any members of this family. Also that Spike and Dru are the hardest for him to contemplate killing. They both have a place in his emotions. I would say that he feels protective of them, but does know of their strenghts and weaknesses.

He has always been reluctant to hurt either of them. When he set fire to Dru and the newly re-vamped Darla, it was only once he had been pushed to the blink.

he has a history with Dru and Spike, and feelings for them.
There's also the fact that however much he loves Buffy, he probably can't see a future for them. Fighting 'just because it's the right thing to do' is not something he's really on board with yet...

I do believe that Spike talked to the minions and found out about Angel's actions in Sunnydale before he arrived.
*nods* Spike was a big planner then, what with Dru being ill - he found out about the Annointed One before he arrived etc.

I do think it is very difficult for Angel to dust any members of this family. Also that Spike and Dru are the hardest for him to contemplate killing.
He never abandoned them (the way he did Penn), which says a lot! Despite their differences, he liked having Spike around. And Dru was Dru of course.

He has always been reluctant to hurt either of them. When he set fire to Dru and the newly re-vamped Darla, it was only once he had been pushed to the blink.
Yes, pushed far enough, he'll snap. Or rather he'd stop holding back in any way. (I love him when he's like that. *g*)

Just saw the entirety of "Why We Fight" for the first time....was amused by the doddering old Prince of Lies. One wonders just when in his life the fellow was turned, anyway? The Master was old, but clearly not senile.

I hadn't really realized that Angel sees his, um, line as family before, more fool I, but it makes a startling amount of sense. I'd actually been wondering why he's so reluctant to kill vampires he knows, when he knows what he was.

I did, however, have a bit of an epiphany the other night that ties into this. I'd been reading about how, contrary to popular belief, the "family" metaphor actually seems to have originated with the Master, not crazy Dru. Angelus (and Darla too) claim never to have loved anyone as a vampire, right? We usually associate that with "romantic" love, but it seems to cut in all directions, given the ambiguous nature of just about all vampiric relationships.

When we first see the Master mention Angel(us) (not their chronological first meeting, but from our perspective), he seems downright distraught about the way Angel is acting. Angelus was supposed to sit at his right hand or something like that. He's a harsh old bastard, but he actually does seem to care about his "family"--even its black sheep--in his admittedly twisted way.

Surely Angelus was around the Master enough to see signs of this kind of behavior. Consider what it must do to Angel to think about this--"An ancient evil vampire who worships the Old Ones loves me as a son. I never loved anyone, period. What kind of monster am I?"

Maybe I should write my own meta on the subject.

Just saw the entirety of "Why We Fight" for the first time....was amused by the doddering old Prince of Lies. One wonders just when in his life the fellow was turned, anyway? The Master was old, but clearly not senile.
'Why We Fight' is made of awesome! *g* (I... wrote 3 meta posts about it when I did my S5 re-watch) (scroll down)!

I hadn't really realized that Angel sees his, um, line as family before, more fool I, but it makes a startling amount of sense. I'd actually been wondering why he's so reluctant to kill vampires he knows, when he knows what he was.
Oh it's very much family. And the names (sire/childe) of course accentuate this. There's also the fact that he has a *history* with them and that he feels responsible.

contrary to popular belief, the "family" metaphor actually seems to have originated with the Master, not crazy Dru.
Hmmm. I think Angelus was the family man. Not that the Master wasn't, as such, but for the Master it was very ritualistic and tied up with all sorts of traditions. But Angelus liked having Dru and Spike around - wanted a legacy. (It's very early, and I hope I'm making sense.)

He's a harsh old bastard, but he actually does seem to care about his "family"--even its black sheep--in his admittedly twisted way.
Hmmm. I think it's the betrayal that hurts. I don't know that he ever *cared* about Angelus (young tearaway!), but he might well have admired him. And the fact that he then killed Darla, his favourite, must have been a horrible blow.

"An ancient evil vampire who worships the Old Ones loves me as a son. I never loved anyone, period. What kind of monster am I?"
As I said, I don't know about that. But the Master certainly loved Darla. (And so did Angel, absolutely.) But it was hard for him to admit, because if he loved a monster like her, what did it say about him?

I wrote a 200 word drabble about Angel killing Darla once: Dust, if you're interested. :)

Maybe I should write my own meta on the subject.
That would certainly be interesting!

Agree completely. Spike and Dru are family, and Angel protects his family whenever he can.

The more I think about this line: 'It'll end badly for all of us.' the more I think he means just himself, Dru and Spike. I don't think he sees himself as a real part of Buffy's world (yet, anyway).

Oh and I posted Spangel fic - it's like a pre-prequel to my threesome fic. :)

Excellent analysis.

After Spike shows that he’s seen through Angel’s deception, Angel runs away. But - in doing so he gets all the minions to follow him and then proceeds to dust a fair number, before the last few run away. He leaves Buffy with Spike - alone.

It just occured to me that this scene it mapping the future trajectory of Buffy\Angel\Spike relationship.

Excellent analysis.
Thank you. :)

It just occured to me that this scene it mapping the future trajectory of Buffy\Angel\Spike relationship.
Oooh you're so right! Excellent observation.

I don't have anything intelligent to say, except cool essay.

And it's funny to see people talking about the Master and not meaning DW 'verse. (Although Buffy 'verse Master wears black and hypnotized people, too, hmm.)

I don't have anything intelligent to say, except cool essay.
Well thank you for saying it. :)

And it's funny to see people talking about the Master and not meaning DW 'verse.
I know! *g*

Although Buffy 'verse Master wears black and hypnotized people, too, hmm.
My personal fanwank is that The BtVS Master met The DW Master and thought him totally cool and decided to use the same name. *g*

I was thinking of this essay at work and it occurred to me that Angel has the markings of a true tragic hero in the inevitability of what happens to him. For all his trying not to destroy his family, he ended up killing them all. Darla got pregnant by him and she died. He dragged Spike into a battle that (probably) killed him and he killed Connor on the chance that it was the right thing to do. And lastly, Angel left Dru alone as he did when he killed her first family.

I was thinking of this essay at work and it occurred to me that Angel has the markings of a true tragic hero in the inevitability of what happens to him.
*nods* He was born to suffer... Poor Angel.

Heh! That's one in the eye for those who say Angel has no family feeling (except towards Connor). Of course, their position is helped by the fact that Angel goes out of his way to pretend he doesn't think of Spike, Dru and Darla that way when his actions clearly state otherwise.

Heh! That's one in the eye for those who say Angel has no family feeling (except towards Connor).
Who are these people? And more importantly, where, because I want to go and argue with them! (And anyone who thinks that he didn't love Darla has clearly never seen 'The Trial'!)

And more importantly, where, because I want to go and argue with them!

Several of them post on the IDW board, though two are currently spreading joy and happiness (sarcasm font) elsewhere, though I'm sure they'll be back, and one has disappeared. The two who are currently elsewhere would just say that Angel didn't love Darla, Angelus did, and since Angel and Angelus are totally separate people Angel has never loved anyone but Buffy.

Several of them post on the IDW board
Oh well. Never mind then.

Angel didn't love Darla, Angelus did
Oh dear. That's very funny, because in the show *I* watched, Darla and Angelus were forever leaving each other in the lurch, but *Angel* was willing to die for Darla.

(And your icon is... very, VERY hot. Mmmmm, Angel...)

Very interesting thoughts (though I'm far from convinced that Angel's character was this worked out as early in the series as "Angel" - Darla's certainly wasn't). But a lot of interesting things can be said about Angel's development over the first 1 1/2 seasons, going from cryptic!guy refusing to fight (for whatever reason) to a full-fledged... if not champion, then at least trusty comrade in arms, and the family motif certainly works very well. Who knows what might have happened if he'd continued on that path... to quote Robot Chicken: "Yeah, but then THAT happened."

Message: “I *am* scared of her. So you should be too! Stay away!”

And Angel is nothing if not consistent. What was his first reaction when he went Dark in s2 of AtS? Send Wes, Cordy and Gunn out of harm's way. Then chase Darla and Dru out of town. Then chase Lindsey out of town. Then start groveling to get the others to take him back... hmmm.

Very interesting thoughts (though I'm far from convinced that Angel's character was this worked out as early in the series as "Angel" - Darla's certainly wasn't).
Oh no, I'm sure it wasn't. But I love to put everything together, to use later information to explain things that were puzzling before - which is why ret-cons can be brilliant. (And why I'm so annoyed with the s8 ones, because they make *less* sense of canon than before. Stupid comics.)

But a lot of interesting things can be said about Angel's development over the first 1 1/2 seasons
Oh yes - I think both he and Buffy were on similar paths, except Buffy was further along. :)

Who knows what might have happened if he'd continued on that path... to quote Robot Chicken: "Yeah, but then THAT happened."
Heh!

And Angel is nothing if not consistent.
Angel's consistency is a thing of delight. And then of course when he breaks the pattern it's even more delightful. :)

Yes, Angel was the king of flighty through most of the first and pre-Angelus second season. Hell, he wasn't all that useful in season 3. You pretty much nailed it when you said he was developing into a hero, but he wasn't one yet. He was just a guy who was trying to impress/ keep the girl.

You also nailed the family thing as well. Of course Angel doesn't want to stake Spike and Dru. I'm not entirely sure he is capable of that.

Thanks for the meta, I enjoyed it.

Yes, Angel was the king of flighty through most of the first and pre-Angelus second season.
Well he *had* spent a century doing pretty much nothing at all, so it was a step up! ;)

You pretty much nailed it when you said he was developing into a hero, but he wasn't one yet.
I love Angel's journey.

You also nailed the family thing as well. Of course Angel doesn't want to stake Spike and Dru. I'm not entirely sure he is capable of that.
Oh I think he is. And that scares him.

Thanks for the meta, I enjoyed it.
Thanks for the comment! :)

At the time it was pretty obvious to me that Angel was just useless.

That impression was cemented in Prophecy Girl and not lifted until sometime around Reprise.

In Prophecy Girl, we learn that Buffy is never going to get with Xander (NEVER, you hear comics writers?). And we know she is crushing on Angel. But it is human, powerless Xander who initiates the rescue and saves Buffy so that she can save the world. It's like the ultimate thesis of uselessness for Angel.

NEVER, you hear comics writers?
Don't think they can hear you. They're off in La-La land, where no one behaves or looks like they should...

It's like the ultimate thesis of uselessness for Angel.
Ouch! But then it's Xander who *insists* on Angel coming... (Angel is still grieving Darla btw, that's why no one's seen him for weeks). Actually I think that Angel can be incredibly useful - it's just that when he is, a lot of people tend to end up dead.

I'm a bit confused about Angel characterization in the first seasons of BtVS and his concept of family. I really believe in what you say in this essay, but I think that Angel as a character was suppose to be just a Buffy's boyfriend, so he doesn't display this strong bond with his childes/sire that we saw in Ats.
Apart from this consideration, I think that Angel with the soul want to destroy everything about his past, at soon as he gets to know Buffy.
Buffy is now is moral guide and the pourpose of his un-life, so he kills Darla, her previous guide, because he dooesn't need her anymore.
I strongely believe that Angel doesn't love Darla, neither in his souless/unsouled. I think that he *needs* her: as a mother, maker, lover and teacher. She's plays a strong role in Angelus' creation and he adores her and seeks her attentions, but I don't believe that he *loves* Darla and not just because the soul. William and Drusilla are deeply in love even without it.
It's very complex the bond between A/D and, in so many ways, is a bond between mother and child than lovers. With Cordy, Angel is really a "manpire" in love with a woman, I don't know if you understand what I'm trying to say here. :)
Darla plays a strong role and yet he doesn't esitate when I comes to kill her in order to save Buffy.
This, I think, is the prove that the first Angel is a very self-centered character.
As Angelus he was egocentric and megalomaniac, with an impressive lack of empathy. When he gained the soul he achieves empathy, but he still needs to face with his egocentric side of personality.
So I think that he really says the truth when he say to Buffy: "You're the first person I've ever loved in 200 years", because even Angelus' family is an image of Angelus himself, so he defends them but as a part of himself.
Angelus has a very patriarchal view of the family, in my opinion.
Darla is a closed chapter when Buffy arrives, but Dru and Spike? He has the face them, face them as childes, as victims of his psycopath side: so he can't kill them, not now.
I think that Angel learns to love them along with a soul, with his story in AtS: he trys to find himself and, in this process, he finds Spike for what he really is, Connor for what he really his, Cordelia, Wes etc ...
This is Angelus who learns to love.
In this prospective I think that even is previous love for Buffy was self-centred and idealized.
If he really wants to love her, I have to start post NFA, and maybe along with the love for Spike *TOTALLY SPUFFEL FAN NOW*
For Angel, trying to find a pourpose of life apart Buffy, trying to do the right thing in LA means also discover the love for other people.

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Meta: Angel in 'School Hard'.

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