It’s been a number of years since I sat down and watched this. I’ve probably not touched it since before 2012. I was about to do a whole run through of this and Buffy just before all the unpleasant allegations against Joss Whedon emerged. I shelved that idea and spent quite a long time sitting on this sour feeling. That’s another post that I’ve already written so I won’t labour the point. Suffice to say, I finally decided to dip back into this universe by watching what I consider (rightly or wrongly) to be a more Whedon-adjacent project.

I can’t believe to this day that there are big fans of Buffy out there who have never and will never watch Angel. Maybe someone reading this can help me understand why that is. When they came out on those big box VHS sets, I would alternate watching them (Season 4 Buffy episode 1 followed by Season 1 Angel episode 1 and then back to Buffy and so on). This made episodes like Pangs and I Will Remember You flow into one another in a much more organic way. I loved it all, I was all the way in and desperate to see what happened next in both Sunnydale and Los Angeles.

As I said, though, it’s been a few years. I wondered whether I’d grown out of the whole thing. Sure, I remembered it being good at the time but that’s twenty years ago now. The TV landscape was very different and I was in my twenties. Would I enjoy it? Was it worth my time with over 100 episodes? Was I too old for this stuff now?

On the other hand, Battlestar Galactica is 20 years old now and is still very fresh. The original Twin Peaks was nearly 35 years ago and that’s still a full-on, proper obsession for me. I remember being incredibly invested in the Buffy/Angel universe. Invested enough to go to conventions and buy comics and everything.

So, there I sat with the DVDs (and Disney + as a backup), ready to take the plunge back into the Spin-off. This is how it went, organised into a few thoughts about each season and a few standouts. Not exactly hot takes, just observations with fresh eyes.

Season 1 – Monster of the Week

Season 1 has a very strong start. It helps by setting the stall out in the first episode and finding out that not everyone is going to be saved right from the start. Lonely Heart is fun too and introduces Kate, a character that I know isn’t popular but I never had an issue with. Season 1 is fairly consistent and entertaining. Doyle is a great character works well alongside Cordelia. Indeed, Cordelia really makes the first Season for me. Watching her character develop and grow when she has the space to is great.

There’s a reasonable arc running through the 22 episodes and it all builds nicely to a decent “What’s in the box?” finale. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Best episode – Sanctuary

The second half of the Faith comes to LA story is a great look at Angel and how committed he is to doing the ‘right’ thing, even if this alienates everyone else, Buffy included. In terms of their screen time together, I like this one more than the popular choice, I Will Remember You. Their argument over Faith is a nicely written one. I especially like Buffy’s lack of patience with her, which is understandable what Faith did in the previous few episodes – “If you apologise to me, I will beat you to death.” Wesley has a good role in this too, standing up himself despite his own brutal experience at Faith’s hands. The Council’s ‘elite’ team leave a little to be desired as foes but you can only beat what’s put in front of you, I suppose.

Most surprising episode – Bachelor Party – enjoyed this one more than I remembered.

Best main character – Angel

Best peripheral character – Faith

Line that sticks in my head – Angel – “My parents were great. Tasted a lot like chicken!”

Season 2 – Angel’s Inner Battle

So, with the introduction of Darla and the ramping up of evil law firm, Wolfram and Hart’s involvement, Season 2 is all about Angel and his journey. This season is not afraid to take him to some dark places and it really works. It’s nice to see more shades of grey and not just “Angel good, Angelus bad”. The mind games are well-written and it is a great watch. The “I’m not ready yet” training montage is a little much, especially as if working out in the basement for a couple of hours is really going to make ‘any’ difference whatsoever. In amongst the dark arc, we get some great standalones like Are You Now, Guise Will be Guise and The Shroud of Rahmon. To cap it all off, we get to go over the rainbow for a wonderful fantasy caper in Lorne’s ‘hell’ dimension.

Best episode – Reunion

A fabulous episode full of great moments, climaxing with the lawyers finding out that they’ve bitten off a bit more than they can chew, and Angel leaving them to it. It’s wonderfully written and acted and you can really see how our hero is reduced to what he does.

Most surprising episode – The Thin Dead Line

There’s a lot to love about this episode that I hadn’t noticed before. For starters, I hadn’t realised that Shawn Ryan of The Shield fame co-wrote it. I didn’t know he had credits on five episodes including the one above that I’ve just listed as my favourite. The Thin Dead Line borrows from a lot of other ideas but it puts things all together and has considerable emotional weight for an episode that is not a major part of the season arc. Also, lots of nice moments including Wesley’s “bloody lovely” line about the morphine drip he’s on.

Best main character – Angel

Best peripheral character – Holland Manners

Line that sticks in my head – Angel – “A eunuch?”

Season 3 – The Rise and Fall of Wesley

You’d think things couldn’t get much darker after Season 2, and for a while you’d be excused for thinking that the show had taken a slightly lighter tone. Fred finding her way around, Wesley looking cool, Angel frsh from a short holiday. Things go downhill very quickly, however, through a whole load of murkiness involving Gunn and his old crew and the mind-flaying of Cordelia by W&H as a way of manoeuvring Angel into breaking Billy out of his hell prison. Carpe Noctem (episode 4) is the first time we get any light relief of any substance but it’s worth waiting for. From there we get into Darla and Angel and Holtz and Sahjon. All great stuff with the Lilah and Wesley wrapped up in all of it for good or ill or both. Alexis Denisof gets the flowers for this season. His descent into the role of Judas Iscariot is put over brilliantly. It’s a trope and you’re screaming at him for not just opening his mouth and sharing his concerns with the group, especially after everything he’s been through with Angel. What to do though? He doesn’t speak up. He just tries to deal with it all alone and that goes spectacularly wrong. Poor Wesley, denied his love and then cast out and left for dead. It’s a great arc well played indeed.

Best episode – Waiting in the Wings

In the middle of it all is this pivotal episode that highlights what is so great about the show when it hits the highs. It’s got the comedy, lots of laughs, the tragedy, the double helping of relationship plot driver. It’s a great time to just watch the characters so alive in their roles.

Most surprising episode – Carpe Noctem – one of the best body swap episodes in the Buffyverse

Best main character – Wesley

Best peripheral character – Lilah – so happy her character was brought forward so much without having her sacrifice her ‘evilness’ or compromise.

Line that sticks in my head – Wesley- “Apparently.”

Season 4 – Strikes and Gutters

In parts, this season is right up there. In others, it’s a bit of a hot mess. Most of the disappointment hinges on the outright travesty of how Cordelia’s character is handled. First we have amnesia, ugh, trope alert. Then we have the weird ‘thing’ with Connor, then the ‘evil pregnant Cordelia’ section which is just beyond abysmal, then she disappears into a coma. It’s the biggest waste of talent and potential and just such a shame. If this is indeed all down to JW then he should be ashamed of himself for trashing such a great character. All her development through Buffy and Angel, all that growth, just to be wasted like that. Season 5’s apologetic curtain call in no way nullifies this or makes it any less annoying.

That whole arc leaves a real stain on this season and takes away from what in other places is top drawer stuff. Wesley and Lilah and Fred and Gunn: brilliant. The return of Angelus: brilliant. Even Jasmine is a great idea and very different to previous foes.

Best episode – Soulless, Calvary, Salvage, Release

Alright, that’s a lot of episodes, but this four part journey into the chaos of Angelus is the high point of the entire series and I just can’t separate them. Angel does Silence of the Lambs. David Boreanaz gets to spend some quality time exploring his character’s really dark side and he clearly relishes it, playing all his friends off against each other and picking on their flaws and insecurities. His scene with Fred and Gunn is especially nasty. Stephanie Romanov does magic work as always as Lilah Morgan. She brings a massive amount of quality – the beautifully realised scene between her and Wesley in the basement as he readies himself to chop off her head. Brilliant stuff and compelling. Lilah was a great character. And Wesley! My God, he’s good, and we get a slayer – “the other one!” Eliza Dushku breaks back in to the show and is a great presence to shake things up (and put Connor in his place).

Most surprising episode – The House Always Wins

Taking the gang on the road could have ended up being a bit of a misfire but this one really worked for me this time. Decent villain and concept.

Best main character – Wesley

Best peripheral character – Lilah

Line that sticks in my head – Wesley – “SHUT UP!” Love it when he loses it at Faith’s new found reticence to hurt anyone.

Season 5 – LA Lawless

It’s interesting to speculate where this was going in season 6 if it hadn’t been cancelled. Season 5 seems to meander along for a long, long time without actually going anywhere. There are some good moments along the way but it all seems a bit pointless for a time. After three seasons in the hotel, I suppose we have to spread out and explore the new surroundings, but it takes an age to get going. What we get is the Spike/Angel Shanshu debate, which isn’t great. We get a bit more Lindsay MacDonald, which is always welcome, but that’s it until Illyria. Granted, from here it really picks up for the home stretch and goes out with a bang. It just seems like it was a bit of a muddle for at least the first half of the season, which is a long time. The introduction of Spike, following Cordelia just as he did on Buffy as the sarcastic foil for the lead, can’t quite resonate in the same way. In Buffy, it worked. Here it does in places but the premise of his being there is just not as solid. It feels like a reach. It’s fun in places but also, dare I say it as a big fan, a little lazy in terms of creativity. Plus, Andrew? No. Tonally so wrong. He just doesn’t fit here. It would have worked much better to get Giles to bring in the rogue slayer, given his troubled history with Angel. It would have given more edge to a decent episode. There’s a lot of fun to be had in season 5. I remember being disappointed when I watched it for the first time, but I found it a lot more entertaining this time around. It’s always entertaining watching Wesley unload a clip into his father without hesitation when he threatens Fred.

Best episode – Hole in the World/ Shells

Ah, the emotional gut punch that is seeing Wesley and Fred finally together only to have them torn apart by Fred’s possession by the old one, Illyria. The increasingly futile and desperate attempts of the group to save her from this awful fate are brilliantly done.  There’s also a great cameo from Alec Newman and some lovely dialogue. Spike and Angel enjoy some of their best banter and there’s the heart-breaking scene at the end when Fred finally succumbs. One more thing is Gunn’s realisation that some of this is on him. Shells takes this on and we get to watch Wesley spiral further and further down. The revelation in all this is Amy Acker who effortlessly changes to playing an entirely different character. This is more than a sinister voice but an entirely different stature, gait, voice and facial range. I’d never noticed just what a wonderful job Acker does of selling this transformation. It must have been fun for her to take on a new role like this.

Most surprising episode – Harm’s Way

I enjoyed Harmony’s part in this season so much more this time around. This was a lovely way to put her centre stage.

Best character – Illyria – great addition and lots more for Amy Acker to DO rather than play the object of a love triangle!

Best peripheral character – Harmony

Line that sticks in my head – Gunn – “Come on, this heart ain’t gonna cut itself out!”

Final thoughts

I really enjoyed watching this again. Its highs are really, really high. There are so many great moments. It’s funny, it’s gripping, it’s filled with pathos. The leads do a wonderful job and gel really well.

The only thing that really bothers me is the Cordelia situation – it’s just such a shame, a waste of a great character and poorly handled even on camera. Why isn’t Angel bothered in Season 5? He doesn’t even mention her until she wakes up, does he? He’s off dating werewolves and getting in a p***ing contest with Spike over Buffy. It shows a lack of respect for the very patient build up of that relationship from seasons 1 to 3. It’s the scar on the production for me. Cordelia’s character was developed very well in spite of the show’s insistence on using her as an object and receptacle for demonic pregnancies whenever the plot required it.

And I’ll leave it at that. Thanks for reading. Haven’t done anything like this for my website for ages so it feels good.

Let me know your thoughts on Angel in the comments below.

Richard