Last night was the series end of Angel. It was anticipated in a lot of quarters and this morning the opinion on its success seems divided. A lot of folks were upset with what they perceived as a "cliffhanger" ending, or the lack of character resolutions. I think the closest comparison, as far as ending, is with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where the camera cuts just as our heroes leap off the cliff. We know what's coming, but are left to anticipate it. And for a show that's been remarkable for its unflinching darkness and willingness to shock, the ending's tenor was just fine.
Me, I kinda liked it. I thought Joss (Whedon, series and Buffyverse creator) was true to his vision of the show as the on-going fight between Good and Evil. It could have had more drama and more "bang," but it did get to a place that feels satisfying. A lot of folks felt cheated by the end coming just before a climactic battle was about to ensue, but as a some-time fiction writer I like how Joss leaves us to imagine what is to come.
Some folks thought the ending was ambiguous, in that we don't see Gigantic Evil vanquished or our heroes slaughtered. It's a device that lets the viewer imagine! Joss was clear enough in the past few episodes that our heroes were going to die. Angel said as much when he finally let the Fang Gang into his plan. He admitted that evil was always with us, would always be with us, was unvanquishable and unending. He also said that the measure of a life was in whether those who were called continued the fight, or gave in. When, in the finale, Gunn went to visit Ann (a minor character from a couple of seasons back who runs a shelter for troubled youth and had a run-in with uber-bad guys Wolfram & Hart), she even reinforces that point. When given a choice of giving in to unstoppable evil or continuing to do good works, she immediately chose to keep doing good.
I believe that all of the final four — Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria — will die in the fight. But, as Angel said last time, their fight would trip up, however momentarily, the Senior Partners and would shock and surprise them. Evil wouldn't win after all, but would also have to keep fighting.
.jpg?t=20120527181101)
Article comments
1 - Ashley
What the hell that was the worst ending ever!!! IF they don't make a movie i am going to be to upset. They cant do that to us can they???
Ashley
2 - Bob A. Booey
I too liked the finale and I agree with much of what you say. The character exploration of that "last day on Earth" with Spike's poetry and the Wesley resolution were extremely well-written. The notable exception would be your leching over Harmony in undies. She's um not hot and needs a gym membership -- it's not just the annoying character.
Supposedly, they're going to make Angel TV movies so that might explain the cliff-hanger of an ending. Buffy's finale had more, well, finality since Sarah Michelle Gellar made it very clear that she was tired of playing the character. I don't think David Boreanaz is going to set Hollywood on fire in his mid/late 30s and he's pretty well typecast by now as Angel.
I've been bad about watching the show regularly, but I noticed this season was a fitting end to the series. It was a definite improvement over the ridiculousness of the Goddess business and the Connor drama before that. There was a lot more humor this season and bringing in Spike was a good move as well.
I don't think this show ever really had a peak or ever really hit its stride the way it could have. Even the early episodes with the chick cop were a bit tiresome since there was NO sexual tension or chemistry. The Cordelia character burned itself out the more role they gave her on the show. Romance didn't seem to work very well for Angel, but maybe that's part of his whole tragedy thing. I didn't see any of the first season with Doyle, but I'd imagine those were better-quality shows? Of what I remember, though, I'd say this last season was the best take on LA and the ambiguity of that struggle between good and evil the show ever presented.
3 - mike hollihan
OK, first, Harmony YES HOT! To each his own and I'll take her, thank you.
I agree about there not being a "peak" season. The show went through ups and down, though. The whole arc with Wes after he gave Connot to Holtz was pretty awesome. Except the Connor/Cordy part. Eww!
The Doyle shows of the first season did have more light hearts, thanks largely to Doyle. The show was still like Buffy then.
Thanks for writing and contributing.
4 - Tracey johnson
I am quite upset that the series has finalled. The show actually had allot of life breathed into it with the Angel & co taking over Wolfman and Heart. The idea of working under the cover of darkness was a slightly more sophisticated version of the good vs evil dilemma. Alas the timing and the finish I feel this is almost palpable. Soo Joss I hope you get your message through a different medium. Three cheers for Joss - yes I am a fan.
5 - Tracey johnson
I am quite upset that the series has finalled. The show actually had allot of life breathed into it with the Angel & co taking over Wolfman and Heart. The idea of working under the cover of darkness was a slightly more sophisticated version of the good vs evil dilemma. Alas the timing and the finish I feel this is almost palpable. Soo Joss I hope you get your message through a different medium. Three cheers for Joss - yes I am a fan.
6 - Tracey johnson
I am quite upset that the series has finalled. The show actually had allot of life breathed into it with the Angel & co taking over Wolfman and Heart. The idea of working under the cover of darkness was a slightly more sophisticated version of the good vs evil dilemma. Alas the timing and the finish I feel this is almost palpable. Soo Joss I hope you get your message through a different medium. Three cheers for Joss - yes I am a fan.
7 - Lisa Kriss
As a faithful watcher of this series- never missed a show- I feel cheated! Did I just waste all of that time to watch a non-ending?? Instead of winning the war and making Angel human again, everyone dies? Nobody at all lives happily ever after? Seriously, I expected better!
Thanks for letting me rant.
Lisa
8 - Sherwin Bryan
Clearly the audience is split between giving the ending praise that it it so deserves or disdainfully dismissing it as an attempt to cheat the fans out of a resolution to the Angel saga. Obviously the market is not that ready for Joss' take regarding the show. As made clear earlier episode, evil does not rest and so does Angel. Nobody rests from fighting the good fight, or a hopeless one for that matter. Joss' take on the final episode clearly tackled this issue. Although hope is lost, keep on fighting. It may not be a good resolution but the message is clear.
9 - Max
I have been watching angel ever since the begining, and it tears me up to see it end.Yet there was a certain amount of satisfaction to the end episode. The characters were sumarised very well as they "lived" out their last day.
It hurt to watch the series progress through 5 seasons just to see that in the end they killed off all of the original characters in the 1st series!
I hated the way they killed Weisly. The poor man deserved a happy ending after all the crap he went through being in the "angel team".
But then again, death is not the ultimate end as they proved in Buffy when she was brought back to life. I can only hope that the movies (if they are produced) can make a happy ending for Weisly, because it seemed to me that he was always the one who coped more emotional flak than the mighty hero Angel.
so i say, bring on a better ending!!!
10 - Leo
Im from venezuela and i just feel like hell whit the ending so please give the movies joss get a real ending.
11 - Brian Schleter
Hi. Does anyone out there have a videotape copy of this show? I accidentally taped over mine and need to get it back STAT! Please contact me at this e-mail address:
schleter10@hotmail.com
Thanks,
B.
12 - Kar-Choy
I have bought all of the box sets of Angel and feel very sad that it has ended! I was very annoyed that it ended just like that, the first thing that came into my mind was "That's it!", I wanted to know more, but i understand the whole "leave it to your imagination".
I was very emotional when Illyria was comforting Wesley at the end. I didn't want him to die so early, and just when wes and fred get together, she dies!! urgh!! & poor Lorne! I feel for all the characters. O and was upset that Angel and Cordy couldn't get it together too!! (I love the romance, when it happens, in Angel).
I think it would have been good to actually see Buffy, to see Angel & Spike fight over her. Very amusing.
Why did they end Angel??? I love the whole Buffy & Angel series!!!
13 - Robert Stanfield
I've just finished watching the end of the series on video here in the UK, and I thought it was excellent. The main reason it feels a wrench, a cheat, an 'is that it?', I think, is not to do with flaws in the episode but the simple, sad fact that the show was pulled earlier than was necessary and is now finished. That's not ana artistic fault, and I think that under the circumstances the writers tied up things pretty well, while leaving a fair amount to live on in our imagination.
I liked Angel all the way through, though it was uneven and some characters never had the fizz of so many in Buffy (in the early years). Kate was a good example. Eve started promisingly then faded. Cordelia (my favourite Buffy character) had in an odd way withered long before she died in the coma. Trying to round her character too much, making her too obviously nice and mature took a bit of spark out of her. I liked her when she was more 'reluctantly good' than saintly.
I thought season four actually worked very well, with cliffhanger endings and a fine pace from early on. This last season didn't do so much in the first half, but that has often been the way with Buffy and Angel seasons, and it picked up in the second half.
Regarding the 'baddies' story arc, it's true the black thorn were introduced only near the end, but I think a theme of the season was that evil didn't have a face that could always easily be identified. It was all around them at Wolfram and Heart and the danger of this story arc was that it would permeate the characters unnoticed by them. I think it's been neat the way the villains in both series have followed certain conventions of the series themselves and also over-turned others.
I thought at the end of last season that although giving the gang control of a vast law firm and its resources was a great twist, that the writers had dug themselves into a hole by making things from now on too easy, but the season turned that on its head brilliantly.
Final episode, I loved the things people have mentioned. It was simultaneously very heartwarming and very funny seeing Spike/William getting recognition for his poems. Wesley/Illyria ending caused tears to well, though the death was apt. Lorne's and Lindsay's 'exits' were really shocking and powerful - excellent acting by both.
I would have liked to have seen Faith or more Drusilla or some other Buffettes back at some point in the season, but Tom Lenk chipped in with a couple of class bits of comic acting.
And as for the ending, Lisa, who says they all die? Last thing I saw, there were four of them left, all alive, and about to kick a bunch of demons back to hell. Because that's what they do... It was the appropriate ending, and in so many ways, whatever quarrels one might have had with aspects of the show, this finale was fitting, graceful and uplifting.
14 - melinda beasley
i just feel it is really the end. all i have read david boreanaz is through with angel tv. i lve him and but come on give us somemore. it will be a long time before we see anymore. i feel really sad i lived to watch. i think we,ve done all we can do except tie david boreanaz up abd make him do tv movies.
15 - Dennis
i just got to like the show and they yank it,,,tho the witers really screwed up with cordelia and conner....and wesley really got weird but cordelia was the best in the beginning i hated her as a charector EVIL
16 - snigdha
i dint like the ending.i was shocked that such a nice series is over in such a manner.just plz plz start the nxt episodes.we really love this seriel.
17 - Shelby
I liked the entire ending, except for maybe the last 5 minutes. I am one of the viewers who sees the ending of Angel as an extreme cliffhanger. I didn't like the ending of Buffy either, but at least it "ended". Angel just .. it felt like the tapes were just shut off before the ending happened. I do assume they all died, which is saddening. Especially Angel .. after everything he's done through the Buffy and Angel show, he dies at the end. It's bad enough Joss killed off Cordy who's been there since day 1 of Buffy. And, Wesley. But, -sigh-. I'm still angry about the ending, considering I just watched the entire season 5 on DVD in like less than a week. I think it should've been so much better. <3
18 - A Casual Fan
first off I watched every last episode of buffy and loved how they ended it. But Angel had me sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next show; and when the next show came..... back to the begining are you kidding me as for what I think might have happened is that Gunn dies after killing about 10 monsters Angel kills the dragon he wanted to and maybe about 12 more monsters but becomes surronded and dies The Spike being not the greatest fighter some how gets beat up off to the side and is unable to help somehow becomes human and dies a mortal death by being stabbed in the back seconds after he becomes human but takes out 30 or so before he dies. Illyria on the other hand runs through about a couple of thousand of them before she is taken by that big minster in the rear but doesn't die but returns to the casket type thing to be awaken at another time. Or maybe she makes a b line stight to the heead type people then take them out before she get overwhelmed. While the shell Fred would be dead Illyria the spirt would still live on to consume another soul.
19 - A Casual Fan
and sorry for the poor spelling