This is going to get weird, and kind of fanboyish...

[wolven7]

OhGr - [maJiK]--- "Angel" is over... I've been watching that show, on and off, for the past five years-- in a more dedicated fashion, these past two-- and i've... grown to love it. Yes, i know it's a television show, and there will be other shows... but the shows we love are not simply shows. They are Stories, which we love, and invest ourselves in, because they reflect something about us. Our hopes, our wishes for what we could be, bits of our personalities... Whatever. We see some of ourselves, played out, there, and we love it. Books, comics, video games, movies... They are no different. They are Stories, and we love them.

When Angel, in this show, took over Wolfram& Hart, not many, in the fandom, or in the show, understood why he did it. (Tom Waits - [Black Wings]). Sure they saw "Break the System, From the Inside," but they didn't see the depths and lengths he was willing to go. They didn't understand what he would give up, what he would bear, to do as much damage, as he Possibly Could, to the forces which were only out for the worsening of all mankind. I saw it from the moment he said yes. To those of you who know the show, it was never just about Connor. That was certainly part of it, but never fully...

I saw myself, in the show. Not in the "Dark, Gloomy Badasses" aspect, so much as the familial aspect. The team, the family and the lengths they were all willing to go, for their common purpose... Hell, their Similar Purposes. I wish for that. For that strength of a network, to work together, live together, be together... (Tom Waits - [Dirt In The Ground]). Change things, together... And that's what i lament, when i say i'm lonely.

In some way or another, through physicality, or ideology, i'm just separated from those i could consider that, in my life... And i liked watching "Angel," because i liked seeing it, there... The hope and certainty that, some how, always, they would be there, for each other... Down to the very last. It was there, in a consistently well-written story-line, with characters you could like, if you were open to the possibility, and sometimes that was a bit difficult... But everyone had a distinct personality, there were no clone characters, from "Buffy," or even within the show itself... The character aspect was... something to which i could relate, and for which i could hope... It rang true, for me.

Tom Waits - [The Black Rider]--- I know that, for a lot of people, it's a lot simpler than that. They liked the story, and they liked the characters. The end. For some, it's a lot more complex, because there's more, there, than i know how to articulate... For some, it goes into the realm of Unhealthy Obsession. What i mean is that i won't be surprised, if there are suicides over the ending of "Angel." Sad, but true... Because while the story may mirror you, in more ways than you feel comfortable admitting, it is still only a story... A story to be appreciated, loved, and... let go, when it's gone... And that show is gone...

I'll miss it, a lot, but i'll always have the quotes, in the quote book, and if nothing else, i can buy the DVDs. The story is there, to be re-experienced, but it does have to end, somewhere. Otherwise.. what's the point?

Later.

Comments

[okkitten.livejournal.com]

Everything in the Buffyverse, including Angel has always been something really deeply rooted in me. It wasn't just a "hey I dig the plot and characters" There was always something about it that made me feel like I fit in, like I was a Scooby. More to come on the seriousness of it all ending later.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Yeah... Whedon's really good at that... The poor bastard... not the credit he deserves. :\

[okkitten.livejournal.com]

I do really feel sorry for him. He's rather unwittingly made several enemies, mostly stupid people who don't understand how things work. Granted, I didn't like him much due to stories Andy Hallet told me, but that's beside the point.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Yeah... it does happen that people make enemies, unknowingly. *sigh* Ah well.

[momentai.livejournal.com]

I understand what you are saying on both counts. Now, that you relate your loneliness in this light, I see you more clearly. With that clarity comes a deeper sympathy and a new empathy. I have felt that way for a long time, just never thought of it in those terms, though they were pretty similar.

As for the ending of Angel, I don't have such a connection with the shows I love or loved. I love ER not b/c I see myself or would like to see myself, but b/c the charactrers command my admiration. There are characters there that I simply feel good to hope for. I want them to succeed b/c they deserve to. Within their world they work for s/t that matters to them and I can relate to that yearning on one's own terms.

But did Angel have an appropiate ending?

[wolven.livejournal.com]

It had a Very appropriate ending. Summed up and made you remember the entire show, in an hour. Everything they were fighting for was right there... Very Good Ending.

[brigidreborn.livejournal.com]

I understand exactly what you mean. I'm going to miss Angel- it was my Whedon fix after Buffy stopped. However, I really hated the ending... It was rather flat and untrue to the franchise. It was also far too short and undeveloped, imho.

[wolven.livejournal.com]

I thought that the abruptness drove it home... That it was... Quick, because it was There. Also, with the limited amount of time they had, between being told it was cancelled, and them having to end it.. i thought they did a wonderful job.

They were able to Be Done, before they really Needed to Be Done.

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

Hmm.
Understanding the Liking, and the paths of thought, though from an outside perspective since I never got into the show. (Can't stand Boreanaz.) And that kind of Family/Individuality is something I hope I can communicate in my writing, when I finally get around to finishing something. :P

[wolven.livejournal.com]

I hate James Marsters, but i love the Spike Character... Distinction. Or do you hate his acting. If that's it, then that's a different story.

The story, and paths... well... every story has it's own reflections and wavesystems, with which it synchs, so... Yeah. Your stories do what they need to, when they need to. You don't seem to have problems with that, even before you finsih them.

[unknownbinaries.livejournal.com]

Can't take his acting, his facial expressions, what he puts in the character. *shrug*

[wolven.livejournal.com]

Gotcha. That's cool.