ANGEL "Not Fade Away"

And so it ends

By Patrick Sauriol     May 20, 2004

Well, here we are: ANGEL is no more. After five seasons we've come to the end of this phase of the vampire with a soul's journey. Series creator Joss Whedon and writer/director Jeffrey Bell have chosen to end their spinoff from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER in somewhat of a Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid style, never knowing what happened to the Fang Gang after the screen went dark and Whedon's credit came up. And it works.

Before looking at last night's series finale and ahead, let's take a moment and examine ANGEL's fifth season. Now that the final dice has been rolled and the chips are being counted by the fans, we may look back and come to realize that this was the finest season of ANGEL produced. It was the year where the biggest chances were taken by the show's creators: having them move headquarters and take up a new direction working for Wolfram & Hart; introducing the character of Spike into the team's mix; the death of Angel's sole friend from his Buffy years, Cordelia Chase; the brutal killing of the team's heart, Winifred, and Amy Acker's transformation into Illyria; and of course the decision to end the series never knowing what followed after Angel led the charge into battle in that wet and dark back alley in Los Angeles. We were treated to one of the funniest episodes in either BUFFY or ANGEL's runs ("Smile Time") and given two heartbreakers ("You're Welcome" and "A Hole in the World"), the latter of which I daresay stacks up to BUFFY's "The Body". While not every episode kicked as much ass as some, there truly wasn't a clunker in the bunch -- which makes the loss of enjoying future seasons of the show that much more bitter to swallow.

With nothing to lose and knowing that the show wouldn't be back next year, Whedon and Bell went for broke. Maybe I'm reading a little too much into things but tell me that when Angel spoke of fighting against unstoppable powers even though there was no chance of coming back alive, that dialogue wasn't a metaphor for The WB's decision to axe ANGEL. I wish it could be said that it's not too late and the WB could reverse its decision but it's just not to be. More fool they.

If this is truly to be the final episode of ANGEL, then let's single out four memorable performances. David Boreanaz, you get a nod for being able to alternate between bad guy vibes and then into Dark Knight hero mode as the episode progressed, with props for delivering a good pep talk to the troops on the eve of a suicide mission. When Andy Hallett exited stage right he left us with twinges of doubt and shock over Lorne's last actions, proving that still waters run deep even for green-skinned crooners. Alexis Denisof brought a sense of closure to his final moments as Wesley, ending a progression to his character over five seasons that most TV shows don't have the balls to try and pull off. Finally, my biggest commendation goes out to Amy Acker for her amazing transformation into Illyria, a part light years removed from being the cute and perky Fred. If I had to pick just one thing I'm going to miss the most about not seeing in ANGEL season six, it would have to be Illyria and where she goes from here. Whedon had finally figured out a way to get his version of Dark Phoenix on his team -- and make it work! -- and the WB goes and pulls out the rug from under him...

To everyone involved with making ANGEL, let me say this: you did good for us this year and for the four before that. Take a break. Move on to other work. That goes for yourself too Mr. Whedon...but remember this: ANGEL isn't gone for good. Whether you work things out and some day from now write a movie script that combines the BUFFY and ANGEL cast in a feature film, or the fates favor a new Buffyverse spinoff TV series or (best yet) you produce a virtual season six in an ANGEL comic series over at Dark Horse Comics, find a way to bring Gunn, Illyria, Spike and Angel back and show us what did happen in that alley and the days that followed. This is the age that TV shows that are cancelled return in the form of feature films; who's to say that ANGEL won't return in some form or another?

The ride up to this point was well worth it.


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