Angel (Season 5)
WB
2004
Rating:


The fact that "Angel" long stood in the shadow of its mother show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" says less about the quality of "Angel" than it does about "Buffy's" status as one of the greatest pop art achievements of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. With "Buffy" no longer around to be compared to, "Angel" bloomed in its fifth and final season, partly because of the addition of some of the best writers orphaned from creator Joss Whedon's shows "Buffy" and "Firefly" (like wunderkind Drew Goddard, who now writes for "Alias" and "Lost," and Ben Edlund, the creator of "The Tick") and partly because of the arrival of Spike (James Marsters), who proved the perfect comic foil to the ever-brooding Angel (David Boreanz). "Angel's" cancellation came as a surprise to everyone involved, forcing Team Mutant Enemy to quickly wrap up the multiple, splendid plot lines it set in motion that year, including the final fates of Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) and Angel's son Connor (Vincent Kartheiser), the death of the beloved Fred (Amy Acker) and her morph into the badass goddess Illyria and the overarching battle against the dark, elusive Senior Partners at the law firm Wolfram and Hart that Angel took over at the end of Season Four. It all lead up to a mother of a finale that, in many ways, was more satisfying, more heartbreaking than "Buffy's," with Wesley Wyndham-Pryce (Alexis Denisof, in the most multi-dimensional character arc in the entire "Buffy"-verse) dying in Illyria's arms, and Angel and the other survivors preparing to do battle against an oncoming horde. It was a fitting last stand for Angel. Here's to hoping that he lives to fight another day.

Posted Saturday, April 16, 2005

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