Getting W&H handed to him in shiny wrapping made it seem like a reward. W&H is like the Trojan's Horse (and that ended well!). What kind of fool opens the gates for a prezzie from the enemy? The kind of fool that wants to believe he is destiny's chosen one and wants to be seen by others that way.
I hadn't thought of it that way - but, that makes a lot of sense. In Smile Time - a lot of emphasis is placed on how Angel isn't noticing what's going on around him - starting with the signals Nina keeps sending his way every time she visits.
What has Angel been focused on? On being "the" hero. Not one of several heros, note, but "the one and only" hero. Being the chief, the guy in control, the chosen one.
In Conviction - he says that they can handle anything, he's in charge and at that precise moment he opens the envelope and out pops the amulet "he" gave Buffy and Spike. In Just Rewards - he reluctantly admits Spike was a hero, but seriously down-plays it, just as he avoids telling his friends Spike has a soul - Spike tells them that. All Angel told them was Spike was helping Buffy in Sunnydale. In each episode - we have Angel either giving a hero speech or worrying about not being "the" hero any more. That's his main focus, outside of Connor who resides always as a nagging reminder in the back of his brain. Yet, in every episode, Angel's hero status is questioned in some way - in one episode it is re-affirmed, in the next we are questioning him again. Back and forth. Conviction - reaffirmed. Just Rewards - questioned. Unleashed- reaffirmed.
So is Angel falling into the same trap Numero Cinquo said he fell into, taking the hero status for granted, forgetting that it's the four brothers backing him up that made him a hero? Or maybe forgetting what a hero is?
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branchandroot
Ooooh...good analogy
Date: 2004-02-21 12:06 pm (UTC)I hadn't thought of it that way - but, that makes a lot of sense. In Smile Time - a lot of emphasis is placed on how Angel isn't noticing what's going on around him - starting with the signals Nina keeps sending his way every time she visits.
What has Angel been focused on? On being "the" hero. Not one of several heros, note, but "the one and only" hero.
Being the chief, the guy in control, the chosen one.
In Conviction - he says that they can handle anything, he's in charge and at that precise moment he opens the envelope and out pops the amulet "he" gave Buffy and Spike. In Just Rewards - he reluctantly admits Spike was a hero, but seriously down-plays it, just as he avoids telling his friends Spike has a soul - Spike tells them that. All Angel told them was Spike was helping Buffy in Sunnydale. In each episode - we have Angel either giving a hero speech or worrying about not being "the" hero any more. That's his main focus, outside of Connor who resides always as a nagging reminder in the back of his brain. Yet, in every episode, Angel's hero status is questioned in some way - in one episode it is re-affirmed, in the next we are questioning him again. Back and forth. Conviction - reaffirmed. Just Rewards - questioned. Unleashed- reaffirmed.
So is Angel falling into the same trap Numero Cinquo said he fell into, taking the hero status for granted, forgetting that it's the four brothers backing him up that made him a hero? Or maybe forgetting what a hero is?
Interesting.