"While some interpreted this as the show confirming that it does believe that life begins at conception and that a life was taken, I don't think this was the intended interpretation at all...."
Some of the discussions of the Angel storyline on Darla's pregnancy, like those in the previous thread, have gotten me thinking about whether ME's writers intended any comment on when the soul enters the body. The fact that Connor's soul affects Darla is a powerful statement, one that, as many have commented, led to an equally powerful moment when Darla willingly gives up her life to ensure her baby's survival. I think the story walked a fine line on the question of when Connor's soul was 1st present. Certainly we have nothing to go on for the early stages of the pregnancy, since we don't know about it till she's visibly close to term. But from then on...does Darla seek children's blood because she's soulless, or because she's fighting the effects of the soul? Is the soul there when she goes to "visit Daddy," or not until the rooftop scene when she tells Angel she loves her unborn child? Opinions may vary, as always, but I don't think we can know for sure. What we do know, unequivocally, is that the soul is present before birth...in the Buffyverse. Interesting choice, & probably one that doesn't reflect the political views of the writers but makes the story a compelling one.
I gotta ask, Rob, since I don't get the high-end (or even the middle!) cable stations--when Nip/Tuck showed the baby in heaven, did it visibly have Down's syndrome, w/the folds in the eyelids? And s'kat, my 1st reaction to reading about the anesthesiologist's feelings about her looks, & the earlier character who waited to have children because of her father's putdowns, was somewhat horrified at how bad these women felt about their looks. But in the context of a show about plastic surgeons, it fits all too well. I wonder if any of this will lead the main characters to have 2nd thoughts about what they do for a living.
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branchandroot
interesting juxtaposition
Date: 2004-08-12 10:30 pm (UTC)Some of the discussions of the Angel storyline on Darla's pregnancy, like those in the previous thread, have gotten me thinking about whether ME's writers intended any comment on when the soul enters the body. The fact that Connor's soul affects Darla is a powerful statement, one that, as many have commented, led to an equally powerful moment when Darla willingly gives up her life to ensure her baby's survival. I think the story walked a fine line on the question of when Connor's soul was 1st present. Certainly we have nothing to go on for the early stages of the pregnancy, since we don't know about it till she's visibly close to term. But from then on...does Darla seek children's blood because she's soulless, or because she's fighting the effects of the soul? Is the soul there when she goes to "visit Daddy," or not until the rooftop scene when she tells Angel she loves her unborn child? Opinions may vary, as always, but I don't think we can know for sure. What we do know, unequivocally, is that the soul is present before birth...in the Buffyverse. Interesting choice, & probably one that doesn't reflect the political views of the writers but makes the story a compelling one.
I gotta ask, Rob, since I don't get the high-end (or even the middle!) cable stations--when Nip/Tuck showed the baby in heaven, did it visibly have Down's syndrome, w/the folds in the eyelids? And s'kat, my 1st reaction to reading about the anesthesiologist's feelings about her looks, & the earlier character who waited to have children because of her father's putdowns, was somewhat horrified at how bad these women felt about their looks. But in the context of a show about plastic surgeons, it fits all too well. I wonder if any of this will lead the main characters to have 2nd thoughts about what they do for a living.