Day #13 of the 30 Day Halloween Challenge

[shadowkat]

This is Day 13 of 30 Days of Halloween Challenge

A favorite villain in a film, book or television series.

The Weeping Angels from Doctor Who

Stephen Moffat created the weeping angels - which if you blink, they move and if they get close enough - they throw you into another time line.

The Weeping Angels were an extremely powerful species of quantum-locked humanoids (sufficient observation changes the thing being observed), so called because their unique nature necessitated that they often covered their faces with their hands to prevent trapping each other in petrified form for eternity by looking at one another. This gave the Weeping Angels their distinct "weeping" appearance. They were known for being "kind" murderous psychopaths, eradicating their victims "mercifully" by dropping them into the past and letting them live out their full lives, just in a different time period. This, in turn, allowed them to live off the remaining time energy of the victim's life. However, when this potential energy paled in comparison to an alternative power source to feed on, the Angels were known to kill by other means, such as snapping their victims' necks.

Source - https://tardis.fandom.com/wiki/Weeping_Angel

I loved The Weeping Angels - best villain ever. I don't, however, consider them exactly monsters...

Comments

[shadowkat]

Well, no, he actually is motivated by power, you're wrong about that. The emotional manipulation is all about power. It always is. That's the reason he does what he does with Acathla, and why he cares so much about being the chosen one or a champion, and why in turn he is so easily manipulated by outside forces. He craves power, and being in control of others - being their puppet master. It's why he makes the decision he does in I Will Always Remember You.

Angel is a narcissist. The signs are all there. His pain at not being able to see his own reflection, his need to be important, his need to be validated by others. And he's so charming. Narcissists are very charming and charismatic. They need to be the star - the champion - the hero. They want to be the one in control. Everything they do is about their ego, their image, how they look to someone else - and they manipulate and control for power over that.

Narcissists crave power - and attention - and control, and they do it in very subtle ways. No one is more adept at emotional manipulation than a narcissist. For the narcissist - it's all about their image, how they appear to others, how others react to them, and they get off on emotional manipulation. And there is no one more emotionally manipulative than a narcissist.

Also people are attracted to narcissists - because you know charming, emotionally manipulative, and really good at playing mind-games. They tend to be very successful, rich, pretty, and often men. Extremely good presenters, and very good at making you think they are great guys. No one is better at marketing and self-promotion than a narcissist.

[cjlasky7]

That's true. He is about power, about asserting dominance on an emotional and psychological level. He just has no interest in "material" power (i.e., to ruuuuuule the world). In fact, as you said, he'd rather destroy the world than admit to emotional weakness.

And you're also right about his narcissism. That's a consistent character trait across all of his incarnations--Liam, Angel, and Angelus. (Angel's friends keep calling him on it, but he's been slow to learn...)

[shadowkat]

Narcissists generally aren't interested in material power per se, they are more interested in power over their image. It's all about them. They also make horrible leaders - you do not want a narcissist as a leader, they don't care about people or the earth or anything really except their own ego.

Oh, another trait of narcissism - or rule of thumb? If you think you might be a narcissist, you probably aren't. Narcissists are completely un-selfaware. They don't see themselves as narcissists at all - and often see themselves as the victim. If you told a narcissist that they were - they'd deny it or refuse to see it. It's not something you can change or cure - there is no cure for narcissistic personality disorder.

Whedon loved narcissistic villains - Cordelia aka Beast Lady, The Mayor, and Glory all fall within that category. I'd say the Mayor and Angelus were probably the best of that group.

[cjlasky7]

[Narcissists] also make horrible leaders... they don't care about people, the earth or anything really except their own ego.

Are we still talking about Angel?

[shadowkat]

Well, yeah...he tried to lead Angel Investigations and basically killed everyone. The Mayor from Buffy was another example - he also basically killed everyone.

But generally speaking that applies to real life narcissists as well. Vote for a narcissist as a leader? Prepare to die.