With the other note, that none of this includes the aspirational elements of Angel's character which aren't gone into much before the spinoff.
On the face, "Becoming" paints the infatuation and a shallow argument for why he chooses to help her at all... but I think the parallel scenes make the point that it's as much the case of identification. And not exactly with Buffy herself, or a romance, but connecting what he assumes the aspirations of a teenaged girl as proxy for admitting and accepting that he has aspirations of his own that cannot be met if he hides in a sewer.
He doesn't like the idea of the pretty girl out in the sun getting dragged into a world of darkness because he doesn't like being there himself - and she's a catalyst to that. It helps that she's pretty. It helps that - being the slayer - means that she's doing "God's Work" if you will. (And does to Angel, who clearly needs to feel like he is doing something significant/good if he's going to act.)
Which is ultimately why he'd wind up running his own shop in LA, building a family, being part of the world. And also, why (claims to calculated seductiveness aside) it seemed so important for him to encourage her having a 'normal life' - things like work, school, friends/family. Because those are His Values.
Which, I think, makes for strong storytelling - because Wheedon sets up characters with both aspirations and values. The characters have internal conflict with those values/aspirations. The characters have test and opportunities to prioritize and show who they really are and what they really value.
Which, depending upon ones definitions of the terms, either makes it "better than just a romance" or "a good exploration of the genre" because the viewer is supposed to see beyond romance/sex/love and see characters having to make choices and grow.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2009-04-25 05:28 pm (UTC)On the face, "Becoming" paints the infatuation and a shallow argument for why he chooses to help her at all... but I think the parallel scenes make the point that it's as much the case of identification. And not exactly with Buffy herself, or a romance, but connecting what he assumes the aspirations of a teenaged girl as proxy for admitting and accepting that he has aspirations of his own that cannot be met if he hides in a sewer.
He doesn't like the idea of the pretty girl out in the sun getting dragged into a world of darkness because he doesn't like being there himself - and she's a catalyst to that. It helps that she's pretty. It helps that - being the slayer - means that she's doing "God's Work" if you will. (And does to Angel, who clearly needs to feel like he is doing something significant/good if he's going to act.)
Which is ultimately why he'd wind up running his own shop in LA, building a family, being part of the world. And also, why (claims to calculated seductiveness aside) it seemed so important for him to encourage her having a 'normal life' - things like work, school, friends/family. Because those are His Values.
Which, I think, makes for strong storytelling - because Wheedon sets up characters with both aspirations and values. The characters have internal conflict with those values/aspirations. The characters have test and opportunities to prioritize and show who they really are and what they really value.
Which, depending upon ones definitions of the terms, either makes it "better than just a romance" or "a good exploration of the genre" because the viewer is supposed to see beyond romance/sex/love and see characters having to make choices and grow.