Lynch shows us what happens to the characters and where they're at emotionally. He tells us a story of character interaction/attachment and of Angel's triumph over W&H. The one lesson I'm taking from this is that even when evil has you outgunned, overflowing with guilt, you can't let it stop you. Keep moving forward and be ready to sacrifice yourself for the greater good. Oh, and that you can accomplish much with your friends by your side. In summation, it feels slightly like an after-school-special. I'm left wondering if Hell was indeed Hellish enough.
Angel's being turned human still feels like a wasted opportunity to me considering we were being told the story through Angel's viewpoint. The closest we got to self-reflection on his state was in the early issues when he tells Wes that W&H thinks they've changed him, but they're wrong. That in itself exemplifies the over-simplification of the narrative to me. That Angel (and perhaps Lynch) actually thinks that human!Angel and souledvampire!Angel are exactly the same except the latter possesses only physical limitations.
Gunn's arc remains the most satisfying to me, followed by Connor's growth and Illyria's confused state. And I know Lynch hates being asked where Joss' hand touched the piece, but it seems clear that vampire!Gunn and Connor being a lead came from Joss. Sadly, one of the few prospective storylines from Season 6 that never got incorporated into AtF was the interaction between Wes and Illyria - that Wes would be forced to choose between Illyria and Fred somehow after becoming even closer to Illyria. This role seems to have been inherited by Spike, when all I really wanted was to see more Angel/Spike interaction continue and we finally got that in a satisfying degree in #17. Wes and Lorne are sadly left to do little, while Nina fades in and out of obscurity making me wonder why they bothered to include her...again, until her scene in #17.
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Date: 2009-02-13 03:24 pm (UTC)Angel's being turned human still feels like a wasted opportunity to me considering we were being told the story through Angel's viewpoint. The closest we got to self-reflection on his state was in the early issues when he tells Wes that W&H thinks they've changed him, but they're wrong. That in itself exemplifies the over-simplification of the narrative to me. That Angel (and perhaps Lynch) actually thinks that human!Angel and souledvampire!Angel are exactly the same except the latter possesses only physical limitations.
Gunn's arc remains the most satisfying to me, followed by Connor's growth and Illyria's confused state. And I know Lynch hates being asked where Joss' hand touched the piece, but it seems clear that vampire!Gunn and Connor being a lead came from Joss. Sadly, one of the few prospective storylines from Season 6 that never got incorporated into AtF was the interaction between Wes and Illyria - that Wes would be forced to choose between Illyria and Fred somehow after becoming even closer to Illyria. This role seems to have been inherited by Spike, when all I really wanted was to see more Angel/Spike interaction continue and we finally got that in a satisfying degree in #17. Wes and Lorne are sadly left to do little, while Nina fades in and out of obscurity making me wonder why they bothered to include her...again, until her scene in #17.