Angel S5: Adventures in Meta
Nov. 14th, 2003 10:18 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
coalescentThis isn't my theory, although it's my version of this theory. I don't know whose it is; I first saw it on alt.tv.angel, but it was being referenced to some other unspecified person there, too. I just like it 'cause I'm all about the meta.
Very few spoilers other than the obvious cast ones. Some general spoilerish observations about the direction of the first six episodes of S5.
Back in the early days of Buffy, Joss Whedon would occasionally say that Xander was his representative on the show. You can see where that comes from: The nerd with wit. And I think it's not unlikely that there were elements of Xander's story over the first few seasons that were drawn from Whedon's personal experiences.
But I don't think it lasted, as Buffy went on and moved further away from high school; it was less true in S4 and S5, and probably not true at all by the time of S6 and S7. Over the same period, although probably not for this reason, Whedon's shows lost their invulnerability to criticism. And then, quite suddenly, they became an endangered species. Firefly was cancelled; Buffy ended; and Angel was in danger of dying a premature death.
So, the theory goes, Whedon did what he had to do. He made compromises. He revamped the show for the network: Out went Cordelia and Connor, in came Spike. Out went the Hyperion and two-plus seasons of dense continuity, in came Wolfram & Hart's offices and a standalone-favouring mindwipe. He sacrificed a lot, says the theory, to keep some version of his vision alive. And that takes its toll.
Does this sound like any character on a Mutant Enemy show that we know at the moment? Like, say, Angel?
At the end of season four, Angel was presented with a chance to give his son a new life, a happy life - but he had to accept a devil's bargain to make it happen. He decided that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. But in season five, Angel is starting to lose faith in his work and in himself, resolve dented by everything he's seen over the past few years and the situation he finds himself in now.
In short, the theory is this: In season five, Angel is a metaphor for Joss Whedon.
This is probably so much nonsense. But I think it's highly entertaining nonsense, and you can actually take it quite a long way. Take the mindwipe, for instance (or, as I've seen it called elsewhere, the Connor Reality Coefficient). We now don't know what most of the characters think happened instead of seasons three and four. On the other hand, we know that season four, at least, did not go according to Mutant Enemy's plan. Charisma Carpenter became pregnant, and that changed the story. Originally, allegedly, there was no Cordelia/Connor relationship, and no giving birth to Jasmine; originally, Cordelia was Jasmine, in a manner of speaking. Cordelia was meant to come back from her time as a higher being with Jasmine's mindset: Make the world better, whether the world likes it or not.
The CRC allows ME, if they so want, to pretend that season four happened the way they wanted it to happen.
Then there's the other characters. Spike, who Angel worries may be more of a hero than he ever was. Gunn and Fred, who are enjoying aspects of their new situation really quite a lot. It's oh-so-tempting to speculate which writers or producers they're meant to represent. There are even specific plots - Angel's reluctance to schmooze with LA's demon celebrities at the Wolfram & Hart halloween party, for instance.
...Yeah, ok, I'm reaching. But I'm enjoying myself. :-)
(And if it is true, it might be a bonus - after all, they say you should write what you know...)
Very few spoilers other than the obvious cast ones. Some general spoilerish observations about the direction of the first six episodes of S5.
Back in the early days of Buffy, Joss Whedon would occasionally say that Xander was his representative on the show. You can see where that comes from: The nerd with wit. And I think it's not unlikely that there were elements of Xander's story over the first few seasons that were drawn from Whedon's personal experiences.
But I don't think it lasted, as Buffy went on and moved further away from high school; it was less true in S4 and S5, and probably not true at all by the time of S6 and S7. Over the same period, although probably not for this reason, Whedon's shows lost their invulnerability to criticism. And then, quite suddenly, they became an endangered species. Firefly was cancelled; Buffy ended; and Angel was in danger of dying a premature death.
So, the theory goes, Whedon did what he had to do. He made compromises. He revamped the show for the network: Out went Cordelia and Connor, in came Spike. Out went the Hyperion and two-plus seasons of dense continuity, in came Wolfram & Hart's offices and a standalone-favouring mindwipe. He sacrificed a lot, says the theory, to keep some version of his vision alive. And that takes its toll.
Does this sound like any character on a Mutant Enemy show that we know at the moment? Like, say, Angel?
At the end of season four, Angel was presented with a chance to give his son a new life, a happy life - but he had to accept a devil's bargain to make it happen. He decided that the advantages outweighed the disadvantages. But in season five, Angel is starting to lose faith in his work and in himself, resolve dented by everything he's seen over the past few years and the situation he finds himself in now.
In short, the theory is this: In season five, Angel is a metaphor for Joss Whedon.
This is probably so much nonsense. But I think it's highly entertaining nonsense, and you can actually take it quite a long way. Take the mindwipe, for instance (or, as I've seen it called elsewhere, the Connor Reality Coefficient). We now don't know what most of the characters think happened instead of seasons three and four. On the other hand, we know that season four, at least, did not go according to Mutant Enemy's plan. Charisma Carpenter became pregnant, and that changed the story. Originally, allegedly, there was no Cordelia/Connor relationship, and no giving birth to Jasmine; originally, Cordelia was Jasmine, in a manner of speaking. Cordelia was meant to come back from her time as a higher being with Jasmine's mindset: Make the world better, whether the world likes it or not.
The CRC allows ME, if they so want, to pretend that season four happened the way they wanted it to happen.
Then there's the other characters. Spike, who Angel worries may be more of a hero than he ever was. Gunn and Fred, who are enjoying aspects of their new situation really quite a lot. It's oh-so-tempting to speculate which writers or producers they're meant to represent. There are even specific plots - Angel's reluctance to schmooze with LA's demon celebrities at the Wolfram & Hart halloween party, for instance.
...Yeah, ok, I'm reaching. But I'm enjoying myself. :-)
(And if it is true, it might be a bonus - after all, they say you should write what you know...)
=o)
Date: 2003-11-15 11:04 pm (UTC)my reason~~~~~>
you're willing to give me one.. soo i need one.. so just send it to iideftonesii5@yahoo.com thanks a bunch and say no to crack