You may have thought I was kidding about the Joss Whedon stuff. You were so, so wrong, amigo. Joss is my Jesus, except he’s a little more bald and he kills people. If you know me at all, you’ll know I eat, drink, sleep, and sometimes breathe Buffy The Vampire Slayer. And why not? It’s fantastic. If you haven’t watched it … what are you even doing? You know it’s on Netflix, right?
I watched the entire series this year with friends, as we lost countless hours of sleep and experienced the gift that is Buffy (The Gift? Get it? Like that episode? Is this what humor is?). The thing is once you finish something that great, it leaves an awful hole. Anyone who has read Harry Potter knows what I’m talking about. Where do you go from there?
Fortunately, there’s a little Buffy spin-off show called Angel that began airing when Buffy entered it’s fourth season and became half of a interconnected universe (known as the Buffyverse) for the rest of both show’s runs. I was hesitant to watch it, and did not for quite a while because surely it can’t be anything more than a less interesting imitation of Buffy, right? Wrong. It’s fantastic. I know there are people out there who will have the same (understandable) reservations I initially did and are missing out on an amazing Joss Whedon series that every Buffy fan deserves. This is why I decided to put together this handy list of reasons why Angel is worth watching.
1. You Only Know Half The Story
It’s true. While Buffy is still a perfectly cohesive and satisfying story on it it’s own, there are many things you are expected to know from watching Angel that carry over to the Sunnydale universe and enrich your understanding of things that happen on Buffy. A big one: Faith.
Remember Me? I left Sunnydale a crazy murderer and and showed up for season 7 a big hero.
Faith skipped town after the two-parter in Buffy season 4 (This Year’s Girl & Who Are You?) in which she awoke from her coma and wreaked some havoc, not to be seen again until the endgame of the final season. While honestly, you can still enjoy season 7 of Buffy by assuming Faith has undergone a period of growth since season 4, wouldn’t you rather see it? Many interrelated events happen simultaneously on Angel as the events of Buffy’s story unfolds, and the story of Faith’s rehabilitation and acceptance of her duties as a slayer is one which is told on Angel. Beginning with a fantastic two-parter towards the end of Angel’s first season (Five By Five & Sanctuary) that takes place directly after the Buffy two-parter, Faith undergoes an arc that eventually brings her back to Sunnydale to fight the first evil with the scooby gang, a changed woman.
Also, remember those episodes where Buffy characters return home and say “Yeah, I had a mind-blowingly interesting and emotional visit with Angel in LA. It was pretty personal, I don’t feel like talking about it.” There’s another thing.
2. Redemption For Buffy’s Unlikable/Less Interesting Characters
These guys. You may think of Wesley, Buffy’s temporary watcher from season 3, as a stuffy British loser. Wrong. He’s a motherfucking badass. And Cordeila. You saw her on Buffy — total bitch, right? Double wrong!
Wesley is arguably one of the best characters on Angel, providing equal doses of humor and total badassery. This is not the Wesley who was mocked by the Scoobies and shared an awkward kiss with Cordy in the season 3 finale, he’s a man’s man who fights demons and provides Angel with the strength to keep fighting when he’d rather brood. And Cordelia undergoes a wonderful transformation into a delightful and humorous character who you can’t believe you once hated. Angel’s scooby gang-equivalent is cast of characters you can really get behind and care about. You just got to see it to believe it.
3. Vampire Flashback Episodes
You know those Buffy episodes that reveal new Angel/Spike history with flashbacks to the vampire characters in 1800s London? AREN’T THOSE THE BEST? Guess what? Angel is full of them. In Angel, you receive tons more mythology in episodes that are practically Buffy fan porn, such as “Darla” in season 2 (a crossover episode with Fool For Love), which shows how Darla and The Master began to form their family which gives context to Buffy season one, and where Angel fits in. In addition, you get to see how Angel made Drusilla the way she is in present day, and more history on Spike and Angel’s rivalry. It is fantastic.
4. Spike! Spike! Spike!
This is technically spoilers, but I feel like anyone who has even considered watching Angel already knows this, and it’s such a good selling point: Spike’s story is not over after the Buffy series finale. How is this possible? Won’t that cheapen the end of Buffy? Nope. Spike’ s presence in Angel season 5 is so awesome that you will instantly forget any reservations you had, and it actually makes a great deal of sense through Buffy-logic as to how magical artifacts work. If you had the chance to see a whole another quality season of Whedon-run television featuring Spike, the best character in the Buffyverse (in my opinion), why wouldn’t you?
Not only do you get to see Spike being Spike, but in addition, his presence creates a large amount of story-lines which cause Spike and Angel to confront their centuries old rivalry, one of the most fascinating aspects of the vampire characters in Buffy. Also, I’ll just tell you that there is an episode in Angel Season 5 in which Spike and Angel engage in an extensive fight-to-the-death scene with Buffy taunts and all. And it is amazing. (Obviously neither of them dies, but I won’t tell you who wins).
5. Information on the Scoobies Post-Sunnydale
Another great thing about Angel season 5: it takes place in the Buffyverse world after the series finale of Buffy. What are Buffy and friends up to? Where could they possibly go from there? Angel gives you some hints. Through conversation and visits from minor Buffy characters (there is a fantastic episode where Andrew comes to LA with a group of no-longer-potentials), you get some information on where Buffy’s story has evolved from “Chosen.” This is one of many reasons Angel is a fantastic show for Buffy fans.
6. One More Reason: This Exists
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