Angel goes out with the old

Although the final episode of the TV series, Angel, aired in May 2004, I just got to the final episode last night.

As I've said before, I'm a huge Joss Whedon fan, so why did it take me four and a half years to catch up with his series? For one thing, I was out of the country for the last several seasons of the show, so I had to wait for the DVDs to come out season by season, then import them. But the DVD of the final season had been collecting dust on my shelf for quite some time, and I'd been watching it in fits and starts, never finishing it.

Although I enjoyed Angel, I never had the same affection for it I felt for Buffy. With Buffy, every episode that aired was like unwrapping a chocolate I'd never before tasted- only it lasted for one whole hour. But Angel had its great moments, one of my favorites being "Smile Time" right off Disc 4 of the final season. Those DVDs weren't gathering dust because I was reluctant to watch Angel. I couldn't face giving up the last few episodes of virgin, never-before-seen Buffyverse TV.

But last night, on New Year's Eve, it was time to watch the final episode.

The penultimate episode had left me squirming. The writers had just set up a juicy plotline which, in my opinion, could have easily carried them through a sixth season. I loved the intrigue, the deepening conflicts surrounding the idea that good is not innocence, and doing good requires us to make tough decisions, and get our hands dirty. I think those ideas are apt for facing our challenges today. And I especially loved the name and the symbol of the secret society spinning the wheels of intrigue, the Black Thorn.

When I put the final disc into the DVD player last night, I had no idea how the show could wrap up such a huge plot thread in one single episode. I remembered thinking that Whedon had not been ready to let the show go, and I was worried about his ability to take aborted dreams and bring them to a satisfactory conclusion. Yet "Not Fade Away" was a beautiful final episode, not just for the Angel series, but for the Buffyverse as seen on TV.

And, to soften the blow, my husband was waiting for me with Volume 1 of Angel: After the Fall. In this graphic novel, as in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the Buffyverse continues in comic book form.