Does Angel change throughout the season(s)?

[SoBlind]

Is it just me or is angel heaps different in all the seasons coming after season 1? lets take "Welcome to the Hellmouth".
Angel:"Let's just say I'm a friend."
Buffy: "Yea, well maybe I don't need a friend."
Angel: "I didnt say i was yours..."

here he even made a joke. and he generally seems more relaxed in season 1. i have a couple of theories for why that is:
1. joss wasnt sure how angel would turn out to be so he just changed his character when he needed to
2. he was being flirty
and 3. after getting together with buffy he just become more tortured inside

what do u think? do u even agree lol i might be wrong...

[The Kinslayer]

I´m not exactly sure how to translate "heaps" so I´ll go with topic and guess it means that he changes through the years. And if that´s the case the answer in aboslutely yes. I think your nr. 1 point is one answer for sure. But even worse is the Darla character. It hurts me to see her in season one (compared with flashbacks).

And yeah, I guess falling in love (for the first time), going evil and then get your soul back and being in a helldimension for a while also makes you change. And so the Angel we see in his own show has little to do with the one in season one. A champion my ass. Excuse my language.

[Cangel]

yes, it's number 1. And not only Angel, the same can be said for Darla and Wesley, for example. These were characters that weren't supposed to stick around that long, but somehow the actors all did a good enough job to be on the show longer. I've read somewhere that Wesley, for example, had to be rewritten a bit for Angel, because in Buffy he was just too much of an arrogant jerk.

But it's amazing how many characters made it through so many Buffyverse episodes unplanned
we have Angel, Spike, Darla, Wesley, Anya, Oz, Faith, Cordy ... probably Harmony and other often recurring guest stars (I know Harm becomes regular on Angel)
(some were written for more than just one episode, obviously, but weren't meant to last that long)

[littlewilly]

Is there any characters that do not change?

[SoBlind]

Is there any characters that do not change?

i know they all change. i just thought with angel is was quite drastically. cordy for instance is a main character in season 1, 2 and 3 and she changed very little. (falling for xander did it a bit but she didnt truly change until she was on angel for a while.) wesley in season 3 buffy was quite similar to season 1 angel. but angel in buffy season 1 of is very different to him in season two. thats all im saying. or at least thats what im thinking...
i think its only really noticeable when u watch season 2 or 3 and then go back to season 1 tho

[caitaintdead]

I thought there was a similar thread posted previously with a similar topic. Angel definitely changed. He seemed much cooler in season 1. Almost quite attractive!

[palabravampiress]

Season 1 Angel was creepy cryptic message guy who was stalkerish and afraid to get his hands dirty. I definitely prefer his character as he progresses. As I've said before, I liked him a lot better on his own show. On Buffy, especially in season 1, his character lacked depth. He was just "creepy mystery guy" and then "Buffy's love interest." On his own show, he really grew and became a heck of a lot more interesting.

Another character who changed a lot was Anya. The first couple of times we see her, she is played as very cold and as being bored with the whole demon gig. Her facial expressions and body language and especially her voice are all very different. It isn't until after she becomes a regular that she becomes the Anya that we know and love. It can't even just be attributed to her being a demon, either. In flashbacks, she's still very Anya. It's just that when she was a new one-shot character, the writers and actor hadn't really figured out her character yet.

[eunsoma]

yer quite frankly in season 1 Angel was creep who always showed up sporting bad news, and then left some cryptic message... He annoyed the hell out of me. He was a bit of a smarty pants too in 'Welcome to The Hellmouth', which wasn't really like him... I think the writers were still trying to get a 'grasp' on his character...

[Spuffy is true love]

i think the hardest part about this is you gotta look at the episode like you just watched it for the first time. It's like we're analyzing WttH after seen Angel in everything. We weren't supposed to know anything about his past. He was supposed to be the dark brooding guy that he was in season 1. I think the reason he changed so much was Buffy. It's like up until then he had nothing to lose. But once he found Buffy he became cautious. Granted I found him annoying as well, up until Surprise in Season 2 when Angelus comes out. But most of his development happened on Angel.

Wesley's character change was by far the most drastic out of any of the buffyverse people. The only one that could give him a run would be Willow. But if you look at Wesley in season 3 compared to Wesley in Season 5 of Angel........HOLY CRAP! Completely different character.

[Vampmogs]

I wouldn't call him a 'creep.' He showed up and gave bad news, but the bad news was so Buffy would save people's lives. And whilst he didn't get his hands dirty a lot, he obviously attempted to help on some occasions. He had a fight with claw vamp which is how he got the slash on his arm, saved Buffy's life from The Three and saved Willow/Xander/Giles' life from Marcie trapping them in the school basement. He also gave the book about the prophecy to Giles as well.

[SoBlind]

im amazed that so many ppl seem to find angel annoying in the first season. i always loved him

[InsaneMystic]

I think if you ignore "WttH" and "The Harvest", the change isn't so drastic anymore. Clearly, they hadn't gotten any handle on the character yet in the opening two-parter, either with the personality or the looks (it's not even just the jacket... also look at the hairdo. I really can't take that guy seriously...). The easiest way for me to handle it is to pretend to myself that DB played two entirely different characters in the series: The loungeroom lizard weirdo in "Wtth/Harv", and after that, ol' Mopey. The just happened to coincidentally have the same name, "Angel". :lmao:

[LadyLavinia]

I really didn't see that much difference in Angel's personality throughout the years.

[Kana]

I think Angel was hiding behind that persona. His personality was a little effected. It was easier to be cool, cocky, cryptic guy than the vulnerable romantic hero he became in Season 2. Love softened him somewhat.

[day walker]

also remember he just got done being rat eating carzy vampire. maby he is not fully sain yet.

[vampireczarina]

Is there any characters that do not change?
TheHeartist agrees: Xander


I think Xander did change throughout the show. He stayed old loveable, reliable Xander, but he did mature, especially after the episode he was split in two. He grew up, got a job, and moved out of Mommy and Daddy's basement. He just seems more like a responsible, centered adult later on.

As for Angel, I think he did change after season 1. As others said though, the writers were probably just grappling with where to go with the character. I like him later on better though. He is more well rounded as a charachter, as opposed to mystery stalker guy.

[Keanoite]

Like people have already said, and Joss I think mentions in a comentary, Angel was just supposed to be in those two eps. They didn't have a handle on the character because as far as they were concerned there wasn't much of a character to have a handle on. Angel was kept on becuase his and Sarah's chemistry was so good and the audience response was great. Also from Angel's POV he didn't really know what to make of Buffy or really what his purpose was, add to the fact that he was head over heels in love with her and you pretty much have a guy trying to impress a girl. If we take 'Origin' as the pre-Sunnydale canon, Angel had seen Buffy with Pike, who you could argue WTTH Angel was very similar to in his actions and attitude. It was only when he got to know Buffy more that he started acting like himslef, which really guys was rthe next episode. That scene in the crypt was very broody Angel.

[Jules]

I was going to type what Keanoite just put lol I also ready that Angel was only supposed to be in the first two episodes. I think his character changed almost immediately after his first appearance. He's a lot more arrogant when we first meet him, less broody and almost dangerous. After that first meeting he seems a lot broodier. You could put that down to Buffy and the fact that he was having to look at what he had done and who he was from the point of view of someone falling in love with him. He really didn't have a lot of redeeming qualities and you could see why he was brooding over the fact that she might not love him :)

[FluffyBuffy]

Season 1 Angel was creepy cryptic message guy who was stalkerish and afraid to get his hands dirty. I definitely prefer his character as he progresses. As I've said before, I liked him a lot better on his own show. On Buffy, especially in season 1, his character lacked depth. He was just "creepy mystery guy" and then "Buffy's love interest." On his own show, he really grew and became a heck of a lot more interesting.



I totally agree with you on that one. That is why I enjoyed Angel so much on his own show, I got to know the character much more than when he was on Buffy. I didn't like him at all on Buffy and was very hesitant on getting his show on DVD. Boy I'm I glad that I did. Watching Season 1 and than going on to his own show, shows how much of a character change he went through.

[Buffanator]

I totally agree with you on that one. That is why I enjoyed Angel so much on his own show, I got to know the character much more than when he was on Buffy. I didn't like him at all on Buffy and was very hesitant on getting his show on DVD. Boy I'm I glad that I did. Watching Season 1 and than going on to his own show, shows how much of a character change he went through.

I agree - * I did the same thing. I watched/owned all of Buffy, Seasons 1-7 before I contemplated getting the Angel DVDs. Until a friend told me "Oh, you'll love Angel... it's more.... adult."

Plus, on Buffy, he seemed so *weak* compared to how he was so strong on Angel. I like Angel "Angel" way better than Buffy "Angel". His character was more fleshed out; more depth, more interest, etc. In Buffy he was just there to be "Buffy's boyfriend" or "Buffy's crazed-killer ex-boyfriend". Plus, I hate anytime a show relies on "will they or won't they" for ratings (i.e. Scully & Mulder, etc.) It's OK if that's a back-drop story, but when it becomes front & center, I get bored real quick like.

[angeldork]

I think that of course if you to look at Angel in season 1 of Buffy and realize that Joss wasn't all that sure who that character was really gonna be. At the time Buffy was just a mid-season replacement. And when you enter into season 2 there's Angel and Buffy getting together. I think that what you have to think about is that Angel (I don't think intended) was having these growing feelings for Buffy. For the majority that Angel was on Buffy he loved her and they were together. And that certainly changes a person who tried to keep away from people in general. He started to become a person that interacted with other people. And sure we got to see more of a growth in his personality when he was on his own show. I think that was to be expected. He left the only person he's ever loved and now he's in a different city. He didn't have Buffy anymore or the scooby gang. He had to establish himself on his own. That gave us an opportunity to know what he's really done and etc.