*Warning: This post contains spoilers about the characters from the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Read at your own risk if you have not watched one or both television series. In this series of character reviews, I will strictly be writing about the characters from the television series, not the 1992 film.
There is something to be said about a well written, human character. They leap off the page and speak to us as if they were right in front us, as flesh and blood human beings, instead of fictional creations.
In this series of weekly blog posts, I will examine character using the characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel to explore how writers can create fully dimensional, human characters that audiences and readers can relate to.
Since the beginning of storytelling, there has always been something about the brooding bad boy or girl with a romantic streak.The audience knows that this person might be trouble, but they also fall for the softer side of this character. In Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, this character is Angel (David Boreanaz). Angel makes his first appearance in the Buffy pilot. He appears to be the older, romantic bad boy who often appears in movies or television shows that focus on teenage girls.
But Angel is more than that. He is completely aware of who she is while hiding his own secret. He is vampire who is cursed with a soul. After Buffy and Angel sleep together (and he has a moment of pure happiness), his soul is gone and he reverts to his previous identity, Angelus. Angelus gets off on torturing Buffy until his soul is returned and he must come to terms that his relationship with Buffy is not meant to last.
After leaving Sunnydale, Angel opens his own supernatural detective agency in Los Angeles. Initially aided by Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter) and Doyle (the late Glenn Quinn), Angel works to protect the city from the darkest of supernatural forces. He also becomes a father and continues to fight against evil while protecting those he loves.
To sum it up: While the bad boy with the romantic streak may initially sound appealing, the reality is that the relationship may not last. But then again, not all romantic relationships are meant to last forever. As a character, viewers (myself included), fell in love with Angel. We watched him grow from a Heathcliff type character to a character who, in spite of his past, becomes a hero. That is why nearly twenty years later, fans still return to vampire bad boy turned hero of their younger years.
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