Late Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel Character Review: Kate Lockley

Dearest readers, I apologize for the late post. The pull of Independence Day was just too strong.

On an administrative note, this will be the last character review post I write about the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The next group of characters I will be writing about are….you will have to come back next week and find out.

*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.

There is something to be said for a healthy dose of skepticism. It keeps us sane when the impossible happens and we need to process what has just happened.

On Angel, the skeptic is Detective Kate Lockley (Elizabeth Rohm). A member of the LAPD, she is ignorant of the supernatural world that exists around her. She meets Angel (David Boreanaz) while investigating a murder, thinking that he may be a potential suspect. But she doesn’t know that Angel is trying to find the killer. Her obsession with him as the killer grows the point in which she breaks into Angel Investigations and starts to search the site without a warrant. This leads to a scuffle with the real killer in which Angel saves her and Kate is able to give justice to the victim’s loved ones.

Angel is cleared of all charges and they become sort of partners. But Kate does not know that Angel is a vampire. When her father is killed by a vampire and she learns who he really is, Kate goes on a quest to rid Los Angeles of the supernatural. Then a resurrected Darla (Julie Benz) decides to drink her way through the denizens of Los Angeles. Believing that Angel is responsible for the murders, she goes to arrest him, but lets him go because she knows that she knows that he can stop this crime.

The skeptic becomes a believer to the nth degree, but her obsession gets her fired. She nearly dies from an overdose of pills and alcohol, but Angel arrives in the nick of time to revive her. Their relationship ends with the belief that there is someone watching over them and protecting them as they fight against the forces of evil.

To sum it up: Kate works as a character because she is the eyes of the audience. While the other characters are well versed in the supernatural world, Kate only knows of the non-supernatural world. Her exposure opens her eyes and eventually teaches her acceptance, which often comes after a few bumps and bruises. Viewers remember Kate because of this journey and her eventual understanding that there is often more than meets the eye.

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Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel Character Review: Connor

*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.

One of the marks of adulthood is making the conscious or unconscious decision to break away from your parents and how you were raised. The grey area of this decision is that as much as you may want to break away from your parents, they are always with you.

On Angel, that break is represented by Connor (Vincent Kartheiser). Born to two vampires, Angel (David Boreanaz) and Darla (Julie Benz), he was not raised in the typical happy family life.

Initially taken care of by his father and the rest of the gang at Angel Investigations, Connor is kidnapped and raised by Daniel Holtz (Keith Szarabajka) and raised in another dimension. Taught to hate his father, Connor has superhuman abilities and is not afraid to use those abilities.

Returning to Earth, Connor is now a teenager and is intent on killing Angel. But Angel, like many good parents, forgives his son, even after Connor tries to drown him and watches him from a distance. He also, like many young men, falls in love. The woman he falls in love is Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter). She becomes pregnant and both are manipulated by a cosmic entity bent on destruction.

To save his son’s life, Angel agrees to take over the running of Wolfram & Hart. Connor’s memories are wiped and replaced with that of a normal childhood. Though his memories are briefly returned to him, Angel tells him to go back to his foster parents and live as any young man would.

To sum it up: Though Connor tries to run from his past and his parentage, he can separate himself from the fact that he is Angel’s son. By the time the series ended, Connor found peace with himself, his past and his father. As fans, we remember Connor because we understand his inclinations and though we may have grown past that stage of life, we can easily remember going on that same path.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel Character Review: Drusilla

*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.

Evil is not born, it is made. On Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Darla (Juliet Landau) was not born evil. But she was made evil by Angel in his Angelus form (David Boreanaz) who killed her family, tortured her and sired her (when a human is turned into a vampire). Possessing psychic abilities and a childlike insanity that hides an innate intelligence, Drusilla joins Angelus, Darla (Julie Benz) and Spike (James Marsters), whom she sired, make up quite the evil quartet.

In Sunnydale, Drusilla hears about the new slayer (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and is eager to make her mark as the vampire who killed the newest slayer with Spike’s help. But Buffy is not so easy to kill. But she is easy to manipulate when it comes to her boyfriend, Angel. After Angel reverts back to Angelus, he and Drusilla have some serious flirting going on. This does not sit well with Spike.

Though Drusilla is unable to kill Buffy, she does kill Kendra (Bianca Lawson) and takes Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) captive. Feeling betrayed, Spike switches sides to get his girlfriend back. They escape to South America, but Drusilla is not happy with the relationship and ends it with Spike.

In Los Angeles, hearing that a now human Darla is dying, Drusilla attempt to sire her. That siring does not go as planned, though the vampires do go on a killing spree. Hearing that Spike has moved on, Drusilla returns to Sunnydale in hopes of renewing their relationship and the vampire quartet that roamed Europe. Neither happens and as the world of BVTS and Angel closes, Drusilla is wandering about the world somewhere, looking for her next meal and perhaps a new vampire to sire.

To sum it up: The best villains are not born, they are made. As a main baddie, Drusilla stands out because she is ruthless, but under that ruthlessness, she is emotional and is incredibly smart. A smart villain will entice the audience to get involved and stay involved with the narrative because they, as a character, are enticing to watch.

 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel Character Review: Darla

*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.

The hallmark of any good character is change over the course of their time that they are on the screen or on the stage. Without that change, the character is static and unappealing to the audience. On Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, Darla (Julie Benz) went through what can only be described a roller coaster of change.

When the audience meets Darla in the premiere episode of BVTS, she is just another vampire out to kill as many humans as she can. But unlike other vampires on BVTS and Angel, the audience gets to know Darla. Born in the 16th century, she was turned into a vampire by The Master (Mark Metcalf) in the early 17th century. Nearly and a century and a half later, Darla sired Angel (David Boreanaz), who became her lover. In the mid 19th century, their twosome grew to a foursome when Spike (James Marsters) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) joined their group.

In Sunnydale, Darla sees the town and her living residents as fresh meat. She understands that fighting Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) will require intellect as well as physical strength. She uses Angel, who is now with Buffy to get the slayer. Ultimately, it is Angel who stakes Darla.

Three years later, Darla is revived by Wolfram and Hart to get to Angel. This plan gets tangled when Angel and Darla sleep together. Her last act on earth is giving birth to their son, Connor (Vincent Kartheiser), redeeming herself after centuries of murder and destruction.

To sum it up: As a character, Darla goes through an extraordinary change. As a viewer, Darla is one of the more interesting characters because of the journey she goes on and the change that she experiences. It is our job as a writer to create that roller coaster. If done well, that roller coaster not draws the audience in, but keeps the actor on their toes. This is why BVTS and Angel fans still have a high regard for Darla.