So I was able to overcome the shock and semi-deal with the final episode. It was difficult, because of everything else that is going on with my life I really haven’t had the time to focus on dealing and understanding the episode fully until now. Well it was either that or actually pay attention to the daylong meeting to discuss labor law that was the hell of yesterday. I chose to zone out and think about Angel. Not Fade Away was a good ending. I heard moans and complains about how this was a suicide mission, Angel gave up hope and that everyone is dead. I just say this… You have watched the JossVerse for how many years? And you can say these things? If so, you have totally missed the point and need to have a remedial unit in JossVerse 101 as soon as possible.

Hope! Hope that what you can do can actually make a difference, even if it is just for one brief moment. Screw destiny! Don’t wait for it to come to you; you go after it. Make the most of life; don’t be afraid to fight for what you believe in. I am not saying to go to a law firm and kill everyone, but we all face battles that have the mirror the ending of Angel.  I don’t know how many times I have felt like Angel at the final moment. You look up and there is so much coming at you and you can do either of two things: quit or fight.

The end gave me such hope. Call me whatever you want, but Angel standing his ground, near the Hyperion, calling out dibs for the dragon…I have a smile on my face just thinking about it. That is what life is all about. Not giving up when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. You just keep on fighting the good fight, because if you quit, for even a moment, they win.

Which leads me to…Wesley’s death, but first let me air this… Joss you killed off 3 out of 6 of my favorite characters this season: Cordelia, Fred and Wesley. Now if you had killed off Angel… I might have been more forgiving. I do understand why Wesley. He didn’t have anything to live for. He was left to comfort those memories left inside of Illyria. What I do not understand is why would Angel literally send Wesley to his death against the wizard? Angel knew what the wizard was capable of, he seen it in action against himself, and marched Wesley off to his death. Now granted, Wesley was up for it, but we all know Wesley is not at the same level as the wizard.  I slightly got the feeling that he had not forgiven Wesley, and was subconsciously getting his revenge by sending him to the wizard. Sometimes Angel walks a thin line between Angel and Angelus that I don’t think he is even aware of how thin it is. This was one of those times.

The scene itself was beautifully done with Wesley dying in Fred’s arms as she had done in his. I do not think that Illyria lied to Wesley through words. She has no reason to nor has she ever done it before. It gives me peace that they are together. The shift from Fred to Illyria was very dramatic and only made my tears flow harder. Illyria was hurting; her Wesley was taken from her. She feels Fred’s emotions, they are new to her, but she found a way to cope. She fights back. Granted it is with violence, but hey as Spike said, he had it coming.

Yes, I am slightly bitter towards Angel the character, not the series. I have been all season, exception of Origin and Smile Time with the whole Nina thing. Why so bitter? Glad you didn’t ask, let me tell you. The brooding and hopelessness. It deepened this season, I understand why, but it really got on my nerves. He raped his friends’ and countless other minds, changing who they were and it was all for his son. That supposedly made it okay. God forbid that Connor’s parents find out about this whole thing. How would they feel? His sister? I like Connor now. But Angel has a history of pressing the reset button and where in life do we get that? Who gives him the right to decide what is best for everyone? He didn’t even ask them for their input, he just did it. I would have happily had the images of the Connor/Cordelia love story wiped out permanently from my brain, but he took the choice from his friends and forced his will upon everyone. He wanted it so he did it. The problem that I had with IWRU, is this point. Angel took the choice out of Buffy’s hands. He made the decision without taking into consideration what she wanted then had it wiped from her mind. I hate reset buttons. Did no one else find the fact that Angel was having Buffy stalked as disturbing? He can’t do it in person so he sends someone to do the job for him? Gee, that sounds so damn familiar. Not to mention firing everyone in Season 2 and leaving them during his walk-a-bout where I couldn’t really see where Angelus ends and Angel began. Left everyone else clean up the mess.  So brood Angel, at least in the end you go down fighting.

Spike, I went on about him last week, but just a few things. I believe that he is the shanshu. Angel signed his chance away and Spike finally gets a prophecy that is his. Angel had his through the whole birth of Connor thing. He has more than proved himself. I really enjoyed Spike on AtS. I just hate that it had to end before exploring more into Spike and Angel. They are a great team. They work well together.

Lorne, how sad that was to see him have to go to that point, but it does explain why he just leaves. I can’t say that I blame him. We have seen more darkness come out of him this season than any other time. He isn’t the happy, jovial man that he even was at the beginning. He is the melancholy man of the party now. Fred’s death really hit him hard, perhaps, more so than we saw. I just felt the need to give him a hug. His “goodnight folks” quote made a touching departure. It made me cry, trust me, I have bought stock in the Kleenex Corporation now.

Charles Gunn going out fighting that is the attitude I love to see. I missed the remarks, from the walking death clock that is Illyria, the first time around. It didn’t hit me hard, because it ended before he died. I was left with hope that he will live to see another day, but being the only human with 2 vampires and 1 ex-Old One, even I have to admit that his chances aren’t so good, but if there is one thing I learned from the JossVerse is once your ship gets together, it falls apart. Wait, that is the wrong thing! Oh yes, a little thing called hope. Always have hope. We can be heroes just for one-day… damn good song for that episode. If nothing we do matters, then what matters is what we do. That finally makes complete sense to me now.

Let me touch on Lindsey. I actually felt sorry for Eve in the end. She gave up her immortality for a guy, and then Angel has him killed. Lindsey and Eve were cute together. I don’t think Lindsey would ever change, but for a guy who got “demoned” up, he was killed with a gun? I figure that it would take more than that to kill a half demon. If I were Eve, I would track Angel down and put a stake in his heart for killing the person I loved. Or like Dawn nicely put it, find where he sleeps and set him on fire. Bad guys can love too! He should know that with Darla. He loved her and she him.  

Wow, from the last scene to Darla, I think I about covered it. The ending was well done to me. It left me feeling hopeful. I was excited and wanting more. What else could you ask for? It wasn’t wrapped up as nicely as Buffy, but Angel was always more messier and complex than BTVS. Thank you to the cast for all the memories. You will always be missed, but the characters will live on through us. Trust me.