- Killers
Two powerful questions, in deed, it is helpful to remember that no one but Joss has the correct answer. So take that how you will.
Let’s look at our favorite brood boy Angel. Angel and Angelus are the same person, just different sides. I do not believe that he is some sort of multiple personality guy and that he isn’t responsible for his actions. Even in America those with a mental health disorder are held accountable for their actions, even if it means death.
Angel should be held responsible for his brutal killings of all those people. Do I enjoy saying this? No. I like the idea of a good guy vampire seeking redemption, but I am being honest. We cannot use the excuse that he did not have his soul. That is just rationalizing it. We do not know what he would have done even if he had a soul during those times as Angelus. He probably would have done the same things, we seen him feed and kill after the soul. It was a means to justify an end in most cases. Look at poor Droygen. He was a warrior and protector of Good, just as Angel was. What about all those innocents he murdered under the name of Angelus? Would that be saying that the Son of Sam guy wasn’t responsible just because he was killing under the name of Son of Sam and not his true name?
The demon is a part of Angel. He is the demon. He has control over his actions. This must be realized in order for there to be true healing. I see Angel/Angelus as dysfunctional because Angel is so different if he loses his soul, where as, Spike really isn’t all that different. Angel seems to be less comfortable with the demon than Spike does. This could be that Angelus killed and was a bigger sadistic asshole than William the Bloody could ever be. I mean, Angelus did teach and mold William at the beginning.
Angel knows that Spike and himself can never repay for what they have done. They will never be able to move past who they truly are and the horrors that they inflicted upon people in their past. Should you be able to forget? No. You should think about it every day and focus on never letting yourself become like that again. Even if it means, you should die.
Spike addressed this with Buffy in Season 7. There was a few times when he asked her to kill him. He told her that he could not let the first trigger him, that he knew what he was capable of, that he knew what he had done in the past and in order to prevent that, she had to stake him. She refused.
If you look at the vampire being and the soul in an addiction model, you will notice similarities between it and alcoholism. Recovering alcoholics have been to hell and back. They know that the demon that is released by alcohol is a part of them and it always will be. It will be waiting to get out. It will fight to get out. It is their curse to carry that inside of them for the rest of their lives. They are responsible for their past actions while under the demon’s control. One of the twelve steps is to make amends for the wrongs they have made in the past. Amends is a funny thing. It doesn’t mean that they are forgiven, it means that they are taking the step by acknowledging it is wrong and saying I am sorry.
Keep in mind; I am not saying that they should all be killed. I am just saying that they are held responsible for what they done. They know that they may have been intoxicated, but they are responsible for what they did while in that state. If you don’t believe me, look at the victims of drunk drivers, beaten families, scared loved ones and tell them that they aren’t.
Yes, Angel is making amends, but he is being careless. He knows that it is easy to lose his soul. He knows that there is a chance he could lose it in the future; yet, he does not want to die. We see him wanting to die in Amends, which is about it. Yes, he does go to LA where he is told that he is a Champion, but let’s face it the shanshu is a reward. You mean to tell me that a serial killer is going to be awarded for doing years worth of good after he killed unmercifully for over two hundred years? Yea, that makes sense. What would have made sense would have been him dying at the end of Amends.
The most troubling thing about Angel is that he does not accept that Angelus is himself. It was easier for me with Spike because Spike hasn’t used two different names for his soul and unsoul self. He knows that was who he was. He accepts it. He accepts the demon and has more of an alcoholic outlook. Yes, Spike should have been staked numerous of times.
Xander has pointed out that both Angel and Spike should die. Xander represents the black and white views of thinking, but he is correct. They should be staked. Buffy has been rationalizing why they should not be killed. She has several chances, but cannot fulfill her duty and chooses not to stake the vampires.
Buffy was Xander’s hero. When she made choices such as these, it leads to his disillusionment with her. I believe that came full circle by the end, when he came home from the hospital after Caleb took his eye.
Back to the vampires, I was just thinking about my article on redemption that I wrote last year. I can honestly sit here and say, Wow, I think the more I talk about things, the more I can see my changes over the years. When it comes down to black and white, should Angel and Spike be staked? Yes.
However, if they had been, then none of the good things that came out of them being around would have occurred. Cordelia would have never met Doyle, never got the visions. We would have never had Connor. Fred would have stayed in Pylea until she figured out how to come back on her own. Gunn may have died at a young age. Wesley wouldn’t have had his throat slashed and evolved into a man. Buffy and the others may have died in the Hellmouth without the amulet and Spike wouldn’t have moved to Los Angelus to join up with Angel in Season Five.
Now, of course I have to extend this threat of death to every serial killer in the Buffy Verse. Hello Anya, hello Darla, hello Harmony, hello uhhhh…… there has to be more than those few. Well, anyone that kills more than two humans. Faith, Willow, Giles, Wesley, Andrew, Gunn, etc. they would not be labeled serial killers. I am a firm believer in the criminal system. Crimes should be punished, and if you are a serial killer, you should be put to death immediately. Don’t pass go and do not collect 200 dollars.
I did not list Drusilla for a reason. She is psychotic and would be confined for the rest of her life. She is to be held responsible, but death would not be appropriate. In a way, death would be too simple and merciful.
Hello right to life folks, I’m Aeryn and my email is aaeryn@blkswan.com , I look forward to your emails about how the death penalty should not be imposed in America. I just believe we have choices in our lives and we are to be held responsible for those choices. I know I am held responsible for the choices I have made in my life, why shouldn’t others?
In closing, I am glad that Buffy chose what she did. It made for a more interesting series overall. I mean, it allowed us to have a powerful spin-off by means of Angel and some good ethical debates like this one. Who knew that Buffy giving them a free pass would result in so much good being done. As Buffy once referred to Spike, he is just a serial killer in prison. Brilliant observation Buffy, it doesn’t just apply to Spike, but to Angel as well.
Pete: Angel lets himself die and the First Evil wins, he takes someone who can do so much good out of the picture. You make a black and white issue out of something that has so much gray in it. That's part of what the shows are about, finding your way in the gray areas. Thanks for listening. Feel free to E-mail BFFWilco247@hotmail.com with your thoughts. Pete: The show is filled with the moment of understanding/redemption being equated with the moment of death. I also submit that for the worst of serial killers, death is too easy. That was the point of Amends. Pete: I.E. soul = remorse, no soul = no remorse. I think that both of the souled vampires do have remorse for what they do, they just have their own ways of showing it. Spike has the obvious cool facade and Angel as the obvious cool brooding. Granted, redemption in the JossVerse only ever seems to come in the form of death, but look at all the characters who died just as they "got it", understood the meaning of Life, the Universe, and Everything: Johnathan, Anya, even going back to Jenny. Pete: Aeryn I think you completely miss the point of the soul/no-soul conflict. Without the soul there is no remorse, no moral compass. The soul itself, in the case of both Angel and Spike (forget the use of different names), is what makes them know that they did wrong. The soul is the reason they think they have to make amends and hopefully one day be redeemed. Spikes_love_slave: i love angel and spike as much as the next person(especially spike!),even more so. but i agree with the fact that they should've been staked. im happy they werent but its unfair. everyone else on the show get punished brutally for murder but they get special treatment since they're so-called "champions". i wish that spike and buffy would've ended up together though. hes gone through so much just to be noticed as a good person by her. he almost died getting a soul for her! Spikes_love_slave: angel was cursed...i vote for spike. becides angel cant even have sex wth her, as you can tell in season 6, spike can. im still a little pissed that spike didnt get to see buffy one last time before the big show-down with WR&H. they could've at least let him tell her that he loved her one last time. i cry every time i see the episode "chosen"when buffy admits her long love for spike. ive enjoyed viewing this site and ill post soon. bye, rock on Aeryn: Going out of town for a while! Thanks for reading. :) Aeryn: For alcoholics, the first stages don't have road signs or warning signs. See, even on the Buffy question, you went back and said, they would have found a way. So should serial killers be put to death or not? Aeryn: Harmony chose to suck down otter blood. Angel wasn't stupid, he knew she would betray them, he played her. I chose to drink, but I do not have a demon repressed in me that goes hey that is damn tasty..... more more. Like I said, research it before you assume things. I asked an recovering alocholic and he admitted it is a demon that he had to learn how to fight before he could finally maintain his sobriety. Aeryn: You could careless about metaphors but watch a show that revolves and is based on metaphors? Holden wasn't a killer. Name one person he killed. None. Nada. Zilch.
by Aeryn -4.05.05
[ aaeryn@blkswan.com ]
Ah, the topic that you knew was coming but didn’t want to read about. The one I like to call “Why the hell haven’t you been staked yet?” The question that runs unspoken through a majority of the fans’ minds whether they want to admit to it or not. Why the hell haven’t the vampires been staked yet? Or even worse, is it fair that Angel and Spike have a free pass with the slayer?
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