Since the Angel boards are pratically inactive, I decided to post this here:
Thoughts on the following Angel characters?
Angel
Wesley
Cordy
Doyle
Fred
Gunn
Lorne
Lilah
Lindsay
Darla
Holtz
Connor
Spike
Illyria
And others you can think of or want to comment on?
Angel: too much clothes
Wesley: goes from pretty likable to awesome
Cordy: love her before season 4
Doyle: Deserved more than 9 episodes
Fred: love her
Gunn: likable, not as compelling as the other characters
Lorne: Love Lorne
Lilah: *beep* bitch, but in a good way
Lindsay: never appealed to me really
Darla: unpleasant, but serves the plot really well
Holtz: fine villain
Connor: If you leave out the entirety of season 4, he's cool
Spike: It's Spike, comn'
Illyria: would have been nice to have more episodes to expand her character
Agree with you about Wesley and Doyle. My thoughts on the others:
Angel - So much more interesting on his own show.
Wesley - Had one of the best character transformations I've seen on any show.
Cordy - Seasons 1, 2, and 3 Cordy are great. She still has the same spunk and fiestiness she had on Buffy, but now has a greater moral compass and is much more selfless.
Doyle - Wish we'd gotten to see more of him.
Fred - I like her less and less each time I rewatch AtS. Her fidgety awkwardness was initially endearing, but it gets old after a while. I also hated her indecisiveness when it came to Gunn and Wesley and how she ultimately put a huge wedge between the two as a result.
Gunn - Love his role as the muscle and his cool and sly one liners throughout the series. He's easily the most consistent character. Wish they did more with him though.
Lorne - Love him. Hilarious. Charismatic. So entertaining to watch.
Lilah - One of my favorite villains. Evil with a smidge of humanity. Calculating, yet sophisticated. I also kinda loved her brief fling with Wesley.
Lindsay - Eh. He had some good moments but overall kind of a boring villain.
Darla - I enjoy her connection to Angel and the impact she has on him due to their history.
Holtz - Another great villain. I love his whole arc in Season 3.
Connor - Man, he almost ruins the whole show. Terrible character.
Spike - Great addition to Season 5. Loved watching him as Angel's sidekick as opposed to the love sick puppy he turned into on Buffy.
Illyria - Don't like her as much as most do. Find her a bit dull and overrated.
Angel: My favorite Bufyverse character, I love all his arcs even when others think he is wrong like all the attention he spent on Darla, and he did end up saving her soul
Wesley: Possibly best character transformations in the series, however I took Gunn's side with Fred
Cordy: Loved her on Buffy and early Angel, but the shorter her hair got the less I liked her
Doyle: It's a damn shame we didn't get more
Fred:
I also hated her indecisiveness when it came to Gunn and Wesley and how she ultimately put a huge wedge between the two as a result.
Love his role as the muscle and his cool and sly one liners throughout the series.
Angel- Great on his own show. Very likeable.
Wesley- one of three of incredible character stories of the Buffy verse (all three being from Angel). Seeing his nativity and innocence being slowly stripped off him did making him unrecognisable.
Cordy- The 2nd of the three great character growths. Well from s1-3. Stupid S4.
Doyle- good character. Such a shame he was only on for half a season. Watching the show knowing the actor is no longer alive and in fact him leaving being because of his issues makes it hard viewing for me. He could have been a big star.
Fred.... adored her. So sweet and innocent.
Gunn...Didn't like him at first (first few episodes he was in). Grew to like him.
Lorne... fun aspect. Nice character. RIP.
Lilah... Nasty and a bitch...but u love it. Great to watch.
Lindsay.... I blew hot and cold with Lindsay. He annoyed me at times but liked him other times.
Darla' the third of the great character growths. Watching her in s2 and s3 was so fun.
Holtz- didn't like him
Connor- By far the worst character on the Buffy verse and probably the worst character on any TV series or film of all time. Hate him.
Spike- exactly as he was on Buffy. Great character.
Illyria- Cool character. Bad ass
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Continued:
Lindsay: Perhaps Angel's greatest rival, they played well off each other and I was sorry to see him go but he probably had to for Lilah to shine
Darla: My favorite female character in the Buffyverse. She not only had perhaps the best redemption arc, but possibly the best 2
Holtz: Great villain. Hated him, which makes him a good character
Connor: Frustrated how he hated and blamed Angel for everything, but I blame the writers. He was great when he first arrived, they ruined his character. He was partially salvaged in S-5
Spike: Great on Angel, loved his relationship with Fred and Gunn
Illyria: Brilliant! Gave me chills watching Amy play the character that killed Fred but she made you love her again going from villain to AI member. If only we got S-6, where Fred and Illyria were to be separated
Lee: A great villain killed off too soon. I guess having Lindsey and Lilah he was odd man out, but he was far better than Gavin and would have been a bigger thorn in Angel's side. He just had that evil look
Holland Manners: This guy was just pure evil, and the best villain on the show.
Angel - One of my favorites. Excels way more as the lead on his show. Valiant and engaging up-and-down character journey from ruthless killer to champion.
Wesley - Another favorite. Wonderfully tragic, dynamic character who played a variety of roles such as researcher, goofy comic relief or hardened leader. Character development easily second best of both shows.
Cordy - You guessed it, another top five of mine, only just barely edging out Wesley in terms of overall character development. She really was the heart of Angel Investigations and brought a unique sense of humor and wit. Season 4 makes me sad.
Doyle - Made a lasting impact in only a few short episodes. Great brotherly friendship with Angel and great budding romance with Cordelia.
Fred - Love her. Amy Acker really brought Fred to life. A different approach to the "brains" of the operation, I found she was very quirky and resourceful. She had a "Willow" effect on me in that her crying/sad scenes always struck a chord with me.
Gunn - Bit of a low-key character journey compared to others but Gunn was a very grounding character. He brought a good sense of "normalcy" to the group when things were going crazy. Hilarious and meaningful bromance with Wesley. Not a big fan of his relationship with Fred.
Lorne - Fun and theatrical character. Clever take on the empath/mindreading situation.
Lilah - Leagues better than Lindsey as the "face" of Wolfram & Hart. She was very solid in her convictions but not without her moments of invulnerability. Fierce and deliciously evil. Her relationship with Wes was awesome and twisted.
Lindsay - I liked his rivalry with Lilah. He was overly wishy-washy and came off like he was trying too hard sometimes.
Darla - Really came into her own as a character on Angel. Yet another great example of an emotional, well-written character arc.
Holtz - The morally ambiguous type of "villain" that this show did very well and a very well-written approach to the conventional big bads.
Connor - Ugh. Actually interesting in season 3, downright insufferable in season 4, better in season 5.
Spike - Returned to form in the last season of Angel. Great chemistry with Angel, Wesley, Fred and Illyria. He really learned the weight of a soul and what it meant to be a champion for the greater good and not just for one person.
Illyria - Similar to Doyle, a crazy amount of impact made in just a short time. Despite the tragedy that had to occur to bring Illyria forth, not a moment is wasted with her character. Eerie and dominating with a peculiar childlike naivety about the way of the world.
Wesley, why can't I stay?
Angel- as some have stated, he is much more likable when not fawning over Buffy.. But then again who isn't? ahem Spike. Anyway he is sexy and a great hero who is actually really funny!!
Wesley- he is a good solid anchor character for the gang but not all that likable. Loved his love hate relationship with Lilah but also loved him "with" Fred in season 5. She really shouldn't have wasted time with Gunn but Wes/Fred tragic love story is to be expected in the whedonverse
Cordy- she is everything. Hate that she chose to became part demon though; even though I understand she was basically tricked by Skip
into doing so. also I love her with Angel & in an alternate happy ending dimension I wish they were able to be together before she ascended and he sunk to the bottom of the ocean.
Doyle- loved in every aspect.. Especially that he brought an Irish flavor to the show. Such a shame the actor died.
Fred- to me she is like Willow but not with the oft annoying baby voice and magic dependency issues. Even tho she isn't a strong fighter she is so valuable to the gang because she's like a genius. I also hate that she died.. Or as they said her soul was destroyed! Like dying is one thing but why'd they have to destroy her soul!? That's just beyond cruel to those who love her.
Gunn- I also love Gunn because he is just a dependable good guy and a strong fighter. I just despised his relationship with Fred it always seemed so unnatural. He was so much better with Gwen and that was totally unfulfilled in its potential.
Lorne- love Lorne the writers should've made him just identify as gay though and played off of how people demonize gays.
Lilah- the best long term villain on Angel for sure, it's just bull$hit that she wasn't there for the last season when the gang was actually in wolfram and hart too. She still could've been dead to play Eve's role of liaison to the senior partners.
Lindsey- aside from the actor being deliciously hot, his character was decent (hella Better than Gavin anyway) but his vendetta against Angel could've been taken to greater heights. Would've rather have Lindsey be a bigger antagonist in Season 3 instead of Holtz
Darla- STELLAR character played flawlessly by Julie Benz. She is so fascinating to watch bc there is just so much to her character. Who else died in the buffyverse three times?
Holtz- my most hated character. He makes my skin craw in every way
Connor- he doesn't annoy me like he seems to Annoy a lot of people ... Even though he did so quite a few very messed up things I blamed Holtz more than Connor
Spike- my favorite character in the buffyverse hands down. He deserved his own show just like faith did. I could watch him all day every day
Illyria- always loved the writers describing her as the terminator meets the queen of England because Amy pulled it off perfectly. She was very interesting and made for some great moments but she is responsible for Fred's soul being destroyed. B!tch needs to go to hell.
Correction: Darla died FOUR times
In 'Angel' Angel stakes her
In 'Darla' the Master sires her
In 'The Trial' Dru sires her
In 'Lullaby' she stakes herself