Looking on the Bright Side: Angel on the Horizon
The end of Buffy causes much turmoil in my simple life. I haven't fully come to terms with it yet, so when Editor Steve announced "Buffy Week," I panicked. What could I write that would convey my attachment to the show and the deep anguish I'm trying to repress as the end comes nearer and nearer?

Then, the WB made their official announcement, the one that the remainder of my sanity was resting on. No longer would I have to wail, "What will I watch next fall?" to the heavens. Angel will return! Editor Steve suggested I focus on this one, bright star in the Buffyverse as Sunnydale goes black, so here I am.

If you're a Buffy fan and haven't watched Angel, next fall is the time to start doing so. Articles everywhere prophesize the migration of the top Buffy writers to Angel. Also moving to LA will be James Marsters. His guest-stars on Angel were great episodes. Imagine it now with Spike's bad-ass vampire-with-a-soul paired up with David Boreanaz's dark-broody vampire-with-a-soul. Especially with the tension after that second to last Buffy episode! (Ahh! Can't she have both? It kills me to know she's not going to end up with either!)

Now that I've hopefully hooked you in, let me take a step back and go through what Angel is all about. Just as Buffy was built around the Scoobies...

It all starts with the Cast
Angel - The Powers That Be have proclaimed him their champion, their good against the world's evil. They prophesize that his eventual reward will be to become mortal again. He's matured a lot since his days of hanging with the high-school Sunnydale gang, and being the lead has given him a chance to be more than just the broody-vampire guy. He can be very funny too.

Cordelia Chase - Even though she isn't listed as a regular for next season, she's been a big part of Angel the past four years. She's not the same spoiled, bitchy girl that left Sunnydale. She is now part-demon, ascended to a higher being, was inhabited by a Big Bad that she gave birth to, and is currently comatose. Don't be too concerned with her not being a regular; her absence will only open the door to another tough, busty female regular, and there's one from this season that could easily step right in.

Wesley Wyndham-Pryce - Again, Wesley is not the same whiny amateur that left Sunnydale. [Or even the same guy who arrived in L.A. as a rogue demon hunter without a clue in season one. - Ed.] Think Ripper, but even sexier. He's a scruffy, edgy, sexy-as-hell, fighting smart-guy who has recently come back into favor with Angel after flirting with the dark side.

Charles Gunn - A sexy, street-smart L.A. guy who met Angel while leading his own group of vampire killers, Gunn is the Xander of the group but with bigger muscles and a tendency to kick a hell of a lot more ass.

Winifred "Fred" Burkle - The super-brainy, somewhat flighty chick that the gang met and adopted in their so-fun romp to alternate dimension Pylea, Fred is an amusing addition to the cast, but doesn't exactly fill the role of busty-chick sidekick. She's more Willowy, but her superpower is simply an understanding of science.

Lorne -The green-faced, horned demon from Pylea became a regular-in-the-credits cast member at the end of this last season. He started out being known as just "the Host" but after Angel and the gang accidentally destroyed his night club (twice), he moved into Angel's hotel and stuck around. His demon power, besides a great lounge act, is that he can read a person's future, but only when they sing. (This has created many hilarious moments, such as Angel singing "Mandy." Too funny!)

Connor - The miracle child created from the union of Darla and Angel and then raised by Angel's archenemy in a hell dimension for eighteen years (conveniently only a month or so in L.A. time). His combination of human boy, vampire strength, and utter hatred of Angel was an interesting twist this season. His future fate is a little uncertain after Angel's ultimate sacrifice during the season finale, where a spell erases Connor's memory of his true heritage and places him in a loving, nurturing family, the one thing he always desired.

Wolfram & Hart - I'll discuss the constant evil of the show as a whole, since 1) it's important to understanding where Angel seems to be going and 2) most of the lawyers associated with the law firm are dead, though don't think that ends all employment contracts. Think of it as the equivalent of the Hellmouth - it's always there, it's always evil, but it's not the only evil being fought. Wolfram & Hart is the law firm for all evildoers and doings, and they have more connections and gathered knowledge than ten Watcher's Councils put together, if they hadn't all been blown to pieces.

When We Last Left Our Players...
There was a mighty Big Bad at the end of this season, one that took both Angelus and Faith to bring him down. Unfortunately, his downfall opened the way for another Big Bad, his boss, to emerge. Jasmine was a demon who had the ability to hypnotize the world via TV (I think this is specifically why Sunnydale lost electricity) to be happy and love each other. Of course, this demon also ate people and had a maggot face, so Angel and gang destroyed her.

It seemed to be a typical end to a season, except that there was one episode left. In the final moments of the penultimate episode, a previously-dead (and beheaded) Wolfram & Hart lawyer comes back (see previously mentioned never-ending employment contracts) who has returned to congratulate the group on ending world peace.

What?
Yes, our fearless heroes ended world peace. As much as they try to call it "stopping an evil brainwashing people-eater," the truth is, they robbed the world of perfect harmony and an end to sadness and suffering. Wolfram & Hart, in gratitude, offered control of their vast resources to Angel and his friends, and they accepted!

I'm very excited to see how that all works out, and how they work Spike into this new twist on the life of good-doers running the machinery of their big evil.

Here's to a bigger and better Angel, the only bright side I can see to Buffy's departure.

This article is part of Newmoanyeah's Farewell Buffy Week.