Re: OT: "Angel", murder, morality, etc.

[danspector@xxxxxxxxx]

CDS,

While I'll freely admit that "Angel" has made a hash of things by
treating demons like a poor, oppressed minority (except for the times
when Angel just shows up to kill demons who aren't aggressively hurting
anyone, like the spiny demon in "Couplet" or the Wraithers in "Sleep
Tight"), I would hardly say that the show's point of view is that "the
soul doesn't matter".

If it didn't matter, why would they be so concerned about Angel losing
his? (Most recently Fred in "Tomorrow") Why would they have spent a
whole year trotting out Angel's soul as a reason to stay loyal to him
despite Holtz's justifiable cause for wanting revenge?

And we have no confirmation that Lorne is soulless. While the show for
some reason seems to call Pyleans "demons", they are in fact aliens and
there's no reason to assume that they're the same as the creatures who
once ruled the earth and now seek the destruction of mankind to bring
the "old ones" back. Yeah, Fred called Pylea a "hell dimension" and she
certainly didn't have a party there, but it looked a hell of a lot
better than the Quar'toth or Giles's description of Acathla's realm in
"Becoming, Part 1". On earth, humans are the dominant species and are
distinguished by the fact that they have souls. On Pylea, Lorne's race
are the only natives (the "cows" all came through portals). If anyone
has a soul in that dimension (and wouldn't someone have to?), it would
be the Pyleans. Sloppy writing, I mostly feel, and it doesn't unbalance
the basic thrust.

Yes, you can be evil with a soul (Lilah, Holland) because the soul
guarantees nothing except the **possibility** of redemption. Lilah
continues to serve Wolfram & Hart, but Lindsey (her exact equal,
including morally, for over a year) made the choice to seek a better
life for himself. Willow's execution of Warren was just as wrong as
Angel would have been if he'd murdered one of the lawyers. And Angel
was rightly criticized by everyone involved for his decision to allow
the Wine Cellar Massacre, although he has the right of self-preservation
and therefore I can't call that murder, since there was no guarantee he
would have beaten Darla and Dru. 

And let's not talk about Willow as a remedy for the courts, please.
Warren was helpless, and a sure bet to be convicted. He was facing
life in prison, or possibly a death sentence (because multiple shooting
victims, even if only one dies, is a "special circumstance" that allows
the death penalty in California). If Willow was so concerned about
correcting the court's mistakes, why didn't she wait until after the
trial to see if the court made any?

Besides, her "true justice" is the reason Andrew and Jonathan, murderers
both, are running around free and clear in Mexico. "One down, two
escaped"--she came out behind on that count.

And it's a pity, since I'm certain Jonathan would have completely buried
Warren (including getting him convicted of Katrina's murder and letting
the Silvers family have the closure Willow denied them) in exchange for
a reduced sentence.

Rack's dead, Andrew's free, Jonathan's free, and Katrina's family will
never see the man who murdered their daughter punished. All because
Willow couldn't restrain herself. "True justice" is not how I'd
describe that.

Dan