Post by Drew on Feb 10, 2005 2:50:09 GMT
Formerly titled: "The Old Vampire and the Sea".
An episode in Arc II dealing metaphorically with Angel's feelings that he will never be able to change his life - that he is stuck with this mission of atonement forever.
He is essentially going through the motions of atonement. He signed away Shanshu, and the fight will never end. There is no prize at the end of the day. So he tells himself "This is it: I'm going to be atoning for the rest of my immortal life. This is my path." And so he just does his job...but without much enthusiasm. It's like fitting yourself into a groove, a rut, for the rest of your life. One set path. And the Powers and Tobit are setting this path out for him. Angel does not veer from it. He takes orders from Tobit and the Powers and he doesn't think too much for himself. Of course, this works very well into the Power's favor.
Angel feels very detached from everyone too because he is immortal. They die. He lives...forever.
If you've never read "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, it's about this old man (no way!) - a fisherman. He hasn't caught a fish in 85 days (or something like that).
(warning: spoilers for the book)
Finally, he goes out alone - far out - and hooks one - a big one. His prize. But the fish is strong. It starts pulling him far out to sea, far away from land. Finally after about a day and a half, he manages to get the fish tied to his boat. And he sets back home. But the sharks are after this fish now, and as he sails back, shark after shark comes up to the fish for a bite. The old man tries to beat them away - and he kills a few, but they are fast ridding him of his catch.
He makes it back home, but by this point, there is nothing left of the fish.
He stumbles into bed. In the morning, his young friend wakes him, and they talk about the fishing they will do the next day.
So basically it's about a man who catches something, something important to him, and then loses it, despite his best efforts - despite the fact that he fights for it. In the end, he still goes on fishing (although there seems to be some kind of hint that he's dying, too - I'll ignore that part)
So in case you missed the point:
Old Man = Angel
Fish = Shanshu
Fishing = Fighting/Atonement
Young boy = Spike
That last one was kind of a joke - but I guess it could work.
It's not like I'm saying we should try paralleling "The Old Man and the Sea," I just think Angel's story and the Old Man's story are similar thematically.
What follows is a vague outline for the ep that closely parallels "The Old Man and the Sea." Oops.
The ep begins with Angel walking through the desert. He stops. In his hand is the tattered remains of something. There is an endless expanse of desert in front of him and behind him, the horizon is getting brighter. He stares at it. Then he starts walking toward the east and the rising sun.
End of Teaser
Most of the ep is what leads him to that point. Every act or so there will be a scene of Angel just walking through the desert at night with this thing he seeks.
Tobit talks with the Powers. They tell him of something - he can’t really describe what - that will bring the demons home. Give them a home or house or rest or something.
Angel: What do you mean “or something”? What is it?
Tobit: (starts to talk, then stops, confounded) See, Angel, when they talk to me, they don’t always confine themselves to spoken word. They’re very much in my brain and sometimes they can just transfer ideas to me, without saying a thing. So I know what this thing is...and it’s powerful and it’s good. But I can’t exactly put it in words.
This thing is in the desert, he discovers. There are beings in the desert that want it. They have been looking for it because right now they are lost and it can send them home. Gradually, they rip it away from Angel as he trudges through the desert.
In the end, it is all gone.
You fight so hard for something and then you lose it.
Angel realizes though that there’s no pressure anymore. He can be whatever he wants.
Grace also realizes that she needs to become something more than the little purposes she clings to. She needs to confront her memories.
Grace and Tobit have a scene together. He notices how she affects everyone else around her, but she doesn’t intimidate him. He mentions the thing that Angel sought and she makes it understood that she knows perfectly well what that thing is. And this tells Tobit that she is the Power that came to Earth.
The Powers punish him.
I don't know what will save Angel in the desert. Grace maybe? I don't know.
It's funny how this outline is basically the story of "The Old Man and the Sea". I think it works pretty well. IT's a summation of Angel over the past few years. He fights for something and now he's got nothing left. So he has do rediscover who he is, find something new in himself.
And I like how a little thing - like being able to understand what this treasure is is what cues Tobit to Grace's Power(less)ness.
So that's what I have for now. Might change everything later. Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.
Just another thought about Angel:
Angel's life is all about destroying balance. How much atonement does he have to undergo until he tips the scales? Until he makes up for what he did in the past.
He'll never tip the scales. There will never be balance. No matter how hard he tries, the evils he committed will always outweigh the good he's done. Always.
An episode in Arc II dealing metaphorically with Angel's feelings that he will never be able to change his life - that he is stuck with this mission of atonement forever.
He is essentially going through the motions of atonement. He signed away Shanshu, and the fight will never end. There is no prize at the end of the day. So he tells himself "This is it: I'm going to be atoning for the rest of my immortal life. This is my path." And so he just does his job...but without much enthusiasm. It's like fitting yourself into a groove, a rut, for the rest of your life. One set path. And the Powers and Tobit are setting this path out for him. Angel does not veer from it. He takes orders from Tobit and the Powers and he doesn't think too much for himself. Of course, this works very well into the Power's favor.
Angel feels very detached from everyone too because he is immortal. They die. He lives...forever.
If you've never read "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway, it's about this old man (no way!) - a fisherman. He hasn't caught a fish in 85 days (or something like that).
(warning: spoilers for the book)
Finally, he goes out alone - far out - and hooks one - a big one. His prize. But the fish is strong. It starts pulling him far out to sea, far away from land. Finally after about a day and a half, he manages to get the fish tied to his boat. And he sets back home. But the sharks are after this fish now, and as he sails back, shark after shark comes up to the fish for a bite. The old man tries to beat them away - and he kills a few, but they are fast ridding him of his catch.
He makes it back home, but by this point, there is nothing left of the fish.
He stumbles into bed. In the morning, his young friend wakes him, and they talk about the fishing they will do the next day.
So basically it's about a man who catches something, something important to him, and then loses it, despite his best efforts - despite the fact that he fights for it. In the end, he still goes on fishing (although there seems to be some kind of hint that he's dying, too - I'll ignore that part)
So in case you missed the point:
Old Man = Angel
Fish = Shanshu
Fishing = Fighting/Atonement
Young boy = Spike
That last one was kind of a joke - but I guess it could work.
It's not like I'm saying we should try paralleling "The Old Man and the Sea," I just think Angel's story and the Old Man's story are similar thematically.
What follows is a vague outline for the ep that closely parallels "The Old Man and the Sea." Oops.
The ep begins with Angel walking through the desert. He stops. In his hand is the tattered remains of something. There is an endless expanse of desert in front of him and behind him, the horizon is getting brighter. He stares at it. Then he starts walking toward the east and the rising sun.
End of Teaser
Most of the ep is what leads him to that point. Every act or so there will be a scene of Angel just walking through the desert at night with this thing he seeks.
Tobit talks with the Powers. They tell him of something - he can’t really describe what - that will bring the demons home. Give them a home or house or rest or something.
Angel: What do you mean “or something”? What is it?
Tobit: (starts to talk, then stops, confounded) See, Angel, when they talk to me, they don’t always confine themselves to spoken word. They’re very much in my brain and sometimes they can just transfer ideas to me, without saying a thing. So I know what this thing is...and it’s powerful and it’s good. But I can’t exactly put it in words.
This thing is in the desert, he discovers. There are beings in the desert that want it. They have been looking for it because right now they are lost and it can send them home. Gradually, they rip it away from Angel as he trudges through the desert.
In the end, it is all gone.
You fight so hard for something and then you lose it.
Angel realizes though that there’s no pressure anymore. He can be whatever he wants.
Grace also realizes that she needs to become something more than the little purposes she clings to. She needs to confront her memories.
Grace and Tobit have a scene together. He notices how she affects everyone else around her, but she doesn’t intimidate him. He mentions the thing that Angel sought and she makes it understood that she knows perfectly well what that thing is. And this tells Tobit that she is the Power that came to Earth.
The Powers punish him.
I don't know what will save Angel in the desert. Grace maybe? I don't know.
It's funny how this outline is basically the story of "The Old Man and the Sea". I think it works pretty well. IT's a summation of Angel over the past few years. He fights for something and now he's got nothing left. So he has do rediscover who he is, find something new in himself.
And I like how a little thing - like being able to understand what this treasure is is what cues Tobit to Grace's Power(less)ness.
So that's what I have for now. Might change everything later. Any suggestions/ideas would be appreciated.
Just another thought about Angel:
Angel's life is all about destroying balance. How much atonement does he have to undergo until he tips the scales? Until he makes up for what he did in the past.
He'll never tip the scales. There will never be balance. No matter how hard he tries, the evils he committed will always outweigh the good he's done. Always.