Analysis Final

In the episode of “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been” the main protagonist, Angel, portrays a vivid character with many perceived and real flaws. Angel's character does not seemed destined for heroism, as seen in the opening scene when the bellboy expresses fear, and discomfort when he is required to interact with Angel. The bellboy talks about Angel, saying that his eyes are empty. He is required to deliver a bill to Angel, and instead of waiting for Angel to answer the door the bellboy leaves, so he doesn't have to interact with him. It is a surprise to the audience when Angel answers the door, because he is supposed to be hero of the story. Yet, Angel is not just any hero. He is prone to moral lapses other characteristics are divergent from those of a standard protagonist. However, the story pits him in situations where he does pull through, thus making him an unlikely hero. Based on his actions I have come to the conclusion that Angel is an uncommon and non-traditional hero because his actions are mostly self centered, and self motivated.

Angel is a vampire who is able to live alongside humans because he masquerades as another human. He chooses a shady hotel as his residence, knowing that the occupants will not question any strange aura he may emit, nor will they encroach on his personal space. Angel dresses in a manner which mimics James Dean. This allows him to fool humans into assuming he is a rebel. He even lets them believe he has a drinking problem for effect. I believe this disguise backfires when a young woman named Judy running from the law attempts to enlist his help. I think she assumes that he would be able to relate to her situation because he is outcast. Judy seems to trust that he will be able to understand her problems and that this will be enough to convince him to help her.

When Judy and Angel first meet, Judy's character embodies a woman in distress asking for his assistance. It is surprising that Angel does not respond to this situation in the way that most archetypal heroes would. Rather than reaching out to Judy jumping to her aide and recognizing her as another troubled soul, struggling with the same challenges that he himself struggles with, Angel reacts towards Judy with disdain. She poses as a threat to him, and his disguise. He doesn't really care about the human Judy, and pushes her away. Later when he does decide to help her, one comes to understand that Angel would have never bothered to help her in any way if Judy had not inadvertently revealed something very important about herself to him.

During the time that Angel knows Judy as merely another human, he does not hesitate to push her away, obviously not caring about her in the least. He doesn't start to care, and continues to ignore her multiple attempts to beseech his assistance until she reveals that she is half black living as a white person. She reveals that she is living a masquerade, just as Angel is. During the time period of the 1950's, Judy's racial status caused her to be treated unfairly in society and she had little to no civil rights to rely on. Angel's only draw towards helping Judy, is that she presents a living parallel of himself. Judy struggles with a secret identity (recently exposed) and he struggles with his vampire identity. When Angel recognizes this real (rather than perceived) commonality between them, Angel is suddenly stricken with a strange compassion towards Judy because of the similarity of their afflictions. After this Angel sets out to destroy the demon that is feeding off the paranoia of the hotel residents, who is also very clearly affecting Judy. In the beginning of the episode Angel notices a man talking to the demon, and does nothing about it. Moments later when the man shoots himself in the room next door Angel doesn't even flinch, nor move. Only when he personally becomes invested in the situation does he make a move against the demon.

Another example of Angel's disregard for others can be witnessed directly after Judy's betrayal of him. Angel is faced with a choice to save the humans in the hotel – or walk away. The demon tells Angel that without a doubt he had made a friend in Judy. Angel allows a selfish grudge to prevent him from saving Judy, or any of the other occupants of the hotel. Judy's friendship means nothing to him. It could be argued that Angel's actions are a justified punishment for those who persecuted him. However, upon closer analysis it is clear that Angel's actions are spurred by pure desire for revenge against the people of the hotel who were responsible for his hanging. Most importantly, one must also consider the future occupants of the hotel as well. These people cause no ill-will towards Angel and merely had the misfortune of encountering the hotel. A true hero would never allow innocent bystanders to suffer because of the misdeeds of bad people. These two facets of Judy's betrayal and its consequences compound Angel's disregard for others and create some interesting conflicts in placing his character in the category of a “hero”.

In 2003 Angel returns to the hotel. The first action he takes is to retrieve Judy's money which he hid back in the 1950's. He then finds that the demon residing there is still alive. Seeking redemption, Angel decides to destroy the demon. His lust for redemption is a selfish concept that only benefits him because the people he would be helping are already dead. After the demon is destroyed Angel finds out that Judy is still alive, and living in the hotel. When he visits her she surprises him by asking for his forgiveness. Angel doesn't hesitate, he grants her the forgiveness immediately. This may seem like a reaction of a traditional hero, but upon closer analysis, Angel's ulterior motive for Judy's forgiveness becomes apparent. While Angel feels guilt for Judy's suffering, I believe a big reason that he grants her forgiveness is because he grants her forgiveness that he himself wishes he could receive. His actions make him a very unlikeable character that makes a questionable, but interesting hero.