(Beware: Twilight Identity Spoilers)
Tomorrow's release of
Buffy Issue #33 means a lot to fans of Season 8 because Buffy will finally get to see the face under the Twilight mask. Not only that, but 99.9% of us will be free to talk openly about Twilight's true identity as Angel. Even though we've known for a while now, it doesn't mean we're not chomping at the bit to find out the why of it all.
With all the praise, publicity and backlash going on in the fandom these past few months, we figured it was time to ask Dark Horse Editor Super Scott Allie (pictured left) a few questions about Angel and his opinion on what drives the character, the importance of the shanshu, his favorite season and a bit more. If you squint hard enough, there's definitely some (very) subtle hints at what's to come in here. Plus, check out the piece of new preview art at the bottom of the page!
Buffyfest: Let's start with the basics. What do you like most about the character of Angel and what do you dislike most?
Scott Allie: My favorite novel is Frankenstein. To me, Frankenstein is the epitome of the Byronic hero, wonderful but flawed, poetic but monstrous. I'm a big fan of the Dexter TV show, and there's a similar thing going on there. It's this that I love in Angel, same as Spike. All of these guys are monsters and heroes, romantic figures with terrible downsides. These are all poignant figures, genuinely tragic. With Angel, he's got so much to atone for, and even as he strives to make up for it, he's heading toward something worse. It's amazing.
Buffyfest: Not only are you an editor at Dark Horse, but you've also done quite a lot of writing, such as your work on Solomon Kane and Exurbia. If you could write one episode of Angel on TV which Season would it be in and why?
Scott Allie: Final season, because I think it has the most interesting mix of characters.
Buffyfest: It's fascinating that some fans love every season except 5 and others think it's the strongest season. What specifically do you think makes the season 5 group of characters more interesting than the earlier seasons?
Scott Allie: The characters had really become themselves, they'd settled into their personalities and in some cases powers. Some of the character dynamics, the relationships, were in really good shape. The whole thing with Fred, with Spike and Angel. I don't remember how much Connor was in it. Was he in it much? I think it's a little like the Rolling Stones. They did their best stuff, they stood on their own the best, after the Beatles were gone. Between the Buttons compared well to some Beatles records, but with Sticky Fingers the Stones were entirely, perfectly their own band, and only then were they the Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band in the World. What were we talking about?
Buffyfest: Ha! Great metaphor. Next up, if you could write a scene between Angel and either Buffy, Giles or Faith who would you choose and why? What would happen in that scene?
Scott Allie: If it was a choice between those, it'd be Giles. It'd be fun to write a scene with Buffy, because I love writing real love scenes, characters that genuinely have that level of connection. But the thing I'd like to deal with in a scene with Giles is Angel's much greater age and experience. Given my personal interests, my background, I'd love to write a scene between these two amazing occult detectives.
Buffyfest: Angel is a very controversial figure for many reasons, but one being his decision to take over Wolfram & Hart. Do you feel that decision makes him less of a hero or was he backed in a corner and trying to do the best he could with his choices?
Scott Allie: I dunno. That wasn't my favorite development. Doesn't make him less of a hero, but it does play into the flawed thing I was talking about before. And it did make me a little less interested in him.
Buffyfest: Buffy and Angel are about to be thrown into each others paths in Season 8 with the revelation of Twilight. What do you think Whedon finds so fascinating about their relationship that he keeps coming back to it?
Scott Allie: These characters spawned a whole genre, this paranormal romance thing, with that other Twilight. It's a big deal. He created something epic, iconic, archetypal with this relationship. That was something I put a lot of thought into with Conan, the few ideas that come along once in a while and really speak to us in a huge, permanent way, spawning unlimited imitations.
Buffyfest: Staying on the topic of these two characters, what do you think makes Buffy and Angel similar as heroes and what makes them different?
Scott Allie: They're similarly moral, heroic, flawed, arrogant. Part demon, with a sharp wit, mad ninja skills. But they're real different, in interesting ways, more personal ways. She's defined by her friends, he connects in limited ways with just about anyone but her. She's got a strong moral compass, that's only undermined by her selfishness. Well, it's not as simple as that, but that is an aspect of her. His morality is more self-serving, but not selfishly so.
Buffyfest: What are your feelings about the shanshu? Do you think Angel will be rewarded at the end of his story? Do you think he should be?
Scott Allie: I'm conflicted on this. I would love to see the shanshu through, but I don't know if Angel really needs to be defined by it. I personally think that at the end of the day, that prophecy is not the most important thing for Joss when it comes to Angel.
Buffyfest: So then, what do you think is the most important thing for Joss when it comes to Angel and following up on that, in the most general sense, what matters most to the character of Angel?
Scott Allie: One word to answer both questions, and this is not gonna be popular with some fans, but you can see it coming ... Buffy.
Thanks to Scott for a really interesting interview. If you haven't seen the preview for
Issue #33, check it out
here.
See below for an extra preview page where, to quote Scott, "Giles explains the secret history of vampires and slayers." What? What secret history? Oh man, Season 8 is about to get really interesting.
Brad Meltzer talks to CBR about his Buffy Season 8 arc, Twangel and the whole of #33 (aka, the issue that made the entire fandom check in to the Crazypants Hotel.)
Tomorrow's release of Buffy Issue #33 means a lot to fans of Season 8 because Buffy will finally get to see the face under the Twilight mask. Not only that, but 99.9% of us will be free to talk openly about Twilight's true identity as Angel. Even though we've known for a while now, it doesn't mean we're not chomping at the bit to find out the why of it all.
What's the deal with Future Willow? We know she told Fray that if she didn't kill Buffy, her world would end and told Harth the complete opposite. Fray says Buffy will "end the world." Whose world? In the end, the Fray world didn't disappear, but Fray says "I failed again." Was she supposed to end her time in order to avoid something worse? We also know that Future Willow wanted Buffy to kill her, but why and what's with the cryptic, "...The most important thing about death isn't who dies, it's who kills them." Help!!!!!
Continuing with the Fray story, we know that Twilight's mission of destroying all magic was eventually fulfilled in Fray's time, but from the picture to the right, we can assume that this might have been Buffy's plan as well. It seems like an alliance between Buffy and Twilight might be in the cards. Also, is that picture the set up for Season 9 - are we going to see Buffy in another hellish dimension fighting to get back to earth?
What is Twilight? Scott Allie has recently hinted that the Twilight symbol will have relevance as the season progresses. Is this symbol somehow controlling Angel? Is it an organization? In "Time of Your Life" Part I, Skinless Warren states that he doesn't "Have your (Twilight) cute little sunset symbol carved in it (his skin). I'm in this for myself...." Clearly, those that do wear the Twilight symbol are in it for a bigger cause. Since Twilight wants to end magic and banish demons from this dimension, is this a force of good using bad means?
Who's the mole? If it's not Riley there seems to be someone else working on the inside. My guess is Giles. Like Angel, he's a big picture guy and it would seem likely that he'd side with the "enemy" in order to "avert disaster." I also really like the idea of these two teaming up. It would make worlds of hurt for Buffy which we all know is what Joss seems to want on a regular basis. Quick sidebar: Referring back to "Time of Your Life" again, Buffy says Fray has to look at the big picture on more than one occasion. Has she turned to the Angel/Giles way of thinking? From some of her actions in Season 7, it wouldn't be so hard to believe.
...This picture of future events sighting a betrayal by "the closest and most unexpected." It's possible that Buffy just got a beat down by Twangel so he's most likely the betrayer but what's more curious to me is that floating egg and the possible symbolism which I've already talked about here. If this cracked egg is a symbol for a life/lives being destroyed, is it the slayer line that's represented here or is this a connection to saving the Prince?
Why does Buffy have super superpowers and why are they the same as Twilight's super superpowers? I can't help but think that this is exactly what Twilight wants from Buffy. If Twangel is from the future or knows something about the future, he could be leading Buffy down a path he needs her to go in order to "avert" this disaster. Also remember when Angel went away after Buffy died? It was Tibet that he goes to for 3 months to mourn her, so either Joss is going to show us some amazing continuity by telling us that Angel learned some tricks while he was there or I'm just desperate for answers (I'm leaning toward the latter right now).
5. It's Angel. The man who's been chosen by the PTB to help the helpless/hopeless. There was even snow involved! He hasn't been doing so much of that as Twilight and we want to know why, dammit!
3. Every other character's reaction: Will Xander pull a "Revelations" ala Season 3? Will Faith return the favor and try to bring Angel to his senses? Will Dawn reach back into her fake memories to see how she should feel? Will Giles dust off his trusty cross bow? Will Oz stay silent and just nod? Does Willow have a leg to stand on when it comes to pointing fingers? We want to know!
- (Spoilers for Issue #31) In anticipation of Buffy #31 which comes out Wednesday: "It's such a good issue...Buffy and Xander have a conversation about Xander and Dawn and it's such a great conversation. It's so true to Buffy." (End Spoilers)
- On Monday, Scott will have his next interview with Mtv. They're going to unveil another exclusive Twilight cover, as well. If you don't want to be spoiled any further, Scott warns not to visit mtv.com on Monday. From the description of the picture he gave to us, we're really excited to see how this Twilight thing unravels. What is that? Do we know what the image looks like? We sure do, but we ain't tellin'.
Trade Paperback Cover
In this latest issue, we get another clue as to Twilight's identity, the "Spike?" comments by both Twilight and Riley.
