That said, my main criticism of this episode is that it feels for most of the episode that Angel suddenly has guilt when... he's supposed to have felt guilt the whole time... that's what makes it a curse. I couldn't figure out what made it different now and he was so haunted by his past actions that he was hallucinating and unable to interact normally with others. Of course at the end we learn he was being tormented by the First Evil and a lot of the self-hatred and suicidal thoughts weren't really Angel, but because this is revealed so late in the episode, and you can watch the entire thing up to that point assuming that he just genuinely believes this, it feels like I'm supposed to care that for whatever reason his guilt has gotten worse.
Firstly, this is really the first episode which delves into Angel's POV in any real depth so the 'suddenly feeling more guilty' is a bit of a narrative trick. Perhaps Angel always feels this way, kinda, but it was always from Buffy's pov. Why is he so mopey? Here's an insight. So from his perspective ts going to be more prominent. But a few other things to consider:
- Yes, it matters that its a Christmas episode and flashback dreams are of Angelus/Angel's memories/emotions. Christmas is often a time for reflecting on one's past, the previous year. The episode takes that one step beyond to examine Angel's past regrets and guilt.
- The curse getting 'broke'. For all of Angel's existence up until a few months ago he didn't know about the 'perfect happiness' clause and that makes his very existence now way more precarious. His knowing of the clause is a weight. He's facing the prospect of not being able to be with the one person who made his miserable experience more bearable.
- Most importantly Angel is having an existential crisis coupled with his guilt. Angel was told, by Whistler, that he could have an important role in helping Buffy fulfil her destiny or whatever. Instead he lost his soul and terrorized the town (or the demon did, whatever, the point is he still has the memories/emotions of the demon committing those acts), suffered in Hell for a hundred years and now, suddenly, he's back. Why?
The First presents him with one answer, his
purpose isn't to be Angel but Angelus, to be a great force for evil and that horrifies him. In the end he'd rather die than face even the possibility of that.
The snow at the end- cheesy as hell though it may be- reveals that something else out there other than the First does not want Angel to cease existing, that he might have another purpose beyond being a cursed monster, that there is the possibility of something more. That resolves some of what Angel is going through. The thought that If he has a future then it would make it easier to deal with his past.
- And its important to note that Buffy
fails to talk Angel down from his attempt to take his own life. Because Angel's continued existence cannot be about Buffy (or just about Buffy anyway) and has to be about something more, a purpose. That fact becomes more obvious the longer the season progresses....
The ending also comes dangerously close to mirroring real life situations where someone threatens suicide in order to keep someone else in a relationship. It's gross to put the responsibility for Angel's will to live on Buffy's shoulders.
Since you didn't answer or even elaborate let me help; it doesn't, in any way, 'dangerously mirror' a real life situation. It's gross to suggest it.
- Buffy and Angel are not in a relationship when the episode begins.
- When the episode ends they are still not in a relationship.
- There is no coercion on Angel's part, in fact he spends the majority of the episode avoiding Buffy and finding ways to deal with his struggles on his own/desperately seeking help from Giles.
- Angel does not involve Buffy in his decision to end his own life, he does not tell her that he will do it, where he will do it or demand that she watches. He tells her to go away. At this point Buffy is the one that has ended things so its Angel decision basically.
- This not an act or manipulation because, whatever his faults, Angel is
sincere in his self-loathing and admitted weakness of character here. He is raw and vulnerable, not calculated.
- The crisis is not resolved by Buffy 'talking Angel down' but by supernatural means outside the control of Buffy.
- Entirely separate from these events Buffy gets closer to Angel always under her own agency, not because she thinks Angel is suicidal if she isn't around because, again, Buffy did not resolve the conflict, she just got some cathartic emotional outlet.
So, I know you detest the character of Angel almost to beyond parody, but don't try and make light of real world serious issues such as toxic coercive techniques by comparing them with what happens here. There is no mirroring. Do Better.
