To be fair, the most egregious example of this on Angel is really split between this show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the series finale of Buffy, the entire crew is fighting off a crew of ubervamps in the Hellmouth. Spike sacrifices himself, using a medallion that will harness the power of the sun to kill all the vampires in the area, but will also burn him to a crisp along with it. It's a noble move for the occasionally amoral vampire, and a touching display of exactly how much Buffy means to him. Which is then quickly invalidated, as he shows up very quickly on the fifth season of Angel. While more Spike is never a bad thing, and he really does have some great moments on Angel, it feels like it would have meant a lot more if he had just gone out a champion at the end of Buffy. It takes what should have been a heroic finish to a character who had evolved tremendously over the course of five seasons, and just brushes it off. We know that when Joss has a great working relationship with an actor, he tends to bring them back, but it probably would have been better if it didn't happen so quickly in this case.
Audrey Fox is an ex-film student, which means that she prefers to spend her days in the dark, watching movies and pondering the director's use of diegetic sound. She currently works as an entertainment writer, joyfully rambling about all things film and television related. Add her on Twitter at @audonamission and check out her film blog at 1001moviesandbeyond.com.
