A theme present within season four of Angel is that the world is a harsh and cruel place. It’s first presented to us in 4.01 Deep Down:
Angel: “What you did to me - was unbelievable, Connor. - But then I got stuck in a hell dimension by my girlfriend one time for a hundred years, so three months under the ocean actually gave me perspective. Kind of a M. C. Esher perspective - but I did get time to think. About us, about the world. - Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. - It’s harsh, and cruel. - But that’s why there’s us. Champions. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what we’ve done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be. - You’re not a part of that yet. - I hope you will be. I love you, Connor. Now get out of my house.”
Connor turns Angel’s words around on him in 4.10 Awakening:
“Why? Nothing in this world is the way it ought to be. It’s harsh and cruel—Because of you!”
In 4.17 Inside Out, Connor speaks to Cordelia:
Connor: “I wanted to see you again. I had to, to know that you’re still here… with me. I’m sorry I haven’t— It’s started, Cordy. The new beginning. Just wish you’d wake up and see it. Just what you wanted. I mean… it is what you wanted, right? Why you came to me? You know…what this was all about? Protecting our baby—Jasmine—so she can…be, and make this world the… the kind of place you wanted. And it is better. Not harsh and cruel—the way that angel likes it so he has a reason to fight. ‘Cause you know that’s what he’s about, him and the others. Finding reasons to fight. Like that’s what gives their lives any meaning. The only damn thing! I’m not like them. I just… I want to stop. Stop fighting. I just want to rest. God, I want to rest. But I can’t. It’s not working, Cordy. I tried. I tried to believe. I wanted it. Went along with the… the flow. Jasmine, she’s…she’s bringing peace to everyone, purging all of their hate and anger. But not me. Not me! I know she’s a lie. Jasmine. My whole life’s been built on them. I just… I guess I thought this one was better than the others.
And finally, in 4.22 Home:
Lilah: “Again, your choice. Think of what you can do with the resources of Wolfram & Hart at your fingertips, the difference that would make. Nothing in this world is the way it ought to be. It’s harsh, and it’s cruel, but that’s why there’s you, Angel. You live as if the world were as it should be. With all this, you can make it that way. People don’t need an unyielding champion. They need a man who knows the value of compromise and how to beat the system from inside the belly of the beast.”
Related episodes: 4.01 Deep Down, 4.10 Awakening, 4.17 Inside Out, 4.22 Home
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