ext_7345 ([identity profile] thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com) wrote in [personal profile] thedeadlyhook 2004-09-23 06:38 pm (UTC)

I should probably do a followup post to this to clarify a couple of things that didn't seem to have come across all that well in my first pass - namely, that when I was describing Spike as the hero figure in this, it's not because I think is the One True Hero, or whatever that is, but that he specifically plays to Angel's own insecurities about whether or not HE is. So "Numero Cinco" to me was about Angel trying to convince himself that he hasn't lost the mission just like Number Five has - that his hero's heart really is good, that when the time comes he too will be able to "die a hero." (And I think it is too - the demon did go after him, but to Angel, since his heart wasn't actually taken, it was a blow to his self-esteem.)

So what struck me as interesting was the way Spike was played as the guy who ended up in competition with Angel for the same prize by running on sheer instintct, without consciously seeking to make redress for his past, without even really trying - that's what I was getting at by "divine fool." Whether or not his actions were selfishly motivated or not was beside the point - his actions still ended up doing good. In a way, it's probably even worse for Angel that the guy's not perfect, because Angel tries to hard to be perfect himself. The idea that Spike could have been the one the Shanshu was about after all, despite all Angel's hard work and agonizing, is Angel's worst nightmare, just as we saw in "Soul Purpose."

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