Lies, more lies, and damned lies

[gwyn]

I've been discussing the latest Angel episode over at Tea at the Ford and it's been really interesting seeing the thoughts of the folks that have watched the ep. Most of them are way smarter than me, so I never really discuss much, but today, Shadowkat talked about how many elements of the movie The Wild Bunch there were in this episode, not to mention past eps. (It's very cool, and you should go read it -- this is really some of the coolest, cleverest, deep-thoughtiest women you could ever meet, and the site has such a wealth of riches about the entire Jossverse that you can spend days and still not see everything.) I had to respond for once because I had also been thinking of a different movie after the ep was over -- Star Trek II. The series, of course, enters into it, but mostly the second movie -- the theme of sacrifice, of pasts and futures colliding, of lies and the tangled webs they weave, of self-delusion and vengeance. Since I'm an awful typist and still have a lot of shoulder pain, I'm just going to copy some of what I wrote:

Angel, like Kirk, is not going to sit down and take the Kobayashi Maru test and deal with a no-win scenario. He's going to remake the rules -- there will be loss, but in the rules of his game, the participants get to make the choice. Loss is not the same as a no-win setup. He's not cheating, he's remaking it.

And then I also think of the Gamesters of Triskellion episode, where Kirk takes a stand and refuses to play for the beings who have him and all the rest of the aliens captive. They can turn on the juice all they want for his little neck collar, but if he doesn't play and the others don't play in support of him, then there is nothing to bet on. What will the SP bet on, if Angel wipes out their minions, and Angel takes the no-play stand? Their reps here on earth will be gone, so they have to try another game altogether. Probably a deadlier game, if indestructable Hamilton is any indication of what they have already. Angel knows this, but he's prepared.

And there's "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." Angel's sick of going round and round. He knows this is as close to a no-win scenario as it'll get, and so he chooses to take out what he can, do as much as he can, for the greater good of the world, sacrificing everything else -- the lives of his team if they're willing, his budding relationship with Nina -- to save people he knows nothing about. It's like he's doing the flip side of locking the W&H lawyers in the basement with Dru and Darla -- he's sacrificing the few for the many, asking them to lay down their lives, and that's okay because the many will benefit from the work of the few, even if in the end it may not have a lasting effect on evil and power.

One thing that Angel doesn't have, though, is the abiity to lie as well as Captain Kirk, the ultimate bluffer. He lies all the time anyway, though -- despite being bad at it, much of his interactions with people are built on lies that he tells them and himself. In this ep it's most notable not in the deception he sets up with the boys, but with Nina -- he's lying to her to spare her feelings, and lying to himself that this will come out okay and he can be a normal boyfriend. And she tells him he's terrible at it, of course. He's probably so terrible at it because he hates it so much, yet he does it over and over because he truly believes this is what will help people. Angel's intentions are great, but we know what road those pave, don't we? One would think after all these years of self and other types of deception, Angel would be smoother at it. But he's not because he's too honest and too good. The honest liar is a terrible thing -- who could survive that emotionally? And who'd want to? Maybe in this final fight, Angel finds the chance to stop it all, to let it go. He can be what he wants to be, rather than what he thinks he owes the world and everyone else. He can take off the mask, the champion's cape, and stop the pretenses and lies.

I found it fascinating that Wes defended Angel's goodness as being forgiving of everything. I've never really believed Angel forgave Wes for the Connor thing until after Wes had saved his life, and even then, not completely. Is Wes lying to himself? Or does he truly believe that (either because he wants to, or has to, to survive this, in the same way he wants to believe in the former lie of the Connor mindwipe)? It's Wes's undying faith in him that has kept Angel alive in many respects, kept him in the game. No matter what's happened, that bond hasn't been broken. Wes even smiles when he says he's in at the end, because he knows that this will probably be his last stand, and he's doing it by Angel's side. This is the plan of a beautiful dreamer -- it's a terrible plan, a deadly plan, and yet, Wes's faith and love are too strong for him to back away from it. He's the first to believe Angel's explanation and the last to believe that Angel has gone bad.

I also posted something over at the Ford (the posts should go public soon, I believe) that struck me today about Illyria and how she probably views everyone around her the way Indians view untouchables within their caste system. And I got the distinct feeling that Hamilton's sneering treatment of her -- reminding her all the more that she is beneath, beaten down, mucking around in the human world -- made her just give up. Yes, her powers are diminished, but would he really have been able to do that if she weren't so filled with loathing of her situation? She is now lost among the untouchables, a low caste, and I couldn't help but think, when the camera close-upped on her face, that she was willing to let go, hoping to. After her conversation with Drogyn (Drogan? How the hell do you spell it?), it's hard to believe she isn't just wishing it all away, and this repulsive, sneering creature was that final straw.

Everything is tangled up here -- in the web of lies, who can decide what's true? How would you find the exact thread of truth among all those other threads that shine and shimmer with beautiful untruths? Angel creates the lie of his involvement in Fred's death, and everyone believes. Lindsey explains everything, but he's the worst of the liars because he's so filled with self-deception and so bitter and thwarted. How can they believe anything? The glamour doesn't seem to fool Hamilton -- the look on his face says he knows something's wrong. Angel may be able to fool the Black Thorn crowd, but how hard would that be, given how self-absorbed and smug they all are? They can't comprehend someone would penetrate their circle because they truly believe they're the coolest of the cool, and that's their own self lie, one they believe wholeheartedly because they want the power that comes with the lie.

Oddly, it's the one person who sees the truth most clearly who is the first to believe the untruths -- Lorne. As Angel says, he doesn't judge, but it is Lorne's gift to see whether someone's telling the truth when they sing, and what their true future is. Yet he's the most willing to believe Angel's fabrications, because he understands how easily power corrupts, and he understands human nature maybe more than the humans do, just because he is unjudging. But how do they cut through the web? They have to, in order to successfully complete their plan, but they're still riddled with self doubts, with fear of more lies... Wes wants to end things but end them right, Spike wants to fight the good fight, Gunn wants atonement, and Lorne... what does he want? It's hard to say, other than that he has that loyalty and belief that they are doing the right thing, and that he can't extricate himself from W&H without a fight. Angel might get his freedom, or he might not -- but for him, maybe the release is that he gets to throw a spanner in W&H's works enough to make a difference. Or he could be lying to himself again, and it's the glory and the shanshu that he wants most. With so many lies and damned lies, it's impossible for any of them to know why they are doing it. But the important thing, of course, is that they are.

I just can't believe it's going to be gone. They are taking my show away from me, my wonderful heroes. My boys. It's impossible for me to imagine my life without this universe. She understands, but she doesn't comprehend.

Comments

[reginaspina.livejournal.com]

Wes even smiles when he says he's in at the end, because he knows that this will probably be his last stand, and he's doing it by Angel's side.

That smile just KILLED me... And I loved that Wesley's instinct was to save Angel even if he HAD gone over to the dark side - this isn't the same guy who was willing to kill Angelus last season.

I'm really quite heartbroken that we only have one more episode. Because right now, I just want this to keep going.

[kita0610.livejournal.com]

They are taking my show away from me, my wonderful heroes. My boys. It's impossible for me to imagine my life without this universe. She understands, but she doesn't comprehend.
----

*Sobs*

[tiashome.livejournal.com]

This is the plan of a beautiful dreamer -- it's a terrible plan, a deadly plan, and yet, Wes's faith and love are too strong for him to back away from it. He's the first to believe Angel's explanation and the last to believe that Angel has gone bad.
Oh, beautifully put. I loved that final scene -- Angel laying everything on the line for them and Wes and everyone else all signing on for this impossible battle. ::sigh::

And I just sent you email about getting together tomorrow, chica.

[lordshiva.livejournal.com]

I just can't believe it's going to be gone. They are taking my show away from me, my wonderful heroes. My boys. It's impossible for me to imagine my life without this universe. She understands, but she doesn't comprehend.

You make me cry. Actually, it sort of struck me hard this week. It's not FAIR!!!! Wah.

[kathyh]

I just can't believe it's going to be gone. They are taking my show away from me, my wonderful heroes. My boys. It's impossible for me to imagine my life without this universe. She understands, but she doesn't comprehend.

I know. I feel the same. I'm in the UK so we're three episode behind (so I can't comment on your excellent review) and it's just hit me that I'm going to go through The End twice, once vicariously and once for real. The Jossverse has seen me through some very bad times and I'm just not ready for it to end.

When I catch up with the episodes I'm going to spend a long time at Tea at the Ford. I can't analyse the episodes on their level but I love reading all the intelligent thoughts.