Ok…now…can anybody…anybody still tell me with a str
Those of you who aren’t now, or have never been, fans of “Angel” or “Buffy” can skip on down to the next entry, where I’m sure I’ll be talking about Janet Jackson & Joe Lieberman’s upcoming romantic comedy, “Which One’s The Bigger Boob?” But here, for a minute, I want to talk about Cordelia. As some of you will know, she returned for Angel’s 100th episode earlier tonight. I watched the show, the first time I have done so for a complete episode of a Joss Whedon series since “Buffy’s” bad end.
Y’see, Cordy’s my girl. From “Buffy” to (the first three seasons of) “Angel” Charisma Carpenter & the writers created a character who was beautiful, sharp, charming, funny, smart, and best of all had layers. Most TV shows, the characterization is about an inch deep (Cough, “Friends,” Cough), but when “Angel” and “Buffy” were on their game the characters actually had some depth, and Cordy was a great example, along with Willow and Giles. The thing is, as I started to realize around the death of Tara, that depth is only allowed to go so far on either series before the time comes for them to be killed, corrupted, or neutered. The rest of this entry is going to involve some spoilers for tonight’s “Angel,” so don’t click below if that bothers you…
So I should be angrier about this, really, but the fact is that I’m just too numbed to Mutant Enemy’s treatment of their female characters at this point. The record on this is clear, and I defy the biggest “Buffy” fan in all the world to tell me otherwise: On “Angel” or “Buffy,”, interesting, likable women end up dead on the floor, while even evil men are allowed to thrive, be rewarded, save the world and become heroes. Which is to say: Oh wow, Cordy was a ghost. Surprise. Spike, meanwhile, lives on! Can anybody find me a version of this that fits into the portrait of Joss Whedon, Feminist Icon? And yeah, I know CC isn’t a regular on the show any more (don’t get me started), I’m saying they don’t know any other way to write out a character like her (a strong woman) without killing her. Last night’s “Angel” made that definitive. If Joss Whedon is a feminist, then men who like to watch videos of women in bikinis with big guns are feminsts. And if the “Buffy/Angel” fan community doesn’t know that…and I know they don’t…fuck ‘em.
Guess I was angry after all. Good night, sweet Cordelia–actually, not so sweet, that’s why I loved her. And hoardes of angels…no.
