History Series / Angel

The eponymous hero, Angel, is a troubled man who can't accept the bottom line on vampirism. (Killing people is in the job description.) A Romani curse gave Angel his soul back -- along with two centuries' worth of guilt for all the lives he's taken. On ''Buffy'', Angel learned he could make amends for said crimes and left to pursue redemption on his own. He soon cobbled together his own WestCoastTeam (albeit on the [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles same coast]]) and formed a detective agency to battle the forces of evil. [[EvilInc And their lawyers.]]

The eponymous hero, Angel, is a troubled man who can't accept the bottom line on vampirism. (Killing people is in the job description.) A gypsy curse gave Angel his soul back -- along with two centuries' worth of guilt for all the lives he's taken. On ''Buffy'', Angel learned he could make amends for said crimes and left to pursue redemption on his own. He soon cobbled together his own WestCoastTeam (albeit on the [[UsefulNotes/LosAngeles same coast]]) and formed a detective agency to battle the forces of evil. [[EvilInc And their lawyers.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:''Atonement's a bitch.''[[note]]Left to right: [[TheSmartGirl Fred]], [[TheLancer Wesley]], [[TheLeader Angel]], [[TheChick Cordelia]], and [[TheBigGuy Gunn]].\\

->''"Well, I guess I kinda worked it out. If there's no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters...then all that matters is what we do."''

The oddest thing about ''Angel'' is that the show changes quite a bit as the seasons move. Over the course of its run, the show experimented with MonsterOfTheWeek episodes laced with a [[CityNoir hard-boiled]], Sin City atmosphere, but later jettisoned it for something more akin to UrbanFantasy. The overarching plot became a meditation on the nature of good and evil, with Angel serving as an enigma on both sides. Characters have huge arcs that alter not just the plot but the way the story is told, and the last season is a [[{{Retool}} wild transition]] even when compared to the previous season; by the fifth year, of the original starring cast of three, only Creator/DavidBoreanaz as the title character remained. That being said, several ''Buffy'' alumni wound up migrating to ''Angel'', totaling out at four by series' end. (Not counting numerous [[CrossOver crossovers]] within the '[[{{Franchise/Buffyverse}} verse]].)

[[caption-width-right:350:Left to right: [[TheSmartGirl Fred]], [[TheLancer Wesley]], [[TheLeader Angel]], [[TheChick Cordelia]], and [[TheBigGuy Gunn]].\\
Not pictured: [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Doyle]], [[SixthRanger Lorne]], [[EmoTeen Connor]], [[{{Transplant}} Spike]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Harmony]].]]

->''"Atonement's a bitch."''
-->-- '''Angel''', "Disharmony"

[[quoteright:345:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angel_pg00_7885.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:345:[-From left to right: [[TheSmartGirl Fred]], [[TheLancer Wesley]], [[TheLeader Angel]], [[TheChick Cordelia]], and [[TheBigGuy Gunn]]. (Not pictured: [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Doyle]], [[SixthRanger Lorne]], [[EmoTeen Connor]], [[{{Transplant}} Spike]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Harmony]].)-] ]]

!!Additional Pages:

* [[Recap/{{Angel}} Episode Guide]]

!! Like its parent show, ''Angel'' contains [[JustForFun/TropeOverdosed loads and loads of trope examples]]:

[[index]]
* Angel/TropesAToE
* Angel/TropesFToJ
* Angel/TropesKToO
* Angel/TropesPToZ
[[/index]]

----

-->''Angel Investigations, [[{{Spoonerism}} we hope you're helpless!]]''

[[caption-width-right:345:[-From left to right: [[TheSmartGirl Fred]], [[TheLancer Wesley]], [[TheLeader Angel]], [[TheChick Cordelia]], and [[TheBigGuy Gunn]]. (Not pictured: [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Doyle]], [[SixthRanger Lorne]], [[BrattyHalfPint Connor]], [[{{Transplant}} Spike]], and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Harmony]].)-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:345:[-From left to right: [[TheSmartGirl Fred]], [[TheLancer Wesley]], [[TheLeader Angel]], [[TheChick Cordelia]], and [[TheBigGuy Gunn]]. ([[SixthRanger Lorne]]'s holding the camera, and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Doyle]]’s making funny faces at them.)-] ]]

[[caption-width-right:345:[-From left to right: [[TheSmartGirl Fred]], [[TheLancer Wesley]], [[TheLeader Angel]], [[TheChick Cordelia]], and [[TheBigGuy Gunn]]. ([[SixthRanger Lorne]]'s holding the camera)-] ]]

!! Like its parent show, ''Angel'' contains [[TropeOverdosed loads and loads of trope examples]]:

->''"Everybody goes on about your ''soul''. 'A vampire with ''a soul''.' Nobody ever mentions the fact that you're really a vampire with big, brass testes."''
-->-- '''Lindsey''', "Not Fade Away"

The oddest thing about ''Angel'' is that the show changes quite a bit as the seasons move. Over the course of its run, the show experimented with MonsterOfTheWeek episodes laced with a [[CityNoir hard-boiled]], Sin City atmosphere, but later jettisoned it for something more akin to UrbanFantasy. The overarching plot became a meditation on the nature of good and evil, with Angel serving as an enigma on both sides. Characters have huge arcs that alter not just the plot but the way the story is told, and the last season is a [[{{Retool}} wild transition]] even when compared to the previous season; by the fifth year, of the original starring cast of three, only David Boreanaz as the title character remained. That being said, several ''Buffy'' alumni wound up migrating to ''Angel'', totaling out at four by series' end. (Not counting numerous [[CrossOver crossovers]] within the '[[{{Franchise/Buffyverse}} verse]].)