Home » Film & TV » Buffy Vampire Slayer/Angel » Parallel-o-Gram

Parallel-o-Gram

© Ellen Ross

After much anticipation, the Buffy/Angel crossover event which aired on November 14, 2000 surprised many of us: It was actually as good as we had hoped.

The disputed question of who really sired Spike, Drusilla or Angel, has finally been answered, although not quite in the way that "School Hard" led us to expect. We have learned about the origins of both Darla and Spike, and we have seen how much of the human William still remains alive and kicking within the undead Spike today. Another chapter in Angel's history has been opened to us, and it actually includes some twisted turns along his journey that most of us hadn't already guessed.

The distinctions between human William and the vampire Spike, between the vampire Darla and the human, between the soulless Angelus and the souled Angel, are being deliberately blurred. More than ever, Joss Whedon wants us to think twice, and more than twice, about jumping to any conclusions about what makes us human and where the boundary lies between good and evil.

And then, there's Lindsey.

Last year, in "Blind Date," we were shown a series of parallels between Angel and Lindsey McDonald, each one trying to find his place in the world, each one uncertain where on the great chessboard of good and evil he properly belonged. Although both of them made choices in "Blind Date," the viewers knew that neither choice was irrevocable, and that both Angel and Lindsey still had the potential to walk another path.

This year, in "Darla," the parallels between Angel and Lindsey continue, and the only ones who don't seem to notice it are the characters themselves.

In the past and in the present, each character is tested. How far will he go? Where does each one draw the line? What will it take to turn each one to the opposite side of that chessboard?

Although both of them have taken the Darla bait, at least Lindsey is beginning to realize his status as a pawn, even without the convenience of Wesley and Cordelia around to point out to him what should already be obvious.

The question now will be whether Lindsey will be allowed to survive long enough to use the lessons he is learning. After all, while Lindsey and his portrayer, Christian Kane, are extremely popular with viewers, the fans have already learned that those characters who are too much like Angel are considered highly expendable. (Anybody read something about a "banjo act" recently?)

The copyright of the article Parallel-o-Gram in Buffy Vampire Slayer/Angel is owned by . Permission to republish Parallel-o-Gram in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.