Rapid Reviews - Angel Season Two DVDs - Part IV

Angel [2-07]: Darla: Nasty. This one has a mix of flashbacks to set the tone, and has a lot of moral questions in it. Basically, what makes a person evil? Darla was brought back from the dead (Wesley states in one of these episodes that Angel staked her three and half years ago) as a human. She has a soul. But Angel is still a vampire. Which one is evil? When the pressure starts, the pain from the knowledge of what they did, look at how each of the pair reacted. Angel tried to redemn himself, though it took him quite some time. Darla wanted the easy way out. And yet... it's not so clear cut. The scenes that show Angel following Darla to China then trying to get on with being the same old vampire illustrate that simply having the soul isn't enough. It's a strange philosophical puzzle that's been presented by this show. Very, very strange.

Angel [2-08]: The Shroud Of Rahmon: Something was off in this episode, and it was the first one so far that made me uncomfortable to watch. The whole plot seemed annoyingly wrong somehow. It was redeemed a bit by the ending, how the threat was dealt with, but not completely. I think I can say that this is the first episode of Angel that I didn't really enjoy.

What is redemption? Do you have to want it, or is it ok to have it forced upon you? Darla has been forced into facing herself, just as Angel was. Can either of them really be saved considering how they were forced to confront their evil, or is it hopeless for both of them because they had no choice in the matter? Speaking of hopeless, just what happens to the human soul when a person is "turned"? It's very clear that vampires have memories of their past lives, but they no longer have souls. Are the souls taken, lost... or is there hope for them? What happens to a vampire's soul?