The Grand Unified Theory - Human, Vampire, Soul, Redemption
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| Title: | The Grand Unified Theory - Human, Vampire, Soul, Redemption |
| Creator: | DLGood/dlgood |
| Date(s): | December 2003 |
| Medium: | online |
| Fandom: | Angel & Buffy |
| Topic: | |
| External Links: | Resolute Heroes, Archived version; LJ |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
The Grand Unified Theory - Human, Vampire, Soul, Redemption is an essay by DLGood.
It is one of many essays at Octaves, a Buffy and Angel website. It was first published on dlgood's livejournal in 2003.
"A fascinating look at the character of Angel, in all his incarnations."
Excerpt
Case Study: Incarnations of Liam/Angelus/Angel.Who is Angel? How are Liam, Angelus and Angel connected? And how are these connections rectifiable with the other vampires we've seen?
In the early seasons Giles will tell Buffy, and Buffy will tell her friends (and Billy Fordham) that the Vampire is not you - that it's a demon setting up shop in your house. On the other hand, both VampJesse and Angelus claim that they are "themselves" essentially seeing themselves as the same person. And in every example we've seen, the Vampire version bears significant resemblance to the human host. IMHO, the view set forth in the pilot by Giles is a simplification that makes it easier for the Slayer (or other hunters of Vampires) to do their job. But, the Vampire's assertion also bears some scrutiny as well.
The metaphysics are a little hazy, but I basically see Angel as a merger of two things: the human Liam and the Beast as shown in Pylea. The ravening creature we see in Pylea is a very clear representation of what every vampire is beneath the veneer of civility. The Beast is very much what we see out of most vampires as they first arise from the grave, devoid of thought thirsting for blood and violence. As consciousness returns to the newly risen, we see the vampire more and more for what it is - a hybrid of human and demon.
We are told within the story, that the vampire arose by design. Why? From an evolutionary perspective, the Beast or the Turok-Han might be fierce and vicious, but such mindless creatures are good for little better than chaos and destruction. These are substandard tools for Evil. Merge it with a human mind removed of conscience, and you have something truly dreadful. (Although, not *that* dreadful if you merge the beast with Harmony's mind.) As a tool of evil, the soulless Vampire then retains the best aspects of both "parents". This, IMHO, is essentially what the vampire is. It also explains why individual vampires seem to vary as much as humans do.