a belated Angel thread : Conner, wtf?

[Jeremy]

Were you supposed to like the little twerp? He's not really a likeable character, as he's been basically groomed all his life to be a bad guy in a hell dimension by a guy who was very good at manipulating people. On top of that he's a very confused kid lost in a VERY strange world.

However, after Angel's deal with the devil that gets him a nice well-adjusted, if entirely fictional, life he is much more likeable.

But in season 4, no, you aren't supposed to like him. If anything, he's closer to a bad guy. There are moments when he has a seemingly genuine bond with his father that make him easier to like (which confuses and pains Conner to no end), but in the end he's there in season 4 to advance Angel's character, force him into a tight spot, and utterly destroy Wesley's life. He advances many of the characters in the show.

 

[Mad Hatter]

IMO, the first season was the best season.

Yes, yes it was. Doyle was the coolest and I hated that he died because he was great on Roseanne as well.

I really don't think a Faith spin-off would've been good. I mean seriously, it would have been another redemption show ala Angel. That gets boring after awhile. There's only so much you can do with that, which is why I didn't get into Angel. Great ideas in the first two seasons but then they played it out and the character of Wes rejuvenated the franchise. And they started writing for the supporting cast more heavily than for Angel himself.

 

[The Grumpy Celt]

And now I must ask: was I supposed to care about that little sociopath, and if so why?

I feel most of Season Three (post Return of Connor) and all of Season Four (what they did to Cordy utterly pissed me off) and vast chunks of Season Five (what they did to Fred utterly pissed me off) were missteps.

The actor is fine, and his apperances in Season Five were good. But too much was lost.

 

[Renton]

(what they did to Fred utterly pissed me off)

Aw, c'mon, Illyria? I mean, Blue Fred, how can that fail to titillate?

 

[Viking Bastard]

I didn't like him.

But I never assumed I was supposed to.


I liked the plot.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

I think the Connor storylines were more disappointing than anything else, because they came on the heels of an excellent sequence of episodes involving Holtz and his crew, Wesley's "betrayal" of Angel and subsequent acquisition of a crew of his own, Wesley's involvement with Lilah . . . and then in comes Connor, and it's just not as good as it could have been.

That said, Vincent Kartheiser did have his moments. I enjoyed the climax of the season where he first appeared, sinking Angel to the bottom of the ocean. I really enjoyed the scene near the resolution of the Jasmine storyline where he reveals that he's always seen her horrid true face. I especially liked his performance as "sane Connor", both in the episode where Angel sees him happy with his new family and when he comes back - his last scene in that episode is amazing.

 

[ThirdWizard]

I agree that all those scenes were excellent. He really is a good actor (I'd say better than David when he first began as Angel), and its a shame that he got pegged with such a disliked character. I'm glad he ended on a good note.

 

[Mark CMG]

He's the Wesley Crusher of Angel...