Hi, just chiming in late, having finally gotten through all my Tivo clutter (pregnant wife -- we're going through some fairly crazy times...), and I have to say...
Wow.
Liked just about everything. I will chime in and say that I didn't like Lorne killing Lindsey, because I didn't see a purpose in it. I didn't see Lindsey as the evil one -- or at least, i wasn't convinced. In my own pocket dimension, Lindsey had spent the years of his exile learning new tricks pretty much in order to do what Angel did... build up enough street cred to draw attention to himself, and then get into the circle of thorns -- and then destroy it. That could be Tacky-fantasy-land, though... I just saw Lindsey as being a bit of a dark hero himself now. But if Team Angel knew different, Team Angel knew different.
Loved all the lines people have mentioned. Loved bringing in so many of the early people. While I wasn't jazzed about the Circle of Thorns being revealed right at the end as the bad guys -- I'd have preferred some big lead-in with the big people we've had around all series as the final foes -- I can understand doing it the way that they did, with the time and resources that they had. And, when I think about it, they did tie it in with Wolfram and Hart and Lindsey.
On a personal note, while I loved this series and thought the ending was a great "go out fighting the good fight" line, one thing that it really clued me in on is the ultimate pessimism in Whedon's shows. I love that his hero is named "Angel", but that's the only hint of heaven we've ever seen. Cordy's higher plane was a setup to get her killed, as was Skip. The Powers that Be from Season One got minced. Even Cordy's visions ended up going away, with one little blurb in the second-to-last episode. This was about people fighting demons, and that's always an unfair fight if you don't let angels into the picture.
And I understand why that wouldn't be as interesting -- why angels are too bold and perfect to make interesting heroes, and why having God show up to kick demon booty would reduce Wes and Gunn's own heroism. I totally understand that, and I do like the fundamental message of "fight the good fight, not because you think you'll win, but because you want to"... but it's also a very sad and lonely message.
I dunno. Maybe it's just that I'm a different person from who I was 5 (or 8) years ago.
Still, that's just my own personal stuff cluttering up the airwaves. Fundamentally, it was a rockin' finale, and I'm glad that it ended the way that it did. It's the closest Angel could ever come to riding off into the sunset. And I'm glad it's over -- although I'm bummed that it had to be the WB's decision, I'm glad that Whedon has 5 good years to look back on. I like the B5 model of television -- make a good show, make it until the story you want to tell is done, and then end it. I personally liked the last two seasons of Buffy just fine, but I'm also glad it's over. It was a great story. I'll want to go back and rewatch it someday, just like I want to reread some of my favorite books. But I'm glad that they ended when they did, too. One of the most important parts of writing is knowing when to end it.
