Angel vs Angelus

Angel vs. Angelus

Why Angel & Angelus are one in the same.

First let's go through Angel/Angelus life.

Pre-Angelus years We know very little about these years. The only thing we know is that Angel was drunk one night and decided to try and pick up a woman. This woman happened to be a vampire and thus Angelus was born.

Angelus years I This is where Angelus earns his reputation. From what I can gather, Angelus was one of the most heinous vampires of his time. He was known to; nail puppies to the wall(?), torture people, and instead of just murdering humans, he would first make them go insane. (Example: Druscilla)

Angel years Angelus is cursed by the Gypsies. Angelus regains his soul and is remorseful of all the evil things he has done. He has spent these years trying to atone for his crimes. He even falls 'in love' (?) with a slayer. This is where the show picks up.

Angelus years II After a moment of 'true happiness' the Gypsy curse was lifted. Angelus rears his ugly head and starts where he left off. He kills Ms. Calendar, tries to take over the world, and in the process was trying to make Buffy insane by targeting her family & friends.

Second, Angel/Angelus state of mind, real personality, etc.

Pre-Angelus years There is no debate that this is his "normal" self. From what we know, I'm not very impressed. He's a drunk who will quickly dump his friends to try to pick up a woman. He'll lie or do whatever it takes to get said woman.
This may sound like your average guy, but I thought Angel wasn't your average guy. I thought he was 'better' than Xander, who no doubt is an average guy.
Angel's state: normal. There shouldn't be any debate on this, but you never know. We shall call this state simply as Angel(pre-Angelus).

Angelus years I Let's see. He not only became a vampire, but he was the worst, most evil vampire of his time. That has to mean something.
Angel's state: vampire. Angelus() = Angel(w/o a soul).

Angel years The Angel during these years is a result of a Gypsy curse. To me a curse is an affliction. Something placed on an individual that is not normal. The Gypsies did not alleviate or get rid of the vampire in Angel, they put a curse on Angelus. In other words Angel (post-Angelus) is not the same as Angel (pre-Angelus). Therefore, the Angel that Buffy fell in love with isn't really Angel's 'normal self'. In short, Angel (post-Angelus) is really Angelus(with a curse).
Angel's state: abnormal vampire. Angel(post-Angelus) = Angelus(with a curse) = Angel(w/o a soul & w/ a curse).

Angelus years II The second coming of Angelus resulted from the Gypsy curse being "lifted". In other words, Angelus was returned to normal.
Angel's state: normal vampire. Angelus() = Angel(w/o a soul).

The Conclusion

My point is how can you be so sure that the Angel (post-Angelus) is the same as Angel (pre-Angelus)? The answer is you can't. It's hard to get a consensus on something that isn't real. What exactly happens to you when you become a vampire? Well, it depends on what book you read. The show says that a vampire is when a demon takes over your body and your soul 'goes on a vacation'. The gypsy's curse restores your soul, but is this your normal 'state'? I assume the demon is still there, but is being suppressed by your soul.
So who did Buffy fall 'in love' with? Was it Angel's true self or not? The only way to find out is to get rid of the vampire in Angel. The show hasn't said that this was possible or impossible. We shall have to wait and see. At the very least, do you expect everything to be 'peachy' and 'normal' once Angel returns? Do you really think that Buffy can & should just forgive & forget all that Angel/Angelus has done? That they should just pick up where they left off? Do you really think that it is okay for Ms. Calendar's death (among others) to go unpunished? Or does being good-looking entitle you to that much? (Har har har. Okay, that last (sarcastic) remark was just a playful jab. Would you expect any less?)

Check Gregory & Anne's discussion on this topic

First let's go through Angel/Angelus life.
Pre-Angelus years	We know very little about these years. The only thing we know is that Angel was drunk one night and decided to try and pick up a woman. This woman happened to be a vampire and thus Angelus was born.
Angelus years I	This is where Angelus earns his reputation. From what I can gather, Angelus was one of the most heinous vampires of his time. He was known to; nail puppies to the wall(?), torture people, and instead of just murdering humans, he would first make them go insane. (Example: Druscilla)
Angel years	Angelus is cursed by the Gypsies. Angelus regains his soul and is remorseful of all the evil things he has done. He has spent these years trying to atone for his crimes. He even falls 'in love' (?) with a slayer. This is where the show picks up.
Angelus years II	After a moment of 'true happiness' the Gypsy curse was lifted. Angelus rears his ugly head and starts where he left off. He kills Ms. Calendar, tries to take over the world, and in the process was trying to make Buffy insane by targeting her family & friends.

Second, Angel/Angelus state of mind, real personality, etc.
Pre-Angelus years	There is no debate that this is his "normal" self. From what we know, I'm not very impressed. He's a drunk who will quickly dump his friends to try to pick up a woman. He'll lie or do whatever it takes to get said woman. This may sound like your average guy, but I thought Angel wasn't your average guy. I thought he was 'better' than Xander, who no doubt is an average guy. Angel's state: normal. There shouldn't be any debate on this, but you never know. We shall call this state simply as Angel(pre-Angelus).
Angelus years I	Let's see. He not only became a vampire, but he was the worst, most evil vampire of his time. That has to mean something. Angel's state: vampire. Angelus() = Angel(w/o a soul).
Angel years	The Angel during these years is a result of a Gypsy curse. To me a curse is an affliction. Something placed on an individual that is not normal. The Gypsies did not alleviate or get rid of the vampire in Angel, they put a curse on Angelus. In other words Angel (post-Angelus) is not the same as Angel (pre-Angelus). Therefore, the Angel that Buffy fell in love with isn't really Angel's 'normal self'. In short, Angel (post-Angelus) is really Angelus(with a curse). Angel's state: abnormal vampire. Angel(post-Angelus) = Angelus(with a curse) = Angel(w/o a soul & w/ a curse).
Angelus years II	The second coming of Angelus resulted from the Gypsy curse being "lifted". In other words, Angelus was returned to normal. Angel's state: normal vampire. Angelus() = Angel(w/o a soul).

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