The Buffy/Angelverse Headcanon Season 8: Shiny Happy People

I stopped posting the Buffy/Angel headcanon a few years ago, knowing there was at least one more season to go. But I'd reached the end of the actual Buffy shows, hadn't read the comics, and mistakenly thought I'd seen all of Angel, but not recently enough to properly recall it. It turned out, I had missed several episodes of the final three seasons. But I've recently fixed that, watching the last few seasons of Buffy and all of Angel together with my fiance, who hadn't seen past the first two seasons of Buffy. 

Personally, I think I enjoy the last televised season of Angel more than the final televised season of Buffy. Not the final episodes (Buffy had some fantastic episodes in the final season, they were all just sort of crammed together with a bunch of filler between them, while Angel made every episode count, using different tones, not always progressing the overall story, but always giving the viewer something entertaining. I would say that it's a shame that Angel was cancelled before they got to do another season, but if the graphic novels are at all representative of what Whedon wanted to do during the next season, then television dodged a toxic, stinky bullet.

The rapey elephant that's showed up in the room between when I started creating this headcanon and now is that Whedon has been outed as a misogynist, racist, and general abuser. Even actors who work with him, and say positive things about him tell stories that they think are charming that actually expose what a complete piece of shit Joss Whedon has always been.

Normally, I'd say this brings up the argument about separating the art from the artist. But, for my two cents? I don't think Whedon wrote a single episode or comic issue that anyone ever enjoyed. I think Whedon has always been a complete hack who happens to be buoyed by an excellent writing staff and talented actors/artists. It is a shame that he gets any money for this franchise, but I think you can safely enjoy the best parts of this universe, secure in the knowledge that, while Whedon took credit for it, he probably didn't write anything you actually enjoyed. His comic work has exposed that he's not a very talented writer. His ideas can best be described as stale, his plots aimless and dull. But if you give his characters and an outline to one of his TV writers, or a storied comic writer, you can end up with gold.

This season is just the best parts of Season Five of Angel. I had a great time watching it, especially as I'd missed so many of the good episodes when I watched it in reruns on channels like TNT.

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Season 8:
​Shiny, Happy People

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101. Shiny Happy People
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Jasmine)

When we last left the gang, Cordelia was pregnant, and an apocalypse was going down. (Must have been a Tuesday.) We pick up this season with Cordelia's child having been born an adult (beats being raised in a Hell Dimension between episodes, amirite Conor?) She seems absolutely lovely. It's like there isn't even going to be any tension in this storyline. 


102. Peace Out
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Jasmine, Lilah)

Ok, so Cordelia's kid was a total nightmare. Probably evil. Definitely not good for the city of LA, and the gang has to put her down. Who's surprised? Raise your hand.


103. Home
(Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, Fred, Conor, Lilah, Knox)

Say goodbye to the hotel, Angel and the gang move up in the world as they are given the reigns to Wolfram & Hart, you know, the Big Bad that's been responsible for much of the suffering during the entire run of the show. Things are obviously about to change in a major way.


104.Just Rewards
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox)

Team Wolfram & Angelhart received a surprise in the mail. An amulet fell out and *poof* Spike appeared. Spike The Sort Of Friendly Ghost Vampire haunts the office and adds some much needed humor into the team. Also, Angel's receptionist is Spike's ex, and everyone's second favorite mean girl from Buffy (RIP Cordelia), Harmony!


105. You're Welcome
(Angel, Cordelia, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Lindsey, Eve)

Wait, Eve is working with Lindsey? Awww. I'm glad he's back for some closure. And, speaking of closure, this is a much needed episode involving Cordelia, who deserved better than the mommy-in-a-coma treatment that was used to write her off the show. It's not perfect here, but it's cathartic, and nice to see her on screen again.


106. Smile Time
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox)

Puppet Angel may be one of the highlights of this season. The overall story may be a bit of silly villain-of-the-week nonsense but it's very welcome after the last melodramatic season and a half.


107. A Hole In The World
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Fred, Knox, Eve, Drogyn)

A seemingly random delivery in this episode has dire consequences for the rest of the series (there isn't much left, I realize), as we say goodbye to one cast member and find out how many of the other characters are somehow complicit in their departure. This is probably the saddest episode in the season.


108. Origin​
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Conor, Cyvus Vall)

Conor's back? Well, earlier this season Angel made a deal with The Powers That Be so that Conor would forget everything about his life and grow up with a nice, normal family. But they didn't take away his strength or agility, so when he's unaffected by being run over by a truck, his new, normal family does some research to determine the best people to help them figure out what's wrong. So they take him to Wolfram & Hart, which not only brings up some emotional trauma for Angel, it also returns the memories of the rest of the cast who'd forgotten he existed, which means they forgot a ton of their interpersonal problems from both last season, and the beginning of this one.


109. The Girl In Question
(Angel, Spike, Darla, Druisilla, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Andrew)

The penultimate episode of the TV portion of this headcanon is a much needed comedy break. Fred's parents, who don't know she died in the last episode, come for a visit, (that's not the funny part) and Illyria pretends to be her. The funny part? Angel and Spike are sent on a mission to Italy to stop a demon war and keep getting distracted because their old nemesis is also in Italy and is...dating Buffy. Plus, we get to see Andrew for the first time this season!


110. Power Play/Not Fade Away
(Angel, Spike, Wesley, Gunn, Harmony, Lorne, Illyria, Conor, Lindsey, Eve, Cyvus Vall)

​It's the end of the TV version of this headcanon. That must mean another apocalypse is nigh, and the surviving members of the cast are off to probably meet their deaths.