I love how he was nerdy and awkward in the beginning. He so wanted to be a ‘rogue demon hunter’, all cool and undefeated. And near the end he was!! Inside and out just completely as far away from that naive person he started out as
That's what I love about his character growth. He started off as a joke who thought he was some badass lone demon hunter, and he ends up becoming exactly what he wanted to be at the end, but it came with a heavy price
@@michaelschweigart3517 I don't mind that they killed him off. I just wish there was a sixth season so they could've brought him back. Him being stuck at WR&H would have been a great payoff to the perpetuity clause the setup in season 2 and 4 with Holland and Lilah respectively. And if he became the CEO of Wolfram and Hart he would have completed his arc as being Angel's seasonal mirror. Angel does something then Wes does something right after: Leads the team, goes dark, sleeps with an evil woman, has his love interest taken over god, becomes CEO of WR&H. I could see Wes doing some truly horrible things for to his friends to help his friends in the name of the greater good. And I could see the knife being twisted on his moment of weakness of letting Illyrea comfort him as he died. All that would've been perfect for his character arc. I would've loved to see it. Even as I'm also happy he didn't have to go through all that. Man has suffered enough. But damn..he really was intriguingly unstable.
I love how Wes came along from the beginning. A wimp in Buffy but in Angel he found the fighter and leader that was within him. He really came a long way.
It was before this, I'd say. Guise Will Be Guise is where we noticed clearly that it was more his lack of self confidence that was holding him back from being a badass. I do love this moment in the show though. Another clear moment of him making those tough calls for the greater good.
Scenes like this is why I prefer Angel to Buffy. Wesley's character growth from season 3 of Buffy to the very end of Angel was truly well written. Kudos to the writers for taking their time in transforming Wes from the buffoon on Buffy to the badass on Angel. The slow burn over a number of seasons really sold Wesley's change to the fans and Alexis Denisof's incredible acting pushed it over the edge.
I also feel like Angel was more of an adult show compared to Buffy, while Buffy would be a great show even for an older audience, I'm glad I only watched Angel when I was an adult, I wouldn't have enjoyed or understood it as well had I watched it as a teen.
I prefer both of the show because its hard for me to decide which one is the best since both of them are great in their own way. But the things i disliked about Angel is how weaken Spikes character became in season 5 compared to the later seasons on Buffy. Im also dissapointed on what they did to Cordelia and Connor. Not to mention that i find some of the arcs on the show less interesting such as Jasmine and the black thorne. I also find several of the villains to be boring like the two i mentioned above. The only few willains who i found to be interesting were Holtz and Lindsey. While i agree that Wesleys, Angels and Cordelias character developed better on Angel compared to Buffy that is still not enough for me to conclude Angel is better show.
@@annythekettle7031 I would not say Angel was more mature than Buffy. I may agree when it comes to first season to fourth on Buffy but the show became much darker where Willows, Buffys, Giles character darkened and their writing became more stronger and philosophical compared to the earlier seasons.
@@deeppurplefan9648 Buffy had a more black and white mentality when it came to it's characters and villains. It wasn't always the case, but for the vast majority it was simple: Buffy Good. Big Bad Bad. Angel was more about shades of grey. With its characters and even their antagonists. Holtz, Lindsay, Lilah, Jasmine, and just WR&H in general. That's one of the main reasons Buffy seems less mature than Angel. That shade of grey that was missing. Now while they did put the Scooby Gang through some tough crap in season 6, Buffy was still mostly a show about Growing Up. While Angel was a show about being grown and living on. Personally I liked souled Spike more on Angel than on Buffy. He was more balanced and he worked as a great reflection of Spike. Someone that truly knows what Angel's been through. Instead of just sympathizing with him. I think Spike's introduction into season 5 did great things for both their characters.
@@djsosonut Im aware that Angel is more grey but being more grey doesnt necessarily means less good and being more good doesn't necessarily means being less mature since it largely depends on ones definition of what good and evil and what maturity is. Buffys character is quite mature if you compare her to typical heroes such as Goku who has a very simplistic morals and reason for saving the world, views himself as a pure saint who are incapable of doing immoral and grey stuff even to save the world. Which is why i dont really see Buffy as a black and white character and a saint figure since she doesnt think herself of a saint since she has done some bad things and are capable of doing immoral stuff when necessary to save the world which would be considered out of character for a typical and traditional hero who are prohibited from doing immoral stuff. Buffy the vampire slayer doesnt really follow the traditional norms of heroism since it teaches that even one of the main character who appears to have a pure heart such as Willow is not perfect and can be capable of very immoral things and also teaches that not all demons are evil and that humans can be very evil as well, not to mention that the show has several grey character as well such as Faith, Giles, Willow. Angel might seem more grey and adult in comparison but not that much. There are various of shows and fictions where a hero and other main protagonists can be very mature and are capable of doing grey stuff but still be in the good area such as Yusuke Urameshi who can do grey stuff when situations gets tough but prefer to do more good and doesnt view himself as perfect which makes him overall good but are also capables of grey.
This echoes the moment, in the 5th season (I think) where Angel tells him that he's the guy that makes the hard decisions. That's what Wesley became with Angel.
This was the moment we got our first glimpse of badass Wesley. He has remained by far my favourite TV character and I even styled my hair and grew some bumfluff on my chin like his!
Loved this scene. But I argue that he changed the moment Faith tortured him and he was ready to kill her, then saw that he failed her. We'd had by far the biggest character growth in the show.
Yep. That look on his face when picked up that knife was chilling. And arguably, he was different the first time he was on Angel. Yeah, he was still a bumbling goof, but he had a demon on run from him.
Wesley's character arc was AMAZING on this show! Between him and Christian Kane playing Lindsey, they made the show. They were my two favorite characters.
We saw flashes of it before but this was Wes really stepping up and becoming not only a leader but a capable one. Wesley’s character arc was the best and most complete arc in the Buffyverse and the whole Pylea uprising affair was a defining moment, possibly THE defining moment that made him my favourite character.
Wes is just a thing of absolute beauty 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I am mad for him/Alexis. So glad Joss kept him around in the Buffyverse. Angel wouldn't be the same without my Wes 😍
Come to think about it, it seems like Wesley and Giles were the opposite of each other and then they became the opposite of each other the other way around throughout the series in terms of trusting vampires with a soul. Giles trusted Angel until Giles lover Jenny was killed by Angel after he became Angelus again and ever since then Giles became biased towards trusting Angel and Spike, even when they had a soul. Even though Spike had the chip, he knew can be controlled considering the fact that he felt Spike was a liability. On the other hand, Wesley would go by the books of the council in terms of annilating any vampire and demon's including Angel with a soul. He wanted to go against Buffy and Giles to destroy the thing Buffy loved. The transformation of Wesley evolving in the Angel series based on his experience of being excluded from the Council which was a remarkable transformation considering that Wesley not only started to trust Angel with his life, but became a tough fighter and killed a lot more Demon's and Vampires on Angel compared to being on the Council's watch. Also, I think IMHO Wesley is even tougher than Giles. Wesley even went to lengths to encourage Angel to believing he can control the beast inside of him and having a relationship like in season 5 with the Werewolf lady and getting over his dark deeds inspite of the risk of turning into Angelus due to sex. Wesley even trusted Spike in season 5.
I loved Dark Welsey. I think the point of no return was in Season 3 when he betrayed Angel and kidnapped Connor because he thought Angel was prophetized to kill his son. He was doublecrossed by Holtz, his throat slit, left for dead, Angel tried to killed him after Holtz kidnapped his son and took him to a demon dimension. None of his friends came to check on him and he literally began to sleep with the enemy both pumping and using each other for information and companionship to fill the void of loneliness. And even after his friends abandoned him, he chained his attacker up in a cage and used her to help him find Angel because he knew Angel was needed in the bigger fight against evil and he was there for his friends whenever they needed him. Yet, Fred was his heart. Ioved his death scene and that final moment between him and Illyria. Also, he was handsome as pompous goofy Wesley so it was obvious why Cordelia had the hots for him in Buffy but he was sexy when he those glasses came off and he became Dark Wesley and it's quite obvious why Willow fell in love with him and married him in real life.
I honestly felt sorry for Lilah. Despite her flaws she did end up feeling something for Wesley & even tried to tell him so but he was so conflicted he didn't want to hear it.
@@Stuart267It was more than just him being conflicted. It was about choosing sides. As much as Wesley flirted with the gray area, ultimately, he still has a sense of right and wrong. Despite his character flaws, he believes in the work he does, which is to help people and protect innocents. Lilah might be in love with him, but it’s not enough for her to decide to leave Wolfram and Hart. She likes the giant salary and all the perks it gives her a little too much. So since she won’t change, and Wesley won’t change who he is, then they basically have no future together.
@@Jeff_Pryce "She likes the giant salary and all the perks it gives her a little too much." While she obvious enjoyed the perks and was in her element there, it was all about a contract she signed with them. There was absolutely no way Wolfram & Hart would let her be saved... so please don't simplify her motivations
@ColdHeartedSoul89 I agree. Wesley developed the most of probably any character in the series. I didn't like his character in the beginning, because he came off as an pompous, arrogant snob. However, when the writers changed his demeanor and image, he almost instantly became one of the best supporting characters in the show (him and Spike). Regretfully, I missed this particular episode, but it looked to be epic, and one of Alexis Denisof's best performances.
Ya Wes turned out so awesome but at the start when his biggest achievement was being “Head Boy” he was ridiculous. Mos Def the best character arc and development in the buffyvers IMO.
The Pylea arc is hands doen my favourite run of episodes in the Buffyverse. Pity it would take another year for Wesley to become an outright badass after this.
@DBarns7 Added note. I was referring to Wesley when he was introduced into Buffy the Vampire. His character (my opinion only), was hard to like because of the reason mentioned above.
Alexis Denisof as Wesley is the only American actor who ever fooled me with his English accent. I honestly couldn't believe it when I found out he was American, not English.
Wes always had a darkness to him that’s what season 2 was about The Darkness that lives inside all of us and how we live with it and try to bury it and control it.
I liked Buffy better then Angel, but Wesley was the best character of both shows. Willow and Spike right behind them. Anya had a lot of character development too.
I wonder if Buffy's friends and the slayers who were angry about them being in danger and getting killed when they went into an ambush could hear what Wesley said the thing is there wasn't exactly in a safe place they wind the puppy's house to be safe but anything could happen but it's precisely like said you tried to I get some of them killed and end up getting everybody killed he's never sound smarter
I honestly took this as him slipping back into his classic watcher mode. The one where they knowingly send the slayer out to die because there will always be another one so there is no need to try and preserve this ones life, just accomplish the mission and move on. That was a weak justification "If you try to keep anyone from getting killed, you will just get everyone killed" is a lazy cop out to excuse yourself from intentionally setting up people to die.
Nonsense. It's not weak at all. It's actually quite severe and unavoidable if you're tasked with victory for an underdog team. Look at him brooding over it... "Classic Watchers" always took these sacrifices for granted. And it was a role willfully given to him by the people he's setting up to die, unlike the way Watchers are assigned to their Slayers. It's very different to how reductive you're making it all sound.
I think the best thing about Wes is that the first time I watched Buffy and Wes appeared I was on the Scooby Gang's side. But after getting to know him over on Angel when I rewatched Buffy again, I was on Wes's side. They really didn't give him a fair shot. I understand why. He was forced upon them, and they'd just been played by that evil female watcher. But he was really trying. Still one of the best character arcs I've ever seen. If not the best.
Giles was jerk too Wesley and i lpved how he try stand up for himself but they never listed.... Loved that Wes got family in Angel, Cody and Gun and he became badass in end.... And died a hero
I agree that the character development was far better in Angel than Buffy, except for how they destroyed Cordy's character. As a show, Buffy got shallow while Angel became very deep.
Angel was always meant to be a darker, more adult show. Like Buffy was high school and early college, while Angel is what happens when you’re done with school and enter the adult world. Characters did evolve on Buffy, but from younger teenagers to older teenagers. Angel was more about adult themes.
