There comes a time when you underestimate the power of a character. You know the great potential is there, yet you need to see and feel it come to life some how (on your TV screen, movie screen, etc) . . . just to be sure.

Usually it takes about a few seconds for me to determine how I feel about a character. That’s all. I’ll know in that time if I’m going to love the character, don’t care either way, or absolutely dislike him or her. Concerning the "love" category at first sight, they are Angel, Willow, Faith, and now Darla.

I can’t explain it. I wasn’t sure if she was going to work as a major nemesis for Angel in the second season, but then my view of a nemesis was pretty limited. Try imagining the bad guy in the huge black cape, but from the moment I heard Darla (Judgment) say:
"Angel . . . it's been a long time . . . I'd love to see that boy."

I was simply riveted and couldn’t wait to see what tricks Darla had up her sleeves for Angel and crew. From that moment on I thought she’d make a great villain. I really didn’t know much about her except she was Angel’s sire, sired by the Master, lived with the Master in Sunnydale for a short while and shortly thereafter Angel killed her. I didn’t know how old she was or how extensive and long lasting her relationship with Angel was either. But then things changed when she made a return appearance in ANGEL’s second season.

Darla, the character, became something more to me than Faith or even Angel himself. She became a real life person that went beyond the character. As I said before, I only saw Darla as the "big bad" because, well, that’s what I thought her purpose would be on the show. That’s how I thought the writers wanted me to see Darla anyway and anyhow, but she became something more to me.

She didn’t become the "big bad" or the nemesis but a very conflicted individual or being that lived 400 years as a survivor. In "Darla" I learned that she was an independent woman of some property, wasn’t afraid of death, and was vamped not knowing of the existing dark world of vampires and demons. The source of her future desire as a vampire to manipulate others was defined by her life as a survivor living in a man’s world when women had practically no rights. She manipulated those that simply represented those people that took advantage of her as a human or those qualities she hated within herself.

When I got a chance to see what her life was like before Angel entered her life and as a "born again" human, I could no longer see her as a nemesis, the black-caped figure, or as some might say the witch from hell. And you know why? Because I finally got the background information I needed to fully understand her motives and actions. I feel deeply sorry for Darla, human and vampire and always will. It’s been drummed in my brain this whole season that she was always denied a "second chance" whether it was to truly die in peace or be granted a serious chance at life. All of those chances were taken away from her not because she didn’t want them but because she never had control over her life, what happened to her, and simply didn’t know anything else but pain.

She was manipulated by society into a life of prostitution. There was no way or reason for her to pursue such a degrading profession if independent women were allowed to "further their careers" back in her time. In "Darla," Darla also didn’t have any loved ones around her death bed so I’m guessing she lived a lonely existence in the town she probably didn’t call home. Lying there she seemed at peace with death, but the Master seeing that she’d make a great vampire, vamped her without her really knowing what he was doing. She couldn’t fight him off and then again couldn’t tell if he was drinking her to death, was death, or what. A chance at a peaceful death was denied her. She lived under the Master as a childe, pupil and confidant, and took on his outlook on life which went hand in hand with her memories as a prostitute.
"God never did anything for me."

It’s interesting how there are always people or beings in Darla’s life that continue to damn her by putting her through situations/life altering experiences. Some of these beings actually claim to care about her and she buys their swan’s song every time. Wolfram and Hart brought her back against her will. She was right. She didn’t ask for this life, a life in which again she had a superior (Wolfram and Hart), went through bouts of depression, was vamped again against her will, and then completely was used by the last person she’d ever thought that would treat her that way. Angel confuses me this season. He seemed to care about what was happening to her during the first part of this season, but his words in the first part of "Epiphany" completely eradicated any evidence of that. He basically said he was helping her because he saw himself in Darla (not Darla in Darla) and that he didn’t really ever care about her. He just seemed incredibly coldhearted and arrogant for no reason, putting all of his epiphanies in simple terms when the episodes before (that invested in the Angel and Darla dynamic) professed to me that their relationship was anything but simple.

But yeah, that’s another theory altogether.

Some fans say that Darla didn’t exactly want to be helped in the true sense. Well, you know what I say to that? She wanted the easy fix. Who wouldn’t? She wanted the only thing she even had a faint memory of. She wanted to be what she used to be because she didn’t remember anything else and it (being vamped) was a drug that would last her an eternity. I guess you can say that there’s the addiction metaphor right there. And even when those fans got a look at Angelus turned Angel in "Five by Five" and "Darla" yearning for the days when he didn’t care and was only a 150 years old, they still can’t understand Darla’s situation even though in her present state she spent roughly 230 more years as a vampire . . . a much longer time with the addiction.

But it doesn't matter because to them she’s still and always will be the evil witch from Hell . . .

when actually she’s a puppet whose strings are held tightly by the ones that enter in and out of her life . . . most of the time permission not granted.

I see a multidimensional character here. I can also see the layers that were so carefully introduced since the beginning, and yet I also choose to see them. I’ve heard of complaints ranging from "Oh, why does Darla get all of the airtime? It should be Cordelia. She’s the female lead of the show." Well I say to that maybe we should realize that Darla was a pivotal figure in Angel’s life, and Cordelia will never come close to what Darla meant to Angel. She was his sire. Cordelia wasn’t and is a supporting character, not the center of the show. Plus let’s be fair here, but the Host, Wes and Gunn have all contributed to taking away Cordelia’s supposed airtime. In other words, no one character owns screentime except for the lead on ANGEL. Anyone close to the lead or was pivotal in shaping who he is will get needed airtime.

That’s just fated to happen.

Oh and there’s also the *argument* "Why is Angel spending time with Darla when he should be with Buffy?" Well you do know the true meaning of having separate shows and that basically Darla has nothing to do with Buffy from a story perspective?

Hm, did I touch a personal corner there? Well, now you get my point.

That’s the issue here. Darla makes people think, and she makes some fans feel threatened because "look, Angel’s having sex with someone that’s not Buffy! How dare he!" or there’s the whole Cordelia sentiment I mentioned above just to point out some instances.
Angel: "You damned me."

Yeah, but how can you blame someone for damning you when she was damned herself, Angel? How do you expect someone who is truly damned in every sense of the word and was a vampire with no soul for 300-something years no less to know the difference between damning someone and not? Angel? In comparison to you, if anyone was truly damned here it was Darla. At least you have people that care about you (or maybe I should say at least put up a front to). At least you have a soul and therefore a need to do what’s right. At least you have a roof over your head. At least you have the PTB guiding and watching out for you. At least you know what it feels like to be accepted by your peers. And more importantly at least you received plenty of "second chances". Etcetera. Etcetera. Spike and Darla on the other hand have to remain as they are even though they’ve shown us one time or another that redemption is possible for them, and again these vamps aren’t being given silver spoons of grace or assistance from a soul or TPTB.

Since Angel is a vampire you would think he’d be familiar with vampire motivations to vamp another and especially his sire’s, but then again he vamped people out of rage, punishment, or fun unlike the Master and Darla who vamped just not anyone but people they thought were special or could assist them. They only killed the ones they didn’t care for or wanted to torture instead of vamping them. :)

When Darla was vamped for the second time in "The Trial," I was deeply disappointed in this turn of events. Yeah, she had a terminal disease but she was making that crucial change to embracing what she never had before: a true chance to change her life for the better. Even when she was vamped, I was hoping that her new former self would inform her new vamp self. I even got a feel for that in "Redefinition," but thereafter her direction (well, the whole ANGEL arc became something off the wall: beige Angel???!!) became something just a bit unrecognizable. She went from conflicted-scared-of-Angel-version-3 to a completely black-hatted figure again.

Another reason why I’m deeply attached to the Darla character is because of the way Cordelia, the only female lead on the show, is written. Let me just say that she leaves much to be desired. Her "your crazy" and other snide comments this season made me forget the Cordelia of season one that I actually liked. I especially don’t like the way her character’s been written in the most recent episodes ("Disharmony" and "Dead End"). I just really can’t feel sorry for her or fall for any of the blatant cries for sympathy her character’s been written into. On one side I saw Darla suffering over issues she’s been dealing with for 100s of years, while Cordelia whined about her and other petty things (when do I get paid?). Tough choice for me, huh? She didn’t reach out to help Angel but waited for money to miraculously appear in her hands while sitting around all day waiting for a vision. It amazes me that someone that’s been around Angel for quite a while and has been there for Angel before could be so unsympathetic to his ordeals or help the ones that obviously mean something to him. Cordelia went from superficially funny to plain mean and hypocritical in a matter of seconds this season. I really like Kate. She doesn’t whine or expect the world to crawl at her feet like Cordelia. Darla was a survivor. Faith, like Darla, also depended on herself though not through the best of means. I will probably never like Cordelia ever again because of her despicable and selfish acts this season.

I couldn’t stand Angel in "Epiphany" for every reason ranging from his behavior to Darla and to the gang. He became a considerably weaker and pathetic figure in my eyes, while the gang (I just love Cordelia’s "You hurt my feelings") became "I work for the PTB" snobs, and in all of that rich development before "Blood Money" it looks like no one actually learned anything profound if at all.

Please, I need another female regular and I’m sick of lame lapdog Angel. That's what I hoped ANGEL would get away from and make a man out of Angel. He wasn’t a man on BtVS. My hope is faltering though.

Man, give me two new female regulars but just don’t make one of them Anne. Darla and Kate would be swell though. I would ask for three but Eliza Dushku is tied up with el mundo de film.

So again, what are my predictions for Darla? Well, these are a bit spoilerish. So don’t read any further if you don’t want to know about the latter episodes of this season. It’s been noted by David Greenwalt that the last 3 episodes of ANGEL don’t take place in LA. The first thought that came to my mind was "Oh, dimension land here we come!" Now if Darla does make another appearance, I’m thinking she’ll sacrifice herself in some way (hopefully not in a "deathy" way) out of her love for Angel. I honestly believe there’s a good reason why she only vamped Angel and didn’t vamp Lindsey or anyone else before or after Angel. Like I said before, she saw giving eternal life as a gift. I honestly believed she loved Angel and she would do anything when the chips are down to save her darling boy even though after "Epiphany" I’m wondering if he’s even worth saving. LOL. And yes, if you haven’t figured it out, that episode simply gutted me. :(

You’re probably thinking: "but wait a minute! Darla ran off not looking back in The Trial! She left Angel to die in the burning barn!"

Well, here’s my prediction. First of all, we didn’t see the outcome of that flashback. We can assume however from "Darla" that Angel and Darla eventually met up again and were still together with no hard feelings. So it’s my guess that Darla turned that little horsy around and went back to save Angel from Holtze and the burning barn in 1765. I don’t know how she did it but I think when she quickly came to that decision she realized she loved him.

You better bring her back Joss. Pretty please and not in a deathy way. :)

I swear. The only female characters on ANGEL that actually can change the show completely on its head into something better IMHO are Darla and Faith. New characters may also have that effect but I’m going by what I’ve seen so far. Kate is a good solid character but she just doesn’t have that overwhelming "specialness" about her that makes her different from the pack. What can I say? Darla and Faith have the "special" factor in spades. I just hope the writers and producers realize this before Benz goes a la Eliza style to other projects.

Benz is literally amazing as Darla and I can’t see anyone else doing such a fabulous job. She along with Tim Minear made this season "deep" instead of the sweet but "on the surface" feel of last season. Congratulations to the both of you. The only episode I have major issues with is "Epiphany" but other than that, "beige Angel," "pathetic Angel", "goofy Angel," and the development of the fang gang, I really enjoyed the arc. LOL. Julie is amazing though. I liked her from the beginning but she blew me away this season and definitely delivered. She was Darla in every sense and I felt that. You simply rock, Benz, and made me a fan of yours for life.

I swear you and Minear put the word "deep" in ANGEL.