The Buffyverse Character Countdown (#24)

#24

Hero: The Groosalugg (Angel Seasons 2-3)

You know, I nearly forgot about this guy when I was first drafting the heroes’ list; he’s not exactly the most interesting or memorable character. That said, the Groosalugg is certainly not a bad hero by any means. In fact, his simplistic outlook and insatiable charm do make him a fun guest star throughout Angel’s second and third seasons. Unfortunately, his heroic stature falls significantly when one considers that his character is little more than a plot device to drag out the Angel-Cordelia romance. While he’s not nearly as exhausting a character as he could have been, he’s far from perfect as far as Buffyverse heroes go.

The Groosalugg is a human-demon hybrid from the dimension of Pylea, Lorne’s homeworld. According to prophecy, he is destined to have sex with Cordelia and take up the burden of the ever-dangerous visions. His absurd attractiveness to Cordelia certainly makes this task all the more palatable, but she decides to keep the visions like the badass that she is and refuses to sleep with him on principle. Though he is forced to fight Angel during the events of the Season Two finale, the Groosalugg, or Groo, comes to ally with Angel Investigations in order to eliminate the unjust Pylean theocracy. He later assists Angel Investigations in thwarting the schemes of Wolfram and Hart and Holtz during the events of Season Three, before departing from the series during the season finale.

In spite of his impressive physique and grizzled appearance, the Groosalugg is primarily a comic relief character. His humor entirely derives from his “fish out of water” behavior, much like Anya during Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s fourth season, though, unlike Anya, he never shows an inkling of as much depth as the lovable ex-vengeance demon. As a human-demon hybrid, Groo never quite fits into Pylean society, earning value only as a warrior and a tool for the Pylean elite. All the same, his fighting spirit fits much better in Pylea than it does in Los Angeles, wherein his chipper attitude and instinct for combat get him into trouble. His other key narrative function is serving as Angel’s romantic rival for Cordelia’s affections. It’s almost a foregone conclusion by the middle of Season Three that Cordelia’s heart does lie with Angel, right down to the fact that Cordelia cuts Groo’s hair to look like Angel’s, but the Groosalugg's presence does delay the romantic subtext of the season in a way that feels somewhat natural.

The difficulties in the Groosalugg’s character lie in his extremely limited character arc. If Groo grows at all over the course of the show, it’s his coming to recognize that Angel is not only his physical superior but his moral superior as well. During the episode, “Couplet,” the Groosalugg initially makes Angel feel inferior by defeating a Senih’D demon, but the Groosalugg eventually takes on a foe that he cannot defeat himself… a demonic tree… and requires Angel to rescue him. The Groosalugg eventually admits it is Angel who is the actual champion, as he has to battle to beat the self-doubt within himself to defeat his foes and become more realized. Since the Groosalugg is more or less morally impregnable, without a single noticeable flaw if only by virtue of his stupidity, he can’t grow or learn. His admitting that Angel is better than him and that Cordelia truly loves Angel pretty much brings his arc to a close, and he more or less waits out the last few episodes of Season Three. He has a few nice jokes and fight scenes here and there, but that’s about it.

All things taken together, the Groosalugg is probably the second-best character to emerge from the Pylea storyline at the end of Angel’s second season (the first being Fred). Despite his being a plot element within the Pylea saga, he does not have enough room to develop in the rest of the series, limiting his effectiveness as a hero. That said, his spritely nature, genuine affection for Cordelia, and ultimate humility do make him a likeable hero, if not necessarily a great one. Angel certainly could have done worse; heck, Connor in Season Four is living proof of that.

Villain(s): The Circle of the Black Thorn (Angel Season 5)

In our last villains entry, we took a look at some of the mini-bosses of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; in this entry, we look at the final bosses of Angel: the Circle of the Black Thorn. While Season 5 of Angel lacked an overarching “Big Bad” like Jasmine or Holtz, it didn’t exactly need one; the individual character arcs that built throughout the season were enough to support the overall plot without the inclusion of a central defining villain. The enemies of the series’ finale, “Not Fade Away,” are thus not as developed as many other villains in Angel, but they are fitting conclusions to each of the protagonists’ arcs. They are, essentially, monster-of-the-week villains with much higher stakes.

The Circle of the Black Thorn is the very highest branch of Wolfram and Hart’s earthly officers. Composed of several guest star villains who have appeared throughout the season – Archduke Sebassis, Senator Brucker, Cyvus Vail, Izzerial, and Marcus Hamilton – the Circle of the Black Thorn is one of the most mysterious and powerful factions in the series. By the end of Angel Season 5, Angel is determined to eliminate them in order to bring down the evil law firm for good. That said, none of these members will go down without a fight, and they manage to severely injure the Angel Investigative team before the final scene of “Not Fade Away” plays out.

The best element of the Circle is its role in closing each of the protagonists of Angel’s character arcs. The scheming, privileged, ever-political Senator Brucker faces down Gunn, a character who has had to fight against prejudice and political injustice for all of his life. The talkative, petulant Izzerial falls before Illyria, a fallen demon god who has lost everything she once held dear and come to understand. The extremely powerful Sebassis, a villain whose mere presence was enough to make other antagonists of Season 5 cower in fear, is eliminated through poisoning and cunning, whereas Marcus Hamilton, a villain whose threat initially came from his words, becomes a hulking, terrifying bruiser who becomes Angel’s last opponent during the series. Most important, though, is the role of Cyvus Vail: a senior mage whose magic skills outclass Wesley to the point where Wesley actually dies fighting him. Vail’s insatiable capacity to inflict pain meets its match in a hero who’s more than used to accepting pain.

Unfortunately for the Circle’s place on this list, what they have in thematic punch is sadly lacking from their actual characters. “Not Fade Away” would be an even better episode had we had a little more set-up for villains like Vail and Hamilton. Plus, the utter lack of personality for the members of the Circle killed by Spike, Lindsey, and Lorne is a significant missed opportunity. It’s also somewhat problematic that the existence of the Circle comes right the heck out of nowhere; while they are a satisfying final boss, they do materialize out of the ether as far as Buffyverse Big Bads go. They’re entertaining and effective, but they’re not exactly exemplary.