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#or like she had a concept of like....circular saw gunn
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I’m re-watching the AtS series! Who’s your favorite character? Opinion on Faiths character arc? Opinions on Conner?
You’re rewatching Angel?! I have to do a rewatch too! I miss it.
My favorite character is Angel. He’s my favorite character in the universe. And it’s embarrassing, and impossible to understand for many people, how much I love him and how much he means to me. Being able to relate to him has helped me accept myself more than anything else has. 
Faith is my fourth favorite AtS character, while Connor is my fifth! (It goes: Angel, Wesley, Lilah, Faith, Connor, Gunn). 
Faith’s character arc is beyond beautiful. It’s massively powerful and significant to the series. More than anyone else, Faith embodies what the show is about. Her arc is hopeful and redemptive, coming from a place of friendship, empathy, determination, renunciation, forgiveness and inner strength. 
Faith did many imoral, cruel, things, but when she saw the pain she had caused others, and the forgiveness and compassion Angel was offering her, she made a decision to set things right, as much as she could, and to change her behavior. Angel offered her help, and she took him up on it only when she was ready. This is an important part of AtS’s philosophy. A champion will help anyone he thinks is in need of help, whether they want it or not, but people can only change when they’re willing to accept help, and to ask for it. 
Redemption involves sacrifice and renunciation (Faith doing jail time and leaving her future in the hands of the police, Angel and Buffy), as well as empathy (which is the basis of everything: realizing no one should hurt). It requires love and friendship (Angel’s friendship gave Faith the strength, motivation, and hope,  necessary for her to change), and inner strength and introspection (change happens from the inside out). The last step in the redemption saga is to give back and inspire others to change as well. Redemption isn’t linear. It’s circular. There’s no beginning or ending. Redemption is an end in itself. 
Faith’s redemption is clear cut, however: regret -> repent -> change -> pass it forward. Angel’s redemption cycle is repeated every season. 
Faith represents the ideal journey of redemption. She’s the success story. She’s what motivates the series. 
I love the person Faith becomes and the friendship she develops with Angel. She’s the part of Angel that seeks redemption: his darkest and brightest part. 
Connor is my baby! I feel so protective of him. He’s so brave, strong, heroic, smart, sweet, complex, sad... I love watching him grow into the happy, confident, well-adjusted boy he is in season 5. I adore his relationship with Angel. He was my first fictional son! 
Lord help me, this whole crap about redemption sounds like a Sunday School special. For a show that’s created by an agnostic or atheist, it’s heavy on the Catholic guilt! I meant what I said though. Redemption, on AtS, is all of that. Irl, I don’t believe in redemption, but it’s an interesting concept to explore in fiction. It works as a guide, letting a character change and grow in dynamic, emotional, inspiring ways. We love stories about pain, sacrifice, and coming out the other side. They’re relatable, hopeful, exciting. 
Thanks for the ask!!
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