Angelstar Charisma Carpenter reacts to the most controversial story from the vampire series. Airing on The WB from 1999-2004,Angelwas aBuffy the Vampire Slayerspinoff that starred Carpenter for four seasons. Her character, Cordelia, grew significantly throughout the first three seasons which came as a combination of visions that she inherited from the Powers That Be, and her experiences with Team Angel. However, season 4 had Cordelia become possessed for the majority of the year and give birth to a demon after becoming pregnant by Angel’s teenage son, Connor.
Carpenter shares her thoughts about the possession and pregnancy storyline onTikTok. In response to a fan question about theCordelia and Connor romance, she does not hold back, describing it as"creepy"and"predatory.“She has nothing positive to say about the plot, saying she was"ardently against it.“Check out her full response below:
It was so difficult. It was a very difficult storyline. I thought it was so awful, and so creepy, and predatory of Cordelia. Just destroyed me. I was just so ardently against it.
What This Means To Angel’s Legacy
The Controversy Has Only Grown Over Time
While her real-life pregnancy was written into the series,the storyline is almost universally hated. The possession twist and giving birth to a fully grown demon, played byFirefly’s Gina Torres, was not well received by viewers. It not only undid years of character development for Cordeila, this arc would lead to her being written out of the show and killed off the following season when Carpenter returned for a single episode.
It also continued the trend ofAngelcharacters being killed by pregnancy. Cordelia becoming pregnant by a demon was an overused idea by season 4.Both in season 1 and season 2, she is unknowingly impregnated by demons, becoming a negative and overall head-scratching trope. Since then, the storyline has become much more troubling asCarpenter accused series co-creator Joss Whedonof asking her if she was"going to keep it"in reference to her unborn son and told her she was sabotaging the show.
Our Take On Carpenter’s Comments
She’s Right, The Story Doesn’t Work
For a show that could be very dark at times, the Cordelia and Connor storyline took things too far.Angelseason 4 is considered the worst of the series, and this arc is a major factor in creating that reputation. Carpenter is right in all of her points and general disgust with what happened to her character. While she did get to play the real version of Cordelia one more time onAngel, even that is mired in controversy, as she requested not to be killed off. She was told that would not be the case, and then, of course, that’s exactly what happened.
Angel
Cast
A spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel is a drama series with supernatural elements that stars David Boreanaz, reprising his role as the titular vampire. An immortal cursed with his human soul returning to his body, which makes him susceptible to human emotions such as remorse. Angel lives in Los Angeles as a private detective, seeking redemption for his murderous past as a vicious warlord. Angel will face threats such as humans and demons that rival his own cruel potential as he ventures to help those in need.
