Buffy The Vampire Slayer 6x15

[Etta Lesniak]

Itis mentioned repeatedly in both Buffy and Angel that having his soul returned to him turned the evil Angelus into the usually good Angel. This is the setup for the character. However, there are many evil human characters (i.e. with souls), Giles' arch-nemesis, the lawyers at Wolfram & Hart, etc.

The strong implication is that when you lose your soul (and become a vampire), you lose the inhibitions that prevent you from doing evil acts. In the vanishingly unlikely event that your soul is restored, all of these various unpleasantries come crashing back down on your human conscience like a ton of bricks.

ANGEL: When you become a vampire, the demon takes your body. But it doesn't get the soul. That's gone. No conscience, no remorse . . . it's an easy way to live. You have no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done, and to care. I haven't fed on a living human being since that day. - Buffy: Angel

Specifically to Angel, when he gets his soul back, he becomes far more like his former self; Liam. Headstrong and more than a little arrogant but certainly not a murderer or someone capable of true evil. On top of that, the crushing weight of his former actions tends to leave him wallowing in self-pity and remorse (for his victims).

Update: As to why the lawyers at W & H are capable of acts of evil without it resulting in madness, the very short answer is that the re-ensouled vampires we see; Darla, Angel, Spike weren't especially evil when they became vampires. The impact of being forced to confront their own actions (e.g. literally centuries of murders) turns them into gibbering wrecks. By comparison, the lawyers evidently are evil, as evidenced by their career choice. Even so, eventually both Lindsey and Lila both suffered attacks of conscience throughout the series when it came to murdering children and innocents.

When Angel and Spike have their souls returned to them, the true host essentially takes back control over their own body from the vampire. However, they also get all the memories of what the vampire did in their own body, and still continue to have the demon possessing them, attempting to coax them to commit further atrocities.

Buffy: "Well, I've got a news flash for you, brain trust. That's not how it works. You die, and a demon sets up shop in your old house, and it walks, and it talks, and it remembers your life, but it's not you."

Angel: When you become a vampire the demon takes your body, but it doesn't get your soul. That's gone! No conscience, no remorse... It's an easy way to live. You have no idea what it's like to have done the things I've done... and to care.

Cut to the sewers. Angel arrives where Whistler is waiting for him.

Whistler: She's gonna have it tough, that Slayer. She's just a kid. The world's full of big, bad things.

Angel: I wanna help her. (Whistler looks at him) I want... I wanna become someone.

The last bullet there is a central part of the Angel series, especially the later seasons where it relates to the Shansu Prophecy. However, I don't believe that was his initial motivation for becoming a warrior of the light, but just a possible reward he could hope for after his works.

So, you see, it's not just because he has a soul, like many other villainous characters do, but because the confluence of events that led to him receiving his soul, being approached by Whistler (and later Doyle/The Powers That Be), and also the qualities and personality already attributed to his soul (during his life as Liam).

Having a soul doesn't mean you're good, but not having a soul means you cannot be good (though you may act good sometimes). Actually, it's not a matter of good or evil per se, but rather of conscience - an inner sense of right and wrong.

Most people however do have a conscience - even those who are generally evil. Perhaps their conscience is very weak, or other concerns (e.g. greed or a desire for revenge) outweigh their guilt. I suppose many find a way to rationalize their evil deeds, especially if they fall to it over time.

It's a survival thing. I made a lot of devil's bargains and I stuck to them. As a result, I live somewhat dangerously, and quite comfortably. My mother, who no longer recognizes me, has the best room at the clinic. I get up every morning, put on my game face, and do what I have to...We've spent so much time and money on you, you're so pivotal to the coming cataclysm, that I sometimes forget how dense you can be. The game face, the one I worked so hard to get, I became that years ago. Just like you've become simpering and good from yours. You're the new poster boy for human? Thank you very much, I don't want it...You think you can awaken some buried spark of decency in me? Is that the way you "help your helpless"? I'm not helpless. I'm glad you came along, because I was sitting here -- "what's it all about?" -- and now I know. It is all about making the rest of your eternal life miserable.

As you noted, people who become vampires invariably lose their souls. It doesn't matter if they were the kindest, gentlest person before - they no longer have a conscience. They don't feel compassion. If they murder someone, they don't feel any guilt whatsoever.

Most of the people we see before and after were not merciless killers before becoming vampires. They became so only after. Drusilla is an example of someone who was sweet and gentle before being transformed into a monster. She is immediately changed into someone who enjoys murder.

Spike ends up joining up with our heroes simply because the Initiative's implants prevent him from killing people - and he wants to kill something, so why not kill some demons? Most importantly though, he's fallen for Buffy - something he doesn't realize himself until later.

Spike does love Buffy, just as he loved Drusilla, and goes to considerable risk for her. Most notably, he helps save Dawn from Glory. He doesn't do this out of general compassion - his reward is that he earns Buffy's gratitude. While he's working with the Scoobies it's easy to forget he lacks a conscience - after all he does so much good. (Well, Xander doesn't forget.)

Buffy is forcibly reminded of what Spike is in 6x15 "As You Were", when she finds out Spike was the one trying to sell dangerous demon eggs. The result of this is she breaks off her relationship with him because she recognizes that no matter how many good things he does, he lacks a conscience and is going to do evil things too.

She is more forcibly reminded of this in 6x19 "Seeing Red", when he tries to rape her. She tells him that he's irredeemably evil, and that's why she could never love him. This precipitates Spike's decision to get back his soul. He desperately desires her love, and finally understands that she can't love someone who lacks a conscience - so he seeks to restore his soul, which will restore his conscience.

Bear in mind, those with a restored soul didn't choose to be evil. They didn't find their way to it over time. They never had to rationalize their acts or learn to suppress their guilt. They're just suddenly confronted with all the horrible things they've done.

When a vampire's soul is restored they restored to whatever moral state they were when they first became a vampire. Neither Angel (a.k.a. Liam) nor Spike (a.k.a. William) were evil men. (We don't really know about Darla, even what her name was.)

Imagine you woke up tomorrow morning and suddenly remembered murdering a bunch of children in cold blood. You would probably freak out! Now consider that Angel, Spike, and Darla would be responsible for the death of hundreds, some of which were killed in particularly vile ways.

Of course, it doesn't take Spike a century to get over it. Maybe that's down to Angel / Liam being naturally more whiny. ;-) Or it could be down to Angelus having been so vicious, emotionally tormenting his victims rather than simply murdering them.

Out of universe, I think part of the purpose of the having vampires be soulless is to make them unambiguously evil, so they can be murdered without any moral issues. I think this is also the reason for their faces changing to be monstrous. I don't recall if that has been stated explicitly though - anyone have a reference?

As an aside, I do wonder how this relates to demons. I'm not sure whether it's ever stated if they have a soul in the same way humans do. Many are clearly evil monsters, but some are relatively benign, while a few are truly good. In Buffy there is Clem, while in Angel there are lots of examples of demons that aren't merciless killers, with Lorne being the most notable example.

Into every generation a slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.

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When relatives arrive in Sunnydale, to celebrate her birthday, Tara uses a magic spell on her friends to keep them from learning her "secret." Meanwhile, Glory unleashes a hoard of demons to hunt down Buffy.

A weary Buffy seeks to regain focus by embarking on a quest with the First Slayer; Spike cavorts with his very own "Buffybot" and Glory instructs her minions to spy on Buffy's friends in the hopes of ascertaining the Key's true identity.

The Three Geeks mistakenly turn Buffy invisible. The Slayer takes some advantage from going unseen. Willow has to do the detective without using magic, while Xander finds Spike doing some weird physical training.

When Buffy gets a job at the Doublemeat Palace, a local fast-food restaurant, she begins to believe that disappearing co-workers and the secret ingredient to the restaurant's hamburger may be connected.

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