Standalone vs. Arc

[henzINNIT]

Angel adopts both in it's run. Which format do you prefer?

My favourite seasons are 1 and 5, so I guess that answers the question for me.

[monkeywrench]

Heh, mine are 2, 3 and 4, so I guess I prefer the arcs. I liked that with those seasons, especially 2 and 3, it was hard to separate out the episodes as the arcs continued seamlessly.

[Hellbound Hyperion]

The arcs in Angel always contributed incredible character developments. That's why they're my favorite, hands down. There are plenty of good standalone episodes, and some arc episodes can stand on their own as well, but the arcs in Angel are just amazing.

[hitnrun017]

It could go either way for me. Both formats had their moments of brilliance and dreadfulness storywise, but it's all about the characters for me, and both did great things for them.

If I had to choose, it'd probably be arcs. Season 2 Darla, Pregnant Darla, Holtz, Wesley's kidnapping Connor and The Beast arcs have most of my favorite episodes in them. Of course they aren't all great though. I have to struggle to get through Jasmine and I need to be in the right mood for the last half of Season 2, which besides Reprise and Disharmony, are the worst episodes of the series.

[Joe]

I think I enjoy a happy medium. There are some great standalones but I'm not a fan of the season-long arcs like season 4. Lol. It got boring. I am a fan, however, of the 2-3 episode arcs like Faith, Season 2 Darla, Pylea, Pregnant Darla, and Wesley stealing Connor.

[jason321]

Really torn on this. I agree that S1 was great and was what really hooked me on the show because the character development was subtle and natural throughout the season rather than forced. I really loved the Darla arc in S2 and was grateful that it didnt end with some cliche Big-Bad fight scene (although I ended up regretting that due to the Conner factor). By S5 my devotion was broken due to the character ruining trainwreck that was S4. And S4 really made all of the build up in S3 really look bad in retrospect because it all ended up in Jasmine-shaped disappointment. So I guess I prefer the stand alones in the end. Because the show never had a remotely satisfying payoff to any long running storyarcs (even if they were fun to watch at the time).

[Darth Rosie]

Watching Angel the second time everything was different. Whereas I had hated Season 4 first, I found myself completely hooked. Can't explain why, but on the whole, this turned out to be the most satisfying season for me - so I'm on the arc-front. When I started watching Season 5, I immediately found myself missing the grand arc. The episodes are good, but they do not resonate so much with me, I find them shallow(er). I know I prefer the second half of season 5 though, and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of it - which is more arc-y than the first half.

[El Diablo Robotico]

I'm gonna sit firmly on the fence on this one and say that I like both, and can't choose one over the other. On one hand, the long, complex storylines in the arcs are great, and very satisfying when you finally get to the end. But on the other, there were also a lot of fantastic standalones, and it's nice to be able to pull your DVDs off the shelf, pop one in and be able to watch an entire, self-contained story in less than 45 minutes.

I will say that I'm glad S5 went so standalone, because S4 (and the completely all-over-the-place, non-sensical Lindsey storyline of S5) caused me to really lose faith that the writers could weave a really involved storyline and have it all make sense. S4, I think they just got a little too grandiose for their own good, and the story sort of got away from them at times, and in S5, Lindsey was such a small factor that he probably wasn't worth the time it would've taken to sit down and plan out his arc ahead of time, and so they ended up making it up as they went along (which Jeff Bell has flat-out admitted, BTW)...

[henzINNIT]

Lindsey's schemes in Season 5 made no sense what-so-ever. He had plenty of time to change I admit, but I saw no resemblance to the man we saw in the first two seasons either. There were far more interesting explanations for Spike's amulet, wish someone stopped to think about it at the time of writing.

[Billie Erin]

My favourites were 1 and 5 too, particularly 5 but I think that's because I like Spike and Doyle . . . overall I think I do prefer standalones, arcs can get a bit boring at times

[gumgnome]

I think that both a pretty necessary to provide some balance to the whole thing. Arcs drive the story forward and give a sense of direction, but I appreciate the ability to pause and draw breath in otherwise hectic seasons. Standalones also allow the writers to experiment a bit more freely, because if something doesn't work quite as well as they've hoped, they can quickly move on. I also find that these eps are often the funniest ones because the writers can go all out silliness. A good example is "Guise Will Be Guise" which is my favourite "Angel" ep and allows the writers to go all out with a suitbaly foppish Wes.

[Eric]

I prefer arcs. That's probably why I like season four the best and think one and five are kinda meh. I know the vast majority of the forum will disagree with me on this, but meh.

[Hallow Thorn]

One Arc I am kind of happy didn't work out for the fourth season was Cordelia coming back from the higher plane with a messed up sense of "right & wrong." I read that it still would have been "secretly" evil and but have no Jasmine in the storyline at all. Just Cordy removing free for a new society and could have set up a Cordy vs Angel final.

But as a whole, I am a fan of the arc's with a standalone here and there.

[martodd]

I really prefer arcs.
I find them much better, because they just hook me up and I find myself watching episode after episode without being able to stop. That never happens with standalones. I don’t mean that every arc is better than any standalone, because that is ridiculous. But when I finish a standalone episode, even if it is great, I don’t really feel the need to start watching another one. I can see only 2 or 3 standalones for one day. At the same time I could watch 10 or 15 episodes per day, if they are connected in a big arc.
That’s why seasons 1 and 5 are my less favorite. I was so disappointed with the first few episodes of season 1, I was even thinking of stopping the show. In the end I saw the whole season, and it was a good seasons, especially the second half, but I would have loved it more if the episodes were more connected.

[slayerthorn]

I liked the arcs better. Standalones were okay but I could have done without them.

[The Girl In Question]

I like both equally. I'm such an indecisive mess.

[angeliclestat]

When I watch of read something I prefer arc episodes. I hate when they put standalone eps in the middle of arcs .

But when I rewatch, I love the standalones as they are rewatchable without context (kinda!). If I am rewatching something from the Darla arc for example (my fave), then it's hard to watch 'Reunion' without watching Dear Boy,Darla,The Trial and then Redefinition.

Oh my life is so complicated:)

[buffyfan21]

I like both. But seasons 1 and 5 are two of my faves so I guess that makes me more of a standalone gal? I really like season 2 as well. The Pylea arc is one of my faves of the series.