Post by dazz on Jan 22, 2019 14:56:33 GMT
Jan 22, 2019 11:27:41 GMT @deblovesbeccy said:
Thanks for letting me know. We watched the episodes and are up to the final season now and I am still disappointed over the way they wrote Cordelia off and it would have been better in my opinion if Season 4 had ended with Cordelia waking up and helping Angel and the team defeat Jasmine 'cause it would have given her a chance to get revenge on Jasmine for possessing her. I really thought that season would have ended with Cordelia waking up and doing that and I was surprised it didn't. I have heard rumours there was some type of falling out with Charisma and Joss and I am not sure if they are true or not but it would explain the way they got rid of her 'cause she was such a big part of the show and was billed as the second main star and they just wrote her off like she was never an important character. 
The main reason she wasn't involved in the climax of the story/season is because Charisma was pregnant in real life; so she was either still showing at that point, or possibly had just had the baby and was on maternity leave, but either way it would have been hard for them (though definitely not impossible) to have her actively involved in the plot. But that is why she's in the coma, always laying down or propped up, with the bombs strapped around her in the season finale.
It's also the decisive factor everything about that season; from the direction of the plot that season, to Charisma and Joss' falling out. Word has it that Joss has a very different vision for season 4, that would have had Cordelia, in fashion, as the big bad; and play out some long term story arch he had been planning. When Charisma found out she was pregnant, she didn't tell Joss and the other producers or writers right away, which she's said was because she was concerned how that would affect her role on the show. And when she finally did tell them, naturally a lot of the plans for the season had to be changed, especially on account of Joss' plans to make Cordelia the big bad, knowing that she'd be showing, they changed direction and brought about Jasmine, who could be played by someone else. Somewhere I've read an account, possibly directly from Joss, that Cordelia sleeping with Connor had still been part of the plan, but it was originally going to be later; and they had to move it up so they could do it before she started showing.
And then accord Charisma, the whole thing contributed to the falling out between her and Joss, where they had been close before, or at least on good terms; and having to change all of these carefully laid plans at the last minute lead to some bitter feelings for a time on Joss' part.
Also, going into season 5, they didn't bother telling Charisma that she wasn't coming back; and she learned it through a news report.
I don't know how far you've gotten into season 5, so:
When Cordelia does come back, Charisma had some reluctance, since she didn't want to do the episode just to be killed off; and she was very adamant that she'd only agree to come back if they guaranteed she not be killed off. And then of course, after they've agreed to all of this and she's signed the contract and they begin shooting, some writer or producer or someone comes to her trailer and tells her there's been a script change; and tada, she's being killed off - but, when she recounts this in the convention videos I've seen, she always qualifies that she was okay with the changes, because of how it was written, and that in typical Joss fashion it was written well enough to look past it. It's hard to say whether she genuinely felt that way it was dealt with and her character killed off was good enough to forgive them pulling a bait and switch; or if she's just saying that save face and not get back on Joss' bad side....
At the risk of contributing to gossip, the whole thing does make me wonder, considering the revelation that's since come to light by way of Joss' ex-wife about his alleged confession to her of having an affair with at least one actress from Buffy...
Have to wonder had she told them earlier, how that may have altered the show, like how long did she hide it from them? presumably she would only be able to hide it for a few weeks to a couple of months before she began showing, depending on how far along she was when she found out, but you never know how/when that was in the process, like had she told them asap could Joss have decided fuck it we'll postpone the storyline till S5 we can have Cordy as a higher power guiding Angel through the series so we don't need to worry about her being pregnant, which if they did that just what would the big bad have been?
Personally I was never the biggest Cordy fan but I hated her performance in S4 specifically her being evil I just thought was god fucking awful all around, so I doubt I would have liked it even if Joss got to do it entirely as he wanted but yah never know.