This week on Buffy and the Art of Story: Angel, Season 1, Episode 7.  This episode covers how season-long antagonist The Master is the protagonist in the main plot.

Also how the episode intertwines that plot with 2 subplots - one with Buffy as protagonist, one with Angel. And the way the episode serves as a Season Midpoint.

As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning).

Story Elements in Angel

In this podcast episode we'll look at:

How the main plot and 2 subplots weave together perfectly

A villain as protagonist

3 things a protagonist should do

The Season 1 Midpoint 

As I note on the show, my understanding of the role of the protagonist was deepened by listening to story expert Lani Diane Rich of Chipperish Media.

She explains protagonists and antagonists here and in many of her podcast episodes.

Story Structure

For help applying the 5-point story structure the podcast covers to your own work, a free story structure template is available on my patreon page. You don't need to be a patron to download it, though it's great if you'd like to be.

Support The Show

If you become a patron for as little as $1 a month, you'll not only help fund more episodes like Angel, you'll get access to bonus episodes.

Those episodes will include Buffy-adjacent stories (such as key Angel episodes). Also films or TV episodes that are intriguing from a story, theme, or character perspective.

Including Wonder Woman once I reach 50 patrons.

Next Up:  I, Robot...You, Jane (S1 E8)

Angel Episode Transcript

I am Lisa M. Lilly, author of The Awakening supernatural thriller series and founder of WritingAsASecondCareer.com. If you love creating stories or just taking them apart to see how they work, you're in the right place.

This Week: Angel

This week we'll be talking about Season One, Episode Seven: Angel. In particular, I'll talk about how the main plot and two subplots weave together and the use of a character who is normally our antagonist as a protagonist in the main plot. The discussion will be spoiler-free except at the very end. But I'll give you plenty of warning.

Okay, let's dive into the Hellmouth.

The Main Plot and Two Subplots

As I sat down to analyze the plot points in this episode, I struggled to figure out exactly where they were. Which seems strange because I love this episode and I think it is very well structured.

After a while I realized it's because we have a main plot and two subplots.

The main plot is really the Master's plot to both kill Buffy and win Angel back. He is our protagonist, the Master that is, in this episode, though he acts through Darla, and though he normally is our antagonist during this season.

Our other plot, which you could also see as the main plot since Buffy is our traditional protagonist and it's her show, is Buffy wanting to be with Angel, falling for Angel. Which is really part of the overall series struggle Buffy has with trying to have a normal life and personal life, along with being the Slayer..

We also have a subplot for Angel wanting to be with Buffy. Angel is the protagonist of this plot.

I'll talk as I go along about why I don't see the Buffy/Angel subplots as one cohesive subplot, although all three of these plots are woven together so well that it did take me a while to see them separately.

The Opening Conflict

We start with our opening conflict. And remember that conflict is what draws the reader in and gets the reader intrigued, though it might or might not relate to the main plot.

Here it does if we see the Master's plot to kill Buffy and win Angel back as the main plot.

The Master starts out by saying “Zachary did not return from the hunt.” And there is a conversation between him and Colin -- him being the Master, not Zachary who's gone -- between the Master and Colin, the little boy vampire Chosen One from the last episode, and Darla.

They are all blaming Buffy.