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Darla (Buffyverse)
Encyclopedia
Darla is a recurring
fictional character
created by Joss Whedon
and played by Julie Benz
in the first
, second
, and fifth
seasons of the American supernatural television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character later appeared in the Buffy spin-off
series Angel
, making at least one appearance in every season. The character made her last television appearance in 2004, appearing as a special guest star in the fifth and final season
of Angel.
Darla is introduced in "Welcome to the Hellmouth
", the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in 1997. It is revealed early on that she is a vampire, initially in league with the Master, Buffy Summers
' primary antagonist in the first season. Darla's backstory
is disclosed in the episode "Angel", where it is revealed that she is Angel's sire (the one who turned him into a vampire) and former longtime lover. The character appeared in numerous flashback episodes, until she received a significantly expanded role in Angel. Darla has died a total of four times, making her the character to die the most often in the two series. In Angel, she is resurrected by the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart
in an attempt to weaken Angel. She later became intertwined in many of the story arcs in the second and third season. Darla becomes pregnant, a unique occurrence for a vampire. She sacrifices herself in order to give birth to her and Angel's human son Connor, ending her run on the series. However, Benz continued to appear in flashback episodes during the next two seasons.
The character has been well-reviewed by television critics, with Eric Goldman of IGN
saying "Not even dying (twice!) could keep Darla from being an important part of the story behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff series Angel."
, who had previously won the part of Cordelia Chase
. However, Benz was offered the small role of the vampire Darla in the pilot episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her performance was so well-received that her character appeared in a few more episodes. In an interview with TheTVAddict.com, Benz said of her casting: "I was supposed to die in the pilot, but about halfway through the pilot Joss Whedon
was like, 'We’re giving you a name and we’re not going to kill you.' And he did that for a while until it finally came time to kill me, and kill me, and kill me and killed [sic] me." She later went on to say:
Darla is first killed in the seventh episode
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In that episode, it is revealed that Darla was once romantically involved with Angel and that she made him a vampire. Angel stakes her through the heart. Benz was asked to return to the role three years later, but not on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon wanted her to appear on the spin-off Angel
, which focused on Angel's adventures in Los Angeles. Benz said in an interview: "I was shocked, really. When they sent me the script [for Angel] I kept asking, ‘Where’s Darla?’ I remember calling my agent asking, ‘Are you sure they want me for this episode because I can’t seem to find me?’ And then I get to the last page and there I am… naked in a box. Awesome. It was exciting."
When asked in an interview with Robert Canning of IGN
about how she felt about being asked to come on to Angel after previously being killed off, Benz commented: "I was shocked. I just thought once you poof'd, you poof'd! I thought that was it. So when they threw it out to me that I was coming back… They didn't tell me they were bringing her back to life. They just sent me the script for the season finale for season one of Angel, when they rose me from the dead. I was reading the script, and half way through, Darla still hadn't shown up." Benz went on to add, "I was like, 'Alright…' I get three quarters of the way through and I think, 'Maybe they sent me the wrong script…?' And then I get to the last page, and I was like, 'Oh my god! I can't believe this! This is so cool!' At that time I'd been committed to another project too. We didn't even know if I was going to be available or not. But it all ended up working out."
She appeared in twenty Angel episodes, mainly as an evil antagonist. The character is known for dying the most in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise. She later emphasized: "I just didn’t know how it was going to happen. So when they sent me the script [for my last episode of Angel]—which I basically had to sign my life away to read—I was sitting in my trailer and I just started to cry. I thought it was such a beautiful ending, it was the payoff and just really brought her whole life kind of to that one moment. So I was really upset my last day of filming because I really thought it was over to me."
Achieving Darla's look was a struggle for Benz. She said: "Taking that makeup off, it was like having six layers of skin ripped off your face every time. It was miserable and the contact lenses were terrible. I don’t wear contacts and I don’t know how people do it, sticking things in their eyeballs all the time." The character's sense of fashion is vital to understanding her past. Benz says Darla is "dressed to the nines" in every time period in which she lives, and "she fully goes after a certain look. If she’s going to be living during the Boxer Rebellion
time, she’s got the big Gibson Girl
hair style and the beautiful kimono
-style clothes." Benz points out that in the Buffy pilot episode
, Darla—attempting to dress like a high school student—exaggerates it with a "little twist", wearing a Catholic schoolgirl uniform instead. "I think I influenced Darla fashion-wise in the second season of Angel where she was a little more classic-looking and tailored," Benz says, explaining she collaborated with the costume designer to transition Darla into a "hipper look" when she became a vampire again. Darla shockingly becomes pregnant in the third season
of Angel. In an interview with the BBC
, Benz admitted:
In an interview with the BBC
, Benz described Darla as being strong: "I have an amazing stunt double, Lisa Hoyle who looks exactly like me. She’s just brilliant and fearless and she does about 90 per cent of the stunts. I think part of the element of Darla is how strong she is and how fierce she can be and Lisa definitely adds to that element. I would be a doing huge disservice to Darla if I didn’t allow her to do the work that she does and to help add to that element that’s so important to Darla, which is her strength."
in North America
and becomes independently wealthy but also contracts a fatal case of syphilis
. By 1609, Darla lies dying in the luxurious house she owns. She scoffs at a "priest" who comes to her deathbed before he reveals his true identity: the Master, leader of the elite cult of vampires known as the Order of Aurelius
. Darla despises the clergy and religion, a trait that would follow her as a vampire. The Master turns her into a vampire and renames her "Darla," meaning "dear one" in early modern English ("darling").
She spends four centuries torturing innocent people, often accompanied by Angel (before his conversion to good), before showing up in Sunnydale
. Darla's first appearance is in "Welcome to the Hellmouth
", the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, aired in 1997. She breaks into Sunnydale High School
with a student who goes there. Darla first toys with the youth, then her face morphs into that of a vampire, and she bites the boy. Darla later appears in the episode "The Harvest", where she participates in the ascension of the Master, a very old and powerful vampire. Darla's role in the series is more prominent in the episode "Angel
", where it is revealed that she was Angel's sire and former lover. Darla bites an unsuspecting Joyce Summers
(Buffy's mother), making it look as if Angel did it. Angel eventually kills her. She later appears in numerous flashbacks, illuminating her involvement not only with Angel, but also with Spike.
Darla's role in the franchise increased dramatically after her resurrection by the law firm Wolfram & Hart
in the final episode of Angel' s first season, titled "To Shanshu in L.A." In the second season
opener, "Judgement", Wolfram & Hart lawyers Lindsey McDonald
and Lilah Morgan
question Darla about her past. She talks of how she can feel Angel, and slowly her memory begins to return. In the episode "First Impresions", Angel begins having romantic dreams about his maker. The dreams sap his strength. In "Dear Boy", Angel is shocked to see Darla walking the streets. When he tells his partners, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
and Cordelia Chase
, they think he is starting to lose his sanity. During the course of a stakeout by Angel Investigations
of a woman suspected of having an affair, Angel confronts the woman, who looks exactly like Darla. She, however, claims she is DeEtta Kramer. When she runs away from him, she walks outside into the sunlight, meaning Darla has not only been resurrected, but is now human. However, Darla and Lindsey's plan to convert Angel back to evil fails. In the end, Wolfram & Hart bring in Drusilla to make Darla a vampire again. Drusilla and Darla unsuccessfully attack Angel and leave Los Angeles
.
Knowing that Angel has been cursed so that if he ever experiences pure happiness, he will once again lose his soul, Darla later returns and sleeps with him, but her plot fails; being with her does not make him supremely happy. Darla reappears in season three
, surprisingly pregnant with Angel's baby. Admitting that creating life with Angel was the only good thing they ever did together, Darla makes sure Angel will relay that to their child before she stakes herself through the heart, sacrificing her life so their baby, Connor, can be born. Darla turns to dust, but the baby remains.
. He said: "As the very first character seen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Julie Benz instantly made an impression as the vampire Darla. For the next 8 television seasons, she would get to show many different facets of the role, as not even dying (twice!) could keep Darla from being an important part of the story and mythos behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff series Angel, the latter of which allowed Benz to greatly expand her character."
Recurring character
A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in an episode, sometimes being the main focus...
fictional character
Character (arts)
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
created by Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
and played by Julie Benz
Julie Benz
Julie M. Benz is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and as Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television...
in the first
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 1)
- Crew :Series creator Joss Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner. David Greenwalt joined the series as co-executive producer as 20th Century Fox wanted an experienced television producer as Whedon had never ran a television series before. Whedon wrote the most episodes, writing three...
, second
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 2)
The second season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered on September 15, 1997 on The WB Television Network and concluded its 22-episode season on May 19, 1998...
, and fifth
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 5)
- Crew :Series creator Joss Whedon served as executive producer and showrunner, and wrote and directed three episodes including the season finale. Marti Noxon was promoted to co-executive producer and wrote three episodes, including directing two of them. Jane Espenson was promoted to producer and...
seasons of the American supernatural television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character later appeared in the Buffy spin-off
Spin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
series Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, making at least one appearance in every season. The character made her last television appearance in 2004, appearing as a special guest star in the fifth and final season
Angel (season 5)
The fifth and final season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on October 1, 2003 on The WB Television Network and concluded its 22-episode season and its television run on May 19, 2004. The season aired on Wednesdays at 9:00 pm ET...
of Angel.
Darla is introduced in "Welcome to the Hellmouth
Welcome to the Hellmouth
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode and "The Harvest" were originally aired as a two-part series premiere on The WB Television Network...
", the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, in 1997. It is revealed early on that she is a vampire, initially in league with the Master, Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
' primary antagonist in the first season. Darla's backstory
Back-story
A back-story, background story, or backstory is the literary device of a narrative chronologically earlier than, and related to, a narrative of primary interest. Generally, it is the history of characters or other elements that underlie the situation existing at the main narrative's start...
is disclosed in the episode "Angel", where it is revealed that she is Angel's sire (the one who turned him into a vampire) and former longtime lover. The character appeared in numerous flashback episodes, until she received a significantly expanded role in Angel. Darla has died a total of four times, making her the character to die the most often in the two series. In Angel, she is resurrected by the evil law firm Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart − Attorneys at Law is a fictional international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel, as well as other extended materials in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.-Fictional history:...
in an attempt to weaken Angel. She later became intertwined in many of the story arcs in the second and third season. Darla becomes pregnant, a unique occurrence for a vampire. She sacrifices herself in order to give birth to her and Angel's human son Connor, ending her run on the series. However, Benz continued to appear in flashback episodes during the next two seasons.
The character has been well-reviewed by television critics, with Eric Goldman of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
saying "Not even dying (twice!) could keep Darla from being an important part of the story behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff series Angel."
Conception and casting
Julie Benz initially auditioned for the role of Buffy Summers, but that later went to Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
, who had previously won the part of Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
. However, Benz was offered the small role of the vampire Darla in the pilot episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Her performance was so well-received that her character appeared in a few more episodes. In an interview with TheTVAddict.com, Benz said of her casting: "I was supposed to die in the pilot, but about halfway through the pilot Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
was like, 'We’re giving you a name and we’re not going to kill you.' And he did that for a while until it finally came time to kill me, and kill me, and kill me and killed [sic] me." She later went on to say:
For me, I was a new actor to Los AngelesLos ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, didn’t know the TV business very well so I was just excited to work and play a vampire. I had no clue what I was going to do or how I was going to be scary. Until that is, they put the vampire makeup on me and I went into the trailer and smiled, which I thought was creepy. Joss always said he was intrigued that someone who looked like me and talked like me was like the scariest vampire ever. That’s what he wanted, my sweet voice and demeanour until all of a sudden I’m just this vicious vampire."
Darla is first killed in the seventh episode
Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)
"Angel" is the seventh episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by co-executive producer David Greenwalt and directed by Scott Brazil. The narrative follows Buffy Summers , vampire slayer, coming to terms with her feelings for Angel , who is revealed to...
of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In that episode, it is revealed that Darla was once romantically involved with Angel and that she made him a vampire. Angel stakes her through the heart. Benz was asked to return to the role three years later, but not on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Joss Whedon wanted her to appear on the spin-off Angel
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, which focused on Angel's adventures in Los Angeles. Benz said in an interview: "I was shocked, really. When they sent me the script [for Angel] I kept asking, ‘Where’s Darla?’ I remember calling my agent asking, ‘Are you sure they want me for this episode because I can’t seem to find me?’ And then I get to the last page and there I am… naked in a box. Awesome. It was exciting."
When asked in an interview with Robert Canning of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
about how she felt about being asked to come on to Angel after previously being killed off, Benz commented: "I was shocked. I just thought once you poof'd, you poof'd! I thought that was it. So when they threw it out to me that I was coming back… They didn't tell me they were bringing her back to life. They just sent me the script for the season finale for season one of Angel, when they rose me from the dead. I was reading the script, and half way through, Darla still hadn't shown up." Benz went on to add, "I was like, 'Alright…' I get three quarters of the way through and I think, 'Maybe they sent me the wrong script…?' And then I get to the last page, and I was like, 'Oh my god! I can't believe this! This is so cool!' At that time I'd been committed to another project too. We didn't even know if I was going to be available or not. But it all ended up working out."
She appeared in twenty Angel episodes, mainly as an evil antagonist. The character is known for dying the most in the Buffy The Vampire Slayer franchise. She later emphasized: "I just didn’t know how it was going to happen. So when they sent me the script [for my last episode of Angel]—which I basically had to sign my life away to read—I was sitting in my trailer and I just started to cry. I thought it was such a beautiful ending, it was the payoff and just really brought her whole life kind of to that one moment. So I was really upset my last day of filming because I really thought it was over to me."
Characterization
Darla is presented in the series as a wicked vampire with, as Benz put it, generally "pure" intentions. In an interview with TheTVAddict, Benz said:
"Darla’s just misunderstood. Her intentions are pure, they’re just kind of warped. From her perspective—first she has to eat—she just happens to eat people! Second, she was in love with Angel, and I always viewed Darla as the jilted ex-wife that could never get over being dumped. If you really look at her, you can have sympathy and empathy for her. In the beginning of her life she was a prostitute, Joss and I actually talked about that a lot, that she was probably abused growing up. She did what she needed to do to survive, she just lacked the people skills."
Achieving Darla's look was a struggle for Benz. She said: "Taking that makeup off, it was like having six layers of skin ripped off your face every time. It was miserable and the contact lenses were terrible. I don’t wear contacts and I don’t know how people do it, sticking things in their eyeballs all the time." The character's sense of fashion is vital to understanding her past. Benz says Darla is "dressed to the nines" in every time period in which she lives, and "she fully goes after a certain look. If she’s going to be living during the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
time, she’s got the big Gibson Girl
Gibson Girl
The Gibson Girl was the personification of a feminine ideal as portrayed in the satirical pen-and-ink-illustrated stories created by illustrator Charles Dana Gibson during a 20-year period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in the United States.Some people argue that the...
hair style and the beautiful kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
-style clothes." Benz points out that in the Buffy pilot episode
Welcome to the Hellmouth
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode and "The Harvest" were originally aired as a two-part series premiere on The WB Television Network...
, Darla—attempting to dress like a high school student—exaggerates it with a "little twist", wearing a Catholic schoolgirl uniform instead. "I think I influenced Darla fashion-wise in the second season of Angel where she was a little more classic-looking and tailored," Benz says, explaining she collaborated with the costume designer to transition Darla into a "hipper look" when she became a vampire again. Darla shockingly becomes pregnant in the third season
Angel (season 2)
The second season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on September 26, 2000 on The WB Television Network and concluded its 22-episode season on May 22, 2001...
of Angel. In an interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Benz admitted:
Yeah, I really felt at that point she was pretty strung out. Her whole world was rocked. She never thought she could get pregnant and then all of a sudden she's carrying this child and she's experiencing this soul for the first time in four hundred years. [There's] the realisation that as soon as the baby's born the soul's going to go away, and it's the first time she really experienced true love, so she was going through a lot emotionally. I just didn't think that she would have time to really think about how she looked. I don't think it was a priority, and so for me as an actor it was important that I reveal that. Not get caught up in my own vanity as an actress, and portray the character as where she really was.
In an interview with the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, Benz described Darla as being strong: "I have an amazing stunt double, Lisa Hoyle who looks exactly like me. She’s just brilliant and fearless and she does about 90 per cent of the stunts. I think part of the element of Darla is how strong she is and how fierce she can be and Lisa definitely adds to that element. I would be a doing huge disservice to Darla if I didn’t allow her to do the work that she does and to help add to that element that’s so important to Darla, which is her strength."
Storylines
Darla is born in the late 16th century in the British Isles. Her birth name has never been revealed in either series, and Darla herself eventually forgets it. As a young prostitute, she emigrates to the Virginia ColonyColony and Dominion of Virginia
The Colony of Virginia was the English colony in North America that existed briefly during the 16th century, and then continuously from 1607 until the American Revolution...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and becomes independently wealthy but also contracts a fatal case of syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
. By 1609, Darla lies dying in the luxurious house she owns. She scoffs at a "priest" who comes to her deathbed before he reveals his true identity: the Master, leader of the elite cult of vampires known as the Order of Aurelius
Order of Aurelius
The Order of Aurelius is a fictional cult of vampires, seen primarily in the first season of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the first episodes of the show's second season.-The select, the elite:...
. Darla despises the clergy and religion, a trait that would follow her as a vampire. The Master turns her into a vampire and renames her "Darla," meaning "dear one" in early modern English ("darling").
She spends four centuries torturing innocent people, often accompanied by Angel (before his conversion to good), before showing up in Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
. Darla's first appearance is in "Welcome to the Hellmouth
Welcome to the Hellmouth
"Welcome to the Hellmouth" is the series premiere of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This episode and "The Harvest" were originally aired as a two-part series premiere on The WB Television Network...
", the first episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, aired in 1997. She breaks into Sunnydale High School
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
with a student who goes there. Darla first toys with the youth, then her face morphs into that of a vampire, and she bites the boy. Darla later appears in the episode "The Harvest", where she participates in the ascension of the Master, a very old and powerful vampire. Darla's role in the series is more prominent in the episode "Angel
Angel (Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode)
"Angel" is the seventh episode of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was written by co-executive producer David Greenwalt and directed by Scott Brazil. The narrative follows Buffy Summers , vampire slayer, coming to terms with her feelings for Angel , who is revealed to...
", where it is revealed that she was Angel's sire and former lover. Darla bites an unsuspecting Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers
Joyce Summers is a fictional character in the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . Played by Kristine Sutherland, Joyce is the mother of the main character, Buffy Summers . Joyce appears regularly from the first episode until the character's death in the fifth season episode "The...
(Buffy's mother), making it look as if Angel did it. Angel eventually kills her. She later appears in numerous flashbacks, illuminating her involvement not only with Angel, but also with Spike.
Darla's role in the franchise increased dramatically after her resurrection by the law firm Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart − Attorneys at Law is a fictional international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel, as well as other extended materials in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.-Fictional history:...
in the final episode of Angel
Angel (season 2)
The second season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on September 26, 2000 on The WB Television Network and concluded its 22-episode season on May 22, 2001...
opener, "Judgement", Wolfram & Hart lawyers Lindsey McDonald
Lindsey McDonald
Lindsey McDonald is a fictional character from the television series Angel. He first appeared in the series' first episode, "City of," and featured prominently in the story arcs of seasons one, two, and five. Lindsey is the only character besides Angel himself to appear in both the first and last...
and Lilah Morgan
Lilah Morgan
Lilah Morgan is a fictional character from the television series Angel, played by Stephanie Romanov. She is first introduced in the episode "The Ring," and appears in the show's first and second seasons. After Lindsey McDonald leaves Los Angeles, Lilah becomes the primary face of Wolfram & Hart,...
question Darla about her past. She talks of how she can feel Angel, and slowly her memory begins to return. In the episode "First Impresions", Angel begins having romantic dreams about his maker. The dreams sap his strength. In "Dear Boy", Angel is shocked to see Darla walking the streets. When he tells his partners, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...
and Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
, they think he is starting to lose his sanity. During the course of a stakeout by Angel Investigations
Angel Investigations
Angel Investigations is a fictional detective agency run by the title character Angel previously on the WB television series Angel . It is sometimes abbreviated as AI...
of a woman suspected of having an affair, Angel confronts the woman, who looks exactly like Darla. She, however, claims she is DeEtta Kramer. When she runs away from him, she walks outside into the sunlight, meaning Darla has not only been resurrected, but is now human. However, Darla and Lindsey's plan to convert Angel back to evil fails. In the end, Wolfram & Hart bring in Drusilla to make Darla a vampire again. Drusilla and Darla unsuccessfully attack Angel and leave Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
Knowing that Angel has been cursed so that if he ever experiences pure happiness, he will once again lose his soul, Darla later returns and sleeps with him, but her plot fails; being with her does not make him supremely happy. Darla reappears in season three
Angel (season 3)
The third season of the television series Angel, the spin-off of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, premiered on September 24, 2001 on The WB Television Network and concluded its 22-episode season on May 20, 2002. The season aired in a new timeslot, Mondays at 9:00 pm ET...
, surprisingly pregnant with Angel's baby. Admitting that creating life with Angel was the only good thing they ever did together, Darla makes sure Angel will relay that to their child before she stakes herself through the heart, sacrificing her life so their baby, Connor, can be born. Darla turns to dust, but the baby remains.
Reception
The character of Darla has been well-received by Eric Goldman of IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
. He said: "As the very first character seen on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Julie Benz instantly made an impression as the vampire Darla. For the next 8 television seasons, she would get to show many different facets of the role, as not even dying (twice!) could keep Darla from being an important part of the story and mythos behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the spinoff series Angel, the latter of which allowed Benz to greatly expand her character."
External links
- Darla at the Buffyverse Wiki