The Powers That Be (Buffyverse)
Encyclopedia
The Powers That Be is a title for the enigmatic and ancient forces that assist the side of good in the WB
television
series Angel
.
The first mention of The Powers That Be (sometimes shortened to "the Powers" or "the PTB") comes in season one of Angel, when a half-human
, half-demon named Doyle
makes contact with Angel and claims that the Powers send him visions of people in trouble who need Angel's help. The visions are extremely powerful, come at seemingly random times, and cause extreme pain in the recipient.
Though Angel never makes contact with the Powers themselves, he does communicate with them in a number of ways.
The Powers that Be are also referred to by Fred
as "The Powers that Screw You" and by Gunn
as "The Powers that Sit on Their Be-hinds," due to their apparent inaction during many times of crisis that Angel Investigations
faces; Angel and Jasmine also complain about their lack of interest in important events. Doyle, Cordelia, Wesley and Lorne appear much more concerned with doing their will.
In "You're Welcome"
, Cordelia dies, but the Powers owe her one for an unspecified reason (probably because of the Jasmine issue), and she convinces them to send her spirit back in physical form to help Angel one last time as repayment. Cordelia helps him defeat Lindsey MacDonald and prevent the Partners failsafe from being released. Cordelia admits she loves Angel and kisses him, secretly using her powers to give him a vision of what he needed to defeat, and disappears after telling him, "you're welcome" and that he has to answer the call that reveals her death.
The canonical continuation of the series (Angel: After The Fall
) states that after her death, Cordelia has become a genuine Higher Being in the service of the Powers, though she does not have the power to go up against the Senior Partners or to help Angel and the others, who are trapped in Hell/Los Angeles.
The Powers play a pivotal role in Angel: After the Fall#12 and Angel: After the Fall#13, specifically. Cordelia manages to arrive in Hell/Los Angeles to assist Angel, as an attack by Gunn leaves Angel badly wounded. After receiving a vision of the future from Wolfram & Hart via Wesley, Angel believes that The Powers want him to leave with Cordelia (elect to die) in order to save mankind from his role in the Apocalypse. Instead, however, intervention by Connor and the support of Cordelia rallies Angel, and as he "run[s] away from the light" she begins to fade away. Before vanishing Cordelia gives Angel one final boost as she says, "Be good, big guy!" before finally fading away.
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
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...
.
The first mention of The Powers That Be (sometimes shortened to "the Powers" or "the PTB") comes in season one of Angel, when a half-human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
, half-demon named Doyle
Allen Francis Doyle
Allen Francis Doyle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series, Angel. The character was portrayed by Glenn Quinn.-Character history:Doyle was born to a human mother and a Brachen demon father...
makes contact with Angel and claims that the Powers send him visions of people in trouble who need Angel's help. The visions are extremely powerful, come at seemingly random times, and cause extreme pain in the recipient.
Though Angel never makes contact with the Powers themselves, he does communicate with them in a number of ways.
- The Visions. The visions are first given to Doyle, then pass to CordeliaCordelia ChaseCordelia 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...
and finally make their way to Angel. The Powers send roughly 30 visions over the course of the series. The visions tend to have double meanings. There is a micro-purpose and macro-purpose to each vision. For instance, the Power's first vision tells Doyle that "we have a common enemy." On a micro scale, the Powers mean the Scourge. On the macro scale, they mean the Senior Partners or evil itself. While helping people, the visions tend to make Angel meet the right people who are useful to plans and prophecies later. However, the visions typically cause the bearer great pain, and only demons or those with demonic heritage can bear them without suffering long-term damage. - The Oracles. Angel visits the Oracles on four occasions (once to find if he really was human, once to turn back time after becoming human, once after the death of Doyle and once after their murder by Vocah). The Oracles, a pair of Greek-god-like entities, one male and one female, give Angel prophecy-like advice. They are murdered by Vocah in the Season 1 finale, but the female Oracle is able to manifest in spiritual form to speak to Angel one last time.
- The Host. Through the Host, Angel and the gang find their destiny by singing. Though this connection is rather indirect, it is strong enough for Lorne to recognize visions from the Powers as opposed to visions from Wolfram & HartWolfram & HartWolfram & 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 "That Vision Thing". Lorne's knowledge also allows Angel to speak to the Powers through the Trials and the Conduit. - The Trials. Through the Trials, Angel asks the Powers to give Darla a second chance. The Trials are referred to as the Powers later by Angel and Wes when speaking about their inaction.
- The Conduit. Midway through season three, in the episode "BirthdayBirthday (Angel episode)"Birthday" is episode 11 of season 3 in the television show Angel. Written by Mere Smith and directed by Michael Grossman, it was originally broadcast on January 14, 2002 on the WB network. In "Birthday", Cordelia has a precognitive vision so painful that she goes into a coma...
", Cordelia has a vision which knocks her into a coma and while unconscious, is visited by Skip who reveals that humans are not strong enough to bear the visions. After learning the deadly effects of the visions, Angel seeks to communicate with the Powers That Be, which he accomplishes via The Conduit (which shouldn't be confused with Wolfram & HartWolfram and HartWolfram & 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:...
's Conduit of the White Room). It is not made clear whether the Conduit is an incorporeal entity or merely a channel of communication that allows speaking with the Powers That Be themselves. Nevertheless, Angel enters an empty cave with a bonfire in the middle and speaks with an entity or entities which sound like the disembodied voices of a man and a woman speaking almost in synchronicity. - Ghosts. On two occasions, the Powers send ghosts to speak to people. During season 4, the Powers send a vision of Darla to Connor to convince him not to kill an innocent girl. During season 5, the Powers send Cordelia to Angel to reorient him and pass him the visions.
The Powers that Be are also referred to by Fred
Winifred Burkle
Winifred "Fred" Burkle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Shawn Ryan and Mere Smith on the television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.-Character history:...
as "The Powers that Screw You" and by Gunn
Charles Gunn
Charles Gunn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series, Angel. The character is portrayed by J. August Richards, and was named by Whedon after filmmaker James Gunn and actor Sean Gunn, both of whom had worked with Whedon...
as "The Powers that Sit on Their Be-hinds," due to their apparent inaction during many times of crisis that 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...
faces; Angel and Jasmine also complain about their lack of interest in important events. Doyle, Cordelia, Wesley and Lorne appear much more concerned with doing their will.
In "You're Welcome"
You're Welcome (Angel episode)
"You're Welcome" is the twelfth episode of season five of the television show Angel. Written and directed by David Fury, it is the 100th episode of the series, and originally broadcast on February 4, 2004 on the WB network. In "You're Welcome", former series regular Charisma Carpenter returns as a...
, Cordelia dies, but the Powers owe her one for an unspecified reason (probably because of the Jasmine issue), and she convinces them to send her spirit back in physical form to help Angel one last time as repayment. Cordelia helps him defeat Lindsey MacDonald and prevent the Partners failsafe from being released. Cordelia admits she loves Angel and kisses him, secretly using her powers to give him a vision of what he needed to defeat, and disappears after telling him, "you're welcome" and that he has to answer the call that reveals her death.
The canonical continuation of the series (Angel: After The Fall
Angel: After the Fall
Angel: After the Fall is a comic book published by IDW Publishing. Written by Brian Lynch and plotted with Joss Whedon, the series is a canonical continuation of the Angel television series, and follows the events of that show's final televised season...
) states that after her death, Cordelia has become a genuine Higher Being in the service of the Powers, though she does not have the power to go up against the Senior Partners or to help Angel and the others, who are trapped in Hell/Los Angeles.
The Powers play a pivotal role in Angel: After the Fall#12 and Angel: After the Fall#13, specifically. Cordelia manages to arrive in Hell/Los Angeles to assist Angel, as an attack by Gunn leaves Angel badly wounded. After receiving a vision of the future from Wolfram & Hart via Wesley, Angel believes that The Powers want him to leave with Cordelia (elect to die) in order to save mankind from his role in the Apocalypse. Instead, however, intervention by Connor and the support of Cordelia rallies Angel, and as he "run[s] away from the light" she begins to fade away. Before vanishing Cordelia gives Angel one final boost as she says, "Be good, big guy!" before finally fading away.