final draft-analysis-Forgiveness

Forgiveness
“Is there such a thing as forgiveness?” This is the question Judy poses to Angel as she wonders if she can be forgiven from her crime of robbing the bank. Angel answers with a casual “ I hope so.” Clearly at this point he is not talking about Judy and her crimes, he is wondering if he can ever be forgiven of all the awful things he had done in his life. Can he right his wrongs by doing good? He doesn’t know, but is hopeful that he can. When July is accused of murder, Angel learns and understands what forgiveness is.
There are a lot of similarities to Angel in this episode and the Story of Jesus Christ found in the Bible. Angel represents Christ. He takes on the sins of all the people in the hotel. When Judy points her finger and places the blame of the murder on him. He doesn’t say anything at all. He stands there and lets them accuse him of something he is innocent of. He takes their sneering and mocking and accusing. Christ is also falsely accused. He was mocked and beaten and forced to wear a crown of thorns. He never lashed out or tried to direct his accusers’ attention elsewhere. He receives their accusations. Angel takes the blame that was once on Judy and puts it on himself. He accepts her wrong doing and suffers the consequences , even death, so she is spared. Christ did the same for our sins. He allowed himself to take on our sins so that we, in the end can be spared of suffering.
Angel allows himself to be hung from the rafters at the hotel in front of all his accusers. He received no fair trial, no trial at all for that matter but he did receive a public hanging. Christ willingly allowed himself to be whipped, beaten, wear a crown of thorns, nailed to a cross and hung for all to see. It was a very public death as his closest followers and enemies watched him suffer and die. Christ received no fair trial, but ultimately Pontius Pilate knew he was innocent, after he washed his hands in the water he said to the multitiude, “ I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.” Judy knows Angel is innocent, but she still sent him to his death. Pilate and Judy go along with what the people want, even though it caused innocent men to die.
While in their most vulnerable state, Christ and Angel are mocked while hanging on the cross and in the noose. While on the cross, Christ’s enemies are relentless. They taunted and yelled at him saying, “Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thy self. It thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” As Angel is forced to put his head through the noose the crowd yells to “get him” and “kill him” and bell hop is especially excited to see Angel die if for no other reason then he gives him the “heebie geebies”
Both Angel and Christ possess the power to stop the people who are killing them. Angel, being a vampire could stop them with his strength, and Christ could stop them with his Godly power, but both chose to go through with it, allowing the natural consequences to take place.
Angel could not really die, as he was already dead. Christ knew he would rise again on the third day and fulfill his prophecy of his resurrection. Both could not die, which may be why they were so willing to allow such awful things to happen to them. Knowing their lives would go on, gave them the strength to continue and allow such heinous crimes to be committed to them.
Christ does rise again on the third day. Angel immediately frees himself from the noose and ultimately leaves the hotel. Because of Christ’s sacrifice of his own live, we can be forgiven of our sins. Because Angel “died” in front of all the hotel occupants, Judy was forgiven of her sins and no one bothered her about her past.
The enormous difference between these two is Christ is perfect and has no sins. Angel, clearly, is not perfect and has a lot of work to do. In the beginning of the episode he does not know if forgiveness is possible. By the end, he realizes it is. By taking on the sins of others he knows what it feels like to forgive. When Judy personally asks for his forgiveness, he immediately grants it, and there again he feels that forgives is possible. He also recognizes that to be forgiven he must forgive others and more importantly himself. He knows he cannot allow the guilt of his past to weigh heavy on his mind. As he talks with Judy, and sees how paralyzing guilt can be, he knows he must move and stop dwelling on his past mistakes.
Throughout the episode, Angel realizes he can be forgiven of his past mistakes. He knows he will have a lot of work to do to truly be penitent, but he now knows it is possible. Part of the forgivness process , for Angel, is letting go. Letting go of his past mistakes and more specifically his interactions with the people at the hotel. As he makes all his wrongs right, and begins forgiving himself, he can truly find forgiveness for himself and for others and go on living a happy and fulfilling life.