The Powers That Be (Buffyverse)
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The Powers That Be is a euphemism 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 (or, "the Powers" for short) came in season one of Angel, when a half-human, half-demon named Doyle made contact with Angel and claimed that the Powers send him visions of people in trouble who needed Angel's help. The visions are extremely powerful, come at random times, and cause extreme pain in the recipient.
Though Angel never made contact with the Powers themselves, he did communicate with them in number of manners.
1. The Visions. The visions are first given to Doyle, passed to Cordelia and finally passed to Angel where they end. The Powers sent Angel roughly 30 visions over the course of the series. The visions tended to have double meanings. There was 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.
2. The Oracles. Angel visited the Oracles on three occasions (once to turn back time, once after the death of Doyle and once after their murder by Voca). The Oracles, a pair of Greek god-like entities, gave Angel prophecy like advice. They were murdered by Voca in the Season 1 finale.
3. The Host. Through the Host (Lorne), Angel and the gang would find their destiny by singing. Though this connection was rather indirect, it was strong enough for Lorne to recognize visions from the Powers as opposed to visions from Wolfram and Hart in "That Vision Thing." Lorne's knowledge also allowed Angel to speak to the Powers through the Trials and the Conduit.
4. The Trials. Through the Trials, Angel asks the Powers to give Darla a second chance. They do in the form of a child. The Trials are referred to as the Powers later by Angel and Wes when speaking about their inaction.
5. The Conduit. Midway through season three, in the episode "Birthday", 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 & Hart'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.
6. Ghosts. On two (maybe three) 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. He doesn't listen and Jasmine is born. During season 5, the Powers send Cordelia to Angel to reorient him and pass him the visions. Additionally, it is possible that during season 4 the Powers sent a vision of Lilah to Wes to remind him that Faith can help. This ghost may have been a figment of his imagination or the ghost of Lilah without the Powers' help. There is speculation that the posthumous appearances of Darla or Lilah above may have been The First Evil rather than these characters' spirits.
The Powers that Be are also referred to by Winifred Burkle (AKA "Fred") as "The Powers that Screw You" and the "The Powers that Sit on Their Butt" by Gunn, due to their apparent inaction during many times of crisis that Team Angel faced. Angel and Jasmine also complained about their lack of interest in important events. Doyle, Cordy, Wes and Lorne were much more concerned with doing their will.
The last mention of the Powers occurred in season five, when Cordelia awoke from her coma, in the episode "You're Welcome", thanks to an incredibly powerful vision from the Powers. At the end of the episode, Cordelia commented that the Powers "owed her one", apparently lending credence to the idea the Jasmine's actions did not represent the will of the other Powers that Be.
And then again in the last two episodes of the series when Angel reveals that after a kiss good-bye with Cordelia shortly before her death he received one final vision from The Powers That Be concerning the Circle of the Black Thorn, the leading enforcers of the Senior Partners’ will on Earth. It may be that the entire plan of the Powers over the course of the series was for Angel to infiltrate Wolfram and Hart and destroy the circle.
As with many of the primeval forces which shape the Buffyverse and its back story, very little of the actual nature of The Powers That Be was ever revealed though according to Jasmine they, along with the Old Ones, were the first beings on Earth. When the Earth was turned into a demon realm, they fled to what is presumably the present, almost-inaccessible, heaven-like dimension they dwell in.
See also
- Buffyverse chronology - List of Buffyverse stories (episodes, comics and novels) in chronological order.
- List of Buffyverse-related topics - Index of articles relating to Buffy and Angel.
See also
[Transcripts of the Angel Series]
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