I got Angel season 1 on DVD for Christmas, and now I'm sad all over again at the death of Doyle (and GQ). Quinn had a way of expressing so much emotion with his eyes that still knocks me over. I'd held this hope after Doyle's death that he would come back as Angel's guide from the other side. It's so depressing that someone so young died so pointlessly.

I don't recall ever being moved by a character death on Buffy or Angel as much as I was moved by Doyle's death -- not Anya, not Tara, not even Buffy, and I loved those characters. I cried along with Angel and Cordy. Sheesh. I need to go watch some crap to shake this off.

With my trusty Angel Season 1 DVD's I watched Hero today. I'd seen the episode before, but it was the first Doyle episode for me, so it was no big deal, I didn't even realize he was a regular. First time TV has ever caused me to cry. When he said 'Am I done?' my eyes watered. The fact that GQ is also dead also didn't help.

Unfortunately, as many stars still living (Robert Downey Jr., Michael Moriarty from Law and Order) and deceased (Glenn Quinn, River Phoenix), forcing someone into rehab doesn't work. If the person isn't ready to turn their lives around, nothing someone else will do will change that.

If, as Roseanne stated, he hated life and really didn't care to live, he still may have self destructed. I was sad to see that he passed-he was a great talent, but something in his life led him down that road, and unfortunately there wasn't much anyone could do to help him in the end.

Doyle remains my favourite character in the Buffy/Angelverse. I enjoyed his personality, the chemistry he had with the other leads, GQ's obvious talent, and the way he acted as a foil to Angel. I've watched the Doyle-centric "Bachelor Party" episode many times (in spite of its many flaws).

I'm also a sucker for accents, and Doyle's was one of the few authentic accents of the ME cast.

I liked Doyle quite a bit, especially how he was such a contradiction. He was sort of like Angel, reluctantly helping people he would normally not care about, perfectly captured by his telling Angel he had to help people, followed immediately by his telling a beggar to "get a job." I would have liked to have seen more development of why he got the visions, especially because he admitted that he couldn't always tell Angel everything, that they were both on a "need to know" basis. A Doyle-Cordelia romance would have been sweet, because she really does have a soft spot for "fixer-uppers." It would have been nice to see him get on his feet, out of gambling, debt, all that. Maybe his life would have mirrored it. All that being said, I think it was really classy of Mutant Enemy, if they felt he had to go, that they let Doyle go out a hero. His "is that it? am I done?" testified to the uncertainty of life, as well as the irony that it wasn't "it" - he'd done a great thing.

I hoping when "Lindsey" says he's Doyle that he's telling the truth. That Doyle has merged with him or something.

But Doyle considered Angel a friend, or so it seemed to me. If there was a merging of Lindsay and Doyle, I would think that Doylindsay should be a little less hostile and/or eager to hurt Angel.

I agree that Doyle wouldn't want to hurt Angel. But maybe by shaking him out of his doldrums, putting him on the black and white path again, away from grey areas, he could help him. That is, if Lindsey is Doyle. I prefer to imagine Doyle as having gone out the hero, the way Spike wants Buffy to remember him.

Agreed. And well said.

I agree as well about Doyle going out the hero. I believe he went to heaven, having atoned for his sins. Now that I think about Angel's pleas to the Oracles to bring him back, I think they did the kindest thing they could do for him: Leave him in heaven where he deserves to be. I came to this conclusion after seeing how screwed up Buffy was when she returned.

Kind of interesting. Angel begged for the return of Doyle, but told Lindsey "don't come back." And now we have Lindsey pretending to be Doyle. Evil hand, indeed.

I started watching Angel after Doyle was gone, it was only when I got the dvds that I knew what the fuss was about. And it was after Quinn died, so when I saw Hero, I felt doubly sad. All that being said, whatever the reasons, I kind of like the arc he took, but it would have been nicer to see it last longer.

Nice to see Doyle again, if only in passing. R.I.P. Doyle and Cordelia.

I was glad to see that Cordelia was on the episode where Angel made the discovery that Lindsey was using Doyle's name. She's the only MoG who would have remembered him. It wouldn't have been right if Angel had to go through that revelation alone.

Seeing the Doyle video made me sad. I liked the character and the actor so much, and I liked the show so much then, too. It was very classy and very appropriate that they included him in this episode. It really was the end of the arc the three characters (Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle) started together.

When they first had Lindsey using Doyle's name, I was pissed, since I miss the character so much. It was wonderful to see Angel and Cordy react the same way. The Doyle video added a delicate layer of poignancy. I also think Cordy and Doyle (or his memory) were an appropriate choice to remind Angel of his roots. Hopefully the passing of the originals won't lead to an abandonment of the early feel of the series. Bravo on a lovely episode! We miss you, Doyle/GQ!

It was Glenn Quinn's own accent, actually.

(smacking self on forehead) which would explain why it was authentic. Yay me for realizing it...

Hey! Look at that. Doyle was mentioned in the finale. In passing, yeah, but still mentioned. Which is a good thing.

There's an article from Dreamwatch linked in the And then what? Beyond Season 5 topic that states the writers actually thought about bringing Doyle back in various capacities, even as a Big Bad. How awesome would that have been?

I don't know. That would be creepy, since Doyle & GQ are dead.

That would have been extremely awesome.

Tell me again, what did he die off? Drug overdose? I forget.

Well, naturally GQ being dead is why they didn't go through with it.

I think it was an overdose, LotusN. Not 100% sure.

It was never revealed, but it was rumored to be a drugs (which is also rumored to be the reason he was fired from Angel).

It was revealed, actually, but it took a few months so it didn't get much coverage. It was heroin.

I'm not quite sure about that? It would've been nice to see Glenn again. But I'm not particuly sure I would've wanted to see him as a bad guy, even though it might've been a better way to end the series. It would've been like "When people you truly care about turn evil". Wait, we've already been down that path with Illyria,and everyone practically everyone in the Jossverse, so maybe not so much. Urgh! I'll have to make up my mind later.

I would hate Doyle as a villian. No, that's probably a lie. I'd love Doyle no matter what. I started watching Buffy/Angel a few months ago (currently in season five/two), and a certain friend of mine promised me that Doyle would be on Angel for a long time. I actually loved Doyle more than Angel for a few episodes. And I agree, TweetyBird, the whole good turned bad is a been there, done that plot.
I don't know, though. On one hand, GQ definitely has (well, had) the capacity to play and evil character. But I love remembering Doyle as the lovable, Irish, and average (well as average as you can be with visions and demon genes), but heroic character. But evil Doyle would still be Irish, right? Ah, curse this sudden but inevitable headache. I guess we'll never know.

I would have been so angry if they had made Doyle a villain. Doyle was far from perfect, but to make him evil would just have been the worst kind of character assassination, especially given the manner of his death.

RIP, GQ. I missed you. And part of the reason Cordy's death sucked so very much was that it made no real link to the original trio of the series. Ah well.

I just stumbled across this thread and it made me heart hurt......I loved the character of Doyle almost as much as Angel.........I have been watching old Roseanne episodes lately, and it still feels like such a waste of a talented and handsome man whenever I see him show up on screen.......

Remembering the scene where Codelia agrees to be made part--demon, I always thought it owuld have been lovely if she'd asked to be made into a part-Brachen demon like Doyle. It woudl have been an answer to his question of whether his true face was one she could have loved.

But so un- Cordelia.

I just saw Doyle's/GQ's last ep again this morning, 5 am to be precise. Hadn't slept all night so I finally turned on the TV. I agree with those who said they were more touched by Doyle's death (as a part of the two series) than anyone else's. And the caveat of the video, coupled with knowing the actor's fate, is an unforgettable TV moment. I came to both shows near their respective ends (thank you James Marsters!), so I already knew of Glenn's death by the time I saw Season 1.

If any of Glenn's friends ever read this...you should know that I felt his loss especially keenly today, and learned from it, again. And for this, I'll always be grateful to him, may he rest in peace.