Cordelia Chase is a
fictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative or dramatic work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr through its Latin transcription character, the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its...
created by
Joss WhedonJoseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American director, executive producer, occasional actor, and creator and head writer of the television programs Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and Dollhouse...
for the television series
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on
Buffy's spin-offA spin-off is a new organization or entity formed by a split from a larger one, such as television series based on a pre-existing one, or a new company formed from a university research group or business incubator...
series
AngelAngel 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...
. Portrayed by
Charisma CarpenterCharisma Lee Carpenter is an American actress. She is best known for playing the character Cordelia Chase in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel...
, the character appears as a series regular in the first three seasons of
Buffy, before exiting the show and becoming a series regular during the first four seasons of
Angel. The character made her last television appearance in 2004, appearing as a special guest star in
Angel's one hundredth episode. Cordelia also appears in
apocryphalIn the context of fiction Apocrypha includes those fictional stories that do not belong within a fictional universe's canon, yet still have some authority relating to that fictional universe. The boundaries between canon and apocrypha can often be blurred....
Buffy and
Angel material such as
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
s and
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s.
Cordelia is introduced in "
Welcome to the Hellmouth"Welcome to the Hellmouth", the first in a two-part series opener, is episode 1 of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy episodes...
" as one of Sunnydale High's popular cheerleaders, attending school alongside vampire slayer
Buffy SummersBuffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
. Through her interactions with Buffy and her friends, she comes to accept the existence of supernatural forces and helps Buffy fight against them. In the television series
Angel, Cordelia joins Angel, a heroic vampire with a
soulThe soul, in many religions, spiritual traditions, and philosophies, is the spiritual and eternal part of a living being, commonly held to be separable in existence from the body; distinct from the physical part. It is typically thought to consist of ones consciousness and personality, and can be...
, in forming a detective agency dedicated to stopping supernatural forces and helping the helpless. After Cordelia acquires the ability to see visions of those in need, she becomes a more compassionate and heroic character. In the fourth season of
Angel, she appears to take on a villainous role before it is revealed that she is possessed by a malevolent deity; this storyline eventually leads to her death and subsequent exit from the series. The character makes further
canonicalA canon, in terms of a fictional universe, is a body of material that is considered to be "genuine" or "official", that can be directly referenced as, or as if it were, material produced by the original author or creator of a series...
appearances in the comic books
Buffy Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
and
Angel: After the FallAngel: 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...
, in a dream
flashbackA flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened prior to the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
and as a
spirit guide"Spirit guide" is a term used by the Western tradition of Spiritualist Churches, mediums, and psychics to describe an entity that remains a disincarnate spirit in order to act as a spiritual counselor or protector to a living incarnated human being....
.
Created as a
foilA foil is a person that contrasts with another character in order to highlight various features of the main character's personality: to throw the character of the protagonist into sharper relief...
for
Buffy's titular heroine, Cordelia was initially characterized as "shallow", "vain" and "self-centered", and was used in the series to create conflict for the other characters. The character went through changes as she gradually redeemed herself throughout the course of
Buffy and
Angel, and has received attention in academic texts related to
gender studiesGender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyzes the phenomenon of gender. Gender Studies is sometimes related to studies of class, race, ethnicity, sexuality and location....
and
social statusIn sociology or anthropology, social status is the honor or prestige attached to one's position in society .A society's stratification system, which is the system of distributing rewards to the members of society, determines social status. Social status, the position or rank of a person or group...
.
Television
Cordelia Chase first appears in the première episode of
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, titled "
Welcome to the Hellmouth"Welcome to the Hellmouth", the first in a two-part series opener, is episode 1 of season 1 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. See also List of Buffy episodes...
". Introduced as a potential friend for Sunnydale High's newest student,
Buffy SummersBuffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer, before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
(
Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Prinze, better known by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar, is an American film and television actress...
), Cordelia reveals her true colors by verbally attacking
WillowWillow Rosenberg is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She was portrayed by Alyson Hannigan, who also played the character in three episodes of the show's spin-off, Angel and the pilot for Buffy the Animated Series .Willow is the...
(
Alyson HanniganAlyson Lee Hannigan is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Michelle Flaherty in three American Pie films, Lily Aldrin on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother and Willow Rosenberg on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Personal life:Hannigan was born in Washington,...
), whom Buffy befriends instead. Ignorant of the supernatural, Cordelia shows up regularly throughout the first season of
Buffy to insult and ridicule the other characters. She plays a larger role in the episode "
Out of Mind, Out of Sight"Out of Mind, Out of Sight", also known as "Invisible Girl", is the eleventh and penultimate episode in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Summary:...
", in which she falls victim to a social outcast who wants revenge on popular students for ignoring her so much that she turned invisible. In the season finale, Cordelia helps Buffy and her friends battle vampires, finally coming to terms with the existence of supernatural forces. In season two, Cordelia becomes a more active ally to the "Scooby Gang" and begins a romantic relationship with
Xander HarrisAlexander LaVelle "Xander" Harris is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Nicholas Brendon, whose twin brother Kelly Donovan occasionally appeared as his double or as a substitute actor when Brendon was unavailable.-Character...
(
Nicholas BrendonNicholas Brendon , is a Saturn Award nominated actor best known for his character Xander Harris in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer ....
). In "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered", dating someone of Xander's social status causes Cordelia to become ostracised from her popular peers and she reluctantly breaks up with him. However, when Xander performs a love spell to pay her back for hurting him, Cordelia realises how much he cares about her and takes him back, rejecting her superficial friends in the process. In season three's "Lovers Walk", Cordelia suffers heartbreak when Xander cheats on her with Willow, which ends their relationship. By the season three episode "The Wish", Cordelia slips back into her antagonistic persona from the first season, disassociating herself from the Scooby Gang altogether. In the episode "The Prom", she reveals that her family's wealth has been seized for tax fraud. Cordelia later attempts an unsuccessful relationship with
WesleyWesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...
(
Alexis DenisofAlexis Denisof is a Saturn Award nominated American actor who is known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.-Career:...
) and makes peace with Xander at the
promIn the United States and Canada, a prom, short for promenade, is a formal dance, or gathering of high school students. It is held at the end of senior year. In the United Kingdom, the term is more widely understood to be in reference to a season of classical concerts, or "proms," which have been...
. In the season three finale, she rallies alongside Buffy and her friends at graduation against the demonic Mayor of Sunnydale (
Harry GroenerHarry Groener is an American actor and dancer, perhaps best known for playing Mayor Wilkins in Buffy the Vampire Slayer .-Personal life:...
), where Cordelia slays her first vampire.
After three seasons on
Buffy, Cordelia moved over to star in
Angel, a spin-off series focusing on her vampire friend Angel (
David BoreanazDavid Paul Boreanaz is an American actor, best known for his role as Angel on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, and as Seeley Booth on the television comedy-crime drama Bones.-Early life:...
). The first season of
Angel sees Cordelia move to
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality 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...
, in the hopes of escaping her new-found poverty by becoming an actress. After Angel saves her life in the series pilot, Cordelia helps him found the supernatural detective agency
Angel InvestigationsAngel 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...
, working in an administrative position. She also becomes close to half-demon co-worker
DoyleAllen Francis Doyle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series, Angel. The character was portrayed by the late Glenn Quinn.-Character history:Doyle was born to a human mother and a Brachen demon father...
(
Glenn QuinnGlenn Martin Christopher Francis Quinn was an Irish actor in television and film, best known for his role as Mark Healy in the American series Roseanne, as well as for his role on the first season of Angel....
), but their budding romance is ended by his death ten episodes into the series. Before dying in the episode "Hero", Doyle passes his ability
to see people in distressPrecognition , also called Future Sight, refers to perception that involves the acquisition of future information that cannot be deduced from presently available and normally acquired sense-based information...
over to Cordelia when he kisses her. Although she initially views the visions as a curse, in the season one finale, a demon causes Cordelia's visions to overwhelm her—causing her to experience worldwide pain—and upon her recovery she vows to help those in need. In season two's "Reunion", Cordelia and the other staff at Angel Investigations are fired by Angel, who is becoming increasingly obsessed with bringing down the evil law firm
Wolfram & HartWolfram & Hart, Attorneys at Law is a fictional, international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel.-History:...
. Cordelia joins Wesley and
Charles GunnCharles Gunn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult 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...
(
J. August RichardsJaime Augusto Richards III is an American actor. He played the Charles Gunn on the TV series Angel which he portrayed for 91 episodes and was seen on NBC's short-lived courtroom drama, Conviction that was cancelled after 13 episodes.-Early life and education:Richards' parents emigrated to the...
) in re-forming the agency on their own. Angel and Cordelia eventually reconcile in the episode "Epiphany". As her acting career continues to flounder, Cordelia is sucked into and made princess of a medieval hell dimension called
PyleaIn the fictional universe established by the television series Angel, Pylea is a world in an alternate dimension where demons are the dominant life form and humans are treated as animals to be used as beasts of burden or even food...
in the season two episode "Over the Rainbow". When presented with the opportunity to pass her visions over to a champion named the
GroosaluggThe Groosalugg, nicknamed "Groo", is a fictional character on the WB network's series Angel. He appeared in seasons 2 and 3, and is portrayed by Mark Lutz. His name, abilities and personality are likely a reference to the Sergio Aragones comic character Groo the Wanderer.-History:The Groosalugg is...
(
Mark LutzMark Douglas Lutz is a Canadian actor, who is best known for playing Groosalugg in the television series Angel and for writing and starring in the two-hour movie on the life and death of Victor Davis.-Biography:...
), Cordelia refuses and returns to L.A. with her friends in the season two finale.
In season three's "Birthday", Cordelia learns from the demon Skip (
David DenmanDavid Denman is an American actor whose feature film credits include Out Cold and Big Fish. His television roles include Skip on the television series Angel and Roy on the American version of The Office...
) that her visions are slowly killing her because human beings are not strong enough to control them. To save her life, Cordelia accepts Skip's offer to alter history so that she never met Angel in L.A., instead landing her big break as an actress. However, even in this alternate timeline, Cordelia feels compelled to help others and eventually crosses paths with Angel again, who received the visions in her place and is now insane. Unable to let her friend suffer, Cordelia has Skip return the timeline to normal, and agrees to become half-demon, with new powers, in order to harbor the visions safely. This season also sees Angel become a father, with Cordelia stepping in to mother the infant Connor until he is kidnapped into a hell dimension in the episode "Sleep Tight", only to emerge as a disturbed teenager (
Vincent KartheiserVincent Paul Kartheiser is an American actor. As a child actor in the 1990s, he starred in The Indian in the Cupboard , Alaska and Masterminds . He later moved on to more mature roles in independent films...
) in "The Price". In the episode "Waiting in the Wings", Angel realizes he has romantic feelings for Cordelia, but is prevented from voicing them by the return of Groosalugg. Cordelia dates Groosalugg for the remainder of the season, but Groo notices she loves Angel instead and decides to leave. In the season finale, Cordelia arranges to meet Angel to confess her feelings, but is prevented from doing so by Skip, who informs her that she has become a higher being. Cordelia accepts her duty, and leaves Earth for another dimension. In season four, Cordelia is bored as a higher being, and so in the episode "The House Always Wins" she returns to Earth in an amnesiac state. In "Spin the Bottle", her memories are returned via a spell, along with a vision of a mysterious Beast (
Vladimir KulichVladimir Kulich is a Czech-Canadian actor.He is best known for his roles as Buliwyf in the film The 13th Warrior and as The Beast in the television series Angel. In 1995 he appeared as Olafsson in the X-Files episode "Død Kalm."...
). Afterward, she admits to Angel the feelings she once had for him. As L.A. succumbs to the apocalypse in season four's "Apocalypse, Nowish", Cordelia begins to behave out-of-character; she seduces Connor, murders
LilahLilah Morgan is a fictional character from the television series Angel, played by Stephanie Romanov. She is first introduced in the episode "The Ring," and regularly appears in the show's first and second seasons. After Lindsey McDonald leaves Los Angeles, Lilah becomes the primary face of Wolfram...
(
Stephanie RomanovStephanie A. Romanov is an American model and actress, best known for playing Lilah Morgan on Angel.She first began modeling in Europe and was discovered at 15 by Elite Modeling agent John Casablancas. Her first professional modeling job was in Europe, shooting fashion layouts for Italian and...
) in the episode "Calvary", commands the Beast in "Salvage", and magically battles former friend Willow to keep Angel from his soul in the episode "Orpheus". In season four's "Players", the team realize that the now pregnant Cordelia is possessed, so Cordelia takes the unstable Connor on the run with her so they may give birth to their supernatural offspring, Jasmine (
Gina TorresGina Torres is an Alma Award winning American television and movie actress. She is known for her roles in science fiction and fantasy...
). In "Inside Out", Skip explains that Jasmine is his master, and a higher being who possessed Cordelia before her returning to Earth, manipulating events to be born in a new body of her own.
Cordelia falls into a post-natal
comaIn medicine, a coma is a profound state of unconsciousness. A comatose person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to pain or light, does not have sleep-wake cycles, and does not take voluntary actions....
for the remainder of season four. Following an eleven-episode absence, Cordelia returns to
Angel in season five, in the 100th episode "
You're Welcome"You're Welcome" is episode twelve 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 guest...
". Having apparently awoken from her coma, Cordelia reunites with Angel Investigations, who she discovers have taken over Wolfram & Hart since their defeat of Jasmine. She chastises Angel for accepting W&H's "
deal with the devilDeal With The Devil is the fifth studio album by the American hard rock/heavy metal band Lizzy Borden released in 2000 .A return to form, featuring a cover by Todd McFarlane.2 covers were recorded...
", and reminds him of his true mission and higher calling. Together, they face and defeat their old enemy
Lindsey McDonaldLindsey 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...
(
Christian KaneChristian Kane is an American actor and singer/songwriter, best known for his role as the morally ambiguous lawyer Lindsey McDonald on the show Angel, as lead singer for the country rock band KANE, and for his role on the TNT series Leverage.-Early life:Kane was born in Dallas, Texas...
), who had been impersonating Doyle in an attempt to destroy Angel. In the episode's closing moments, Cordelia reiterates to Angel that she loves him and kisses him, shortly before he receives a phone call reporting that Cordelia died that morning. When Angel turns around, Cordelia is gone. It is later revealed that this encounter—the Powers That Be repaying their debt to Cordelia—allowed Cordelia to pass one last vision over to Angel, giving him the knowledge he needs to bring down the
Circle of the Black ThornThe Circle of the Black Thorn is a secret society in the television show Angel.-Description:The members of the Circle, the self-fashioned Black Thorns, act as the earthly instruments of the Senior Partners, charged with being the driving force behind Wolfram & Hart's apocalyptic plans and dedicated...
.
Between 2001 and 2004, Joss Whedon and
Jeph LoebJoseph "Jeph" Loeb III is an Emmy and WGA nominated American film and television writer, producer and award-winning comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series Smallville and Lost, writer for the films Commando and Teen Wolf and was a writer and Co-Executive Producer on the NBC...
developed a 4-minute pilot episode for
Buffy the Animated SeriesBuffy the Animated Series is an animated television series concept based on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Initially greenlit by 20th Century Fox in 2002, it went ultimately unproduced and unaired when no network was willing to buy the series. The series would have taken place in the middle of Buffy...
, which was set during the show's first season. Had the series been picked up by a network, it would have featured Cordelia (voiced by Charisma Carpenter) in more high-school adventures. Following a 2008
leakAn Internet leak occurs when a party's confidential intellectual property is released to the public on the Internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic...
of the pilot to
YouTubeYouTube is a video sharing website on which users can upload and share videos. Three former PayPal employees created YouTube in February 2005. In November 2006, YouTube, LLC was bought by Google Inc. for $1.65 billion, and is now operated as a subsidiary of Google...
, Loeb expressed some hope that the series may be resurrected in some form.
Literature
Cordelia also appears in
comic bookA comic book is a magazine made up of narrative artwork, often accompanied by dialog and often including brief descriptive prose...
s and novels based on the
Buffy and
Angel television series.
The Cordelia Collection, Vol. 1 by Nancy Krulik is a
novelizationA novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
of the
Buffy episodes "
Out of Mind, Out of Sight"Out of Mind, Out of Sight", also known as "Invisible Girl", is the eleventh and penultimate episode in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Summary:...
", "Some Assembly Required" and "Homecoming". These episodes tell specific incidents in which Cordelia becomes targeted: by a scorned classmate, to become a
zombieA zombie is a creature that appears in folklore and popular culture typically as a reanimated corpse or a mindless human being. Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodou, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful sorcerer...
's bride and by
hired assassinAn Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure.Assassinations may be prompted by ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, personal public recognition, or mental illness....
s in a case of mistaken identity. She appears in numerous
Angel novels as a member of Angel Investigations, but some feature Cordelia more prominently; in
Not Forgotten-Plot summary:Los Angeles is being struck by a crime wave. There seems to be no link between the victims and their cause of death - burning from the inside out. Supernatural powers seem to be involved....
she uncovers exploitation of child immigrants, while in
HauntedHaunted is an original novel based on the U.S. television series Angel.-Plot summary:Cordy's finally getting a big break — she will be a contestant on some "reality programming". She must spend five days and four nights in an apparently haunted house. Living with a ghost and catching demons for a...
she appears as a contestant on a supernatural-themed
reality televisionReality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors...
show when she has a vision about another applicant. Cordelia appears in the majority of
Angel comics, published by
Dark Horse ComicsDark Horse Comics is the largest independent American comic book publisher.Mike Richardson, the owner of several comic book shops in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, began to publish in 1986 with an anthology series called Dark Horse Presents, investing profits from his stores into Dark...
from 2000-2002 and set between episodes of the television series. She appears less frequently in those by
IDW PublishingIDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American comic book company owned by IDT Corp.. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic Distributors...
from 2005 to the present, mainly in stories set in and after the fifth season. Cordelia typically plays a minimal role in the Dark Horse
Angel comics, however issue seventeen was a "Cordelia Special", in which demonic items are stashed in Cordelia's apartment. In the
Dark Horse PresentsDark Horse Presents was the first comic book published by Dark Horse Comics in 1986 and was their flagship title until its September 2000 cancellation. Volume 2 however, began in July 2007.-Volume one:...
story "Lovely dark and deep", Cordelia lands a role as the star of a demonic movie. Cordelia appears in the IDW Publishing comic mini-series
Angel: The CurseThe Curse is a trade paperback collecting comic stories based on the Angel television series.-General synopsis:Having survived the battle of "Not Fade Away", we find Angel in Romania. He has traveled there in the hope he can find the Kalderesh clan, the Gypsies who cursed him with a soul...
, set after season five, in flashback scenes. She subsequently reappears in the mini-series
Angel: Old FriendsOld Friends is a trade paperback collecting comic stories based on the Angel television series.-Angel: Old Friends #1:A vampiric figure seems to be causing a string of deaths in LA, so Angel must return to the city to investigate with Gunn...
, which sees Angel battle evil clones of his friends. Cordelia claims to be the genuine article, having returned from the dead, but Angel is unconvinced and kills her; his suspicions prove correct when her body immediately disintegrates like the other clones.
Angel: After the FallAngel: 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...
, a canonical comic book continuation of the television series plotted by Joss Whedon and written by
Brian LynchThis article is about the American writer. For the professional basketball player see Brian Lynch , for the Jazz trumpeter see Brian Lynch Brian Michael Lynch is an American film and comic book writer...
, features the cast of
Angel and all of Los Angeles condemned to Hell after the events of the series finale "Not Fade Away". Cordelia does not appear until the twelfth issue, where she appears as a guide to Angel in his dying moments; it is revealed she serves in some capacity as a higher power now. The character departs in issue thirteen. Cordelia also appears in a dream sequence within the twentieth issue of
Buffys canonical continuation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
, titled "After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back!"After These Messages... We'll Be Right Back!" is the twentieth issue of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight series of comic books, a continuation of the television series of the same name...
". Buffy dreams of when she was in her first year at Sunnydale High; Cordelia's physical appearance is based on the art style of Loeb and Whedon's unproduced Buffy
animated series.
Conception and casting
Cordelia was originally intended to serve as a dramatic foil to the series' main character Buffy Summers. Adapting the concept of the movie into a television series, Whedon decided to reinvent the character of Buffy. The shallow cheerleader of the 1992 Buffy film
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a American action/comedy/horror film about a valley girl cheerleader named Buffy who learns that it is her fate to hunt vampires. The movie is a parody which plays on the clichés of typical horror films...
, as played by
Kristy SwansonKristen Nöel "Kristy" Swanson is an American actress best known for playing the original Buffy Summers in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Career:...
, had grown more mature and open-minded. Buffy now identified with the social outcasts, such as Willow and Xander. As a result, Cordelia Chase was created to embody the traits of that shallower Buffy. Despite portraying a shallow,
valley girlValley Girl is a term originally referring to affluent upper-middle class girls living in the bedroom community neighborhoods of San Fernando Valley....
stock characterA stock character is a stereotype. Stock characters rely heavily on cultural types or names for their personality, manner of speech, and other characteristics. In their most general form, stock characters are related to literary archetypes, but they are often more narrowly defined...
, portrayer Charisma Carpenter felt that Cordelia in early seasons was not "one-dimensional", nor was she "as superficial as people thought". At the same time, Carpenter was critical of her frequent role as the
damsel in distressThe subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue...
. Angel
co-creator and executive producerAn executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the filmmaking or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production. Typically an executive producer handles business and legal issues. See also associate producer, co-producer, line producer...
David GreenwaltDavid Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel...
describes Cordelia in her Buffy years as "a somewhat shallow, somewhat vain, somewhat self-centered but [a] lively and honest character who spoke her mind".
Charisma Carpenter had originally planned to read for the role of Buffy, but was late for her audition and instead tried out for Cordelia. Carpenter, who had dressed casually for the role of Buffy—who she believed "could really be herself"—felt unprepared to read for Cordelia because she "was definitely a character to dress for". Although she had only fifteen minutes to prepare for the character, the producers were "really responsive" to Carpenter's audition, and she left feeling confident she had got the part. After Carpenter's audition, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar, who had been offered the role of Cordelia before Carpenter, was asked to come back and audition for the part of Buffy.
Bianca LawsonBianca Jasmine Lawson is an American actress.Lawson was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Denise and Richard Lawson, a soap opera actor....
originally won the role of Cordelia Chase, but turned it down due to other contractual obligations. Lawson would later be cast as vampire slayer Kendra in the show's second season. Carpenter, proud of her own character's growth across the two series, did not envy Gellar for winning the role of Buffy over her.
Characteristics and analysis
Cordelia's representation of an assertive modern woman and her character arc in Buffy
has been commented on in several academic texts, particularly in gender studiesGender studies is a field of interdisciplinary study which analyzes the phenomenon of gender. Gender Studies is sometimes related to studies of class, race, ethnicity, sexuality and location....
, such as "Praising Cordelia: Aggression and Adaptation Among Adolescent Girls", or Sex and the Slayer. In the latter, Dr. Lorna Jowett of the University of Northampton describes Cordelia's initial place in the series where "At first glance, Cordelia seems to have the 'normal life' Buffy often longs for. She is a familiar character from the teen drama: popular, a cheerleader, the center of cliques (power as status). Furthermore, Cordelia's exceptionalism is based on 'real' material privilege rather than supernatural power. She represents in more exaggerated form the unnamed
whiteWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
middle-classThe American middle class is an ambiguously defined social class in the United States. While the concept remains largely ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary sociologists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class...
heterosexualHeterosexuality consists of sexual behavior, practices, and identity predicated on preference or desire for the opposite sex. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, physical or romantic attractions primarily to...
qualities (read privilege) of the other characters (to the point that it becomes visible)." Elizabeth Rambo notes how Cordelia's status is highlighted by her nickname, "Queen C", and Harmony's remark to her, "Cordy, you reign." Cordelia functions recognizably as the typical female victim of horror, often screaming and running away, and this makes her a perfect contrast for other female characters."
"Praising Cordelia" argues that both Buffy and Cordelia are representations of assertive and competitive young women, who "represent two kinds of aggressive adolescent girls". The article focuses on the competitive relationship between the characters. Buffy's initial friendship with Cordelia is compromised once Cordelia sees the attractive, socially competent Buffy as a threat to her. Even after Cordelia joins the Scooby Gang and becomes Buffy's friend, theirs is not a friendship of "mutual support, warmth and intimacy" but rather one of "mutual antipathy". The authors opine that Cordelia, unlike Buffy, is a "representation of the archetypal 'feminine type'", one who conforms to the "pervasive stereotypes of femininity while, at the same time, dominating the other girls in the school" and commanding the attention of the boys. Describing her character arc in Buffy
, Mary Alice Money views Cordelia as one of many transformed or redeemed Buffy characters, one who "reveals a previously unexpected vulnerability that nullifies some of their less attractive traits." Jowett argues that Cordelia's assimilation within the main group is due largely to her relationship with main character Xander, and she is rendered sympathetic to the audience once they witness her rebuff the
peer pressurePeer pressure refers to the influence exerted by a peer group in encouraging a person to change his or her attitudes, values, or behavior in order to conform to group norms. Social groups affected include membership groups, when the individual is "formally" a member , or a social clique...
from her old friends. She is further engendered to the the viewer when Xander betrays her, because the scenes showing her pain are shown only to the viewer. After Cordelia is cheated on by Xander with Willow she chooses not go back to him, and instead retains her autonomy.
Others such as Susanne Kord and Elisabeth Krimer note how Cordelia is also a subversive representation of feminine stereotypes, describing "Although superficially, Cordelia conforms to the stereotype of the insensitive bitch", what she actually does is "offers her viewers the clandestine pleasures of female self-assertion". One of Cordelia's strongest traits, her honesty, is also highlighted in "Earshot", where Buffy temporarily develops
telepathicTelepathy is supposed to be the transfer of information on thoughts or feelings between individuals by means other than the five senses . The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H...
powers and can hear the thoughts of her friends, who avoid her to hide these thoughts. For Cordelia however, "her thought processes and actual utterances are completely identical" and because of this she embodies an "antithesis of female self-sacrifice" in these years but also "the opposite of the kind of hypocrisy that is typically attributed to women". Writer
Jennifer CrusieJennifer Crusie is a pseudonym for Jennifer Smith, a bestselling and award winning author of contemporary romance novels. She has written over 15 novels, which have been published in 20 countries.-Biography:...
interprets this as Cordelia's "lack of depth" becoming "her strength". She does not mean to argue that Cordelia is stupid however, pointing out "Cordy's
solipsismSolipsism is the philosophical idea that one's own mind is all that exists. Solipsism is an epistemological or ontological position that knowledge of anything outside the mind is unjustified. The external world and other minds cannot be known and might not exist...
could easily be mistaken for stupidity, but it comes coupled with a keen intelligence and a fixity of purpose that makes her almost invincible." Jowett feels Cordelia's confidence is based in her wealth. Despite becoming more sympathetic as the series progressed, "bitchiness enhances Cordelia's comic appeal", as it offers viewers an opportunity to relish in its honest truth-telling.
Development
| "I provide conflict, and that's what good drama needs." |
| — Charisma Carpenter on her role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. |
In early seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cordelia was often used both as
comic reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
and occasionally for the damsel in distress
plot deviceA plot device is an object or character in a story whose sole purpose is to advance the plot of the story, or alternatively to overcome some difficulty in the plot....
, which would require series' heroine Buffy to save her. Any concerns that she was simply one-dimensional were alleviated for the actress when writers developed the character through her relationships with Xander and later Wesley, which led Carpenter to become more convinced of her potential. In an article about the psychology of characters in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Steven C. Schlozman, M.D. writes about how "Cordelia is wealthy and, at first glance, superficial, appearing to care most about her own popularity. However, as the show progresses, we learn that her mother suffers from
chronic fatigue syndromeChronic fatigue syndrome is the most common name given to a variably debilitating disorder or disorders characterized by persistent fatigue unrelated to exertion and not substantially relieved by rest...
and her father was prosecuted for income
tax evasionTax avoidance is the legal utilization of the tax regime to one's own advantage, to reduce the amount of tax that is payable by means that are within the law. By contrast tax evasion is the general term for efforts to not pay taxes by illegal means...
. She is a reluctant participant, baffled at her own loyal feelings and bewildered at her attraction to the unpopular Xander." He goes on to describe how Cordelia, and "all the characters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer are particularly compelling for their depictions of important adolescent themes."
Discussing Cordelia's relationship with Xander, Carpenter says, "A lot of Cordy's conflict, and a lot of who she is, comes out around Xander. Because she is in love with him in spite of herself, or in spite of him. I have my best moments with [Nicholas Brendon]." However, her character's growing involvement with Buffy and her friends caused the actress some concern; "I wasn't sure how I felt about it, because I didn't want to lose my edge. I didn't want her to be nice; I didn't want her to change because that's who she is." Carpenter's challenge was to find a balance between the good and bad sides of Cordelia, and she explains, "That's why I enjoy playing her so much. She's got to be somewhat tolerable or why would they hang out with her? But I [try] not to lose her edge, her honesty." Carpenter claims that Cordelia's "rough edges" made for difficult experiences with fans, who expected her to be snobby like her character. Charisma continually pleaded to get to slay a vampire, which the writers let her do in her final Buffy
appearance, "Graduation Day, Part Two".
Over the course of her appearances in Angel, Cordelia would develop enormously as a character. Describing this evolution, Carpenter comments, "When I first started playing Cordelia, she wasn't nice. She has really deepened and has a stronger sense of responsibility. She's a team player, which was not the case in the beginning." Carpenter cherishes what playing a multi-faceted character like Cordelia meant for her as an actress, describing "The road Cordelia has travelled, the journey she has taken up to now has been such a joy to play as an actress, because there have been so many chances to do so many different emotions. Heroic, vulnerable, just angry, possessed, funny - I get to be all those different things rolled into one. Getting this role, in hindsight... God I made a good decision, or they did." Cultural critic Jennifer Crusie points out how Cordelia was initially perfect for the transition to "selfish, superficial Los Angeles", which turned out to be her "trial by fire".
Executive producer David Greenwalt was very keen to acquire the character of Cordelia for the spin-off series, commenting, "I desperately wanted her to come to Angel
because Angel being dark and broody, we need a big bright smile." At the same time, Whedon felt her presence was sorely missed in the fourth season of Buffy
where "All of our characters got to the point where they were loving and hugging, and it was sort of like, where's Cordelia?", leading him to introduce Spike (James MarstersJames Wesley Marsters is a Saturn Award-winning American actor and musician. Marsters first came to the attention of the general public playing the popular character Spike, a platinum-blond English vampire in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off series, Angel from 1997...
) to the cast to accommodate her absence. Kelly A. Manners describes Cordelia as a "rich gal whose family ended up losing everything to the IRS. So in episode one of Angel, Cordelia showed up in LA trying to start a career as an actress because her family was in jail, actually." Crusie states that in mourning for Doyle Cordelia also begins "finding within herself a new level of humanity".
| "Time and time again, [Cordelia] realize[s] what [her] calling truly is ... when [Cordelia] gets the pain of the world and the suffering that's out there, ... [she] realize[s] just how important it is that [she] stay[s] doing this mission alongside Angel." |
| — Charisma Carpenter on Cordelia's development in Angel. |
Greenwalt discusses how Cordelia "is sort of forced to become a deeper character" when she starts to receive the visions of the suffering and helpless, "She's sort of living with one foot in the world of 'I want to be an actress' and with another foot in the world of 'I want to save and help people, and I have a deeper purpose and mission.'" Greenwalt felt that this development allowed Cordelia to develop from a "vainglorious high schooler to someone who's almost like a superhero"; this also provided Carpenter with the opportunity to stretch her potential as an actress. From the tenth episode, "Parting Gifts", Cordelia begins to actively function as a supernatural character in the series while the introduction of Wesley also contributes some added comic relief to the series. It is from this episode Cordelia is also forced to mature as she mourns the death of Doyle, whose visions serve as a painful reminder of him. The first season finale saw Cordelia's visions inflict all the suffering of the human world upon her, and to effectively act this, Carpenter's acting coach showed her pictures of real human pain as motivation. The scene took over eight hours to film, and Carpenter was relieved when it was over. The experience saw Cordelia further resolve to help those in need, stating "I saw the world and there's so much pain. We have to help them." Carpenter explains, "Through the suffering of the world, and through her own experiences, she discovers what's important in life."
Carpenter pleaded to the producers to let her cut her hair in the second season of Angel
, but they were dissatisfied with the darker tone and cut which created a "dark edge of Cordelia" which wasn't as "warm and effervescent as she usually is", so for the third season they wanted her to "go shorter and blonder". Angels third season demonstrates Cordelia's development into a fully-fledged heroine. The episode "Birthday" saw her being offered the chance to live a life where she never met Angel, but her inner desire to help others sees her sacrifice this life and her humanity to become a half-demon who can better withstand the visions she carries. In "Billy", Cordelia begins to train alongside Angel to become a better fighter and learns quickly. Carpenter began to train extensively with the show's stunt co-ordinators both to learn how to fight and to handle weaponry. In the episode "Waiting in the Wings", both Angel and Lorne remark on what a fine woman Cordelia has finally become, with Cordelia noting she is more like a superhero than she ever expected to be growing up in Sunnydale. Also in this episode, she and Angel both realize they have fallen for one another, but their love goes unrequited. Critically, Jennifer Crusie considers Cordelia's ascension to the heavens at the end of season three to be the "point that the
Mutant Enemy ProductionsMutant Enemy Productions is the production company created in 1997 by Joss Whedon to produce Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The company also produced the Buffy spin-off, Angel, the short-lived space western Firefly, and Dollhouse, which is produced by both 20th Century Fox Television and Mutant Enemy....
writers evidently lost their minds". She goes on to describe how Cordelia's compliance with Skip seems entirely out of character. Jes Battis also argues that a paradox is created when "the character who embraces her privilege (Cordelia) gets to become a higher being and exit
Angel, and as an overwhelmingly positive force" where later
FredWinifred "Fred" Burkle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Shawn Ryan and Mere Smith on the cult television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.-Character History:...
(
Amy AckerAmy Louise Acker is an American actress. She is best known for her roles on the television series Angel as Winifred Burkle and Illyria, and on Alias as Kelly Peyton . She currently appears as Dr. Claire Saunders on the TV series Dollhouse...
), "the character who is conflicted about her privilege" in season five "ends up being possessed by a millennia-old demon".
Angel season four played with audience's expectations of the now heroic Cordelia by revealing her to be the season's
Big BadBig bad is a term originally used by the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show to describe a major recurring adversary, usually the chief villain in a particular broadcast season...
; it was later established that Cordelia was possessed by a manipulative deity called Jasmine. The storyline was controversial with fans, and Carpenter has admitted hating how a possessed Cordelia seduced Angel's teenage son. Carpenter has said, "I'm in denial about that whole storyline. It was creepy." However, director
Terrence O'HaraTerrence O'Hara is an American director and actor. He has worked on Smallville, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Voyagers! as well as many other programs.-Director:* Sons Of Anarchy * CSI: Crime Scene Investigation...
comments that Carpenter had "a lot of fun" with playing a manipulative Cordelia in the episode "Orpheus" because she enjoyed coming up with Cordelia's new "
schizophrenicSchizophrenia , from the Greek roots skhizein and phrēn, phren- is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a mental disorder characterized by abnormalities in the perception or expression of reality...
madwoman" characterization. The episode "Inside Out" saw the height of this inversion of Cordelia's character, where she is seen urging Connor to murder an innocent girl in order to expedite the birth of the child they conceived together. In an effort to stop Connor, the Powers That Be send the spirit of Connor's mother Darla (
Julie BenzJulie M. Benz is an American actress. For her role as Rita Bennett on Dexter, Benz won the 2006 Satellite Award for Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television. She is also well known for her role of Darla on Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Early...
) to convince him not to go through with it. The episode sees Carpenter dressed in black, while Benz appears in heavenly white as she becomes the voice of reason and morality.
Steven S. DeKnightSteven S. DeKnight is an American television screenwriter and producer best known for working on Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. He has also written "Swell", a story in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer season eight comic series, and serves as a consulting producer on Joss Whedon's TV...
, who wrote and directed the episode, felt this was a brilliant role-reversal for both actresses as Carpenter is accustomed to playing the benevolent Cordelia where Darla is normally seen as a sinister vampire. Much of season four's storyline had to be adjusted due to Carpenter's real-life pregnancy; after Cordelia gives birth to Jasmine in the episode "Inside Out" she is left in a coma for the remainder of the fourth season. Crusie discusses what she felt were the flaws in the execution of the fourth season, "It's that she betrays the man she trusts above all others and who trusts her absolutely; it's that she seduces a boy she once diapered; it's that she dresses like a drag queen and talks like a
DynastyDynasty is an American prime time television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 12, 1981 to May 11, 1989. It was created by Richard and Esther Shapiro and produced by Aaron Spelling, and revolved around the Carringtons, a wealthy oil family living in Denver, Colorado...
reject. It's that she's not Cordy, and what might have been fun to watch had we been let into the secret before the Beastmaster seduced Connor becomes the extended rape and death of a much-beloved character."
Matt Hills and Rebecca Williams also discuss the treatment of Cordelia (and Darla) in "
Angels Monstrous Mothers and Vampires with Soul: Investigating the Abject in 'Television Horror'", from Reading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a SoulReading Angel: The TV Spin-off With a Soul is an academic publication relating to the fictional Buffyverse established by TV series, Buffy and Angel.-Book description and contents:...
by Stacey Abbot. They see the send-offs of Cordelia, Fred and other characters as part of a pattern of highly gendered "elaborated abjection" seen in Angel
. They also see Cordelia's possession in season four as part of a recurring pattern: "More so than other characters in [Buffy
] and Angel, Cordelia has suffered or been threatened with bodily invasion and rape, either symbolically or literally" and recounts the demon impregnation in "Expecting", and similarly in "Epiphany", where she develops a gestating demon in her head and then told she must mate with the Groosalugg in "Through the Looking Glass". Cordelia even remarks on this, as Hills and Williams quote her as she remarks on her "status as a violated and devalued character"; Cordelia states, "If you ever figure out how to get us out of here, I want you to find me a dimension where some demon doesn't want to impregnate me with his spawn!" They liken the horror motif in these examples, and in "Inside Out", to what
Barbara CreedBarbara Creed is a Professor of Cinema Studies in the School of Culture and Communication at the University of Melbourne known for her cultural criticism....
called the 'monstrous womb' in her book The Monstrous-feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis. Jes Battis also comments how, in comparison with the Fred-Illyria season five storyline, Cordelia's storyline is not as positive as Fred's rebirth, because Fred got to "'live on' through Illyria, whereas Cordelia is taken right out of the show and receives no interesting blue-haired reincarnation". Continuing, they say that in fact, there is no meaningful connection between the "real" Cordelia and Jasmine, as the Cordelia who did those bad things is killed the moment Jasmine is, "and the 'true' Cordy wakes up from her coma". Further illustrating the comparisons, "Fred/Illyria become a joined mother/daughter subjectivity, a dual being whose constituent essences are inseparable; Cordelia is never so intimately connected with her evil child and is remembered as the healthy, vibrant Cordy that everyone knew." Pointing out symbolic parallels in the subtexts of these gestations, Battis notes "Cordelia, a vocal advocate of her own privilege, creates a fully formed supernatural being, Jasmine, who attempts (shockingly) to control the world. Fred, on the other hand, who internalizes her own privilege and cannot express it except in terms of insecurity and awkwardness, has her body devoured from the inside by the demon Illyria."
For Angel
's fifth season, as with Buffy
's fourth, Spike steps in to replace Cordelia as a source of comedic dialogue within the series. It is also noted by critics that, in the fifth season, "it doesn't take long for Illyria to become a version of Cordelia, giving everyone the cold and honest truth whether they want it or not". Concerning Cordelia's last appearance in Angels fifth and final season, Joss Whedon says he used the 100th episode to reinforce the "mission statement" of the show, as well as assess where the characters are now compared to how they begun. Whedon explains this episode presents an ideal opportunity to—through Cordelia, who was "there at the beginning"—ask of Angel, "Where are you now? Where were you when you started and where are you now and how do you feel about that?" The return to the show's "original concerns" is echoed by the flashback to Doyle's first season advertisement; Sara Upstone points out aerial images of
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality 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...
reappear at the same time Cordelia tells Angel "You forgot who you are," bringing back the show's link to the city. Buffy Summers was originally intended to appear in the 100th episode to get Angel 'back on track', but Sarah Michelle Gellar had other obligations. Writer/director
David FuryDavid Fury is an American television screenwriter and producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, and 24....
explains that since "we couldn't get Sarah" the episode was instead written for Cordelia. He adds, "This turned out to be a Godsend because Charisma was fantastic." In the original script, Fury wrote a conversation between Wesley and Angel while driving to the hospital that set up Cordelia as a possible vegetable. The scene was never shot because "the shock of seeing her up and around after a 9-month coma was enough. We just didn't want to tip it too soon," says Fury.
Reception
For her role as Cordelia Chase, as she appeared in the television series
Angel, Charisma Carpenter has been nominated four times by the
Saturn AwardThe Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within...
s. Carpenter earned back-to-back nominations in 2000 and 2001 for Best Genre TV Supporting Actress and Best Actress on Television, respectively. The actress did not receive any nominations in 2002, but again obtain two back-to-back nominations in 2003 and 2004 for Best Actress in a Television Series and Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, respectively.
External links
- Cordelia Chase at the Buffyverse Wiki
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