My view on G&E in Inside Out:

[butterfly]

I just finished The Screwtape Letters, which is a very good book. Basically, the story is about a young demon getting advice from his uncle about tempting. Through letters, hence the title. In the end, the average young man is saved and the demon fails, big time.

It's interesting because it takes on the very personal view of a demon from hell. All of it is internally consistant and Screwtape is very clear that his side of causing pain and torment is the right side, the only side that makes sense. Because (and this is fundamental) Love? Doesn't exist. It's a trick. God must have ulterior motives, blah, blah. The basic difference between God (and therefore angels and humans) and demons is the ability to love.

Interesting book. Definitely worth reading through a few more times.

What does this have to do with Angel? I have no clue. I lost the clue bus a while back and I'm just making stuff up.

Wait! Choice. It's very clear in The Screwtape Letters that the choice is always left up to the person, no matter how much the demons try to manipulate them or the situation. It always boils down to choices. Not just one Big Choice, but a never-ending string of choices. In the end, the human in TSL goes for the good, even with an actual demon pulling for the evil.

Evil's way of working is through manipulation. If you're lying or hiding things, it's not the best sign. If you're killing or rationalizing things, also not a good sign. Angel and the MoG have done their share of manipulating. If Angel hadn't chosen to go behind Connor's back to see Holtz, would Connor have dumped him in the ocean? If Wesley hadn't chosen not to share with anyone else and to kidnap a baby from its father, would Connor have done the demon-dimension grow-up dance? Evil can set things in motion, but the choice is always up to people who are a mix of good and evil.

But you can always make another choice. Today you chose the wrong option. Maybe you were manipulated into it. Maybe you were afraid for the life of your child. You still made a choice. You have to live with the consequences. But you can chose a different path tomorrow. You can turn yourself into jail, then when the good fight breaks you out, you can choose to keep fighting. You can choose to stop wallowing in rats and pain and to instead get up and fight.

And if Evil is saying you never have a choice, and Good is saying that you always do, well, only one of those even gives you a chance, so I know which one I'd go with.