22 Years Ago, an Iconic Buffy Character Had Their Final Appearance (And It Was Bittersweet for Everyone)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer started as a cult-favorite TV series, then grew into an entire franchise universe with its own deep lore. Buffy gave rise to a spinoff TV series, Angel, which further deepened the lore of the teen horror universe Joss Whedon had created. There are many milestone moments in the Buffyverse, but 22 years ago, one of the franchise’s biggest veterans finally ended their run, and exited the series on a milestone episode that left both the cast and the fans fighting back tears.

On February 4, 2004, Angel aired Season 5, Episode 12, “You’re Welcome”. It marked the spinoff show’s 100th episode and marked the end of the line for one of the franchise’s most enduring characters, Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter).

Cordelia Chase Returned, Just to Say Goodbye Again

Cordelia Chase had been possessed by the rogue Higher being known as Jasmine in Season 4, and exorcising that big bad villain ultimately left Cordelia comatose. The character remained written off the show throughout Season 5 until the 100th episode, when Chase was finally brought back from her coma… or so we think.

The big twist in the story of “You’re Welcome” is that Cordelia Chase never really does come back from the dead. The episode truly evolves Cordelia into a Higher being by revealing it is her spirit that returns from the hospital to assist Angel with his identity crisis, and help him rediscover his purpose as a hero before leaving Earth. At the end of the episode, she says a heartfelt goodbye to David Boreanaz’s Angel and vanishes from the mortal plane as her physical body dies.

Cordelia Deserved Better (& Can Still Get Justice)

Buffy fans still hold onto a certain amount of resentment over how Angel treated Cordelia and her arc. The character was one of the first to appear in Buffy, and rode a dynamic arc from being the mean girl cheerleader rival to Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), to one of the core “Scooby Gang” members, fighting supernatural evil alongside Buffy, Angel, and their group of friends and allies. When Cordelia joined Angel in Los Angeles, the spinoff series began with an interesting “will they, won’t they?” dynamic that was a bit awkward, but seeing Cordelia step up as a hunter was thrilling for longtime fans.

After the first season of Angel, however, things got weird. The Cordelia/Angel romance got soapy, while Carpenter was tasked with acting out wild over-the-top sequences of Cordelia experiencing visions from the higher plane, forcing her to pop painkillers and play out a terminal illness arc. This was followed by the character literally being sidelined on the Higher Plane alone, playing out an amnesia arc, a childhood reversion detour, and then the possession storyline. As “Jasmine,” Cordelia did all kinds of things (like sleeping with Angel’s son, Connor) that caused fan backlash. Then she was left in a coma.

Fans were vocal at the time about Cordelia not getting her proper due. Carpenter has since opened up about how Buffy creator Joss Whedon made her experience “hell” when making the show, even going so far in a 2021 statement as to call him a “vampire.”

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“He proceeded to attack my character, mock my religious beliefs, accuse me of sabotaging the show, and then unceremoniously fired me following the season once I gave birth,” Capenter wrote. She later added, “Unfortunately, all this was happening during one of the most wonderful time[s] in new motherhood. All that promise and joy sucked right out. And Joss was the vampire.”

While Charisma Carpenter didn’t get her due, the Cordelia character went on to make an appearance in the Angel sequel comic After the Fall. As the Buffy revival series prepares to premiere this year, Carpenter has expressed hope that she can make a return. “I am so excited for fans, and I know it will be fantastic because of who’s involved,” Charisma Carpenter told IGN. “To see this actually happen for the fans makes me thrilled. I am so hopeful to be included, for Cordelia to be a part of this new iteration.”

The Buffy reboot is currently in production. Hopefully, Charisma Carpenter is part of it. Let us know your best Slayer memories over on the ComicBook Forum!