Merl (Buffyverse)
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 Matthew James as Merl |
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Merl was a fictional character from the television series Angel and was a recurring character in the show's second season, to later be killed in the third season. He was portrayed by Matthew James and first appeared in the first episode of the second season: "Judgment".
[edit] History
Merl was a tongue-less Parasite demon with the reputation of a snitch among the underworld community. He hung around mostly at Caritas, the karaoke bar that fellow green-skinned demon Lorne ran. He was introduced to Angel by Wesley, who had used his services before, in exchange for money.
Afterwards, he was frequently used by Angel for information about the vampires Darla and Drusilla. Instead of giving Merl monetary payment however, Angel frequently physically and vocally intimidated Merl into giving him the necessary information.
Merl was largely used for comedic relief during the darker turn the show took during its second season, centered around the frequent abuse the character was forced to endure. Merl was one of the few demons that were in fact, not evil, and Merl was a likeable person all around. Over the course of the second season Merl grew to dislike Angel, and with him, his friends as well.
In the beginning of the third season, Merl was once again used for information by Angel, but he had finally had enough after being hung upside down by Angel and not let go. He demanded an apology from Angel, and when Angel went to visit him the next day with a box of donuts, he found Merl dead.
Merl was killed by a demon hunting gang (former crew of Charles Gunn) in the episode "That Old Gang of Mine", who had been influenced by a new demon killer called Gio, who had turned the group into a pro-active demon slaying group, often unnecessarily killing "good demons". The group was confronted and defeated by Angel's team when they proceeded to destroy Caritas, somewhat avenging Merl's death.
