Lorne (Buffyverse)
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 Andy Hallett as Lorne |
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Krevlornswath "Lorne" of the Deathwok Clan, also known as "The Host", is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the cult television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Andy Hallett.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Character history
Lorne was born as Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan in the demonic dimension of Pylea. Lorne, as he preferred to be called, wasn't like his fellow Deathwok clan demons, bloodthirsty "champions" constantly undertaking quests against evil. He was a gentle soul who did not share his kin's prejudice against humans (or "cows" as they were called in his world). Lorne would rather flirt with the female demons and enjoy life than train to be a fighter. He also enjoyed beauty, art, and even music, which was difficult considering his world had no music. Lorne refused to train his innate mystical senses to learn to hunt beasts and was considered the shame of his clan.
In 1996, Lorne happened upon a dimensional portal and was sucked through it. He landed in Los Angeles, and discovered music and culture like he never imagined. Lorne learned to hone his mystical senses to read people's auras, but found it easiest to do so when they sang, baring their souls. He decided to open up a karaoke bar on the same spot that he arrived on Earth, an old abandoned building. Lorne contracted the Transuding Furies to cast a sanctuary spell on the spot, which stopped any demon violence from occurring on it. He named the bar "Caritas," the Latin word for "mercy."
Caritas became a success in the ambiguously evil Los Angeles underground scene. To most who visited the bar, Lorne was simply called "The Host." He later states that he didn't use the name "Lorne" in this dimension, because his striking green skin prompted people to make Lorne Greene jokes.
Lorne is always reluctant to help Angel and the other heroes of the series, but his essential goodness usually wins out over his reticence. He starts off by giving the characters advice and encouragement, but as time goes on, he becomes more directly involved in the cases of Angel Investigations and his many contacts in Los Angeles' magical underworld prove useful. Lorne somewhat reluctantly joins the team in their mission to Pylea to rescue Cordelia, discovering that he could incapacitate the natives by singing songs and causing them to cower from "the strange noise." On leaving, he decides that returning to Pylea had been good for him as it had reaffirmed that he did not belong there and was right to stay away.
In Season Three of Angel, Caritas is raided by Charles Gunn's old gang and it is temporarily put out of action, finally being completely destroyed by Daniel Holtz. After that, Lorne finds himself becoming far more attached to the AI team, and he often looks after the infant Connor while Angel is on business. Eventually, he leaves to start a singing career in Las Vegas, but leaves after a crime lord forces him to use his empathic abilities to locate audience members with promising futures so he can steal them. Back in L.A., Lorne helps restore Cordelia's lost memories and is part of the fight against the resulting Jasmine crisis.
In the show's fifth and final season, Lorne finds himself the new head of Wolfram & Hart's Entertainment Division, at first fitting into the job with ease. As time goes on, his kindness is slowly replaced by a growing cynicism and self-loathing of his position of "cheerleader" for Angel and his friends, particularly when Gunn is abandoned in a Hell dimension to recover Lindsey McDonald; Lorne had always assumed that they didn't leave anyone behind.
When his close friend Fred is murdered and her body usurped by the Old One known as Illyria, Lorne becomes filled with despair which he keeps secret from the rest of his equally heartbroken friends. By the conclusion of the series, he announces that he is leaving Los Angeles after carrying out his part in Angel's plan to destroy the Circle of the Black Thorn. When Lorne learns what his part is to be, he tells Angel "This is the end for me. You won't find me in that alley, and don't try to look for me." Lorne's part is to betray and murder longtime enemy-turned-ally Lindsey, who in his final words mutters at the unfairness of being killed by Lorne, a 'flunky', and not his longtime rival Angel.
In his final scene, after shooting Lindsey with a silenced pistol, a disgusted and broken Lorne walks off into the darkness. He drops the gun and simply says "Goodnight, folks" as he leaves.
[edit] Powers and abilities
Lorne can read people's auras, and their futures, while they are singing. He uses this power to set them on their path in life. Lorne can also read their thoughts and emotions when he does this. He has excellent hearing, and can hear outside the normal human range. Lorne seems to be immune to the intoxicating effects of normal alcohol, but is affected by certain magical brews. He can also generate tones painful to human hearing, and at the right frequency to cause light bulbs to shatter and spark. Unique to his clan is the ability to survive the complete removal of his limbs and even beheading, unless his body is mutilated after the fact. Less noteworthy is his absolute love for the Sea breeze cocktail.
In the episode "Life of the Party," Lorne's lack of sleep causes his subconscious to use his powers differently. Instead of "reading destinies," he "creates destinies," granting him a sort of mind control/suggestion power. He inadvertently transforms Spike into a super-positive person, makes Wesley and Fred behave drunk, Gunn urinate all over the Wolfram & Hart building (he had told Gunn to "stake out his territory," and Gunn responded by marking his territory in a manner similar to animals), and influences Angel to have sex with Eve. His subconscious, unable to cope with the conflicts Lorne usually handled in his sleep, then manifests as an astral projection which possessed super-strength, resembling a Hulked-out version of Lorne. These powers were lost when Lorne's ability to sleep returns to him.
[edit] Romantic relationships
Lorne never embarked on any notable romantic relationships during his time on the show. Despite the character's flirting with Angel (and nearly every main character on the show), the series never made any explicit claims about Lorne's sexuality, and Andy Hallett himself intentionally left it vague, saying that Lorne loved "all humans." However, because Lorne is from an alternate dimension where even his own mother looks masculine and has a beard, the traditional norms of gender and sexuality may not really apply.
[edit] Appearances
Lorne has appeared in:
Angel
Lorne became a series regular in the Season Four episode, "Release". He appeared in 76 episodes overall. He has made guest appearances in the episodes:
- Season 2 (2000-2001) - "Judgment", "First Impressions", "Dear Boy", "Guise Will Be Guise", "The Trial", "Redefinition", "Happy Anniversary", "Reprise", "Epiphany, Disharmony", "Dead End", "Belonging", "Over the Rainbow", "Through the Looking Glass", "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb"
- Season 3 (2001-2002) - "Heartthrob", "That Vision Thing", "That Old Gang of Mine", "Fredless", "Offspring", "Lullaby", "Dad", "Birthday", "Provider", "Waiting in the Wings", "Couplet", "Sleep Tight", "Forgiving", "Double or Nothing", "The Price", "A New World", "Benediction", "Tomorrow"
- Season 4 (2002-2003) - "Deep Down", "The House Always Wins", "Slouching Toward Bethlehem", "Supersymmetry", "Spin the Bottle", "Apocalypse, Nowish", "Habeas Corpses", "Long Day's Journey", "Awakening", "Soulless", "Calvary", "Salvage"
