Tracking Ángel’s Outfit and the Layers of Vulnerability
Thesis: As Ángel sheds pieces of his outfit so too does he shed the persona that he has created for himself and with that comes a more raw perspective of the character.
screenshots from - thetvshows.us
A few quick notes to preface this meta: I am working off of the assumption that all character backstories and personalities are at least to some extent accurate. Come future seasons we might learn exactly how accurate or not they are but for right now I’m taking them all as largely fact. Also seeing as we haven’t seen Ángel’s backstory yet, everything I am basing this meta on is what I can pick out of dialogue, behavior in various scenes, and vibes, so individual interpretation may vary. And with that out of the way here’s 3,440 words about a guy and his clothes.
1899 is a series involving many characters riddled with hidden secrets and false identities. 1899 is also a series that wants you to pay attention to all of its moving parts and what those could be saying about the larger narrative at play. One instance of this is the show’s choice to keep its characters (largely) in a singular outfit across the first season’s eight episodes. Therefore I think there is a lot that can be said about any changes made to a character’s appearance. Ángel and Ling Yi in particular become more dressed down as the show progresses. Which I personally read as a kind of removal of the identity that they’ve been enveloped by the time we first see them. Though there are of course differences between the two, one of which being the prior presence of this role within their lives. Where Ling Yi first takes on this role in order to escape, Ángel has worn this persona well before we are introduced to him. And while this meta is focused solely on Ángel I can’t help but bring them both up as an interesting point of comparison. And before I get too distracted by every other character in this show, I want to talk about Ángel’s different stages of dress and how he is reflected within them.
Episode 1:
Ángel spends the first few episodes firmly wrapped up in his persona, only ever allowing glimpses into what lies underneath. Our introduction to him through this episode specifically lays out exactly what this persona entails; he’s pompous, generally unpleasant, and there’s a distinct impression he might be acting more in self interest than truly out of consideration for those around him. He has what I like to call very big “Oh, this fucking guy” energy. In both the scene in the dining hall and the scene where Eyk announces they are going after the Prometheus, this can be seen on full display. Primary examples being the ‘who cares what I say and how I say it, no one else can understand me anyway’ and how he is the most outspoken against Eyk’s decision.
And these are also scenes where he is wearing his full suit. A suit which I personally feel is indicative of that very same impression we are meant to get of his character. I mean based around color choices alone, his outfit lends him to standing out way more than most other characters.
However nestled in between those two scenes is the realization that the Kerberos is changing course. At first everything plays out almost as expected with Ángel brushing off Ramiro’s concerns and acting fairly self important. Though there is one key difference and that’s Ángel is no longer wearing his jacket. Which you could argue makes sense, they are in their own room after all and by this point the character hasn’t acted any different than before. To which I’d say well yes and no, but to address that we first need to talk about how the rest of the scene plays out. Ramiro is the first to notice and show immediate worry, whereas Ángel, despite quickly getting up, initially seems to dismiss the idea. Until of course he gets to see for himself and it’s here where his demeanor completely changes. No longer are you seeing some pompous asshole but someone showing genuine fear at the possibility of the ship turning around.
And that is what I view as the crux of this particular change in clothing. That yes he will still attempt to maintain his particular attitude but the façade is no longer complete. He has allowed himself to become susceptible to vulnerability. And where better to do that than in your own private space.
Now that isn’t the only change to his outfit in this episode. The other is of course the black coat that, for the remainder of the episode, replaces his white suit jacket.
And I am going to be completely honest and say that I read this very similarly to if he had still been wearing the suit jacket but maybe just toned down a bit. Though this might be very tenuous on my part because I don’t fully know what to make of it. I think an obvious note here is how it creates a more visual cohesion with the rest (for the most part anyway) of the show’s costuming (although he’s not the only character who this happens too in this episode; Maura, Mrs. Wilson, and Clémence all get some new black/darker clothing piece around the same time. I got very big mourning vibes from it all to be honest but that’s getting away from what this meta is about.) and how that could lessen the desire to completely conform to his persona in the same way, but again I feel much less confident here. Of course I could have not mentioned it and kept my analysis completely sound, but it felt disingenuous to ignore it outright. What does matter here though is Ángel’s eventual interaction with Krester. That while there's clearly a tension between them and possibly there is something deeper to that connection, it is also very easy to be suspicious of Ángel. Whether that’s from thinking he’s not actually going to give Krester the cigarette or with his general forwardness throughout the scene. All of which is built off of how this character has been portrayed and your expectations for how that would continue.
I would like to make a quick note here that I don’t think everything Ángel may say or how he may react while completely dawned in this persona is a lie. More so that what he does say will end up entangled within it and that there are a lot of moments of expression that are seen solely by the audience. Which does evolve as his clothing changes and as he becomes more emotionally vulnerable.
Episode 2 & 3:
Because both of these episodes have similar enough narrative beats I thought it best to write them as part of the same section. I would also like to bring a bit more focus to the dialogue within these episodes as well.
The initial scenes we get of Ángel in these episodes are back to business as usual, the white suit and persona both fully adorned.
Episode 2 spends its time around putting into question Ángel’s intentions regarding others. Tove and later on Ramiro have dialogue that go into as much; both coming from their own personal experiences. Tove in a way that is informed by what we learn later on in the show and attempts to remind her brother of this (“Rich people don’t give you anything for free. They always want something in return”). While Ramiro’s is clearly much more personally related to Ángel specifically (“Everything’s a game to you… Isn't it? All of it. Your mother was right. You use people. You don’t care. Not about me, not about anyone!”). Regardless of whether what either of them are saying holds completely true to Ángel or not, what matters is it puts this idea into the mind of the audience. This is helped by the fact we are not given a clear cut reason to Ángel’s actions. That, along with the self assuredness he shows in those scenes, forces the perception of the character to walk a very thin line between genuine and self centered.
Whereas episode 3 is more focused on identity specifically. Now this episode doesn’t have as many Ángel related scenes as the second episode but what it does give us is the mask dialogue. Which I find notable for two reasons in particular. First for the mention of his mother (“I was forced to hide who I am my whole life. I didn’t choose my mask. My mother chose it for me.”) and the other being how self aware some of Ángel’s dialogue comes off as. I’m not super interested in getting speculative over that first point within this meta but I do think it’s worthy to note this identity he hides in isn’t necessarily all of his own making. I do however think this is entwined with his apparent self awareness. That whenever he has dialogue like this not only is it serving a thematic purpose but also it comes off as equally as though it is through direct personal experience that he understands this. Which considering how I suppose that this is a persona he has been wearing a lot longer than some of the other characters wearing theirs, makes a kind of sense.
As we move on to later in each episode we are given a very interesting sequence that plays out quite similarly across both episodes. The scene takes place in Ángel and Ramiro's room; the conversation starts as they talk about the circumstances brought about through that episode; which then takes a turn to include very personal judgments of Ángel’s character. And BOTH TIMES it takes this turn Ángel removes his jacket! He is quite literally opening himself up for it!
That even if it is just a single layer it is enough to start being confronted by his choices. Although like I mentioned before it is still early on enough that he will try to keep playing into this character. Doing so both times by deflecting away from getting any deeper into what’s being said. In ep2 by turning it around onto Ramiro (“You’re just jealous. That’s all.”) and in ep3 by saying that’s just simply how things are (“You cannot change the nature of things. I am who I am. And you are who you are. Nothing will change that.”). Though from here each episode goes in its own direction.
Episode 2, outside of being a win for gay sex, is the first time we see the scarring on Ángel’s back.
Interestingly enough he and Maura are the only characters (we know of) that have scarring/injury they are able to hide. However unlike Maura, his are much more hidden, not being able to be seen unless he is at least partially naked. Again not to speculate too much but I do believe that whatever happened either had some hand in or led directly to the creation of the persona he now wears. The one that is literally covering up his past.
One last point I want to make about this moment is that despite this being the most undressed we see him, it is not the most emotionally vulnerable. Which might seem like it undoes my whole main point but I think this is done for two reasons. First being that even if this persona was in any way formed to mask his sexuality that clearly isn’t the problem for him (see: “Don’t you dare judge me. I’ve never pretended to be someone I’m not.” and how his interactions with Krester within these first few episodes are all in full costume). Second is part of what I touched on earlier, this still being an attempt at a cover. Not necessarily that he feels nothing about it but rather this is just an extension of that initial diversion.
Episode 3 (cont.) & 4:
Despite there not being much left of episode 3, I think it serves as a good transition point into the next episode rather than comparison with episode 2 so I think it’s better placed here instead.
Picking up right after Ángel deflects the conversation, Ramiro decides to leave to go warn Eyk about the mutiny. When I first watched this scene I assumed it would end with Ramiro leaving the room before it cuts to some other scene, but it doesn’t. Instead as Ramiro reaches the door it cuts to Ángel who remains the focus for the last moments of the scene. His reaction doesn’t feel annoyed, angry, or even one of not caring but rather I think one of realizing he could have just burned the last bridge he has.
Even if he had been a dick before they were stuck in all of this together and now that may no longer be the case. Especially when in the earlier conversation after he tells Ramiro that they’re going to get what they want because of the mutiny that is going to turn the ship back around, Ramiro’s response is maybe that’s not what he wants anymore, along with the fact he does actually leave, really cements that possibility into Àngel’s head. I mentioned earlier that going into this part of the scene Ángel takes off his jacket, but what I left out was that’s the last time he ever wears it. Not once during the rest of the season will he put it back on and this obviously marks the beginning of the shift in his character.
Up until now any moment hinting at deeper vulnerability has only been seen by the audience (you could even extend this to episode 1 where even though Ramiro is in the scene and would also be able to see this, Ángel is the only one in frame) but episode 4 is where that starts to change. In this single scene we see him reach out to another character in a way that is much more honest than anything in previous episodes.
When he first speaks to Krester it’s to get him to step in and keep the other man from taking his things. Which on its own isn’t much but the way the scene shifts from there is. Also fun fact that isn’t just any personal possession of Ángel’s, but specifically the pocket watch he has worn in every single episode up to this point.
So here’s to another piece of the original outfit being discarded. Although this time under very different circumstances (but it does make a fun little parallel with ep2). Getting back to the rest of the scene however, Iben says something horrible to her son which Ángel can’t understand but I do think he gets. There is very much a self recognition through the other going on, especially from Ángel’s perspective. The second time not only does he physically reach out for Krester’s attention but he also speaks his name much softer. It really feels like Ángel made an unintentional wrong move, realized this, felt bad about it, and to at least some degree makes that known!
Though whatever he was going to say goes unsaid, maybe somewhat understood but unsaid nonetheless. But even doing just that is a big deal because that is not something Ángel from two/three episodes ago would have ever done!
Episode 5:
This episode brings us the most disheveled Ángel has looked yet. We first see him briefly as he exits his room and asks Maura about what’s going on as the siren is wailing in the background. At first glance it might not seem as though anything is different but the coming undone-ness that is more obvious later in the episode actually starts here. Because in this scene both the top of his shirt and waistcoat are undone. Which I think is a really interesting choice since it very easily can be missed, almost giving the impression that nothing has changed.
And as I talked about earlier while in that stage of his appearance there was still some pretense of the persona being held up but with this slight change so too has that attitude. He’s clearly worried about what’s going on and he is doing nothing to hide it.
A bit after things start taking a turn for the worse, we check back in with Ángel and the really bad time he’s having. If you didn’t notice the slight change in appearance before, it is certainly much more noticeable now. He’s also lost his tie by this point as well. From that first shot we see of him, he’s sitting on the floor tucked into himself, holding an envelope? letter? something anyway, and singing quietly to himself, all of which clearly express a kind of smallness and fear.
Again this is something we haven’t come to expect from this character especially when compared to early on in the series. And when Ramiro approaches him and tries to get his attention, he is completely unresponsive. Which implies that he very much might be being tempted by whatever the ticking’s siren song is. Although the fact he is still even in his room to me also implies he is in at least some capacity resisting it. Either way it is very clear how deeply troubled he is underneath all the false pretenses.
Once it’s all stopped however we unfortunately never get to know what was happening to everyone nor what specifically happened with Ángel between when we first saw him to now. Though there is still something to talk about here of course. When he comes too and realizes that Ramiro is there, he is the first to reach out. But unlike previous times where he’s leading a scene this time feels more like he needs to know that this is real.
Which I think is backed up by the exchange that follows - “You came back.” “Of course I came back.” Much like the last episode he doesn’t ever say anything that he is feeling but it is very clear in everything else. Also similarly in that there is another character to actually see this and it’s not just a moment to be noticed solely by the audience.
The last appearance he makes in this episode is during the ending where all the remaining characters are gathered together. While there isn’t much to talk about, it is notable that nothing has changed about Ángel’s outfit. Especially because there is nothing physically stopping him from doing so. Making this the first time that that presentation of vulnerability is seen somewhere outside of just his room and that it is no longer this private thing.
Episode 6 & 7:
As these two episodes round out this (very long) meta so to do they round out the growth in Ángel’s character. Also there isn’t as much to say across the total of both of these episodes so I’m just going to focus on the most significant moments.
First of which being the final change in his outfit that happens partway through episode 6. No longer are we seeing this well dressed character who is rather pompous but rather a character who has become more genuine and is no longer shrouded in the persona he originally wore.
Even going back to my much earlier comments about visual cohesion, by this point he no longer stands out in the same way as he had before. He is actively working as part of the larger group because in the end you can’t really survive on your own.
Jumping ahead into episode 7, I want to quickly mention the small moment of reunion between Ángel and Ramiro. The fact this shot is largely focused on Ángel’s reaction is kind of a big deal because we are getting to see that emotion and affection. By this point the wall that was put up through his old persona that prevented any kind of emotional connection to others is truly gone.
Unfortunately Ángel doesn’t survive this run of the simulation but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one last bit of character to read into during his final scene. Because after all this time, after all this inferring based off of expressions, body language, and dialogue, he finally verbalizes something he feels! We have finally reached the peak of his emotional vulnerability and it’s quite sad honestly. “I never understood why you fell in love with someone like me. You are the gentlest, most loyal man I’ve ever met. And you were right. You’re better off without me.” We hear how highly he thinks of Ramiro and despite how capable of change he actually is, he at least to some degree still sees himself as what the persona he wore was. Which in a way calls back to that dialogue he has at the end of episode 3 about not being able to change the nature of things. But what else has he done over the course of the show except change? Of course this isn’t all of what he says, his actual last words are “I’m scared.” Throughout this meta I have taken time to point out how Ángel has repeatedly shown his emotions through expression and body language but never really through actually saying them aloud despite how much change he has gone through over these seven episodes. And as tragic as it might be to say what is more emotionally vulnerable then admitting you are scared that you're dying.
And that’s where it ends. At least until season 2 anyway. I have no idea how much of this is going to hold up and/or continue in the rest of the series but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless. And who knows maybe I’ll come back to this in some capacity depending on how it all shakes out. Though maybe in a way that isn’t as long as this lol.
