Kate Lockley

Infobox Buffyverse Character


Title=Kate Lockley
First="Lonely Hearts"
Last="" issue #7
Creator=Joss Whedon, David Fury
Name=Kate Lockley
Status=Alive
Kind=Human
Affiliation=Unknown, formerly Los Angeles Police Department
Powers=Extensive training as a police officer
Actor=Elisabeth Röhm

Kate Lockley is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series "Angel", and is portrayed by Elisabeth Röhm. Kate first appears in the episode "Lonely Hearts." She is a young, skeptical detective for the Los Angeles Police Department.

Kate first meets Angel while investigating a case undercover involving the brutal murders of several patrons of D'Oblique, a popular singles bar. She initially believes that it is Angel himself who is behind the killings, but changes her mind after he saves her life from the real killer (a parasitic demon who was possessing the bartender). Kate's subsequent encounters with Angel lead her to trust him as a helpful stranger, and she, in turn, assists him, using her position on the police force to provide him with information about some of his cases. Furthermore, she finds herself attracted to the enigmatic private investigator, even though she won't admit it, even to herself.

History

Kate was raised by her widowed father, Trevor, who is also a police officer, who taught her to put her emotions aside and to take care of herself at all costs. When she discovers that Angel is really a vampire, her black and white view of the world is shaken, and she delves into the darker side of Los Angeles. On one such investigation, Kate finds her father's lifeless body- completely drained of blood.

After her father's death, Kate struggles with her relationship with Angel; she undeniably has feelings for him, but blames him in part for failing to keep his fellow vampires away from her father (despite knowing about Angel needing to be invited into a dwelling by the resident), and subsequently becomes increasingly adversarial toward him, taking her newfound hatred of all vampires out on him. Obsessed with ridding the city of "his kind," Kate is the first to investigate any calls matching the "otherworldly" profile, even if it's out of her jurisdiction. She develops an intense dislike for Wolfram & Hart and the clients the law firm represents, but at the same time shows an equal resentment to Angel for exposing her to this world.

Her obsession with supernatural cases becomes her own undoing: after Angel attacks a cop who had brought back deceased police officers as zombies in an attempt to cut down on crime- unaware or unconcerned that the zombies use excessive force to deal with relatively minor crimes such as jaywalking-, she is eventually fired from the LAPD. In the aftermath, Kate calls Angel and blames him for ruining her life, then attempts suicide by washing down prescription pills with hard liquor. However, after he has his fabled epiphany, Angel goes to Kate's apartment, breaks down her door, and holds her under a cold shower, saving her life. When she comes to, she thanks him for doing so, but then harshly orders him to get out.

That evening, Kate and Angel come to a reckoning and she forgives him, believing there is a higher power at work and they're not alone in the never-ending battle against the forces of darkness. When Angel asks her why, she replies that she never invited him into her apartment.

She never appeared again on the series, possibly due to Elisabeth Röhm joining the cast of Law & Order. [cite book | last = Pearson | first = Lars | title = Redeemed: the Unauthorized Guide to Angel | publisher = Mad Norwegian Press | location = City | year = 2006 | isbn = 9780972595933 ] However, in one episode soon after her last appearance Angel mentions to his friends that they no longer have a friend on the police force. [2.18 "Dead End"]

Kate reappears in the seventh issue of "", saving Connor from a group of demons. She is unaware that Connor is Angel's son. Apparently she established an antiquities business after her departure from the LAPD, and has been using her business connections to learn more about the supernatural and the occult, as well as stocking her hideout with an arsenal of weapons, from ancient to modern. She is last seen leaving to blow up a demon army, so her survival is uncertain. This actual event takes place the same night as "Not Fade Away."

Writing and acting

* Kate was originally conceived as a much darker character. In the unproduced episode "Corrupt," she was a detective deep undercover as a prostitute and addicted to drugs.
*Elisabeth Röhm said "I thought Kate was this incredibly powerful young woman who is fantastic at what she does, but at the same time, just a girl. There's a great line in "Notting Hill" when Julia Roberts says 'I'm just a girl wanting a boy to love me.' I think that's a part of Kate and a part of everyone who is really great at what they do. They're actually just the girl or boy who's real and has the same problems as everybody else. She's this tough, smart cookie, but she just wants to be loved and she doesn't know how to do it." [Stokes, Mike, "Beverly Hills Cop", from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine" #19 (UK, April 2001), pages 20-24.]
*Röhm on the relationship between Kate and Angel: "I think that Kate and Angel are kind of meant for each other but in a way, you can see them become best friends" [Stokes, Mike, "Beverly Hills Cop", from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer magazine" #19 (UK, April 2001), pages 20-24.]

Appearances

Canonical Appearances

Kate has appeared in

;"Angel": Kate appeared in 16 episodesSeason 1 (1999, 2000) - "Corrupt" (unaired), "Lonely Hearts", "I Fall To Pieces", "Rm w/a Vu", "Sense & Sensitivity", "Somnambulist", "I've Got You Under My Skin", "The Prodigal", "Sanctuary", "To Shanshu in L.A.".

Season 2 (2000, 2001) - "Dear Boy", "The Shroud of Rahmon", "Reunion", "The Thin Dead Line", "Reprise", "Epiphany".

"" #7

Non-Canonical Appearances

Kate also appears in Angel expanded universe. She appears in the Angel comic "Hunting Ground".

Notes and references

ee also

* "Corrupt"