A lot of Law & Order fans will probably be happy to hear that. The character's not been particularly well liked. I always liked her character on Angel, but even I thought she was pretty terrible on Law & Order.

unreality | June 24, 04:10 CET

Is anyone else thinking that Stephanie Romanov should be her replacement. I know, not in a Lilah way but I think she could definitely add a freshness to the cast that has been missing. Heck any of the former Angel female cast would be more than a match for Law & Order, Charisma, Julie, Juliet, Mercedes, or Amy.

[ edited by RavenU on 2004-06-24 02:12 ]

RavenU | June 24, 04:10 CET

I think Elizabeth Rohm is an incredibly beautiful woman and I wish her the best of luck. I guess her next endeavor is a movie?

I never liked Kate Lockley. She was always pissed off at Angel, no matter how many times he saved her life and tried to reason with her, she was always a snotty shrew where he was concerned, except for the very beginning.

As Clem would say..."Issues..."

Willowy | June 24, 04:29 CET

Not being a Law & Order fan (waaaay too down to earth and run of the mill for my taste, give me slayers, vamps, aliens or spies over stereotypical cop and lawyer shows any day!) i can't really comment on her character in that show but i liked Kate Lockley a lot.

I thought the development of her relationship with Angel was very realistic. Rather than her readily accepting that vampires and demons were real and becoming immediate best buddies with Angel she had a hard time dealing with it, as most people would.

That is one of the things that Joss' series are known for, realistic characters in an unrealistic world.

Warlock | June 24, 04:40 CET

I don't think she was realistic.

Going from "Hey there good lookin" to "YOU KILLED MY FATHER...or maybe it was just your kind..." thing took maybe three minutes (exaggeration). And from there she was unyielding and steadfast in her behavior towards Angel.

Someone who fights on the good side should be able to recognize that in others. She was blinded by her "daddy" complex, and took out all her sadness and frustration on Angel. Unfairly so, in my estimation.

I thought they missed the boat on Kate. She could've been a great character. Either a conflicted but basically good-hearted enemy in the Holtz vein, or an ally in the police department. Neither one materialized.

Willowy | June 24, 05:01 CET

"Someone who fights on the good side should be able to recognize that in others. She was blinded by her "daddy" complex, and took out all her sadness and frustration on Angel. Unfairly so, in my estimation"

Exactly. Which is why her character kinda just annoyed me. My favorite scene with her in it is the one where Angel finally tells her off with that "You wanna be my enemy? FINE! TRY ME!" bit.

I don't know if they were testing the waters for potential love interest but that one sure didn't work out.

EdDantes | June 24, 05:12 CET

I like that scene too Ed, and I've wondered also if she was meant to be a new Darla or Buffy. But like you said, it sure didn't work out. :)

Willowy | June 24, 05:26 CET

Well, wasn't she originaly meant to be a junkie hooker? Think of how her arc would of been if it had gone that way.

400lb_Gorilla | June 24, 05:39 CET

Kate wasn't meant to start out as a junkie hooker. She was an undercover officer posing as a junkie hooker. Big difference there! But she was always supposed to be a cop.

lalaa | June 24, 05:56 CET

Now, I can't quite remember but wasn't she supposed to have crossed the line and gotten a little too wrapped up in her cover? There is a discussion about it and the script here.

marmoset | June 24, 06:45 CET

"I like that scene too Ed, and I've wondered also if she was meant to be a new Darla or Buffy. But like you said, it sure didn't work out. :) "

Like that asian alien chick. She was clearly poised to return, but after that one ep....not so much;-)

"Now, I can't quite remember but wasn't she supposed to have crossed the line and gotten a little too wrapped up in her cover? "

I recall that. The original pilot had that element but the WB wanted something 'less dark'. She was supposed to have gotten hooked on drugs to maintain her cover or something. Angel would point out to her the dangers of the 'dark side' and all that.

Instead they had to go with the daddy issues......well....that was good...too....uhm....

EdDantes | June 24, 08:19 CET

I was always glad that she wasn't a love interest. A leading man that every woman doesn't fall immediately under the spell of...how un-tv like. And Elizabeth Rohm is just a talented and interesting actor, like almost all the ones on a Whedon show.

lycoming | June 24, 08:25 CET

I think Kate was grieving, and just needed someone to blame. Angel wouldn't hurt her (she thought anyway) and he sort of represented everything that subsequently lead to her father's death. Hell, before Angel, her life was simple and un-supernatural, and then BOOM this guy comes around, your world is turned upside down and your father dies.

That said, I think Angel was right when he eventually told her to stop blaming him, and I too enjoyed that scene. I think he understood what she was feeling, though, and that's why he didn't confront her earlier.

Oh and Kate did fall under Angel's spell. Look at the early scenes with her in them, how nervous and uncomfortable she is with him around. There's definite attraction.

I think the character was redeemed when Angel had his epiphany and saved her. In more than one sense she was reborn there.

Oh how I sometimes miss the noiryness of seasons 1 and 2. Oh well. :)

SimonM7 | June 24, 11:12 CET

"Someone who fights on the good side should be able to recognize that in others. She was blinded by her "daddy" complex, and took out all her sadness and frustration on Angel. Unfairly so, in my estimation."

Which in a way is kind of my point. Kate did allow her personal issues to blind her to what Angel was trying to do. She allowed her view to be predjudiced by her idea of demons overall rather than letting herself believe in Angel and his mission because that was the easy thing to do. As Mirkan said, she needed somebody to blame and Angel was the safe bet.

Many characters in the slayerverse have been disliked for the exact reasons and character traits they were there to portray, Riley being another obvious example. He was written as the Anti-Angel and was treated accordingly by the fans despite the fact that he made a great character in his own right.

Kate didn't follow the expected path of Angel's love interest, in fact didn't follow any of the more common character developments. She was the opposite of Gunn's character in fact. Both characters were there to show an element of racism or predjudice, in Gunn's case the apparent token black character who became friends with a person from a race he despised, whereas with Kate it was more akin to someone who discovered a close friend had a secret life that they didn't agree with and couldn't cope with. A sexual orientation metaphor perhaps?

Most shows have characters who's personal beliefs and characteristics are secondary to realistic developments in relationships. Angel didn't go that way. Kate did have issues, with her father and obviously with his subsequent death, and she acted according to them. To me that made her character all the more believable, if not necessarily likeable.

Exactly what the slayerverse is all about in fact.

Warlock | June 24, 13:38 CET

I agree 100% with what you said, Warlock. Even Connor possessed that.. how shall I put it... Justified annoyingness that ultimately made me like the character, simply because I understood why he was like he was.

Very, very few characters in the 'verse lack justification if you just think for two seconds about where they come from, what they've gone through, and their present situation.

SimonM7 | June 24, 14:02 CET

I used to find the original Law and Order series entertaining (back when Angie Harmon was ADA). But, Elizabeth Rohm ruined what little shred of watchability that show had. She's a terrible actress and it's a testament to Angel's showrunners that I didn't discover that fact until she moved to Law and Order.

mai | June 24, 16:34 CET

Mai, i think that speaks a lot more to how an actor can latch on to different roles with varying degree of success.

As Kate she managed to find a voice for the role and so did a great job with the character. Again i never saw her in her Law & Order role but from your opinion, as well of that of a lot of fans of the show apparently, she didn't find that all important voice, therefore leading to her not being as successful or popular as whoever she played in Law & Order.

Very few actors are truly good enough to be able to do every type of character they might wish to do. That isn't being critical, just realistic. I don't think it is fair to call her a terrible actress based upon one role though. Even Bruce Willis, my favourite actor of all time, has had the odd duff movie but you can't rate his entire career on Hudson Hawk or Blind Date!

Warlock | June 24, 17:13 CET

Warlock, trust me...watch an episode of Law and Order and you will see what I mean. She is very, very bad. Many television critics have been much harsher and for very good reason. The Law and Order series requires limited acting range and watching Elizabeth on that show is beyond painful. Any decent actor should be able to handle such a simple, straightforward character. I didn't particularly like her as Kate on Angel, but at least I didn't think her performance was embarrasing. I think in her case, the credit has to go to ME for bringing out an adequate performance from an untalented actor.

On another note, I agree with what was mentioned earlier - Stephanie Romanov would be perfect to replace her.

mai | June 24, 20:49 CET