Why Did They Sign That Stupid Contract?

[ilovewesley]

Ok, I can't deny it, canon is that the Fang Gang signed the Wolfram and Hart contract, standard perpetuity clause and all. Why? Are they not naive? The gang in Home before the mindwipe is not that naive or that stupid, nor did Angel apparently sign for them. He seems a little surprised that the gang agrees to collaborate with Wolfram and Hart yet later speculates to Spike that was it really Fred's choice to sign on with the company. My theory-the mindwipe removed vital parts of memories for the crew, not just Conner-related memories, and put them in a place where they would agree to Wolfram and Hart's terms, maybe they don't remember Lilah's little warning to read the fine print, maybe the Senior Partner stacked the deck in their favor. Wesley in particular seems to be wandering around the company in the first few episodes wondering why are they there? He keeps repeating that they can do alot of good, yet doesn't seemed convinced he is right. He says he chopped Lilah into little pieces but a resurrected Lilah had only the decapitation scar to show for it. What does Wesley remember? What do any of them remember? One thing for certain, Wesley doesn't blame Angel for any of it , but seems to feel it was his own fault in the first place.

[ciderdrinker]

I think that the point of them going to W&H wasn't necessarily because of the mind-wipe but that they were all corruptible in their way and the Senior Partners knew exactly which weak spots to push, to have them lapping it up. Angel's need to have his son happy and healthy, Fred's need to be the big brain, Lorne's need to entertain everyone, Gunn's need to be more than the muscle and Wesley's need to "see the bigger picture" were all characteristics they had already but W&H gave them the chance to be everything they ever wanted. Who wouldn't want that - even if it was at a price?

Yes, they were being naive, but also very very human. We make mistakes and take wrong paths, thinking that we can make our lives better (in their case the lives of other people too) and sometimes it works out for the better, mostly not.

Angel especially had strayed very far from his original mission statement by the time it was offered to him. He immediately turned Lilah down when he was offered the same thing in The Ring in Season 1, and the Senior Partners kept a close eye on him. I believe it was their plan to get him onto their side from the outset, and it was only after he lost Darla, Connor and Cordelia that they could act on it.

Wesley, Fred and Gunn all had done questionable things in the previous seasons, to get them to the place where they thought cosying up to the enemy was the best way forward. It's entirely possible that a lot of that was engineered by the SP to get them there in the first place too.

The mind-wipe was a way of controlling them, I'm sure, but I truly believe that each and everyone of them thought, at the time, that they were doing it for the right reasons. The reappearance of Cordelia was the exact thing they needed to shake them out of their disbelief - the PTB finally acting to get their champions back on their side

[Nina]

One of the questions I still have.

I understand why Angel did it, but the others ... I don't know. Wesley tried that same day to burn Lilah's contract and found out how bad a W&H contract is. Are they so easily corrupted by pretty things? Of course, they all got what they wanted the most ... being important because of knowledge nobody else has (Gunn), a beautiful lab (Fred), working with big artists (Lorne) and all the information in the world (Wesley). But they are smart enough to not buy this evil lawyers talk, they fought this company for years and now very well that there is nothing good in it.

I don't know if you can blame the mindwipe, also without some warnings and memories ... they should've known that it was a bad idea. Everybody knows it; the scoobies (who never came close to W&H), Cordelia, Spike ... I think that this a plothole they can't answer because it's not possible to give a good answer. Only corruption can be a reason, another moment that we see how easy people are corrupted with power, importance, dreams ... if they were really strong, they would never went to look in the first place.

So, I think that it's corruption, but it's a let down.

[kudagirl]

If you watch the scene the group were in the lobby talking about signing when Angel came up and said he had already signed for them. Lilah gave Angel the amulet and papers to give Buffy. As Angel went to leave he said something about Connor. Fred said "Who's Connor?". The mind wipe was done when Angel signed before the others even knew he signed as I remember how it went. It has been awhile since I watched the episode, but that is the way I remember it going down.

[Nina]

The moment in 'Home';

LORNE
(singing) Could be...who knows? There's something due any day I will know right away soon as it shows (Fred walks into the lobby) It may come cannonballin' down from the sky gleaming inside... Welcome back, Fred (talking, hugs her) Hi. Hey. (starts dancing with her) Oh, well, let me tell you, when this cruise ship sets sail, I will be on the Lido deck. (chuckles) You know, I mean, it's unbelievable. Secrets of the universe, like Siegfried, evil; Roy, not so much. Oh, and balance? Very, very important. (spins Fred out, and she bumps into Wesley)

FRED
Uh, heh—ooh! Uh... guess we're all straggling back, some more straggly-like than others. Are you—?

WESLEY
Just, uh... a lot to take in.

The elevator bell rings, Gunn steps out.

FRED
You look... did they make you taller?

GUNN
I'm doing this. Hope it's not just me, but if it is, that's all right, too.

WESLEY
As much as it pains me to admit it, there's probably a great deal we could accomplish with the resources available here.

FRED
(looks at Wesley) I can't believe it. Are—are you saying we should take the deal?

ANGEL
I already took it.

FRED
Angel, what—what?

WESLEY
You took the deal?

ANGEL
Executive decision.

This would mean that Angel sold them out. But he can't right? He can't force them to sign those contracts ... or worse, sign the contracts for them. He doesn't own their souls. I always took it as a choice Angel made for himself and the others could leave if they wanted to. But we already know that everybody except Fred already made that decision for theirselves. If Angel sold their souls to W&H, I don't understand why the others didn't hit him on his head with a very large and heavy object.

I still don;t think that the mindwipe had anything to do with it because the reasons (minus Angels's) had nothing to do with the past or Connor. Only with the shiny new office, the information, the brainupdate, the stars and the pretty lab.

[ilovewesley]

Maybe they really didn't consider the consequences, thought that they could get out of the contracts, maybe they thought the SP wouldn't want to have them for employees anyway. I guess it is human nature to put that charge on your credit card and think you will pay it off one day and that day never seems to some.

[kudagirl]

They did know about Lilah and how she was still working for the Senior Partners after her death. Just as Angel was told by Holland that he still worked for the SP after his death. Wes even tried to burn Lilah's contract and it wouldn't burn. So they knew if they signed it was a very long contract that was binding even after death.