Jasmine (Angel)
Upon being born, Jasmine drains the life-force out of Cordelia, leaving her in a comatose state, one from which she will never wake. Jasmine's tentacled and luminescent form assumes the shape of a woman. When Angel and Connor see her for the first time, they both fall to their knees, having quickly fallen under her thrall.
Jasmine appears before the rest of Angel's crew, turning them into her followers and announcing that, despite the great evil done in her name, her plan is to bring world peace and the elimination of evil, starting with Los Angeles. However, that peace comes at a high price. One drawback is that Jasmine secretly needs to devour a certain amount of humans to maintain her force. For this, she usually chooses people that are both beautiful and fit, but also people that had been lost and in pain, sparing those that will prove useful for the society she plans on creating.
The real problem, however, is that Jasmine's mind control virtually eliminates free will from the world, with everyone being unable to do much of anything except praise and serve Jasmine all day. The AI team is able to shake off her control after being exposed to her and Cordelia's blood, starting with Fred (who scrubs a damaged blouse so hard that her fingers literally bleed), and progressing to Angel (who is hit with a bullet that Fred has shot Jasmine with, the bullet being covered in her blood), the two of them then acquiring samples of Cordelia's blood and 'infecting' Lorne, Wesley, and Gunn with it. Accusing them of being dissidents bent on spreading their hatred, Jasmine directs her followers against them and as her powers grow, she is capable of projecting her will and voice through each of them. She begins to refer to those under her control as "The Body Jasmine," as they are veritable extensions of her own body.
While Fred, Wesley, Lorne, and Gunn fight against Jasmine's forces under Connor's command, Angel is able to undo her control over the world by revealing her true name. This second and more powerful weakness of Jasmine's is hidden in the demon dimension that she had formerly ruled, which is revealed to Wesley when one of the zealots there travels to Earth in the hope of reminding Jasmine of his world's existence. As the other world's atmosphere is poisonous to humans, Angel (who, as a vampire, doesn't need to breathe) travels to the other dimension, obtains Jasmine's true name, and shatters her mind control and power by revealing her name during a worldwide news broadcast.
When her name is revealed, her appearance is also altered. Though she keeps her human appearance, she is covered in boils and her eyes turn purple. Her followers run horrified as the sensation of inner peace and bliss they experienced as part of Jasmine's collective is obliterated. Many cause riots and chaos, while others even contemplate suicide. With her name revealed, Jasmine's mind control powers are destroyed, though she keeps her superhuman strength and can easily withstand electricity. Her unique psychic link with Connor also remains, as their connection is of a different nature. Through this link, Connor tracks down Jasmine.
With her agenda ruined by Angel, Jasmine initially finds herself lost and purposeless, until Angel tries to reach out to her. Jasmine is upset with Angel and tries to impart to him that there is no absolute good, no absolute evil—everything is a gray area. Angel tries to sway her to his point of view, to recruit her to his side, but Jasmine prefers to slaughter humanity herself before giving free will a chance, as she had seen for millennia what this precious free will would bring about. Jasmine says that without her help, the world is doomed to drown in its own blood; Angel protests that it should be humanity's choice to bring about a perfect world, rather than having it forced on them.
Soon after, Jasmine is killed by an increasingly unstable Connor, the only person aside from Cordelia capable of harming her and the only one that had given himself to Jasmine despite knowing Jasmine's true nature.
Jasmine's good or evil status is somewhat debatable; she argued that she was a force for good, in that she could have ended all the suffering in the world within a few years and bring about a Golden Age, but Angel argues that her methods are not right, that only through suffering can humanity grow and without free will, life would not be worth living. The fact that one of the last things Jasmine did before dying was pledge to use her remaining power to destroy the world shows that she at least has a very bad temper. Angel and his friends do feel somewhat uncertain about whether they had done a good thing or a bad thing in defeating her, especially when Wolfram & Hart congratulates them for ending world peace. The most appropriate label that can be assigned to the higher power is that of an anti-villain. All her malevolent deeds in the course of the show were for a greater benevolent purpose, but whether or not her ends justified the means is open to debate.
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Quotes
"In the beginning, before the time of man, great beings walked the earth. Untold power emanated from all quarters—the seeds of what would come to be known as good and evil. But the shadows stretched and became darkness, and the malevolent among us grew stronger. The earth became a demon realm. Those of us who had the will to resist left this place, but we remained ever-watchful. But then something new emerged from deep inside the earth—neither demon, nor god. And it seemed, for a time, that through this new race, a balance might be restored."
"There are no absolutes. No right and wrong. Haven't you learned anything working for the Powers? There are only choices. I offered paradise; YOU chose this!"
"And how many will die because of you? I could've stopped it, Angel. All of it. War, disease, poverty. How many precious, beautiful lives would've been saved in a handful of years? Yes, I murdered thousands to save billions. This world is doomed to drown in its own blood now."
"I was forged in the inferno of creation, vampire. Do you really think a little electricity would destroy me?"
"You don't have to do anything except love one another... although, a temple would be nice."
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Appearances
Jasmine has been in 5 canonical Buffyverse appearances.
- Angel
- Jasmine has appeared as a guest in 5 episodes.
- Season 4 (2002, 2003) - "Inside Out"; "Shiny Happy People"; "The Magic Bullet"; "Sacrifice"; "Peace Out"
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See also
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