Are there honest politicians and religious leaders? Of course, just as there are evil, disingenuous ones. At the one end of the bell curve we have Clem and Lorne, and on the other we have Sahjhan and Angelus. In between, we have Merle and Anyanka, who aren't necessarily outrightly 'evil' in the usual sense, just mostly self-interested and/or opportunistic. These mid-vector dwellers are examples of beings that could go either way-- darker or lighter, benign or malignant-- depending on circumstances. While external factors might play a significant role in determining the direction taken, there is another consideration of equal importance, a consideration that all of the major characters in both BtVS and A:tS have been working with in this last season.

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