Darla's bio
Darla, Angel's sire and lover of 150 years, was 400-something years old herself. She was originally a "lady of the night," and was dying of a syphilitic heart condition when she was changed over by The Master, an extremely powerful vampire. Darla was staked by Angel when she tried to kill Buffy, the vampire slayer that Angel was in falling love with. The evil law firm, Wolfram and Hart, brought her back as human by a spell, still suffering from the terminal disease. Though she tried to become her vampric, evil old self again, her soul and Angel's dedication helped bring her to an acceptance of her fate... when Drusilla stepped in and made her a vampire against her will. It's hard not to notice that the two major romantic figures of Angel's life, Darla and Buffy, are similar in many ways. They're both beautiful blondes, independent, good at fighting, witty, intelligent and resourceful. It seems possible that once he regained his soul, Angel may have been subconsciously seeking someone very much like his old vampire lover (only not evil, of course), that explains his attraction to Buffy. In any case, he is certainly not "over" Darla, nor will he be any time soon... but as long as she remained evil, he could not love her again. We met a new Darla, just for a few short hours, before we lost her forever. Darla's brief experience with motherhood changed her in a way that nothing ever had before. Even when she was human and had a soul, she still seemed relatively evil. But the love that came with motherhood, a spillover from the soul of the child she carried was so strong that it overpowered even her vampire nature. She sacrificed herself to save her son, an act of love strong enough to redeem almost any evil.