Over the course of her appearances in "Angel", Cordelia would develop enormously as a character. Describing this evolution, Carpenter comments, "When I first started playing Cordelia, she wasn't nice. She has really deepened and has a stronger sense of responsibility. She's a team player, which was not the case in the beginning." Carpenter cherishes what playing a multi-faceted character like Cordelia meant for her as an actress, describing The road Cordelia has traveled, the journey she has taken up to now has been such a joy to play as an actress, because there have been so many chances to do so many different emotions. Heroic, vulnerable, just angry, possessed, funny – I get to be all those different things rolled into one. Getting this role, in hindsight... God I made a good decision, or they did. Cultural critic Jennifer Crusie points out how Cordelia was initially perfect for the transition to "selfish, superficial Los Angeles", which turned out to be her "trial by fire".