June 2004 posts
CJL's Review of ANGEL
Season Five, Conclusion (episode by episode rundown) -- cjl,
06:50:20 06/24/04 Thu
Let's get right to it:
CONVICTION - Season openers are a bear to write, and this one
had to be trickier than most. Joss had to lay the groundwork for
a new premise, new location, explain the absent characters, introduce
new, boring ones (I'm looking at you, Eve), etc. But I think watching
the design crew build the set would have been more exciting. Tons
of tedious exposition, and without his symbolic value, the villain
of the week would be completely forgettable. (Fries and his son
are the first of many parallels to Angel and the absent Connor.
Much foreshadowing of a day of reckoning over the mindwipe. Flip
down to 5.18 to see how that turns out.) Funny teaser, a great
joke about the W&H phone system, and Harmony is as lovely (and
dim) as ever. But most of this episode is like Joss' fancy five-minute
tracking shot in Act I--a lot of movement, but nothing much going
on. (Grade: 6.5 out of 10)
JUST REWARDS - Blondie Bear! Another fair-to-middling villain
in Magnus Hainsley, but the Spike/Angel interaction, snarky and
engaging as ever, makes all the difference. The real fun of the
episode, though, is the touch of ghoulish humor around the edges:
Hainsley's display room, Spike's comment on "the circle of
death," and Spike getting in a few more shots at Angel after
Hainsley's body dies. The closer with Fred shows a touching vulnerability
in Spike, a welcome relief from his usual bravado. Spoooooooon!
(Grade: 7.5 out of 10)
UNLEASHED - Craft and Fain's worst script, reminiscent of some
of the low points of Season 3. I guess Joss wanted to drive home
how Fred was the glue that held Angel Investigations together,
but she's verging on Mary Sue-dom for most of the episode. Curvaceous
figure aside, Nina doesn't make much of an impression either,
and that song at the end? Painful. Excellent direction by Marta
Grabiak, who effectively conveys the heightened sensory experience
of lycanthropy. Nice work by John Billingsley as the xenobiologist
(always a pleasure, John). All the regulars seem to be MIA, though.
(Grade: 5.5 out of 10)
HELLBOUND - Boy, ME sure loves its haunted houses, doesn't it?
The Price, Habeas Corpses, and now this. DeKnight works his butt
off trying to capture the proper mood of a Halloween scare-fest:
flickering lights, long, sinister-looking corridors with Something
Bad at the end, spirit mediums, people coughing blood, ghostly
messages, etc. It breaks my heart to tell him that the episode
just isn't scary. I also get the strange impression that, even
though the episode is All About Spike, Pavayne's victim could
have been any poor ectoplasmic schnook wandering down to his basement.
DeKnight doesn't deal with any issues specific to Spike's character;
even though Spike was almost dragged down to Hell, I felt that
almost nothing was at stake. (Grade: 7 out of 10)
LIFE OF THE PARTY - I love Lorne, and even though they're always
uneven at best (see: The House Always Wins), I love Lorne episodes.
ME lets Ben Edlund loose here, and LotP is filled with those insane
touches that are Edlund's trademark: Sebassis' "carafiend,"
the Pylean-skin coat, and the demon masquerading as a human ("my
other car is a Lambourghini"). This episode neatly sets up
Lorne's character arc for Season 5, even though ME seems to forget
about it for huge stretches of the season. I could do without
the Angel/Eve sex, and (God help us) the return of Wesley's Hidden
Crush on Fred. But the party is a blast, and it's great to see
our two underutilized regulars dance the night away. Lorney-tunes!
Harmonica! (Grade: 7 out of 10)
THE CAUTIONARY TALE OF NUMERO CINCO - In many ways, my favorite
episode of the season: a return to my childhood days of wrestling
fandom, when I watched Lucha Libre on Channel 47 in Manhattan.
A phenomenally well-balanced mix of film noir, high camp and Aztec
and Buffyverse mythologies, with a welcome-if-belated acknowledgment
of the Hispanic population of Los Angeles. Danny Mora turns in
one of the best one-shot supporting performances of the entire
series as Numero Cinco, and he never even takes off his mask.
Amazing. (Grade: 9 out of 10)
LINEAGE - After shuttling him to the background for the first
six eps, ME finally brings Wes out to play, and Alexis Denisof
runs through the history of Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in 45 minutes:
Wes talks smack with the weapons dealer (Leader Wes), regresses
in front of Daddy (Doofus Wes), creeps out Fred (Stalker Wes),
tortures a cyberninja (Badass Wes) and empties his cartridge into
Robopop (Stone Cold Killer Wes). It's a bravura performance, but
in retrospect (Drew Goddard's eye for Whedonverse continuity aside),
the episode seems completely disconnected from not only the seasonal
arc, but from parts of the episode itself. Why is Angel so comfortable
with Wes "making the hard choice" and shooting his Dad,
when it was established in the first five minutes that Angel himself
could easily be the next target if Wesley thought it necessary?
Why are Angel and Spike cracking bad jokes about killing their
parents to "comfort" Wes? Who sent the cyberninjas and
why? Excellent, subtle performance by Roy Dotrice as Roger, but
the episode doesn't hold together. (Grade: 7 out of 10)
DESTINY - An explosion of operatic drama and passion, as 120 years
of jealousy and mutual resentment finally come to a head. I've
got to give Fury and DeKnight credit-there's a lot of wild shit
in this ep, and the lockdown at Wolfram and Hart and the battle
for the Cup of Perpetual Torment could have easily come off as
unhinged as the Eye Bleeders. But the writers keep the characters
in focus, and in one instance, actually achieve the astounding
illusion of making Eve INTERESTING. (Thank God that never happened
again; would have completely shattered my belief system.) Wonderful
touches: Gunn's collection of robots, Spike's nooner with Harm
(and the acknowledgment that Fred and Gunn did the same back in
the day), the toner fluid incident (I can relate), and-of course-the
boggling last-second reveal of the one and only Lindsey MacDonald.
The Spike/Angel knock-down/drag-out is a classic, and I was thrilled
to see Captain Peroxide get his AtS upgrade, doing those 20-foot
leaps all vamps do in this series. Kudos to Fury for overriding
DeKnight and writing Spike as the victor. Docked a point for the
watered-down Drusilla in the flashbacks, but that was inevitable,
since we're looking at things from Spike and Angel's point of
view. I'm still not happy about it, though. (Grade: 8.5 out of
10)
HARM'S WAY - As I've said a number of times this year, I luvs
my Mercedes and an entire episode devoted to Harmony should have
been pure heaven; but if Harmony's travails in the shallow end
of the corporate shark tank are supposed to parallel Angel's experiences
in deep waters, Craft and Fain never sell the connection, and
the episode comes off as an entertaining trifle. The first five
minutes are fantastic: the W&H promotional film ("Yoyodyne"--heh)
is a masterstroke, and the musical montage with Harm is pure sugar
rush. Once the murder plot gets rolling, though, the comic energy
drains away, and the Spike/Harmony conversation caps the proceedings
on a truly baffling note. (Didn't believe his speech then; don't
believe it now.) In Craft and Fain's defense, I will say that
the kitchen in my office has dozens of pairs of chopsticks lying
around in a cabinet drawer, and their use as lethal weapons in
this ep is both funny and feels absolutely right. Good to know
my company is well-armed in case of vampire attack. (Grade: 7
out of 10)
SOUL PURPOSE - A paranoid's wet dream, on a level with "The
Magic Bullet" from Season 4, and the best depiction of Angel's
'sublime melancholia' in Season 5. This is Boreanaz' episode all
the way. His reaction shots are classic--the utter confusion on
his face when Fred dives in and pulls out his internal organs,
the flop sweat when the Fang Gang brutally critiques his "performance,"
and the weary sadness as he wheels the mail cart away from Spike's
annunciation. (Aw. Poor, sad former mass murderer.) DB's direction
is almost equally impressive, duplicating the look of Angel Season
One for "Champion" Spike with surprising ease, and lending
the dream sequences a properly surreal tone. Two sub-plots here
that should have had more room to breathe: Wes and Gunn as the
corrupt Crockett and Tubbs, and Spike as "Mr. Outside."
End of season question: given what we know now, why does Lindsey
send Spike to save Angel? (Grade: 8.5 out of 10)
DAMAGE - To those who hated "Lies My Parents Told Me"
and fumed at Spike's utter obliviousness to Nikki's pain, Mutant
Enemy offers this conciliatory bouquet of black roses. The best
pure Spike episode of the season, with the character development
that "Hellbound" promised but never delivered. Goddard
and DeKnight write a textbook on Spike/Angel contrasts--Angel
as the cool, methodical planner and Spike as the impulsive man
of action. Breakout performance by Ravi Nawat as Dana, working
with a degree of difficulty of about a million. Think about it:
she has to convey Faith-level toughness, "Coma Buffy"-level
psychic trauma, and multiple slayer personalities. On top of that,
we have to see her slowly make the distinction between her childhood
memories and the memories imposed by the Calling-all with minimal
dialogue. (That she hits almost all of those notes is close to
miraculous.) Andrew is back (oh joy)-and even though I want to
dive for the antacids every time I think about his five-minute
expository lecture, I have to admit, the "worm turns"
climax wouldn't work with anybody else. (That should have been
the last time we saw Tom Lenk this season.) The final scene between
Angel and Spike is one of those quiet, golden moments when you're
grateful you've stuck with Joss for eight years. (Grade: 9 out
10)
YOU'RE WELCOME - Another case of Joss and Crew adding two and
two together and coming up with three. The first 45 minutes rock
the house Old School style, the best Angel Season One episode
since Season One. We have Cordelia charging back into the game,
as deadly with a quip as ever, bringing out the quiet and vulnerable
side of Angel and the gentle, even wryly amusing side of Wes (which
seemed to disappear when he grew the stubble). She slaps down
Eve not once, but twice, cutting her off at the knees during introductions
and later, slapping UC Santa Cruz chippie with the ultimate insult:
"Lilah Junior." (I cannot tell you how much love I felt
for Cordy during those moments.) Glenn Quinn visits us from beyond
via the famous Angel Investigations videotape, Harmony finally
gets violent on behalf of the good guys, and there are many, many
lovely and gratuitous shots of Charisma's black bra. (Life is
good.) Then Lindsay shows up to activate the fail safe, and the
episode goes screwy. Even if Eve blows his anonymity with Angel
and the Gang, why does Lindsay blow his cover? Why does he throw
away years of planning (and expose himself to the Senior Partners)
in a futile attempt to kill Angel? And why exactly does Angel
suddenly feel good about his job as CEO of Hell Inc.? The moral
dilemma at the start of the episode is still there at the end.
(Remember, this is BEFORE Cordy gives him the Kiss of Enlightenment.)
No solid explanations, not even after Power Play, and it's probably
one of those times when the standalone ep and the seasonal arc
don't quite mesh. Still, I can't bring myself to feel petty about
this. For the most part, the rare episode worthy of the #100 mark,
and a spectacular and dignified exit for Charisma. (Grade: 8.5
out of 10)
WHY WE FIGHT - A well-meaning attempt to put the events of Season
5 in the context of an "unknown chapter" of Angel's
past life, but the plot's metaphorical engine stalls halfway through
Act II. Goddard and DeKnight do an admirable job setting up the
parallels between 1943 Angel and Angel today: morally ambiguous
situation, reluctant hero, loyal crew trapped and set up to suffer
for their own ignorance. Unfortunately, once the situation is
set up, the drama is over, depth charges or no depth charges.
We know Angel is going to walk out of that sub; we know Spike
survives and Lawson will become a vampire and pop up in the 21st
century as well. What's left is the episode's metaphorical significance,
and that's kind of hazy. Who does Lawson represent here, anyway-Angel,
looking for a reason to fight? Spike? Connor, the sacrificial
lamb? A little bit of all three? Why exactly does Angel let his
progeny go free, even though he knows they're going to kill people?
And why does he kill Lawson here, now? Never clear. The Fang Gang
is barely a factor after the credits, hung up on wires for symbolic
value; Spike, in full raging asshole mode, is not used particularly
well, either. OTOH, Camden Toy gives another one of his outrageously
mannered performances as the Prince of Lies, and you have to like
the tie-ins to BtVS mythology-we witness the birth of the Initiative,
and come out of the ep with a warm glow knowing that Buffy was
right about Rasputin after all.... (Grade: 7 out 10)
SMILE TIME - Sheer comic genius. As a long-time Muppet maniac,
I was looking forward to this episode for weeks, and Edlund exceeded
my wildest expectations. Half the dialogue in this episode is
destined to be repeated in sci-fi conventions from now until the
end of TV: "Stupid plastic piece of crap!" "My
little prince!" "You're a wee little puppet man!"
"I'm made of felt-and my nose comes off." "I'm
writing a song about the difference between analogy and metaphor."
"Make him swallow his tongue-again!" Fantastic puppet
work, and Boreanaz' vocal performance is so dead on, I find myself
praying that he does Joss a favor and signs up for the Buffy animated
series. Along with all the merriment and music, we also advance
the seasonal plotline and Angel hits a major turning point in
his unlife: for the first time ever, he stops looking toward the
future and tries to pay attention to the Here and Now. (Watch
out for that werewolf claw, Angel! Ouch-and hee!) And for the
cherry on top, David Fury pops in dressed as Jim Henson, just
in case you didn't think this season was meta enough as it is.
Docked half a point for the Incredibly Boring True Romance of
Wesley and Fred (too little, too late), but not even that blown
subplot can spoil this episode. Why didn't Fox didn't flood the
market with Angel (and Vamp!Angel) puppets right after this episode
aired? They would have made a mint. (Grade: 9.5 out of 10)
A HOLE IN THE WORLD - Schizophrenia, thy name is Whedon. Honestly,
does Joss' brain short circuit when it comes to Amy Acker? The
scenes where Angel and the boys huddle around Fred and then devote
their very souls to fighting for her life contain some of the
most melodramatic dialogue in the history of any Whedon series.
Joss is hammering away at us here, screaming out through the TV
set: "This is the most beautiful, glorious woman who's ever
walked onto this set, and you will be moved to tears, dammit!
YOU WILL BE MOVED!" He completely oversells his case, and
these scenes are all but unwatchable. I also find it annoying
that the last thing Fred wants is to devolve into the helpless
damsel in distress-she says it in no uncertain terms--and she
dies as precisely that. Meanwhile, on the other side of Whedon's
brain, the scenes with Spike and Angel at the Deeper Well are
heartfelt and funny, deliberately evocative of Monty Python and
the Holy Grail (my favorite movie comedy). The burial site of
the Old Ones, the hole in the world itself, deepens Joss' mythology
by a full measure. "St. Petersburg" sums up the Spike/Angelus
relationship in two words and one fluid motion. Now that's writing.
(Grade: 7.5 out of 10)
SHELLS - Better. Not quite as many delirious highs as the best
scenes in A Hole in the World, but all the lows are eliminated.
Once Whedon finishes his contribution with the brilliant "perspectives"
scene between Angel and Spike, the big boss and our souled vamps
fade into the background and the supporting cast takes over. This
episode is J. August Richards' high point on the series. Gunn's
grief, helpless anger and self-loathing are palpable. Amy Acker
blows our collective mind with her transformation into Illyria,
a complete 180 degree turn away from Fred. Funniest Scene Ever
In a Tragic Episode: Wesley gunning down Knox right in the middle
of Angel's pompous speech about the preciousness of every human
life. ("Weren't you even LISTENING?!") So good and so
right because it fits both characters perfectly. Yes, there's
another stupid song at the end, but if you turn the sound off,
the montage could conceivably move you to tears. (Grade: 8 out
of 10)
UNDERNEATH - Craft and Fain atone for Unleashed, and go out on
top. Even though the Wolfram and Hart holding dimension brings
to mind The Matrix, The Stepford Wives, and a thousand other movies
about suburban horror, the environment created in this episode
has a certain visceral power the others lack. (With life in modern
day America so psychically compartmentalized, sometimes you need
the blunt reminder that underneath our comfortable everyday life,
there is blood to be paid every single day.) Again, J. August
Richards turns in spectacular work, and we can't help but wonder
if he's acting to help the team, punish himself, or both. The
Spike/Angel buddy act is revving on all cylinders, and we are
finally introduced to the little bad who should have been the
little bad for the entire season: Hamilton. Docked a point for
the Wes/Illyria scenes, which aren't half as profound as Craft
and Fain so desperately want them to be; half-point back on for
Wesley's "joke" and the sad realization that both men
in the joke are Wes. (Grade: 9 out of 10)
ORIGIN - I know I should be angry at ME. After telling us for
most of the season that Angel did a bad, bad thing to Connor in
"Home," and foreshadowing a terrible reckoning, Joss
and Co. bring back Connor, undo the mindwipe, and....everything
is just peachy! Connor is fine! Angel is fine! Wes is-OK, Wes
is still nuts, but the restored memories give him a sort of balance
after the trauma of the past few weeks. A clear betrayal of the
seasonal arc--and yet, I enjoyed this episode immensely. DB and
VK have had great chemistry since "A New World," and
the magic continues here; Boreanaz is always more emotionally
engaged when his paternal instincts are in play, and Kartheiser
displays an easy, relaxed sense of humor that's instantly endearing.
(Yes, I said "endearing.") Howlingly funny scenes between
Spike and Illyria, tons of Season 4 in-jokes (including Connor's
thing for older women), and a no-nonsense scene between Gunn and
Hamilton that gains power from brevity. Plus: Sahjhan! They finally
settle the prophecy! (So it's a happy ending. Is that so wrong?)
(Grade: 8.5 out of 10)
TIME BOMB - This is what people in the TV business call a "bottle"
episode: just the regulars, no outside locations, no guest stars
(Adam Baldwin doesn't count-he's Joss' buddy), and not a lot of
extras walking around the set. Bottle episodes usually smell cheap,
but in this case, Edlund makes the insularity of the W&H environment
work for him. Although we didn't realize it at the time, "Time
Bomb" is where Angel breaks his previous patterns and works
out the plan to take down the Circle of the Black Thorn; Illyria's
time jumps allow him to sort through possibilities, witness consequences,
and assess failures of strategy, all without any real cost. It's
a deliberately convoluted episode, more in line with Star Trek:
The Next Generation than with ANGEL, but most of the regulars
do solid work amidst the chaos: Gunn, trying to balance his ill-gotten
legal knowledge and his renewed sense of ethics; Wesley, skittering
across the floor of his office, now almost fully schizoid; Illyria,
trying to hang on to the last shred of her regal dignity; and
Angel-as frustrated and pissed off as we've ever seen him, his
brain taxed to the limit by the twists in the space/time continuum
and his (seemingly) limited options as W&H CEO. I have no doubt
this episode will improve after repeated viewings. Bring on the
S5 DVD! (Grade: 8 out of 10)
THE GIRL IN QUESTION - OK, I'm going to say this one more time,
and that'll be the end of it. I had no objections to the Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern Are Dead (TM shadowkat) premise of this episode
and I actually looked forward to seeing the Spuffies and the Bangels
go down with 'ship. But in puncturing the delusions of our heroes,
Goddard, DeKnight, and Greenwalt take the mockery over the edge
and make Spike and Angel look like idiots, not fools. With fools,
we can laugh at their delusions, but still sympathize with their
confusion and pain; with idiots, any expression of sympathy would
be wasted-and I think Spike and Angel deserve a little better
than that. Still, even though the laughs are somewhat crude and
obvious, there are big laughs here: Ilona, her cleavage, and her
overactive salivary gland; the slow motion fight at the disco;
and especially the two-second, don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it shot
of Spike and Dru in 'La Dolce Morte' Fellini chic (which practically
screams fanfic). But this episode would have been an afterthought
for me if it weren't for the 'B' plotline, which takes the Wes/Illyria
relationship to even stranger and more disturbing places. There's
a potent mixture of grief, loneliness, self-delusion, and gamesmanship
bubbling underneath the surface of those innocuous scenes with
the Burkles, and I hate the WB with a fiery passion for not allowing
us to see Denisof and Acker explore each of those themes in Season
6. (Grade: 7 out of 10)
POWER PLAY - Cribbing from my previous 5.21 review: "What's
utterly remarkable and fun about 'Power Play' is that, from the
very beginning, the long-time Angel audience is two steps ahead
of Fury, and Fury knows it. So he sets up the episode as a game
with the veteran viewers, the Has Angel Turned Eeeeevil game--a
game which he has absolutely no interest in playing. Even though
Fury is playing with the Ministers of Grace (tm TWOP) and sucking
them into Angel's deception, it's worth noting that Fury doesn't
even try that hard to fool the audience. Once we're past his opening
dialogue with Nina, we're fairly convinced that Angel is faking
his conversion to the forces of darkness and the MoG and the Circle
are morons for buying this load of malarkey.
"But then something interesting happens. As we uncover more
and more of Angel's plan (and his attempts to cover his tracks),
we see more and more of the moral compromises Angel had to make
to accomplish this near-miracle of setting up the take-down of
the Circle of the Black Thorn. And so, when we've circled back
to the opening teaser and the murder of Drogyn, we're revisiting
the initial question from an entirely new perspective: OK, he
was faking the whole 'I've turned evil' bit. We kind of had that
figured from the beginning. But how much evil did he have to do
to accomplish this greater good? What if Angel had to kill more
of the MoG in order to solidify his place in the Circle? How far
down the dark path would we be willing to go along with Angel
in his quest to strike that staggering blow against the forces
of evil?" It is this gold mine of philosophical ambiguity
that led me to participate in Masq's virtual S6 project. "Power
Play" had more to say about the traps of power than all of
Buffy Season 7. (Grade: 9 out of 10)
NOT FADE AWAY - Quoting myself from the top of Part I of this
review: "And so it ends--not with a bang, but with a rumble,
as Angel and his crew of do-gooders set their jaws and prepare
to roll the rock up the hill one last time for our viewing pleasure.
Joss went for the Myth of Sisyphus ending, as I'd always suspected.
No reward in the offing, no benediction from the Powers That Be,
no ultimate victory in sight-just the satisfaction of a job well
done and a battle well fought. As someone who punches the clock
every day and tries to make the world a better place through my
tiny contribution to the magazine, I saw it as an optimistic ending.
It was both a final statement about the character of Angel and
a statement of purpose about Joss himself: he knows his time in
the media spotlight is limited, and he intends to battle the forces
of greed and mediocrity as long and as hard as he can. I hope
Angel's last stand will be remembered by talented writers and
producers who are still fighting the ever-increasing banality
of American television within the system, and who can keep the
flame alive until quality scripted programming returns full force.
I light my candle in solidarity." (Grade: 9 out of 10)
***********************
Well, that's all folks. The end of ANGEL. But not necessarily
the end of my series of reviews. Just before Serenity explodes
across the big screen in 2005, I'll come back with a look back
at all 13 episodes of Firefly, and who knows? Maybe some time
in 2006, I'll be running us through the first season of BUFFY:
The Animated Series, Ripper--or even Fray. (Joss is too powerful
a creative force and brings in too much money in ancillary merchandise
to be knocked off the tube for long.) So until next time, be good,
be well, and I'll see you in Chicago!
Replies:
[> Re: CJL's Review of ANGEL Season Five, Conclusion (episode
by episode rundown) -- Pony, 09:09:44 06/24/04 Thu
A great read, cjl! Though I'm starting to wonder if s5 is going
to hold up very well in the long-term or if I'm just having a
bit of a summer backlash.
In any case I agree with most of your assessments with a few notable
exceptions. Soul Purpose left me bored, and I'm not blaming DB's
direction. The script had no real build, no escalation of the
threat, and nothing that was revealed was particularly, um, revealing,
to anyone who'd been watching the show at all this season.
I adored Why We Fight, all the nihilist themes and claustophobia
seem even more meaningful now that we've seen the season's end.
The episode's image of Angel as someone willing to make horrible
choices for what may or may not be the greater good give his actions
in Not Fade Away that nice echo of inevitability.
You're Welcome was incredibly well done and polished but seems
to make even less sense now that the season's ended. The Girl
In Question, I take great satisfaction in noting, is even more
jarring and out of place with Power Play following it ("Isn't
Angel goofy and ineffectual? Now let's watch him murder people!"),
one of those episodes that feels like a reset button was hit at
the end which virtually never happens on this series.
Now I'm sad again that all the questions raised by this season
most likely won't get dealt with. I love the final image of the
show but I wish there'd been more time to breathe, a chance for
all the characters to sit down has out what it all meant.
[> [> Looks like it's just you and me, PG.... --
cjl, 11:55:52 06/24/04 Thu
On the one side, we have all the enraged Spuffies and Bangels
who found TGiQ a personal insult, and that "Buffy's love
for [fill in the blank] is eternal." On the other hand, you
have the anti-shippers who love the slapstick farce. We're kind
of stuck in between here.
"Isn't Angel goofy and ineffectual? Now let's watch him murder
people!"
Heh.
[> [> [> And me! -- Masq, 12:10:04 06/24/04
Thu
I'm neither a 'shipper, nor a lover of slap-stick farce. The tone
and plot of TGiQ just felt all wrong for me.
Plus, the criminal underuse of Dru and Darla in our last outing
with them. *sob*!
[> [> [> Re: Looks like it's just you and me, PG....
-- dlgood, 12:22:33 06/24/04 Thu
Proving that these can be two separate issues.
1) Liking the concept
2) Liking the execution
They're sometimes linked, but not always. The mood of TGiQ is
jarring considering the episode that immediately follows it -
I didn't find the farce was all that funny, and I thought they
overdid the foolishness of the characters and made them far to
idiotic for the sake of jokes that weren't all that funny.
Irrespective of feelings about various ships, and all that.
[> [> [> Not Just You.... -- StarryNightShade,
12:23:58 06/24/04 Thu
....I fall into the tweenie camp too.
As a completely stand alone episode I can appreciate it as farce,
but it doesn't advance the story nearly as well as "Once
More with Feeling" did in Bvts. True that the Buffy thing
was a difference between Angel and Spike to be resolved, but there
were many other less time consuming ways for doing that.
The funny thing is that they've showed Angel starting to move
on all the way back to his return from the monastery at the beginning
of Season 3.
TGIQ's focus seems to be a thing amongst the writers, the fans
and SMG's moving on. Poor Angel and Spike are collateral damage
in it - well actually Buffy (the character) doesn't come off so
well either.
I can appreciate the farce and them laughing at theirselves and
us, the fans, in this episode. However, I would have preferred
more development of the themes that had to get slam dunked (e.g.
Lorne, Lindsey) in the final two episodes.
So, as a stand alone I enjoyed it. As part of the season story
arc, I have to shrug my shoulders.
SNS
[> [> [> Stuck in the middle with you! -- Pony,
12:34:25 06/24/04 Thu
Well, I've certainly let my Spuffy flag fly on occasion but I
like to think I'm able to laugh at all the shippy nonsense...
if I'd actually found the episode funny. As you've mentioned before,
it's the lack of emotional connection that really dooms this one
for me. That and for an episode that was supposed to be mercilessly
mocking our heroes they really picked safe targets, like the boys'
rivalry. Howsabout Spike getting to point out that Angel's image
of Buffy is dated by several years and about a dozen layers of
innocence? Or Angel noting that as far as they know Andrew's the
only one who's been mourning Spike? The episode didn't even have
the guts to alter the look of Spike's coat - it's comedy without
teeth, my friend.
Whenever I think about this episode I keep flashing back to The
Zeppo, which I think got right everything GiQ got wrong - it completely
mocked the show's melodramatic tendencies, but still gave us real
tension, a direct line into Xander's emotions, and allowed him
genuine growth. Any one of those elements would have been a welcome
addition to GiQ.
[> [> [> [> Too Safe -- Dlgood, 15:12:50
06/24/04 Thu
That and for an episode that was supposed to be mercilessly
mocking our heroes they really picked safe targets, like the boys'
rivalry.
I agree on that. I'd have actually picked different targets -
they left some of the biggest things on the floor. That neither
have talked to Buffy in quite awhile and that even if she does
want him Angel still has the curse. And neither show ever really
mocked the melodramatic aspects of Buffy/Spike in the way that
some other relationships were.
If they hit that, and maybe been a bit more self-aware of the
horrific/creepiness of Wes/Fred during the Burkle-Illyria scenes,
it might have worked better.
[> [> [> [> [> Oh yeah, agreeing muchly
-- Pony, 16:10:59 06/24/04 Thu
It's weird, we really didn't need closure on the Buffy
issue. SMG's unwillingness to appear meant that we wouldn't get
any payoff on things like Buffy finding out about Spike's return,
so they obviously dodged that question in hopes of future projects
- as for the rest, it had been beaten into our heads for most
of the season that the Angel/Spike rivalry was about more than
Buffy, the last time she had been mentioned, in Damage, had certainly
not been about the rivalry at all (an episode which raised far
more interesting questions, about how much trust there was anymore
between Buffy and Angel, and the murky reasoning of Spike's avoidance
of her). Also after AHITW even the conflict between Angel and
Spike had seemed somewhat settled.
So it was an episode to provide closure for something that didn't
need closure and ultimately didn't actually provide any closure
at all. Worst of all the tone of the Rome scenes seemed to leak
into the Burkle scenes - having the parents played for broad laughs
was beyond creepy in that situation.
[> [> [> [> [> [> Ignore my post below, read
Pony's posts instead. -- Doug, 16:28:40 06/24/04 Thu
She got across what I was trying to say, without the rage.
[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Aw thanks! --
Pony, 06:48:53 06/25/04 Fri
Though of course there are quite a few people whose opinions I
normally share or steal that really enjoyed the episode. Humour's
always pretty impossible to explain or defend. You either laugh
or you don't.
[> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Oh yeah, agreeing muchly
-- Rufus, 15:44:32 06/28/04 Mon
I loved the episode for its surreal quality. The Girl in Question
wasn't the problem but a symptom of where Angel and Spike were
in relation to the real problem at hand. As long as they were
chasing the blond carrot they ended up in front of a closed door.
The fact that The Immortal did their work for them proves that
point. The work is what they did at the end, not what they longed
for and dreamed of for their personal life.
So it was an episode to provide closure for something that
didn't need closure and ultimately didn't actually provide any
closure at all.
I think that was the point...no closure as the ultimate closure
is death. When people die there are many loose ends in their lives.
Nothing is all wrapped up like a completed gift list. Some things
never have closure, that's a fact and something that does drive
us crazy.
Worst of all the tone of the Rome scenes seemed to leak into
the Burkle scenes - having the parents played for broad laughs
was beyond creepy in that situation.
Again, I think that was the point. The Burkles simply never entered
Wesley's mind until they got off the elevator. Here you have two
deliriously happy people off for a holiday, there to see their
daughter who has been dead for weeks. Wes has to brace himself
for a fresh wash of pain when he readies himself to tell them
about their daughter who is no more. They seem clueless to the
fact that her office is void of her presence (where or where was
Feighenbaum the bunny she could not make the trip to LA without).
Just as Wes is about to tell them, Illyria enters the room and
is so much like Fred that Wes is incapacitated with what is not
real.
ROGER BURKLE: So where is that prodigal daughter-out saving
the world with that nice Angel fella?
WESLEY: Roger, Trish. There's something you need to know.
(takes a deep breath)Fred....
Illyria leaks just a bit about her new state when she says...
ILLYRIA as FRED: (in a lower voice, as Illyria)
Your grief hangs off of you like rotted flesh. I couldn't tolerate
it from them as well. I thought this would be more convenient.
The horror and the sublime exist along side of each other. We
can't always choose what dinner will end up on our plate anymore
than we can always choose our experiences such as death. The comedy
in this episode was way over the top, and only for some was there
to be the sublime.
I loved this episode but won't tell you all that you have to as
well. I know in TV shows and movies there seems to be closure
but this episode reminds us that sometimes circumstances stand
in the way of the types of closure we would like.
[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Dying's easy, comedy
is hard -- Pony, 16:23:53 06/28/04 Mon
I understand what you're saying, though many of your points could
also be used to examine the episode as being about avoiding consequences.
Just as there were no consequences to the bomb going off in Spike
and Angel's faces, none for the failure of their supposed mission,
there were also none for the manipulation of the Burkles. What
is being done to the Burkles actually prevents them from moving
on - they get stuck believing that the illusion they embraced
was actually their daughter, and Wes allows this because it would
be too complicated and difficult to explain the truth. In fact
avoiding the messy real emotions seemed to be what was going on
for the whole hour.
So ultimately if there were no physical stakes, no emotional stakes
and no plot, a meditation on futility only becomes bearable if
it's providing something like laughter, and unfortunately it didn't
do that for me. I'm a huge fan of absurdism but again I think
it needs to be grounded in real emotions.
[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Re: Dying's
easy, comedy is hard -- Rufus, 18:13:51 06/28/04 Mon
I saw some pretty real emotions in both Wesley and Illyria, though
they both seem uncomfortable with them. As for no consequences,
well, to me the whole trip to Rome was about waking up to the
here and now instead of being trapped in the past. It was Andrew
that set them straight to their folly...
ANDREW: (O.S.)(sighs, exasperated)Ohhh. The point is she's
moving on. You guys do the same, and you might catch her one day.
One of you, anyway. But you keep running in place, you're gonna
find she's long gone.
SPIKE: (to Angel) It is a bit silly. Us... chasin' around like
a couple of henpecked teenagers.
ANDREW: (O.S.)Buffy loves both of you, but she's gotta live her
life. People change.
All the characters run in place in this episode. None gets any
further to resolution as they have become trapped in the past.
Angel and Spike think they're fighting for Buffy when in fact
she is unavailable to both no matter what at this time. Wes still
hasn't really come to terms to the death of Fred, and Illyria
wearing Fred's shell and being able to simulate Fred's emotions
and reactions isn't helping. Should he have told the Burkles?
I believe he wasn't capable of doing that until he faced the truth...and
in the end his death leaves that chore to anyone who survived
the last battle in the alley.
It's hard to be totally objective when looking at each episode
as you may see one thing and I another, neither is wrong just
influenced by their own preferences and emotional reactions based
upon experiences.
[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> Que sera...
let's just enjoy the resolution of Election Night instead
-- Pony, 19:51:06 06/28/04 Mon
[> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> [> That
was easy, it's a Liberal Minority -- Rufus, 20:19:33 06/28/04
Mon
[> [> [> Not just shippers didn't like TGiQ --
Doug, 14:45:32 06/24/04 Thu
The episode wasn't the slightest bit funny, forgive me if I don't
find explosives in public places particularly comedic. Both Angel
and Spike were pathetic caricatures, particularly because they
stopped sabotaging each other like that a half-dozen episodes
ago, even though they still keep low-level bickering going; so
I'm left with the question of why I need to see this. I *Hate*
both the ships in question, I'd like to see both buried. Note
I said "buried" not "I want to be dragged through
a renactment of every fan argument in the history of the setting
and get every boring, dead issue get new air breathed on it so
it can smell rank again. I wan't to be beaten over the head with
anvils of 'it's over' when one relationship ended 2 years ago,
and the other ended 5 years ago."
The writers didn't have to drag things out in one long cringe-worthy
attempt at closure that in reality was nothing but rehashing old
issues. I didn't need this; and the way to do closure is for the
characters to actually...have closure. You know deal with their
feelings and move on...as in not moping and whining and acting
out of character for who they are in the present character arcs
for an entire hour that does nothing, except for proving that
ME writers can makes Mary Sues without even bothering with screentime
for them. Which, while an interesting accomplishment, doesn't
impress me.
I swore an oath that I wouldn't talk about this episode provided
nobody made that claim that the only people who don't like the
episode are enraged shippers. Sorry for the mild tantrum above,
but some things just make me mad.
[> [> [> far from it--try giving us more than 3 hours
to respond! -- anom, 22:02:35 06/24/04 Thu
I had & still have serious problems w/The Girl in Question. The
Angel/Spike storyline came off as a botched attempt to work around
Gellar's not being available. It was a hit in the audience's collective
head w/a squeaky plastic anvil, over & over & yet over again.
I said at the time that it amounted to a cartoon, & those of us
going to Chicago can see for ourselves, since cjl is bringing
the Looney Tunes DVDs (woohoo...wait, I did that already). The
bomb blowing up in A & S's faces clinched this viewpoint for me.
I recommend showing TGiQ in conjunction w/some Road Runner or
Tweety Bird 'toons if anyone needs convincing.
I'll have more to say about the Season 5 ep review as a whole
when I have more time to say it. Meanwhile, I notice it's gettin'
kinda crowded here in the middle....
[> Nice, as ever -- Tchaikovsky, 09:16:05 06/24/04
Thu
I think I have it in me to respond at more length tomorrow to
each episode- and I'm straining at the leash to have one more
crack at 'Life of the Party' and 'The Girl in Question', which
you have respectively vastly over- and under- rated. But hey,
you're still King of the rate and state genre...;-)
TCH
[> [> Did I, now? -- cjl, 10:12:41 06/24/04 Thu
Looking forward to your response, TCH.
It's possible that I'll change my mind about some of these eps
on third or fourth viewing, but I doubt it. "Life of the
Party" hits home for me, because I'm often in situations
where I have to do the organizing, and smile, smile, effing smile
because I don't want anybody else to get upset. (Right now, it
would helpful if somebody could remove my sleep.)
And as for TGiQ--I dunno. I usually LOVE farce. (Just saw "Sly
Fox" on Broadway with Richard Dreyfus.) But I thought broad
farce was the wrong note to hit for the seasonal arc and for the
series as a whole at that particular time. A subtler touch was
required (which, by the way, would have worked better with the
B story). Are we ever going to agree on this? Probably not. But
the debate is half the fun....
[> Re: CJL's Review of ANGEL Season Five, Conclusion (episode
by episode rundown) -- Seven, 09:31:22 06/24/04 Thu
Many agreements AND disagreements:
1) Conviction is one of my favorite episodes. It is the final
episode without Spike. Don't get me wrong, I love Spike, but I
was glad to see a last hoorah with the (more or less) original
Fang Gang. Though you are right about too much exposition and
the boring moments of Eve. However, Eve had a great introduction:
Angel: "You like to make an entrance."
Eve: "Do you always open both doors when you enter a room?"
That is undercutting. Also, I am a huge fan of the 6 minute one-shot
and numerous other things in this ep, including everything with
Gunn, Wes' Fung-shway, er, Feng-sheu, er, you know what I mean,
speech. As you noted, there is also the "sacrifice a loved
one" comedy and I also love the idea that permeates through
the episode of a metanarration on Joss' ordeals with the tv execs.
Also to be noted is the intro by the WB before the episode started.
(At this point, they were still our friends and in support of
the show.) They created a 45 second intro covering the premise
of the season to the Jet tune, "Are you Gonna Be My Girl?"
The song doesn't really fit as far as lyrics go, but the music
captured everything perfectly and really got me pumped for another
great season. Finally, I can't remember a more funnier ending
than Harmony's "Blondie Bear"
I watched this episode 8 times before I watched Just Rewards.
I give it a 9.5. Which brings me to...
2) Just Rewards was not my cup of tea. I expected more from Spike.
He was still feeling his way around working with the actors and
in a way that works with the story, but not as well as I would
have liked. I thought for sure my main man Wes would be interested
more in the Spike situation considering his absence from episode
one and his "Spike" comment at the end of that episode,
but that didn't happen. I can't really put my finger on what bugged
me with this episode, but I know that I didn't enjoy it nearly
as much as I enjoyed Conviction. 6.5
3) I am not a fan of this at all. I liked seeing all the cars
and Wes' motorcycle in the begining, but thats about it. Uhm,
Nina was really hot. The dinning place was kind of a cool twist,
but I don't care if the episode was awesome in every respect,
the song at the end destroys the whole feeling of the show. boo.
4.5
4) I like Hellbound, but you are absolutly right about the non-scariness.
And the lack of acceptable Spike story. It really was "insert
Spike here" kind of situations. What I did like: Pavayne,
Spike starting to kick ass (it had been a month, and Spike was
bloody useless in a fight. I was worried it would be like this
all season) Pavayne being locked in the cell, and finally, Spike
being selfless and saving Fred. 7.5
5) Life of the Party was really tame. It is one of the few teasers
that does not tranistion adequatly to the opening credits. From
there, it's pretty much downhill. Hated the Hulk, liked the Eve/Angel
sex, hated Lorne moments (seemed way too forced), liked seeing
Wes drunk and Gunn marking his territory. Just an uneven episode.
5
6) TCTONC returned the show to its Conviction form for me and
revitalized my faith in the show. The return to the Shanshu Prophecy,
the reveal that Wes had no knowledge of his betrayal of Angel,
and all the paralells between #5 and Angel. It was all done perfectly
and the ending with Angel re-reading the prophecy really got my
spirits up for a great season. 9.8, no, sorry, really no flaws,
10
7) Lineage finally brought my boy to the spotlight. double-fisted
Wes, goofy Wes and crazed Wes all in one. I liked the robots,
I loved the "You'll never take me to Hell Pavayne!"
line. I liked the mislead that Angel was losing his soul....again.
I thouroughly enjoyed Papa Wyndym-Price, especially the scene
where Wes isn't interested in re-entering the Council. I don't
know what everyone is complaining about, I thought the "I
killed my parents too" lines from Angel and Spike were hilarious
and also managed to offer another parrallel to the A/S relationship
I hadn't thought of. (Spike killing mom, Angel killing Dad) All
in all, one of my favorites. 9
8) Loved this episode. A half-hour fight between the two? awesome.
Gunn freakin out? Awesome. the howling abyss? awesome. Lindsay?
Freakin awesome!! Hard to imagine that I would like an episode
without Wes so much. Spike wins. 9.5
9) Harm's way was fun, but like many people, I was way too intersted
in the return of Lindsay to be happy with this episode. I'm waiting
to watch it again. I'm sure I'll like it more as a stand alone.
7.5
10) Soul Purpose was really, really, good. I like everything in
it. Spike's mirror scenes, Angels hallucinations. All were great.
At this point, I remember looking at my friends and saying, this
season is really getting good, it will so be picked up for another
season. Goddamnit!!! At least I was happy about it at the time.
9
11) Damage was really good. I loved the continuation of the Angel/Spike
parallels and it was done magnificently with the elevator doors
opening. I loved Spike finally realizing some of the things that
he had done and I think it was all captured perfectly by the ending
scence, "Once upon a time" Also to note, Spike's hands
being chopped off was the freakiest moment of the season for me.
It is a personal fear of mine and with ME, I was genuinely scared
that they were going to go through the rest of the season with
an armless Spike. It was really one of the only plot lines that
ME hadn't touched (no pun intended). Of course this fear only
lasted about 10 minutes before the the whole thing was resolved.
8.5
Ok, that's the first half. So far the average is at 7.3333. Not
great, but that is mostly because of earlier eps where everying
is still working out the fine points. Take away Just Rewards,
LOTP and Unleashed and the average goes way up. 8.8
I'll get the second half soon enough. till then.
7
[> [> part 2 -- Seven, 09:45:05 06/25/04 Fri
12) You're Welcome was great fun. I loved seeing everyone figure
it all out. I loved the idea that Lindsay was not the big Bad.
Going into this episode, I never thought that everything would
be cleaned up so nice and tidy. A great 100th episode and a great
episode in general. the Lindsay/Angel fight is one of my favorites
(after the Spike/Angel fight of course) Also all for Eve getting
tortured, but what I really enjoyed was Angel's reaction: "uh,
yeah, that works." 9
13) Why We Fight was good. Loved the early parts with the Initiative,
moreso because we get to see Angel in his "I have no purpose
but I'm not a rat eating freak yet" stage. I liked the idea
of Lawson and its paralells to Conner AND Spike and also being
at the Law firm (LAWson). I also picked up on the soon to be stated
situation regarding Gunn's upgrade. Loved the Prince of Lies and
also the in-joke of Spike saying that he would never be controlled
by some government experiment. (ha!) Another version of this was
when Angel says he won't be trapped at the bottom of the ocean
(Ha! again) Otherwise, I don't care for when the WB decides to
give the episode a title, and the episode didn't hit me as all
that powerful. I give it a 7.5
14) Smile Time is a favorite. Loved so many parts to it and was
able to turn some non-fans into fans with it. "I got a lot
of demon in me" is a superb sequence. NINA IS FREAKIN HOT!!!
9
15) A Hole in the World. What can I say, but I KNEW KNOX WAS PURE
EVIL!!! When Angel and Spike walk and Angel has a sword through
his torso, I laughed for a good 3 minutes. Some people complained
about the preachiness of Angel's speech ("Winifred Burkle")
but I enjoyed the camera work here so much. All the guys standing
over her bed, and everyone walking in different directions because
they all had there own ways of helping. "Just hold my hand"
was also a great scene. gotta go with a 9.8 here. It loses only
from one thing. That thing is hard to explain. Everything worked
for me, but the episode just didn't make its mark on me. Like
when you know that on paper, you and your boy/girlfriend are great
together, but the feeling isn't there? That's all.
16) Shells was great. not as overly dramatic and this episode
fits into the "Joss vs. the corprate system" analogy,
especially with the "there are suprises/is that enough?"
lines. Plus Wes is so badass, yet ME makes it funny. 10
17) Underneath was amazing. I loved everything about it. I can't
even get into it. Gunn and Lindsay paralells, the suburban hell,
Illyria and Wes. And my personal favorite part: Linsay's "Make
it Quick" line. It works even better after the events in
"Not Fade Away" 10
18) I like Origin a lot. I loved seeing Connor as a normal, not
annoying kid. I also loved the Saijan stuff and the final moments
when you're not sure if Connor knew or not (Well, I thought it
was obvious, but many thought that there was some uncertainty.
I thought that the Connor scowl was done perfectly and it really
hit home. another 10
19) Timebomb was boring to me. Many have praised it for its original
ideas in terms of time travel, but i didn't care for it as much.
I have never liked any time travel stories. they just don't make
sense to me. I don't think that it's possible. I loved the idea
of Illyira slowing down time, but travelling through it doesn't
work. Another ep that just didn't work for me. 6.5
20) I really enjoyed TGIQ. It was out of place and sort of screwed
up the flow of the end of the season ,but the jokes worked really,
really well for me and I loved the cartoon nature of it. It was
one last romp with the boys. I'll take it. This could be the opposite
of my explanation for other stories that I didn't feel worked
for me. There are problems with it, but it felt right. As a stand
alone, I have to give it a 10
21) Power Play is alright. I was so looking forward to how it
would all end that I almost wanted to just get it over with so
we could see the finale. It's a really solid episode, though I
would have liked to see Nina pick up a scent or something from
Angel. She could have developed some of her carryover abilities
from her wolfiness. I kept thinking that when they were talking.
Love the ending and really everything from when Angel says, "Well
then I guess you don't get one!" after Wes says that "I
loved Fred" was not an answer. 8.8
22) Not Fade Away was amazing. I loved the poetry reading. I loved
Gunn killing vamps again. I loved Angel signing away the prophecy.
I loved the freakin ending! i couldn't have thought of a better
way to send it off. When Connor comes to help, I stood up and
cheered. when Angel slow-mo flips in the air after sucking on
Hamilton, I cheered. way too cool. I might never forgive them
for killing Wes, but in reality, there was no more story for him.
They toyed with his life enough. I loved it all. 11
That makes the second half of the season 9.23 making the entire
season a 8.5. Bravo ME. Bravo.
7
[> Couple of points -- KdS, 10:32:20 06/24/04 Thu
Firstly, I saw some casting sides for Hellbound, and they
had a lot more stuff from Pavayne about Spike kidding himself
about the horror of his past crimes. I suspect that quite a lot
of this was originally conceived for the episode, but held over
for Damage
Secondly, there's a strong theory out there that the cyborgs in
Lineage were sent by the Thorn, as apparently they bore
the Thorn's emblem on their chestpieces. Of course, this makes
no sense whatsoever, unless you go with the theory that Wes's
sanity was the real target all along.
[> [> Re: Couple of points -- cjl, 11:15:13 06/24/04
Thu
"Secondly, there's a strong theory out there that the cyborgs
in Lineage were sent by the Thorn, as apparently they bore the
Thorn's emblem on their chestpieces. Of course, this makes no
sense whatsoever, unless you go with the theory that Wes's sanity
was the real target all along."
I'm familiar with that theory--proposed it myself in Part I of
this review. I get the vague impression that ME thought about
building Wes into a possible threat to Angel in Season 5, but
changed their collective minds halfway through the season. That
would explain Lineage and the "Crockett and Tubbs" scene
in Soul Purpose.
I've heard about the deleted scenes from Hellbound (including
one of Spike in drag!) and they might have added some emotional
punch to a rather generic spook-fest. But I guess we'll never
know....
[> [> [> Interesting -- KdS, 11:49:39 06/24/04
Thu
A certain LiveJournal Big Name Fan was pushing that all year (Wes
as threat to Angel) but I'd put it down to her obsessive Wes/Lilah
shipping.
[> [> [> [> Re: Interesting -- Pony, 12:06:35
06/24/04 Thu
I wonder if there was a certain hedging of bets with guest star
availability on ME's part - if Christian Kane hadn't been able
to do a multi-episode appearance would the reveal at the end of
Destiny have been Lilah? Hopefully with Wes getting into the bed,
not Eve.
[> [> [> [> [> Re: Interesting -- Masq,
12:12:08 06/24/04 Thu
I'm all for Lilah slash, but yes, Lilah/Eve would have been scary.
[> [> [> [> [> [> For some reason...
-- Rob, 18:40:59 06/24/04 Thu
...the concept of Lilah/Eve slash brings up icky images in my
mind of Dr. Evil/Mini Me slash! ;-)
Rob
[> [> [> [> [> [> [> Lilah and "Lilah
Junior"? Ewwwwwwwww..... -- cjl (put off slashiness for
at least six months), 12:01:00 06/25/04 Fri
[> [> [> I knew that theory was too good to be original.
-- cjl, 11:59:34 06/24/04 Thu
[> [> [> Re: Couple of points -- Roy, 11:33:56
06/26/04 Sat
"I'm familiar with that theory--proposed it myself in Part
I of this review. I get the vague impression that ME thought about
building Wes into a possible threat to Angel in Season 5, but
changed their collective minds halfway through the season. That
would explain Lineage and the "Crockett and Tubbs" scene
in Soul Purpose."
I wish that they had not changed their minds. Then we would have
been spared of the great Wesley/Fred/Illyria love story.
[> Re: CJL's Review of ANGEL Season Five, Conclusion (episode
by episode rundown) -- Ann, 16:04:22 06/24/04 Thu
Great review. Thanks. Just one question.
I also find it annoying that the last thing Fred wants is to
devolve into the helpless damsel in distress-she says it in no
uncertain terms--and she dies as precisely that.
Could this be setting up the antithetical character of Illyria?
That was my take given the contrasts that ME is so good at using.
Or do you think it was changing Fred's character too much? I kind
of saw it as coming full circle given her introduction.
I hope Angel's last stand will be remembered by talented writers
and producers who are still fighting the ever-increasing banality
of American television within the system, and who can keep the
flame alive until quality scripted programming returns full force.
I light my candle in solidarity
Hear, hear. [passing the match]
[> Season Five, Condensed (sp 5.22) -- Tchaikovsky,
08:18:11 06/25/04 Fri
Season Five
TOTAL: 171/220
Comparison:
Season Two: 158
Season Four: 156
Season Three:156
Season One: 147
So, why? Part of the answer to this question is to do with the
way that I personally rank these seasons. Since they're on an
episode by episode basis, Seasons with few weak episodes and several
good standalones, even with an arc that doesn't make total coherent
sense may triumph over a long arc-y Season where episodes blur
into one. So while I would have trouble differentiating my quantity
of love for the final two Seasons of the show overall, the fifth
Season rollocks into a lead on the episode-by-episode basis. So
here's why:
Conviction: 8
Say what you like about the lack of grip this episode took on
its audience, (it doesn't live up to 'Heartthrob' or 'Deep Down',
for example), but any arguments have to be acknowledged to be
sneaky since 'Home' is a kind of hybrid 4.22/5.1, and so Joss
was in a way writing a second episode of the season after Minear
had smashed the premiere out of the ballpark. Joss gets to third
base through a combination of playful religious allusions, (Eve!
Abraham! Jesus! Judgement Day!) quips of an unusually cerebral
standard, ('does that mean I have to call you 'Wesle'?') and some
blistering moments of Angel angst over Connor which were not recaptured
in the rest of the Season- certainly not in the sweet, unctuous
inadequacy of 'Origin'.
Just Rewards: 6
A conceit episode like 'Enemies', but not as good as 'Enemies'.
The trick would have been funner if Spike hadn't chosen an unbelievably
benign tactic for disposing of Hainsley or if the human taxidermist
had managed more than token Bad Guy gravitas.
Unleashed: 7
Almost universally panned episode which is actually an excellent
examination of the female werewolf, and the female struggle against
menstrual cycles and male-dominated worlds. The family seasons
playing against each other are full of quiet strength, the Little
Red Riding Hood shadow on the wall truly scary, and the Angel/Nina
chemistry palpable if disturbing at times.
Hellbound: 7
For me, a complicated examination of the nature of self-doubt.
But DeKnight at times over-stretches the concept of the Halloween
blood-fest, to the detriment of any plot or character development.
Spike shines though Pavayne is distinctly hokey, and we get our
first whiff of Fred being canonised.
Life Of The Party: 2
I've rewatched this twice. I love everything else that Ben Edlund
has done, ('Sacrifice' and 'Time Bomb' especially). But this doesn't
improve. Lorne's character is mangled into some kind of self-reflexive
juggernaut, and instead of tryingto link this in to Angel's insecurity,
he turns into the Hulk while Gunn urinates and Eve has sex with
Angel. At times it seemed like a twelve-year-old's wish-fulfillment
of how the world should be: parties, chaos, late nights, grown-ups
doing stupid or taboo things. At times it didn't reach that level.
The Cautionary Tale Of Numero Cinco: 9
Beautiful. Elegant music, magnificent direction from Jeffrey Bell.
A very good performance from the man who played Numero Cinco.
A sense of in-the-series-but-not uniqueness last experienced in
'Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?' Elegant fight scenes. A pre-echo
of Angel's deepest fear, that a champion turn away from his duty
and become irrelevant.
Lineage: 7
An episode that scene-by-scene is really well written, and altogether
doesn't fit together that well, or, to stretch a point, at all.
Drew Goddard commits the Whedon sin of writing some great jokes,
incidentally mixing in some expert characterisation, and then
coming to the wrong conclusion. Does anyone really care that Fred's
going out with Knox, not Wesley? This episode is supposed to be
about Wesley/Angel and Wesley with his father. It sidelines one
and completely invalidates the second with the Robot Twist, which,
like Mad Eye Moody in Harry Potter IV, totally messes up a well-worked
characterisation. But. Wesley saving the five year old bird. Making
the same decision he did in 'Choices' and 'Release'. Barely able
to keep doing his job for being humiliated.
Destiny: 10
A beauty, a real beauty, and the beginning of Fury's path to redemption.
Three plots weave through the episode. The flashback, the Gunn/Eve
contretemps and the main Angel/Spike thread (with an excellent
and unforeseen ending being the apparent Spike rather than Angel
victory) come together delightfully to let us meditate on just
what it is to have a 'destiny', and whether the idea of a destiny
comes from our future, as is commonly supposed, or in fact is
a legacy of failures and hurt from our pasts. Bonus mrks for Lindsey's
return, Eve's mysteriously hurt moments and the lack of weight
given to Spike's corporealisation.
Harm's Way: 8
Much better than it had any right to be, this episode took a dangerously
filler-esque concept and made an excellent episode, by upping
the subtheme about Angel as Bad Boss. We see Angel from the semi-removed
angel of Harmony, and yet we are still in the perspective of someone
we know and (almost) care about. The multiple tie-up-put-in-cupboards
routine works excellently, and the neat resolution, while still
not sweeping away Angel's problems, ties the episode together
neatly.
Soul Purpose: 8
Could have been as good as 'Restless', wanted to be as good as
'Nightmares', ended up being about as good as 'Surprise'. And
in the same style- in that because there wasn't very much dreaming,
the dreaming became incidental and overly surreal, (see Willow
and monkey). The other plot-line of Lindsey and Spike, as well
as not making sense in contact, didn't play logically against
the dream sequences. I put all the negative things first to explain
why I, such a succour for episodes like these, don't rate it higher.
But the cross-show continuity was delicious and Wesley with the
broadest grin as Spike becomes a real boy, with Angel doomed to
Numero Cinco's cart is pure poetry.
Damage: 7
Not as good as it could have been, or as it was reviewed by some
people, in my world. Though Dana was menacing and Faith-like,
and although Spike didn't ease up on himself just because he wasn't
her torturer, there was too much muddled moralising, and the pace
of the scenes between Andrew and the others didn't fit well with
the darker scenes within.
You're Welcome: 9
Almost perfect. Almost. If David Fury hadn't insisted on his stale
innuendo and the odd quirky characterisation (of Lindsey and Fred)
then the lines between Cordelia and Angel: 'I assumed you'd be
lost without me' 'I am lost without you', could have elevated
the show into the stratosphere. As it was, we make do with an
arrivederchi which is sweet without being cloying, unreal without
being emotionally vapid, and, relievingly, not to be undermined
later Season, instead strengthened by the passing on of the visions.
Oh, and by this stage in the Season, everyone wanted to see some
torturing of Eve.
Why We Fight: 6
A boy's toys episode which backfires since setting an episode
in a submarine causes horrendous directorial problems. Simply
put, it's visually and plot-wise very boring, and not entirely
made up for by the slightly too broad Prince of Lies and Nostroyev.
Spike in a Nazi uniform was almost worth doing the episode, but
the existential struggle of Lawson in the later day, rather than
his earlier, boringly duty-ridden cardboard cut out character
would have avoided squandering a new idea: that of a vampire sired
by a vampire with a soul.
Smile Time: 7
Really lovely, although it surprises me that it's been picked
so widely as an episode of the Season. The conceit is so good
that it makes the episode by itself. The cartoon characters are
wonderfully degraded, the David Fury character is fantastically
cheeky, and the Wesley/Fred story works as parallel if not standing
on its own four feet. The return of Nina is one fo the episode's
high points.
A Hole in the World: 9
Yes, the canonisation of Fred is annoying. This is the best 'close-written'
episode of the Season- scene to scene the writing pings and shifts,
only occasionally too jarringly sentimental, ('Not this girl...')
. We get, almost incidentally, Gilbert and Sullivan, caveman and
astronaut, St Petersburg, 'We have really fast jets', and Spike
and Angel's concomitancy. The religious motifs in the episode
are startling and it is one of Joss' best-directed episode aside
form his virtuosic turns in 'The Body' and 'Restless'. This is
a two-parter though. And DeKnight's effort is the finer.
Shells: 10
Now the Season kicks in towards its very consistent conclusion.
Here Illyria is marvellous, the anger residual in Wesley is just
devestating, the montage works, (so nah), the Ozymandias denouement
is lovely, and the conversation where Wesley tells Illyria that
humans live on for hope that the world might be better is one
of the truest moments on the show, backed up elegantly by Illyria's
childlike 'Is that enough?' and Wesley's fractured, honest silence.
Underneath: 9
I love the Joke. The suburban Hell is a great conceit, and Escherian
in the sense that everyone has an opinion on the nature of Gunn's
'noble sacrifice' and each is slightly different. Mine is still
that catharsis cannot be achieved with some memory and understanding
of the previous hubris. Illyria and Wesley are really wonderful
again. Angel and Lindsey's conversation towards the end is formulaic
and we kinda already knew it, but it gains great power from the
earlier 'theme and variations' structure of the episode where
we see Gunn, Lorne and Wesley's grief as three in one and one
in three.
Origin: 7
In which what I considered to be the point of the Season is tied
up a little too nicely, without Angel having demonstrated to him
that he is wrong. My happiness with Connor at the end of the series
comes entirely from the brilliant line from Angel to Connor in
'Not Fade Away', and hardly at all from this. However, it is once
again well-written and chock-full of laughs. Spike and Illyria
together are delicious, as they will later be again in 'Power
Play'.
Time Bomb: 8
The best fiddly time thing I've seen in a long old while. Unless
you count 'Eternal Sunshine'. Or Harry Potter. OK, so there have
been a lot of good fiddly time things recently. But that would
be unfair on Ben Edlund, who keeps the actual plot of the time
shifts minimal in the first two acts, so that the exploration
of the idea of time, of how it works to grind down Angel in his
Sisyphean house of pain, to enclose Wesley in his world of insanity,
and to move Gunn from the repeating world of his basement into
the windswept, almost battered existence of reality. Plus, Hamilton
is so much better than Eve it's barely plausible.
The Girl In Question: 10
Much truer to the Greenwaltian spirit of the earlier Seasons than
the finale, (not an indictment of this Season, it's just 40% Jossier),
this had crazy sub-plots which turned out to be irrelevant, moments
of sheer bizarre pointlessness- ('We will speak of them no more',
Fellini, Angel's Numero Cinco suit, Andrew being chic), and made
the point that life is sometimes going on elsewhere, and it's
a case of not getting yourself in a rut in the past (Buffy, being
a Champion, being the Saviour of the World), but moving, constantly
moving, even if its the most painful thing you can possibly do.
A truer and less pat conclusion than the finale for me.
Power Play: 8
I love cjl's explanation of the circular perspective trick in
this episode: concisely, that you go in thinking Angel's Evil
with an Evil Plan, and you go out thinking he has a Good Plan,
but might be getting there by Evil means anyhow.
Really great direction from Jimmy Contner helps the swing of the
episode. The Black Thorn works for me despite its demon-ness,
(there's a senator, and I like the way Vail, Sebassis and so on
are dredged up from earlier in the Season, rather than being strangers
just appearing), and my grumpiness would come from Fury's residual
annoyances of style, and the fact that this is much closer to
anti-'Reprise' than it should be. Thankfully, 'Not Fade Away'
clears that issue up well and thoughtfully.
Not Fade Away: 9
Some moments that caugt others left me called. I didn't go with
the Fred/Wesley scene, though the Lorne scene was bleak as hell.
The last scene was a good idea not particularly well executed.
The final day was nice, particularly Angel/Connor and Spike's
William poetry. I liked but thought a bit outofthinairish the
Gunn and Anne moment. It was a little higgledy piggledy, but still
a good finale.
Good season. Not decided on whether my higher score episode-by-episode
reflects a higher overall standard though.
TCH
[> [> Selected Comments on "Season Five, Condensed"
-- cjl, 09:09:49 06/25/04 Fri
Conviction: 8
"Joss was in a way writing a second episode of the season
after Minear had smashed the premiere out of the ballpark. Joss
gets to third base through a combination of playful religious
allusions... quips of an unusually cerebral standard, ('does that
mean I have to call you Wesle?') and some blistering moments of
Angel angst over Connor which were not recaptured in the rest
of the Season...."
You know, I thought about this, and you're probably right about
"second episode" syndrome. In many ways, this ep reminds
me of "The Train Job"--but this time, Joss doesn't have
the excuse of having to write the gorrum thing over a weekend.
The 'Wesle' joke is funny, but it reminds me of the Fred/Knox/Wes
triangle, and that tends to put a damper on my sense of humor.
The Angel/Connor angst? Yeah, but look where that got us...
***************
Unleashed: 7
"Almost universally panned episode which is actually an excellent
examination of the female werewolf, and the female struggle against
menstrual cycles and male-dominated worlds."
I think you're giving Craft and Fain too much credit here. Angel/Nina
exhibited so little chemistry in this episode that when they really
did click during Smile Time, I was shocked. And even if I agreed
with everything you said about this ep, the song at the end would
automatically knock it down to a 6.
****************
Life Of The Party: 2
"I've rewatched this twice. I love everything else that Ben
Edlund has done, ('Sacrifice' and 'Time Bomb' especially). But
this doesn't improve."
OK, I'll never convince you otherwise. But I think this episode
suffers from lack of context more than anything else. If Joss
had seen fit to give Andy Hallett more than a few crumbs this
year, truly explore Lorne's feelings about his life and the job,
this episode might have gained a few points in perspective. (Aw
c'mon, TCH--a TWO?!)
***************
Why We Fight: 6
"A boy's toys episode which backfires since setting an episode
in a submarine causes horrendous directorial problems. Simply
put, it's visually and plot-wise very boring, and not entirely
made up for by the slightly too broad Prince of Lies and Nostroyev.
Spike in a Nazi uniform was almost worth doing the episode, but
the existential struggle of Lawson in the later day, rather than
his earlier, boringly duty-ridden cardboard cut out character
would have avoided squandering a new idea: that of a vampire sired
by a vampire with a soul."
With you all the way here. Goddard and DeKnight should have taken
the concept of souled Angel siring a vampire and thrown almost
everything else out.
***************
A Hole in the World: 9
"We get, almost incidentally, Gilbert and Sullivan, caveman
and astronaut, St Petersburg, 'We have really fast jets,' and
Spike and Angel's concomitancy. The religious motifs in the episode
are startling and it is one of Joss' best-directed episode aside
form his virtuosic turns in 'The Body' and 'Restless'."
I really should give props to Joss for his superb direction, the
Caveman v. Astronaut argument, and that deliciously sadistic Gunn/Wes
conversation at the beginning. But the canonization of St. Winifred
of Texas just pisses me off, because it's a mistake you associate
with lesser writers.
**************
Shells: 10
"[T]he conversation where Wesley tells Illyria that humans
live on for hope that the world might be better is one of the
truest moments on the show, backed up elegantly by Illyria's childlike
'Is that enough?' and Wesley's fractured, honest silence."
Good point. I'm thinking about bumping this up to a 9.
****************
Time Bomb: 8
"The best fiddly time thing I've seen in a long old while.
Unless you count 'Eternal Sunshine'. Or Harry Potter. OK, so there
have been a lot of good fiddly time things recently. But that
would be unfair on Ben Edlund, who keeps the actual plot of the
time shifts minimal in the first two acts, so that the exploration
of the idea of time, of how it works to grind down Angel in his
Sisyphean house of pain, to enclose Wesley in his world of insanity,
and to move Gunn from the repeating world of his basement into
the windswept, almost battered existence of reality. Plus, Hamilton
is so much better than Eve it's barely plausible."
Edlund's plot is so schematic (brilliantly schematic, but schematic
just the same), that it's difficult to see the poetry in it. I
think you just opened my eyes to the poetry.
************************
The Girl In Question: 10
"A truer and less pat conclusion than the finale for me."
Oh man, I'm not touching this one.
********************
Power Play: 8
"I love cjl's explanation of the circular perspective trick
in this episode: concisely, that you go in thinking Angel's Evil
with an Evil Plan, and you go out thinking he has a Good Plan,
but might be getting there by Evil means anyhow.
Really great direction from Jimmy Contner helps the swing of the
episode."
[Elvis] Thank you, thank you very much.[/Elvis] And yes, applause
to veteran Whedonverse director James Contner, who closes out
his long association with Joss in style.
*******************
Not Fade Away: 9
"The final day was nice, particularly Angel/Connor and Spike's
William poetry. I liked but thought a bit outofthinairish the
Gunn and Anne moment. It was a little higgledy piggledy, but still
a good finale."
Spike's poetry slam triumph made the episode all by itself. And
Gunn's tete a tete with Anne was a nice way of including Buffy
and all she represents with actually bringing in Buffy. It's what
a certain other episode we won't mention should have been like....
***********************
We're not quite done with Angel yet. There's the Best/Worst comparison
on an week-by-week basis over the five seasons....
[> [> [> Well, the 2 is personal wish-fulfillment!
-- TCH, 01:35:36 06/26/04 Sat
[> Reviews.. . a response to TCH and CJl's breakdowns.
-- shadowkat, 10:45:30 06/25/04 Fri
Mostly lurking these days not posting very much and I should at
this moment be figuring out a cover letter/resume combo. But I'm
burnt and I found myself distracted with a response to these reviews
instead.
Funny, having read both reviews, I find myself oddly in the middle
- agreeing partly with TCH and partly with CJL. Yet, both miss
certain things in their reviews -to the extent that their reviews
are more about their own personal likes and dislikes than about
what could have made the episodes better structurally speaking
or why the episodes did not work. Not that there's anything wrong
with that. How often do we make lists of our favorite episodes
- stating that this episode rocked because so and so did such
and such and this episode was horrid because...well, wasn't that
character grating? A close friend of mine hates lists and rating
episodes - she doesn't see the point, after all there always has
to be a best and worst, it's purely subjective, and you are bound
to change your mind - plus is it really fair to compare episodes
against each other in this manner when they are so different?
She has a point.
And in a way I think when we do it we learn far more about the
critic than what is being reviewed. It becomes after a while a
debate over apples and oranges or if you live my family the West
Wing or The OC vs. Angel the Series.
That said, I'll add my own tid-bits to the reviews and hopefully
shed a little light on why I think these episodes don't quite
work. (I can't promise it won't be purely subjective but will
try.)
Conviction - the episode is well-designed. But the focus is more
on set and camera angle than on character. The characters seem
to float through it uncertain of themselves, which is clearly
Whedon's intention but causes a disconnect with the audience.
We are distanced in a way.
Also the central plot while well-drawn seems to be in some respects
a copy of other terroist plots we've seen far too often in film.
Its odd - I agree with cjl that the episode itself is uninvolving,
yet equally agree with TCH in that it shouldn't be summarily dismissed
- since the MC Escher
camera work and plot metaphors not only emphasize Angel's internal
struggle but also that of his friends. Like it or hate it - you
can't dismiss the camera work entirely or the set design or the
visual metaphor. That said, the episode shows what is wrong with
S5 and possibly most TV series that attempt an episodic as opposed
to serial format, a distancing of the characters, where the characters
become largely functionaries or pawns of the plot and setting
and the emotion derived is more situational as opposed to character
oriented. This in a nutshell may be why many Buffy fans were never
quite able to make the leap to Angel.
Angel has always been more situational oriented than character
oriented. Again, not that there is anything wrong with that -
many shows operate in this manner - including
CSI, Law and Order, etc. I think where the problem lies is in
the attempt to meld situational with character oriented, so at
times it appears the characters are written haphazardly or are
operating without a clear purpose in mind.
Just Rewards - is further evidence of this problem - the writers
have come up with this great story idea with all sorts of wonderful
images. But it doesn't quite work. Not the way Enemies did. And
to figure out why - it helps if we analyze why Enemies did work.
Ah, it comes back to situational vs. character. And why, objectively
speaking, as a series Buffy was better than Angel in some respects.
Why do we believe that Angel has become Angelus and will hurt
Buffy in Enemies, but don't for a second believe Spike will turn
on Angel? Well, it comes down to character doesn't it? We know
as an audience that Angel is *cursed* with a soul and that if
someone comes up with a way of removing that soul from him he
will do whatever is best for him without considering anyone else.
The writers have stayed true to Angel's character in Enemies.
We also know Faith is jealous of Buffy and wants Angel and has
teamed up with the mayor. And finally that there is a part of
Angel that he hides from Buffy, the part that is sadistic and
does enjoy hurting things - all the soul does is make him feel
guilty about it and constrain that desire. Enemies builds off
of character. Just Rewards on the other hand builds off of a situation
that the writers have imposed on their characters. If you for
an instant believed Spike would turn on Angel, you weren't paying
attention to Season 7 BTVS. Spike's character had evolved. We'd
watched this character face his monster. Get a soul. Save the
world. He is not going to hurt Angel in this scene. It would be
out of character for him to do this after everything in the prior
season, just as it would be out of character for Angel to betray
Spike. Here the writers wanted us to see S4 BTVS Spike without
any clear explanation except he'd come back as a ghost? Plus Spike
has made it clear even while he was evil that he wasn't interested
in being Angel. So where's his motivation? At any rate - Just
Rewards plays on two conceits: 1) that we believe Spike would
turn on Angel and team up with Hainsely, 2) that Spike keeps things
to himself and doesn't talk to people. Neither of which fit the
character we've watched for seven seasons, who talks too much,
is impulsive, and doesn't want to be Angel.
I enjoyed Just Rewards. But it lacked the resonance Enemies contained
because it didn't sprout naturally from the characters.
Unleashed - why doesn't this episode work? Is it the direction?
no. Is it the acting? no. The writing is however off - how? Well,
Nina is fine actually. It's Fred, Wes, Gunn, Lorne, Angel and
Spike who don't quite work here.
Once again we have a situation that is imposed on characters for
a stand-a-lone episode a la Law & Order, as opposed to a situation
that is used to provide us with deeper insight into the characters.
Buffy had stand-a-lone's but if you watch Phases or Wild at Heart
and compare it to Unleashed, you'll see why Unleashed doesn't
quite work the way it should. We learn nothing new about the other
characters here. Spike seems odd and weirdly placed, saying things
he might have said three seasons ago, but not now. Angel equally
is acting more like he did in S1 Angel than he would now. Fred
is way too much like she was just after Fredless. Nervous, chittery,
and also doing too many things. If you watch it closely, you'll
realize that we could supplant the Angel gang with another group
of characters and have the same story. Unleashed is very similar
to the type of tales you saw in episodic series such as The Incredible
Hulk, Highway to Heaven, etc - where the story focuses on the
guest. Buffy had a story with a guest - Help, but each character
was moved forward.
I don't have time to go through all the episodes, so I'll just
touch on a few of the later ones:
Girl in Question - why didn't this episode work? Now I adore Girl
in Question for the reasons TCH states not the one's cjl seems
to think - to me it's a fantastic farce and it made me laugh.
No one I've seen in the thread above touches on why it doesn't
quite work - oh they state why they hate it, but not why it didn't
work. The reason Girl in Question doesn't work:
Structure of the episode is actually quite jarring to the viewer.
The writer/director/producers attempts to meld the Wes/Illyria
sequences with the farcical ones in Italy
don't meld, if anything they serve to draw attention to the structural
flaws. We notice that Spike and Angel seem to be written *more*
broadly than usual, because we see Wes/Illyria so contained. I
don't mind the broad characterization but when it is contrasted
with normal characterization the audience can't help but wonder
if the writers meant for it to broad (I think they did but it
looks like maybe they didn't). It would have worked better if
the whole thing was farcical perhaps - as opposed to half and
half a la Triangle. Or if they had tried a Tabula Rasa format
or Spin the Bottle - where you have farce for everyone, then drama
at the front and back end. When you flip back and force between
the two you may be asking quite a bit of your audience. They notice
things you don't want them too. The other problem with Girl in
Question is where it falls within the season - which is right
in the middle of the arc. Stand-a-lone comedic episodes do not
work well in middle of serial arcs - although tv shows insist
on doing them for some reason. It frustrates the audience who
you put on a cliff the previous week. Go Fish after I Only Have
Eyes for You in S2 BTVS was a huge mistake. They should have put
it before. The other difficulty with doing it - is if you plan
to make your audience think that a character has lost it and gone
irretrievably dark in one episode, don't have the one before it
be light and comical.
The audience is unlikely to buy or understand why that character
went dark all of a sudden. You need to build to it gradually.
Girl in Question is a wonderful episode.
But, it is poorly placed and jarring in structure, also once again
we have situation emphasized over character.
Origin - I completely agree with TCH on this one. It simply does
not work. Of course you loved Connor in this episode, he was the
perfect kid, what wasn't to like? The writers spent all this time
developing this character, write him into a corner, then take
a short cut to write him out. Connor should have been more disturbing
here, grittier.
The comment about liking older women? More squicky. The banter
with the parents more stepford childlike. That may have worked
better. Perhaps they were sort of going for that, not sure. Origin
is yet another example of situational over character. We spend
all season building the Angel/Spike brother story, and it gets
completely dropped in Origin. What works in Origin was the Wes/Illyria
scenes. The Connor/Angel scenes are jarringly out of character
and a Connor fans dream sequence but they do not build from where
we've been. And the ending is too good to be true - it felt like
the show split in two. Lovely. Yes.
But imposed by the writers not something that came from the characters
and as a result that last note sounded just a little dull. Instead
of seeing a complicated character struggle with his identity and
relationship with his father and life, we see nice boy ride off
into the sunset with a writer imposed happy face.
The rest of the season, actually the entire series has the same
problems. It's why while amazing in places, it isn't brilliant.
But being TV and especially *network* TV which should not be confused
with Cable or HBO, what we got was well-nigh miraculous. HBO series
have certain perks that network series don't - ie. they can show
episodes many times, the writer does it like a telenovel and all
the episodes are shown without commericials and withough hiatus.
Also HBO likes serials and doesn't require standalones that can
be syndicated or re-runned. ME wanted to write serial and were
being told to write episodic. Also had to do it without any idea
whether the series would be renewed, or they'd get all 22 episodes.
Heck, after Destiney aired, WB told them they'd passed and would
order a full 22, not just 13 as originally planned. That said
- I think it might have helped if they'd written out character
outlines for these characters. From watching the series...it feels
at times as if the characters are written all over the place,
as if the writers are attempting to get the pesky characters they've
created to fit into the slots allotted for them.
(Season 5 is still my favorite season of the series, by the way,
but I can't help but think it might have been better if the writers
had been more aware of who their characters were.)
[> [> The lottery of concision -- Tchaikovsky, 01:51:27
06/26/04 Sat
Yet, both miss certain things in their reviews -to the extent
that their reviews are more about their own personal likes and
dislikes than about what could have made the episodes better structurally
speaking or why the episodes did not work. Not that there's anything
wrong with that. How often do we make lists of our favorite episodes
- stating that this episode rocked because so and so did such
and such and this episode was horrid because...well, wasn't that
character grating? A close friend of mine hates lists and rating
episodes - she doesn't see the point, after all there always has
to be a best and worst, it's purely subjective, and you are bound
to change your mind - plus is it really fair to compare episodes
against each other in this manner when they are so different?
She has a point.
I totally agree with this, and I did think twice before writing
it. The thing is, to make an eight-line review of an episode work,
you need both to be subjective enough to be interesting, and objective
enough to seem to have paid some attention to the episode. This
isn't so much the case for long old Odyssey reviews where you
can explain your personal viewpoint in vast and dramatic detail,
and hope that your readers will follow you round the bend that
your mind took you on. On the other hand, whereas I can't see
anyone re-reading my whole series of posts of Angel Season Five
(at 40,000 words) to get an overview of my opinions on the Season,
they will hopefully read this, so it does a job in just setting
out what I see from this Magic Eye puzzle of a series.
I love your comparison between 'Just Rewards' and 'Enemies', which
does a comprehensive job in summarising the former's faults. I
also think you do an excellent job of spotting the problems in
'The Girl In Question', a job which, since it has seemed to require
such stoic defence, I have not felt the need to pursue. Had I,
I doubt I would have summarised the two-toneness of the episode
so clearly.
TCH
[> [> Re: Reviews.. . a response to TCH and CJl's breakdowns.
-- breidablik, 07:16:29 06/26/04 Sat
'If you for an instant believed Spike would turn on Angel, you
weren't paying attention to Season 7 BTVS. Spike's character had
evolved. We'd watched this character face his monster. Get a soul.
Save the world. He is not going to hurt Angel in this scene. It
would be out of character for him to do this after everything
in the prior season.'
------
OK - so how would you refine that for this fan that didn't watch
Buffy Season 7, doesn't know what happened to Spike and hasn't
watched his character evolve over the last few seasons on Buffy.
Spike, for all intents, is a new character to me at the beginning
of AtS Season 5. He has to work on AtS independantly of what he
did or didn't do on BtVS, because not everyone watching Angel,
watched Buffy.
So, there is an episode where we learn he won't betray Angel.
That is useful to me in terms of what it tells me about Spike.
I still don't think it is a good episode, but it does help define
aspects of Spike's character for a new audience.
[> Thanks CJL and Tchaikovsky -- Ames, 07:52:52 06/26/04
Sat
I like these thought-provoking episode-by-episode summary reviews
of the season, and I think we need them to gain some perspective.
Thanks for writing them.
A personal afterthought: I've often wondered why AtS never quite
worked as well for me as BtVS did, much as I love both series.
They both have great stories, great characters, great writing
(obviously - same writers for the most part). I think it's partly
that Angel himself is inherently such a closed-off introverted
character that he kills a bit of the energy at the heart of the
show. And reading your reviews it occurs to me that many of the
great characters on Angel are either larger than life or else
completely out of context, which makes it difficult for us to
relate to them. And if I'm not quite there with the characters
emotionally, it makes me notice the plot holes more.
[> On "LMPTM" -- Roy, 11:32:04 06/26/04
Sat
"To those who hated "Lies My Parents Told Me" and
fumed at Spike's utter obliviousness to Nikki's pain, Mutant Enemy
offers this conciliatory bouquet of black roses."
I have to say that I really resent this picture of what Spike
was feeling about Nikki in "LMPTM". No one seems to
realize that Spike was too busy being pisssed off at Robin Wood
for setting him up for murder. That is why he made those comments
about Nikki to her son. But if Spike had really felt oblivious
about what he had done to Nikki, why on earth did he spare Robin's
life? It certainly wasn't to please Buffy. After over a year,
no one - especially the critics of Spike in this episode - seemed
to be able to answer this.
[> [> Because he has a soul. -- Arethusa, 12:33:54
06/26/04 Sat
And with a soul Spike is not a killer. But he's also not perfect,
and is not accustomed to having sympathy for his victims. It takes
a while for this to happen, since Spike is not especially reflective.
He tends to be active and intstinctive, not contemplative. It's
not until he goes through a horrific experience himself that he
thinks deeply about what it is like to be a victim.
[> [> Re: On "LMPTM" -- Rufus, 18:34:49
06/26/04 Sat
Ahhh, sparing Robin Wood. Spike spared Robin because he could.
With a soul, Spike is more than just the big bad who only can
destroy, instead we end up with a mixture of who he once was and
who he can become using the knowledge aquired throughout the years
he destroyed life as a vampire, and his lessons learned from Buffy
that ultimately led to him seeking a soul. This doesn't leave
you with a character of perfection, it gives us a conflicted man
still coming to terms with who he now is. He spared Robin because
it was the right thing to do, instead of giving in to the temptation
to take that pound of flesh.
What does Spike think of Nikki? Well, I think that in the 5th
season of Angel we get to see that one fault Spike still has is
that need to be the big bad. He still figures that the coat he
wore gave him status instead of realizing in "The Girl in
Question" that is was just a coat, one that was no longer
was needed. Spike and Angel can never take back what they did
as vampires without souls, but they now have whatever time there
is left to them to redeem themselves through what they do in the
here and now. If both went on to kill with abandon while in an
ensoulled state they would have been monsters. Instead both struggle
to do the right thing even when it's not what their personal demon
would coach them to do.
[> [> [> Re: On "LMPTM" - Spike & Nikki
-- Rich, 09:54:17 06/29/04 Tue
IMO - Spike saw himself as a hunter of Slayers, & hunters don't
take trophies from prey they don't respect ( nobody hangs squirrel
heads on their wall ).
I think Spike did respect Nikki ( as he had earlier respected
Buffy ) as a worthy opponent - I may be imagining it, but I think
he even calls her by name in the flashback. He didn't tell this
to Wood, both because he was angry & because he knew Wood wouldn't
listen.
[> [> [> [> Re: On "LMPTM" - Spike & Nikki
-- dlgood, 10:23:01 06/29/04 Tue
That's not the problem Robin had.
Sure - Spike respects that Nikki is a "worthy opponent".
What he doesn't respect is that she was a person too. In LMTPM,
Nikki is still mostly an object Spike used to measure his own
prowess.
But she wasn't just prey or food. She was a person, with goals
for her own life. That's what he spent 100 years destroying, while
all he was thinking about was having fun and taking his own measure.
And that's not something Spike really appreciated or respected
until "Damage".
[> [> [> [> [> Re: On "LMPTM" - Spike
& Nikki -- Rich, 17:59:41 06/29/04 Tue
Actually, I pretty much agree with you on this - Spike was still
a work in process in "Lies". I also agree about "Damage".
[> [> [> [> [> In Lineage -- Rufus, 17:01:12
07/01/04 Thu
From Lineage:
ROGER WYNDAM-PRICE
Spike.
SPIKE: (grinning)You've heard of me?
ROGER WYNDAM-PRICE: No. We've met. 1963. My colleagues and I fell
upon you slaughtering an orphanage in Vienna. Killed 2 of my men
before you escaped.
SPIKE: Oh... how've you been?
ANGEL: I didn't know your father was coming to visit, Wesley.
(holds out his hand)I'm Angel. Pleasure to meet you.
ROGER WYNDAM-PRICE: (stares at Angel's hand)Do you really expect
me to shake that?
How does someone get from one emotional space to another. Getting
a soul wasn't an immediate fix for either Spike or Angel. I'd
bet that no matter how reformed either becomes there would be
someone who could never shake hands with either vampire with a
soul.
[> various comments -- anom, 21:47:33 06/28/04 Mon
UNLEASHED
"I guess Joss wanted to drive home how Fred was the glue
that held Angel Investigations together, but she's verging on
Mary Sue-dom for most of the episode."
...and later, for most of the rest of the season >sigh<.
"...and that song at the end? Painful."
Y'know, I didn't even remember a song at the end. Maybe that's
a mercy.
LIFE OF THE PARTY
"I could do without the Angel/Eve sex, and (God help us)
the return of Wesley's Hidden Crush on Fred."
Yes--on both counts--but I liked how the effects of Lorne's "suggestions"
persisted even after those affected knew what was going on. So
for me, even the Angel/Eve sex was worth it just for the lines
"And Eve, you stay here and have more sex with me."
"On it." And dry-but-drunk Fred & Wes were jush a lorra
fun, weren' they?
THE CAUTIONARY TALE OF NUMERO CINCO
"...a welcome-if-belated acknowledgment of the Hispanic population
of Los Angeles."
...whose absence has bothered me since the show started. Even
Sunnydale should've had more Hispanics than we saw on "Angel."
Come to think of it, that show pretty much waited till its last
season to have any significant Latino presence too. Hello? It's
California!
LINEAGE
"Why is Angel so comfortable with Wes 'making the hard choice'
and shooting his Dad, when it was established in the first five
minutes that Angel himself could easily be the next target if
Wesley thought it necessary?"
Well, it's been shown a couple of times (Somnabulist, That Old
Gang of Mine) that Angel actually wants his coworkers/best friends
to be ready, willing, & able to dust him if necessary. So I guess
the real question is, how comfortable is Angel w/Wes' ability
to decide when it is necessary?
"Why are Angel and Spike cracking bad jokes about killing
their parents to 'comfort' Wes?"
Yeah, that was...bleah. Especially the delivery of Spike's line
about killing his mother. What the hell?
HARM'S WAY
"Once the murder plot gets rolling, though, the comic energy
drains away, and the Spike/Harmony conversation caps the proceedings
on a truly baffling note. (Didn't believe his speech then; don't
believe it now.)"
The 1 comic note they do sustain all the way through, & do it
well, is the way Harmony is oddly innocent even in her evil (you
can see why she wasn't good enough at it to make an unliving the
way most vamps do), which comes mostly from her lack of intelligence.
She's so delighted every time she figures something out, even
if it's that her coworker hates her, set her up, & is about to
try to kill her. It seems entirely consistent to me that she
believes Spike's speech, even if we don't. And I don't either,
to the point where it seemed out of character for him. Maybe he
knew she'd buy it...nah.
DAMAGE
Agree completely about Nawat's performance. I want to see just
about anything else she ever does.
"I have to admit, the 'worm turns' climax wouldn't work with
anybody else. (That should have been the last time we saw Tom
Lenk this season.)"
I suppose that 1st part's true...I guess...aw, do I hafta?
It's just that I found his humorous scenes jarring against the
truly harrowing background of Dana's story. (There's a reason
they call it "comic relief," & this wasn't.)
My agreement w/the 2nd part is much less grudging.
YOU'RE WELCOME
"She slaps down Eve not once, but twice, cutting her off
at the knees during introductions and later, slapping UC Santa
Cruz chippie with the ultimate insult: "Lilah Junior."
(I cannot tell you how much love I felt for Cordy during those
moments.)"
What did it for me was when Cordelia dragged Eve along by the
ear! For me, they can say "you're welcome" right there.
WHY WE FIGHT
"Who does Lawson represent here, anyway-Angel, looking for
a reason to fight? Spike? Connor, the sacrificial lamb? A little
bit of all three? Why exactly does Angel let his progeny go free,
even though he knows they're going to kill people? And why does
he kill Lawson here, now? Never clear."
My take on it is that Lawson represents Angel's need for purpose
(& may hew a bit too close to the literal in that). Look at Angel
sitting slumped in his chair (& listening to the '40s equivalent
of Barry Manilow--love the consistency!) when the proto-Initiative
bursts in, & look at him on the sub: in charge, reassuring, knowing
what he needs to do & doing it without hesitation even when he
doesn't like it. No wonder this incident comes back to him (again,
quite literally) when he's feeling purposeless at W&H, even
after he's chosen to stay there. Maybe even more so then. It's
that purposelessness that puts the people closest to him in danger.
And that's what he kills when he stakes Lawson. That question
in the middle...um, I don't know. It might symbolize the way consequences
come back later even if you've changed since you made the choices
that led to them. In Lawson's case, it could come out of guilt
for turning him, but that certainly doesn't apply to Spike. OK,
I'm just casting around here...you're right, it's not clear. But
I don't have as much of a problem w/this ep on the other counts
as some other posters do.
SMILE TIME
Not only did it have all those great original lines, but just
when everyone was good & sick of "talk to the hand,"
they give it a whole new meaning.... Plus, extra points for cutting
to the mad doctor off "Is there a Gepetto in the house?"
"...Angel hits a major turning point in his unlife: for the
first time ever, he stops looking toward the future and tries
to pay attention to the Here and Now."
Maybe that's because he gave up the need for an outside purpose
last ep & can now focus (or at least think he is) on what's right
in front of him? Well, I like to think so, anyway.
Wes & Fred's turning point is far less believable &, as has
been mentioned, smacks of raising the stakes for Fred's imminent
death. All it does is push the next episode's pathos over the
line into bathos.
Oh, & just gotta mention, one of the best things about this ep
was puppet!Angel's action poses. Heeeee.
A HOLE IN THE WORLD
Agree on all counts, but the bad stuff isn't really all that new.
The whole "YOU WILL BE MOVED!" thing started w/the same
"huh? all of a sudden she loves him?" we all complained
about in the previous ep. Or maybe even earlier--did anyone else
feel that during most of the season the camera often dwelled on
Acker's face in an overly glowing isn't-she-perfect way? Also
see your own comment on Unleashed about this. The is she/isn't
she a damsel in distress also dates back a ways, as in Lineage
("I'd love a gun!" Then why didn't you bring your own?)
& Smile Time (why isn't Wes' offer to call a car for her when
she could just as well have done it herself as patronizing as
his lines in Conviction?). Oy.
But then there is indeed all the good stuff you mentioned, plus
we get the introduction of Drogyn.
THE GIRL IN QUESTION
I already kvetched about this one in response to Part I. Don't
feel any different about it now, even though there were parts
of it I enjoyed. But I will cast my vote here for the Hamlet/R&G play
melee.
NOT FADE AWAY
Still love "not with a bang, but with a rumble." Mind
if I savor that one more time?
Adverb count: 43, or an average of nearly 2 per episode. Single-ep
maximum: Origin, with 5. That's not counting adverbs in quotes,
either from episodes or from Part I. No, I'm not going back & checking.
[> [> can't believe i left this out! the perfect button
for lorne in "life of the party" -- anom, 17:50:44
06/29/04 Tue
"Projecting empaths--You gotta feel sorry for them"
Heeheeeeee....
the vamp buffy was talking
to in conv w/ dead ppl -- ghady, 03:46:05 06/25/04 Fri
did the writers make him up? or was he actually in high school
w/ buffy and did he actually drop something on her (i forget what
it is..).. ie have we ever SEEN him before?
Replies:
[> Re: the vamp buffy was talking to in conv w/ dead ppl
-- Kana, 07:06:12 06/25/04 Fri
Ooh you're asking now. I think he was just made up.
The actor is Jonathan M Woodward who also played Knox in Angel
season 4+5. His TV credits also include:
Firefly 'Tracey'
Third Watch 'Ross'
Still Life 'Jonathan'
You didn't care about the rest of that information did you? (Sigh)
Sorry.
[> [> hehe thx.. lol it's ok.. -- ghady, 08:56:54
06/25/04 Fri
[> [> Joss has killed him 3 times now -- Ray, 23:29:15
06/25/04 Fri
[> [> [> I sympathize, I want to kill him too
-- Ames, 18:35:18 06/26/04 Sat
[> [> He was also fantastic as the cocky young doctor
in "Wit." -- Rob, 10:45:16 06/27/04 Sun
[> [> [> Oooooo is that any good? -- angel's nibblet,
19:42:16 06/27/04 Sun
Silly question, since when is anythng involving Emma Thompson
not good? (Let's just pretend that movie with Arnold never
happened....)
I almost rented it (Wit, that is), is it worth the $6?
[> [> [> [> It's brilliant, but be forewarned:
It gets very emotionally intense. Tissues will be necessary.
-- Rob, 20:47:59 06/27/04 Sun
[> [> [> [> [> Thank you ^_^ might have to get
it out then... -- angel's nibblet, 17:03:09 06/28/04 Mon
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