Angel has really hit a stride this year, getting better by the episode. This week, it’s more action than plot driven with some extraordinary fight scenes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it on TV.
Things still unknown, and maybe something new to ponder:
Cordy or Not!Cordy? Still no clue.
Connor - what is he. Clearly not all human, as seen in one scene.
The Baby? Probably not human. At least it seems like Cordy is hinting that, to us, the viewers.
Bad things:
Cordy kissing Connor. :eek:
Andy Hallet is now in the credits. Which in a way is good, but maybe that means Lorne’s gonna get killed.
The episode deals quite a lot about the true nature of a person. Angelus, evil, Faith semi-evil, Wes, semi-evil, what happened between Gunn and Fred, when Gunn made an evil act, the (maybe) evil in Connor. Does Faith need to tap into her evil side to defeat Angelus. Does Angelus want her to do that, to lure her over to his side?
It’s interesting that a show, and an episode with so much action, can convey so much moral depth.
The cliffhanger was excellent…
And I wouldn’t hav had a problem with seeing more of Dushku in the shower. Why doesn’t HBO produce this?
Angel-score: 10/10
Buffy-Score: 8/10
Angel gets better Buffy-scores from me, than Buffy. Should it be that way, Joss?
I’m in the camp that likes Lorne. I find him quirky, funny, and quite willing to help the group(especially considering that they never give him his due credit). And Andy Hallet has a great voice.
Did you know that he had never acted before his first appearance on that show? He had no agent or training and Joss just hired him after hearing his singing voice.
I can’t figure out how to do a spoiler box, and this question is not plot related so…
Why the gosh darn heck is Cordy dressing like Anne Rice? The real Cordy’s still up in heaven screaming in vain “Hey, you know I’d never dress like an alcoholic fortune teller! WAKE UP!”
I expect the godawful caftans are due to the fact that no one has nice maternity clothes.
“Have you ever been to a maternity store? The clothes are hideous… at first I was trying to wear clothes that were too big but then that stopped working, so I had to call up my friend who was a costume designer and she made me, like, twenty long, cut-on-the-bias dresses… I can’t get a pair of pants on. Ponchos are good. In a few weeks I’m just going to cut a hole in a tablecloth and put it over my head.”
— Madonna writing for Vogue magazine, 1996
So I guess now we know what pepperlandgirl was talking about. But the way she phrased what she said, it sounds like
Faith comes out of the situation unvamped. I’m not going to guess whether it’s because Wes miraculously overcomes his internal injuries and kicks Angelus in the neck, or if Angelus is just bluffing, or Faith manages to wriggle her way out of the Great Suck…mmmm… Faith wriggling… sucking… where was I again? Anyway, the way pepper made it sound was that Faith comes away from the whole thing feeling scared, not you-know-what.
I think you may mean feti, or whatever the plural of fetus is. In Soulless Angel/us mocks Cordy by saying “Think I’ll start with the twins. I just love a woman with nice, ripe thighs.” Just for true ridiculousness, might one fetus be Conner’s and one the Beast’s?
Now, I wonder, did she come back from wherever she was, pregnant? Or is in fact something strange growing from her encounter with Connor, who clearly is not all human. Is the Fetus controlling her, or is she controlled by something who wants her to give birth to - what?
My guess is, she came back wrong. Which explains the whole amnesia annoyance. I bet we’ll see a quick glimpse of that in a “previously on Angel…” pretty soon.
Charisma Carpenter is 33 this year. I’m not surprised she wants a baby. But as I said last week, I can’t picture her showing up at the location and say: “Hey, guess what!? I’m pregnant!” Seeing how well everythings fits together this year, in the arc, JW must have known, and actually made good use of it, instead of doing what most studios would do, write her out for the duration, 'cause God knows, enough women get punished in the work place for getting pregnant. Kudos to JW and ME for doing a good thing.
And Vincent what’s-his-name, who plays Connor, as someone wrote last week. He really does a good job of acting like an insufferable teen. In the more tender moments (ick!) with Cordelia, I can catch a glimpse of his range. Must be hell to play someone that annoying all the time.
On preview I see Mahaloth’s reply. The info is from Joss Wheadon’s commentary on Hush When Buffy and Riley are making out in front of the students, he says “Oh, and there is Andy Hallet as an extra [refering to a student] who went on to do a wonderful job as Lorne on Angel.”
Since to be sired Angelus will have to drink a lot of Faith’s blood, then have her feed on him, there’s plenty of time for Wes to intervene. Angel fed on Buffy once and she ended up fine. I think vamping Faith is a red herring.
I think they’re having Angelus toss Wes around way too easily. Wes, while human, is a bad-ass human and should offer Angelus a bit more of a challange.
Liked the “vampire with a gun” line. Could stand to see more of Faith in the shower as well. And what are they doing with Gunn and Fred?!
EDushku plays the tough, take-charge Faith really well, but her confused, wounded Faith really sucks. She’s somewhat one-dimensional as an actress, IMO.
I hope they reveal what’s going on w/ Cordy soon, the lack of real suspense is begining to show. I’m just not that interested in that part of the storyline. And why would Angelus automatically assume that a hologram of a glowy bowl really means that whoever this is can restore his soul? You’d think someone as tricky as Angelus (with his fake magic charm) would demand a little more proof?
Still, all in all, a good episode. I’ll give it an 8.
Is it just me, or is Wes getting darker as the season goes on? Sure, there was the fling with Lilah, keeping Justine in the closet, but I thought torturing the druggie in the back of the bar was a bit out of character, even for what he’s gone through. Between the First Evil on Buffy, whatever-it-is controlling/imitating Cordy, and Conner being affected by the demon-only sanctuary spellME is getting me paranoid. Honestly—I like it!
And I think Joss/the writer(s) is a master of cliffhangers. In more and more episodes, I watch the action crank up, the clock tick down to nine, and I’m sitting there chanting “not the credits, not the credits, not the credits” when suddenly Joss’s name pops up on that black screen, mocking me. Any Tuesday or Wednesday with me screaming in anguish at having to wait a whole week (or more, with the reruns) is a good week.
Next week: Yay Willow! Maybe she’ll give Wes someone to focus on besides Fred (do you think he knows she’s “gay now”?)
So, why was everyone so surprised that Connor’s a demon? I mean both his parent’s are vamps and he is exceptionally strong. I never thought he was anything other than a demon that looked human.
And i can’t wait till next week, Willowy Goodness. And now with less Kennedy. WooHoo.
Um…are you saying that Angelus’ reference to “the twins” was referring to her pregnant condition??? Because, I’m pretty sure that the “twins” he was speaking of are…ah…something else…
Well, yeah, I knew that (damn you Alexis! Damn you!!!), which is why I would find it funny to have Wes-the-character hit on Willow-the-character. Maybe she could finally finish that spell she started in “Him”.
I’m glad UPN and the WB are loosening up on the crossover thing, especially with the announcement that this is the last season of BtVS.
Still feeling squicky about Cordy/Connor, but, hey, gotta write CC’s pregnancy into the show somehow, either that or try to hide it behind desks waist-up only shots. I’ve been guessing for two weeks now that the fetus is the BB. I think Joss and Co. are doing a wonderful job of working in the pregnancy subplot in, with Cordy telling Connor to keep it a secret, playing on both his instinctive protectiveness of his offspring and his fears of being something other than human- and hey, you really think a creature spawned by two vampires wouldn’t have some demon in him?
Also, watching Wesley/Lilah, I was seeing shades of S6 Buffy/Spike, only done a lot better. Now with Lilah out and Faith back in the picture, I’m seeing a reflection of Buffy telling the Peroxided One “I need the dangerous Spike, the one who tried to kill me”- I think both shows are having their major characters come to terms with the fact that a lot of their power is rooted in darkness, a theme which has been hinted at since “Buffy vs. Dracula” but never really explored until this season.
I think ME is doing with the Dark Side of Wesley what they should have been doing with Buffy since at least S5, but definitely since S6.
If Angel wasn’t such a boring character, and Angelus so despicable that he lacks any redeeming entertainment value, which is also boring, I’d say that Angel is the better of the two Buffyverse shows this season. It’s such a pity that a show with such great concept, great writing and a great supporting cast is pulled down by the title character and the actor who plays him.
Maybe when Angel drops into BtVS at the end of the season, James Marsters can give David Boreanaz some acting pointers.
The goofy promo for next week’s Angel about “a slayer’s soul departing” was unredeemably stupid. Though at least Angel’s promos are never ever as godawful as Buffy’s “we’re on the UPN! Gotta pretend this show is an upbeat sitcom like the Hughleys!” kick.
Thea
Well, Angel has always been the least interesting character on Ats. I’ve always watched it for everything else. The only time I thought he was really good, was when he was acting goofy, when dancing in some sort of fantasy sequence.
Also, David Boreanaz seems to be an asshole. ImDB says that after a car crash, he sued the other driver. Fine maybe about medical expenses, but also “loss of earnings, repairs to his car, being deprived of his car while it was fixed”
