Angel 1/28 "Damage" **SPOILERS**

I looked and found no Angel thread? Hope I didn’t miss one…

How downright funny was this episode? Not only funny, but genuinely interesting, and tied into the series finale of Buffy as well. The best I’ve seen in quite a while. I was never as fond of Andrew’s particular type of humor in the Buffy episodes, but I must admit he was wonderful in this episode, and so funny I think I’ve hurt myself.

Favorite lines:

Lab guy (speaking of Spike): “She’ll kill him!”
Angel (muttering): “He’ll just come back.”

Spike: “The blood’s different here. Stronger.”
Andrew: “Like a nickel?”

“…still as sharp as your Viggo Mortenson pectorals” Andrew’s hair cut was priceless.

Funny episode, with real creepies. And Faith thought she was screwed up.

An army of slayers led by Watcher ‘wannabes’!

They let Eve go?? If the Senior Partners want Wolfram-Hart back, they’ll just take it. Everthing is going their way, the rest of the demon hunting world already distrusts the Angel crew. Kill Eve!

I’m glad it wasn’t Spike.

I was relieved it wasn’t Spike just because I was happy to see the writers haven’t forgotten their own canon. (Spike slashes and bashes, Angelus tortures and mutilates…)

I loved Andrew. I loved his reaction to seeing Spike. “More beautiful than ever” heh. And I loved the way the boy stood up to Angel. Which leads to the loving of the fact that Buffy doesn’t trust Angel. Yeah, I like Angel now, but I’m still petty and bitter…

Spike always suffers so prettily. I just can’t help but get excited when I hear Spike is going to be tortured. It always leads to some great character development…though it wasn’t as emotional as past pain, I found it acceptable. I loved the scene at the end with Angel too. I really, really don’t want them fighting anymore. They don’t have to be best friends, I just want them not to fight anymore.

So many great lines, including “Danny, we’re going to need a whip!” Hee!

This cracked my ass up.

I thought this episode was great, beginning to end, top to bottom. No complaints.

I’d been wondering when the hell they’d get around to covering the epochal events at the end of Buffy’s series finale, and they did it in fine fashion.

Thumbs up from me.

What that girl did to Spike was fucked up.

Although I couldn’t help wondering why a psych ward would keep a bone saw lying around.

All in all, one of the best of the season, maybe of the entire series.

This was a great one. I plan on watching it again after I get home tonight. I’m curious to see 1.) if the damaged Slayer shows up again, and 2.) if Buffy really did say that she doesn’t trust Angel and Co. anymore. (I always wondered how much the Scoobies actually knew about Angel’s trials with Wolfram and Hart–and whether it stuck in their minds as anything other than some vague form of evil out in L.A. with which Angel was dealing. I mean, if they didn’t get how bad Wolfram and Hart was, why would they start distrusting Angel when he took over? I would think there’d be more confidence in his ability to make it work.)

Hands down, the best episode this season. SO Funny, and spooky, and great continuity, and character development. Anyone know who wrote this one? I missed the credits…

Also–what are the odds that, out of the dozen or so mini-slayers there at the end, none of them are going to mention to Buffy that Spike was there? For that matter, I thought it was a little odd that none of them reacted to him. Perhaps they were all supposed to be fresh recruits, and none from Sunnydale? I’m not a spoiler-type, but is there any word on whether SMG is going to do any guest spots? I can’t imagine Buffy hearing that Spike was back and not stopping by or at least calling.

Absolutely fantastic episode. Andrew never fails to crack me up. And the thought of him as Giles’ “top guy” is still making me giggle this morning. As for the psychoslayer, my first thought upon seeing her with the bonesaw (after “Hey, why does the psych ward have a bone saw just lying around?”) was “Wow, and we thought Faith was fucked up.”

Nice to see I’m not the only fan who has these thoughts. :slight_smile:

Oh, I forgot to mention—

I don’t read spoilers for the most part and I don’t watch the “next week” previews either. I just find that I enjoy the twists more when I don’t know they’re coming.

That said–I was PISSED yesterday when I checked the episode info on my cable box–just to see if it was a new episode or a rerun–and it flat out said “An escaped mental patient turns out to be a vampire slayer”. Ahhhhhh!! What the hell!? I guess I should have known better than to look at the info, but damn. That really chapped my ass. It completely colored how I watched the first twenty minutes and ruined what would have been either a good surprise or that nice smug feeling you get when you figure out a plot point before the characters do.

Curse you Buckeye Cable!!!

None of those Slayers were from Sunndale. Remember, potentials were awakened from all over the world. There are probably thousands of Slayers running around the world now.

I was incredibly impressed. The pacing was fantastic - Andrew being there and being his normal nerdy self was good for the amusement factor, but that they managed to have that along with the intensity … it was really creepy at some points and made me nervous.

Excellent, excellent episode.

I am pleased.

Okay, help me out here.

“In a mellifluous manner.” Seven letters, ending in y.

This has been bothering me ever since last nights (otherwise very good) episode.

Anyone got a good answer?

Daniel

I loved it. I love Andrew. If the powers that be at ME said to me “Petelin, could you please write the scene when Andrew finds out Spike’s alive?” it’s exactly what I would have done. The Spike/Angel scene at the end was great too.

I like that the Slayer-troop doens’t trust Angel and W&H. It goes with this season’s arc well.

I think it was DeKnight and Goddard that wrote this ep, but someone should double check me.

All I’ve been able to come up with is “smoothly”, which is, of course, eight letters.

I dunno. I have mixed feelings about this one. Mainly because of the Andrew factor. Andrew was kind of a stark reminder of the flaws of Buffy’s last season, and his “slayer of the vampyres” riff, while perhaps somewhat in place in the post-adolescent world of “Buffy”, was cringe-worthingly out of place in the much more grown-up world of “Angel.” As Angel pointed out, “yeah, we know all that.” The response to Andrew in “Buffy” was “you’re such a dork,” but in “Angel,” the appropriate response is “grow the hell up.” Yes, Andrew grew a pair towards the end of this ep, but he still seemed too much like the kid playing with the adults. Angel pretty much voiced this sentiment just before they took Dana away.

While I realize that it’s about whether you can get the actors you want when you want, I think this would have been a good episode for a guest shot by Xander, rather than Andrew, because Xander has reasons to distrust Angel, Spike and Wesley, which Andrew, a relative newcomer, does not have. Thus, the fact that Angel and Wesley are running (to borrow Cordelia’s phrase from next week’s ep) “Hell, Incorporated” would feed into his already well-seated mistrust, and made for a much more interesting dynamic. Andrew’s asserting that Buffy doesn’t trust Angel anymore is jarring because it claims things about Buffy for which we’ve seen no evidence, i.e. that her opinion of him has turned so negative so rapidly, even after he gave her the tool that she needed to save the world, simply because he’s now running Wolfram & Hart. But if Xander made the same statement, it would be of the same level as him telling Buffy in “Becoming II” that Willow said “kick his ass,” rather than telling her that Willow was working the re-souling spell. We would never really know if it was Buffy mistrusting Angel, or Xander lying because he doesn’t trust Angel. He also would probably be more reliable about keeping his mouth shut about Spike’s resurrection, since he doesn’t want to see Buffy going down that road again.

It’s easy to play Thursday morning scriptwriter and casting director, I suppose, but that’s my 0.02.

Now, things I liked -

Lots of referbacks, not only to “Buffy”, but also to Spike’s history (“Sorry love, I don’t speak Chinese”) and even a throwaway reference to Angel Season 2 (“Tell the shaman no cadavers!”- an ironic reference given Lindsay’s re-emergence this season). The differentiation between Spike and Angel’s attitudes towards their vampire days was also a nice contrast, bringing out the differences between these two vampires with souls. (And also perhaps explaining why Angel feels the need to atone in a way that Spike does not - as Angelus, he took more pleasure in causing pain to his victims than Spike did). Dana was a scary scary and very tragic freak of the week, like Faith crossed with the First Slayer. So there were good points, too.

IIRC, Andrew only says, “We don’t trust you.” Never any reference to Buffy not trusting him. I get the impression Buffy is only a high-ranking pawn in this venture.

Based on the earlier phrase of “Mr. Giles and several Sunnydale alum…” I get the impression that Ripper’s running the show these days. Since he is (likely) one of few Watchers still left alive from the original hierarchy, he probably is in control of the refounding of the Watcher’s Council these days.

ALSO food for thought (possible spoiler for people who haven’t seen the ep:)

In the episode in which Wesley’s father returns to Sunnydale, and is revealed to be a robot, it is entirely possible this creation was sent to spy on Team Angel by the Scoobs. We never fully find out the whys and wherefores of this creation, other than it’s there to retrieve information related to Shanshu. Perhaps Giles & Co. are keeping closer tabs on Team Angel than was previously thought…)

Sweetly?

I thought it was a great episode, the best of the season.

Before that, when Angel says that he’ll clear his taking custody of Dana with Buffy, Andrew asks him who he thinks his orders come from? He basically says that Buffy wants Dana with Andrew & the Watchers rather than with Angel and Wolfram & Hart. With that context, his “no one trusts you” comment sweeps in Buffy as well.

Of the Council, perhaps, but I suspect that there is a more co-equal dynamic between Slayers and Watchers in the post-Buffy era. I don’t know that he would be in control of the whole kit and kaboodle.

Well, maybe, but the robot ninjas were there to get the wand that allowed them to control Angel. Giles certainly would authorize that kind of mission if he saw Angel as a real danger or threat, but Buffy probably would not.

“I have twelve Slayers here, and none of them have ever dated you”… best line of the episode.

SkipMagic, since it seems that Buffy had at least occasional contact with Angel after he moved to L.A., she would probably have an awareness of the Evil Law Firm from Hell. And if there were any Watcher’s Council records that survived the explosions, there would doubtless be some information about W&H in them. So it’s not unbelievable that Buffy and Co. would not trust Angel after learning that he was working for them. I was a bit bothered that Andrew didn’t tell Spike about Anya not making it out. I’m just wondering if he was assuming that Spike would have run into her in the Great Beyond. Good to see that he still has that homoerotic crush on the Peroxided One. That caused me much amusement in S6 & 7 of BtVS. I wonder if Spike has finally realized that Andrew’s feelings for him go beyond juvenile hero-worship.

I really liked the Spike/Angel bonding scene at the end. I hope this means the end of watching the two of them acting like a couple of adolescent boys. Although, I would like to put the two of them in a room together and let them rassle it out… there could be some kind of oil… [/buffyquotage]. He hasn’t said anything, but I’d be willing to bet that he’s still pissed off about being dragged back from the dead- in “Just Rewards” he did gripe a bit about being denied a peaceful death. Also, I think Spike’s desire to put the guilt of past evils behind him is basically healthy, but he was taking it to the point of denial. I got the impression for the first part of the season that Spike felt that dying to save the world entitled him to a clean slate. Dana’s cutting his hands off was a brutal lesson that the real Jossverse doesn’t work that way. Somewhere between Spike’s “get over it, it’s making you look old” and Angel’s incessant “I know I’m damned and I deserve it” brooding, sanity lies. The final exchange between the two of them bodes well for the rest of the season.

Angel: To me, evil was an art. I would have considered Dana a masterpiece.
Spike: She’s one of us, now. She’s become a monster.
Angel: She was an innocent victim.
Spike: So were we, once upon a time.
Angel: Once upon a time…

I’d hate to see the antagonism between them come to an end, because the friction does make for good drama, I just hope they’ll start dealing with it like grownups. I like seeing the two of them talking without snarking at each other. It made me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
I’m really worried about Gunn. I think that he’s not only mutating into a lawyer, but a full-blown Wolfram and Hart lawyer. His not wanting to do really bad things to Eve seemed to go beyond a “voice of reason, we don’t want to get the Senior Partners on our asses without some serious proof” and into a “Hey, we don’t really know she tried to send you to the ending of Brazil, do we?” Plus, he’s got that relationship with the cat (they did put the White Room back, didn’t they?), which I find disconcerting.

Also, it was great seeing Lorne doing something besides walk around with a cell phone stuck to his ear. I’ve always loved that character, and felt he’s been wasted for most of this season. I hope they give him more stuff to do in upcoming episodes.

I liked Andrew’s “Hobbit” hairdo.