I liked the episode. Not the best they have ever done, and disconnected Angel bothers me, but the rest was fun. I loved the Brothers, and by the end of the episode, I was truly loving the music.
“El Diablo Robotico” was a great line, with pitch-perfect delivery. But I wouldn’t count on ever seeing it. Unless it shows up in a W & H storage room next season.
I wonder where ME is taking us with this season, considering:
Maybe the luchadores ep is showing how even a former champion was corrupted by W&H and a parallel is being shown regarding Angel.
Best ep. of the season.
And, am I the only one who spent the entire episode screaming:
“LUCHARA!”
?
Did anyone else wonder if they are giving more mad props to Strong Bad (like they did in the last episode of Buffy?) with the whole wrestler mask-thingy?
Also, the most interesting part of the episode was when he repeated the prophecy, “The father shall kill the son” to Wes. I’m wondering if Wes pursues that further and discovers hints of their missing past.
Or, what Telemark said.
Oh yeah, almost forgot to add that maybe some of us Firefly fans were thrown a small treat when Spike said, “If wishes were horses.”
I liked it, didn’t love it. Spike needs a bigger role, or a different one, Fred and Lorne were largely wasted, and judging from Wes’ expression the Forgetting Spell is about to hit the fan. I myself had forgotten that the whole Big Rubber Satan critter was there to bring about Jasmine, who never existed because Connor didn’t sire her, and…that spell must have blotted it out for everybody, and it worked for demons, etc. too since not one of them has referred to it, and Lorne doesn’t remember either. Yikes.
I’ll see if I can find a picture of the actor (Danny Mora). He was great, considering we could barely see his eyes. But tonight’s story, of course, was really about Angel, not him, discovering what it means to be a hero, etc. And the Aztec demon rejecting his vampire heart? Why not? It’s gotta be all euuuchy by now. I’m amazed Slayers can find them with the stakes.
For real people liked this episode? I haven’t been so bored by an Angel episode since I stopped watching in season one. This was definitely the worst episode I’ve seen since I picked the show back up.
Overall. I’m disappointed with the season. (I want Lilah!) The whole Fang Gang in charge of W&H just isn’t working for me. However, I didn’t mind this episode.
I took note that Wes used a shotgun against the Aztec baddy which, IIRC, is something he never did until he whipped out a shotgun and two pistols à la John Woo in the fight against the big, red, Legend-like, anti-Connor. So that gives me hope that some of his chip-on-his-shoulder badassness is seeping into this reality.
In addition to Wes’s awestruck “el diablo robotico!” I also liked Angel getting tossed through the window (“I hate this place.”) and the ensuing Spike-caused misunderstanding Angel.
Fred (disgusted): “…You attacked Number Five?!”
The music and camera angles really was like an X-files episode.
Eh. Better than some of the other eps, but the characters need to go somewhere. Bring back badly Wes, 007 Gunn, grim Spike, cooky trap-building Fred, and please, please give us some Lilah!
I’m wondering whether the mindwipe isn’t a complete, across-the-board wipe. Maybe it only kicks in when someone gets too close to thinking about Connor, and makes them forget precisely enough at that point to keep them away from Connor-thoughts.
That’d be a lot easier to explain than retconning the entire last two seasons.
Daniel
You type Connor, I type Conner, let’s call the whole thing off. 
Anyways, I think having an appreciation for Mexican wrestling and the subculture would really help getting the faux-but-not-quite-faux seriousness of the wrestlers being true Champions.
I also thought the humor picked up well this ep; from Spike sowing confusion about the Angel/#5 fight, to the “shotgun” line from Wes, to the remarks about Angel’s dried up, withered, walnut of a heart. That felt much more like the best writing in Buffy, but aimed at a slightly older audience.
And Miller first mentioned Wes following up on Angel’s remark about “the father killing the son”, not me. But it was the first thing I thought of when I saw it.
I think that is the interesting question that keeps getting hinted at- just how much has everyone had their memories wiped? How far back. And what memories took their place?
Obviously, they remember Cordy and that something happened to her. But how much do they accurately know how and why?
It has been well established in the Buffyverse (Dawn) that people can be added, so subtracting one makes sense too. Although, it did end up being discovered there. The other well-established fact is people don’t like having there memories tampered with, no matter how good your intentions were.
And not to be snarky at all, but it seems like a few people are not enjoying the show. If you are not subjected to Clockwork Orange style forced viewings, why don’t you just stop watching and move on to something else?
Well, Dawn was “discovered” because the dying monk told Buffy about Dawn. Buffy sensed something was slightly “off” about Dawn thanks to those “Slayer senses,” but it is not clear whether this would have evolved into a full-blown “Superstar”-like realization or whether Buffy would have killed Dawn thinking she was some kind of demonic entity trying to kill her mother. And it’s not clear that any of the others, lacking Slayer senses, would have picked up on it either.
In a thread about the previous episode, someone complained that dark and grim “I’ll take your bucket” Wesley was not in attendance, and I pointed out that probably none of the stuff that happened to embitter him in Seasons 3 and 4 actually happened in the revised continuity. This episode further confirms that a lot did change. Wesley doesn’t remember anything about translating the prophecy, which means that he probably doesn’t remember anything about kidnapping Connor, getting his throat cut, Angel trying to kill him, or the affair with Lilah. So a lot of the reasons for his bitterness are no longer there. (except of course for his not getting Fred).
As to your first point, the mentally distrubed types saw right through her (literally) although I am not sure that counts. Buffy did see through it in the end though.
Your second point is very good. Nobody know just how far back the re-write goes, and what took its place. In many ways, it is easier to add a minor character retroactively, then to take the memory white-out to someone with important ties to major events. How many people other then Angel know the truth?
Ha, my roommate bristlesage and I were totally amused by this episode. It wasn’t great, but the whole flashback scene with Mariachi music was just so fabulously absurd. Supah!
Well, not be be snarky in return, but about this time last year, was when Cordy had sex with Connor. Me and most of this board participating in the Ats threads screamed a collective ewww and many, including myself had serious concerns about where the show was going. IMO it turned out to be one of the best, ever, in the whole Buffyverse - certainly a lot better than BtVS S.7, 6 and 1 and IMO better than S.2 of Buffy.
Last week I rejoiced and a lot of regulars thought it was so-so. This week, I was not entertained and the table’s turned.
So why do I watch? Because last year, Mutant Enemy proved my bad feelings wrong and turned out stellar material. When all was tied together, I realize why Cordy had sex with Connor and it made sense and worked.
So I keep watching, hoping they’re gonna prove me wrong this year, too.
Or is it that you feel I’m a party pooper and should only post if I’ve got something positive to say?
Oh, and on Nov. 18, last year, you wrote
We all make mistakes, don’t we? 
Exactly, you enjoyed it last week. It’s not this season sucks every week when you post. Not every week appeals to every fan. But if none of the weeks seem to appeal. . . .
BTW, Cordy having creepy sex with Connor never “worked”, because I blocked it out of my mind- lest I be scarred for life! 
Also your cite does show that I am hardly an 24-7 cheerleader for the show, nor do I expect others to be. A better cite might have been to my howls of disgust when Gwen first showed up, with one of the worst shows in a while with huge inconsistencies in the plot. I.e. how now Angel is immune to the same electricity that Connor took him out with just a couple episodes prior to that one. The whole instantly replumping heart thing- just add power. Ect. GRRRRRR!
Hmm, probably better that you didn’t upon reflectiion. 
I was bored stiff by the show last night (I don’t watch wrestling – I just don’t get El Diablo Robotico jokes) so I took elf’s advise and turned this episode off after the first half hour.
All’s not lost, however, because I finally got to read who died in the last Harry Potter book.
I simply can’t believe that everyone didn’t love this ep as much as I did. Simply can’t believe it. It’s the one time I’ve been glad so far this season that I have a standing social engagement on Wednesdays so that I have to tape AtS, do that I can go back and watch it again and again and again. I wondered if that odd creature in the wrestling mask seen in earlier eps was going to develop or whether it was going to be something like Morn on DS9, seen but not generally factoring in. I was very pleased with the back-story (but would be nterested to know how he ended up in the mail room) and was genuinely touched at his redemption and reunion with his brothers. Easily the best ep of the season and in the top five (pun intended) of the series.
And what’s this? Can it be I’m the first person to reference the Tick? The Aztec demon becomes “nigh-invulnerable”? I wonder if this will become a running gag (or has it already and I’ve missed the references in other eps although I seem to remember another) that Ben Edlund will insert Tick references randomly through the show.
As much as I loved the line, shouldn’t Wes have said “el robot de diablo” or something similar? Doesn’t the adjective come after the noun in Spanish? “El diablo robotica” doesn’ seem right to this non-Spanish speaker, although I predict it will become a SDMB user name within the week (if it isn’t already).
Oh, and to address one point:
I don’t think the producers had any intention of presenting all people from Mexico as listening to mariachi music or talking like Speedy Gonzalez (the latter not being something I noticed anyway). But perhaps those Mexicans who follow los luchadores are more likely while following it to listen to mariachi music.