Ok, I looked twice and did not see a thread for last night’s Angel episode. With my luck Minty just started his. . . .
Anyway, yet another strong episode. I liked how the plot did not follow the path of least resistance and thought that most of the developments were pretty interesting.
BUT, the Matrix rip-off effects were a bit out of place, and in part seemed to be done just to prove that they could. Another nit, is that young Conner’s fighting ability seems to vary greatly.
All in all, another great episode and [spoilers below]
The surprise return of Holtz and that preview of naughty Conner doing Holtz’s bidding. Maybe the father will kill the son after all. . . . But which “father” ? -me
connor looks like dallas mavericks’ point guard steve nash.
i kind of wish they had let the whole connor issue rest for a little bit, though. he was gone for less than two episodes. but this’ll give the show a shot in the arm, and hopefully bring wesley back. now that i think about it, he was probably my favorite character. for some reason i can identify with the smart guy who never gets the girl…
Tattva, I have the same problem. I have got to get a Tivo.
Short version:
Angel saves Connor/Steven’s life, they part apparently amicably, and Holtz returns, looking very zombielike. And Wesley got a job offer from Wolfram, Hart.
Stylistically, I’d like to say that I like the new fight effects. They really should have worked them in better, though. Maybe one or two here and there, gradually building over the course of a season so we barely notice the transition. Or all at once at the beginning of a season. Going for an all-out switch with only a few episodes left in this season, it feels like they suddenly realized there was going to be some money left in the production budget, so they might as well blow it now.
As for Connor’s fighting style, he probably didn’t have a teacher besides Holtz, who never struck me as a hand-to-hand expert. Naturally, he’d have come up with his own style.
This is the first episode I’ve seen since Darla gave birth. Is Connor a vampire? Or is he something like Blade? All of their stengths and none of their weaknesses.
I’m really curious as to what life was like with Holtz in the hell dimension, Quahog or whatever it’s called. This is one elaborate plan for revenge, however. You have to admire Holtz’s dedication and singlemindedness.
I’m impressed by the actor who plays the adult Connor. He’s got a fierce intensity. I’m finding myself strangely attracted to him, despite my heterosexuality.
I hated Cordy’s new haircut when I first saw it. It’s starting to grow on me (and on her, hopefully), but I still like her better with long hair.
Is it just me or is Connor the kid from Muppet Treasure Island? I am almost positive that it was him.
I called the Holtz thing as soon as Cordy and Groo were struck. All in all, A good episode, but I did get sick of the matrix special effects. Do you think they could have made Connors ride on top of the bus look any faker? Probably not
I liked Conner/ Steven. However (and I know this is nitpicky but) his speech pattern bugs me.
Presumably, he learned to talk from Holtz, who was (again presumably) the only other human in the “most evil of all hell dimensions with no portals to Earth.” So, with no other role model to pattern his speech off of, I would imagine that his speech would be full of bombastic platitiudes and would be uttered in…
hushed…
deliberate…
monotonous…
tones…
and I can’t imagine Holtz ever speaking slang like “yeah” or “hi dad!” So why does “Steven” speak American Kid Speech?
The fx looked a lot more John Woo than Matrix to this untrained boy’s eye; does that seem right to folks? They were so atypical that I was wondering if they had a guest cinematographer or choreographer or something. Overall I think I liked them, for this one episode, but I hope they’re not a standard feature.
The bus riding thing looked like state-of-the-art effects, if you were filming in the 1950s. What the hell was up with that? The only time I’ve seen a more obvious blue screen is on Whose Line is it, Anyway?
That same thought occured to me, with respect to those same exact phrases. If this is indeed a mistake (and with Joss Whedon, y’never know), it’s a rather unusual one for the Buffy/Angel writers to make.
