So with the flying body parts and the torture scenes and Angel sinking his teeth into that Gypsy girl's thigh and all, was that an intense little episode or what?
I'm certain that we were meant to compare Faith and Wesley with Angel torturing Giles in "Becoming." That and the Romania flashbacks were intended to show why Angel would want to forgive Faith, and they were very well done. But as powerful as that final scene in the rain was, I think Angel was wrong; I just don't buy that Faith is truly repentant. I think Angel might not have been so ready to forgive if it had been Doyle that Faith was torturing. Or Cordelia. Or for that matter, Buffy.
Wesley continued to evolve as a character. Even more than his responses to Faith, I was impressed at the way he cut himself free and got himself down the stairs, knife in hand, so that he could help Angel fight Faith. How is he going to feel about Angel forgiving Faith? I think he has the right to be incredibly pissed off. Next week ought to be very interesting.
Wolfram & Hart are cool villains, and with Lindsey and Lilah, we're finally starting to see some good recurring characters. I loved the way Angel just walked in the door dressed as a lawyer and the way he winged it with the guy in the hall ("through the ceiling?" "In the toilet!")
Bits and pieces:
— Angel was right to try and get Wesley and Cordelia out of the way. They should have listened to him. It looked like Phantom Dennis was trying to warn Cordelia; she should have listened to Dennis, too.
— I really liked the bar scene with Faith combining two of her favorite things, dancing and fighting. Very well done.
— Angelus lost his soul in 1898. That meant that when he met Buffy, he hadn't eaten anyone for nearly a hundred years.
— Angelus and Darla were together for 140 years? No, that can't be right – they must have done an on-again off-again thing because when would he have gotten involved with Dru?
Quotes:
Cordelia: "I knew it when you brought him in here yesterday. Someone with that much body art is gonna have a different definition of civic duty."
Cordelia: "Wesley, you don't change a guy like that. In fact, generally speaking, you don't change a guy. What you see is what you get. Scratch the surface and what do you find? More surface."
Lilah: "You call them back and tell them that's our drop-dead offer. And you make sure that they understand we mean literally, not figuratively."
Wesley: "We won."
Cordelia: "Gang-guy testified?"
Angel: "Stood up and told the truth."
Cordelia: "What did I tell you?"
Wesley: "That he never would."
Cordelia: "You can always tell when he's happy. His scowl is slightly less scowly."
Lindsey: "I think if a service is rendered, we can get you off."
Faith: "You don't know how many men have promised me that."
Cordelia: "What's wrong with a divorce case?"
Angel: "That's not what we do."
Cordelia: "According to the husband, the wife is a real witch."
Angel: "Giles said she left Sunnydale about a week ago. He described her mental state as borderline psychotic."
Cordelia: "That explains her outfit."
Lawyer: "We have to close Gruber now, before the soft offer becomes hard and the stock goes..."
Angel: "Through the ceiling!"
Lawyer: "In the toilet!"
Lindsey: "I'm sorry, we only handle a certain class of clientele."
Angel: "Oh, I'm sure that I've killed enough people to qualify."
Wesley: "I was your Watcher, Faith. I know the real you, and even if you kill me, there is just one thing I want you to remember."
Faith: "What's that, love?"
Wesley: "You are a piece of sh..."
Definitely four out of four, or possibly five by five,
Billie
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Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.
ANGEL RE-WATCH comments begin here! Remember, no spoilers for future episodes. Want to talk spoilers and foreshadowing? Season one spoilers are posted here.
ReplyDeleteWow. My opinions of certain characters certainly changed over the course the series.
As I am not a huge Faith fan, her redemption means very little to me. And, as you say, I am not convinced she is repentant.
ReplyDeleteGreat point about the parallel with Angel torturing Giles. I never thought about it, but of course that would make him more inclined to forgive someone else who tortures. The flashbacks are well done as well. I just wish they had been in a non-Faith episode.
Wow. My opinions of certain characters certainly changed over the course the series. Some of this review made me laugh out loud. It is fun to go back to the idyllic days before we all knew what was coming next...
Like Chris, I'm not much of a Faith fan, but I did enjoy her return over on Buffy and I like the way she is serving as a catalyst here.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the perspective you drew on Angel / Giles vs Faith / Wesley. I frankly never understood his soft spot for redeeming her and this does make the point a bit clearer.
I'm not sure what is says about me but as much as I'm coming to like Wesley, the torture of Giles upset me far more. In my defense, I feel like the show is setting up an interesting juxtaposition. Angel is very much in the traditional dark hero mold. Attractive, strong, brooding and struggling to do good and earn redemption. Wesley on the other hand is becoming quite heroic in a very everyman kind of way. He is a bit bumbling and not at all larger-than-life but he keeps fighting evil (even after the Watcher's Council fired him) and Faith's treatment of him seems a part of his journey.
I've always liked Faith's run on Angel. While every other crossover character has felt like exactly that - a crossover - Faith feels very much like part of the Angel world. Her character arc continues on Angel, and she really feels at home in the darker atmosphere of the show.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I buy her complete repetance just yet either, but I do think she's a psycopath realizing just how far gone she is, and I do think Angel might just be the guy who can change her.
I've always found the Faith/Wesley dynamics fascinating, and I actually think this particular encounter has a lot of impact in the Wesley of later seasons. I feel bad for him, though, because I always think that, no matter how much Weslet idolizes Angel, Angel is never going to choose him above anyone else.
Billie, you wrote that Angel lost his soul in 1898. Actually, he got his soul back, not lost it.
ReplyDeleteNot only didn't I believe she was truly repentant, I was certain that the crying and holding angel were a ploy and she was going to pull a stake out and go for it.
ReplyDeleteI'M EVIL! *bashes your chest futile-y* I'M BAD! I'M EVIL!! YOU HEAR ME??
ReplyDelete:( Not even mocking her it's genuinely sad. Maybe she doesn't deserve redemption, torturing Giles should've been that moment, and torturing Wes should've been yet another last straw, but damn... the self-loathing types are the most deserving of second chances sometimes.
Wes took the torture like a champ. It shouldn't be the way you judge a man but what can I say. He's got the stuff.
Also on a superficial level I loved the dance-fighting bit at the beginning, if only Buffy was tagging along for this too lol. We needed more of that. More Faith in general, it's just too funny/satisfying seeing her randomly start wailing on random baddies "undeserved." It's surreal seeing an unhinged Slayer in action... I love her. So glad they didn't kill her back on Buffy even if it did leave s4 Buffy-only watchers dangling. This is not payoff that's gonna make any sense for Angel only viewers, what an interesting choice to have it conclude here.
But hey it wasn't just Faith this episode, we finally got Lilah and Lindsey together. And flashback Darla! This episode really is a landmark for the first season. I can't remember if this is the point where the series starts being great but we'll see. I'm not impatient.