Angel: Birthday

Gunn: "What is it with you Sunnydale folks and repression? I mean, you three are the most denying-ist folks I ever met."

This was a very good Christmas Carol/Wonderful Life episode. It was more than time that the vision thing was resolved, and I liked the way they did it.

Charisma was good. Her character has evolved to the point where we believed it when she obsessed about getting the information on 171 Oak Street to Angel instead of worrying about her own extremely serious situation. Her hidden drugs and x-rays and her lack of hesitation when she made her choice at the end were also rather touching.

The alternate universe stuff was also done very well. I particularly liked what they did with Angel and Wesley, although you knew that things without Cordelia would not be blood and peaches, as Spike says. I liked Skip the demon back again (he was in "That Vision Thing," appropriately enough). The Cordy! show stuff was just delightful, especially the credits at the beginning and her incredibly efficient assistant ("canceling ice water").

Okay, I'll talk about The Kiss. In the first place, it really didn't do anything for me; in the second, Angel won't remember it anyway. But clearly, the writers are putting Angel and Cordelia together. I'm not against it, but I'm also fairly certain it won't work. I think I'll reserve judgment and see where it goes. It might be interesting to see how they get around the "perfect happiness makes me a murderous fiend" issue, and how Cordelia's new status as part-demon comes into the mix.

So. In that alternate universe, how did Doyle give Angel the visions? A nice, big French kiss? A manly handshake?

Bits and pieces:

— Poor Lorne was still camped out at the hotel. At least they have plenty of room.

— According to the season one episode, "The Prodigal," Cordelia's birthday is May 22. My life has been hectic lately, but this isn't May, is it? And wouldn't she be 21? Buffy is going to be 21.

— Speaking of which, Cordelia never did get to open her presents.

Quotes:

Angel: "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, dirty people. Not touching the baby."
Cordelia: "But pig-drinking bloodsuckers are okay? I meant that in a nice way."

Cordelia: "The Powers That Be popped me out of my body and sent me to a mall?"
Skip: "Actually, this is more a construct of a mall. You know, like in The Matrix."
Cordelia: "You've seen The Matrix."
Skip: "Oh, I love that flick. When Trinity is all 'dodge this' and the agent just crumples to the... and I'm not really instilling any awe anymore, am I?"

Cordelia: "I want something. Hypo-something. Hypothermia?"
Nev: (on phone) "Josh, let's get a large tub of ice water to Miss Chase's dressing room, pronto."
Cordelia: "No, that's not it."
Nev: "Canceling ice water."
Cordelia: "Hyper... hyperbaric?"
Nev: "Josh, make it an oxygen tent."
Cordelia: "No, that's not it, either."
Nev: "Canceling tent."

Lorne: "Jumpin' Judas on a unicycle, what happened?"

Wesley: "Cordelia, why on earth are you here?"
Cordelia: "I know, I know. Reseda. It's practically the ninth circle of hell."

Gunn: "Hey, is it true that you and Wes were... You know, that you had a little..."
Cordelia: "...humiliating kiss where he drooled all over my chin? Yeah. But I worked really hard to repress it."
Wesley: "Right. Well, as much as I'm enjoying this forced death march down memory lane..."

Four out of four stakes,

Billie
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Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.

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