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Angel: Deep Down

Angel: "What you did to me was unbelievable, Connor. But then, I've been stuck in a hell dimension by my girlfriend one time for a hundred years, so a few months under the ocean actually gave me perspective."

This episode was way over the top. It was riveting. I absolutely loved it.

I don't know what I enjoyed more: Wesley keeping Justine prisoner in his bedroom closet? Fred zapping the crap out of Connor with a stun gun? Perhaps it was Lilah decapitating Linwood by remote control; one can only hope that Gavin is next. Or maybe it was Angel throwing Connor out of the hotel. Actually, it was probably a combination of all of these things. What fun.

Wesley continued in his role as the most fascinating character on this show. He somehow captured Justine (I wonder what he did to get information out of her?), figured out what happened, acquired a boat, found and rescued Angel, and even fed Angel his own blood when he probably should have just fed Justine to him. And he did all this while continuing to carry on a torrid affair with Lilah. Why? Does Wesley still care about Angel, or did he just do it to inconvenience Wolfram & Hart? Could it be that Wes is planning to take Wolfram & Hart down, all by himself? I sure don't know, but I'm loving it. Go, Wesley, go.

Gunn seemed to be getting closer and closer to figuring Connor out, but basically, he and Fred spent the entire summer spinning their wheels. If it had been up to them, Angel would still be deep down there. Fred, who was doing so well with staking that vamp in the beginning and zapping Connor later, blew it by bitching out on Wesley. Did anyone even say, "Thank you for saving Angel, Wesley?" Will Angel forgive Wesley now?

Those hallucination scenes were terrific – even the unexpected love scene with Cordelia, which had some real emotion and charm. I noticed that two of the hallucinations ended with Angel killing someone he loved: first Cordelia, and then Connor. Connor I can understand, but why Cordelia?

Bits and pieces:

— Alexis Denisof got a better spot in the credits, and he deserved it. Interesting coincidence: he got the same spot his real-life girlfriend just got on Buffy.

— Wesley has apparently lost his glasses for good.

— What exactly was Lorne referring to with that Fluffy remark? Inquiring minds want to know.

— A starved vampire will hang on indefinitely but will lose the higher brain functions? We didn't know that.

— In the new season's hair report, Connor's was longer, cleaner, and better cut; Angel's was darker and shorter (how did that happen under the ocean?); Wesley's was also shorter, but he had access to Supercuts and Angel didn't; Fred's was way too long and straight (enemies can grab your hair, Fred!), and Gunn acquired some fuzz on his chin.

— Lilah looked a little tired to me. Maybe it was all that wild sex with Wesley.

Quotes:

Fred: "He's lost the mission, bro."
Gunn: "Well, we're about to lose this whole place. And you know you can't say 'bro'."

Lilah: "That didn't suck. Well, maybe just a little bit."

Wesley: "Wouldn't think kidnapping his son would have such a negative effect on our friendship."
Lilah: "You thought you were doing the right thing. I hear that can be confusing."

Wesley: "We all get what we deserve. You and Holtz deserved each other. You two have so much in common: pain, loss, a deep-seated lack of anything approaching humor..."

Gunn: "Three months ago, a friend of ours went missing down there."
Marissa: "Tall, good-looking, weird hair?"

Gunn: "His nickname back in Quor-Toth was 'the Destroyer.' And unless you put 'Conan' in front of that, I'm guessing it's not a good sign."

Lorne: "I've been booked out the wah and past the zoo. If I get any hotter, they'll have to stamp me out."


Fred: "And who's fluffy? Are you fluffy?"
Gunn: "He called me fluffy?"
Fred: "He said make sure... Wait. You don't think he was referring to anything of mine that's fluffy, do you? Because that would just be inappropriate."

Gavin: "Well, I haven't pinpointed his exact location yet, but I have ascertained that he's safe and immobilized."
Lilah: "Really. Maybe you can lead them in a rousing chant and get them to muster up a little more vague."

Lilah: "I'm not sleeping with him for information."
Linwood: "Please don't tell me it's the chiseled jaw."

The Angel premiere was actually better than the Buffy premiere. Four out of four stakes,

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

4 comments:

  1. Lilah did look tired, and I can tell you why: no eyeliner. At first I thought it was to have that "just after sex" look, but she went to work like that, so it seems she's sticking to it. Maybe the Angel PTB thought looking more natural would make her more sympathetic. Anyway, Stephanie Romanov is beautiful and her character is fun and sexy, though too evil for my taste in women.

    And the "talk" Angel has with Connor was one of the best scenes Boreanaz has done. Ever.

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  2. I agree. This was a terrific premiere.

    I didn't get as much enjoyment from Fred torturing Connor though. He's a child in my mind, and, no matter how much I understand Fred's anger, that looked like child abuse to me.

    Imagine Fred and Gunn as foster parents to a teenage girl. She does something truly awful. Should they apprehend her and keep her from getting away? Yes. Should they call the authorities? Yes. Should they tie the girl up and take turns zapping her with a cattle prod? Eeew.

    In case you're wondering why I changed Connor's sex in the analogy, it's because I read somewhere else that Fred is a girl and Connor is a boy so that makes it okay, but can we not all agree that children of any sex should not be tortured?

    Add to this her inexplicable pettiness with Wesley, and Fred gets a big zero this week.

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  3. While I can't defend the torture, I have to say I understand Fred's behavior with Wesley completely. What on earth makes Wesley think Connor won't kill them because they're human? He doesn't know him, he grew up in a hell dimension, and as far as Connor's concerned, Fred & Gunn were in on the plot to murder Holtz. And in fact, Wesley's quite wrong. Remember, Connor was genuinely puzzled that Sonny didn't want him to kill her dealer.

    For all we know (as of this point in the season), Connor might have planned to murder them at some point. After all, he was trained by Holtz, and Holtz knew a thing or two about the long game when it comes to revenge.

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  4. >>"(I wonder what he did to get information out of her?)"
    Possibly nothing, I got the feeling she wasn't all that sorry to be 'captive' again.

    >>"Does Wesley still care about Angel, or did he just do it to inconvenience Wolfram & Hart?"
    Really shouldn't be a question, especially after he fed himself to him and not Justine. Of course he still cares. He's just stubborn and has my "NOTHING: IT'S WHAT I DID WRONG" sickness.

    >>"Will Angel forgive Wesley now?"
    Will Wesley forgive Angel (and to a lesser extent Cordelia for never seeing him)? Will Wesley forgive himself? It feels like the damage is done, and Wesley might not even be looking for forgiveness anymore.

    >>"Fred, who was doing so well with staking that vamp in the beginning and zapping Connor later, blew it by bitching out on Wesley."
    Ehhh true the way she went about it irritated me but her concern was valid, Wes not warning them about Connor all summer, because what if Holtz left him with a grand revenge plan that included everyone in his crew? Cordelia was mysteriously gone too and that would've further legitimized such a concern.

    >>"I noticed that two of the hallucinations ended with Angel killing someone he loved: first Cordelia, and then Connor. Connor I can understand, but why Cordelia?"
    Maybe he thinks Cordelia was involved since Connor showed up at the meeting place she set? Or just blames her. But I think it was mostly about being driven so mad that he's having indiscriminate murder fantasies. The first thing he did upon release was grasping Wes by the throat again.

    >>"— Alexis Denisof got a better spot in the credits, and he deserved it."
    Oh yeah cool, I didn't notice and just immediately assumed he was last... but no before they were all credited by first appearance order. Interesting.

    >>"— Wesley has apparently lost his glasses for good."
    Punished Wes doesn't have the luxury of decent eyesight (of course he could just have switched to lenses but I like to think he gave up reading)

    >>"— What exactly was Lorne referring to with that Fluffy remark?"
    Fred's fluffy bumfluff, as the show hints

    You didn't quote the best line! Wes's "I'll take away your bucket..."

    ReplyDelete

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