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Angel: First Impressions

Gunn: "You must be Deevak. They told me you was ugly but, damn."

Okay, I'm not a Darla fan, but I liked Darla in this one. I liked the idea of Angel being, ah, drained by his dreams about Darla, and I liked the subtlety of what she was doing. Of course, if her ultimate goal is to kill him, she missed a primo chance in that last scene, didn't she? Ergo, she doesn't want him dead. I actually got a jolt when I realized that she was actually there, touching him. Ooooh.

The rest of the episode consisted of Gunn-bonding, which felt just a tad forced (especially that Denzel exchange) probably because the Buffyverse has been seriously lacking in major black characters. But I'm glad that they're making Gunn three-dimensional; driven, self-destructive, lacking warmth, he wasn't endearing himself to his new co-workers. Not only was he negative toward Wesley and Angel, he called Cordelia "stick-figure Barbie," "skinny white beauty queen," and "high maintenance chick." I liked the idea of Cordelia trying to help Gunn overcome his pain and anger, but when did she become Florence Nightingale and Mother Theresa combined? "Helping people. That's what me and my friends do." Gag me with a spoon.

That wonderful demon host from the karaoke bar was back. I really do love him. "Somebody get these two love vamps a room!"

Bits and pieces:

— Stringy hair and bloodstained clothes, Cordelia looked worse in this episode than I've ever seen her. This was probably intended to complement the Gunn/Cordelia plot and show that she was more than just a very pretty face.

— I absolutely loved the Angel and Darla moon-bathing scene; it reminded me of the Addams family. Has Angel ever done a love scene with anyone other than Darla or Buffy? I don't think he has.


— David Nabbit was back and looked competent for the first time as he gave Angel financial advice. Poor guy; he really wants to fight demons. Maybe someday he'll have the chance.

— I'm not even going to bring up Angel naked attacking Wesley. That scene had a lot of slash potential but... Wesley and Angel? I'm just not a slash sort of person, I guess.

Quotes:

Host: "'Send In the Clowns' and 'Tears of a Clown' both in one night. What a treat."
Angel: "Well, I was sort of going for a, you know, medley kind of thing."
Host: "Yeah, yeah. Well, more of a doodley, really, wasn't it?"

Host: "Somebody get these two love vamps a room!"

Cordelia: "This isn't mere dust. This is son of dust. This is the kind of dust that spawns countless generations of little baby dust. I give up."
Wesley: "Very well. We'll just move our offices back to your living room."
Cordelia: "And I'm dusting."

Cordelia: "He's still sleeping."
Gunn: "Sleeping? It's 3:30 in the afternoon. I've been up since dawn."
Cordelia: "Sort of missing the whole 'creature of the night' angle, isn't he?"

Cordelia: "Maybe we can help?"
Gunn: "You two? I find Deevak, I'm going to need more than C3PO and stick figure Barbie backing me up. No offense."
Wesley: "Very little taken."

Gunn: "I'm going to track down Jameel and make him talk."
Cordelia: "When you do find him, you may want to be a little more Guy Pierce in L.A. Confidential, and less Michael Madsen in Reservoir Dogs."


Cordelia: "Okay. There you go. Good as new."
Guy: "I think you cracked my skull."
Cordelia: "Well, that's new, right?"

Cordelia: "Angel is not going be happy. Do you know what he's going to do to me when he finds out I let his car get stolen? What are the chances that a vampire has full insurance with a low deductible?"

Cordelia: "Ooh! I forgot. You'll use your famous charm. Like you did this afternoon with that pigeon stool."
Gunn: "It's stool pigeon. And you don't have clue why I do the things I do."
Cordelia: "Paging Mr. Rationalization."
Gunn: "Paging Ms. About-to-be-thrown-out-of-a-moving-vehicle."

Despite some weak spots, I really enjoyed this episode and I liked what they were doing with Gunn and Darla. Three out of four stakes,

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

8 comments:

  1. I'm surprised you didn't comment on the scene where Angel avoids wearing the pink helmet. Wesley's face when he says "it's the law in California. I wouldn't want to get pulled over" is priceless (no pun intended). Laughing out loud material.

    On the other hand, we have Gunn. I've never liked the guy. I hate characters who keep the "I'm a tough guy and I take s**t from nobody" attitude. Annoying stuff indeed.

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  2. It's interesting to think about this episode in light of Buffy's "The Replacements": Xander and Cordelia (former snugglebunnies) are both growing into new lives.

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  3. I'm a fan of the Gunn character and I am a fan of the way the writers portrayed him in this episode. He has issues, which only makes him that much more interesting.

    I agree with Gus that the scene with the pink helmet is hilarious. The expressions on both men's faces are perfect.

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  4. I like this episode. Cordelia digging herself into a hole at the party, and Angel using the pink helmet to whack the smirking vamp are probably my favorite amusing moments.

    I'm not a Darla fan though, and her being there when Angel's asleep is just creepy.

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  5. I wouldn't have expected to enjoy the Darla parts of this episode as much as I did. The scenes between her and Angel had that great vibe of them so at ease, familiar with each other and loving. Yet I watched them feeling tense and uneasy. Very intriguing to see that going on while Cordy, Wesley and Gunn go on about their usual demon hunting so unaware.

    Like Annie, my favorite funny moment was Angel clocking the vamp with the pink helmet.

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  6. A fun episode but most of them are fun. The pink helmet was great and Wesley looked very manly in his leathers. I am kind of liking the new Cordelia. She is working hard to be useful and finding herself as a Scoobie. The Darla piece is very interesting. It is obvious that evil as they were Angel and Darla really cared for each other and Darla still has a hold over Angel. I'm not sure how she's gained that hold in the present but I'm sure we'll find out.

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  7. This episode was OK. It was about time to get Gunn some major screen time, though, and it had some great parts. Like others, I loved the pink helmet scenes.

    One thing I noticed on this rewatch is that Gunn's crew is totally different from last time. No more kids living in

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  8. The 'working girl' bit with Cordelia was awful, but I absolutely loved the dusting whining. I'm stealing the whole "This isn't just [thing], this is Son Of [thing]." Made me smile

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