A very busy and eventful episode, with lots of action and plenty of cast members running about in a frenzy.
Fred and Gunn, seemingly joined at the hip, did everything they could to soothe Angel and find Wesley, Justine, and Sahjahn. The Host was sweet and comforting as only that lovable psychic green demon can be. Linwood was on the receiving end of some interesting karma, and Lilah was fun, as always. Justine ("there is no happy for you") is now a wild card; she tried to kill Angel again, but later showed mercy toward Gunn and managed to capture Sahjahn. Now that she's realized that Holtz was lying and using her (duh), whose side is she on now?
Which leaves Angel and Wesley. The Angel Powers That Be have done a lot of screwing around with their lead character since he left the better-written streets of Sunnydale; Angel's reaction to Buffy's death was way too mild, there was this new passion for Cordelia that came out of the blue, plus can you say leather pants, sci-fi movies, and smiling a lot? And ooh, yes, he's managed to father a baby, and they still haven't explained that one.
I can sort of take all of that; I can even see Angel torturing Linwood and snapping Lilah's neck in cold blood... but wasn't it completely out of character for Angel to attempt to suffocate an injured and helpless Wesley with a pillow? It was premeditated, too ("This isn't Angelus talking, it's me, Angel, you know that, right?"). I'm hoping for a dream sequence, or maybe straitjackets and a rubber room, but I have a feeling I'm going to be disappointed.
Did Wesley do something seriously wrong? Well, yeah. He should have trusted Angel enough to tell him about the prophecies. But where is Angel's head? "It's a lie. I'd never hurt Connor... I'd never hurt someone I care about." Huh? This from Angel, who began his vampire career by killing his entire family?
So Connor was destined to grow up and kill Sahjahn, and Sahjahn (who flits in a manly way, just so we're clear) decided to thwart his own demise by planting some fake prophecies. I hadn't guessed that, though it seems obvious now. I think Connor will still end up killing Sahjahn: that's a prophecy by Billie Doux the Reviewer, you heard it here first. Even though the only way to get back into the Kortoth dimension would involve ripping the fabric of reality and screwing up the universe. According to Sahjahn. Who lies fluently.
Bits and pieces:
— Angel was giving Lorne orders, and this wasn't the first time. Lorne was also manning (or would it be demoning) the phones. Again... is Lorne an employee?
— Liked the White Room at Wolfram & Hart, and that wonderful elevator with the bizarre music. The Girl was kind of interesting, and she was even a fairly good actress.
— Loved Angel dragging the chair, with Linwood tied to it, up the stairs.
— Why do people who have to draw their own blood in movies and TV shows always cut themselves on the palm? Is it the shudder factor? It seems like a really painful place to do it, when you've got a lot less sensitive skin conveniently to hand. As it were.
— Geshundi? Bless you.
— Still no Cordelia.
Quotes:
Angel: "Did we check the files?"
Gunn: "They're in English. Cordelia's filing system isn't."
Angel: "She was keeping some kind of list of time and space shifting entities."
Gunn: "Okay. Would that be under time, space, shifting, or entities?"
Girl in White Room: (to Angel) "They were all about torture and death. You can relate."
Lorne: "Angel, please do not do this thing. We'll find some other way."
Lilah: "There is no other way."
Lorne: "You know, not speaking would be a really good look for you."
Justine: "Don't run off now. The fun's just starting."
Angel: "I'm not your boyfriend. Find somebody else to smack you around."
Angel: "Tell you what. You take me to the Quor-toth world, help me find my son, we'll call it even."
Sahjhan: "Really? You and me, buddy cops, summer release, we iron out our wacky differences and bond? Don't think so."
Sahjhan: "Yeah. I flitted back and forth in time. Changed the one that threatened me, polished some others. Flitted in a manly way, just so we're clear."
Lorne: "I cleaned the pentagram as best I could. The dried blood, well, that's starting to be a look out there."
I was seriously displeased with the end, but it was an interesting and exciting episode that I wanted to see again. Which makes it a three out of four stakes,
Billie
---
Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.
*Dabs at forehead anxiously with handkerchief* Wow, wow, wow, WOW, I didn't think it'd hit me again like a truck (no pun about Sahjahn's solidifying intended). I remembered Wes getting his throat slit and I was antsy with anticipation to reach that landmark and finally relaxed after Holtz hopped out.
ReplyDeleteI'll try to ignore the 3/4 rating because original rankings are precious and must be preserved for memory's sake but goddamn, how could you not give this a perfect rating? That's just so wrong!
"This from Angel, who began his vampire career by killing his entire family?"
But dude that was Angelus :( With respect to the episode title it's unforgivable of you to conflate the two to make a jab...
Anyway, I'm not a parent, so I don't really get it, but this is his CHILD who's lost to a demonworld now. You're gonna bring up the death of a Slayer who was no longer a part of his life, who died in the line of duty as a comparison? I mean it hurts, but that's no comparison to betrayal the way Angel perceives it from Wesley. I think it's VERY understandable that he'd flip out on him even after making a genuine effort to do the right thing. Forgiveness isn't ordained, after all... it was a shock to me, and it was harsh, but healing's in the feelings. Parenthood let alone loss of a child was something completely new to Angel. Nobody knows what they'd do in his position (although I SPIT on the parents who boast about doing worse to poor poor Wesley).
"I think Connor will still end up killing Sahjahn: that's a prophecy by Billie Doux the Reviewer, you heard it here first."
It'll be cool to see Sahjahn again, because I already figured this might be the last we see of him.. happy to be wrong if that's the case.
"Again... is Lorne an employee?"
Yeah that is kinda weird.
"— Loved Angel dragging the chair, with Linwood tied to it, up the stairs."
So satisfying to watch him just dropping Linwood immediately once Sahjahn's reemergence was confirmed, chair breaking on impact back down the stairs. I just mean satisfying in a physical sense, so it was funny to me to see Sahjahn later voice the same thought, that destroying things is nice again on top of gravity and does it to a.. chair too, actually, IIRC.
I thought the little girl was a younger Loretta from Justified xD But it's someone else. And yeah she was great. And made possibly the easiest sacrifice request on the shoe to date lol: Murder Lilah.
Easy, EASY FIVE OUT OF FOUR STAKES to counterbalance yours. This show gets no respect, I tell ya.. None. Curse of a spin-off. I'mana hafta actively restrain myself from scouring the previous Buffy reviews to see what else got a 4 stakes over this. I can't afford to pit one show against the other, I need 'em both. Beggars and all.. I bite my thumb at this though, I really do!
I was surprised about what happened in the end when I first saw this but they didn't do anything with it. Angel was still mopeing about Conner and Cordelia not being there.
ReplyDelete