Buffy: "Oh, boy. I was really jonesing for another heartbreaking sewer talk."
My fears that Joss Whedon and Company will fall prey to Chris Carter Syndrome are unfounded – at least so far. Buffy continues to be the best show on the air, and Angel gets better every week. It's sort of like my favorite show just got twice as long and managed to retain its quality while exploring many new directions.
I have to add – breaking Buffy and Angel up was the only thing to do, but I sure do like them together.
It was obvious that Angel would have to go back to being a vamp again, but I still wasn't prepared for the end of this episode. Dan said to me at the end, "Geez, how noble can he get?" Poor Angel. Maybe he's deeply into penance right now. Perhaps he has only just started to make amends and wasn't ready for an "out."
At least we had the fun of seeing that whole sexy chocolate/peanut butter/ice cream scene. At least Angel gets to remember making love to Buffy until they were numb. It isn't fair, though, that Buffy can't remember it, too – although I admit it makes sense, because it would be harder for her than for him to remember it and let it go.
Bits and pieces:
— We saw more of David Boreanaz's bare skin in this episode than ever before. Can't be bad.
— The tea and crackers thing was delightful. So was the scene where Angel was raiding the fridge and got yogurt on his nose.
— The Oracles under the post office were a new and interesting plot device that we could see again. I'm not all that wild about their blue & gold wallpaper look, though.
— Apocalypse. Millennium. End of Days. *yawn*
Quotes:
Buffy: "I don't need you skulking around, trying to protect me. Unless of course, I'm in some gigantic fight to the death, which I was last night. That was you, helping me, wasn't it?"
Angel: "I was in the neighborhood, skulking."
Cordelia: "Oh, they'll be into this for a while. We still have time for a cappuccino and probably the director's cut of Titanic."
Angel: "You know, I forgot how good it all tastes when you're alive."
Cordelia: "Yeah, and they didn't even have cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip when you were alive."
Angel: "Mmm, I want some. Can you get that?"
Cordelia: "It'll go straight to your thighs."
Cordelia: "Oh, please! They've got the forbidden love of all time. They have been apart for months. Now he's suddenly human? I'm sure they are down there just having tea and crackers."
Cut to Angel and Buffy sitting at opposite sides of his kitchen table.
Angel: (pours tea) "Would you like some more?"
Buffy: "The perfect yum. This is a dream. You're human for like a minute and already there is cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip in the fridge."
Cordelia: "Oh god, what am I going to do? I'm good for exactly two things: international superstardom, or helping a vampire with a soul to rid the world of evil. That makes for a short but colorful resume."
Mohra: "A great darkness is coming."
Buffy: "You got that right."
Four out of four stakes. What a great episode,
Billie
---
Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.
Oh Buffy and Angel. I was also thinking "Geez how noble can he get" while watching this. When I watched the series the first time I was really into the Buffy and Angel romance and disappointed at how the writers kept pulling them apart when I just wanted them to settle down together. This time around after this episode ended, I was really ready to let go of Buffy and Angel as a couple. There's only so many times I can see the same old heartbreak sob scene between the two of them.
ReplyDeleteIt was a good episode though. They brought over a lot of the Buffy music for their duel action scenes, which really made it feel almost like a Buffy episode. Except they were in LA, and no Willow or Xander.
ANGEL RE-WATCH comments begin here! Remember, no spoilers for future episodes. Want to talk spoilers and foreshadowing? Season one spoilers are posted here.
ReplyDeleteI am of two minds about this episode. On the one hand, the romantic in me loves the fact that Buffy and Angel get one night together. And, what a night.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, the cynic in me tends to take over while I watch this episode. The writers have made it absolutely clear that Buffy and Angel cannot be together. Not to mention the fact that they are now in two different cities and two different shows. There was only one way this story would end, so the whole time, watching them together is just a tease as we wait for the inevitable.
The hardcore cynic in me notes that this episode took place about a third of the way through the first season of Angel during November sweeps. What better way to get a massive uptick in viewers than to have the Buffy watchers tune in to watch their couple have sex.
But, when all is said and done, it's a fun episode and I enjoy watching it. it's not my favorite, but neither is it the worst.
This episode was never going to be one of my favorites, I've had enough Angel and Buffy angst to last a lifetime and for me this was just overkill.
ReplyDeleteI think your hardcore cynic was probably right on the money ChrisB.
That being said, I do realize that this is a quite good episode even if it does make me cringe.
Not my favorite episode. Bringing Buffy in feels so forced. The other cross-overs are much more organic. Plus this episode retreads ground already covered in "Helpless" and "In the Dark." You could be normal and happy, but other people will suffer blah blah blah. And I really hate that no one but Angel remembers the events of the episode. It's a plot device I don't much care for.
ReplyDeleteI sort of hate their season 1 office. Too much natural light. It's distracting. I keep wondering why Angel rented that place, why he didn't put up window coverings, why he's not bursting into flames.
"Got somewhere I can change?" I need to change out of my black t-shirt into my white, demon-hunting sweater.
Angel eating is absolutely adorable.
I've tried and tried, but I can't re-watch this episode. I remember crying my eyes out the first time, and not in a happy/sad/cathartic way.
ReplyDeleteSorry. :-)
I kind of like the way this one works as a closure for the whole Angel/Buffy deal from Angel's side, actually. They can't be together, we know this, now they know this and Angel has gotten his last night of love or whatever. To me, it works in the way that Angel, as a show, is able to say "that Buffy deal is now closed, let's move on from that and give Angel as a character freedom to move in directions that aren't oping about Buffy".
ReplyDeleteReally enjoying the reviews as a way to discuss the re-watch, wonderful as always Billie. @Josie this is a hard episode for me as well. I know it is retread ground but I think it reflects the way doomed romances end. You know you are not good for each other or the people around you but it isn't that easy to just say it's over. And of course, you would wish for the thing that would actually make it okay. I think what saves this particular breaking of Angel and Buffy is Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting. She does heartbroken really well. I continue to love Cordelia - "Is this an antique?"
ReplyDeleteJust watched this episode for the first time ever and now I'm a blubbering puddle on the floor.
ReplyDeleteNo, I didn't really like this too much. The whole thing was so rushed, everything in one episode - it needed to be spaced over at least two. As it was it felt so manipulated. No time to back up the Mohr demon stuff so that it didn't feel completely arbitrary, and the same went for the Oracles. Apart from the fact they looked so phoney, they needed to have been given a place in the Buffy universe. The whole thing is about suspension of disbelief, but there are unwritten rules about how this gets achieved.
ReplyDeleteThe Buffy-Angel stuff felt recycled. And the sacrifice for the greater good at the end could have been much more satisfactory if iit had been mutual rather than just Buffy, if her consent had to be part of the deal. They could still have kept it that Angel would remember and Buffy would not.
All in all I felt disappointed.
I think the story was so heartbreaking. I don't know how the actors could go through all that emotion. They were perfect.
ReplyDelete