Angel: War Zone

"There's a whole world in LA that no one ever sees."

So we get to meet Gunn, at last. Feels almost as though the gang's all here and this show is emerging from its experimental early phase towards what it will become. It's odd seeing Gunn as the heroic leader of a street gang, a parallel to Angel in many ways. It's also odd that his own sister addresses him by his surname, but I can overlook that. This is perfect as an introduction (and I'm sure it was obvious to all viewers that this was the introduction of an eventual regular) - the character of Gunn is strong, with enough hinterland to establish him, and J. August Richards is a superb actor. Ok, I suppose that it's obvious from the beginning, to anyone who's remotely TV literate, that Alonna is going to die, but I think that's intentional.

Of course, there's a clear theme of poverty, social class, and the invisibility of the urban poor (even the local vampires are almost as obnoxious for their snobbery as for their evil ways), and an obvious contrast with a billionaire nerd who plays D&D. Incidentally, I play D&D and, contrary to much annoying media stereotyping, I possess a modicum of social skills and have never been in a demon brothel. Just wanted to make that clear.

Oddly enough, the structure of this episode's plot reminded me a lot of The A-Team, especially with the more than usually obvious use of LA settings. A fugitive gang fighting evildoers with makeshift weapons in abandoned warehouses- that's close enough. It's also nice that the potentially annoying trope of other good guys not believing in Angel's good intentions doesn't last for long enough to truly irritate.

Gunn is essentially given something akin to a superhero origin story here, with the agony of his sister's turning into a vampire, taunting him and having to be dusted by him being a sort of equivalent of Bruce Wayne's parents getting shot, if you ignore the inconvenient fact that he seems to have already been doing his stuff for some time. I like his parting with Angel: one of mutual respect, with Angel refusing to act all fatherly or patronising.

As far as the regulars are concerned, Cordelia and Wesley are turning out to be a fantastic double act, and almost seem like brother and sister. And it's beginning to look as though Angel will never, ever learn how to use mobile phones.

We're getting very close to the end of the season now, so it's interesting that we get an episode full of set-up for the future. How is the season going to end? Is there going to be a big, Buffy-style season finale, or will Angel do things differently? Two episodes to go…