Angel: First Impressions

"Somebody better attack me soon. I can't take much more of this."

At last it begins. This feels like Angel has finally finished evolving and embraced its destiny as a fast-moving, arc-heavy mix of plot threads that weave themselves around the action and give the sense of there being no status quo. Suddenly, there seems to be an awful lot going on.

It's good to see the Host again, and also David Nabbitt, a handy excuse for how Angel is able to buy such a swanky old hotel on the earnings of a not exactly money-grabbing private eye. But it's shocking to suddenly see how Darla is occupying Angel's dreams, seducing him in increasingly erotic ways and gradually encouraging him to look to his own needs instead of helping others. She inhabits his sleeping hours like a drug, and already it's being noticed that he's sleeping longer. Worse, this is probably connected with the fact that he has an "off day" fighting the vampires that initially attack Gunn. The implication is that this has been going on for a while, too. This sub-plot clearly has a long way to run.

The episode manages to nicely establish a bond between Gunn and the increasingly brave Cordelia- although not Wesley, at least not yet, from a position of awkwardness between him and "C-3PO and Stick Figure Barbie". We get a lot of subtle allusions to the gulfs of race and class that separate Gunn from the other regulars, but he and Cordelia also get to know and care about each other in spite of their very different backgrounds. We get a fair bit more depth to Gunn's character, too. His responsibilities are huge. He puts the weight of the world on to his shoulders an a way that is ultimately self-destructive, and being so defensive when others try to help him isn't helping. Cordelia's right to call him self-destructive, yet he's also right to call her out for several ill-judged stereotyping comments as he shows her all around the world he lives in.

There's a definite social commentary to this episode. As with War Zone, we get to see a lot of working class LA locations and a lot of the side of life we don't usually see on Angel. Indeed, this episode is set almost entirely within that world, and we're given quite a tour. It's interesting that uber-billionaire David Nabbitt should appear at the beginning, too, and be given dialogue paralleling Gunn's. The comparison we're being invited to make is clear, but it's done with subtlety.

There's humour here too, though. I love Angel and the girly helmet. Although I had to raise an eyebrow at Wesley calling Angel a wanker, which most definitely would have had to have been censored when shown on British TV. Note to American TV scriptwriters: the word "wanker" is a rather strong swear word, not some quirky thing that British people say. Wesley calling Angel a wanker is about on a par with calling him a prick. It is not a friendly insult.

This season is getting very, very exciting, and it's only been three episodes.

Angel: Parting Gifts

"I'm evil.  But hey, I'm not, you know, evil."

In the time-honoured Whedon-verse tradition, we get a nice, light-hearted episode to help us get over the emotional turmoil of last episode and, in that very same tradition, it's bloody good. Plus, you know, Wesley.

Doyle isn't in this episode, what with being dead and all, but it's a fitting wake to him, though with slightly less potent liquid refreshment than the dead man would have preferred. It's lovely that the episode should start with Angel once again visiting the Oracles, imploring them for his friend's life. He departed with few worldly goods to his name, but there's one precious gift he did indeed bequeath to the one person he deemed worthy: Cordelia now gets the visions, which more firmly establishes her role in Angel Investigations.

I loved Cordelia anyway, but this episode has deepened my love for her even further. She's just so delightfully self-centred, taking ages and ages of moaning before she gets around to describing her vision. Even better than that is her outrage at going for such a low price in the auction. And the comic chemistry between Charisma Carpenter and David Boreanaz is just purring by this point. All things about Cordelia are wonderful.

Still, let's not forget Angel himself, After all, this is where we discovered that he's a great cook, and is fluent in Korean, or at least he is when the plot requires it. There's also an interesting line where he refuses to allow Wesley to go with him into danger because he lost Doyle by doing that. He only refuses once, though.

The plot is fun; a nice, harmless little card cheat demon client who's being pursued by a mysterious but clearly badass figure on a motorbike and a sinister black helmet. But the plot, of course, thickens, with much hilarity ensuing, pausing only for a bit of threatened eye-gouging. Urrrgh.

But, well Wesley! I love the way the tension is gradually ramped up until we discover that this fearsome assassin is, in fact, only him. He's a great, fun character, clearly there to provide the pratfalls, but his scholarly knowledge of demons and whatnot will obviously prove useful to the team.

Interestingly, he now has a bit of hinterland; having failed two Slayers, he's been sacked by the Watcher's Council and, notwithstanding his amusing prancing around as a "rogue demon hunter", he sees himself as a failure and a fraud. Just like every single other heroic character in the show so far, he has something to atone for. But that doesn't mean he can't be comic relief most of the time. The final scene is fantastic in particular. It's so, so good to see Wesley back again, and part of the team. It's immediately obvious, too, what great comic chemistry Alexis Denisof has with the other two.

It's a strange episode I suppose. Right in the middle of the season, it's a combination of a tribute to Doyle and a reboot of sorts, not only replacing one of the original cast with someone else but rearranging peoples' roles.

And who's that who "won" the auction? Wolfram and Hart again…

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith, Hope and Trick

"Admittedly, it's not a haven for the brothers. Strictly the Caucasian persuasion here today."

That quote is obviously an admission by Whedon & co; there haven't exactly been… well, any significant black characters in Buffy so far, and that's more than a little awkward. So at least it's nice that the attempt to start making amends for this is considered important enough to be worth a little breakage of the old fourth wall.

Trick is very much a character in the mould of Spike: quirky, individual, unusually modern for a vampire, intelligent, and with little respect for boring, traditional vampiric hierarchy. His abandonment of Kakistos is a direct parallel with Spike's abandonment of the Annoying One.

But of course the more significant new character to be introduced here is Faith. She's a fantastic, charismatic yet nuanced character from the very start. Plus, Eliza Dushku is extremely hot, which is, er, a plus. She has all the attractive qualities you'd expect from a "bad girl"- she's very friendly, fun to be with, has great stories, and she gets "hungry and horny" after a bit of slayage. Five by five.

But Buffy feels as though she's been replaced by someone who threatens to be cooler than her. Everyone likes Faith, even her mother, and they even end up competing, sort of, over a boy. This isn't quite Kendra Mark II; Faith is confident, flirty and tattooed.

Except that it soon becomes clear that there's something dark behind the over-the-top cheeriness. Faith is running away from the traumatic sight of seeing her Watcher being killed by Kakistos after he did some unspecified but unspeakable things to her, and she's genuinely terrified; Dushku is superb at showing this. Far from being the confident "bad girl" that we see on the surface, Faith is clearly shell-shocked and running away from her demons, and not just the literal kind. Worryingly, everyone acts as though, with Kakistos dead, she'll be fine. But she clearly isn't.

Still, Faith's newly revealed vulnerable side allows her and Buffy to bond a little, and the conflict between them abates somewhat. It's obvious that the situation isn't permanent, though. It's very noticeable that the Scoobies are portrayed as a tightly knit bunch until Faith arrived. This is obviously intended as contrast for the dissent to be spread by this cuckoo in the nest. There will be more.

Oh, and both Faith and Dushku are from Boston, right? I thought I knew what a Boston accent sounded like, but she pronounces "about" rather Scottishly. I thought that was just a Canadian thing?

Faith faces her demons, and Buffy now feels able to do what she needs to do, too. She finally admits to Willow and Giles that it was Angel, not Angelus, that she sent to Hell. That needed to be said. And at last she feels able to symbolically get rid of the clanagh ring. She has closure, of sorts. So, naturally, Angel chooses now to suddenly return, and he's all naked too.

It's a strong episode, if perhaps a little arc-y to be properly considered in its own right. There are some nice touches to further the season; Snyder briefly shows apprehension at the prospect of speaking to the mysterious Mayor. Giles hints that Willow's dabbling in magic may not be entirely healthy. It's a brilliant episode for Joyce, too, perhaps above all else. She's a wonderful mother. She gets a fab scene of Snyder-mockery ("I think what my daughter is trying to say is… nah nah nah nah nah!"), to show us firmly that the troll has lost his bite. But her tears at the prospect that her daughter might die are heartbreakingly real.

Firefly: War Stories

“Preacher, don’t the Bible have some specific things to say about killing?”

“Quite specific. It is, however, somewhat fuzzy about kneecaps.”

Here’s another arc episode, of sorts, although its centrepiece is a wonderful character piece looking at the triangle of Zoe, Wash, and Mal. It’s another good ‘un, with bags of wit, some cool action scenes and lots of Shepherd Book being mysterious.

We’re following directly on from last episode; Jayne is being uncharacteristically generous with his cut of the takings, and no one can understand why. The early minutes are great, with lots of little character moments- Kaylee and River running around like kids, Book being mysterious with Simon, and of course Jayne’s reaction to Inara’s female client (“I’ll be in my bunk!”).

But it all kicks off properly with a bit of an argument between Zoe and Wash over why she always agrees with the Captain. This is essentially because she and Mal have all those shared war stories, of course, and Wash as the husband feels emasculated by this. The upshot is that Wash insists on going with Mal to sell the medicines they stole last episode, instead of Zoe, and Zoe feels she has to go along with it. This is fascinating; I believe it’s the first time we’ve seen Mal not getting his way with a member of his crew, and we’ve seen him get his way in some pretty extreme situations. And yet it’s Zoe, his oldest friend and war comrade, and the one who calls him “Sir”, who is calling the shots here, and Mal just lets her.

This isn’t as good news for Wash as he initially thinks, though; he and Mal are quickly caught by Niska, and it’s not long before the torturing starts. Mal is brave and defiant, of course, but so is Wash, in spite of being completely unused to this sort of thing. The arguments between them about Zoe are hilarious, but of course Mal is just trying to take his friend’s mind off the horrible circumstances.

The crew, led by Zoe, soon discover what happened, and Zoe is soon off to Niska’s place to negotiate the release of her husband and her captain. Zoe is bloody competent all the way through this. It’s really thrown into sharp relief here how essential she is to the crew as the solid, shred, intelligent, no-nonsense first mate. Mal may be a genius, and a gentleman, but he’s a little erratic. Zoe is anything but.

Niska, being a right sadist, tells Zoe that the money is only enough for the return of one prisoner. Of course, she chooses her husband. Niska then shows how utterly horrible he is by cutting Mal’s ear off and giving it to her. What could possibly happen now other than the entire crew picking up some very big guns and rushing to the rescue?

And it really is the entire crew. Jayne clearly has no ill-feelings for Mal after the last episode. Shepherd Book is mysteriously good with guns for a preacher- and, in spite of that quote up at the top there, clearly shoots to kill. Fittingly, though, it’s Mal who gives Niska a good kicking , as Niska’s few underlings still standing are distracted by all the flying bullets.

Kaylee is very scared, and panics: a realistic reaction. Interestingly, it’s River who saves her, a crack shot with her eyes closed. This girl is developing an impressive array of powers. I suspect this is the reason for the government doing what they did top River- is she supposed to be some sort of super-soldier, like a telepathic, precognitive Captain America?

When the fighting’s over, things get funny again. I love Book’s comment on Simon’s shooting (“I was there, son. I’m fairly sure you haven’t shot anyone yet.”). And, of course, we end with “Take me, Sir. Take me hard.” I love this show.