Angel: Shells

"My world is gone."

"Now you know how I feel..."

Killing Fred was a brave move and a huge one. She was a hugely likeable and universally adored character, killed much as Tara had been in Buffy- Wes, like Willow, had only just got together with the love of his life before her cruel and pointless death the following episode. So far, so structurally similar. But Wes is now a harder character, not in a dark Willow sense but in the sense that something inside him has died. Worse, Fred may be dead but her body is now occupied by Illyria, an Old One seemly fond of the east coast of the Adriatic. And, just to rub it in this new character is played with chilling effect by Amy Acker, showing her phenomenal range as an actress.

Illyria is, of course, a baddie, and naturally she has an evil plan which this episode consists of her trying to execute. But, of course, her kingdom and her army have long gone, and she has no purpose. Her resurrection, and Fred's death, were both meaningless, much like Knox's life, shaped by his empty faith that brings him nothing. It's all very bleak. But, bravely, the episode ends by trying to get us to emphasise with Illyria along with Wesley, who has as much reason to hate her as anyone.

It's certainly courageous to make such a bold move as killing Fred and then tr y to get us to emphasise with her killer, who is played by the same actress. Certainly the main cast are devastated. Lorne can't deal with it at all. Wesley is changed, cold-hearted in a world without Fred, shooting Knox dead and stabbing Gunn when he finds out the truth. As for poor Gunn... this is where his betrayal is exposed, and he's devastated.

This isn't an episode to like, but one to hugely admire. Extraordinary television.

Angel: A Hole in the World

"I am not gonna be cut down by some monster flu! I'm better than that!"

I haven't felt like this since Tara died. Whedon, you magnificent bastard.

The unfair thing, and of course the point, is that poor Fred doesn't even get a heroic death. She just gets ill and dies. No miracle cure. Just death and heartbreak. But then isn't that how most of us will die?

There are two things from the beginning that make us fear something bad. The first is that we begin with a flashback to teenage Fred, just a handful of years ago. The other is the caption "written and directed by Joss Whedon", which always leads to an episode which invariably is bloody good and usually is significant. This episode is both, of course, with sparkling dialogue and richly textured character moments interwoven with masterful storytelling. Hence Knox was the evil Illyria acolyte all along, who chose Fred as host body for his god because he loved her. Hence the mummy got through customs because of a legal document Gunn signed in order to be lawyered up again last episode- Wolfram and Hart is indeed corrupting them all. Hence the whole cavemen vs. astronauts thing permeating the episode, and the splendid Angel/Spike double act. Hence Gunn being well and truly told that the Senior Partners are not his friends to call upon for favours. This script is a cut above.

As with his other episode this season, Conviction, the title is a glorious pun, But no one is laughing. This is a brutal assault on the heartstrings that draws out the heartbreak, for us and for Wesley and, indeed, for everyone, as cruelly as possible. Fred's last moments are extraordinary. So is the whole thing. Dammit, I am not ok after watching this...

Angel: Smile Time

"You're a wee little puppet man!"

This is obviously the best episode ever. Let’s get that right out there. I mean, what’s not to adore? A bunch of evil Sesame Street puppets plotting to steal the life force of innocent kids for to sell to Hell for a massive profit; puppets controlling the puppeteer, played by David Fury himself... oh, and of course there’s little puppet Angel. And the trying-not-to-laugh reactions of the hand. And Spike’s reaction. Especially Spike’s reaction.

But that’s not all. There’s an interesting scene where the puppeteer skews Gunn and Lorne (finally getting a decent role) for working for an organisation that gets guilty people off and is, shall we say, somewhat lacking in ethics. We have Gunn continuing to have his legal upgrade fade away, taking away his purpose in life and leading to, as it gets called, Flowers for Algernon syndrome. He gets offered a deal with the devil for a permanent upgrade and next time we see him he seems to be lawyered up again- what happened?

Then there’s Nina, back again as it’s that time of the month, and besotted with Angel, whose awkward handling of this is quite hilarious, as is the scene where Wes tells him like it is, while himself completely failing to notice that Fred has now dumped Knox and is blatantly signalling at him. So it’s heartearming to see Angel and Nina finally agreeing to a date, and the punch the air moment that is that kiss between Fred and Wes.

Now, Mr. Whedon... I can’t help remembering what you did after Willow and Rara got back together so joyously in Buffy. You’re not about to do anything, well, evil are you?

Angel: Lineage

"Sex with robots is more common than people think."

So it’s a proper Wesley episode, we get to meet Wesley’s overbearing dad, sort of, and he’s played by the actual dad of Betty from Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em. Life can be delightfully random sometimes.

It’s clear, seeing how flustered and klutzy Wes gets with his dad around that his upbringing has a lot to do with how awkward he was when we first met him but, as the pre-titles clearly shows, he’s slowly but surely become increasingly badass. Until his Dad turns up. And turns out to be an evil robot, so the fact that Wes ends up killing him is a cheat, sort of. But that’s fine, I think; we’ve only just met Roger Wyndham-Price. It’s not as though a regular character has died and been brought back. And the episode does it’s job of fleshing our Wesley more, and successfully, while further developing the love triangle between him, Fred and Knox.

There’s also suspicious behaviour from Eve; Spike has her number, and she blatantly tries to turn Angel against Wes to the point of bringing up a certain baby stealing incident, but this backfired with Angel coming to appreciate how Wes will do the right thing no matter what the cost, a quality he admires.

A nice, slow character episode then, if a rather deep one. I suspect fireworks next...

Angel: Life of the Party

"Charles, you just peed on my shoes..."

After Lorne’s relatively low profile, especially last episode, at last he gets forty-odd minutes as the main event, in an episode which continues the solid run while not necessarily competing to be a highlight of the season.

Lorne has found himself so colossally overworked that he has, in an apparently standard Wolfram & Hart procedure, had his sleep removed. The conceit here, of course, is that this is not an awfully wise move for an empath demon as reality can be affected. All this centres around the apparently fabled Wolfram and Hart Halloween party, an important event for schmoozing.

It’s a good episode for Lorne, and he gets a nice little speech to Angel that he’s not a fighter, and no good with matters scientific or mystical, but the entertainment side is something he can do. This adds a bit of depth to him as a character. There’s also lots of amusing comedy as his words affect reality, with Gunn pissing everywhere, Fred and Wes getting pissed without drinking, and Angel and Eve shagging like rabbits- although she dies begin a meeting earlier by talking about wanking...

We’re also introduced to the influential demon Archduke Sebassis, fully equipped with a little gimp demon, and he has “returning character” written all over him. We also see Fred and Knox seeming to get together on an impromptu date. Yet again, there’s no sign of this season justifying its apparent “story of the week” reputation.

Angel: Conviction

”I need you to to initial here concerning your mortal soul...”

This week my in-laws are visiting for Little Miss Llamastrangler’s birthday and everyone is gaming with headphones and that, so I’m likely to have little access to the telly for Gifted or Inhumans, which are still my priority as I have to get them off the Sky Plus planner. However, while I’m restricted to DVDs I can watch in my laptop, here’s the start of Angel Season Five a little sooner than planned.

Anyway, when I last saw this season a scary number of years ago I recall it bean well, ended well, had some very good episodes but suffered from the lack of a strong season arc and was far too “story of the week”, disapppointing for what is now the only remaining Buffyverse show. This first episode shows none of those problems, though: it’s written and directed by Joss himself.

The pre-titles is nice- a damsel in distress saved by Angel much as in previous seasons until a bunch of underlings come along with their red tape, making him seem somewhat less heroic and appear to be doing it all for publicity. This is a nice little microcosm of the theme of the season- the gang have loads of power but power corrupts. We even get a smug, evil, Greek chorus in the person of Eve who, in a nicely symbolic scene, hands Angel an apple which he bites. Oh, and Angel’s Secretary happens to be Harmony. This will be fun.

There are some nice character touches as the threat unfolds- a very dodgy figure is about to be sentenced for his terrible crimes but, if he goes down, he will unleash a virus that happens to be mystically stored inside the heart of his own Marvel comics-loving son. Nice.

There are nice touches- Wes and Gunn get a scene to establish they’re mates again; Fred gets to grow into her role as boss of all science, Lorne appears to be very comfortable indeed on Planet Celebrity. Most intriguingly, though, Gunn goes through a procedure to give him perfect knowledge of the law- and, er, Gilbert and Sullivan- and his last minute managing to get the baddie off is a thing of coolness. It is, of course, also a thing of moral compromise, and we are likely to be seeing rather a lot of that.

I loved Angel’s scene with the aptly named Spanky, too, and his showdown with the evil head of “special ops”. It’s a very, very strong season opener. And then bloody Spike appears...

Angel: Home

”We do have a dungeon. I can show you around later if...”

So Lilah gives Angel that thingummy wotsit to take to Buffy in Sunnydale for Spike’s big heroic sacrifice? I wish I hadn’t lost that list of the right order to watch episodes of both series a while ago. Still, no great harm done, and this is an intriguing and unusual finale which points forwards to the next season of what is now the only Buffyverse show.

It’s a lighthearted episode, a good thing after all the recent angst,  showing how all of Angel’s gang are slowly corrupted by Wolfram & Hart and agree to take over the LA branch of the evil law firm for their far from nefarious purposes but, it’s heavily implied, losing a part of their souls in the process.

It’s fun to see a temporarily resurrected Lilah tempting them all with her customary wit; she seems somewhat cheerful for someone who has just been in Hell and will be back there soon. It’s also unclear what’s so outrageous about her contractual obligations to her employer extending beyond death, with the alternative again being Hell. But it’s fun seeing her sparring yet again with Angel and, indeed, with Wesley.

They all get their individual temptations- Fred is to be head of science, Lorne of entertainment, Wesley of arcane lore or something and Gunn... well, we know not what, but he takes a trip to the big white room where a panther has replaced the little girl. He’s very conscious about what his supposed talent may be that Wolfram & Hart so require; we shall no doubt find out at the start of next season. Angel, of course, is CEO, with Sun-proof executive windows and twelve cars. Not bad.

The season has largely been about annoying little Connor, though, so it’s fitting that he should get a fitting send-off as Angel foils his psychopathic son in a nasty little hostage situation and Wolfram & Hart arrange for Connor to get an entirely different life.

It’s been a wonderfully changeable season, easily as good as the last, ending up with yet another major change. Is this going to continue...?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Conversations with Dead People

“I mean, I was afraid to talk to you in high school. And now we’re, like, mortal enemies.”

Here we have it, then; a proper arc episode, which develops the mysterious Big Bad. Oddly, there’s no Xander, one of the main trio of characters (behind the scenes issues?) or Anya. But the focus on Buffy, Dawn and Willow all individually, their paths crossing only thematically, makes them all the more emotionally vulnerable for being alone.

Dawn and Willow both get visitations from the dead which seem designed to undermine themabd the team for the upcoming hi-jinks. Fortunately Willow realises she isn’t talking to Tara when the suggestion to never do magic again is extended to a suggestion of suicide, puncturing the illusion. Dawn has no such epiphany, enduring an episode of poltergeisty weirdness only to be told by “Joyce” that Buffy will turn against her. Oh, and Andrew and Jonathan return to Sunnyvale, with Andrew being encouraged by “Adam” to kill an unsuspecting Jonathan, who dies serene.

Buffy’s story is cleverer, as a recently resurrected vampire turns out to be an old acquaintance and psych major, which leads to reminiscing and psychoanalysis; I love the scene where Buffy uses a tomb as a psychiatrist’s couch. These are great character scenes, establishing both Buffy’s inevitable superiority complex and the guilt she feels about it. And, just to add extra dramatic spice, Spike is killing and siring people again. Some monsters are unexpectedly people, but those we think of as people can also turn out to be monsters.

A change of direction, then, getting the arc back on track. And a bloody good episode.

Firefly: The Message

“You are such a boob.”

Another good one, this, although not one to particularly stand out in such exalted company. There’s a nice twist, yet again, and once again it’s made clear what a fantastic cast and group of characters we have.

It seems there are still travelling shows in the far future, exhibiting “freakish” stuff. Also, there’s still awkwardness between Simon and Kaylee. Er, isn’t this going on a bit too long? I mean, I can be as awkward around girls I like as the next boy, but surely it can’t be that hard for Simon just to tell Kaylee that she’s lovely or pretty or cute or something when he’s pretty much invited to do so? I have no sympathy for him at all, and Kaylee is quite right, and also most amusing, to spend the rest of the episode hating him.

Anyway, the post has come. Jayne has got a rather fetching hat from Mummy, which is nice. I love the bit where he reads her letter aloud, stumbling over the words! Adam Baldwin is great, as ever.

But Mal and Zoe have a parcel which is far more McGuffin-y: the corpse of their old war buddy, Tracey. What is it with Firefly and blokes with girls’ names?

Another war flashback- oh goody; I love these. The whole vibe is very First World War, with trenches, shell shock and period helmets. Appropriate, then, on this day of the year. I seem to have been noticing the excellence of Gina Torres a lot lately, but she’s excellent here. She plays Zoe very differently, as a hard, gritty soldier, and we see how much she’s been changed by (relative) peace and married bliss. This scene, introducing Tracey as a bit of a useless but likeable twonk, is very funny indeed. Mal, of course, is the same as ever.

It’s rather touching how every one instantly drops everything to abide by Tracey’s recorded last wishes: Mal and Zoe out of loyalty and everyone else, even Jayne, by simple decency. And Inara is clearly putting herself to great inconvenience.

We get a quick scene to establish that a bunch of badass cops are coming after the ship and its corpse, and it’s clearly underlined just how sadistic and unpleasant they are. Still, anyone who wears a black leather trenchcoat must be up to no good, right?

There are some very nice scenes showing us everyone’s different reactions to death- Jayne likes to make himself feel alive, River is just weird, and Mal and Zoe get bladdered and share old war stories with Inara. Then, bang.

Tracey has clearly bitten off more than he can chew, and his story makes it clear that he’s in deep trouble, trouble from which perhaps he has no chance of recovering. He may not be dead, but even if he evades his pursuers he’s smuggling someone else’s organs, and is likely to be hunted forever. He’s a little boy in a man’s world, and he can’t possibly survive the episode.

Kaylee, on the rebound, takes a liking to him, which instantly tells us that he’ll betray her in a moment of weakness before he dies. And so he does. There are some exciting moments during the pursuit during the cops, but it’s ok; Shepherd Book has a brilliant plan which works perfectly. Tracey gets himself killed out of pure stupidity.