Angel: Benediction

“Well, aren’t you just sneaky with the subtext?”

Such a tragic episode, this; we can very much see how, behind the endearingly awkward scenes of Angel slowly connecting with Connor/Steven, things are about to go horribly wrong in all sorts of ways. Connor is confused, bewildered, hostile to Lorne as a visible demon, torn between his two fathers. He may fight by his father, but growing up in a hell dimension (“Who hasn’t?” asks Fred) is in many ways a very sheltered upbringing.

I think we shall be charitable and ignore the deeply unconvincing appearance of Prosthetic Holtz, as he does die, after all. But he’s devious, later upon layer, every word and every action crafted for maximum revenge on Angel, and he just doesn’t care about the collateral damage to the boy he supposedly loves and whom he has raised for the best part of two decades.

Things get more and more arse-clenchingly awkward between Corey and Groo, with Groo very much aware of his status as pet more than lover. I give them about, well, an episode. lol ah so to use her highly entertaining  plot to corrupt the lonely, unloved Wesley. Ironically, though, it would probably be best for all concerned if Justine had indeed died, and it’s doubly ironic, given the ending, that it should be Angel and Connor who save her.

The ending is ominous indeed; Connor believes Angel has killed Holtz and is now under Justine’s baleful influence. This superb episode is both intricately crafted and full of deep foreboding for the finale...

Angel: A New World

"Tell me we don't live in a soap opera..."

Last episode ended with a massive twist, and this one certainly begins energetically, with lots of weird slow motion and bad CGI wooden crossbow quarrels. But we soon settle down into a surprisingly contemplative episode about LA, betrayal, fathers and sons.

Wesley gets a visit from Lilah, offering him the inevitable job and handing him a gift that twists the knife; an early edition of Dante's Inferno with it's ninth circle of Hell being reserved for those who betray. He turns her down this time but, of course, these scenes would not be there if that were the end of it.

Cordy and Groo's relationship continues to be awkward, with Groo being jealous of Angel and Cordy continuing to have no deep feelings for him.But the episode is mostly about Connor's discovery of LA through its lowest underbelly, seeming to have exchanged one hell for another. The one friendly person this innocent boy finds soon dies of an overdose in squalid surroundings, and violence is everywhere. Angel finds his suspicious son and slowly seems to win him round- has he? We don't know by the end of the episode, but it doesn't look promising that Connor is with a prosthetically aged Holtz, one presumably mighty enough to zap both Cordy and Groo.

An interesting change of pace which makes one wonder: where are the last two episodes going? Good stuff as ever.

Angel: Sleep Tight

"It sounds like a nice cult..."

Well then; there's a twist and then some. Everything has changed.

Wesley's agonising dilemma comes to an end as he finally betrays his friend, but by the end of the episode he has himself been betrayed, stabbed by Justine, and lies possibly dying as Holtz and Justine take Connor away to raise as their own at a ranch in Utah, although how they intend to  support themselves I've no idea. And yet... this is in itself a betrayal of Sahjahn, who has his own mysterious grudge against Angel. But the final twist is courtesy of Holtz, who runs with Connor right through the portal into Quor-Toth, the worst of all Hell dimensions.

A lot else happens, though. We have an ominous beginning, with Angel all cheery as he always is when something bad is about to happen, while the very stressed Wesley continues to be a dick about the lovey-doveyness between Fred and Gunn. It's noticeable, though, that Gunn is suddenly part of the gang here, in full. I suspect we'll suddenly see him now living at the hotel rather than just always visiting. Cordy and Groo are still off gallivanting.

We learn that devious old Holtz gets one thing right; he can't stand tea in styrofoam cups. But would he have much of a taste for Indian tea anyway, being a mid-eighteenth century chap? If Angel can wonder about whether the Flying Nun  can fly then I feel this is a legitimate question...

It's also an interesting chat between Angel and Lilah, who has had to be twice as good at as any man at Wolfram and Hart, is definitely evil and lives "dangerously and quite comfortably". There's a surprising amount of subtle and wellwritten character stuff in what is a pivotal and gripping episode. This makes you desperate to see what happens next. But I shall be patient...

Angel: Loyalty

"Simple mortal, your pain is just beginning!"

Wow. Who thought a statue of a cartoon hamburger could be so scary?

This is both a superb piece of writing and a superb performance from Alexis Denisof as poor Wesley is driven to the end of his tether by the most agonising moral dilemma at a time when he's just had his heart broken anyway and, deep down, beneath appearances, he isn't so mature as he appears to be.

We begin with nice scenes of lovely doting father Angel, fitting in with the young mothers in the waiting room and being touchingly anxious at Connor's medical check up. But we soon meet a client who is soon revealed to be reconnoitring the team for Holtz and his ever-expanding squad of badass(ish) underlings. They lure Fred and Gunninto a trap just to test them and certainly have plans.

This isn't proceeding quickly enough for our old friend Sahjahn, though. So, with a little freelance help from Lilah- seen on the phone with her dementia-suffering mother in a tragic human touch- he sets a trap for Wesley, arranging the prophecy of "earthquake, fire and blood" that Wesley is told about in that incredible, perfect, inspired scene that changes everything. It seems the father will indeed kill the son, and Wesley can't bear the pressure.

Wesley, already a little distanced from Gunn last episode, manages to alienate Fred a little, too; he's not very good at hiding his jealousy, while both Gunn and Fred manage to be both decent and gracious. Even at a deserted pier, at night, surrounded by vampires, which says a lot.

There's an interesting chat between Wesley and Holtz piling up the pressure, too. And it seems that Holtz knows about the gypsy curse. He just doesn't care.

Wesley ends up hysterical near the end, but then it happens; earthquake, fire, blood. What's a chap to do? This is a brilliant character piece, as well as a straightforwardly gripping bit of telly, that is surely one of the finest episodes of Angel.

Angel: Provider

"Just don't lose sight of the mission!"

There's no denying it; there's definitely some mid-season water treading going on here as a light-hearted and fairly inconsequential episode plays out, the nearest the season has come to a disposable episode. Still, it has its moments.

The conceit, played for laughs but not really written with the polish to really convince (as we might expect from a Joss Whedon show) is that Angel is a father now and the mission takes a back seat to making money, with lots of advertising ad lots of cases going on simultaneously, only one of which makes any money, albeit a lot. It's fun, but not as fun as it seems to think it is.

We get an appearance from a young Jeffrey Dean Morgan in a guest role but, in an episode otherwise with relatively little arc stuff, we get a rather interesting, twisty and kinky relationship between Holtz and Justine, whose name is certainly intended to evoke De Sade: why else would Holtz insist on her spending hours with her had stuck to a table with a knife through the fleshy bit? This is surprisingly edgy stuff.

We also see more of how both Gunn and Wesley fancy the pants off Fred, while Cordy is still waiting for the inevitable price to be paid for being part demon. And an example of what zombies are like in the Buffyverse, with no munching of grey matter. But it's an episode that won't particularly come to mind when I think of the season.

Angel: Dad

"You don't have a woman's touch. Whatever your taste in clothing may indicate."

On the surface this is s light episode having some fun with Angel's utter obsession with his baby- and I completely understand, having become a father this year myself! Fun is had with Angel's newbieness, but the threat is serious: so many demons and forces wants the prophecies baby for their own nefarious purposes that the hotel is under siege and our heroes are all, it seems, doomed. Except a bit of clever resourcefulness on the part of Lorne and Angel not only saves the day but puts the baby- Connor- under Wolfram and Hart's reluctant protection.

It's also, of course, the episode where Lorne, what with Caritas having been destroyed again, moves in to live with Angel and co. At last he's a guaranteed cast member every week. The gang is growing.

It's a fairly frothy episode, yes, an episode in which Angel's vampire face calms the baby(!), but behind it all lurks Holtz, revenge served cold, and a plan to make Angel really suffer. It's an enjoyable, frothy episode, but I'm sure that more serious fare is to come.

Angel: Lullaby

"There will be no birth. Only death!"

An interesting episode this, with very lasting effects which pull Angel very nicely away from Buffy and into being its own thing. On the one level, Angel is now father to a baby boy and Darla is dead, fulfilling the above prophecy. But most interesting is the reaction of Holtz to all this, now knowing (courtesy of Lilah and a little light torture) that Angel has a soul. He may rave at Sahjahn for his Satanic layers of duplicity but, it seems, Holtz will not kill Angel but still has every intention of exacting his revenge through more insidious and psychological means.

It's all very well structured dramatically, with the revelation in flashback that Holtz,  back in the age of wigs and sentimentality, had to kill his own vampire daughter by means of sunlight. This sort of thing makes the episode impressive enough to outweigh the suspiciously TV nature of Darla's labour, which bears very little relation to Mrs Llamastrangler's experiences in February this year. Still,it's moving to realise how her love for the baby, her new-found behaviour, all stem from the baby "infecting" her. She's terrified that, after the birth, she will no longer love the baby and will want to drink it's blood. It's a stark reminder of what vampirism means. Her staking herself to save the baby us a fitting resolution.

In short... Angel: still on fire.

Angel: Quickening

"Manifest destiny, the Beach Boys..."

Well, that's me up to date with blogging all the episodes of Angel I've seen so far. Nearly there with Buffy, Cucumber, Grimm and one outstanding film, but im proud of this Angel post. Mainly because I'm writing it with my baby daughter in my arms and feeding her. Anyway...

Angel shows no signs that it's going to stop being first class telly any time soon. We begin with a flashback to York in 1764 although, of course, this being an American programne, no one seems to have a Yorkshire accent. Cue Holtz's family getting mercilessly slaughtered by Angelus. Naturally, Sahjahn chooses this very moment to transport him 237 years forward in time, sworn to kill Angel with his inhuman underlings. And all this at a time when rather a lot is going on. And, into this, plus Darla being up the duff with Angel's child, a possible antichrist, we can also add Wolfram and Hart.

Our evil legal firm are somewhat behind the curve in the whole Darla-being-with-child stakes, although Lilah continues to run rings round the ambitious yet rather stupid Gavin, however much short term advantage he may have at any one time.

Into all this we have the bombshell that is Darla's waters breaking, after having those TV style contractions that only last a couple of hours. Birth and pregnancy on telly are so very neat, and not at all like it was for Mrs Llamastrangler last months. Believe you me, contractions can last muuuuch longer. And the waters breaking us only a vague sign. But, anyway... it's a human. A boy!

What's truly impressive in this episode is the confluence of events to set up so many different things for next episode, which is obviously a big one. There's a real sense of fast-moving excitement here, and yet there's still time for character moments and Wolfram & Hart terminating its psychics' employment contracts with extreme prejudice.

Angel continues to be excellent. I'm genuinely excited about the next episode.

Angel: Offspring

"We tried to stop her by hitting her fists with our faces."

This is where the season really begins. The characters have had their fun, but from now on things get relentless.

We begin with the gang researching an intriguing yet inevitably vague prophecy about the birth of an Antichrist of some kind. This is able to be communicated pretty much in shorthand, as we've already been through this sort of thing with the Shanshu stuff, but the scenes are used nicely to further establish Fred as a useful and well-liked member of the team.

Of course we, the audience, are well aware that this is likely to relate to the child currently inside Darla's baby, father of this parish, and the arrival of a very pregnant Darla into the hotel sends shockwaves. Angel, from this point, is set to be a fast-moving serial with few stories of the week and no settling into any status quo, reminding me very much of Chris Claremont's classic fifteen year run on Uncanny X-Men.

Cordelia, whom Angel is increasingly coming to fancy, reacts rather strongly against Angel who has, after all, when all has been stopped away, acted as the feckless father type, knocking up his on-again, off-again father during a one night stand without protection and leaving her to deal with the consequences. (Yes, I know, if we're being literal about it then vampires can be forgiven for not using contraception, but this is subtext.)

The ultimate tension, of course, making for great drama, is the question of whether Angel's only child is a monster, set to unleash Armageddon? We end, after an entertaining scrap between Mummy and Daddy in a kids' amusement arcade, with reluctant mother Darla begging Angel to kill her. But he can't. Because the baby had a heartbeat. A soul.

As a postscript, making this episode even more ominous than it actually did, the demon Sahjahn brings Holtz, fresh from Angelus' murder of his wife and children, to the present day, extracting from him a promise to kill Angelus. But he has, of course, neglected to tell him about the whole soul business...

This is dramatic stuff, and great telly. It's almost as dramatic as the birth of my own daughter. Not only is this episode brilliant, but it elevates Angel to another level.

Angel: Heartthrob

"Don't say the "B" word."

My wife could go into labour any week now, and becoming a new father is unavoidably going to curtail my blogging time. What better time to start a new season of Angel?

Excellent opening episode, this. Time has passed, the team has bonded in the absence of the brooding, the bereaved Angel is in retreat in Sri Lanka, Fred still won't come out of her room, and Cordy's visions are even more painful. By the time of Angel's return (touchingly, he's missed his friends and they all hug) we have a happy and bonded team. It's all, for the moment, very lovey-dovey.

And that's appropriate, because this whole episode examines the phenomenon of love and grief in the wake of Buffy's, ahem, "death". Flashbacks remind us of Angel's kinky yet easy-going relationship with Darla, but contest them with the much more passionate love between their fellow vampires Elizabeth and James- introducing a certain Holtz while doing so. We will be hearing more of him.

Flash forward, and Elizabeth is at large in present day LA being evil. Her evil is thematically sound, though; she taunts a male student by forcing to choose whether she kills him or the girl he professes to love. He breaks down and begs her to kill her and spare himself... and then Angel saves them. That's one couple who will be having an awkward conversation.

However, after Angel kills Elizabeth, James is not happy about the death of his beloved, and by "not happy" I mean like something out of Romantic poetruunable to live without his beloved, he accepts death as the inevitable price of attempting to avenge her. He dies happy, having failed to kill Angel but done the right thing by his loved one. 

We learn at the end- via, of course, Cordy- that Angel is troubled; does the fact that he is able to live, albeit in mourning, after Buffy's death mean that their love was never real, as James tied believing?

A solid opener, although I bet we never hear of either Elizabeth or James again. Quite the cliffhanger, too, as we learn that Darla is impossibly pregnant...