"Of all the finook priests in all the world, why did I have to get the one who's straight?"
This is an episode based around the future, I suppose, as Tony drives Meadow around several posh universities in Maine. But it’s also an episode full of ghosts and secrets from the past. Tony takes time out from chauffeuring and bonding with his daughter to track down and eventually strangle to death an informer he randomly spots at a petrol station. Meanwhile, he and Meadow bond over mutual honesty as he (eventually) gives an honest answer to the blunt question “Are you in the Mafia?”while she confesses to having taken speed- only for him to let her down by not saying what he’s been up to with the informer.
Less sanguine about the ethics of living in a big house on Mafia money is Carmela, as she breaks down after several glasses of wine and confesses to Father Phil- although this religious catharsis seems unlikely to lead to anything. The relationship between her and Phil is fascinating. He’s a very worldly priest, up on his popular culture and always visiting Carmela to (as he cheerfully admits) eat her food and drink her wine. And (there’s a moment when he seems about to kiss her) he obviously fancies the pants off her. But, in a nice touch of dialogue the morning after, it’s clear that she’s very much aware of all this but is happy to have him as a friend, perhaps a much-needed one. And, I think, behind the religious flummery, there’s a very real bond.
Phil staying over is a non-issue; as we see, Tony just assumes he’s gay. Less easy to brush off is Carmela discovering Dr Melfi’s gender...
Meadow gets drunk too, incidentally, in the company of a few extras one of whom is Eve from the final scene of Angel, which is an actor-spotting win from me. But this episode doesn’t need a tot spotting wins to be awesome as ever, and a nice change of pace.
Showing posts with label Sarah Thompson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah Thompson. Show all posts
Monday, 4 November 2019
Friday, 26 April 2019
Angel: Not Fade Away
"Good night, folks."
This is it, then. The end. And, my God, that was magnificent.
The plot of the episode could be reduced to “the gang kill every single member of the Circle of the Black Thorn, and some of them die” but, of course, the plot is not the point. This final episode lives and breathes character, feeling, and the positively existential message that yes, doing good may make no difference in the long run in a world that will always be corrupt and unjust, but we do it anyway, with joyous defiance, as something much bigger than our lives. That message lies beneath everything in this final episode.
Angel must keep up appearances, of course, and early on he is made to sign away the Shanshu Prophecy. But then he is, of course, a hero. Heroes do good because of who they are and not because of any reward, just as one does not need to believe in a Heaven to be moral. Neither does Angel, and neither do any of his friends.
But it isn’t all grim; the gang get to spend one last day doing what they love before they probably die that night. So Lorne sings. Angel spends time with Connor, and sees what a well-adjusted and happy young man he is. Spike gets drunk and performs at a poetry slam. Gunn, wonderfully, does charity work with our old friend Annie who, as much as anyone, articulates what the episode is about- if there are, indeed, corrupt forces ensuring that there will never be justice or an end to suffering, the proper response is to get to work and comfort the suffering. Hopelessness achieves nothing, however justified. We do good regardless.
Wesley, tragically, has no possible perfect days; spending it with the god king inhabiting Fred’s body is the best he can do. There is no joy for him, only grim determination and, anyway “I don’t actually intend to die tonight.” Like Hamilton later, this is something he probably shouldn’t have said.
The Circle are all killed, but not without cost. Wesley dies in Illyria’s arms as she lies to him, his last words being to tell Fred that he loved her. Alexis Denisof is simply magnificent in portraying a character who has had a rich and deep arc, and the same must be said for J August Richards, as Gunn’s arc this season has been deeply satisfying. We are shocked to see a dejected Lorne murder Lindsey before walking away forever. We are less shocked to see Harmony betray her boss and then ask for a reference, but that kind of juxtaposition is something I’ll miss enormously.
And so the survivors gather to face the consequences, with no hope of survival but happy against the odds. And then it ends. Has any season finale ever been better than this?
RIP Angel. RIP Buffyverse. You were loved.
This is it, then. The end. And, my God, that was magnificent.
The plot of the episode could be reduced to “the gang kill every single member of the Circle of the Black Thorn, and some of them die” but, of course, the plot is not the point. This final episode lives and breathes character, feeling, and the positively existential message that yes, doing good may make no difference in the long run in a world that will always be corrupt and unjust, but we do it anyway, with joyous defiance, as something much bigger than our lives. That message lies beneath everything in this final episode.
Angel must keep up appearances, of course, and early on he is made to sign away the Shanshu Prophecy. But then he is, of course, a hero. Heroes do good because of who they are and not because of any reward, just as one does not need to believe in a Heaven to be moral. Neither does Angel, and neither do any of his friends.
But it isn’t all grim; the gang get to spend one last day doing what they love before they probably die that night. So Lorne sings. Angel spends time with Connor, and sees what a well-adjusted and happy young man he is. Spike gets drunk and performs at a poetry slam. Gunn, wonderfully, does charity work with our old friend Annie who, as much as anyone, articulates what the episode is about- if there are, indeed, corrupt forces ensuring that there will never be justice or an end to suffering, the proper response is to get to work and comfort the suffering. Hopelessness achieves nothing, however justified. We do good regardless.
Wesley, tragically, has no possible perfect days; spending it with the god king inhabiting Fred’s body is the best he can do. There is no joy for him, only grim determination and, anyway “I don’t actually intend to die tonight.” Like Hamilton later, this is something he probably shouldn’t have said.
The Circle are all killed, but not without cost. Wesley dies in Illyria’s arms as she lies to him, his last words being to tell Fred that he loved her. Alexis Denisof is simply magnificent in portraying a character who has had a rich and deep arc, and the same must be said for J August Richards, as Gunn’s arc this season has been deeply satisfying. We are shocked to see a dejected Lorne murder Lindsey before walking away forever. We are less shocked to see Harmony betray her boss and then ask for a reference, but that kind of juxtaposition is something I’ll miss enormously.
And so the survivors gather to face the consequences, with no hope of survival but happy against the odds. And then it ends. Has any season finale ever been better than this?
RIP Angel. RIP Buffyverse. You were loved.
Tuesday, 9 April 2019
Angel: Underneath
"This isn't Hell. It's the 'burbs."
This is an excellent finely crafted piece of television drama. The script is superb; I feel I haven’t praised Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft highly enough so here’s me doing it now. They are brilliant, whether it’s characterisation or plot, and their dialogue may not have the playfulness of a Joss Whedon but has a delightfully wry wit. I’ll miss them, and am puzzled at how little else they seem to have written.
This is a pivotal arc episode, of course; Lindsey is rescued so he can tell Angel what the Senior Partners are up to, namely corrupting him and his friends to keep the distracted from “the” Apocalypse, which is apparently the actual one and not one of those common or garden apocalypses that happen at the end of most Buffyverse seasons. It also sees Eve sign away her job, and her immortality, to a new liaison from the Senior Partners played by none other than Adam Baldwin, another Firefly alumnus. It’s cleverly done how he’s presented as an unstoppable threat who arrives implacably in front of Eve and produces... a pen.
Lindsey’s “holding dimension” is fascinating, reached by a magical car that evokes KITT from Knight Rider- we are primed to expect a Hell yet our first sight of him he looks very post-coital with his beautiful wife. Lindsey has a beautiful family in an enormous picket fence house but he seems to be afraid of the cellar. Only later do we find that he’s tortured there daily.
And here, of course, lies Gunn’s redemption. I love Angel’s pep talk to him as one who should know- yes, Gunn will forever be tormented by what he has done and yes, he should be. But he’s a good man and needs to atone. And that’s what he does- by taking Lindsey’s place in full knowledge that means daily torture. Redemption indeed.
But Lorne is headed in no such direction. Having run away unable to face Fred’s death he’s been drinking himself silly, depressed and disillusioned. He may have decided to return and pretend to be functioning but he’s clearly shocked to see Angel and Spike without Gunn.
All this and we get done nicely scripted interplay between a very grim Wesley and an Illyria horrified at her relative weakness. We still don’t like her yet, but the script is gamely trying.
Absolutely first class telly.
This is an excellent finely crafted piece of television drama. The script is superb; I feel I haven’t praised Sarah Fain and Elizabeth Craft highly enough so here’s me doing it now. They are brilliant, whether it’s characterisation or plot, and their dialogue may not have the playfulness of a Joss Whedon but has a delightfully wry wit. I’ll miss them, and am puzzled at how little else they seem to have written.
This is a pivotal arc episode, of course; Lindsey is rescued so he can tell Angel what the Senior Partners are up to, namely corrupting him and his friends to keep the distracted from “the” Apocalypse, which is apparently the actual one and not one of those common or garden apocalypses that happen at the end of most Buffyverse seasons. It also sees Eve sign away her job, and her immortality, to a new liaison from the Senior Partners played by none other than Adam Baldwin, another Firefly alumnus. It’s cleverly done how he’s presented as an unstoppable threat who arrives implacably in front of Eve and produces... a pen.
Lindsey’s “holding dimension” is fascinating, reached by a magical car that evokes KITT from Knight Rider- we are primed to expect a Hell yet our first sight of him he looks very post-coital with his beautiful wife. Lindsey has a beautiful family in an enormous picket fence house but he seems to be afraid of the cellar. Only later do we find that he’s tortured there daily.
And here, of course, lies Gunn’s redemption. I love Angel’s pep talk to him as one who should know- yes, Gunn will forever be tormented by what he has done and yes, he should be. But he’s a good man and needs to atone. And that’s what he does- by taking Lindsey’s place in full knowledge that means daily torture. Redemption indeed.
But Lorne is headed in no such direction. Having run away unable to face Fred’s death he’s been drinking himself silly, depressed and disillusioned. He may have decided to return and pretend to be functioning but he’s clearly shocked to see Angel and Spike without Gunn.
All this and we get done nicely scripted interplay between a very grim Wesley and an Illyria horrified at her relative weakness. We still don’t like her yet, but the script is gamely trying.
Absolutely first class telly.
Thursday, 28 March 2019
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...
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...
Friday, 22 March 2019
Angel: You're Welcome
"She's evil, you gormless tit!"
So we finally get to say a proper goodbye to both the magnificent Cordelia Chase and the brilliant Charisma Carpenter. I will miss them both. Angel without Cordy was- perhaps is- unthinkable. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes beyond the pregnancy to enforce her departure, but I’m glad she came back for a good send-off.
And a send-off it is. We begin with Angel losing the will to continue at Wolfram & Hart and deciding to quit, despite strong opposition from a still very fulfilled Gunn, until he is interrupted by a phone call about the still comatose Cordelia, the details of which we don’t hear. And, when the gang visits her to find an awake and well and hugging Cordy we only get a quick dismissive mention of the dying woman in her room, a nice bit of misdirection.
It’s good to see all the touching reunions, but Cordy is somewhat appalled to see the deal with the devil that has taken place- I love the way that as soon as she says this a Red Devil shakes Angel’s hand and says “Racquetball Thursday?”- and perhaps even more disturbed to see an Angel who seems to be losing his Mojo. There’s a touching scene where Angel sees her watching that video Doyle made all that time ago, the “first soldier down”, she gets to apologise to Wes about Lilah, and it isn’t long before Cordy and co work out just how Spike has been used by Eve and Lindsey. The fight between Angel and Lindsey that follows is all a metaphor for Angel and his mojo; when he rediscovers it, he wins, and that’s because of Cordy.
Eve is in trouble, and I love Harmony’s cheerful offer to torture her. But as Lindsey is grabbed by the irate Senior Partners and Eve is sent away it seems that all is well for the moment, and it’s tome for the pub, the gang all in good spirits. Angel and Cordy have a quick hug before she tells him she can’t stay, and then they finally get a snog. And then the phone call happens, and she’s been dead all this time. She never woke up. Second soldier down. What an episode.
So we finally get to say a proper goodbye to both the magnificent Cordelia Chase and the brilliant Charisma Carpenter. I will miss them both. Angel without Cordy was- perhaps is- unthinkable. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes beyond the pregnancy to enforce her departure, but I’m glad she came back for a good send-off.
And a send-off it is. We begin with Angel losing the will to continue at Wolfram & Hart and deciding to quit, despite strong opposition from a still very fulfilled Gunn, until he is interrupted by a phone call about the still comatose Cordelia, the details of which we don’t hear. And, when the gang visits her to find an awake and well and hugging Cordy we only get a quick dismissive mention of the dying woman in her room, a nice bit of misdirection.
It’s good to see all the touching reunions, but Cordy is somewhat appalled to see the deal with the devil that has taken place- I love the way that as soon as she says this a Red Devil shakes Angel’s hand and says “Racquetball Thursday?”- and perhaps even more disturbed to see an Angel who seems to be losing his Mojo. There’s a touching scene where Angel sees her watching that video Doyle made all that time ago, the “first soldier down”, she gets to apologise to Wes about Lilah, and it isn’t long before Cordy and co work out just how Spike has been used by Eve and Lindsey. The fight between Angel and Lindsey that follows is all a metaphor for Angel and his mojo; when he rediscovers it, he wins, and that’s because of Cordy.
Eve is in trouble, and I love Harmony’s cheerful offer to torture her. But as Lindsey is grabbed by the irate Senior Partners and Eve is sent away it seems that all is well for the moment, and it’s tome for the pub, the gang all in good spirits. Angel and Cordy have a quick hug before she tells him she can’t stay, and then they finally get a snog. And then the phone call happens, and she’s been dead all this time. She never woke up. Second soldier down. What an episode.
Tuesday, 19 March 2019
Angel: Soul Purpose
"No offence, Mr.Vader, but I've got no itch to join the evil empire."
An interesting episode, this; directed by David Boreanaz while also being very much an episode about Angel himself, his new insecurities about the Shanshu Prophecy and Spike, and his ethical problems with the power he now wields. I love the dream sequences, and the opening is clever, reconstructing the scene with the cup of suffering from a couple of episodes ago but then diverging from it in dreamlike fashion.
Meanwhile there’s an interesting B plot in which Lindsey approaches Spike, who doesn’t know him, pretending to be called “Doyle” and to have visions of people needing help, slowly pushing Spike into the role Angel has now left but while maintaining a subtle control over him, all simultaneously with pushing Angel down. It seems his intention is to trick the Senior Partners into thinking Spike and not Angel is indeed the prophesied one- and those tattoos which the horny Eve finds so sexy are magically preventing them from seeing him. This is a nice little twist, especially with the ironic use of the show’s tropes.
Wesley and Gunn are in their element with theirs Machiavellian plans and plots, but I think their tendency to act outside Angel’s authority is something very much not confined to just this episode. And certainly the whole team just allows themselves to be distracted by their roles, manipulated by Eve, allowing the parasite to feed on Angel. It was Lindsay who sent Spike both the amulet and the parcel, and he and Eve appear to be successfully manipulating everyone- except Spike. Ever the rebel, it is he who rescues Angel and I think his speech to Gunn and Wesley carries a lot of weight; he’s the hero here, and in D&D language he’s very much changed from chaotic evil to chaotic good. He doesn’t like Wolfram and Hart with it’s lawful evil ways. Spike is being treated as the actual hero even by the narrative.
We end with Eve under suspicion but perhaps succeeding in fomenting discord. A superb episode and, perhaps, a pivotal one.
An interesting episode, this; directed by David Boreanaz while also being very much an episode about Angel himself, his new insecurities about the Shanshu Prophecy and Spike, and his ethical problems with the power he now wields. I love the dream sequences, and the opening is clever, reconstructing the scene with the cup of suffering from a couple of episodes ago but then diverging from it in dreamlike fashion.
Meanwhile there’s an interesting B plot in which Lindsey approaches Spike, who doesn’t know him, pretending to be called “Doyle” and to have visions of people needing help, slowly pushing Spike into the role Angel has now left but while maintaining a subtle control over him, all simultaneously with pushing Angel down. It seems his intention is to trick the Senior Partners into thinking Spike and not Angel is indeed the prophesied one- and those tattoos which the horny Eve finds so sexy are magically preventing them from seeing him. This is a nice little twist, especially with the ironic use of the show’s tropes.
Wesley and Gunn are in their element with theirs Machiavellian plans and plots, but I think their tendency to act outside Angel’s authority is something very much not confined to just this episode. And certainly the whole team just allows themselves to be distracted by their roles, manipulated by Eve, allowing the parasite to feed on Angel. It was Lindsay who sent Spike both the amulet and the parcel, and he and Eve appear to be successfully manipulating everyone- except Spike. Ever the rebel, it is he who rescues Angel and I think his speech to Gunn and Wesley carries a lot of weight; he’s the hero here, and in D&D language he’s very much changed from chaotic evil to chaotic good. He doesn’t like Wolfram and Hart with it’s lawful evil ways. Spike is being treated as the actual hero even by the narrative.
We end with Eve under suspicion but perhaps succeeding in fomenting discord. A superb episode and, perhaps, a pivotal one.
Friday, 15 March 2019
Angel: Destiny
"Try staking your mother when she's coming on to you!"
"Wow, that explains a lot...!
Well, this is certainly an arc episode; before we even get the titles Spike received a parcel that goes flash and suddenly returns him to corporeality. Enter eating, drinking, shagging Harmony and, as foreshadowed a couple of episodes ago, a sudden ambiguity over exactly who the Shanshu prophecy nw applies to.
This causes a certain amount of problems with reality in order to create some kind of external threat, and this is solved suddenly at the end by some deus ex machina from the Senior Partners. But that’s ok; none of that is the real focus. It’s the effect on both Angel and Spike on realising that the Shanshu prophecy could now apply to either of them, and the fact that Spike defeats Angel at the end on Sirk’s Little wild goose chase; he wants it more. And, along with all the flashbacks from 1880 with the two of them, Dru, and the awkward absence of Darla, this is a kind of culmination of a very long running struggle between the two of them, and something which I suspect may go on to define the season.
Other characters are there too, of course, although Wes is on leave. Gunn is increasingly confident and motivated, and Angel instinctively puts him in charge when he nips off to Death Valley. Lorne as a character is now starting to seem worryingly underserved this season. And the White Room is gone, along with the link to the Senior Partners.
The ending is fantastic, though- after spending much of the episode trying to convince everyone that “I’m not the bad guy”, she returns home to reveal that she’s personally behind the wild goose chase and she has a partner. Lindsey...
"Wow, that explains a lot...!
Well, this is certainly an arc episode; before we even get the titles Spike received a parcel that goes flash and suddenly returns him to corporeality. Enter eating, drinking, shagging Harmony and, as foreshadowed a couple of episodes ago, a sudden ambiguity over exactly who the Shanshu prophecy nw applies to.
This causes a certain amount of problems with reality in order to create some kind of external threat, and this is solved suddenly at the end by some deus ex machina from the Senior Partners. But that’s ok; none of that is the real focus. It’s the effect on both Angel and Spike on realising that the Shanshu prophecy could now apply to either of them, and the fact that Spike defeats Angel at the end on Sirk’s Little wild goose chase; he wants it more. And, along with all the flashbacks from 1880 with the two of them, Dru, and the awkward absence of Darla, this is a kind of culmination of a very long running struggle between the two of them, and something which I suspect may go on to define the season.
Other characters are there too, of course, although Wes is on leave. Gunn is increasingly confident and motivated, and Angel instinctively puts him in charge when he nips off to Death Valley. Lorne as a character is now starting to seem worryingly underserved this season. And the White Room is gone, along with the link to the Senior Partners.
The ending is fantastic, though- after spending much of the episode trying to convince everyone that “I’m not the bad guy”, she returns home to reveal that she’s personally behind the wild goose chase and she has a partner. Lindsey...
Wednesday, 13 March 2019
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...
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...
Friday, 1 March 2019
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.
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.
Wednesday, 27 February 2019
Angel: Hell-Bound
"I liked your poems."
"You like Barry Manilow."
So an arc episode, then, and a pretty good one, although the thread about Spike being dragged down to Hell comes to an abrupt end here. It’s a particularly well-directed episode, in many ways shot like a horror film, which so far seems to be a stylistic quirk of the season.
It’s a terrifying concept here, I assume, for those who believe in Hell. There are no ghosts in Wolfram & Hart’s LA office because, for centuries, a sadistic murdering bastard has been sending them all to Hell so he can stay out. Brr. Plus we get loads of cool Ghostbusters type stuff and a good episode for a rather competent, and heroic, Fred.
Perhaps more subtly we see the possible beginnings of a rapprochement between Angel and Spike, who banter well together. Wes and Gunn are, by now, firmly mates again. Lorne, oddly, only gets a brief scene where he doesn’t interact with anybody. And there's a very interesting exchange between Angel and Spike where we establish they're both certain that the sheer weight of their past sins mean they can never hope to avoid Hell, yet they choose to do the right thing anyway. But then the thought that humans are so morally weak that we require the hope of a nice afterlife to behave morally was always a horribly bleak one anyway. We do the right thing because it's the right thing.
As an episode this one feels very different but, while not reaching the heights of the first few episodes, it nevertheless continues an impressive run of quality.
"You like Barry Manilow."
So an arc episode, then, and a pretty good one, although the thread about Spike being dragged down to Hell comes to an abrupt end here. It’s a particularly well-directed episode, in many ways shot like a horror film, which so far seems to be a stylistic quirk of the season.
It’s a terrifying concept here, I assume, for those who believe in Hell. There are no ghosts in Wolfram & Hart’s LA office because, for centuries, a sadistic murdering bastard has been sending them all to Hell so he can stay out. Brr. Plus we get loads of cool Ghostbusters type stuff and a good episode for a rather competent, and heroic, Fred.
Perhaps more subtly we see the possible beginnings of a rapprochement between Angel and Spike, who banter well together. Wes and Gunn are, by now, firmly mates again. Lorne, oddly, only gets a brief scene where he doesn’t interact with anybody. And there's a very interesting exchange between Angel and Spike where we establish they're both certain that the sheer weight of their past sins mean they can never hope to avoid Hell, yet they choose to do the right thing anyway. But then the thought that humans are so morally weak that we require the hope of a nice afterlife to behave morally was always a horribly bleak one anyway. We do the right thing because it's the right thing.
As an episode this one feels very different but, while not reaching the heights of the first few episodes, it nevertheless continues an impressive run of quality.
Tuesday, 19 February 2019
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...
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...
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