Partcynic's Angel Review Thread

[partcynic]

5x07 "Lineage"

Frustrating. 90% of "Lineage" is worthy of the first two seasons, but it messes up badly in the other 10%, damaging what's otherwise the best ep since "Fredless".

Likes

- Dialogue. Every scene had worthwhile lines, every character sounded like themselves on a good day, and the ep managed the perfect balance of drama and humour. Spike was particularly great ("sex with robots is more common than you think"; "I killed my Mum after she tried to shag me"; the focus-punch with Gunn; leaving Eve in the lift), but "Yes, Wesley, I'd love a gun" and Lorne with Mr. Wyndham-Pryce were also up there.

- Stellar pacing, with an engaging single episode story and the introduction of mysteries for later in the season (who sent the cyborgs; Eve's got her own plans).

- Lots of continuity references, all of which came naturally from the characters and plot.

- Mr Wyndham-Pryce. Nice to finally see him - and he was every bit the bastard I'd have expected. Lots of fun to be had hating him, at least until that last twist.

- This is the most in-depth look at Wesley we've had since "Guise Will Be Guise", and it was all great until the final part negated the development.

Dislikes

- Angel dropping in at the arms deal to fight the cyborg. Why was he there? He wasn't acting as backup, as he's surprised and angry that Wes had taken Fred.

- Why take Fred to the deal, and not whoever actually made the gun (or someone trained in combat)?

- Poor lighting throughout, but most evident in the scenes after W&H's power was cut.

- Wesley's continued reticence about Fred. Why does he act like a teenage boy? He's a thirty-something man who's been an object of desire for multiple, highly attractive women! Over the course of the show(s), he's kissed Cordelia (and Fred!), scored one-night-stands, been implied to be sexually skilled (with the no-nonsense Lilah being eager for more time with him), and had a longer-term relationship with Virginia, which only ended because of his dangerous job. But now he can't even find the courage to ask Fred out? This doesn't make me feel sorry for him, just dismissive.

- Mr Wyndham-Pryce seems to know exactly where to look to find the staff. How did he/the cyborg-maker know where it was, and that it wouldn't require a different key to the one Wesley had, etc.?

- Why would the cyborgs be designed to feel pain? Isn't that a lot of effort only to make them weaker/more vulnerable?

- Fred sees Wesley and his father pointing guns at each other, yet runs into the standoff?

- The multiple botch-jobs in the last ten minutes, spoiling what had been a top-tier episode. Having Wesley's father be a robot truly sucked, and the phone call home at the end was like rubbing the audience's face in the fact that nothing has changed. And then there's Knox popping in at just the right moment to ensure that Wes and Fred's conversation didn't go anywhere. I guess we needed another seven episodes of 'will they, won't they' instead of a proper story.

Summary

What should have been a classic episode inexplicably spoiled at the last moment. If Wesley had actually killed his horrible father (getting rid of a figure we love-to-hate, and finally realising his self-worth) and then moved forward with Fred, this would have been top-notch, but they chickened out in favour of the status quo. Such a shame - but the good stuff here shows that there was still talent on the writing team.

[partcynic]

5x08 "Destiny"

A solid semi-arc episode that's fine on its own, but gets let down by a lack of development/explanation later in the season. After S4, the writers should have learned not to make things up as they go along.

Likes

- The ep as a whole is decently written - the third in a row! There were few amazing moments, but it moved at a good pace, had some alright lines, and some worthwhile Angel/Spike comparisons.

- Spike's first interest upon becoming corporeal being getting laid, and Harmony being up for it.

- Eve is still a budget Lilah, but is fine in that role. It's nice to have a pragmatic character who serves as a voice of reason, and I like that she has her own goals/plans.

- New-Gunn continues to work well. Whoever would have thought that he'd become the character who'd fit W&H best?

- Generally good interaction between Angel(us) and Spike in both the past and present.

- Cirk was nicely obnoxious. The writers dropped the ball by not having ex-Watchers be a stronger antagonistic presence.

- The Angel/Spike fight was good aside from a few bits of obvious wire work. And the interspersed chat was more relevant and believable than the ones in "Release" or "Peace Out".

- The return of Lindsey. A wonderful surprise on first viewing, even if it means little in the long term.

Dislikes

- Nothing substantial for Juliet Landau/Drusilla. Her only role here was to be a prize for Angelus and Spike to fight over, which is beneath her. And the "kitty, meow" bit in the first scene sounded like the writers trying to create a classic Dru line and failing.

- All of the 'wheel of destiny off its axis' stuff sucked, as did the Indiana Jones 'cup of torment with a spotlight trained on it' - it was too overblown to mean anything or create dramatic tension. Now, it helps that most of it was nonsense as part of Eve/Lindsey's plan, but since that plan was never properly revealed, there are still many questions left unanswered - this required a lot of magic, preparation and risk for very little reward.

- Angel can instantly remember the collapses of out-of-state opera houses?

- Underuse of so many characters. What we got here worked, but Lorne and Fred may as well have joined Wesley in being fully absent.

- The lengthy chat-fights always get a bit silly. And since Spike got there first, why not just take the cup instead of waiting for Angel?

Summary

An entertaining, average episode let down by the fact that what it started came to nothing. Even on my first watch, I viewed the story very sceptically, and it's sad to know that that was the best approach.

[partcynic]

5x09 "Harm's Way"

"Harm's Way" is an entertaining and engaging 'day in the life' episode that offers a lot of good-natured comedy - and unlike "Life of the Party", it includes a number of genuinely funny situations and jokes.

Likes

- This was Mercedes McNab's opportunity to shine, and she did a fantastic job. The episode played Harmony for comedy and a bit of emotion, and Mercedes was successful in both roles.

- Lots of humour. The whole ep was a good time, but I especially liked the introductory video, Harmony taking special care to brush her fangs, the body disposal, "it was you!... Who are you?", the fight with chopsticks, and of course the repeated gag with the maintenance closet.

- An okay background plot with the feuding demon clans, and the two stories dovetailing and resolving nicely at the end.

- The ep was mostly set during the day, so it didn't have any glaring issues with lighting.

Dislikes

- A lack of wit. Although the ep was generally funny, most of the humour came from the situations rather than memorable lines. The script could have done with some punching-up.

- Pacing is occasionally off, with the scenes of Harmony being excluded by the other employees and the bar chat with Fred dragging.

- I have no major issues with the plot (it was silly, and intentionally so), but it runs on coincidences and implausibilities. Comedy needn't be a reason for being so slapdash (Tameka is more of a mastermind than most of the major villains Team Angel has faced!)

- The half-baked reason for Spike sticking around. Even if he thinks it's anticlimactic to see Buffy again, there are still plenty of places to go/things to do beyond LA.

Summary

A worthwhile digression - Harmony is on track to becoming one of "Angel"'s best characters. I wouldn't want the show to be like this every ep, but as a one-off treat it works well.

[partcynic]

5x10 "Soul Purpose"

Another solid episode. Like much of S5, almost everything in "Soul Purpose" is entertaining, but there's nothing to push it to greatness.

Likes

- Generally good pacing and dialogue. Considering that not much actually happened, the ep went by quickly.

- The entire Spike segment. It was fun to have a replay of S1 "Angel" with Spike as a more reluctant hero, and great touch with Lindsey passing himself off as Doyle. Loved Spike lecturing the first girl on nighttime safety, the double-stake, and the later line about asking people he'd saved if they wanted to listen to the Sex Pistols. It also worked as contrast to show just how far Angel (the character and the show) has fallen.

- Many of the dream sequences were fun, especially the one with Fred (and Bear!) And I felt for office-boy Angel when he had to watch Spike get his humanity restored. Even the ridiculous 'Buffy' part (where the SMG soundbites weren't even mixed to be equal with the other audio!) was amusing.

- Continuing the 'Angel's doubts' arc, following on nicely from "The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco". What we got here was fine, though we're now at the point where the story needs to start moving forward.

Dislikes

- Lindsey and Eve's plan gets a little more defined, but it's still questionable as to how Lindsey is capable of doing all this, and what he and Eve are expecting to accomplish by making the Senior Partners doubt Angel. As with "Destiny", I never invested in the story, as S4 taught me not to trust Mutant Enemy with big arcs.

- Horrible lighting. I know they took a budget cut this year, but something as crucial to television as being able to see clearly shouldn't have been sacrificed.

- How was Eve able to get the first leech onto Angel?

- Another dream/hallucination episode. We also spent too much time on the dream sequences - by the time we got to Lorne at the piano, everything that could be said had been said. And even then, we were mostly learning things that were obvious.

- No development for Angel. There was a lot of repetition from "Numero Cinco" - time to start progressing the character by showing how he's going to deal with these concerns.

- The ending, with Eve being caught out because of her earrings. How many men notice what earrings a woman is wearing, unless they're so distinctive or large you can't miss them? And then Fred asserts that Eve's never worn that pair before, as if she's that concerned about fashion? Feels far more like a Cordelia line than Fred.

Summary

One of the better eps of the season on a moment-by-moment basis, but also something of an acknowledgement of how tired the show's become. Though I certainly enjoy watching S5, it makes sense that "Angel" ended here.

[partcynic]

5x11 "Damage"

Like "Lineage", a should-be classic episode dragged down by some major screw-ups. The core idea and theme are excellent, but Andrew makes parts nigh-unwatchable.

Likes

- The best story of the year. It was strange that "Chosen" presented the mass-Slayer spell as an unqualified positive when we already knew how dangerous a rogue Slayer could be, and this ep acknowledged that.

- Navi Rawat was fantastic as Dana. Insanity is difficult to play properly, but Dana felt unbalanced, without recourse to over-the-top screaming or fits.

- Lorne had more to do than in the last few eps, and though the rest of the team had bit-parts, those bit-parts worked for the plot.

- A few amusing lines from Spike.

- Lighting was better, only sucking in the distillery basement (where it made sense for things to be murky).

- The ending, with Spike and Angel discussing their past evils. Loved Spike pointing out that he couldn't be angry at Dana just because her family wasn't one of the ones he massacred. The conversation didn't push enough to get true depth, but was still worth hearing.

Dislikes

- Andrew. A "Buffy" turd that just won't flush. Tom Lenk can't act, and we got stuck with more of those tired 'geeks like Star Wars' and 'Andrew tries to be cool and fails' gags.

- Why do the Scoobs have anything to do with Andrew? He's a stupid, selfish murderer and would-be rapist who's taken only the scantest responsibility for his actions. And even if that had been dealt with, why would Giles train him, Xander and Willow(!) treat him like a close friend, and Buffy be happy to have him as a deputy?

- Lack of balance. Andrew was supposed to be the humourous counterweight to the grim main story, but none of the comedy was funny, and none of it had any deeper point, so we got no reprieve from the misery. This single-handedly turned what could have been an excellent episode into a mediocre one.

- Slayer dreams are now so detailed as to retain full memories and bits of languages? Shouldn't we have seen that before?

- Cutting off Spike's hands was too much. And having it be undone five minutes later made it feel even more like a cheap shock.

- So, Buffy heard that Angel was at Wolfram and Hart, and instantly turned on him without even a phone call (which wouldn't require SMG) - the love of her life who saved her with the amulet less than a year ago? And she's now in Rome? Yes, Sunnydale was destroyed, but where's she gotten the money to travel and live internationally? She had next to none after Joyce's medical bills (hence the Doublemeat Palace job), her father is absent, and Giles has no steady income after losing the Magic Box and the destruction of the Watchers' Council.

- Buffy and co. insisting on taking Dana, and Angel just yielding - how exactly are they going to help her? I guess psychosis can now be treated with girl power and inspirational speeches rather than intensive psychiatric care.

Summary

The most potentially rich episode of the year spoiled by a complete humour failure. The drama/comedy balance was one of the best things about the Buffyverse, and its loss was one of the most destructive things to happen to the shows. As I said when reviewing the last ep, stuff like this suggests it was time for the series to end.

[partcynic]

5x12 "You're Welcome"

A very good episode, but one that shouldn't exist. In an ideal "Angel", Cordelia (and Charisma Carpenter) would never have been treated so terribly that a sudden-death wrap-up show was required.

Likes

- Cordelia. As I've said before, the show was designed with Cordy as a core element, and it's no surprise that its decline in quality coincided with the gradual destruction of her character. Every scene with her was enjoyable - she was her true self again (warm and strong, but bitchy and materialistic), and energised everyone else. Just imagine how many other eps this season would have benefitted from her presence.

- Charisma Carpenter. Such a pro to come back and be top-notch despite Joss' absymal behaviour. She fully sold Cordelia's humour and emotion (with Angel, and also with Wesley), looked great, and the rest of the cast seemed genuinely happy to be working with her again.

- General improvement in dialogue and individual scene-writing. Cordelia almost always had good lines, and Harmony attacking Eve with the "well, I am evil" line was a comedic highpoint (followed by Angel not wanting to risk those he cared about, but being fine with Spike coming). Of the core five "Buffy" writers, David Fury was the least likely to be excellent, but he sure knows how to be consistently good.

- Lovely continuity, all of which flowed naturally from the characters and was sometimes very emotional. Fun to see the slave boy again (that's why there was no toner!), and Angel and Cordelia watching Doyle's video was a beautiful moment.

- Christian Kane always does a fine job as Lindsey. He really should have been given better material.

Dislikes

- Arbitrarily killing Cordelia. She wasn't some disposable one-shot character, but someone who the writers, audience and Charisma Carpenter invested an enormous amount of time in. She was arguably the single best-developed figure (from "Buffy" S1 to the start of "Angel" S3) in the Buffyverse, and was capable of excelling in both comedy and drama. Losing her is a huge loss for very little gain, and though this was a fine send-off given the circumstances, going 'oh yeah, she died' is an unsatisfying end to her story.

- The whole failsafe plot. Lindsey was by no means changing his plan, because it's obvious the writers never had one in the first place. So instead of a real explanation for his return, we got a half-baked monster-in-a-can that was neither interesting nor scary, and big chunks of "Destiny" and "Soul Purpose" were rendered wastes of time.

- Lighting. As usual, the dark scenes are too dark, and the setup in the fight scene is very unflattering, bringing out the flaws on the cast's faces and making them look like they have rashes.

- Lindsey's defeat was anti-climactic. And why did he leave Cordelia to shut off the countdown?

- Angel's non-development. This episode acted like it was resolving the 'Angel's doubts' arc, but all that happened was a couple of pep-talks and a fight with Lindsey. I can see how being able to tell Cordy the truth about Connor (etc.) would be helpful, but we still aren't at anything substantial.

Summary

One of the best episodes of the season, and a fine send-off for Cordelia - it's just that she should never have been killed off in the first place.

[partcynic]

5x13 "Why We Fight"

Not horrible, but the weakest episode since "Life of the Party". As with the lesser shows earlier in the season, nothing in "Why We Fight" is actively bad, but nothing is good.

Likes

- A couple of funny lines from Spike and the Prince of Lies.

- It was cute to see the origins of the Initiative.

- Gunn stumbling with the lawyer-talk. Nice, subtle set-up.

- The idea of ensouled Angel siring a vampire (and that vamp then being unable to enjoy killing) was interesting.

Dislikes

- Wolfram and Hart's security really sucks. Yes, they joke about it, but it's getting stupid now.

- No mention of Cordelia or response from the other characters to her death. She was a close friend who was deeply involved in their lives - this really shouldn't have happened off-screen.

- Tone. The episode is deeply serious yet void of emotion, so it ends up being dull.

- Bland dialogue. Part of this was understandable (military speak doesn't permit much humour), but Buffyverse shows work because of their wit, and it was lacking.

- As the years pass, the show needs to be wary of flashbacks - time comes for us all, and David Boreanaz and James Marsters are visibly aging. I mean no disrespect, but Angel in the 1940s looks significantly older than Angel in the 1950s.

- Another random figure from Angel's past emerges. Plausible, but it's gotten tired as story setup.

- Angel running into Spike on the submarine was too coincidental (albeit necessary - the ep would have been intolerable without him).

- There wasn't much of a story, and neither the flashbacks nor the present-day scenes amounted to much. There are obvious parallels between Lawson and Angel's directionlessness, but they weren't used to say anything.

- Lawson. An alright character, but Riley redux. 'Idealistic order-following soldier' doesn't give the writers or actor much to work with.

Summary

Okay, but on the lowest rung of viability. Although the entwined flashback/present scenes are cool, they invite a comparison with "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" that this ep simply can't win.

[partcynic]

5x14 "Smile Time"

Pretty strong! "Smile Time" is home to an excellent scenario and some of the funniest moments in the entire "Angel" series, but its general writing is oddly lacklustre.

Likes

- A fun intro with the puppet's creepy moaning and the boy with a rictus grin.

- Creativity. The concept of this episode is very original, and I love that the show was able to pull it off without feeling gimmicky. Eight years in, and the Buffyverse can still be surprising!

- Humour. Pretty much everything with puppet Angel was good, with the highlights including Spike's "you're a bloody puppet!", getting torn apart by Nina (and then cradled by Lorne), the detachable nose, the shot of a sword-wielding Angel leading the gang, and going vamp. But the funniest thing for me was Ratio (the blue puppet) - loved the squeaks, and his death was hysterical.

- Nice guest spot for writer David Fury as the creator of "Smile Time". And cool subversion with him being literally puppetted by the demons.

- Lots of development, with believable progression for Angel/Nina and Wesley/Fred. And the continued strand with Gunn losing his lawyer abilities and needing a re-upgrade makes sense as a form of Senior Partner control, as well as setting up the next few episodes.

Dislikes

- No mention of Cordelia. You'd think that Angel's reasons for being hesitant with Nina would include the last woman he loved dying only a couple of weeks ago, but everyone continues to act like Cordy never existed.

- The humour is good, but is a product of the situation rather than any great lines. In fact, the dialogue is consistently average - strange for a Joss co-write.

- The Wesley/Fred development is weakened knowing that it's manipulative setup for killing Fred.

- Ratio and the dog puppet had character, but the two humanoid puppets were dull. I get that they were going for contrast between the kiddie appearance and the hard-drinking, cussing reality, but there wasn't much to it. They were certainly more memorable than the average demon, but only because they were puppets, and not because their plans were particularly interesting or scary.

- Who was the towel man, and why wasn't he there when Fred and Wes went to destroy the nest egg?

Summary

Another of the stronger eps of the year, but also another of S5's 'good but not great' offerings. Still, after the worst parts of S3/4, I accept it with gratitude.

[partcynic]

5x15 "A Hole in the World"

Fred's had nothing to do all season, so it's cool for her to be the focus of this story - shame it's about her dying! For all his talent for dialogue and specific emotional moments, Joss's concept of plot is amateurish, and his insistence on forcing pointless conflict or killing characters to create drama is his biggest weakness as a writer and showrunner.

Likes

- Good acting across the board, especially Amy Acker. She's been wasted this year on bit-parts and technobabble, and she excelled in this demanding, emotional role.

- Good pacing and structure. Every scene was relevant to advancing the plot or exploring the characters.

- Better cast integration, with an ensemble played as an ensemble. Loved Lorne, who was both his fabulously funny self (threatening Eve) and emotional.

- Cool to see the Burkles again - they're so caring and likeable.

- Nice scenes of Fred and Wesley together. They should have been paired up in S3.

- Gunn. Quick and breezy resolution of the old love triangle at the start, and great progression later with his horror upon realising he's responsible for the coffin being at W&H.

- Angel/Spike interaction. The two work exceptionally well together as they 'complete' each other's personality, and the cavemen vs astronauts gag worked both as a joke in its own right, and to underline the drama.

- Everyone getting darker. Wesley shoots the guy who's uninterested in Fred's case, Lorne hits and threatens, Gunn attacks Knox, Angel says 'screw the world'. If only they'd followed through!

Dislikes

- A completely unnecessary and overblown plot forced onto the characters rather than naturally rising from them.

- The plot is tired beyond belief. "Buffy" and "Angel" used to skewer cliches, but over the years they developed new ones of their own. So, a couple gets together/back together only for one of them to die or turn evil (Giles/Jenny; Buffy/Angel; Willow/Tara; Angel/Cordelia), and evil takes the form of one of the good guys (Angelus; Dark Willow; Jasmine-Cordy; everything with the First). And the concept of an older-than-time being returning to our world via one of the heroes was literally central to the previous season! By this point, this approach isn't clever or emotional - it's cheap manipulation used as an easy way out of the challenge of portraying a long-term relationship that grows and progresses.

- Killing Fred. In the space of three episodes, we've lost both of the show's main female characters - and we lost its main supporting female only a year ago. What's Joss's problem? This also feels like a jab at Charisma Carpenter, as now any character reaction/fallout from Cordy's death will be subsumed by that of Fred's.

- Fred was one of my favourite characters, but I feel no emotion at her death (just admiration for Amy's acting) - the puppet strings are too apparent for me to care.

- As with "Smile Time", dialogue is surprisingly mediocre for a Joss episode. And a lot of the grand pronouncements ("Two words: Winifred Burkle"; "Not this girl, not this day") were plain cheesy.

- The well-keeper. Yet another plot-relevant character that Angel already knows.

Summary

A good episode with an excellent performance from Amy Acker, but wasted in the service of a pointless plot.

[partcynic]

5x16 "Shells"

In keeping with its title and concept, this ep is alright to watch, but hollow. Like Fred, the "Angel" series has been emptied out, and it's getting harder and harder to care what happens.

Likes

- Continued excellence from Amy Acker, being believably alien as Illyria and completely distinct from her portrayal of Fred. And good work from all the other cast members, especially Alexis Denisof and J. August Richards.

- Wesley stabbing Gunn and shooting Knox - very understandable. And great that Knox is dead, as he was on the fast track to becoming another Andrew.

- Undercutting Angel's stupid speech ("Were you listening?!")

- Harmony is still good, being an effective lighter presence now that Lorne is spent.

- Acknowledging Cordelia's death and that this story is a retread.

- Illyria. A good look and a good character, albeit one who wasn't necessary. Nonetheless, her material was the best in the episode, and discovering that her temple and army had crumbled to dust was the one scene that made me feel something.

- Illyria knew the Wolf, Ram and Hart. They really should have done something with this.

Dislikes

- Dull. The tone was relentlessly serious, but with no emotion or drama. The major moments (Wes stabbing and shooting) were more about shock value than anything else.

- Bland dialogue. Again, very serious (and faux-philosophical in parts), but not deep.

- Too slow.

- The Scoobs continuing to be terrible people. I'm glad that they remembered Buffy's resurrection/Willow's abilities, but the astral projection stuff was a feeble excuse. And why is no one willing to have an actual conversation with Angel regarding W&H?

- Fred is dead, and I feel nothing. We're cruelly told that even her soul has been obliterated (the most thorough extermination of any character in the Buffyverse)... and I feel nothing. Compared to the deaths of Jenny, Joyce, Doyle, Cordelia or even Tara, this is empty.

- Another physically unstoppable foe. And Team Angel goes after Illyria with swords/axes despite Wes knowing that they don't work against her?

- It was kind of Illyria to leave her portal open long enough for Wesley to return from the temple (though it kind of makes sense given the ending).

- Spike's tedious pronouncement that something much worse than Illyria is coming - he just ~feels~ it.

Summary

Well-acted but weakly-written. It's sad to know the show is almost done, but it was the right decision to end it.

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5x17 "Underneath"

More of the same. "Underneath" has some interesting and entertaining parts, but stumbles by trying to create apocalyptic tension, yet portraying the Senior Partners as foolish.

Likes

- The recut credits with Illyria, and Mercedes McNab becoming a regular (no surprise when they kill off all the other female characters!)

- Lindsey as Prometheus in the suburban hell. A fun concept, and the biggest laugh in the episode came from the bullet hell shootout.

- The shadow of Fred's death hangs over much of the episode, but we still get movement and a story. Gunn was particularly good, both in the hospital chat with Angel and then his decision to take Lindsey's place.

- Lorne had more to do. Believable despair at the start, and minor moments of humour later.

- Bits of Wesley and Illyria. A little emotion with Wes dreaming of Fred, and a little humour with him calling her a smurf. And cute to refer to the world of shrimp.

- The new Senior Partner liaison is alright. Too much build-up for a so-so gag, but not bad.

Dislikes

- Mediocre dialogue. A couple of good Spike lines early on (the meeting), but everything else was flat.

- Poor lighting in the 'dark' scenes (suburban basement; Wesley and Illyria).

- Why is Lindsay still alive? The holding cell dimension is insipid given what the Senior Partners can do, and this makes them look weak.

- No Senior Partner punishment for Eve, despite her having actively betrayed them?

- The strand with Angel protecting Eve was silly and unbelievable. The Senior Partners are Angel's bosses, and can overrule him with no problem. And they can't just suck Eve and Lindsey away and place them in a new hell dimension (or kill them)?

- The blather about the apocalypse. No tension, no interest, and it was trying to create depth where there was none.

- Illyria is cool, but the 'I was a god, humans are all pathetic' stuff is cliched old-one dialogue, and has the potential to get tired fast. Her segment with Wesley felt filler-ish despite Amy Acker's talents.

- If we need info on Wolfram and Hart, why not consider asking Illyria, who once knew them?

Summary

Watchable genre material that doesn't hold up to much scrutiny.

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5x18 "Origin"

Based on the last two seasons, you'd expect this ep to be one of the weakest of the year, but it sits comfortably around the season's (and show's) average. "Origin" offers little remarkable content, but is very watchable, and I'm pleased that we got to have at least one episode of Connor being a worthwhile character.

Likes

- Good dialogue in the first portion of the episode. Illyria swallowing a petri dish, training with Spike and wanting him as a pet were all amusing, as was her response to Connor.

- This is the best Connor ep, because he was written as a Buffyverse character rather than a generic teen. Vincent Kartheiser finally had the chance to show some range, and we got some decent humour and a nice emotional moment with Angel at the end.

- Continued fallout from Fred's death. It's Wesley's primary motivation, but is expressed by his actions; ditto for Gunn refusing to bargain with Hamilton.

- Quickly and succinctly dealing with so much stuff left over from S3/4. I was happy for it to be left in the past, but if it was going to be addressed again, this was the way to deal with it. This is where the season's episodic approach really shines!

- I don't want there to be subsequent angsting about S3/4, but I'm glad the memory spell has been undone, as the audience and characters are now back on the same page.

Dislikes

- After the promising early dialogue, it became flat in the final two thirds of the episode.

- Why exactly did Vale want Connor to deal with Sahjahn now? The timing felt arbitrary, like this episode was written to tie up loose ends rather than because it was necessary.

- The plot in general was underwhelming, with no surprises and nothing particularly dramatic or exciting.

- The material for Gunn, Hamilton, Harmony and Lorne wasn't bad, but there was no reason for it to exist. Mutant Enemy keeps adding to the roster yet gives most of the characters and cast nothing to do. Compare to S1, when we had three main characters, and all of them had high-quality development.

Summary

As a good a conclusion to Connor's story as we could have hoped for, and executed quite well. I do wish the dialogue could have stayed at the level of the first part of the episode, but despite some drabness "Origin" is pretty solid.

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5x19 "Time Bomb"

Pretty good. I'm running out of comments to make in my intros and summaries because I could write the same thing for 90% of S5. "Time Bomb" offers us another entertaining and watchable episode, but never rises above that.

Likes

- Illyria busting Gunn out of the torture den (and the later reveal that she trashed many of them before finding him). Her growing connection with Wesley is interesting and makes sense, and Amy Acker put in a typically great performance.

- Illyria combusting because a human body can't contain her power is believable, and a new spin on what we saw with Glory/Ben.

- Gunn continuing to develop, and we can see him starting to shift back to his original characterisation. Much like Lindsey, he was willing to work with W&H, but had to step back once his personal line in the sand was crossed.

- Wesley's interaction with Illyria - not loving her, but wanting to help and be around her because of her connection to Fred. Makes perfect sense, and is agreeably warped.

- A couple of dollops of humour with Lorne tailing "blue bird" and Harmony offering the demons organic cola. And as always, Spike had a couple of amusing lines.

- Hamilton pointing out that the Senior Partners know Illyria and want her gone. This is a really interesting opportunity for us to learn something important.

- An okay sub-plot with the pregnant woman and the demons. Nothing special, but a cute role for Jaime Bergman (David Boreanaz's wife).

Dislikes

- No follow-up on the memory spell being undone. As I said last time, I don't want too much dwelling on S3/4, but discovering your friend used magic to mess with your memories warrants comment.

- Alexis Denisof's acting in Wesley's early scene with Gunn is poor. I'm assuming he was directed to overdo the 'quirky/crazy' aspect, as he's fine the rest of the episode.

- Neither of the plots here are bad, but nor are they exciting. I didn't really care what was going to happen either way - I could get involved in the main character kill-off at the end of "The Wish", but here it was just another event.

- Generally flat and unengaging dialogue, with too mucb technobabble and Illyria's endless bloviating.

- Continuing to try and build tension for the drabbest apocalypse ever.

- Illyria's pompous 'I am everything, you are muck' speeches are cookie-cutter and dull. Good that Angel snapped at her, but I don't want any more of this.

- Returning to the idea of a war against evil, but it being a good thing this time. Directly contradicts the main message of S2.

Summary

All fine, but nothing special. Glad that there are only a few eps to go until I'm finished.

[partcynic]

5x20 "The Girl in Question"

The biggest misfire of the season, due to a complete tonal failure. One part of this show feels like it belongs to "Angel"; the rest is from a bad buddy comedy.

Likes

- The segment with Wesley and Fred. Interesting and emotional. A welcome reappearance from the incredibly likeable Burkles, and Amy Acker continues to impress. Her transitions between Fred and Illyria were fantastic, and we also got an intriguing ending with Illyria wanting to explore a relationship with Wesley.

- Some amusing lines and mutual antagonism between Angel and Spike, especially early on.

- Andrew wasn't good, but this is the first time he didn't actively suck - there wasn't a single 'geek reference' joke in any of his scenes!

Dislikes

- The idea of a Buffy-centric episode without Buffy is intriguing, but the team weren't up to the task. As SMG no longer wanted anything to do with the series, references to her character needed to be handled with extreme caution.

- Tone. Most of this episode was off, and the characters they were calling Angel and Spike had nothing to do with the figures we'd been watching all these years. If you can only generate laughs by having the characters suddenly become idiots, your concept is a failure. Throw in some slapstick demons and the ridiculous Wolfram and Hart CEO, and we're looking at a "Hell's Bells" level of cringeworthy 'comedy'.

- The Immortal. I don't have a problem with there being a vamp cooler/better than Angel and Spike, but it shouldn't be in the form of yet another figure from the guys' past. And he's been a recurring thorn in their side, and is only being mentioned now?

- Buffy's completely oblivious to a big fight occurring in the same room as her, and doesn't even glance over to see what's going on (and realise who's at the centre?)

- Angel and Spike get blown up, and the only consequence is some tattered clothes?

- The waste of Julie Benz and Juliet Landau.

- Andy Hallett can successfully play comedy and drama, and can sing. Tom Lenk can do none of these things. Guess who gets more screentime?

- No character insight or development from the main story.

Summary

Amy Acker rules, but the rest of "The Girl in Question" is a mess, straining so hard in its unfunny comedy that it completely fails.

[partcynic]

5x21 "Power Play"

A potentially good episode that suffers from having a shoehorned-in plot. Significantly more buildup and development was necessary for this to work - but I also acknowledge that the show's abrupt cancellation forced Joss's hand, and what we got is reasonable in context.

Likes

- Given that this story was created in a rush/panic, the writers did a respectable job of coming up with something workable, and managed to tie it to many of the season's events without being too contrived.

- The bits of humour ("we are no longer having intercourse"; Harmony wanting some of the virgin blood; Spike and Angel being intimate "that one time"; Illyria and Drogan playing video games) are good - there should have been more.

- Illyria is still a fun character. I enjoy her interactions with Spike, as well as her little moments of emotion and vulnerability (being hurt that Wesley ignored her).

- The senator was fun - liked the political muckraking and her determination to keep the "chick" vote.

- Nice to see the Archduke and Vale again, and I enjoyed the affably evil tone of the circle. I wouldn't have minded seeing more of Angel schmoozing.

- Linking Cordelia to the finale, and having it be from a kiss-passed vision, a la Doyle.

Dislikes

- I don't hate Angel/Nina, but there's no real chemistry or development to their relationship, so the scene on the bench fell flat.

- This story comes out of nowhere and feels tacked-on to give us a dramatic finale. If the Circle of the Black Thorn is such a major player, we should have heard about it already (yes, we've seen some of its members before, but no hint of the group itself).

- Changing some of the mythology in the penultimate episode. I much preferred the explanation in "Reprise" that Wolfram and Hart was sustained by human nature to there being a secret cabal running things.

- As mentioned before, I'm not a fan of the 'war against evil' concept. It contradicts the message of S2, and we've already seen it in "Buffy" S7.

- A large portion of the episode is spent making the gang - and the audience - doubt Angel, but I never believed he'd been corrupted. Even on first viewing, I assumed it was all part of a confidence trick, so much of the worrying in the midsection was wasted time.

- The Circle of the Black Thorn is impressed by Angel sacrificing Fred to restore Illyria, even though Illyria is at best a dangerous and unpredictable neutral, and at worst their/Wolfram and Hart's active enemy?

- What's Lindsey's motivation for helping Team Angel? And though it's not implausible for him to know about the Circle, I would have liked to know when and how exactly he discovered all this info.

- Why does Drogan thank Angel for coming to rescue him, when as far as he knows, the assassination attempt was genuine, and this was Angel coming to finish the job?

Summary

Fine given the circumstances of its creation, and a decent way for the "Angel" series to commence its final bow.