Post by partcynic on May 10, 2024 7:56:03 GMT -5
5x22 "Not Fade Away"
A strong episode to conclude the series, "Not Fade Away" has plenty of positives, and its flaws are more from the abruptness of its story than any intrinsic problems.
Likes
- Generally well-written. The episode was packed with content, and not a single scene was unnecessary, boring or overlong. There was humour and emotion, as well as a large number of satisfying callbacks and continuity references.
- The theme of always persevering, no matter how dire the situation.
- Everyone's 'last day', and what it said about them as people. Loved Spike getting blitzed in preparation for performing his "Fool for Love" poetry, as well as Gunn going to see Anne.
- Good action throughout. The Angel/Hamilton fight veered towards silly (the slow-mo, wires and things getting smashed), but everything else was solid. I also liked the intentional lack of action with Illyria - we cut from her appearing before the car to it being totalled, and her targets dead.
- Excellent interaction between Wesley and Illyria, from their conversation as he gave her first aid, to Illyria's taking Fred's form to comfort Wes as he died. Very interesting to see Illyria grappling with human emotions, and the transformation as she obliterated Vale was fabulous.
- Connor being a perfectly good Buffyverse character. I respect that he has no bitterness and appreciates what Angel did for him, but also doesn't want to dwell on it. We got a nice father/son moment at the cafe, and a fun bit with them fighting together later on.
- Lorne sinking into despair - a very believable outcome given his depression after Fred's death. I understood his now being done with Team Angel, and killing Lindsey was the most substantial material he's had in years. And loved Lindsey being bewildered that he was killed by a sidekick.
- Harmony. Funny, sexy, and betraying Angel is completely in character.
- A fun ending. The gang's time may be up, but if they go down, it'll be fighting.
Dislikes
- Like "Power Play", the plot is janky and rushed. All this Black Thorn stuff is shoved in where it obviously wasn't meant to go.
- Angel being willing to give the slightest hint of his plans to Harmony (even a vague 'distract Hamilton' is too much). And then the claim that Harmony's actions were because she lacks a soul - no, it's because her defining trait is her self-centredness.
- Hamilton is too bland and underdeveloped to be a compelling foe.
- Angel being surprised when he can't overpower Hamilton with physical force; likewise Wesley not anticipating that super-sorceror Vale might be able to counter/dispel magic.
- Convenient timing with Connor showing up at Wolfram and Hart, and Illyria's arrival at Vale's.
Summary
And we're done! "Not Fade Away" is a fine way to end the series, and one of the S5 eps I'm most likely to rewatch. As the proper conclusion to a fully realised arc, it would have been excellent rather than good, but I have no problems with this given the circumstances of its creation. Well done to everybody - the show bowed out in a much better state than "Buffy".
A strong episode to conclude the series, "Not Fade Away" has plenty of positives, and its flaws are more from the abruptness of its story than any intrinsic problems.
Likes
- Generally well-written. The episode was packed with content, and not a single scene was unnecessary, boring or overlong. There was humour and emotion, as well as a large number of satisfying callbacks and continuity references.
- The theme of always persevering, no matter how dire the situation.
- Everyone's 'last day', and what it said about them as people. Loved Spike getting blitzed in preparation for performing his "Fool for Love" poetry, as well as Gunn going to see Anne.
- Good action throughout. The Angel/Hamilton fight veered towards silly (the slow-mo, wires and things getting smashed), but everything else was solid. I also liked the intentional lack of action with Illyria - we cut from her appearing before the car to it being totalled, and her targets dead.
- Excellent interaction between Wesley and Illyria, from their conversation as he gave her first aid, to Illyria's taking Fred's form to comfort Wes as he died. Very interesting to see Illyria grappling with human emotions, and the transformation as she obliterated Vale was fabulous.
- Connor being a perfectly good Buffyverse character. I respect that he has no bitterness and appreciates what Angel did for him, but also doesn't want to dwell on it. We got a nice father/son moment at the cafe, and a fun bit with them fighting together later on.
- Lorne sinking into despair - a very believable outcome given his depression after Fred's death. I understood his now being done with Team Angel, and killing Lindsey was the most substantial material he's had in years. And loved Lindsey being bewildered that he was killed by a sidekick.
- Harmony. Funny, sexy, and betraying Angel is completely in character.
- A fun ending. The gang's time may be up, but if they go down, it'll be fighting.
Dislikes
- Like "Power Play", the plot is janky and rushed. All this Black Thorn stuff is shoved in where it obviously wasn't meant to go.
- Angel being willing to give the slightest hint of his plans to Harmony (even a vague 'distract Hamilton' is too much). And then the claim that Harmony's actions were because she lacks a soul - no, it's because her defining trait is her self-centredness.
- Hamilton is too bland and underdeveloped to be a compelling foe.
- Angel being surprised when he can't overpower Hamilton with physical force; likewise Wesley not anticipating that super-sorceror Vale might be able to counter/dispel magic.
- Convenient timing with Connor showing up at Wolfram and Hart, and Illyria's arrival at Vale's.
Summary
And we're done! "Not Fade Away" is a fine way to end the series, and one of the S5 eps I'm most likely to rewatch. As the proper conclusion to a fully realised arc, it would have been excellent rather than good, but I have no problems with this given the circumstances of its creation. Well done to everybody - the show bowed out in a much better state than "Buffy".
