Thoughts on Tonight's Angel
Again (and I think I'm going to make this a habit with all analyses), unlocked cuz I'm special like that.
There was one, just one, really, truly great scene this episode. It may be the best all season. It was very simple. Wes and Gunn go downstairs to talk to Spike, and try to convince him to join Wolfram & Hart... And suddenly, we realize exactly what the place has done to them.
They're using the exact same arguments that Lilah used on them in "Home." They're denigrating Spike's Champion campaign because he's not doing it for them, "the big boys." And they're going behind Angel's back to recruit a new hero to the W&H cause. Suddenly, in one scene, the entire focus of the season became incredibly clear - it's not about fighting from inside of the belly of the beast. Season Five isn't about heroes. Season Five is about what makes villains.
And the way they're doing it is brilliant. They made the whole cast evil. In just ten episodes, the plucky gang from Angel Investigations has become Wolfram & Hart - but the really dangerous thing is, they believe in a greater good of what they could possibly accomplish.
Jenoff, in her review of Blind Date (at least, I *think* Jenoff's a woman) noted of Lindsey's return to W&H after working against them for the episode that "when he opts to stay with the firm ... he's thinking of how he can use the power he now has to do good. That, of course, is how it starts but not how it will end. With that rationalization, no evil will be beyond Lindsey."
And so it is with Angel Investigations. The whole talk of taking down a cult from the inside with a microwave cannon (which, by the way - oh please. You know that W&H didn't have toys like that when the less-conflicted evil was running things) deeply suggested this, but Wes & Gunn's "intervention" with Spike put it into sharp relief. Especially (and this is about the only time I'm going to praise Boreanaz's direction, because otherwise it was lackluster and often sluggish) due to the way it was framed, with Spike sitting and smaller, and Wes and Gunn looking large and menacing, almost looming.
To me? Those were the most interesting parts of the episode. The Angel dream stuff seemed like a bunch of hokum written to A) pound into our brains over and over again that Angel's empty, Angel's without purpose, oh my! and B) keep Angel pretty bed-ridden so David could direct the episode.
I get that Angel's lost his way. I get that he feels empty, that the shades of gray are gnawing away at him. But do you have to spend the better part of an episode spelling it out in dream sequence after dream sequence? Used to be that Whedon productions (especially Angel) trusted their audience just a little more.
Although, I did enjoy the Jaws reference and that Angel was sans shoes. Oh, and Wesley's wacky-go-lucky inflection during the "Spike's a Real Boy" sequence, but then again, Denisof = Best Actor on Television, so there you go.
Eve annoys me, and Lindsey seemed nearly entirely useless. Maybe if Christian Kane didn't look like he was asleep this episode, it might have worked a bit better. Also, it's good to see that everybody's predictions about the runes ("Senior Partner's Can't See Me, Neener Neener Neener") were right on.
Tonight wasn't a great episode - that's par for the course for S5, though. Even "Destiny" which I liked bunches barely holds a candle to the best of any previous season. People keep saying Whedon just needs some time to get the ball rolling. Here's a thought - we're nearly halfway through the season now. How about an episode for the mantlepiece, yo?
There was one, just one, really, truly great scene this episode. It may be the best all season. It was very simple. Wes and Gunn go downstairs to talk to Spike, and try to convince him to join Wolfram & Hart... And suddenly, we realize exactly what the place has done to them.
They're using the exact same arguments that Lilah used on them in "Home." They're denigrating Spike's Champion campaign because he's not doing it for them, "the big boys." And they're going behind Angel's back to recruit a new hero to the W&H cause. Suddenly, in one scene, the entire focus of the season became incredibly clear - it's not about fighting from inside of the belly of the beast. Season Five isn't about heroes. Season Five is about what makes villains.
And the way they're doing it is brilliant. They made the whole cast evil. In just ten episodes, the plucky gang from Angel Investigations has become Wolfram & Hart - but the really dangerous thing is, they believe in a greater good of what they could possibly accomplish.
Jenoff, in her review of Blind Date (at least, I *think* Jenoff's a woman) noted of Lindsey's return to W&H after working against them for the episode that "when he opts to stay with the firm ... he's thinking of how he can use the power he now has to do good. That, of course, is how it starts but not how it will end. With that rationalization, no evil will be beyond Lindsey."
And so it is with Angel Investigations. The whole talk of taking down a cult from the inside with a microwave cannon (which, by the way - oh please. You know that W&H didn't have toys like that when the less-conflicted evil was running things) deeply suggested this, but Wes & Gunn's "intervention" with Spike put it into sharp relief. Especially (and this is about the only time I'm going to praise Boreanaz's direction, because otherwise it was lackluster and often sluggish) due to the way it was framed, with Spike sitting and smaller, and Wes and Gunn looking large and menacing, almost looming.
To me? Those were the most interesting parts of the episode. The Angel dream stuff seemed like a bunch of hokum written to A) pound into our brains over and over again that Angel's empty, Angel's without purpose, oh my! and B) keep Angel pretty bed-ridden so David could direct the episode.
I get that Angel's lost his way. I get that he feels empty, that the shades of gray are gnawing away at him. But do you have to spend the better part of an episode spelling it out in dream sequence after dream sequence? Used to be that Whedon productions (especially Angel) trusted their audience just a little more.
Although, I did enjoy the Jaws reference and that Angel was sans shoes. Oh, and Wesley's wacky-go-lucky inflection during the "Spike's a Real Boy" sequence, but then again, Denisof = Best Actor on Television, so there you go.
Eve annoys me, and Lindsey seemed nearly entirely useless. Maybe if Christian Kane didn't look like he was asleep this episode, it might have worked a bit better. Also, it's good to see that everybody's predictions about the runes ("Senior Partner's Can't See Me, Neener Neener Neener") were right on.
Tonight wasn't a great episode - that's par for the course for S5, though. Even "Destiny" which I liked bunches barely holds a candle to the best of any previous season. People keep saying Whedon just needs some time to get the ball rolling. Here's a thought - we're nearly halfway through the season now. How about an episode for the mantlepiece, yo?