Angel 5.21, 5.22
DONE! Suck it Joss Whedon, I’m through with you finally. Or, at least until Dollhouse comes out. Or until I do another Firefly rewatch. But until then!
It was interesting to watch “Power Play”, just waiting for the twist to finally show up. I mean, I’ve been on to Angel being Up To Something for a while so it was just a matter of finding out *what*. I did like that he seemed not at all duplicitous while in bed with Nina at the beginning. It made for a nice contrast to his behavior in the rest of the episode. I also like that he’s happy with Nina and likes her well enough but she’s not The Love of His Life. Because not every girlfriend will be and that’s realistic.
All the baddies shown throughout the episode were fantastic. What do I know the senator broad from? She’s great. I kept thinking of the Stonecutters from the Simpsons during the secret society stuff. I was a bit sad that Maud’Dib got killed off but hey, he was in bad shape by then. Watching him play video games with Illyria was awesome! I also love Team Spike and Illyria. I could watch their spin-off. His willingness to actually relate to her situation was sweet and funny at the same time.
So then “Not Fade Away”. I had been told by a good friend that this is her favorite series finale of ever so I had high hopes. It did not disappoint. All of their final days were perfectly in character. I was happy to see the shelter girl again (but paused for a moment, remembering that she’s Lindsey’s sister and that he wasn’t there to visit her). Aww, Lorne singing one last time. William the Bloody Awful Poet! Yay! Oh, Connor’s memories are all mixed up so he can just continue along without the angst since he can sort of pick and choose. That’s nice. And finally there’s Wesley. Who tends to Illyria’s wounds instead of doing anything else. And if I hadn’t already been spoiled for his death (it was only a half dozen episodes ago or so and I wasn’t upset because really, how else could his story possibly end?) that would have been a dead, ahem, giveaway. That and his statement that he doesn’t intend to die. Yeah right. Painting a bullseye on your chest my friend!
Final battles: also perfectly matched to each character. Loved the vamp dusting action from Gunn. Hilarious that we didn’t even see Illyria busting up the car. Holy shit, Lorne fucking shot Lindsey! DAMN! I did not see that coming at all. It certainly explains his black mood from earlier. Lindsey’s outrage at not being killed by Angel himself was pretty awesome. Yay, Angel versus Jayne Cobb! And then Connor showed up to play, too! That was a wonderful last moment for the two of them and it was lovely that he then listened to his father and got the hell outta Dodge. And finally there’s Wesley. Oh he was so wanting to die, wasn’t he? I mean, he pretended like he was trying but he had no back-up plan. If Illyria hadn’t come along (whoa, that exploding face-punch was quite the effect) I don’t think that guy would have been defeated. Even though Fred’s death scene annoyed me I was in tears for Wes’s. That he accepted her illusion as she told him what he wanted/needed to hear. Wow. Now that’s how you do poignant.
The alley: that final scene punched all of my Hamlet buttons. I’m the freak that finds the ending to be the funniest shit ever written. They ALL die. All of them! Hysterical! I laugh out loud at live productions. Can’t help myself. So seeing the survivors, and of course it would be the Fang Boys, a close-to-death Gunn, and a ready-for-more-action grieving Illyria, in the rain, staring down an unstoppable hoard of hellfiends? Well, I laughed for 5 minutes. I shit you not. Five minutes before I could stand up and turn off the television. I’m sort of annoyed that there’s a comic. It’s a way better ending to have them not make it out alive.
He's dead, Dave. Everybody's dead. Everybody is dead, Dave!
--Holly, to Lister
It was interesting to watch “Power Play”, just waiting for the twist to finally show up. I mean, I’ve been on to Angel being Up To Something for a while so it was just a matter of finding out *what*. I did like that he seemed not at all duplicitous while in bed with Nina at the beginning. It made for a nice contrast to his behavior in the rest of the episode. I also like that he’s happy with Nina and likes her well enough but she’s not The Love of His Life. Because not every girlfriend will be and that’s realistic.
All the baddies shown throughout the episode were fantastic. What do I know the senator broad from? She’s great. I kept thinking of the Stonecutters from the Simpsons during the secret society stuff. I was a bit sad that Maud’Dib got killed off but hey, he was in bad shape by then. Watching him play video games with Illyria was awesome! I also love Team Spike and Illyria. I could watch their spin-off. His willingness to actually relate to her situation was sweet and funny at the same time.
So then “Not Fade Away”. I had been told by a good friend that this is her favorite series finale of ever so I had high hopes. It did not disappoint. All of their final days were perfectly in character. I was happy to see the shelter girl again (but paused for a moment, remembering that she’s Lindsey’s sister and that he wasn’t there to visit her). Aww, Lorne singing one last time. William the Bloody Awful Poet! Yay! Oh, Connor’s memories are all mixed up so he can just continue along without the angst since he can sort of pick and choose. That’s nice. And finally there’s Wesley. Who tends to Illyria’s wounds instead of doing anything else. And if I hadn’t already been spoiled for his death (it was only a half dozen episodes ago or so and I wasn’t upset because really, how else could his story possibly end?) that would have been a dead, ahem, giveaway. That and his statement that he doesn’t intend to die. Yeah right. Painting a bullseye on your chest my friend!
Final battles: also perfectly matched to each character. Loved the vamp dusting action from Gunn. Hilarious that we didn’t even see Illyria busting up the car. Holy shit, Lorne fucking shot Lindsey! DAMN! I did not see that coming at all. It certainly explains his black mood from earlier. Lindsey’s outrage at not being killed by Angel himself was pretty awesome. Yay, Angel versus Jayne Cobb! And then Connor showed up to play, too! That was a wonderful last moment for the two of them and it was lovely that he then listened to his father and got the hell outta Dodge. And finally there’s Wesley. Oh he was so wanting to die, wasn’t he? I mean, he pretended like he was trying but he had no back-up plan. If Illyria hadn’t come along (whoa, that exploding face-punch was quite the effect) I don’t think that guy would have been defeated. Even though Fred’s death scene annoyed me I was in tears for Wes’s. That he accepted her illusion as she told him what he wanted/needed to hear. Wow. Now that’s how you do poignant.
The alley: that final scene punched all of my Hamlet buttons. I’m the freak that finds the ending to be the funniest shit ever written. They ALL die. All of them! Hysterical! I laugh out loud at live productions. Can’t help myself. So seeing the survivors, and of course it would be the Fang Boys, a close-to-death Gunn, and a ready-for-more-action grieving Illyria, in the rain, staring down an unstoppable hoard of hellfiends? Well, I laughed for 5 minutes. I shit you not. Five minutes before I could stand up and turn off the television. I’m sort of annoyed that there’s a comic. It’s a way better ending to have them not make it out alive.
He's dead, Dave. Everybody's dead. Everybody is dead, Dave!
--Holly, to Lister