Comments | tranquil_ity: Angel Season 5 - episode 16

tranquil_ity

Angel Season 5 - episode 16 - Shells (part 3)

May 14, 2011 14:11

Part 3 (of 3)

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Comments 9

shapinglight May 14 2011, 09:18:09 UTC

Here on a rec from sueworld2003. Terrific review. I think Shells is a great episode. In fact, I think it's better than AHitW, which is the one that always gets all the plaudits.

tranquil_ity May 15 2011, 06:06:00 UTC

Thanks for reading! I agree that Shells is better than AHitW - I always find that one a little melodramatic in parts and, dare I admit it, the death scene a little drawn out.

shapinglight May 15 2011, 10:44:58 UTC

Oh, I agree with you. Amy and Alexis are wonderful in the death scene, but it comes across to me as grandstanding on Joss's part and rather unpleasant emotional manipulation. I feel Joss is trying to make me cry and remain stony-eyed throughout. However, the final scene of Shells, where we flashback to Fred leaving her parents and driving away to the new life that's going to kill her always has me in bits.

treadingthedark May 15 2011, 16:14:16 UTC

"However, the final scene of Shells, where we flashback to Fred leaving her parents and driving away to the new life that's going to kill her always has me in bits."

I completely agree. That's the part that moves me.

Great review. I am doing an Angel s5 re-watch right now, and just about to start Shells.

Thread 5

artemis_ephesus May 15 2011, 08:47:54 UTC

Great review! I saw this episode a few months ago for the first time and it tore a hole in me too. I was kinda glad Wes died in the finale. It was so gut-wrenching watching him go on and on through s3 to s5.

tranquil_ity May 16 2011, 04:05:53 UTC

Yeah, I agree that as far as fictional deaths go, Wesley's is a good one.

ever_neutral May 15 2011, 10:53:22 UTC

One can’t help but observe that Spike and Wesley could bond on so many levels - they could commiserate with one another over ‘bots and demon lords who are unwelcome reminders of the dead women they love, of darkly seductive sexual relationships that exist for a cacophony of conflicting reasons and that don’t turn out at all the way you’d planned, and walking the fine line between good and evil, of trying not to be what you were, of redefinition, of unrequited love… Yeah, they have more in common than most would ever guess.

SO MUCH WORD. And as it happens, they're my two favourite Whedon males. *g*

Spike, unlike everyone else, does not finish up as a hollow shell. On the contrary, Fred’s death has filled him with conviction and purpose and the belief that the fight they wage is one worth digging in and getting dirty for.

Oh, nice point. I also love that you pointed out that he DOES like Angel. Really, those boys pretend to hate each other all they want, they're not fooling anybody.

tranquil_ity May 16 2011, 04:15:02 UTC

I'm a big believer that season five did a really great job of setting up the fact that Spike and Angel clearly don't hate each other, no matter how much they argue otherwise - so it really irks me that the comics continue to play the "We hate each other" card so incessantly.

Thanks for reading :)