Board 8 > SeabassDebeste finishes Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff [spoilers]

(+) Yeah! (+)

episode 2 is the obvious best of the first four due to the angel/spike dynamic
---

Tuesday night I'm going to a Buffy trivia night! Just one friend will be with me. We'll be like Angel and Faith.

Or based on my performance on some random internet quizzes, more realistically, like Xander and Harmony.
---

More Angel/Spike shenanigans writeups!
---

ask and ye shall receive

ANGEL - Season 5, Episode 5

Recap: Lorne throws a Halloween party for Wolfram and Hart, and he's absolutely going berserk trying to get AI on board with it - to the extent where he's used Wolfram's services to deny himself sleep. Turns out that prescience + sleep = unintentional wish fulfillment, Willow-style, causing major shenanigans.

Good Lorne this is an awesome episode.

It's not the most dramatic or serious of the series, but that doesn't mean it doesn't employ excellent characterization. Reality-warping often can cause characters to act out of character ('Buffy - will you marry me?'), but the phrasing of the wishes often reflect upon the mentality of the wisher.

In this case, you can see how freaking much Lorne misses being The Host! Caritas is just a beautiful, distant memory at this point after the shit that Angel's shenanigans put it through. In Season 4, it was pretty hard to justify Lorne's presence on a plot level, with really dumb contrivances needed to bring him back and his 'highlight' being that stupid-as-fuck slouching-toward-Bethlehem plotline.

But here, Lorne is making a vehement effort at coming back and being taken seriously. He's been the token demon who can occasionally read fates for so long - after all, he scans the thoughts of every Wolfram employee as his first task - that he's lost some of his identity. The thought that his first massive gig could go south is enough to cause serious issues. The psychic breaks are awesome.

So this episode is fucking great from the beginning. Lorneisode is going to have the camera behaving very differently, as we center on a different character. And indeed, the cold open, pre-psychosis, follows Lorne in a walk-and-talk in the style of The West Wing or House MD - it's a workplace comedy. Lorne getting the gang together is a very situation for - now that Cordelia is gone - the heart of the gang. And in an incredibly The Office moment, Lorne and Gunn awkwardly try to pass each other, but they keep shifting in the same direction and getting in each other's way. It takes about two or three seconds to resolve, but that type of relatable physical comedy is TOO GOOD.

Another workplace comedy: one of the demons in Sebassis's (the guest of honor's) security force is shown just taking a dump before he gets killed. The mundanity is the best. Before the party really gets a-goin', one employee complains 'This is lame. Where's the ritual sacrifice? How do you get the ball rolling without a ritual sacrifice!'
---

The characters' behavior while under Lorne's influence speaks for itself. It's the most enjoyable part of the episode, even while being the simplest.

* Wesley and Fred get hammered, with Fred not even imbibing and Wesley noting that he's gotten drunk off... 'one third of one half of a beer.' Fred then realizes that 'I am totally drunkfaced.' The ability to pronounce longer words is lost a little: 'And eve too... presum... presumily.' As expected, Wesley still hasn't given up the torch, so he suffers the OBVIOUS ANGST when Fred makes good on all the unintentional innuendo about Knox and confides in him. That said, the funniest moment happens at the elevator. 'Come on... come on... come on...' Wesley says anxiously. 'Did you press...' asks Fred. 'Oh... yeah...' he breathes. The quietness with which Wesley delivers dramatic lines often feels like overacted cheesiness. Here, in a comedic moment, it's the absolute greatest.

* Gunn starts pissing everywhere and can't remotely control it. But he's also just hilarious in his general demeanor. 'I had my sleep removed,' Lorne explains. / 'You had Wolfram and Hart remove your sleep? ... THAT'S GREAT!'

* When Lorne first confronts Angel, he's sitting in a room by himself. 'Look, Lorne... I have things...' (Lorne looks unconvinced.) 'I'm busy...' (Skeptical Lorne is skeptical.) 'I'm brooding!' (Could Angel really be turning to this? Lorne looks up and finds that he's just watching a hockey game!) Under the influence, Angel first becomes an incredibly enthusiastic host (Sebassis looks utterly bewildered with his pizazz) and then suddenly REALLY needs to get some with Eve. 'Do you even have a last name?' he asks her. The setup is too obvious: 'Do you?' It's nice that he's able to enjoy some meaningless (and seriously, Eve makes it clear that it's meaningless) sex without unleashing the kraken.

* The best of the reactions is unquestionably Spike's utter joie de vivre. He goes from way above it all - it's Halloween for a vampire! - to just ROCKING OUT. And then he starts lurking everywhere, ready to express how excited he is that the latest development is happening. 'I LOVE YOUR DESK!' he proclaims to Angel. When Sebassis's crew enters, ready for some revenge, Spike can't help babbling 'WHAT A FANTASTIC ENTRANCE!' And of course, when the big bad projection of Lorne's mind appears? 'THAT'S ONE BITCHIN' BIG SUIT!'

When was the last time Angel was this fun without the stench of an awful plot lingering in it? I have a sneaking suspicion the answer is actually never.

---

* Lorne likes the demon's jacket. 'It's Pylean.' Also, Sebassis looks hilariously like D'Hoffran.

* Sebassis's whole crew could've gotten a paragraph devoted to themselves in the main writeup if it weren't for everything else being so amazing. The slave unscrewing his wrist to offer blood as a drink is just whaaaat. And Lorne, ever the suckup... 'Wow, this is... you... you taste great!'

* Lorne, keeping on the sunny side: 'He's already not killed like a hundred guests!'

* On getting punched by his own projection: 'Wow, I must really hate myself.'

* 'Oh my God, they shot Lorney-Tunes!' I'm reading you loud and clear, Harmony.

* It's a small episode for Harmony, and that's the best type of episode for Harmony. She delivers the real talk on morale sucking, too: 'Everybody's afraid you might axe them or... you know, AXE them.' / 'Hey, I never... okay, I may have killed a couple of them.' (It's of course absolutely preposterous that Wolfram and Hart's employees could possibly care about their mortality if they started at the company three months after the previous set of employees experienced a very sudden genocide, but hey!)

* More more more I want more.
---

so is this better than season 4 orrrrrr
---

Haha.

Season 4 did have its moments. The Angelus episodes were pretty spectacular, and I enjoyed the high school episode and... some of the monster of the week stuff wasn't that bad early on. Connor gets the crap beaten out of him very satisfyingly several times, and the finale is solid. But yeah, my overwhelming memory of it is going to be how Cordelia died and we weren't even told and had to suffer through an awful facsimile of her.

The new setting in general just just been top tier.
---

god I love that ep

I kind of zoned this topic out a bit, but I'm remembering how much I love Angel S5.

Also, Lorne has always been one of my favorite characters in Angel. But they're all so good (except for Connor of course) so I guess that doesn't say much.
---

Shaduln posted...

I kind of zoned this topic out a bit, but I'm remembering how much I love Angel S5.

I don't wanna do Cordelia or Charisma Carpenter dirty - I think she's a superior character to Spike overall - but yeah, this season is absolutely kicking the ass of every previous Angel season.
---

Where do you keep your past writeup?

Slowly makin my way through a4
---

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxSlhtRhhY8CaDcxS1hZMnk2Qmc

The doc is unreadable in HTML code format. You're gonna want 1. to right-click -> open with Google Docs or 2. to download to your PC, then open with your internet browser.

Won't be in nice GameFAQs format, but will be readable. (Would be even nicer if you overlaid the GameFAQs CSS, I guess.)
---

posing the same question from my avatar topic - is anyone willing to make sure this topic doesn't purge between 1/29 and 2/7ish? i might or might not have internet access that week.
---

I will try and help but should not be counted on.

Angel Season 5 is awesome and its comedy episodes are some of the best in the Buffyverse.
---

SeabassDebeste posted...

posing the same question from my avatar topic - is anyone willing to make sure this topic doesn't purge between 1/29 and 2/7ish? i might or might not have internet access that week.

will help
---

SeabassDebeste posted...

posing the same question from my avatar topic - is anyone willing to make sure this topic doesn't purge between 1/29 and 2/7ish? i might or might not have internet access that week.

@M3sterybumper You available?
---

thanks guys
---

ANGEL - Season 5, Episode 6

Recap: Angel is feeling disillusioned with his lot in life when he's tackled by the Mexican luchador wrestler who delivers the mail, Number Five. Turns out that Number Five is the last surviving brother of a team of demon-hunting luchadores who put away this heroic-heart-eating Aztec beast a hundred years ago. It has risen again, and only when Number Five rediscovers his heroism can Angel and his reanimated brothers defeat the beast again.

Yet another pitch-perfect monster of the week. Number Five is an amazing one-off minor character - a badass who looks absolutely ridiculous because of what he wears, but who is acutely of said ridiculousness... and refuses to take it off, or to take himself any less seriously because he wears this mask.

One thing I really enjoyed here was the respectful use of exoticism. It's not often we have as vivid a flashback as the one that Number Five treats us to, of his brothers dominating within the pro wrestling ropes. It's a wonderfully colorful scene that comes alive with the shots of a delirious crowd, reminiscent of the Victorian-era British party where Spike was last seen before being sired. It also informs the present-day status of Number Five, who has an absolutely classic tale of becoming embittered with the state of the world (look at how luchadores are treated today in Los Angeles!), falling from grace (taking a job literally with the devil), redememing himself with one final burst of ingenious courage (the trinket is in the coffee, you moron - 'I am not a hero, but I am not a fool'), and finding peace in death (HERMANOS NUMEROS!!!).

And lest we forget - the climactic action sequence of this episode is just crazy awesome. The monster of the week has Angel and Number Five down and hurt, when suddenly the blood from Number Five's wound trickles to the earth. Hands start bursting out of the graves, and you just know these ain't vampires. As the four brothers rise... they suddenly go and seize weapons by pulling off the spikes from the gate of the graveyard. It's a magnificent four-on-one, and Angel is as baffled as we are: 'We're trying to kill him, not pin him!' he complains. But he's wrong, as after a thigh-neck-lock-flip (straight from the flashback!), the four hermanos each drive a spike through one of the grounded demon's limbs. Angel shrugs, 'Okay, pinning works,' and finishes off the demon.

Like so many of the other good episodes of the week, we tackle a point of character development. Here, Angel's personal aspirations are wearing down. The little segment at the beginning is an excellent touch; with Gunn guiding his strokes of the pen (sucking Angel's own blood), Angel manages to empower several excellent causes and protect many lives. Gunn expresses how fucking fulfilling he finds this - yet without his fists doing the talking, it doesn't feel real to Angel. And indeed, he actually feels a little insecure when the heroicardiodietary monster doesn't want his own heart - and he's pretty sure it's not just because it's all shriveled up. Wonderful way to draw us into this theme.

We also address a point of motivation that was largely scrapped early in S2: the 'Shanshu' prophecy. Spike and Wesley explore this to great effect - with Wesley becoming horrified when Spike relays Angel's thoughts that the prophecy is nonsense.
(On this last point, Wesley does confer with Angel. Angel tells him that prophecy pretty much is always nonsense. 'Remember? The father will kill the son.' He raises his eyebrows at the silliness of the prophecy. Wesley's response: 'What are you talking about?' WESLEY DOING GOD'S WORK OUT THERE ERASING CONNOR FROM EXISTENCE. YOU DA MAN.) It's a lovely bookend when Angel pulls out the Codex and asks to read 'Shanshu Prophecy. English translation.' Awww.
---

---

* Today's fun notable shot of the episode: the MEGA-GENERIC COLD OPEN of a guy in a dark alleyway getting eaten by a monster... followed by a tracking shot of Number Five delivering office mail. So good.

* 'Fred! You're kind of like a woman!' / 'Oh... that wasn't a compliment.'

* 'In-house attacks are down thirty per cent this week!'

* There's a really silly, hilarious gag where after Angel is thrown through a glass wall by Number Five, a rumor spreads that Angel was the one committing the violence. Somehow, the 'news' has spread to literally everyone in the building within about forty-five seconds. Office Twitter.

* Your Angel vs Spike of the episode: 'All Souls' Mass?' / 'Prayer for the departed.' / 'You should know that, being departed and all.' (Meaningful look.)

* Wesley's outgrown his Head Boy days, but he's still no expert on American slang: 'Remind me again how you ended up in the front seat.' / 'Called shotgun.' / '... Oh. Thought we were doing a weapons check...'

* Shot of Fred's eye through a microscope. She cute.

* I fucking love Spike's nicknames for Angel. This episode gives us 'General Grumpy Pants' and 'Tall, Dark, and Dreary' - and earlier this season we had 'Captain Forehead.'

* 'I heard you speaking... you were going to drag me into the quest with the Aztec Demon.' / 'No I wasn't, I was gonna give you some mail!' / '... Oh. Sorry.' / 'Now I'm dragging you back in.'

* 'It reminds me that only a fool would want to be a champion.' 'The five of us were always joined, always united... and when we needed to, we came together like a fist.' Man Number Five was such a fucking boss.

* Bears reiterating that the Mexican wrestling ring has surprisingly great choreography and execution.

* Spike's William contribution of the episode: 'You see that in the science? ' / 'No, in the poetry.' William was the first name of Shakespeare.
---

That's generally regarded as the worst episodes of the season. I would tend to agree, and I don't hate it.

Actually by IMDB rating, it's regarded as one of the worst of the show, apparently. Only "I Fall to Pieces" and "She", both from S1, score lower. That, I think, is too far.
---

Maybe one of the worst of the season, in a season of all great episodes, but one of the worst of the series wtf

it's number five!
---

imdb is dead wrong, then. There are SO MANY worse episodes than that. I like that one quite a bit.

I remember disliking that episode, but I don't remember why. Your writeup makes it sound pretty good.
---

Part of the problem might just be following up that stellar Halloween episode with another goofy concept episode.

Having it rank worse than all of S4 is pretty baffling.
---

Had you seen number five in the background? He showed up as an extra in a couple spots earlier in the season.
---

kevwaffles posted...

That's generally regarded as the worst episodes of the season. I would tend to agree, and I don't hate it.

Actually by IMDB rating, it's regarded as one of the worst of the show, apparently. Only "I Fall to Pieces" and "She", both from S1, score lower. That, I think, is too far.

I have it mid-tier within Season 5 - clearly below the Lorne episode but clearly above the Spike-insane-in-the-basement episode.

I had to look up 'I Fall to Pieces.' LOL. I remember how hilariously fucking ridiculous that episode was. And yeah, 'She' was dire. Also really bad: pretty much every Gunn episode between Seasons 1 and 2.

SimplyUnfair posted...

imdb is dead wrong, then. There are SO MANY worse episodes than that. I like that one quite a bit.

^5. To me, this episode is really good because there's nothing bad about it.

SirBinro posted...

I remember disliking that episode, but I don't remember why. Your writeup makes it sound pretty good.

kevwaffles posted...

Part of the problem might just be following up that stellar Halloween episode with another goofy concept episode.

Having it rank worse than all of S4 is pretty baffling.

Because I'm a huge fucking nerd, I'll try to break down some of the reasons this episode might have rubbed people the wrong way.

* As kevwaffles points out, it's a goofy concept episode following one of the all-time-great goofy concept episodes.

* It's almost purely episodic (which is one of the first things I note). There is a massive bias overall toward episodes that advance some sort of plot arc - even if the episodes are bad and/or they worsen the arc. (This would explain its being worse than S4.) I don't think the importance of this can be understated.

* Angel's angst is *fairly* run-of-the-mill here.

* Some people might not be as happy with the depiction of luchadores here. Alternatively, other people might just not like Mexican characters in their version of Los Angeles.

Terastodon posted...

Had you seen number five in the background? He showed up as an extra in a couple spots earlier in the season.

I hadn't. That's neat.
---

kevwaffles posted...

That's generally regarded as the worst episodes of the season. I would tend to agree, and I don't hate it.

Actually by IMDB rating, it's regarded as one of the worst of the show, apparently. Only "I Fall to Pieces" and "She", both from S1, score lower. That, I think, is too far.

WTF?!

I really like the Luchador episode. Of course I love luchadors so maybe I am biased.

Terastodon posted...

Had you seen number five in the background? He showed up as an extra in a couple spots earlier in the season.

I remember being really excited when he got an episode because he was my favorite random background extra.
---

muddersmilk posted...

I remember being really excited when he got an episode because he was my favorite random background extra.

Actually, me too. I just thought it fell short, but I by no means dislike it.

SeabassDebeste posted...

but clearly above the Spike-insane-in-the-basement episode.

This is actually the highest rated S5 episode you've seen (or at least written up) thus far, lol. However, it's only slightly above any of them besides the werewolf episode, though it does go to support your theory about arc significance regardless. (This should in no way shape your expectations for the rest of the season. I have a hard time seeing you think many if any would be worse than it, but you do occasionally surprise me.)

SeabassDebeste posted...

I had to look up 'I Fall to Pieces.' LOL. I remember how hilariously fucking ridiculous that episode was. And yeah, 'She' was dire. Also really bad: pretty much every Gunn episode between Seasons 1 and 2.

I definitely could not agree more with them about 'She' being the absolute worse episode of the series. 'I Fall to Pieces' may not be the second worst but it's definitely down there.

As for Gunn episodes, S1 only had the one real Gunn episode with his actual introduction incredibly late in the season. You hate it a little more than most (I don't think anyone would call it great), but I'd be surprised if you actually put it in below any of the actual S2 ones if you went back and ranked them.

Also, I looked this up out of curiosity, and the worst Gunn episode is actually the late S3 one with his soul debt. It does fit far more awkwardly into his backstory than anything else and the "break-up" scene is weird and "false rage" was probably not really in J. August Richard's wheelhouse to boot, but otherwise I don't quite get it. Maybe dumbed down versions of "'da hood" didn't seem as awkward and jarring to people back then. Actually, that's almost certainly true.
---

ANGEL - Season 5, Episode 7

Recap: Wesley's father appears at Wolfram and Hart to offer Wesley a chance at joining the Watcher's Council and acts like a gigantic asshole toward Wesley. When Wolfram is attacked by a robot army that fights evil, it turns out that he's working for them to enslave Angel. When he threatens Fred to get what he wants, Wesley ends Roger - only to discover that he's actually a robot.

I was critical of Wesley's daddy issues when they first came up, and I still think they're highly unnecessary. Having a plotline like this is... well, it's pretty rote and predictable. Pop is a jerk, Wesley bumbles, Pop is really a jerk, Wesley tells him off and gets to shoot him.

Wait what? Yeah, the last line is the one really cool development of the episode. Wesley shooting his fake-dad is a really satisfying (though not necessarily surprising) moment after a whole bunch of rather typical grim fare. Now I'll be real - the grim fare isn't that bad. It's entirely unnecessary, but this is actually one of the more interesting Wesley plots we've gotten in recent seasons. We also actually pay off Angel's name-drop of the 'father will kill the son' prophecy by playing up what remains of the rift betwen Angel and Wes.

Lots of love for Spike's commentary this episode.

* 'Aha! So you're not ruling out that a human could have boffed a robot.' (pause) 'Sex with robots is more common than most people think.' Eve winds up giving him some seriously disgusted looks, and Spike thinks that observing him may be related to her job.

* When he confronts her, they get stuck in an elevator (which he then walks right out of). 'I know what this is. YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME TO HELL PAVAYNE!!!'

* He seems quite concerned with the robot break-ins, until he reconsiders his postiion .'Wait... What the hell am I worried about?'

* He's also thrilled to learn about Wesley's childhood. 'I can explain! Apparently, when Percy here was younger, he was Head. Boy.' / 'I already knew that.' / 'Right then... I have nothing else to report... If you want, I can have somebody type up the report about Head Boy.'

* It somehow becomes his job to talk to 'maintenance.' 'Where the bloody hell is Mainten - oh, never mind, I don't even care.'

* And he really does want to make Wesley feel better: 'I don't know if you knew this, but I killed my mom. Actually I'd already killed her, but then she tried to shag me, so I had to - ' / 'Thank you. I'm... very comforted.' (Spike nods, looking very sincere)

---

* Great cutaway: Lorne 'entertaining' Roger.

* The Wesley-Fred crush is probably the worst lingering subplot of the show, though it appears to be buried for good here. Crushing characterization: Fred gets very offended when Wesley claims that it was his duty to protect her. Yet when Knox offers to protect her, she's smiling and grateful. You can see the ache in Wes's eyes.

* 'I beat out 'everybody died in an explosion' as their greatest embarrassment?'

* I had more notes about Wesley and his father's interactions, but given that he turns out to be a fake, what's the point in transcribing them!
---

I've actually strongly disagreed with your hate for Wesley/Fred since it started. OTP
---

SeabassDebeste posted...

* I had more notes about Wesley and his father's interactions, but given that he turns out to be a fake, what's the point in transcribing them!

Well, if you're looking for a point, it was a sophisticated-enough robit to fool Wesley himself, so really basically it might as well have been his dad for real!

In fact it really should have been his dad for real. I think the Robit With A Fancy Glamour copout was a pretty big wasted opportunity. Although I do appreciate that it leads to Wesley calling up his real not-dead dad at the end of the episode in some attempt to reconcile or some such...and you know it's not going to happen. Heartbreaking, but honest.
---

I'll spoiler tag this even though it is 100% based on my impression at the time this episode aired and not necessarily what actually happens, but I had one very different interpretation than you about one thing.

I didn't leave this episode thinking Wes-Fred was exactly buried, but rather that they basically just switched roles at the end of the episode.

I'll let others decide if you should read that or not.
---

CoolCly posted...

I've actually strongly disagreed with your hate for Wesley/Fred since it started. OTP

The Wes/Fred/Gunn love triangle was the only truly terrible subplot. I never found Wes/Fred, Gunn/Fred, or Wes/Gunn nearly as bad.

I'm probably joking about one of those.
---

kevwaffles posted...

CoolCly posted...

I've actually strongly disagreed with your hate for Wesley/Fred since it started. OTP

The Wes/Fred/Gunn love triangle was the only truly terrible subplot. I never found Wes/Fred, Gunn/Fred, or Wes/Gunn nearly as bad.

I'm probably joking about one of those.

Wesley having a crush on Fred is fine when it's played for comedy (as it was during the first few episodes of Season 3). But his constant angst over her is stupidly cancerous.

Turducken posted...

SeabassDebeste posted...

* I had more notes about Wesley and his father's interactions, but given that he turns out to be a fake, what's the point in transcribing them!

Well, if you're looking for a point, it was a sophisticated-enough robit to fool Wesley himself, so really basically it might as well have been his dad for real!

In fact it really should have been his dad for real. I think the Robit With A Fancy Glamour copout was a pretty big wasted opportunity. Although I do appreciate that it leads to Wesley calling up his real not-dead dad at the end of the episode in some attempt to reconcile or some such...and you know it's not going to happen. Heartbreaking, but honest.

I mean, the most interesting part of the interactions between Wes and the robot were when the robot starts to warm up to Wes. Except then it turns out that he's betraying him! And that he was a robot anyway! Which means that all of the points of interest have to come from Wesley's reactions to what he thinks is his father... which are exactly what you'd expect anyway. We knew basically everything about Wesley's father just from that one-sided phone call in Season 2, and honestly we could probably have guessed it even before that since he's a prissy kid in the Whedonverse. So yeah.
---

CoolCly posted...

I've actually strongly disagreed with your hate for Wesley/Fred since it started. OTP

And I will continue to be the minority that doesn't really like Fred. Though that is mostly due to the love triangle stuff.

And Season 5 is the best season for her from what I remember.
---

Well as I mentioned earlier, the Jasmine episodes definitely did their role in turning Fred into the show's #3 option (after Connor). With Spike replacing Connor as #2, Fred is still seemingly #3.

P.S. - where does Connor-for-Spike rank among the best character trades ever? The other example that comes to mind takes place at the end of Parks and Rec Season 2. Not a big spoiler, but getting Ben and Chris in exchange for Mark was an absolute godsend for that show.
---

muddersmilk posted...

And Season 5 is the best season for her from what I remember.

I'm struggling to think of anyone whose best season isn't S5. Counting only the people who have made it this far, naturally.

Maybe I'll remember to discuss my thoughts on that in more detail when he's done. Probably not.
---

ANGEL - Season 5, Episode 8

Recap: A package arrives that makes Spike corporeal again, but which starts making Wolfram employees go insane. With Wesley absent, Wesley's second-in-command Sirth offers to translate the Shanshu prophecy. The upshot of it is that the 'vampire with a soul' is going to drink from a chalice. Angel and Spike have a massive brawl over it - and Spike wins. Turns out that the grail is a lie.

Well, this episode focuses on the best relationship possibly in the Buffyverse, so there's that going for it.

The choice to overlay Spike and Angelus's first meetings here is great. Since Season 2 of Buffy, we've known about the Angelus-Drusilla-Spike 'love' triangle of villainy. But more to the point, we knew that Angelus was the real master, and that Drusilla always picked Angelus. He's the big brother in this relationship, the bogeyman that causes Spike to hide behind the skirts of Angelus's ex-girlfriend to defeat. Spike was in a wheelchair to add to the explicit feeling of impotence.

The flashback? It's for the most part more of the same, but it's super-fun all the same. For one thing, Spike had no idea Angelus existed at first, which makes perfect sense. He thought Drusilla was 'his' great naivete. And of course, we confirm again that not only is Angelus a sadistic, it's important to note that he's also insane. That first scene where he voluntarily sticks out his hand to burn in the sun... so good.

A disdain for Spike seems to be the only mental predisposition that our Angel has retained from his soulless days. Presumably he's always seen Spike as something of a threat, one best controlled by intimidation and posturing. And for most of his life, it's worked. But now Spike cannot be denied - he's in Los Angeles, he's got a soul, he's corporeal, and he thinks he can be a champion? Putting Spike down psychologically is only going to get Angel so far at this point.

Not that that means he won't do it. Angel of all people should know that having a soul makes Spike a good guy at this point, but his own vanity gets in the way nonetheless. When is the clearest moment that we shouldn't be rooting for Angel in this fight necessarily - when Spike reminds him that Angel's soul is a curse, while Spike's is a choice ('I am different') - or when Angel brings up that Buffy never loved Spike like she loved Angel (whaaaaaat)?

Big brother-little brother relationships are at the crux of a lot of great TV. Vic Mackey and Shane Vendrell. Jack Bauer and Tony Almeida. The difference here? Little brother comes out on top. It's a deliciously back-and-forth, brutal experience, predictably empty for its final stakes... and devastating to Angel (and to crazies like me who are rooting for Angel to win that fight.) It's easy to conflate the reuslts of a contest with 'wanting it more' - even if, as Angel surmises and is probably correct about - Spike just wants it to deny Angel something.

And yeah, it's fairly clear that Spike is just being a vindictive bastard here. It really makes almost zero sense how little he changes now that he has a soul. The character development he gains as a soulless demon is not in line with anything Angelus or Drusilla shows. But you know what? It just makes for better TV when you pretend that Spike has had a soul all along, and it's certainly making for excellent TV now.
---

---

* Sirk is hilariously douche-y in mere minutes of screen time. (Sirk: May as well have read a 12-year-old's book report on the prophecy! / Gunn: I miss Wesley.) 'Please don't tell me I have to explain metaphor to you people...'

* There's already some gay subtext between Angel and Spike in their very first meeting. Angel asks Spike if it's okay that he wants to experiment with having a guy in his party. 'You don't think that makes me some kind of deviant... do you?'

* Eve having a heel reveal at the end of the episode is insanely predictable after she gets beat up by Gunn and apologized to profusely. But who cares? Lindsey gonna come back!

* Spike on drinking blood again: 'Oh god, it's bloody ambrosia... is this otter?' SOMEONE appreciates Harmony's work.

* 'You ever heard a howling abyss? Terrible sound!'

* 'Yeah, boo hoo. Thought he killed his father. TRY KILLING YOUR MOTHER WHILE SHE'S BLOODY COMING ON TO YOU!'
---

And... that's probably the last writeup for about ten days.

I'm gonna look for a different show to watch while I'm traveling, so I don't wind up just finishing this series without giving each episode some writeup attention.
---

My hype levels were off the charts when Lindsey showed up. But when Eve was talking to someone and it was clear they were dragging out the reveal, I remember getting really worried it would be Cordelia because I couldn't think of anyone else.
---

I had a creeping feeling of disgust that it might be Wesley or Connor, lmao.
---

Wes just because he was gone for the episode, I take it? I guess that makes sense (from a bad writing perspective).

Both would have been even worse, albeit for very different reasons. At least if it were Cordelia I could get behind them crawling into bed together!

(You really should watch Firefly, I wanted to quote it here and held myself back.)
---

Is Firefly something you (and others in this topic) would be interested in seeing a watchthrough topic for, or should I just binge it? I'm looking for a show in the next few hours that I can 'prepare' for my trip.
---

I would be interested in a topic, but if you want something short to binge it is a great candidate for that. 14 episodes and a movie might be a bit much for 10 days depending on what you're doing during that time, though.
---

I like your topics, so I'd definitely read it if you made it.
---

SeabassDebeste posted...

Is Firefly something you (and others in this topic) would be interested in seeing a watchthrough topic for, or should I just binge it? I'm looking for a show in the next few hours that I can 'prepare' for my trip.

Both are good. If you do binge, I want a big old topic on it after though.
---

Also, I think any source you get them from should be in the correct order, but make sure 'Serenity' is the first episode you watch (and I mean the episode name, not the movie), and 'Objects in Space' is the last episode before the movie. Past that the order should be by default correct.
---

Two people = plenty of interest. I'll binge-watch something that I don't really want to make a topic for.

Not sure what that will be.
---