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Date Posted: 09:49:42 01/29/04 Thu
Author: Kuzibah
Author Host/IP: 12.175.117.195
Subject: Angel 5/11 *SPOILERS*

Hey, great news! Now that "Buffy" has ended, we can start having cross-overs again. Unfortunately, for our first one we crossed an interesting plot and important character development with appalling stupidity and character assassination of a show no longer able to defend itself. I think this episode may be destined to become my "Forrest Gump" episode of "Angel," where the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off.

First, the plot. Apparently not all the newly minted slayers come straight out of clearasil ads. One, due to severe childhood trauma, is deeply psychotic. Tragic enough, but now with her new powers, an extremely dangerous individual. This was actually a good start. It took the Slayer Mythos and pursued a logical chain of events.

Angel and Spike (now a helper of the helpless, himself) individually go after the psycho slayer, each in his own way. Spike, characteristically, gets the basic gist and is off to solve the problem with a bit of the old ultra-violence. Angel carefully pursues information, striking only when he knows what he's up against and how to fight it. There's a nice red herring where they initially suspect the girl is possessed (there aren't enough of these, really) and we finally, FINALLY, get out of Wolfram and Hart's offices and see some of the rest of Los Angeles, and very interestingly lighted, as well.

Now the stupidity. The Scooby Gang, now based in Europe, has apparently formed a proto-Watcher's Council to gather, train, and assign Slayers where they are needed. That's fine. Again, a logical progression from last season. But to deal with the problem of a psychotic Slayer, they send... Andrew. Yeah, that makes sense.

So anyway, Andrew is now dressing like Keen Eddie's partner and supposedly a field agent for Rupert Giles. Yeah, whatevah.

His geek-speak is more annoying than ever, a thing I hoped was not possible, and hey, for his constant nerdy asides he references: Star Wars, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings. That's it. I'm sorry, writers, but familiarity with two movies that made kazillions of dollars and possibly the most enduring TV show ever doesn't make you a pathetic nerd. It makes you an American with a TV. Hell, I've had ministers who reference Star Wars and Star Trek from the pulpit! Enough, already. A little gentle fun at the expense of the bulk of your audience at first was fine. Creating a "character" who is no more that a collection of blurbs from the Ain't-it-cool-news message boards is officially annoying now. Get past it.

But as annoying as the geek-tics are, they are vastly preferable to Andrew the insufferable, self-righteous prick. Why Angel and the rest not only let Andrew "brief" them on things which they already are well aware of, but also sit quietly while he insults them to their faces is infuriating. Listen, you thumb-sucking punk, Wesley Wyndham-Pryce was studying Slayers before you were feeding yourself, so don't presume to question his authority on the subject, got it?

Andrew also imparts information about the rest of the gang. Xander's in Africa. Period. Willow and Kennedy are apparently too busy partying down in Rio (de Janiero, one presumes) to take on a dangerous killer with actual skills that might defeat her. Buffy and Dawn are in Rome, living a quiet, non-Slaying lifestyle. That's actually nice to hear, and they certainly deserve it. Giles is mentioned in passing, but other than the fact that he's alive, we don't know where he is or what he's doing, or why, for the love of God, he decided Andrew was the man for this job. Faith and Robin seem to have dropped off the face of the earth.

So all of this builds to a climax where psycho-slayer, Dana, beats Spike senseless, chains him up, drugs him, and proceeds to cut off his hands. Angel and the gang burst in, save the day, capture Dana, and are about to take her away for, I guess, treatment of some sort, when Andrew shows up with a small army of Slayers! Gee, Andrew, nice of you to reveal you had a squad of super-powered, highly-trained women at your disposal AFTER we all risked our lives and were dismembered. You couldn't have told us this, oh, A COUPLE OF HOURS AGO? And then you have the balls to suggest Angel & Co. aren't qualified to handle the situation because what? they're of questionable moral character? Well, well, you were happy to deal with Wolfram & Hart all of eight months ago when they gave you the amulet and the information to SAVE THE WORLD. And do I need to remind you, little man, that it wasn't all that long ago that you (and Willow) had some morally questionable moments of your own? And what? Giles and the rest are too good to call Angel on the phone and speak to him directly about what he thinks he's doing?

Look, I don't have a problem with exploring the question of whether the ends justify the means. It's an important question, a literary theme with enduring power, and in today's political climate, rather timely. But explore it, don't just send whiny pukes who should know better to make self-righteous pronouncements about good and evil, pronouncements that go completely unchallenged. It's irritating, but even more, it's insulting to your audience that has been exploring that very question with you for going on eight years now.

Once said whiny puke is out of the picture, we return to a thoughtful, intelligent show where two morally ambiguous and struggling characters have a discussion of just what the nature of good and evil is, and Spike has a nicely played epiphany where he questions his own history and moral responsibilty. And Angel, stepping down from his usual soap-box where Spike is concerned, coaxes his protege once again through a lesson he, Angel, has already learned. These two are really more alike than either is willing to admit, and I'd like to see more of this interaction. Still not good enough to pull out an (IMO) offensive episode, but a nice scene nonetheless.

In conclusion, I'd like to give recognition to the actress who played Dana. She did an exceptional job with a role that didn't allow the actress to rely on her usual skills of expression, and deserves mention. I just wish she'd been in a better episode.

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Replies:

[> I'd forgotten about the last scene. -- SteffiG, 10:16:39 01/29/04 Thu (209.6.181.81)

That was nice.

Great review. Thanks.


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[> She is SO much more eloquent than I am, isn't she. I'm in total agreement. -- Grim ,_,_), 11:55:43 01/29/04 Thu (66.95.229.84)


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[> I loved it. -- Mo, 12:14:40 01/29/04 Thu (24.128.159.238)

Except for the actress who played Dana, who I thought was terrible. She just seemed another in a long line of girls cast as "Slayers" who don't have any acting chops in their body, and substitute a tic (in this case, darting eyes) for actual emotion.

I wasn't insulted at all by the episode. I thought it was very well-written, and I thought it was perfectly believable that they'd send Andrew (maybe he was pestering Giles again, and after all, if Angel HAD gone bad, well, Andrew seems more expendable), and I assumed that the Slayers all showed up much later than Andrew, as he might have, you know, contacted Buffy or Giles over the course of the episode.


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[> [> Well, maybe... -- Kuzibah, 13:40:38 01/29/04 Thu (12.175.117.195)

But I didn't see that implied on the screen. What was implied on the screen to me was that Andrew was acting with Giles's full authority. Otherwise, why would Angel, et al. put up with him? He brought them no new information, no special skills, and was rude and insulting, to boot. He also seemed content to let Angel and Spike risk life and limb (literally) to capture Dana and then threaten them into giving her up, something Buffy and crew criticized the Watcher's Council for doing in the past.

I'm not saying the entire show was bad. In fact, Andrew aside, it was very good. I just don't like what his appearance and behavior imply about where the new Slayer organization is going.


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[> I thought it was very well-done. -- Delirium, 13:47:39 01/29/04 Thu (67.127.246.210)

I'm glad that atleast in this episode and the previous episode Spike *FINALLY* feels like Spike to me. I've been completely disconnected from the characters this season and prior to last weeks episode, this weeks and the Wesley episode have found the episodes to be mostly forgettable.

I had a tiny smile that atleast someone from Sunnydale was happy that Spike was alive and publicly displayed affection for him and emphatically stated that he had been a hero.

Personally, I thought it lame that Wesley was written to back up Buffy's harebrained scheme in "Chosen" by stating that it was a "brilliant" plan. They're lucky that of all the girls that were just *presto* made into Slayers only one has shown up to be "an anomaly" such as Dana.

I believe Giles sent Andrew because he was probably trying to get him out of his hair much like he sent him on the mission to the Mission with Spike at the end of Season 7. The Watcher's Council (whatever of it exists) is probably spread very, very thin with such a high Slayer to Watcher ratio (they did say hundrends, even THOUSANDS right?). Most likely Giles knew they would eventually get a significant number of Slayers out there to retrieve her so they let Angel do all the work since he atleast knows the area and has all the resources to do it. I'm fairly sure Giles was being facetious when he said he was sending them their "top guy".

I'm sure Wesley realizes that with all those untrained Slayers running around, his help is needed more than ever at the Watcher's council, but Alexis is needed on "Angel" so I don't see Wes going anywhere and who knows if they also signed one of those blood binding contracts to W&H when they signed on.

Andrew and Willow get redemption because they are very precious humans. That's the way it worked in the Buffyverse. All demons are suspect despite their actions showing otherwise and so that is why Spike and Anya were never fully trusted and why Anya, and probably Spike, were also not mourned very much (As per some of Nic's comments about why Xander wasn't too heartbroken about her loss, which I assume is just an echo of general ME sentiments).

The horrible maiming aside, I thought the ending made the episode, showing a significant amount of character growth for Spike and Angel...and I liked the growth in their relationship with each other as well.

And frankly, I *needed* the funny and Andrew provided it in spades. Maybe it's cruel and shallow to laugh at the geek, but I think Andrew takes it in stride. I believe he is grateful for the chance to help, that he remembers that he survived while Anya did not, and he venturs out there despite still screaming like a girl when he encounters a dead man.

IMHO,
-Del


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[> [> I loved the moment... -- Mo, 14:03:27 01/29/04 Thu (24.128.159.238)

Where Angel finds Spike immediately after Spike got tossed out of the window. I forget what Spike's dialogue was there when Angel asked him what he was doing, but it made me laugh out loud, much in the same way that he did last week when criticizing the girl he saved.

And, I've mentioned it to others, so I'll mention it here: Andrew's bag lunch. Union Jack. "Andrew" scribbled on it. Wonderful.


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[> [> LOL, and then he pulled out the cheese puffs. :) -- Delirium, 14:09:45 01/29/04 Thu (67.127.246.210)

or cheesy poofs. That was priceless. LOL.

-Del


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[> [> [> I thought they were Goldfish. -- Mo, 14:58:14 01/29/04 Thu (169.152.251.99)

But whatever they were, I just love him, Idiot Man-Child that he is.


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[> The Exposition by Andrew ... -- Enigma, 15:53:50 01/29/04 Thu (141.212.98.67)

wasn't for the guys in the room, it was for the Angel fans who were not Buffy fans.

Hey, if you hadn't watch the last year off Buffy you wouldn't know why there were other slayers running around and if you had never watched it I don't know how well you would know what a slayer is. Yes he was condesending but there was also a point where they pointed out that they knew all this, well except what happend 6 months ago. Which doesn't make sense since they knew to send the Amulet.


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[> [> Re: The Exposition by Andrew ... -- Kuzibah, 16:19:44 01/29/04 Thu (12.175.117.195)

I understand that, and from a dramatic standpoint that makes sense, but I did think his remarks to Wesley were extremely rude, esp. considering they'd never met before. Now, if it had been Xander, I'd have been willing to go with it, because he never liked Angel or Wesley, and has no reason to trust their employees/friends.

It's funny, I've been reading a lot of reviews, and overall they've been positive but seem to fall into two camps: 1) Buffy (series) lovers who don't care for Angel (series) and were glad to see Andrew appear and put Angel (character) and the rest in their place, or 2)Angel (series) lovers who don't like Buffy (series) and were smugly satisfied to learn that Buffy (character) and the rest were willing to let Angel and/or Spike be killed to achieve their own ends. One review actually took the implied behavior I found so offensive and declared it "totally in character" that Buffy would send Angel and Spike to possible death to achieve her own ends.

I happen to like both shows, and most of the characters, and I think whatever differences Buffy may have with Angel, she'd at the very least confront him on it before passing a possible death sentence. I mean, she can get past him trying to destroy the world, but joining a law firm she'd never heard of a year before was an unforgivable sin?

I don't know. Remove all that and it was a superior episode, but I just can't get past that.


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[> I loved it. -- Pouncer, 20:25:24 01/29/04 Thu (165.247.85.185)

How does Drew Goddard dip into my mind? I remember watching the first season of Angel and wishing he would meet one of his victims, a girl who had seen her family slaughtered by Angelus and Drusilla. She lay just inside the glass door where her mother had frantically pushed her, telling her “Don’t invite them in!” as her final words.

I wanted Angel to meet her, to have to live with his actions in a way Buffy never addressed. To know her pain and her struggle to survive seeing her mother and father and baby sister ripped to bloody pieces in front of her. (This fantasy was inspired by Drusilla’s remark about finding a child to kill after Angel kissed Buffy in I Only Have Eyes For You – I just knew that they had found some innocent.) So watching Dana the psychotic Slayer take out her rage and hurt on Spike was gorgeous in a completely horrifying kind of way. The final scene where Spike and Angel discuss what they loved about being a vampire was transcendent. Spike, all about the rush and the kill, Angel invested in the art of torture – each of them realizing the very human consequences of their actions.

Seeing Andrew again was pure joy. The echoes of Storyteller made me so happy, and his condescension towards the W&H group seemed perfectly in character. He’s part of the Cool Slayer inner circle now, while the rest of them are either Sunnydale cast-offs or unknowns. Andrew’s always wanted to see himself as an insider, as superior. I’m kind of surprised that Wesley didn’t taser him, actually. (Flashback to a favorite Conner moment: “Fred, I thought you were more of a taser girl.” Oh, delicious snarky sexy Connor. I miss you.)

I was impressed that I couldn’t decide if Spike had really been the one to torture Dana. He had moments where I was sure he was remembering the location, and she was so *certain*. The ambiguity of his reactions, when he tried to convince Dana that he hadn’t hurt *her*, even though he’d hurt many, many others – it made me shiver.

I liked the theme of seduction to the W&H side of the struggle. Gunn is going over the edge first, but the rest of them are being pulled into the dark too. Andrew’s final speech, backed up by the late-arriving Slayers, alerted our Heroes to their potential defilement. I hope they consider his warning. Although, being rejected by your former allies in the fight against evil must have a disheartening effect of its own.


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[> I agree with everybody. -- wwolfe, 22:26:19 01/29/04 Thu (68.69.234.250)

I can see the justice in Kuzibah's criticisms, but as I watched the episode last night I enjoyed it very much. The one glitch for me was the presence of all the Slayers at the end. Mike's explanation is possible, I suppose, but it still seems highly improbable that Andrew would be able to assemble so quickly such a large group, had he been instructed to do so by Giles at some point after Spike and Angel started their search for Dana. (I'd add that I liked the performance by the actress who played Dana. It was essentially a silent movie performance, given the near-total lack of dialogue foe the character. As such, she had to convey the character's essence through pantomime and other silent movie technique. In my view, she succeeded admirably. Kudos to the make-up people, or whoever chose to leave the three stripes of blood on the actress's face for most of the episode. It made her look like a warrior in battle make-up, which was perfect.)

One thing I liked, and found in character, was that Buffy didn't trust Angel after she found out he'd joined Wolfram & Hart. That just felt like her, to me. This wasn't Angelus, it was Angel choosing to work for the Devil, and Buffy has always had a problem with moral shades of gray. I agree with Kuz that the point of this season is to explore the moral ambiguity present in working with evil to do good; for me, it was important to show that, among the broad spectrum of possible responses to that situation, one would be immediate and outright rejection by someone close to Angel. In other words, not everyone would respond by mulling over the many difficult questions raised by Angel's situation. Someone would respond viscerally by saying a loud, firm "No." Based on everyone's past behavior, that someone would be either Buffy or Xander, and using Buffy obviously had more impact. (It also serves the handy real life purpose of explaining why Buffy won't be appearing on the show, given Sarah's decision in this regard.)

The one point there seems to be agreement on is the last scene, and I'll add my vote. For me, this was one of the best scenes ever from either show. Written with intelligence and subtlety, and played with his usual excellence by James. the surprise for me was David's work here: this was his best acting, in my view. Without showing any strain, without making a big show of *acting*, but with a very appealing calmness and sense of sureness in his ability, he projected a difficult and grown-up mix of very complex, contradictory emotions and thoughts - to a large measure, using only his eyes and his facial mask, in the bargain.


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[> I finally just watched it... -- GG, 03:58:28 02/02/04 Mon (62.254.32.5)

I found it incredibly disturbing. I found Andrew incredibly annoying (but I always do). I liked the last scene with Angel and Spike talking.

Over all, not one of my favorites, but I didn't totally hate it.


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[> finally just watched it and enjoyed it... -- shk24, 08:53:27 02/03/04 Tue (208.17.34.25)

i pretty much have to say that i thought it was really well done...

i can understand why people are upset with andrew's attitude toward angel and the gang but based on their expressions during the first meeting, i got the feeling they didn't take his comments to heart.

andrew will always be a wannabe, but he has also found a use for himself where before he was just a patsy. i think he has a little of the old wesley in him: arrogant, slightly incompetent, and very insecure. and while he will never amount to "rogue demon hunter", i think he has potential to be helpful in his capacity as a psuedo watcher.

i thought the actress who played dana did a tremendous job conveying her pain without saying much. like pouncer, i too was caught in between whether it was spike who had tortured her or someone else.

like everyone else, i thought the last scene was written and acted out as well as any from either buffy or angel...


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[> I liked it quite a bit. -- Anthony, 03:35:13 02/04/04 Wed (67.160.214.245)

For some reason, the way Andrew pronounces "vampire" cracks my shit up each and every time.

Perhaps there is some hypocrisy in the Scoobies' stance on Angel's association with Wolfram and Hart, but I think this hypocrisy has been, on occasion, brought up. They employ a curious set of double standards, such as in their treatment of Willow's evil versus Spike and Faith's, et al. That they would see no problem in risking Angel's life (they didn't, after all, know Spike was in the mix) seems like one of those weird blind spots--they don't acknowledge that their actions are just as morally questionable as Angel's, nor that they've got their share of grey characters working for them as well (I can't think of one Scooby who hasn't, at some point, employed questionable ethics towards a particular end).

The point that Buffy doesn't deal well with such a stated shades of grey organization as Los Angeles branch Wolfram and Hart version 2.0 (since she's more than willing, when the occasion requires it, to employ those who fall under shades of grey) is well taken. Perhaps she didn't expect the slayer to be as dangerous as she was; maybe she didn't think Angel's life would truly be in danger, and was willing to place him in the line of fire since it's been proven he can handle himself.

Also, re: the army of slayers. Well, I thought it was a really interesting twist to have Andrew reveal himself as cold, manipulative, and fully qualified as Watcher material. He skunked Angel, pure and simple, and despite the inherent questionability of Andrew's actions, he did what needed to be done from their point of view. The way I saw it was that it was a test of Angel; would he try to keep the Slayer at Wolfram and Hart, securing a powerful weapon for a firm that, until recently, was fully aligned with evil, or would he prove his loyalty to the gang (and good) by sending her directly to be with fellow slayers? An unfair test, to be sure, but I can see why Giles might have put Andrew up to it.

The only problem with this episode, as I see it, is that it sets up a real showdown between Angel's people and the Scoobies. I don't like the idea of these two camps becoming rigidly opposed without the ability to set up a real confrontation this season. I'd much rather this episode come next season, after Joss had signed contracts for all the major players to commit to a few episodes that would explore the new dynamic and set in motion some sort of showdown between the two groups. When you play with such a charged history, I feel you should really follow up on it in some manner.


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[> [> That last paragraph makes a very good point. -- wwolfe, 12:49:33 02/04/04 Wed (161.149.63.107)

I can't see any way they can follow through on the issues they've raised this season.


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