Angel - Season 1 impressions (episode 6)

[thalia_seawood]

Sense and Sensitivity

For a summary click here.


- Cordelia's rant on sensitivity is neat. As Doyle remarks a little later on it's ironic that she's the one talking about Angel being clueless and insensitive.

Cordy watches Angel disappear around a corner: "OK, am I wrong in thinking that a "Please" and "Thank you" is generally considered good form when requesting a dismemberment?"
Doyle: "I think he appreciates us - in his own - unappreciative way."
Cordy gets a knife out of the bag: "You want to know what I think? I think he *uses* his tortured creature of the night status as a license to be rude and insensitive! (A tentacle wraps itself around Doyle's neck choking him Cordy never notices as she begins to slice up the monster) Sure, he is polite to the helpless and the downtrodden, but he ignores the people that are the closest to him. The people that matter the most, you know? (Doyle is still being choked) Can you say clueless?"

- Her comment Mr and Mrs Spock need to mindmeld now. when Kate visits Angel made me laugh out loud. Oh Cordy, your the queen of sarcasm.

- Angel gets a chance to roleplay again when he's trying to stop Little Tony from escaping. He's really good at slipping into different characters.

- Kate knows how to score a verbal hit:
Tony: "You've – you’ve been running after me for a long time, haven't you sweetheart? If I'd know how bad you wanted me, I might have let you catch me a little sooner."
Kate: "If I'd know how badly you needed the exercise, I might have let you run a little longer."

- Sensitivity Training? Together with a large group of people? Who are also your collegues? Yuck. What a nightmare.

- The evil Sensitivity Training brings many true emotions to the surface. On the whole, it would be a good thing if people did confront these feelings, but it's all happening way too quickly and noone is the least bit prepared for confronting such a surge of emotions.

- I really like Kate: She has a tough facade, but we've already in Lonely Hearts that she feels quite lost at times. I also like about her that she suffers from stagefright before speaking in public and tries to calm herself by joking about it.

- This comment of Kate's father made me want to kick him:

Lockley: "So, - Angel, - how long you been seeing Katie?"
Angel: "We're, uhm, we're pretty new friends."
Lockley: "Well, good to see her out with a man. I was starting to wonder if she didn't lean into another direction altogether."

In that instant you just *know* there's nothing she can do to please him.

- Elisabeth Röhm who plays Kate does a great job with Kate's speech for her father. This is a hard scene to play convincingly without it being tacky, but I liked her delivery very much.

- The really sad thing is that it changes nothing between Kate and her father:

Lockley: "Katie. (Angel hears them and turns in the doorway to watch and listen) Got your messages on my machine."
Kate: "Yeah, that was kind of a bizarre night. I.."
Lockley: "Katie... - Don't - don't say anything. You make an idiot out of yourself, embarrass me in front of the guys. You don't bring that up ever again. As far as I'm concerned - it didn't happen."
Kate watches as her dad turns and walks out.

- The sad parts of the episodes are balanced by some lighter moments, e.g. Angel being infected by the sensitivity bug as well. When he hugs Doyle and Cordelia ... what a fun moment. Also that Cordelia is more unhappy about it than Doyle. :-)

Cordy: "It's time for you to get all vampy - grr! - Kate needs you."
Angel shakes his head: "I don't want to. You both withdraw when I go vamp. I feel you judge me."
Cordy: "We won't judge you, (to Doyle) will we? (To Angel) give it a try."
Angel shakes his head: "Closeness is too important to me right now."

- I'm not sure about this remark from Angel:

Allen: "That's good. Give yourself permission to open up. (Angel frowns at him) What were your parents like?"
Angel ducks as Allen tries to hit him with the talking stick.
Angel: "My parents were great. (Grabs a hold of the stick, turns vamp and pushes Allen up against the wall with it) Tasted a lot like chicken.

Angel killed his parents when he became a vampire. Would he really joke about it after his soul was returned to him and he has a conscience once more? I'm not convinced about that.

Comments

[lyore.livejournal.com]

Someone else who likes Kate! And here I thought I was the only one.

As far as Angel talking about killing his parents - I think Angel realises that he can use that fact as a weapon, because it IS so hard for him to deal with. He refers to it several times, mostly in an effort to intimidate other people (including Buffy). Also, this mention of it is flipant, I get the impression his parents/family are also mentioned quiet often because he does feel so guilty about it, and this causes him to bring it up first (either seriously, flipantly or agggressively) before someone else can call him on it.

Since this is *Angel* we are talking about, every time he mentions it, he probably then goes home and broods about how mentioning his evil acts flipantly is almost as evil as actually doing them. And we all know that Angel is only happy when he's brooding. :)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I've heard there's a lot of Kate hatred out there, but why is that? I don't get it. Is it because she seems to have a little crush on Angel? I mean who wouldn't in her position... He's good-looking and mysterious and can handle risky situations and is willing to assist her in her work. - If she was pushing herself onto him, it might miff me, but she's really a very laid-back and vulnerable person behind the toughness.

And your explanation about Angel talking so flippantly about murdering his parents makes perfect sense. Thanks for sharing!

[lyore.livejournal.com]

The Kate Hate - I think it was a combination of people regarding her a some sort of replacement for Buffy (either as a love interest or just a kick-arse small blonde), and the fact that quite a few people don't like the actress herself. They had a similar problem with her when she was on Law and Order.

Sharing thoughts I'm moderately good at. Getting me to shut up is problem :)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Sharing thoughts I'm moderately good at. Getting me to shut up is problem :)
Not a problem on my LJ. I love discussion. :-)

[the-dala.livejournal.com]

This is a great one -- so much funny (Angel's wearing the Hawaiian shirt in that scene with Tony, right? Boreanaz is a better comic actor than most give him credit for), and yet Elisabeth Rohm really knocked the emotional scenes out of the park as well.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Yep, that the one with the Hawaiian shirt *and* the hat. :-)

I'm quite amazed with the quality of acting on the show. Seems to me that all the actors really cared for their characters and gave their best.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

This was the first episode written by the great Tim Minear, who was going to become one of the crucial writers and coproducers of the show. There is really just a single Minear episode where I think he made a serious misjudgment, but otherwise the man just rocks and is responsible for so much goodness on AtS that he deserves every praise he got (and he got plenty).

Sensitivity Training? Together with a large group of people? Who are also your collegues? Yuck. What a nightmare.

Exactly what I was thinking.*g*

Elisabeth Röhm who plays Kate does a great job with Kate's speech for her father. This is a hard scene to play convincingly without it being tacky, but I liked her delivery very much.

Yes, me too. I find it hard rewatching the scene, not because it's bad but because she's so good at it, and you find yourself hurting and flinching for Kate so much. The fact that nothing changes between her and her father afterwards is also the difference betweent his show and others, because you just know that on other shows, her father afterwards would have come to hug her and tell her he loves his little girl after all. Instead, the relationship between Kate and her father is an ongoing tragedy.

Angel's "chicken" remark - well, he is talking to someone he wants to intimidate here, plus he is capable of black humour.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

The fact that nothing changes between her and her father afterwards is also the difference betweent his show and others, because you just know that on other shows, her father afterwards would have come to hug her and tell her he loves his little girl after all. Instead, the relationship between Kate and her father is an ongoing tragedy.

Yes, and you just know that he does care for her, but has totally lost the ability to express any positive emotions. From the episode you showed me (The Prodigal) it's possible to guess that her father is ashamed of himself and is pushing Kate away because of this.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Sensitivity Training? Together with a large group of people? Who are also your collegues? Yuck. What a nightmare.

Seeing both of your reaction to this, I wonder if it's an American thing? I can assure you it's real. I've experienced it in the more touchy-feely world of academia (both as a student and a teacher, and it's always unintentionally hilarious). I don't know how often it is actually required in law enforcement, but just about every police show feels obliged to parody it at some point. I ought to ask my father, who works in law enforcement, if he's ever been forced to sit through something like this --

This is a fun/heartbreaky episode (ahh, Angel, how you manage to be both at once). And I've also always liked Kate.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

It must be an American thing. If you suggested something like this here, you'd just get stares of disbelief.

Poor American police officers, if this is real! And poor American academics! Carrie! What have they been doing to you?!?

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I've seen it parodied in English crime fiction too, so maybe there's something Anglo-Saxon about it. I think it might be a symptom of the American (and probably English as well) split personality about cultural/gender inclusiveness. But mostly, blame the lawyers. At some point, courts decided that schools/police departments that are sued for harassment can use some senstivity seminar to prove "hey, we did all we could!" The sad truth of course is that anyone who has to be told not to be an asshole/racist/chauvinist is probably beyond saving; in reality, this kind of training mostly leads to resentment, the perception of minorities and women getting "special treatment," and overall mockery, as you've witnessed in this episode.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

I can assure you it's real. I've experienced it in the more touchy-feely world of academia (both as a student and a teacher, and it's always unintentionally hilarious).

Good heavens, how did you survive this? I would be traumatized for ages afterwards.

Nice! Someone else who likes Kate!

[spacedoutlooney.livejournal.com]

Catching up on these since I discovered that you were doing a first watch through.

About Angel's remark about eating his parents, I believe that that was after he touched the talking stick. So it's a sign of its whammy starting to take affect.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

About Angel's remark about eating his parents, I believe that that was after he touched the talking stick. So it's a sign of its whammy starting to take affect.

That makes a lot of sense. Will have to rewatch the scene sometime to check this, but I'm pretty sure you're right.