Angel - Season 1 impressions (episode 11)
Nov. 21st, 2005 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodPlease send warm thoughts my way. Our heater now doesn't even work temporarily and we haven't managed to get a repair service yet. Currently, I'm wrapped in two blankets and snuggling a hot water bottle. Hopefully, typing in my journal will let me forget about the cold.
Somnabulist
A summary can be found here.
My favorite episode on Angel so far. I loved the plot!
- The beginning is very intense and I wasn't quite sure if Angel is dreaming, sleep-walking or sharing the hunt with someone else.
- The opening credits list Alexis Denisof for the first time as a main character.
- Lines that made me smile:
* Cordelia to Wesley: “Nobody likes a smart ass rogue demon hunter.”
* Wesley: “Well, even a solitary soldier, such as myself, recognizes that a free exchange of intelligence benefits the common struggle.
- The psych profile of the killer Kate reads out to the member of her team gave me the shivers. I really was worried that Angel would be behind the murders after all.
Kate: “Our suspect will be a white male. To the observer he will not seem a monster. His victims put up little or no struggle, so it’s likely that he is charming, attractive, (blends into footage of Angel walking down a crowed street at night) but at his core he is a loner. Possibly a dual personality, who once the crime has been committed, retains no memory of the act. (Blend back to Kate giving the briefing) He will not view his victims as subhuman, rather it’s himself that he views as something other than human, more than human, a superior species. (Blend to Angel) Stalking his prey, getting to know them. (Back to Kate) It’s unlikely that he’ll be married though he may have recently come off a long-term relationship recently, one that ended badly. We look for a precipitating event in cases such as this, and a painful breakup is always at the top of the list. (Blend back to Angel. He spots a blonde talking to some friends) Prior to failing this relationship may have marked an inactive period in our suspects life. He would have regarded it as a lifeline, his salvation, (the blonde turns and it’s not Buffy. Angel walks on.) but once ended, it resulted in his recidivism. - What is not in question is his experience. He’s been doing this for a very long time, (blend back to Kate) and he will do it again.”
- Another great moment: Cordelia first defending Angel and then totally turning the other way around when it becomes a possibility that he's evil again. She's certainly not held up by sentimentalities. :-)
Cordy gets up: “I don’t care how many file you have on all the horrible things he did back in the powdered wig days! - He is good now. And he’s my friend. And nothing you or anyone else can say will make me turn on a friend!”
Angel: “Cordelia. (Wesley spins around) He’s right.”
Cordy to Wesley: “You’ll stake him and I’ll cut his head off.”
- I love this moment:
Angel: “Killing dreams. Always the same. (Swallows) I-I stalk them, toy with them, mark them while they are still alive. Before they can die from their fear, I feed on them.”
Cordy: “Okay. So you’ve been having nightmares, it doesn’t mean...”
Angel: “They’re not nightmares. I’ve enjoyed them.”
Later on, we find out that Angel might have shared Penn's emotions during the "dreams", but there's still the possibility that some part of Angel does enjoy the hunt. Having a soul hasn't simply erased all of his instincts.
- Cordelia always attempts to stop Angel from brooding by being sarcastic. Calling Angel "Mr. ‘I’m so tortured’" is just one example. :-)
- Penn:
He really is Angelus' creature. E.g. killing first his sister, then the rest of his family is a repeat performance of what Angelus did.
While it becomes clear that killing Penn is the only option, I couldn't help thinking that Angelus was a lot worse than Penn. Angelus, however, had the chance to become good by being given a soul.
- Kate:
Things are tough for her in this episode: First she is confronted with a serial killer, then she finds out Angel is vampire. And not only that: The added bonus is that Angel used to be evil (and might still be dangerous) and that he and Penn know one another quite well.
Her way of taking out Penn is ingenous.
(My nitpick would be that I can't see how she could get all the ancient vampire books which conveniently contain information about Angel quite so easily.)
- The last scene with Cordelia and Angel is brilliant as well:
Angel: “It’s not so different. People moving through their lives. I wonder if anything ever really changes.”
Cordy: “Sure it does. - They do. (Looks over at him) You have. - They were just dreams, Angel. They weren’t even your dreams. They didn’t mean anything.”
Angel: “But I enjoyed it.”
Cordy: “It’d probably be okay if you never mentioned that part ever again.”
Angel: “It’s still in me, Cordelia.”
Cordy: “Sure it’s in you. We all have *something*. But it’s not the only thing that’s in you. You’re not him, Angel. Not anymore. The name I got in my vision, the message didn’t come for Angelus, it came for you. Angel. And you have to trust that whoever that Powers That Be be, - are, - is.. anyway, - they know the difference.”
Angel: “Yeah.”
Cordy: “People really *do* change.”
Angel: “Yes they do. (Gets off the embrasure and stands next to Cordy) And sometimes they change back. - If the day ever comes that I..”
Cordy: “Oh, I’ll kill you dead!”
Angel blinks: “Thanks.”
Cordy turns to go: “What are friends for?”
Angel follows her a half-smile on his face.
Somnabulist
A summary can be found here.
My favorite episode on Angel so far. I loved the plot!
- The beginning is very intense and I wasn't quite sure if Angel is dreaming, sleep-walking or sharing the hunt with someone else.
- The opening credits list Alexis Denisof for the first time as a main character.
- Lines that made me smile:
* Cordelia to Wesley: “Nobody likes a smart ass rogue demon hunter.”
* Wesley: “Well, even a solitary soldier, such as myself, recognizes that a free exchange of intelligence benefits the common struggle.
- The psych profile of the killer Kate reads out to the member of her team gave me the shivers. I really was worried that Angel would be behind the murders after all.
Kate: “Our suspect will be a white male. To the observer he will not seem a monster. His victims put up little or no struggle, so it’s likely that he is charming, attractive, (blends into footage of Angel walking down a crowed street at night) but at his core he is a loner. Possibly a dual personality, who once the crime has been committed, retains no memory of the act. (Blend back to Kate giving the briefing) He will not view his victims as subhuman, rather it’s himself that he views as something other than human, more than human, a superior species. (Blend to Angel) Stalking his prey, getting to know them. (Back to Kate) It’s unlikely that he’ll be married though he may have recently come off a long-term relationship recently, one that ended badly. We look for a precipitating event in cases such as this, and a painful breakup is always at the top of the list. (Blend back to Angel. He spots a blonde talking to some friends) Prior to failing this relationship may have marked an inactive period in our suspects life. He would have regarded it as a lifeline, his salvation, (the blonde turns and it’s not Buffy. Angel walks on.) but once ended, it resulted in his recidivism. - What is not in question is his experience. He’s been doing this for a very long time, (blend back to Kate) and he will do it again.”
- Another great moment: Cordelia first defending Angel and then totally turning the other way around when it becomes a possibility that he's evil again. She's certainly not held up by sentimentalities. :-)
Cordy gets up: “I don’t care how many file you have on all the horrible things he did back in the powdered wig days! - He is good now. And he’s my friend. And nothing you or anyone else can say will make me turn on a friend!”
Angel: “Cordelia. (Wesley spins around) He’s right.”
Cordy to Wesley: “You’ll stake him and I’ll cut his head off.”
- I love this moment:
Angel: “Killing dreams. Always the same. (Swallows) I-I stalk them, toy with them, mark them while they are still alive. Before they can die from their fear, I feed on them.”
Cordy: “Okay. So you’ve been having nightmares, it doesn’t mean...”
Angel: “They’re not nightmares. I’ve enjoyed them.”
Later on, we find out that Angel might have shared Penn's emotions during the "dreams", but there's still the possibility that some part of Angel does enjoy the hunt. Having a soul hasn't simply erased all of his instincts.
- Cordelia always attempts to stop Angel from brooding by being sarcastic. Calling Angel "Mr. ‘I’m so tortured’" is just one example. :-)
- Penn:
He really is Angelus' creature. E.g. killing first his sister, then the rest of his family is a repeat performance of what Angelus did.
While it becomes clear that killing Penn is the only option, I couldn't help thinking that Angelus was a lot worse than Penn. Angelus, however, had the chance to become good by being given a soul.
- Kate:
Things are tough for her in this episode: First she is confronted with a serial killer, then she finds out Angel is vampire. And not only that: The added bonus is that Angel used to be evil (and might still be dangerous) and that he and Penn know one another quite well.
Her way of taking out Penn is ingenous.
(My nitpick would be that I can't see how she could get all the ancient vampire books which conveniently contain information about Angel quite so easily.)
- The last scene with Cordelia and Angel is brilliant as well:
Angel: “It’s not so different. People moving through their lives. I wonder if anything ever really changes.”
Cordy: “Sure it does. - They do. (Looks over at him) You have. - They were just dreams, Angel. They weren’t even your dreams. They didn’t mean anything.”
Angel: “But I enjoyed it.”
Cordy: “It’d probably be okay if you never mentioned that part ever again.”
Angel: “It’s still in me, Cordelia.”
Cordy: “Sure it’s in you. We all have *something*. But it’s not the only thing that’s in you. You’re not him, Angel. Not anymore. The name I got in my vision, the message didn’t come for Angelus, it came for you. Angel. And you have to trust that whoever that Powers That Be be, - are, - is.. anyway, - they know the difference.”
Angel: “Yeah.”
Cordy: “People really *do* change.”
Angel: “Yes they do. (Gets off the embrasure and stands next to Cordy) And sometimes they change back. - If the day ever comes that I..”
Cordy: “Oh, I’ll kill you dead!”
Angel blinks: “Thanks.”
Cordy turns to go: “What are friends for?”
Angel follows her a half-smile on his face.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-22 05:48 am (UTC)Later on, we find out that Angel might have shared Penn's emotions during the "dreams", but there's still the possibility that some part of Angel does enjoy the hunt. Having a soul hasn't simply erased all of his instincts.
No. He just has a choice about giving in to them. Also, again with the observation that the first season confronts Angel with villains that embody his own sins or flaws.
Penn as Angelus' creature: and that, if you ask me, is why Penn never made it to being a part of the family. He was too much of a success, just an imitation, no original. Spike, a century later, was an ongoing challenge, and hence was permitted to hang around for decades. Penn was ditched early on.
The scene between Angel and Cordelia is one major reason why I loved their relationship in the first two seasons of Angel. There are few m/f friendships on tv, and theirs was a great one.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-24 09:35 am (UTC)Which explains why Angelus doesn't kill Spike despite Spike challenging him about his decisions.
I'm wondering: Did Drusilla ever make other companions for herself that weren't accepted by her family or by herself after she turned them into vampires?
no subject
Date: 2005-11-24 10:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-24 01:06 am (UTC)now whether they actually are willing to kill him if necessary is a different question --
no subject
Date: 2005-11-24 09:31 am (UTC)Personally, I'd practice the gypsy curses and always have one of these magic glass balls they needed available - in a secret place, of course, without Angel knowing about it.