Angel - Season 1 impressions (episode 18)
Nov. 28th, 2005 11:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodFive By Five
For a summary click here.
This one's a great episode. Well, seeing as it's an episode with shiny flashbacks *and* Faith *and* themes of redemption how can I not love it? I particulary enjoy the parallels between Angel(us) and Faith. In the very beginning, Angel tells the man he rescues that he will have to face his demons. Nice foreshadowing of the overall theme of this episode.
- It's quite ironic that Angel receives his soul because of Darla's birthday gift.
- This show made me realise once more that Boreanaz does a great job. It's so easy to underestimate him as Angel's emotions are so low key. His tranformation from Angelus to Angel is amazing. You can see that he's gained a conscience right after the return of his soul: It's all about the way he looks, stands, even his speech patterns change.
- So Angel wanted to stay with Darla even after he had gained a soul and she forces him to leave. This explains why Angel offers Faith a place to stay in after her breakdown.
I also realise that it's remarkable enough that Darla doesn't kill Angel which she would have done if she hadn't care so much for him.
- Sidenote: One thing that's remarkable in the Jossverse is that most of his villains feel love for someone despite being otherwise very talented evil-doers.
In season 1, there were hints of caring between the Master and Darla. Beyond that we get Spike and Drusilla, Angelus and Darla and, of course, Mayor Wilkins and Faith.
Spike is pleased to have Angelus back - until Angelus starts treating him like shit again. After seeing The Prodigal I've noticed that Angelus treats Spike very similarly to how his own father treated him. He mostly tells Spike that he's incapable of doing anything right.
Oh, and Drusilla cares for Angelus, not that her love for him is healthy, but it is there.
- Faith is totally out of control in this episode. She's hurting and to forget about it she tries to hurt others as much as possible. At this point, there's hardly any provocation needed to set her off. E.g. the scene in the disco where she beats up people while dancing or her punching one of the lawyers.
- Lindsay and Lilah are creepy, they lack any kind of empathy.
Lee: "Payment. I want to make sure you understand that this firm is in no way connected to - anything you do. - It's my ass on the line here. I don't want you to make me look bad."
Faith grabs him by the neck and slams his face on the table.
Faith: "How do you look now?"
Faith keeps pounding his face on the table.
Lilah to Lindsey with a smile: "She shows initiative."
Lindsey to the intercom: "Jesse, I think you better make it 3 for dinner instead of 4."
- I don't know why, but I'm not sure Lilah is entirely human. There's something about her... - In one scene she totally reminded me of Darla: All pretty and sweet on the surface, but behind the facade she's utterly ruthless.
In my head, I've named Lilah the dragon lady and Lindsay the piranya man. :-)
- Faith trying to kill Angel:
She hates him a lot at this point, because he nearly connected to her, but in the end he was all Buffy's.
To disguise her feelings - even from herself - she tries to turn her attacks on him into some kind of evil game.
- Angel was very lucky to survive her first attempt on his life. Faith trying to shoot him was such a close call.
- Wesley is right. How comes Giles didn't inform him about Faith having woken up from the coma. I guess Wesley simply ceased to exist for Giles after he had left.
- Ack, hate it that Angel and Cordelia blame Wesley for what happened to Faith. And they do it when he tries to reason with Angel that there might be still hope for Faith! - I stand by my opinion that Wesley tried to do the right thing by transferring Faith to the Council. If the Scoobies had involved him in their plans a bit more, this might not have happened.
Wesley: "I'm sorry. But if you let emotion control you right now, one of you will certainly end up dead."
Angel: "Yeah, that's what the lady wants."
Wesley: "That's not good enough! She's not a demon, Angel. She is a sick, sick girl. If there is even a chance she can be reasoned with..."
Angel: "There was. Last year I had a shot at saving her. I was pulling her back from the brink when some British guy kidnapped her and made damn sure she'd never trust a living soul."
Cordy: "Angel, it's not Wesley's fault that *some* British guy ruined your... - oh. Wait (to Wesley) that was you. (To Angel) Go on."
Wesley: "You don't need to."
- Like how Angel bluffs his way into Wolfram & Hart.
- Dennis is trying to warn Cordelia. :-) Too bad he couldn't knock out Faith with a beer can or something like that.
- I heart Wesley for trying to connect to Faith when he meets her. After she hurts Cordelia he loses the belief that Faith can change. For now anyway.
Wesley: "Faith."
Faith: "Shut up, Wesley."
Wesley: "It's not too late."
Faith: "For cappuccino? 'cause it just keeps me up."
Wesley: "It's not too late to let me help you."
Cordy: "Yes. We want to help you."
Wesley: "I realize there have been failures, on both sides. - But I also believe in my heart that you are not a bad person."
Faith elbows Cordy in the face dropping her.
Faith: "What do you believe in your heart now?"
Wesley hits her with a right cross.
Faith comes back up holding her lip: "Alright, Wes! - My turn."
She kicks him across the room.
- The last flashback scene we get where Angel tries to be evil despite his soul is poignant. It's a great parallel to Faith's situation who tries to be bad because it's all she's got.
- Faith torturing Wesley is chilling. Wesley proves once again that he has a lot of will power; he isn't all that easily broken. Quite impressive that he manages to free himself so he can help Angel to defeat Faith. Of course, he has to discover that his help isn't needed...
- Faith fight against Angel and her final breakdown is one of the most intense scenes in the entire Jossverse so far. This scene is good that I can't find the words to describe it. So I simply recommend to rewatch it. :-)
For a summary click here.
This one's a great episode. Well, seeing as it's an episode with shiny flashbacks *and* Faith *and* themes of redemption how can I not love it? I particulary enjoy the parallels between Angel(us) and Faith. In the very beginning, Angel tells the man he rescues that he will have to face his demons. Nice foreshadowing of the overall theme of this episode.
- It's quite ironic that Angel receives his soul because of Darla's birthday gift.
- This show made me realise once more that Boreanaz does a great job. It's so easy to underestimate him as Angel's emotions are so low key. His tranformation from Angelus to Angel is amazing. You can see that he's gained a conscience right after the return of his soul: It's all about the way he looks, stands, even his speech patterns change.
- So Angel wanted to stay with Darla even after he had gained a soul and she forces him to leave. This explains why Angel offers Faith a place to stay in after her breakdown.
I also realise that it's remarkable enough that Darla doesn't kill Angel which she would have done if she hadn't care so much for him.
- Sidenote: One thing that's remarkable in the Jossverse is that most of his villains feel love for someone despite being otherwise very talented evil-doers.
In season 1, there were hints of caring between the Master and Darla. Beyond that we get Spike and Drusilla, Angelus and Darla and, of course, Mayor Wilkins and Faith.
Spike is pleased to have Angelus back - until Angelus starts treating him like shit again. After seeing The Prodigal I've noticed that Angelus treats Spike very similarly to how his own father treated him. He mostly tells Spike that he's incapable of doing anything right.
Oh, and Drusilla cares for Angelus, not that her love for him is healthy, but it is there.
- Faith is totally out of control in this episode. She's hurting and to forget about it she tries to hurt others as much as possible. At this point, there's hardly any provocation needed to set her off. E.g. the scene in the disco where she beats up people while dancing or her punching one of the lawyers.
- Lindsay and Lilah are creepy, they lack any kind of empathy.
Lee: "Payment. I want to make sure you understand that this firm is in no way connected to - anything you do. - It's my ass on the line here. I don't want you to make me look bad."
Faith grabs him by the neck and slams his face on the table.
Faith: "How do you look now?"
Faith keeps pounding his face on the table.
Lilah to Lindsey with a smile: "She shows initiative."
Lindsey to the intercom: "Jesse, I think you better make it 3 for dinner instead of 4."
- I don't know why, but I'm not sure Lilah is entirely human. There's something about her... - In one scene she totally reminded me of Darla: All pretty and sweet on the surface, but behind the facade she's utterly ruthless.
In my head, I've named Lilah the dragon lady and Lindsay the piranya man. :-)
- Faith trying to kill Angel:
She hates him a lot at this point, because he nearly connected to her, but in the end he was all Buffy's.
To disguise her feelings - even from herself - she tries to turn her attacks on him into some kind of evil game.
- Angel was very lucky to survive her first attempt on his life. Faith trying to shoot him was such a close call.
- Wesley is right. How comes Giles didn't inform him about Faith having woken up from the coma. I guess Wesley simply ceased to exist for Giles after he had left.
- Ack, hate it that Angel and Cordelia blame Wesley for what happened to Faith. And they do it when he tries to reason with Angel that there might be still hope for Faith! - I stand by my opinion that Wesley tried to do the right thing by transferring Faith to the Council. If the Scoobies had involved him in their plans a bit more, this might not have happened.
Wesley: "I'm sorry. But if you let emotion control you right now, one of you will certainly end up dead."
Angel: "Yeah, that's what the lady wants."
Wesley: "That's not good enough! She's not a demon, Angel. She is a sick, sick girl. If there is even a chance she can be reasoned with..."
Angel: "There was. Last year I had a shot at saving her. I was pulling her back from the brink when some British guy kidnapped her and made damn sure she'd never trust a living soul."
Cordy: "Angel, it's not Wesley's fault that *some* British guy ruined your... - oh. Wait (to Wesley) that was you. (To Angel) Go on."
Wesley: "You don't need to."
- Like how Angel bluffs his way into Wolfram & Hart.
- Dennis is trying to warn Cordelia. :-) Too bad he couldn't knock out Faith with a beer can or something like that.
- I heart Wesley for trying to connect to Faith when he meets her. After she hurts Cordelia he loses the belief that Faith can change. For now anyway.
Wesley: "Faith."
Faith: "Shut up, Wesley."
Wesley: "It's not too late."
Faith: "For cappuccino? 'cause it just keeps me up."
Wesley: "It's not too late to let me help you."
Cordy: "Yes. We want to help you."
Wesley: "I realize there have been failures, on both sides. - But I also believe in my heart that you are not a bad person."
Faith elbows Cordy in the face dropping her.
Faith: "What do you believe in your heart now?"
Wesley hits her with a right cross.
Faith comes back up holding her lip: "Alright, Wes! - My turn."
She kicks him across the room.
- The last flashback scene we get where Angel tries to be evil despite his soul is poignant. It's a great parallel to Faith's situation who tries to be bad because it's all she's got.
- Faith torturing Wesley is chilling. Wesley proves once again that he has a lot of will power; he isn't all that easily broken. Quite impressive that he manages to free himself so he can help Angel to defeat Faith. Of course, he has to discover that his help isn't needed...
- Faith fight against Angel and her final breakdown is one of the most intense scenes in the entire Jossverse so far. This scene is good that I can't find the words to describe it. So I simply recommend to rewatch it. :-)
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-29 06:11 am (UTC)Darla and Angel(us): and later in China, when he does call her bluff, she's unable to kill him and wants him back. Darla being unable (emotionally) to kill Angel is some neat foreshadowoing, too.
Lilah is completely and utterly human. It's sort of the point of her character. (All the W&H lawyers.) Also, for friends of subtext, note that Faith assumes Lilah is coming on to her originally.
Wesley: yes, poor Wes. Blamed and tortured in the same episode. It sort of sets a trend... but this is also where you can see Wesley's strength.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 10:19 pm (UTC)Oh yes, and Lilah actually gets a bit nervous at this point. Of course, there's also the danger of being beaten up before being able to make her business proposal.
It sort of sets a trend...
Oh dear. Like shirtless Angel - only more tragic. ;-)
Joss really seems to play by the rule: Characters evolve by living through pain. And so he puts them into incredibly hard situations and sees how they cope. - Good thing there's fanfiction to provide comfort to the characters. :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-11-30 10:39 pm (UTC)- Lindsay and Lilah are creepy, they lack any kind of empathy.
Considering events to come, this is an interesting set of observations. I'm very much of the school that I only find a villain interesting if they care about something besides being evil. So I don't find Lindsey or Lilah interesting until such point as each of them. . .well, let's just say there's stuff coming for both of them that makes them very very interesting indeed.
What Wesley did to Faith was the best choice he knew how to make based on his training and instincts and the information he had. I also think it was the wrong choice but -- well, let's just say this sets a pattern as well. I think Buffy explicitly says at one point that information sharing is not a strong point of the good guys.
I *love* the last scene of this ep with a fiery passion. The Faith-Angel scene is great but Wesley showing up, realizing that Angel is not punishing Faith but is forgiving her (you KNOW that one of the things that kept him going during the torture is the thought that 'even if i die, angel is so going to kick your ass'). Such a great scene on so many levels. That scene also gets called back many a time when there are parallel, contrasting events. Vague enough for you? *g*
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 10:30 pm (UTC)Totally agree. Which is why I was intrigued by Vader from very early on. He was not just your average villain, even back in A New Hope he had depth. E.g. Going out in a tie to fight, believing in the Force, facing Obi-Wan alone.
Joss definitely has a knack for interesting villains. Any villain who has more sceentime inevitably gets a history and people he/she cares for.
I think Buffy explicitly says at one point that information sharing is not a strong point of the good guys.
:-) Good guys are mostly about the "action, now!!". Which leaves not much time for communication apparently.
I *love* the last scene of this ep with a fiery passion. The Faith-Angel scene is great but Wesley showing up, realizing that Angel is not punishing Faith but is forgiving her (you KNOW that one of the things that kept him going during the torture is the thought that 'even if i die, angel is so going to kick your ass'). Such a great scene on so many levels. That scene also gets called back many a time when there are parallel, contrasting events. Vague enough for you? *g*
Totally looking forward to seeing more.
Wesley realising Angel is no longer fighting Faith: I just wanted to give him a hug. Will write more about this soon when I most my thoughts on Sanctuary.
no subject
Date: 2005-12-01 10:31 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-03-07 08:57 pm (UTC)Let me just say that Lindsey is my favorite character on AtS, as Spike is my favorite character on BtVS.