Angel - Season 2 impressions (episode 3)

[thalia_seawood]

First Impressions

A summary can be found here.


- I enjoyed all of the dream sequences: Angel and Darla have lots of sparkling chemistry between them.
I suppose Darla has been able to intrude into Angel's dreams, because they still share a sire-childe bond. Of course, Wolfram & Hart might also has the means to assist Darla in this regard.

- I can't decide if I enjoy the dancing scene or the moonbathing scene better. :-)

- Angel has built his family by the end of season 1: Cordy and Wesley are in a way his daughter and his son. One member of the family was still missing, though, and Darla is smoothly stepping back into her old role. She's Angel's partner and - maybe even more importantly - the one person who looks out for him and pampers him.

Darla: "Did any of your friends say thank you?"
Angel: "Not exactly."
Darla: "Hmm, typical. You know, next time you see them I'm really going to say something to them."
Angel: "It's okay."
Darla: "No. It isn't. (Puts her hands on his arms) You give and you give and you give."
Angel: "I'm used to it."
Darla: "Always the protector, never the protected."
Angel: "I have so many things to make up for."
Darla: "And you have. You take care of so many people. - But who takes care of you?"
Angel looks down at her and starts to smile: "You do."
Darla coos: "That's right. I do.

- This episode does a much better job of giving us some background for Gunn than War Zone.
It's fun to see how Gunn underestimates Cordelia and Wesley and discovers that both aren't useless after all. I especially enjoy the bond he's forming with Cordelia. Love it that they feel like friends and that I don't get a romance vibe from them.

- Cordelia rocks in this episode. She's a nice mixture in between tactless-clueless(Could you just point me to the hors d'euvres?), courageous, persistent and protective.

- Wesley actually becomes part of Angel's dream briefly. Very interesting that he's building a coffin when he intrudes. This could foreshadow further events. Angel either will see Wesley as a threat or Wesley will become a threat. (He might e.g. go against Darla to protect Angel.)

- The interaction between Wesley and Angel is neat and full of slashy subtext. Not only does Wesley get a look a naked Angel and is so mortified by it that he doesn't even take Angel's hand to be helped up (*g*), but there's also the delightful scene with the pink helmet. Embarrassed!Angel is my favorite.

Wesley get on his motorcycle, looks over at Angel.
Wesley: "Come on. What are you waiting for?"
Angel holds up a pink motorcycle helmet.
Angel: "I-I-I really don't think it's gonna fit."
Wesley: "Of course it will. Put it on."
Angel: "You know, I-I don't need a helmet for protection."
Wesley: "Angel. It's the law in California. You want us to get pulled over?"
Angel: "No."
Wesley: "Then what's the problem?"
Angel: "Well, it-it's just, you know - the whole - visibility issue, not to mention the whole hat-head thing and if you really think about it, how come I have to wear the ladies helmet?"
Wesley: "Stop being such a wanker and put it on!"
Angel looks like he wants to protest some more but Wesley just looks at him. Angel puts the helmet on and looks at Wesley.
Wesley suppresses a smile while he puts his own (black) helmet on: "Good. Hop on board, gorgeous."
Angel: "You'll pay for this."
Gets on behind Wesley.

- It's nice to see David Nabit again, a fearless demon fighter - if only so in his mind. :-) As super-successful business man it makes sense that he helps Angel to finance the payment for the hotel.
(I've checked imdb.com and this was definitely the last time he appeared on the show. Drat, he always made me laugh.)

Comments

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

I actually thought Cordelia and Gunn had all kinds of sexual chemistry; to me, the episode was definitely coded as a potential romance. There's absolutely no attempt by the writers to make it go anywhere, though; i'm not giving anything away through that.

I agree this is a much better Gunn ep, though honestly it still brings up a lot of stuff that isn't used again.

And Angel/Darla continues to be great -- the question of why Wesley even HAS a pink helmet is an interesting one. . .

Also, this ep is responsible for the fanon that Wesley has a huge crush on Denzel Washington, which I think is just slightly overstating the point. But I do scratch my head trying to figure out when and where he would have seen "Malcolm X". (Also, Gunn's claim not to have seen any movies for a decade is clearly a lie, based on later statements he makes -- like a lot of early-Gunn stuff, I think it's a pose).

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

There's absolutely no attempt by the writers to make it go anywhere, though; i'm not giving anything away through that.

I'm wondering if they were reluctant regarding a romance because he's black and she's white. I've got the impression that "mixed" relationships are rarely seen on TV or in movies - which is absolutely stupid.

I agree this is a much better Gunn ep, though honestly it still brings up a lot of stuff that isn't used again.

Hm. Will his sister be never mentioned again? That would be odd.

the question of why Wesley even HAS a pink helmet is an interesting one.

Yes, inquisitive minds want to know. Well, maybe Cordy got it for herself so Wesley could give her a ride home. She'd go for a pink helmet and look good in it, too.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

Now I want to a write a Wes/Cordy pink helmet fic!

As for the interracial romance factor with Cordy and Gunn, I think I can safely say, due to events on both BTVS and ATS, that that is not the case (neither show shies away from interracial romance -- you've already seen Giles & Olivia on BtVS and there will be further examples on both shows). And I'm not even talking about Gunn and Wesley. And actually, interracial relationships have become much more common in American TV/movies in the last decade or so, which is to some extent a reflection of society -- and interestingly, any reluctance to show such relationships usually comes down to the black, rather than the white, audience; this usually isn't because of overt racism but because of cultural "coding" (ie, there's a perception that black men, particularly, often pursue white women as a a status symbol, and that powerful white men take advantage of black women, and don't even get me started about the perception of the women) -- and this is really a subject for a PhD thesis on American race relations rather than an LJ comment, though I might be able to dig up links to some good essays if you're interested.

So it may be true that the writers wanted to avoid pulling Gunn straight out of the 'hood and throwing him into Cordy's arms -- but the most likely explanation is that the writers wanted to avoid romantic plots among the major members of the ensemble at this point in the series -- (a rule you might wish they had stuck to in later seasons).

I think there are minor references to Gunn's sister and a few eps that feature his old gang, but it's never a major point in his character development.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Now I want to a write a Wes/Cordy pink helmet fic!

Please do! :-)

Regarding interracial relationship:
You're right. In the Jossverse there are several of them. I'm also thinking about Zoe and Wash. And the cool thing is that you don't even notice these mixed relationships as anything unusual. They are what they should be: Relationships between two people who love one another - the skin colour plays no role whatsoever. I heart Joss Whedon for that.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

oh, also -- this ep does bug me a bit, because throughout we see Cordelia as the clueless white-suburban do-gooder getting herself in situations over her head, and the "moral" of the ep turns out to be that Gunn needs to be saved from himself. Ummm. . .OK?

[spikeylover.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's exactly the impression I get when I watch it. Also, the episode feels..clunky, for lack of a better description.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

Interestingly enough I was bugged by it. I can totally see what you mean, but somehow the episode didn't register as silly, upper class white against experienced, lower class black. Maybe it's because white versus black isn't an issue where I live. (Not saying I live in utopia; there simply aren't any big communities with black people here.) So for me it was just upperclass Cordy who tries to care someone else and doesn't quite know how to do this yet.

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

And that's "wasn't bugged by it", of course.

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

in this case, I think the racial aspect is more of a side issue -- what strikes me is that Cordy comes in as an outside do-gooder who doesn't understand the situation she's walking into (much like Angel in "Judgment") -- she makes some mistakes and Gunn makes some mistakes, and they resolve things and they more or less break even on the mistake front.

I'm good with all of that -- what bothers me is Cordy giving him a lecture at the end about how he needs saving from himself, which, to me, doesn't match what I've seen in the ep -- especially because basically every other time the gang calls on Gunn it's because they need him! Though, don't worry, he does screw up enough to keep from being Marty Stu. I still think Cordy/Gunn would have been hot but nobody asked me :)

[thalia-seawood.livejournal.com]

what bothers me is Cordy giving him a lecture at the end about how he needs saving from himself

The speech worked for me. I thought it might be something Cordy would say after she has been "enlightened" at the end of season 1. An over the top comment, but nevertheless something she might say.
What bugged me was Gunn's reaction to it. I had expected him to be annoyed by her "I know what you need." attitude and to tell her off. (I would have done. :-)) When he didn't I interpreted it as mellowness on his part - perhaps because she reminded him a bit of his sister. - Still I would have liked him to not just accept her "psychological wisdom".

[likeadeuce.livejournal.com]

oh, good point -- it's probably his reaction rather than what she says

on the interracial relationship aspect mentioned in another comment -- on one hand, it is nice to see the interracial nature not moved front and center, as with Zoe/Wash on Firefly. On the other hand, with some of the stuff that happens with Gunn later on -- relationship and otherwise, there are times when it would be refreshing to see race dealt with more forthrightly. But that's something genre TV in general seems to avoid, and I suppose I prefer erring on the side of colorblindness.

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Angel/Darla: yes, they do, and I think she can get into his dreams both because she's his sire and because of some additional substance, though the later might be fanon instead of canon - I don't know exactly anymore.

I loved both the dancing and the moon bathing, with a slight preference for the moon bathing, because that's such an Angel and Darla image.*g*

Wesley/Angel: yep, very slashy. As for the meaning of Wesley's appearance in Angel's dream, in addition to what you said, at the time I thought it also hailed back to Angel telling Wesley he feels reassured by Wesley being willing to kill him, if necessary.

(I have an additional interpretation now, but it's spoilery.)