Angel - Season 3 impressions (episode 3)
Feb. 2nd, 2006 10:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodThat Old Gang Of Mine
For a summary click here.
- Another okay episode, although I thought the writers tried to hard to bring the message across, i.e. give demons a chance, not all of them are evil.
- The other thing that bugged me slightly was that Gunn felt torn between the AI team and his old gang for about the third time in a row. Also how his conflict with Gio is resolved is rather cheap.
- On the plus side, I *love* the opening scene with Angel apologizing to Merl. Loved it so much I watched it twice and will now quote it in its entirety. Even reading the transcript again makes me smile.
The cool thing about this scene is that it's not just funny, to me it also showed how much in common Angelus and Angel have - even though Angel always pretends that Angelus is a different entity. There's the fake sincerity, the talent for trickery in which he absolutely delights and the tendency to be a subversive bastard.
I guess this scene is based on some talk shows where two people have to confront each other in order togive maximum enjoyment to the afternoon TV viewers reconcile.
Close on Angel's face.
Angel: "That night still haunts me. I'm ashamed of how I treated you. (Looks down) The way I used you. (Looks back up) I took - what I needed, (looks back down) then I cast you aside and that - that was wrong of me. Was very wrong."
Angel looks back up at - Merl, sitting on a chair in Caritas.
Merl: "He's reading!"
We see that the bar is empty except for Merl and Angel sitting facing each other, Wes standing behind Angel and Gunn, Lorne and Cordy leaning against the bar behind Merl.
Angel: "I made some notes."
Merl: "I don't feel the sincerity here."
Angel: "I told you this was a waste of time."
Merl: "Real friends don't need notes."
Angel: "We're not *friends* Merl! We barely even know each other."
Merl: "Not like you made the effort either, is it?!"
Merl gets up and heads for the exit. Cordy steps in front of Merl.
Angel: "No, you know what? No, no, no. Let him go if he wants to."
Cordy to Merl: "Merl, you said you'd listen to what Angel had to say."
Wesley to Angel: "You promised you'd make an attempt."
Merl to Cordy: "You get a load of that insincere tripe he was reading?"
Angel to Wes: "I apologized..." (Can't make out the rest of Angel and Wes' talk)
Cordy to Merl: "I hardly think it's fair to blame it on the writing."
Angel to Wes: "What does he *want* from me?!"
Merl turning around: "What do I want? Huh? I tell you what I want. I want back the three months I spent in therapy after being hung upside down in a sewer. That's what *I* want."
Cordy: "Angel, read the cards."
Angel: "No. He's - he's right. He's right. Every time I went to Merl for information he came through. So, I'll tell you what, Merl. - Take a shot. (Stands in front of Merl holding his arms open) Take a shot, Merl."
Cordy, Angel, Merl and Wes all talking at once, while the Lorne is shaking his head and Gunn tries not to laugh.
Cordy: "Oh, knock it off, guys."
Angel: "Come on, take your best shot."
Wesley: "Angel, please..."
Angel: "Come on, Merl."
Merl: "You see this? He's goading. He's goading me."
Angel: "Take a shot, Merl. Come on, this one's free."
Merl: "No. No. Shameless with the goading. You see?!"
Angel: "Come on, Merl-la-la. Merl-la-la-la."
Merl: "Okay!"
Merl picks up a bottle from the bar and hauls back to hit Angel. But the bottle instead recoils from an invisible wall, throwing Merl back - into Lorne's arms, waiting to catch him.
Merl shakes his head: "Whoa! Man. You did that on purpose! You knew that was gonna happen. You tricked me! Huh?"
Angel sits back down in his chair, trying to keep a straight face.
Lorne: "Why, now, I'm sure Angel just forgot for the moment that *any* demon violence is impossible in Caritas."
Angel: "Yeah. I-I - I forgot."
- Poor Merl!!
- I also pity this monster.
Love how the scary slurping sounds come from the demon drinking soda with a straw. *g*
A big hulking monster is slowly lumbering along a sewer tunnel, emitting loud slurping noises. It is caught in a beam of light and turns around. It stops sucking on a large soda through a straw to look at the camera with a 'deer in the headlights' expression.
Monster: "Hello? - Who's there, please?"
- Fred singing karaoke to Patsy Cline's "Crazy" is wonderful. A very fitting choice and not just because of the "crazy" bit.
- The three "psychadelic sisters" left me traumatized. To me they were the scariest bit in the entire episode:
Cordy is sitting on the couch with the three furies floating in the air across from her.
Cordy: "So, ah, Angel says you and he go -way back?"
Furies together: "Mmmmmm, Angel."
- Am very happy that Fred got to show some courage. I was worried for a bit that the writers really would have her threaten Angel, because it would have been totally out of character for her at this point. She has a crush on Angel after all and a lot of courage.
- Gunn's remark is quite interesting:
Gunn: "You don't know anything. You think I won't kill him because he's my friend? (Angel is back in human face) That ain't why. (Gunn steps closer to Angel) Truth is, he can never be my friend. It's on account of what he is. Not his fault, really. Just the way it worked out."
What's ironic is that Angel doesn't hold it against him, but I believe Wesley will bear a grudge. Wesley is good at holding subconscious grudges, IMO. He never ranted at Angel for firing the team, but he did use him as a weapon in the season 2 finale. In That Old Gang Of Mine, he once more comes across as Angel's biggest defender. So it seems he's able of being loyal and callous at the same time, if that makes sense. I wonder how his relationship with Gunn will be affected after what happened in Caritas.
For a summary click here.
- Another okay episode, although I thought the writers tried to hard to bring the message across, i.e. give demons a chance, not all of them are evil.
- The other thing that bugged me slightly was that Gunn felt torn between the AI team and his old gang for about the third time in a row. Also how his conflict with Gio is resolved is rather cheap.
- On the plus side, I *love* the opening scene with Angel apologizing to Merl. Loved it so much I watched it twice and will now quote it in its entirety. Even reading the transcript again makes me smile.
The cool thing about this scene is that it's not just funny, to me it also showed how much in common Angelus and Angel have - even though Angel always pretends that Angelus is a different entity. There's the fake sincerity, the talent for trickery in which he absolutely delights and the tendency to be a subversive bastard.
I guess this scene is based on some talk shows where two people have to confront each other in order to
Close on Angel's face.
Angel: "That night still haunts me. I'm ashamed of how I treated you. (Looks down) The way I used you. (Looks back up) I took - what I needed, (looks back down) then I cast you aside and that - that was wrong of me. Was very wrong."
Angel looks back up at - Merl, sitting on a chair in Caritas.
Merl: "He's reading!"
We see that the bar is empty except for Merl and Angel sitting facing each other, Wes standing behind Angel and Gunn, Lorne and Cordy leaning against the bar behind Merl.
Angel: "I made some notes."
Merl: "I don't feel the sincerity here."
Angel: "I told you this was a waste of time."
Merl: "Real friends don't need notes."
Angel: "We're not *friends* Merl! We barely even know each other."
Merl: "Not like you made the effort either, is it?!"
Merl gets up and heads for the exit. Cordy steps in front of Merl.
Angel: "No, you know what? No, no, no. Let him go if he wants to."
Cordy to Merl: "Merl, you said you'd listen to what Angel had to say."
Wesley to Angel: "You promised you'd make an attempt."
Merl to Cordy: "You get a load of that insincere tripe he was reading?"
Angel to Wes: "I apologized..." (Can't make out the rest of Angel and Wes' talk)
Cordy to Merl: "I hardly think it's fair to blame it on the writing."
Angel to Wes: "What does he *want* from me?!"
Merl turning around: "What do I want? Huh? I tell you what I want. I want back the three months I spent in therapy after being hung upside down in a sewer. That's what *I* want."
Cordy: "Angel, read the cards."
Angel: "No. He's - he's right. He's right. Every time I went to Merl for information he came through. So, I'll tell you what, Merl. - Take a shot. (Stands in front of Merl holding his arms open) Take a shot, Merl."
Cordy, Angel, Merl and Wes all talking at once, while the Lorne is shaking his head and Gunn tries not to laugh.
Cordy: "Oh, knock it off, guys."
Angel: "Come on, take your best shot."
Wesley: "Angel, please..."
Angel: "Come on, Merl."
Merl: "You see this? He's goading. He's goading me."
Angel: "Take a shot, Merl. Come on, this one's free."
Merl: "No. No. Shameless with the goading. You see?!"
Angel: "Come on, Merl-la-la. Merl-la-la-la."
Merl: "Okay!"
Merl picks up a bottle from the bar and hauls back to hit Angel. But the bottle instead recoils from an invisible wall, throwing Merl back - into Lorne's arms, waiting to catch him.
Merl shakes his head: "Whoa! Man. You did that on purpose! You knew that was gonna happen. You tricked me! Huh?"
Angel sits back down in his chair, trying to keep a straight face.
Lorne: "Why, now, I'm sure Angel just forgot for the moment that *any* demon violence is impossible in Caritas."
Angel: "Yeah. I-I - I forgot."
- Poor Merl!!
- I also pity this monster.
Love how the scary slurping sounds come from the demon drinking soda with a straw. *g*
A big hulking monster is slowly lumbering along a sewer tunnel, emitting loud slurping noises. It is caught in a beam of light and turns around. It stops sucking on a large soda through a straw to look at the camera with a 'deer in the headlights' expression.
Monster: "Hello? - Who's there, please?"
- Fred singing karaoke to Patsy Cline's "Crazy" is wonderful. A very fitting choice and not just because of the "crazy" bit.
- The three "psychadelic sisters" left me traumatized. To me they were the scariest bit in the entire episode:
Cordy is sitting on the couch with the three furies floating in the air across from her.
Cordy: "So, ah, Angel says you and he go -way back?"
Furies together: "Mmmmmm, Angel."
- Am very happy that Fred got to show some courage. I was worried for a bit that the writers really would have her threaten Angel, because it would have been totally out of character for her at this point. She has a crush on Angel after all and a lot of courage.
- Gunn's remark is quite interesting:
Gunn: "You don't know anything. You think I won't kill him because he's my friend? (Angel is back in human face) That ain't why. (Gunn steps closer to Angel) Truth is, he can never be my friend. It's on account of what he is. Not his fault, really. Just the way it worked out."
What's ironic is that Angel doesn't hold it against him, but I believe Wesley will bear a grudge. Wesley is good at holding subconscious grudges, IMO. He never ranted at Angel for firing the team, but he did use him as a weapon in the season 2 finale. In That Old Gang Of Mine, he once more comes across as Angel's biggest defender. So it seems he's able of being loyal and callous at the same time, if that makes sense. I wonder how his relationship with Gunn will be affected after what happened in Caritas.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 10:10 am (UTC)Like I said back when you reviewed what's the name of that ep in season 2 - I'd like that plot better if they didn't recycle it quite so often for Gunn. However, that was thankfully the last time.
The Merl scene: the way it opens, did it make you think for a second Angel was talking to Darla?
And yes, very, very funny scene, and agreed about the Angel/Angelus thing.
Fred's show of courage: true. Also, she's always at her best when trapped into a corner.
Wesley's reaction to Gunn's actions: there is a big, big irony here, but it won't become apparant until you've watched the big Wes episodes trilogy way later this season, so I can't comment on it.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-03 07:17 pm (UTC)Yes! *g*
And then I thought: He really should work on that apology.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 10:14 pm (UTC)you may mentally bookmark the Wes/Fred and Wes/Gunn dynamics from this ep because all of them will resonate later.
Good point about the repetitiveness of Gunn's issues -- it's a shame that, as even one of my friends who is about the biggest Gunn fan you can imagine, has said, "it's too bad there are hardly any Gunncentric episodes that don't pretty much suck."
In the same vein, I'm curious how you feel about Fred so far.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 12:43 am (UTC)"it's too bad there are hardly any Gunncentric episodes that don't pretty much suck."
Oh, that's too bad. Since mid season 2 (after Angel left), I've been enjoying his interaction with the team and have come to like him, although he isn't among my favourite characters.
Fred: She isn't one of my super favorites either - not yet anyway, but I am fond of her. I admire how courageous and level-headed she is under extreme circumstances. Oh, and I loved her final scene with Wes in "Billy".
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 01:32 am (UTC)I'll be interested to see your thoughts on "Billy"!
I have complicated feelings about Fred as a character; I generally like her as a person, and admire those moments of surprising courage that she shows. On the downside, she probably gets the least consistent writing of any major character (excepting some very specific issues re: Cordelia later on in the series). I'm also not crazy about many of Amy Acker's acting choices early in the series; I'm somewhat biased as a Southerner, but her accent is very unfortunate -- which is odd b/c Acker really is from Texas, but I assure you nobody on the planet talks like that! Fortunately, the accent gets phased out over time, as well as some of the "shy girl" body language that strikes me as over the top. Also, interestingly, when I watched the audition tape that's included on the season 3 DVDs in the US, I thought she was very impressive and much more forceful, so I do have to wonder if some of the more questionable parts of her performance were the fault of directors or some other higher-ups.
The funny thing is, though, that I eventually got to like Fred, and Acker, a lot. This is partly because of some later developments in her character and partly because of fanfic. One nice thing fic can do is to provide a more unified view of a character than canon may be inclined to provide. Fred doesn't get a whole lot of fic (though she's fairly popular in the small niche that writes femslash) but has attracted some exceptionally good writers. Not that you asked, but here's a short piece I particularly like by
no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 04:27 pm (UTC)Thanks for the excellent story rec. Totally impressed by this story!
no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 04:54 pm (UTC)Anyway, she improves a lot after "Fredless," so it's only an issue for those first few eps.