Angel - Season 3 impressions (episode 4)
Feb. 4th, 2006 01:25 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thalia_seawoodCarpe Noctem
For a summary click here.
- Have to admit that at first I thought this episode would be Angel's response to the Buffy episode Go Fish. The themes the episodes have in common are melting bodies and a connection to fitness. ;-) So I expected a below average ep and was surprised to find many enjoyable scenes.
- Fred has such a crush on Angel it's almost painful to watch. Of course, she is more in love with the picture she has created of Angel than with the real Angel - as can be seen in the following quote. All in all, her crush is a severe case of hero worship.
Cordy: "Angel's upstairs."
Fred: "Oh. - He's probably reading, too. He's so deep, you know? Thoughtful. I'm guessing "The Brothers Karmazov", Joyce, a little Goethe to round things out."
Angel appears on the open hallway overlooking the lobby, holding a newspaper.
Angel: "Am I the only one who read this?"
Wes: "Read what?"
Angel: "Charlton Heston. Double feature! (Comes down the steps) At the Nu-art. "Soylent Green" and - "The Omega Man."
Heh, it's always fun to see Angel's goofy side. *g*
- This scene made me laugh out loud:
Fred: "Right. And even though he didn't talk a lot, it was still okay. It was comfortable. It wasn't that awkward kind of quiet. You know that awkward kind of quiet?"
There is a moment of silence.
Wesley: "No. That's never happened to me."
- After Sarah Michelle Gellar got a brilliant body swap episode in season 4, it's now David Boreanaz's turn. I got the impression he really enjoyed playing this extrovert version of Angel; he also managed successfully to not fall into any of Angelus' mannerisms.
Who Are You is plotwise far superior to Carpe Noctem, but nevertheless this ep has some wickedly funny moments.
For example, the question of Angel's sexual orientation is rised once more:
Cordy: "Yes! Just - keep it simple. One: you're not like other men. Two: there is no room in the workplace for romance."
Angel: "Romance with Fred. - So I'm a... (Looks down at his clothes) Obviously."
Then there's the big misunderstanding between Fake!Angel and Wesley with Wes getting a manly hug from Fake!Angel.
It's interesting that Wesley doesn't think anything is wrong with Angel right away. But then Angel does go through mood usually: From brooding to cheerful to goofy to brooding. I guess Wesley just takes Angel's mood swings as they come.
- Fred gets her hopes up when Fake!Angel gives her his favorite pickup line: "Have I ever told you you are a very *beautiful* woman? (DB's delivery of this line is priceless. *g*) I felt very sorry for her when she then sees Fake!Angel with Lilah...
- Lilah: She's the only character who does not find out that she was not interacting with Angel.
Officially, she claims to help Angel because she doesn't want Gavin to be more successful than she is. I guess that she also really despises to be evil via bureaucratic means. It's just so vulgar. *g* But apart from that, she's definitely attracted to Angel or she wouldn't be so eager to get shagged on a table. She definitely is drawn to dangerous situations...
The scene reminded me of Spike's meeting with Faith in Buffy's body. In both cases, the body swapper comes on to another character and shocks them.
- In the meantime, Real!Angel is stuck in Marcus's body and experiences for the first time what it means to be old.
- Love it that once again it's Wesley who gets that Angel's body has been taken over. Hey, he's so smart he even guesses how it was done.
Yes, I admit it. I'm attracted to competence. *g*
Wes: "Did you happen to notice a small Algurian conjuring orb? Could have been glowing."
Fake!Marcus: "In his room, on a shrine."
Wes: "Then I was right. (Looks down at Angel's body) Algurian body-switching spell. Keep an eye on him."
- I liked the final talk between Angel and Fred. Great timing that it's interrupted by Willow who calls to inform them that Buffy is alive.
For a summary click here.
- Have to admit that at first I thought this episode would be Angel's response to the Buffy episode Go Fish. The themes the episodes have in common are melting bodies and a connection to fitness. ;-) So I expected a below average ep and was surprised to find many enjoyable scenes.
- Fred has such a crush on Angel it's almost painful to watch. Of course, she is more in love with the picture she has created of Angel than with the real Angel - as can be seen in the following quote. All in all, her crush is a severe case of hero worship.
Cordy: "Angel's upstairs."
Fred: "Oh. - He's probably reading, too. He's so deep, you know? Thoughtful. I'm guessing "The Brothers Karmazov", Joyce, a little Goethe to round things out."
Angel appears on the open hallway overlooking the lobby, holding a newspaper.
Angel: "Am I the only one who read this?"
Wes: "Read what?"
Angel: "Charlton Heston. Double feature! (Comes down the steps) At the Nu-art. "Soylent Green" and - "The Omega Man."
Heh, it's always fun to see Angel's goofy side. *g*
- This scene made me laugh out loud:
Fred: "Right. And even though he didn't talk a lot, it was still okay. It was comfortable. It wasn't that awkward kind of quiet. You know that awkward kind of quiet?"
There is a moment of silence.
Wesley: "No. That's never happened to me."
- After Sarah Michelle Gellar got a brilliant body swap episode in season 4, it's now David Boreanaz's turn. I got the impression he really enjoyed playing this extrovert version of Angel; he also managed successfully to not fall into any of Angelus' mannerisms.
Who Are You is plotwise far superior to Carpe Noctem, but nevertheless this ep has some wickedly funny moments.
For example, the question of Angel's sexual orientation is rised once more:
Cordy: "Yes! Just - keep it simple. One: you're not like other men. Two: there is no room in the workplace for romance."
Angel: "Romance with Fred. - So I'm a... (Looks down at his clothes) Obviously."
Then there's the big misunderstanding between Fake!Angel and Wesley with Wes getting a manly hug from Fake!Angel.
It's interesting that Wesley doesn't think anything is wrong with Angel right away. But then Angel does go through mood usually: From brooding to cheerful to goofy to brooding. I guess Wesley just takes Angel's mood swings as they come.
- Fred gets her hopes up when Fake!Angel gives her his favorite pickup line: "Have I ever told you you are a very *beautiful* woman? (DB's delivery of this line is priceless. *g*) I felt very sorry for her when she then sees Fake!Angel with Lilah...
- Lilah: She's the only character who does not find out that she was not interacting with Angel.
Officially, she claims to help Angel because she doesn't want Gavin to be more successful than she is. I guess that she also really despises to be evil via bureaucratic means. It's just so vulgar. *g* But apart from that, she's definitely attracted to Angel or she wouldn't be so eager to get shagged on a table. She definitely is drawn to dangerous situations...
The scene reminded me of Spike's meeting with Faith in Buffy's body. In both cases, the body swapper comes on to another character and shocks them.
- In the meantime, Real!Angel is stuck in Marcus's body and experiences for the first time what it means to be old.
- Love it that once again it's Wesley who gets that Angel's body has been taken over. Hey, he's so smart he even guesses how it was done.
Yes, I admit it. I'm attracted to competence. *g*
Wes: "Did you happen to notice a small Algurian conjuring orb? Could have been glowing."
Fake!Marcus: "In his room, on a shrine."
Wes: "Then I was right. (Looks down at Angel's body) Algurian body-switching spell. Keep an eye on him."
- I liked the final talk between Angel and Fred. Great timing that it's interrupted by Willow who calls to inform them that Buffy is alive.
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 10:25 am (UTC)Yes, Charlton Heston fan Angel versus the romantic Dostojewski reading Angel of Fred's imagination is fun.*g*
For example, the question of Angel's sexual orientation is rised once more:
The writers have always fun doing that.*veg*
And of course, Fake!Angel's assumption Wesley is the one he has a thing with was a treat to the 'shippers.
Lilah and Angel: the comparison to Spike is interesting because Lilah later on (one season later on) will have a few things in common with Spike (not regarding Angel). In general, I think there is some UST between them and always was, but they're both too smart to follow up on that except in this particular situation, when it's not really Angel.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 10:20 pm (UTC)I need to rewatch this ep as I haven't seen it for a while, but one of the things I've always thought was interesting about the Lilah/Angel relationship is that (from her first scene with him in the Trial) she's trying to use her sexuality to manipulate him (that waking up in her office is such a noirish femme fatale move, but Angel-as-Angel never responds to that. I don't think it's because he finds her unattractive -- she does have certain points in common with Darla -- but because he's always aware that she's trying to manipulate him, and is too smart to respond.
Despite the Cruella de Sue nature of fanon Lilah, a large part of her appeal to me has always been that she's not as good a manipulator as she thinks she is (or would like to be) which gives her a weird kind of vulnerability.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 12:54 am (UTC)Very well put. I agree totally.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 08:34 am (UTC)Yes, exactly. Though he's certainly using a sexual threat in Blood Money when he tells her "the screaming, that's going to come later". That aside, though, I do find it interesting that Angel never despises Lilah the way he does Lindsey, though arguably she does worse things to him. (Hard to top the vamping of Darla by Dru, but I think Lilah manages with the you-know-what in Sleep Tight, and he makes his one and only attempt to reach out to her - which is more than he does for Lindsey - after that.) He always deals with her in a matter-of-fact way.
Despite the Cruella de Sue nature of fanon Lilah, a large part of her appeal to me has always been that she's not as good a manipulator as she thinks she is (or would like to be) which gives her a weird kind of vulnerability.
True. No one can resist fanon Lilah, but then, fanon Lilah would never have done what canon Lilah did for (spoiler) - keeping the (spoiler) on, arguably her most vulnerable moment of all.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 05:40 pm (UTC)Re: the scene you mentioned -- I'll have a whole essay on that scene, one day, but let me just say that, canon or fanon, she would have been within her rights (and probably within *spoiler's* expectations) to hit him in the face (and *spoiler* probably would enjoyed it) . Yet it's that much more interesting that she didn't. /cryptic
no subject
Date: 2006-02-05 06:34 pm (UTC)I like to think Lilah secretly appreciates Angel's matter-of-factness. At least she always knows where she stands with him *whistles*
Yes, as opposed to certain other people.*g* I think one of my favourite moments of interaction between the two of them is the thing that happens when it's the two of them and Linwood in a room and Angel tries to (spoiler).
(Angel's "Lilah, duck!" in Lullaby isn't bad, either.*g*)
but let me just say that, canon or fanon, she would have been within her rights (and probably within *spoiler's* expectations) to hit him in the face (and *spoiler* probably would enjoyed it) . Yet it's that much more interesting that she didn't. /cryptic
Amen to all three points.*g*
no subject
Date: 2006-02-04 10:17 pm (UTC)And that's another one to file away for later. . .sorry that I'm having trouble saying much about these eps w/o spoiling things that happen later on.
This is not a great ep, but it is one of my favorite humorous eps of AtS, and I'm a sucker for body swaps, so I enjoy it.