#angel rewatch

The Good:

While not as good as “Fredless” this is still a decent Fred-centric episode. Fred’s darkness and aggression is a very new development but Amy Acker pulls it off. The acting is so strong that is makes you believe this has always been an element of Fred just lurking on the surface, even if the writing doesn’t support. We don’t really know what Fred had to do to survive in Pylea but there was never any real suggestion that she had to kill people or was even OK with “justifiable” murder. It is a big leap for her to just go full steam on murdering her old professor but Angel pulls it off.

The dynamic of Fred, Gunn and Angel continues to move along swimmingly. It still feels like something or someone is missing but they are an entertaining trio. There are also some pretty funny lines, “They talk about me in the chatty rooms?” is an obvious favorite of mine.

The Bad:

The Cordelia and Connor stuff has just gotten worse. Besides the ickiness and stupid incest angle to it all, there is a deeper problem. This story about Cordelia having amnesia isn’t about her becoming a warrior again or getting the visions back. No it degrades Cordelia’s arc to this point as a love story. Cordelia has to “choose” between Angel or his son.

Cordelia was never that character. Cordelia’s love for Angel was a part of her character development but only a very small silver of it. She grew to love helping because it fulfilled her. It wasn’t just to please or assist Angel. Cordelia became her strong champion and then fell for Angel. Not the other way around and everything about Cordelia in season four suggests the exact opposite. There is no other word for what Angel is doing Cordelia’s character but shameful.

The Unknown:

Once again Angel is trying something new with Gunn. Gunn killing Seidel at the end of the episode basically exists as a shocking cliffhanger. It doesn’t make perfect sense that Gunn would do it. This is fine if Angel gives some context for Gunn’s actions in a later episode. The same goes for Gunn being insecure about being less educated than Fred. These plot points are both starts of interesting stories with Gunn but they need to be capitalized on. History tells us that they probably won’t because Gunn’s “arc” on Angel has been a series of false starts.

Angel suddenly having a photographic memory is a bizarre thing to throw into this episode. This has never come up at least once in any previous episode. At least not in the same very visual way it manifests itself here. If Angel can memorize any room he has ever been with all the people, shouldn’t this have come in handy at least once before now?

Favorite Moment:

Lilah walking in on Wesley watching Fred’s speech is surprisingly heartbreaking. I love what season four is doing with Lilah thus far. I still don’t think Angel is treating Wesley’s affection for Fred as the obsession it is but it is effective that he can’t let it go. Wesley does seem to genuinely like Lilah but he can’t bring himself to commit to her. The doomed nature of their relationship is just really fascinating to me.

Bottom Line:

A passable monster-of-the-week episode with some good Fred moments. If Angel is interested they can also use this episode as a new jumping point for Gunn’s story. This, however, sadly assumes a lot about Angel’s interest in Gunn as a character. As it its own though “Supersymmetry” is an entertaining if not particularly memorable hour.

The Good:

Gwen is easily the most successful new (side) character since Lorne. She’s certainly given the biggest introduction in a while. Angel is usually the only character who gets flashbacks and “Ground State” opens on Gwen’s past. More on that in a bit but Gwen makes a strong first impression. “Ground State” as an episode is pretty paint by numbers but the attraction here is Gwen. If she wasn’t a big a character as she is this episode could fall very flat and be very boring. She sparks (pun intended) a lot of life into this episode.

Otherwise Lilah and Wesley’s relationship remains wonderfully twisted and dark. There is a lot of exposition in the first fifteen minutes of “Ground State” but I completely excuse Lilah and Wesley’s exposition filled sex scene. Simply because there is so much going on than a simple exchange of information. There is a constant power struggle between the two. Who is on top (literally and figuratively) is constantly changing and evolving and it is fascinating to watch.

The Bad:

I think Amy Acker does a great job of playing frazzled Fred in “Ground State”. There is something clearly up with Fred from the first scene. My problem with that is the fact that Angel and Gunn seem oblivious to Fred. I’m willing to excuse Angel because while has grown, he is still Angel. Plus, he has tunnel vision finding out where Cordelia is and how to find her. It is utterly bizarre to me that Gunn has no idea that Fred is losing it. I’m fine with the honeymoon phase of their relationship being over but I just don’t buy that Gunn would be this inattentive to Fred’s needs and moods.  It just doesn’t seem to fit with the history of their relationship thus far.

Gwen starting Angel’s heart and the two making out is such bizarre choice to me. I get the logic, Angel gets excited and passionate because of his heart beating again. He gets swept up in the moment. I understand how it happens, I just don’t understand why. Gwen is obviously sexy character; she has a very clear sex-pot image. I don’t think you need hammer that point home by having Angel stick his tongue down her throat. It’s just weird. I suppose it sets up Gwen talking about her own romantic history in the elevator which is a nice moment but it is far from necessary.

The Unknown:

Everything else falls into a meh category. I have no strong feelings negatively or positively about “Ground State”. The Angel Investigations debriefing scene with Fred getting jealous of Angel’s artistic abilities is cute but yet another in a long sequence of exposition. Wesley starting his own demon hunting gang and refusing to rejoin Angel Investigations is intriguing but needs more time before I’m really invested. The same goes for Connor being homeless and sleeping on concrete.

The thing I have the biggest questions about is Lilah (again). I did think it was clever how Angel revealed that he knew Lilah and Wesley were sleeping together. I thought Lilah’s reaction to that news was similarly great. However, I do have a problem with that being the thing that causes Lilah to help Angel. Again, I don’t want to see Wesley become Lilah’s Achilles heel. This is twice in two episodes where she has been disturbed and concerned when someone has brought up Wesley. Now we know from “Deep Down” that Lilah plays the long game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Lilah helping Angel in this episode comes back to haunt Angel in another. I don’t want to be anytime the plot needs Lilah to help out, Wesley is brought up and she immediately sways to demands.

As rushed as it was I did think Cordelia being assumed into Heaven at the end of the season 3 was a nice end to her story. Obviously it’s not the end though so I’m not sure what to make of this storyline. I can’t say I’m enjoying it so far but I also can’t say anything has happened. Cordelia’s appearances thus far have been perfunctory and virtually the same. She’s a glowy cloud and she’s not happy. This story needs to go somewhere and soon.

Favorite Moment:

Gwen’s opening flashback looks so different from anything that has been on Angel thus far. It’s so creepy and weird. It is a really jarring opening but it gives you such a good picture of what Gwen’s life is like or must have been like at one point. There is just a constant feeling of uneasiness throughout. I particularly love how it looks like it comes from a different era. I’m not sure how Angel achieved it but Gwen’s flashback does not like it was filmed in the 2002. It looks it comes from the time it takes place the mid-80s. That’s just a really cool touch.

Bottom Line:

“Ground State” is a fine episode. Despite the introduction of Gwen though, I’m not going to remember this episode at all. It’s passable and that’s not a bad thing. It’s just not a great thing either.

64 out of 100

The Good

I liked getting introduced to Gwen. The opening was something very different for Angel and gave me an X-files intro vibe. The opening was great at establishing a sense of a history for why Gwen would end up becoming who she was. I think it was pretty evident that the writers put more effort in the creation of this character. The dialogue for the character was quick and snarky which I thought tied into her character pretty well. Mostly I think Gwen definitely left an impression which I appreciated. It felt like a different kind of Angel episode. It was also the most superhero feeling the show has ever gotten. Gwen had an interesting power set. I liked her explaining it a bit during the heist. I’m also a fan of characters that have powers that are also a curse. Rogue and Cyclops from the X-men come to mind. It makes for setting up an interesting character psyche. While her ending monologue about being a freak was a little on the nose I still liked it a lot. Having Angel there to relate was also pretty nice. I appreciated his “boo hoo” comment.

Not saying much, but I think this is the best heist the show has done. Angel references two, but I swear there have been more. Does the charity heist with Lindsay count? Meh I digress. It was interestingly shot. I like comparing Gwen to our gang and just how inept our group is compared to a pro. It established Gwen’s skill pretty well and I liked all the moving parts going on. The sight of Gunn collapsing on the floor was very striking and creepy. It was kind of ruined by Angel saying “he’s dead” just before the commercial break.

Angel’s speech about seeing Cordelia was sweet. The way he described her basically being in heaven and the way the group rallied around each other worked really well. I really like the shot of Fred on that love seat type furniture. They’ll end up using that in the opening credits in the future.

The Bad

Not a fan of the Gwen and Angel kiss. One I think Angel getting his heart restarted by an electric shock makes little sense. Yeah, yeah, it’s a show about a vampire with a soul, but still this really bugged me. It was mainly an excuse to get Gwen to make out with Angel. Which we get it, Gwen is sexy. Why do you need her to make out with Angel? I couldn’t really tell what they were trying to establish with that scene? Is Gwen supposed to be the Catwoman to Angel’s Batman? Mostly I just think they had the scene just to be titillating.

The Unknown

So it goes without saying there is a definite male gaze going on in this episode. Gwen is definitely sexualized in the episode. I guess the more reason I didn’t mind this is that it tied into her background. I think without the flashback episode and the ending monologue I probably would have had a much bigger problem with it. As it was the story of telling a character that has been without human contact and been told how to act and dress her whole life suddenly owning herself I can kind of get around. Of course that can just be the justification of having her dress up in red leather with mid drift showing. So clearly you can take it either way.

This is the second episode in a row to end with floating head Cordelia. It felt pretty lazy to repeat this, but I guess the fact that she wants to get out of there is an interesting wrinkle. If this continues though I think I’ll start having a problem with it.

Can I find out more about Gwen’s butler? Very strange inclusion.

Favorite Moment

Fred’s breakdown I thought was the emotional scene in the episode. I like them exploring Fred a bit more and having there be consequences for the group being fractured between seasons was nice. Also, just a great bit of acting from Amy Acker. I also enjoy making the Gunn and Fred relationship feel real by not always being nauseatingly perfect. Show them have real concerns or fights.

Bottom Line

I thought this was one of the better standalone episodes we’ve got in a while. I thought the inclusion of Gwen was nice. She definitely made for a more interesting side character than we usually get. Also I’m a sucker for basically any superhero storylines.

Score:69 out of 100

The Good:

This is probably the most traditional penultimate season episode of Angel. It’s primary function is to set up the finale and start to wrap the season. In all of this “Benediction” is reasonably successful. All likability problems with Connor aside, the cliffhanger does a very good job of making me want to see the next episode. There is also some geniue emotional response caused by Angel thinking everything will be alright only for hope to be snatched away. This obviously isn’t the first that Angel has given hope that Angel and Connor will be together, only to snatch away but it’s still effective.

The reason it works so well here is because of Holtz. As I found him all season, I find Holtz infinitely fascinating. The performance and the writing is so good that it just manages to override the horrible old man, just barely but still overrides. Holtz manipulations work so well because of the kernel of truth in all of them. I believe he loves Connor. I believe he thinks Connor would be better with Angel. Everything and everyone comes secondary for Holtz and his revenge. This single-mindness could make him a very shallow character but it doesn’t at all. Holtz is self-aware enough that he always feels real. He knows he is pursuing vengeance not justice and he damned himself in the process. He just doesn’t care anymore.

It was a successful episode for “good” men doing bad things. Wesley was equally interesting to me. It’s a redux of his scene with Lilah in the last episode but that story is progressing. It’s moving slowly which is what you’d hope and expect but you can see the seeds of seduction are taking root. Wesley tells Lilah everything she needs to know by showing up. It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t want Justine killed, he still is interested enough to hear what Lilah has to say. This isn’t the actions of a man who is truly disgusted with Wolfram and Hart or Lilah’s offer.

The Bad:

I officially can’t stand Justine. There was a glimmer of hope for her when Holtz left but she plummeted right back into hellish pit of non-existent character now that he is or was back. Justine is not a person, she’s not a character. She’s a thing Holtz and the show uses to advance the plot and I’m sick of it. I’m tired of seeing her. I’m over being asked to care about her emotions or motivations. Just go away.

I feel numb towards Connor as well. It is hate or dislike yet, but I’m struggling to care. There is such a disconnection between the cute baby of a couple weeks away and this angry teenager. This of course the point, there is meant to be an element of loss. Still I can’t connect to Connor on emotional level. His story is sad but it’s only tragic on paper. The idea of what happened to him is heart-breaking but I don’t feel it because I don’t know him. This could change in time but a lot of these last few episodes have relied on immediately connecting with Connor and I don’t. Angel hasn’t given me a reason to because the fact that he is Angel’s son.

The Unknown:

Glowly Cordelia taking away Connor is so strange to me and not just because of the aforementioned shiny Cordy. I just don’t understand the purpose behind it. Why introduce Connor with this complicated, dark backstory if you’re going to make Cordelia zap away his pain? It might serve to make Connor more likable sure, but it’s also a very flippant attitude. It just isolates me from Connor even more because I don’t know what I’m supposed to think of him. Should I be sympathetic to his struggles in Quoroth? Do those even matter now? Who is this guy besides a pawn in a game between Holtz and Angel?

Favorite Moment:

I didn’t actually remember what Holtz’s true plan was until the episode was almost over. So on rewatch, watching Angel and Holtz come to “agreement” about Connor was extra tense and heart-breaking. They both do a great job in the scene and there are moments where Holtz comes off as completely sincere. When you watch it back knowing that Holtz is getting ready to blame his death on Angel it becomes so much more dark and engrossing.

Bottom Line:

If the last episode didn’t exist, I’d be more favorable to this one. As it stands now there is too much set-up and its set-up that doesn’t really go anywhere. I could be wrong but the only pertinent information for the finale is Holtz being killed and Connor thinking Angel is behind it. A lot of “Benediction” is stall tactics and spinning wheels. We get even more scenes with Groo realizing Cordelia doesn’t love him and more scenes of Connor being aggressive. It’s just too much of the same thing which only worked OK the first time around.

56 out of 100