Angel Review

[lathany]

By my estimation, this is episode fifteen. I understand it was written and directed by JW himself, so has a lot to live up to.

I liked this episode, but it ain't gonna be a favourite. Also it felt more like the first half of a two-parter, even though it doesn't have "Part One" in its name.

The trouble is, JW has done this too many times before. A happy couple appears and he removes a soul / shoots one in the heart / sinks one to the bottom of the ocean / etc. OK he was a little less drastic with Xander-Anya and Gunn-Fred but you knew, in your heart of hearts, that he was still making death threats and the rest of the writing team had tied him to chair and gagged him (and then made a complete mess of Seasons 6 and 4 respectively, but I digress).

However, A Hole in the World still has a lot going for it. Such as the hole itself (btw, have we met Drogyn, the keeper before?), the fight(s), the bit during the cavemen vs astronauts fight where Wesley says "Do the astronauts have weapons" and the vampires chorus "No!", Lorne's reaction when Fred sings, revisiting Fred's parents (although more for nostalgia sake, the flashback didn't really accomplish anything), Knox's treachery (hurrah, he isn't 2D) and the consequences of Gunn's choice from Smile Time. Also Wesley and Fred were a lot less sickly-sentimental than they might have been.

But overall? Not one of his best.

Comments

[smiorgan.livejournal.com]

Knox's treachery (hurrah, he isn't 2D)

More like 2+2D. Suddenly a bloke who was in the background becomes an arch villain for all of ten minutes and then snuffs it. Almost no foreshadowing. Smacks of desperation on the creative side, if you ask me...

Also Wesley and Fred were a lot less sickly-sentimental than they might have been

Oh, come on, I can't think of a way they could have been more nauseating. Fred's death seemed to cause a rash of overacting from the entire cast.

Worst. Episode. Ever.

(IMHO)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_alanna/]

I didn't actually know that Fred was going to 'die' this episode (I like her new blue hair!), so I didn't find it as nauseating as I might have otherwise - I kept expecting something to save her... and it didn't!

I agree it's a shame there was no foreshadowing with Knox. And it seemed rather a plot dump with all the Old Ones (or whatever they were called), but I did think Drogyn was a great character :o)

And the cavemen/astronauts thing was funny.

And the scene on the stairs with Lorne was excellently directed.

So, on the whole there was plenty in this one for me to enjoy :o)

[lathany.livejournal.com]

Suddenly a bloke who was in the background becomes an arch villain for all of ten minutes and then snuffs it.

True. Although at least we had a clue who he was.

Almost no foreshadowing.

Mainly true. The two things I can think of is that whilst they were still talking about Lorne's "singing" test for all W&H employees, he hadn't been tested (Wesley mentions this to Fred in the second or third episode). And for a prior employee he was Just Too Nice.

[lathany.livejournal.com]

And it seemed rather a plot dump with all the Old Ones

Yeah. There's a lot of hints that JW suddenly re-read all his early notes for this series. AFAIR the Old Ones were mentioned back in Welcome to the Hellmouth / THe Harvest, but haven't been revisited since. Just as Why We Fight suddenly resurrected the "old vampires start to look less human" thing we've barely touched on since Kiss-whatever in Faith, Hope and Trick.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_alanna/]

I did wonder whether the Old Ones could tie into Glory ('she with no name') from Buffy season 5?

[lathany.livejournal.com]

I don't think so. She was supposed to come from another world entirely and had been imprisoned in this one (as opposed to Jasmine who had visited more than one world as a PTB / Goddess).

Episode Foreshadowing

[lathany.livejournal.com]

And, I nearly forgot, the disappearing invoice. When the coffin is brought in, the guy waves it as Knox and says it has already been signed for. Later Knox says that there's no identification to use to determine where it came from (and has pocketed the invoice - he brings it out to wave at Gunn when he's unmasked).

[wimble.livejournal.com]

PTB immediately makes me think of "Pointy-Haired Boss". Except, in this case it's Pointy, um, Tounged? Toed? Tummied?

Re: Episode Foreshadowing

[smiorgan.livejournal.com]

Ah, fair point - but still, all that effort they spent in building up Lindsay just to have him wander into W&H on some ill-thought mission of vengence against Angel only to be sucked up by the senior partners (I really hope that that was his plan all along); then Fred gets bashed in with only a single episodes' warning. I'd have had more respect for it if she'd been hit by a car.

And as for Knox being obviously a wrong 'un from day one because he was too nice - his activities were (probably) not at the senior partners' behest, so he might just as well have been the demon-of-the-week with no backstory. What he did had no real bearing on the evil that is W&H.

This series has had some real gems what with Spike, Lindsay, the whole corporate thing - and this episode is just out of place. It's tripe that indulges the characters and turns the whole thing into a soap opera, which was everything I hated about Buffy season 4 and onwards.