The usual reviews
Mar. 28th, 2003 09:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lathanyOne good episode, one poor one. Something of a habit now.
Showtime
I was impressed with this one. I did not guess that the final confrontation with the super-vampire was set up and Buffy's defeat of it was appropriate - using the other vampire-killing method rather than a gimmick. Running the Giles/Anya thread at the same time gave a mid-season feeling of victory, whilst still promising more plot for the episodes ahead. Plus Spike had been too long in that cave, about time he came out. It may not make my top three for the season, but it will probably be fourth or fifth.
Awakening
The central device of the episode was a nice idea. Unfortunately the mis-judged execution led to a pretty bad episode in general. The idea that Angel was resolving it all in his mind that way would mean that Angel would have to be a lot more naive and a lot less cynical than he actually is. Additionally, I thought it unlikely that the writers would pass up a chance to bring Angelus back. On the plus side, it suggests interesting times ahead. I always got the impression that David B much preferred playing Angelus to playing Angel.
In other news, the snail is re-batteried, the birthday week is half-way through and a large amount of printer paper is due to arrive (along with Icewind Dale 2 and Maxie's Demon). Ryan keeps trying to discard his trousers, so I've rolled the bottoms up further and Beatrice is perfecting the "giving" game ("Book, Mummy", "Red Brick, Mummy", "Snail, Mummy", "Beatrice... I can't hold anything else !").
Oh, and the cold finally moved out.
Showtime
I was impressed with this one. I did not guess that the final confrontation with the super-vampire was set up and Buffy's defeat of it was appropriate - using the other vampire-killing method rather than a gimmick. Running the Giles/Anya thread at the same time gave a mid-season feeling of victory, whilst still promising more plot for the episodes ahead. Plus Spike had been too long in that cave, about time he came out. It may not make my top three for the season, but it will probably be fourth or fifth.
Awakening
The central device of the episode was a nice idea. Unfortunately the mis-judged execution led to a pretty bad episode in general. The idea that Angel was resolving it all in his mind that way would mean that Angel would have to be a lot more naive and a lot less cynical than he actually is. Additionally, I thought it unlikely that the writers would pass up a chance to bring Angelus back. On the plus side, it suggests interesting times ahead. I always got the impression that David B much preferred playing Angelus to playing Angel.
In other news, the snail is re-batteried, the birthday week is half-way through and a large amount of printer paper is due to arrive (along with Icewind Dale 2 and Maxie's Demon). Ryan keeps trying to discard his trousers, so I've rolled the bottoms up further and Beatrice is perfecting the "giving" game ("Book, Mummy", "Red Brick, Mummy", "Snail, Mummy", "Beatrice... I can't hold anything else !").
Oh, and the cold finally moved out.
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no subject
Date: 2003-03-28 02:06 am (UTC)The Gibbon generally agrees with you over Buffy. Last episode, the Gibbon suspected that Giles is either dead, or had a dead/alive again moment like Buffy did, and is in fact The First. Best explanation for why he was so unhelpful last episode, although he seemed more useful this week. The Gibbon is still watching him carefully to see if he ever touches real objects or people.
Perhaps The First wants the information that The First is unbeatable given to Buffy, or perhaps The First didn't know why it had been released into the world. This would explain why an evil Giles would have persuaded the demon-ex boyf of Anya to open that portal. This also bodes badly for the end of series - the writers clearly want us to think that Buffy will be giving her life away on the last episode.
As to Angel, The Gibbon felt the episode sucked, right up until the twist at the end. At which point The Gibbon retroactively enjoyed every minute of it. The Gibbon agrees that Angel should have spotted the danger at the end, but can accept that a hypnotised Angel could be made to sublimate the fear of soul-extracting due to need for shag. The Gibbon can identify. The Gibbon in retrospect loved that each of the characters went all fluffy in a way that Angel believed possible, but was blatantly not. Angel apparently wants:
Wesley to apologise, probably for taking his son
Connor to spot the difference between Good Angel/Bad Angelus
Cordelia to say "Connor means nothing to me!"
Gunn & Wesley to kiss & make up
To be the only one who can save the world
and, of course, to get laid. Then he'd be perfectly happy.
Angel
Date: 2003-03-28 02:34 am (UTC)Me too! I was mentally writing an LJ edit in which Angel stars in a New Mini advert - Angel goes looking for lost sword, finds it. Angel goes looking for Beast, finds it. Angel fights Beast, kills it. Angel completely forgets what happened last time he got laid...
But it was the first Angel episode I've seen in a long time, so I was prepared to think the worst ;-)
(Sorry, Gibbon, for repeated posting. I forgot my </i>)
Zombie Giles
He appeared in the same room as another manifestation of the first this week, so either it was a whopping continuity error or your theory is broken (or the first can project multiple simultaneous manifestations, which seems unlikely).
Which still leaves us needing to explain Giles escaping from under a fast moving axe blade, of course !
Re: Zombie Giles
Date: 2003-03-28 08:37 am (UTC)It may have been, but if so, then The First has been pretty nifty in the switcheroony-game recently. I mean, that dead wannabe slayer must have spent lots of time powdering her nose. Also, the taunting of Willow took place simultaneously to Buffy's mother talking to Dawn, and the Spike-double persuading Spike to embrace people.
I reckon that The First is capable of limited multitasking, even if it isn't omnipresent.