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Post by Techno-bot on Jun 15, 2004 22:06:09 GMT -5
Written by Tim Minear & Joss Whedon
Directed by Michael Lange
Air date: 5/2/00
Convinced Faith is capable of changing her ways, Angel tries to help her even as Kate, the Watcher's Council and Buffy continue to hunt her down.
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Post by Lola m on Nov 3, 2004 18:10:49 GMT -5
The following is my probably totally whacked out thoughts about just one aspect of this episode. Some thoughts that have bubbled around in my head about this episode for a while now and that I decided to try and put into words as best as I could. Definitely a “just in my opinion” kind of thing and not intended to be a blanket explanation of all aspects of Angel – not trying to character bash Angel or Faith here. Your mileage may vary.
OK, disclaimer stated, proceed at your own risk.
Sanctuary. So what is sanctuary? It’s a sacred place. It’s a place of refuge or asylum. It’s a place where one is offered immunity from arrest. A place of protection. Potentially, it’s the time and space to think and figure things out.
It’s what Angel offers Faith. It’s part of what Wes needs, won’t ask for, and isn’t apparently given. It’s what Buffy seems to be saying should be denied to Faith, or is she?
This is the second episode of the Faith arc, so it obviously gonna be about her – there’s not even another demon subplot to distract us from this main concept, except for the one that W&H sends to kill Faith. Well, no demons except for Angel. Hmmmm. So if the demons on AtS are usually a clue to what the story is really about and Angel is the only important demon we get . . .
But the episode is really about more even than just Faith and Angel and how their stories and character development compliment and comment on each other. It’s about Faith and Angel, it’s about Faith and Wes and, most importantly for the rest of the series, it’s about Angel and Wes. (OK, there’s also Angel and Buffy and Faith and Buffy. But those are really more continuations of, or lead-ins to, BtVS episodes. So for me, I’ll generally put off those issues until talking about the matching BtVS eps.)
So what the heck is going on with Angel and his different reactions to Faith and Wes? From what we are shown on screen (and I personally hope that the night before a lot more was done to take care of Wes that we just aren’t shown – we do know that they at least talked somewhat), it doesn’t look good. Angel appears to provide an amazing amount of comfort and assistance to Faith, both physical (taking her into his home, holding her, covering her with a blanket, etc.) and emotional. He appears to provide virtually nothing to Wes (one rather lackadaisical “how you feeling? Good, good” followed by an inquiry about doughnuts that he intends to offer to Faith!) Yet Wes is the “victim” here – Wes is the “helpless/hopeless” that Angel is supposedly in the business of helping, and Faith has been, quite frankly, the big bad – the monster of the week – kidnapping and torturing him. What gives?
Wes does at least attempt to call this behavior into question. "I understand why you chose not to turn her over to them. -I do not, however, understand why the woman who brutally tortured me last night, this morning - gets pastries!” Needless to say, conversation goes downhill from there. Angel and Wes are not really talking about the same issues here, even though they appear to be. Let’s look at why that might be.
The key appears to be expressed best by, oddly enough, Buffy. In a conversation with Angel about Faith.
Angel: You can’t know what she’s going through.
Buffy: Of course. You do. I’m sorry. I can’t be in your little club. I’ve never murdered anyone.
Now, the Buffster is being a bit harsh here, but she’s accurate too. Because that is what’s going on here. Angel’s goal is to show Faith how she can come back from the “dark side” – but what he’s really talking about, any time he talks to her, are his issues. Other people might not want you to change or might not be ready to accept your change; doing good deeds probably will never outweigh the bad things you’ve done; you’re gonna be haunted by the bad stuff you did for a long time, possibly forever. Gee, sound familiar, Angel?
Angel isn’t wrong about what he’s saying to Faith. He’s not wrong to want to help her. The idea that anyone can always choose to try and become a better person is the most important aspect of AtS and that is really what Faith's arc is all about. He’s also not wrong in most of the things he says to Buffy (this isn’t about you, it’s about saving someone’s soul, etc.). He’s not really wrong in the things he actually says to Wes (she's not an animal - we're not in the business of giving up on people - you were the one talking about rehabilitation before – etc.). What Angel is wrong about, is not listening to what others are really talking about and not making enough of an effort to show real concern and interest in the “helpless/hopeless” person (Wes). In other words, the stuff that Doyle was talking about when he first recruited Angel for TPTB.
Angel understands Faith. Angel’s been there, done that. He’s comfortable (although he would never think about it this way) with the viewpoint of a vicious killer. But if Faith and what she represents can be placed at the middle of the metaphorical teeter-totter that Angel balances on every day, the center point where he stands, then Buffy and Wes represent the far ends. Buffy is the high end – still his “on a pedestal” vision of all that’s good – his “perfect” happiness. You realize that this leaves Wes, the “victim” in this instance, at the low end. I don’t in any way think that Angel consciously thinks of the “helpless/hopeless” folks he helps this way, but I do think a part of him, that Angelus-y part perhaps, has a difficulty with connecting and understanding them. Sometimes, even, with respecting them. He just doesn’t always have the people skills.
Of course, Faith herself has a very practical and truthful way of looking at the whole thing. “How do you say 'Gee, really sorry that I tortured you nearly to death'?” And “There's some things you can't just take back, no matter how sorry you *are*, right?” And Angel puts his finger right on the most important part when he says that what she really needs to do is ask herself if she really is sorry.
In this instance, Wes is incredibly loyal to Angel and the ideals of what they are trying to do. He double crosses the council thugs, goes back to warn Faith and help get her to safety, etc. I do have to wonder, though, how much this particular experience adds to Wes’ actions in later seasons. How much might have been different had Angel chosen to “coddle” and “cuddle” Wes – not in place of Faith, but rather, along with her.
Lola
Well. That was a whole bunch more than I intended to say. And all just about one aspect of the ep. Whew.
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Post by Lola m on Sept 2, 2007 18:40:45 GMT -5
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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Sept 23, 2007 18:48:25 GMT -5
Hmm. I think I've talked a lot about this in the discussion thread for Erin's reviews.
There's a lot depth to this episode.
Buffy is interesting; she seemed to show a little empathy or pity or something at the end of Who Are You, but here she is angry and unwilling to give an inch WRT to Faith, but she helps Faith evade the Watcher's Council.
I love how Faith asks about how the microwave works, and Angel goes of on this huge monologue about 12-stepping.
I love Kate in this episode, and the whole Scully/Mulder conversation.
Also, this episode brings up an interesting query: what was Angel planning on doing with Faith, or suggesting that she do? What was Buffy going to do with her? If Buffy, the Watchers Council, the cops, and Wolfram and Hart hadn't descended upon her all at once, what would have been Faith's next step?
The show never really addresses what the proper course of action WRT to a human who is out of control, but cannot be handled by the cops. Is wait until said person either changes their ways, falls on their own proverbial knife, or gets killed by an even bigger baddie the only way?
Also, Faith wears too much makeup.
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Post by Lola m on Sept 27, 2007 20:03:55 GMT -5
Hmm. I think I've talked a lot about this in the discussion thread for Erin's reviews. There's a lot depth to this episode. Buffy is interesting; she seemed to show a little empathy or pity or something at the end of Who Are You, but here she is angry and unwilling to give an inch WRT to Faith, but she helps Faith evade the Watcher's Council. Buffy is one big cauldron of emotions at this point, I think. About Angel, about Faith, about what's happened between them all. But I think no matter what she feels about everything, she feels even more strongly that the WC is not going to provide the kind of help that Faith needs. If for no other reason that her own experiences with the Cruciamentum and their previous failure to control Faith and then what happened when they grabbed her in Faith's body. Excellent question. I can't believe that Angel would have thought Faith could just start working with him and all. I think that he would have been aiming for her to turn herself in to the cops or some form of paying for what she did - 'cuz he's all about the payment. And Buffy . . . I have no idea about Buffy. We know that later, when she thinks she's killed an innocent human her first impulse is to go to the cops. But is that because of what she saw Faith do earlier? And her own depression at the time? I mean originally she thinks that the police are the last ones to know what to do with a rogue slayer. Another good point. I mean, back when Faith was showing no remorse and trying to kill them all and help the Mayor destroy the town Buffy seemed to have no problem with killing her, if she needed to. Which sort of makes sense, if you think of Faith as being just as supernatural as Buffy herself, supernatural like the demons they kill. So, try to get her to change, but if it's kill or be killed . . . ? ;D |
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Post by Onjel on Oct 22, 2007 7:59:51 GMT -5
The following is my probably totally whacked out thoughts about just one aspect of this episode. Some thoughts that have bubbled around in my head about this episode for a while now and that I decided to try and put into words as best as I could. Definitely a “just in my opinion” kind of thing and not intended to be a blanket explanation of all aspects of Angel – not trying to character bash Angel or Faith here. Your mileage may vary. OK, disclaimer stated, proceed at your own risk. >snipped< Yet Wes is the “victim” here – Wes is the “helpless/hopeless” that Angel is supposedly in the business of helping, and Faith has been, quite frankly, the big bad – the monster of the week – kidnapping and torturing him. What gives?>snipped< Lola Well. That was a whole bunch more than I intended to say. And all just about one aspect of the ep. Whew. Here's my take on that particular point. On the surface, Wes does appear to be the victim. The hopeless/helpless that Angel is supposed to be saving. And, Faith appears to be the villain. All nice and black and white, so why isn't Angel helping Wes instead of coddling Faith? Because it's Faith who is one of the hopeless. She has lost hope in herself, in the future and sees death as the only way out. She needs help in finding hope for the future and hope for herself. Wes doesn't have that same baggage. He is not hopeless, wishing someone would kill him and needs no help. He needs no forgiveness or belief in redemption of his soul. His soul is intact. Because Faith is one of the helpless. Up until the end of this episode, Faith was convinced that she was helpless against her darker nature, a slave to her bad, evil side. No character or moral compass. Angel knows she needs help to overcome her own opinion of herself and to recognize that she's not a slave to any one aspect of herself and she can be a whole human being of character and strength. Wes has not only character, but a moral compass and is not a slave to his dark side. He needs no such help. In a nutshell, it's Faith who is the hopeless/helpless one in need of Angel's help and protection from her own mind's need to ravage her soul and it's cry for death as the only release. But, as you say, YMMV, etc. ;D |
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Post by Onjel on Oct 22, 2007 8:09:02 GMT -5
Hmm. I think I've talked a lot about this in the discussion thread for Erin's reviews. There's a lot depth to this episode. Buffy is interesting; she seemed to show a little empathy or pity or something at the end of Who Are You, but here she is angry and unwilling to give an inch WRT to Faith, but she helps Faith evade the Watcher's Council. Buffy is one big cauldron of emotions at this point, I think. About Angel, about Faith, about what's happened between them all. But I think no matter what she feels about everything, she feels even more strongly that the WC is not going to provide the kind of help that Faith needs. If for no other reason that her own experiences with the Cruciamentum and their previous failure to control Faith and then what happened when they grabbed her in Faith's body. Excellent question. I can't believe that Angel would have thought Faith could just start working with him and all. I think that he would have been aiming for her to turn herself in to the cops or some form of paying for what she did - 'cuz he's all about the payment. And Buffy . . . I have no idea about Buffy. We know that later, when she thinks she's killed an innocent human her first impulse is to go to the cops. But is that because of what she saw Faith do earlier? And her own depression at the time? I mean originally she thinks that the police are the last ones to know what to do with a rogue slayer. Another good point. I mean, back when Faith was showing no remorse and trying to kill them all and help the Mayor destroy the town Buffy seemed to have no problem with killing her, if she needed to. Which sort of makes sense, if you think of Faith as being just as supernatural as Buffy herself, supernatural like the demons they kill. So, try to get her to change, but if it's kill or be killed . . . ? ;D I agree. I think Angel was aiming for Faith to do exactly what she did do and turn herself in. As you say, it's all about the payment of the price of evil and redemption through introspection, change of deed and payment. I don't think he expected Faith to work with him. As for Buffy? I don't think she was thinking beyond confronting Faith and beating the crap out of her, maybe with the hope that she could drag Faith to jail. I don't think Buffy seriously wanted to kill her at this point. Buffy had a great deal of interaction with Faith while Faith was comatose, even going so far as to kiss Faith on her forehead. Before Faith took her body, Buffy would probably have tried to work with Faith toward redemption. After her body-swap? More like she wanted Faith in jail. Still, she didn't want her dead as evidenced by the fact that she didn't want the WC to get their hands on Faith. I agree, that she was a cauldron of emotions at this point and seeing Faith all homey with Angel and under his protection after she tried to kill him and have Buffy killed in her place probably didn't do much to put her in a forgiving, charitable mood.  |
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Episode Festival and the third most requested Angel episode for the year is . . . .
