Post by DaveCrenshaw on Oct 30, 2003 6:36:08 GMT -5
Now after a good night’s sleep, I think I can formulate a more complete response to last night’s episode. I also like the idea of rating the eps; to me, this one was three stakes out of five, whereas “Hellbound” ranked more around 4.5 stakes. Like I said in last night’s shorter version, I thought it was an o.k. episode but not a great one. Short of Gunn’s territorial marking and the humor that grew out of that element, most of the episode was essentially throwaway. But it was still better than much of the other crap that’s on TV.
I liked that we finally got an episode featuring Lorne. He’s been on the fringes most of this season while producers dealt with other characters, and it’s worked pretty well for me doing it that way. But now that we got to visit with Lorne, I couldn’t help but feel as if this was an episode not worthy of him. I didn’t come away feeling like I knew Lorne any better for the experience, the way I felt I knew Spike better after last week, or I knew Gunn better after the episode where he and Gwen Raiden stole that chip from the Japanese guy. No big revelations about Lorne in this episode, other than his subconscious mind looks remarkably like Lou Ferigno with a steroids problem, and a set of horns.
Gunn was completely the highlight of this episode for me. I thought the whole alpha-male-marking-his-territory was played to a tee, perfectly done. Gunn’s response of “God I hope so” when Angel asked if Lorne had told him to pee all over the office was just so perfect, I still bust out laughing thinking about it. Or the shot of him in the background behind the statue as everyone’s talking about what’s going on, and Wesley having to stop him from marking that corner. Spike still acting like he’s under Lorne’s power at the end, “Oh, the Lorne thing, wore off hours ago. I just think that’s bloody brilliant” in regards to Gunn marking Angel’s chair. To me, that was the episode.
Harmony was in just the perfect dose this episode. So far, the writers have really struck the balance with the characters for me, and the amount of Harmony we’ve seen so far this season is part of that. It’s a nice contrast to BtVS season 7 where there were soooo many characters and all seemed to demand screen time every single episode, in the end everyone felt underutilized – that hasn’t been the case with AtS this season. Breaking the gang up at Wolfram & Hart was a nice idea; now we can have Lorne in the background for a few episodes and he doesn’t feel ignored, just off doing his own thing for the time being.
The big revelations (relatively speaking) came from Fred and Wesley in their mystically-induced druken states. Wesley still likes Fred, but it became clearer that Fred hasn’t got a clue that he ever did. Maybe that’s part of the reason she dated Gunn; not that Gunn isn’t a great guy, but they never seemed matched to me, which is why I also think Gunn never trusted Wesley, because he always felt like if Fred ever did find out that Wesley liked her too, she might decide that Wes was a better match. But Fred is still oblivious. And now she’s got another guy who’s showing interest, Knox, and I think because of her own self-esteem problems, is still liking any guy who seems to like her. And still not aware that Wesley is one of those guys. The jury is out as to who I think is a better match for Fred, Wesley or Knox; for Wesley’s sake, I hope it’s him, but at the same time, Knox isn’t a bad choice either (at least he doesn’t appear to be so far).
What scares me is Angel and Eve. I’m not sure where they’re headed with that storyline. At the end of the episode, Angel seemed enamored by Eve, and Eve’s little knowing smile as she turned away (after her “this wasn’t the first time I’ve had sex under a mystical influence” speech) looked as if she were saying, “I’ve got you right where I want you, boss.” Considering it wasn’t that long ago that Angel was enamored by Cordelia, and also rekindling things to a degree with his other big love, Buffy, for him to already be smitten by Eve doesn’t feel right. And as a couple, they have no chemistry. The only couple with less chemistry was Willow and Kennedy. I really hope that’s not where they’re taking those two. I’m so tired of the soap opera. The Wesley-Fred-Knox triangle is enough, and there’s also the Angel-Buffy-Spike triangle (with shades of Harmony) triangle as well if that isn’t enough for you; we don’t need the Angel-Eve thing complicating matters.
As for great lines – “I don’t bottle.” “I must really hate me.” And the ever classic “God I hope so.”
I liked that we finally got an episode featuring Lorne. He’s been on the fringes most of this season while producers dealt with other characters, and it’s worked pretty well for me doing it that way. But now that we got to visit with Lorne, I couldn’t help but feel as if this was an episode not worthy of him. I didn’t come away feeling like I knew Lorne any better for the experience, the way I felt I knew Spike better after last week, or I knew Gunn better after the episode where he and Gwen Raiden stole that chip from the Japanese guy. No big revelations about Lorne in this episode, other than his subconscious mind looks remarkably like Lou Ferigno with a steroids problem, and a set of horns.
Gunn was completely the highlight of this episode for me. I thought the whole alpha-male-marking-his-territory was played to a tee, perfectly done. Gunn’s response of “God I hope so” when Angel asked if Lorne had told him to pee all over the office was just so perfect, I still bust out laughing thinking about it. Or the shot of him in the background behind the statue as everyone’s talking about what’s going on, and Wesley having to stop him from marking that corner. Spike still acting like he’s under Lorne’s power at the end, “Oh, the Lorne thing, wore off hours ago. I just think that’s bloody brilliant” in regards to Gunn marking Angel’s chair. To me, that was the episode.
Harmony was in just the perfect dose this episode. So far, the writers have really struck the balance with the characters for me, and the amount of Harmony we’ve seen so far this season is part of that. It’s a nice contrast to BtVS season 7 where there were soooo many characters and all seemed to demand screen time every single episode, in the end everyone felt underutilized – that hasn’t been the case with AtS this season. Breaking the gang up at Wolfram & Hart was a nice idea; now we can have Lorne in the background for a few episodes and he doesn’t feel ignored, just off doing his own thing for the time being.
The big revelations (relatively speaking) came from Fred and Wesley in their mystically-induced druken states. Wesley still likes Fred, but it became clearer that Fred hasn’t got a clue that he ever did. Maybe that’s part of the reason she dated Gunn; not that Gunn isn’t a great guy, but they never seemed matched to me, which is why I also think Gunn never trusted Wesley, because he always felt like if Fred ever did find out that Wesley liked her too, she might decide that Wes was a better match. But Fred is still oblivious. And now she’s got another guy who’s showing interest, Knox, and I think because of her own self-esteem problems, is still liking any guy who seems to like her. And still not aware that Wesley is one of those guys. The jury is out as to who I think is a better match for Fred, Wesley or Knox; for Wesley’s sake, I hope it’s him, but at the same time, Knox isn’t a bad choice either (at least he doesn’t appear to be so far).
What scares me is Angel and Eve. I’m not sure where they’re headed with that storyline. At the end of the episode, Angel seemed enamored by Eve, and Eve’s little knowing smile as she turned away (after her “this wasn’t the first time I’ve had sex under a mystical influence” speech) looked as if she were saying, “I’ve got you right where I want you, boss.” Considering it wasn’t that long ago that Angel was enamored by Cordelia, and also rekindling things to a degree with his other big love, Buffy, for him to already be smitten by Eve doesn’t feel right. And as a couple, they have no chemistry. The only couple with less chemistry was Willow and Kennedy. I really hope that’s not where they’re taking those two. I’m so tired of the soap opera. The Wesley-Fred-Knox triangle is enough, and there’s also the Angel-Buffy-Spike triangle (with shades of Harmony) triangle as well if that isn’t enough for you; we don’t need the Angel-Eve thing complicating matters.
As for great lines – “I don’t bottle.” “I must really hate me.” And the ever classic “God I hope so.”