IvanF's Uninformed Reviews of the Fifth Season of Angel: City of Angels (2003-2004)...

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- IvanF's Archived, Cut & Paste, No-Name Reviews of
The Fifth (and final) Season of Angel (2003 - 2004) -
(Angel takes over Wolfram & Hart, Gunn gets an upgrade, Harmony joins the cast, Spike joins the team, Andrew returns,
Shanshu Prophecy, Cordelia & the 100th episode, Fred & Wes, Illyria is born, Lindsay & the Team, Series Finale)

I'll admit it. I've never been the hugest Angel fan... I really wasn't interested at all during its first three seasons, and the fourth one just went Andromeda-class stupid with the Jasmine arc... But despite my obvious bias, I'll also admit that Angel consistently had the best character arcs, writing, acting, and goddam most beautiful actresses I've ever seen on a show. And the fifth season was definitely no exception to all that.

Hell, I think Angel's fifth and final season was probably the best ever example of all that. Period.

Character arcs? Every single actor had meaning behind their motivations this season... Angel went through the whole demoralization period you go through with commercialization, edification, and corporization (if there is such a word...). He felt like he had sold his soul to the devil, and it took him a damn long time to remember what being a hero truly means... Wesley got to fall in love, betray Angel again, betray Angel yet again, and probably denied him three times behind his back. Although the best of his Alexis Denisof journey was pretty much done by the end of season three, I will definitely vouch for the fact that he was absolutely the most solid actor of the entire season, consistently acting as the highlight of every episode... Charles Gunn got to fall prey to the same trap that befell Wesley a few seasons ago. He thought he was helping the world, but in the end just made it a worse place to live. He just wanted to help, and considering how little the power actually corrupted him in the end (yet affected him in ways he couldn't even imagine)? I just can't help feeling sorry for him for that... Lorne was the most underutilized character in the season, but even he ended with a strong chracter arc about losing his naivete and possibly fulfilling all the destinies he saw through song... And Fred? I wasn't really happy with her arc, considering I loved Winifred with all my heart. But both halves of the season definitely proved that Amy Acker is one of the absolute finest actresses in the entire television business, and her abilities sure as hell made for some compelling television the full year through... And Spike? James Marsters in definitely 'da Man'! I mean, how could I possible not love a season that returns my favourite Buffyverse character of all time? Although he never really did go through a character arc of his own this season, just like in the fourth season of Buffy, he provided a brilliant voice to counter all the Angel stuffiness that plagued the first three seasons of the show. I've laughed more times at Spike-centric comments than I can ever remember now. And to be honest? I can't even remember what the series was like anymore, without Spike and Angel always at each other's throats...

The writing was absolutely amazing in the fifth season. I mean, I thought I'd never really be a fan of the "monster-of-the-week" type episodes that manifested themselves all too often in Angel's first season. But time and time again, the Angel writers proved their worth this season... Just Rewards had some of the best Spike lines I've ever heard, and had a rather amusing villain to boot. And Hell Bound? Pavayne may have been a cliche character, but so many of his lines were such pure poetry that it amazed me each and every time I rewatched this episode... And Smile Time? I never would've ever thought an ingenious story about demonic puppets could be so damn entertaining, and yet I still can't get the self esteem song out of my goddam head... Origin marked the return of Connor, and somehow made him into a more likable character than he ever was after an entire season and a half before... You're Welcome aired as the 100th episode of Angel and the return of Cordelia, and unlike most shows (Buffy included, in my opinion at least), it delivered on the 100th episode hype. The loss of Cordy left me shocked and stupefied, and the acting on David Boreanaz's part in that final scene was simply breath-taking as well... And Damage? Absolutely the best episode of the year, and possibly the best damn episode of Angel ever. Andrew reminded me yet again as to why he was the only redeeming character on the final season of Buffy (next to Spike, that is...), and the entire return of the Slayers mythos provided some of the greatest Spike development in years... And Not Fade Away? I may not have loved the cliffhanger ending to the series, but it definitely spoke volumes of what the series has always stood for. I may not be a real writer, but speaking as a wannabe writer at least, I have to give Joss Whedon and everyone else behind the scenes a true standing ovation... In the finale, they didn't give us what we wanted. But they did give us what we need.

And the acting? And the ladies?... Sure, the internet can cry fowl and cowl at Eve and Nina the werewolf, but hot damn, were they the hottest things on television since Darla of season two.!.. And Cordelia? Thanks to her pregnancy, I only cared for her acting in season four and not her looks. But to be honest, she looked just as great in You're Welcome as she did in the first season of Angel. And considering how hot she looked that first season? That's saying a lot... But of course, no IvanFian Angel season in review would be complete without me pinning over angelic Amy Acker once again... Hell, she's the only actress that I actually dream of at night. And besides her absolutely adorable wardrobe, her silky smooth skin, and my personal fetish for girls with glasses?... well... it helped a lot that Amy Acker was such a great actress... it helped a lot that she had such chemistry with Spike, Angel, and Wesley... sigh... she had me at y'all... she had me at hello...

The world is indeed a lesser place now that Angel is gone. And it still sickens me that WB cancelled the show after what seemed to be its best ever season yet... Season five had the best of epic drama, the best of slapstick comedy, the best of political parodies, the best of both worlds... It had memorable villains, memorable guest stars, memorable returns, and the most memorable of memorials... It had moving character arcs, innovative standalones, and some of the best story continuities I've ever seen in a television series, Buffyverse included... It had everything a show needs to be a complete success, which is why it hurts so much to finally, forcibly have to let the show go...

I'll admit it... I've never been the hugest fan of Angel... but thanks to this season and this one season alone, I can dearly promise the writers and actors one thing at least... that the show will not fade away in my heart nor mind for many, many years to come...

"Self esteem is for everybody."
"Self esteem is for everyone."
"You can dream and be anybody, but..."
"Self esteem is how you get it done..."
"... self esteem is how you get it done..."

Notable Episodes: Just Rewards, Hell Bound, Lineage, Destiny, You're Welcome, Smile Time, Origin, Time Bomb, Not Fade Away
Best Episode of the Season: Damage

"... and you can quote me on that... but in more serious news, the season premiere of Angel aired this week. And the thing was, maybe I've been blinded my nostalgia or something, but the great writing that defined such fourth season episodes as Soulless, Orpheus, and Home, somehow seemed... well... soulless, in the season premiere of yesterday. I mean, sure each character had their respective, respectable lines. Wesley got to get jealous of everyone's favourite vampire-psychologist-turned-human-plague-sociopath, but besides that? All he got to do was wield a gun... and it wasn't even his beloved shotgun! If anyone can manage to get a shotgun into a court room, it's Wesley... but he didn't this time. Where's the love? Where's the Feng Shui (which by the way, was probably the best joke of the episode to me, considering I'm Chinese and sick of that mystical shit...)?... Gunn had his moment to shine, figuratively at least. In previous seasons, he glowed thanks to the lights gleaming off his bald head. But now that he has hair? I don't know, something just wasn't right with him... and I know that was the point, considering he just Matrix downloaded a bunch of law stuff into his brain. And considering his brawn just became Wolfram and Hart brains, but still... his own lines just weren't up to his usual snuff, I say. Although I guess he hasn't really had any memorable moments since he last punched out Wes last season... Lorne was hilarious as always. But is it me, or did he have much better parts in episodes before he become a series regular? I mean, I may have loved his comments about Mary Kate and Ashley, and the singing-signup-sheet-for-evildoers was pure comical gold. But these days, it just feels like he gets tacked onto episodes or something simply because he is a regular, sort of like Dawn was always just there in Buffy the Vampire Slayer... although I can't really complain about Lorne, now can I? Everyone loves Lorne, except if they hate jello and puppies (grr... argghh... I hate puppies...)... And Fred? Well, she was meant to have some really significant lines. And I did laugh at a few of them, although I'm not sure whether I chuckled more from her little phone entrance or that god-awful poster of the Dixie Chicks in the science lab background... The thing is though, she was given really commanding lines to shout out at her little troop of workers. She even had a whole speech, outlining that she's the boss or some crap like that. But c'mon really... although I'd love if someone that vixen beautiful bossed me around in a lab, the truth of the matter is, she simply didn't have the kind of conviction she needed in her voice. She felt hollow really... although trust me. If she ever asked, I would fill her up in a heartbeat, if you know what I mean...

Angel, besides his awful looking hair, definitely had his moments. The looks on his face when Wolfram and Hart showed up after his maiden rescue, and when he was staring in disbelief at the phone from hell, were both cheesy faces as hell. But they were effective, nevertheless... And his chemistry with Harmony was great, especially the twinge on his lips when he learned of the secret ingredient of Otter, even though I felt like Harmony had too many lines to stay interesting... He also had some decent moments with Eve, who would've looked hot as hell to me if only she didn't look like an Alias to Jennifer Garner or some clone crap like that... And my favourite moments of the episode by far? First, it was definitely the guyness in Angel's expression when he saw all the cars. Last year in Home, it was about HDTV. And this year? Well, I would've picked the black car on the left for sure, but he's an old timer, so I'll forgive his taste... and secondly, was the death of the Wolfram and Hart commando team leader brutal or what? I mean, it already seemed like Angel went evil around Home or something, messing with his son's head through magic. But honestly, he kicked a man's shotgun right into his face! I mean, even as Angelus, he didn't do that to shotgun Wes. It's like Old Man Kent whooping on Whoopi. Wasupwidat?... Overall, <insert episode name here since I for some odd reason can't remember it> was a decent premiere effort, but it seemed to have inherited the blankness and hollowness that blanketed the Buffy writers from season five and on. Either that, or it was simply too much of an introductory episode, with nothing really going on... The only thing that was really worthwhile to watch in those Buffy seasons though (besides the trio that I loved but everyone else loathed) was the coolness factor of Spike... and what do you know? Blondie bear is back! I mean, hell, he didn't even have any lines in <insert episode name here>, and I was already balling from laughing from the reactions to his mere entrance... Spike truly is Mutant Enemy God... or the mutant enemy of a god or some crap like that. I can never decipher which..."

"Anyhew, onto the shows that actually matter in life... This week's episode of Angel, Just Rewards, was definitely one of the best written episodes I've seen from Mutant Enemy since Angel last lost his soul. Now, I know the internet complained quite a lot, about Spike taking up all the screen time in this episode... and I admit, it did feel like the writer's were trying to introduce him just a little too much all at once, just in case Angel fans don't bother watching Buffy anymore... but still... goddammit, I don't care how long his scenes were! They were all goddam funny as hell, as only Spike can achieve! I was balling in laughter from just his "bugger" and "balls" comments from the fallacies of being a Casper ghost... I loved his eternal haunting and tormenting of Angel in sports cars of all places... and hell, as a Brit, if only he had said "Honestly, who throws a spoon?", in what was obviously the action sequence of the century, then there would've been no better Spike centric episode in history... since the fourth or fifth season of Buffy, at least... But while Spike succeeded on all levels as the plucky, Patrick Swayze, comic relief, especially in his moments with Harmony, I will admit that he definitely did not fit into the subtle, subverted, Danny dark atmosphere that the Angel series is supposed to be all about. Whenever Spike talked about Buffy or what they had together, or when he was trying to get Fred to help him in the end, his overacting just didn't fit the context of the building he was in, or the feeling that the show's had since first season, unless the writers are now trying to change all that...Buffy was all about melodramatic romance crap. Angel is... well... the same... but not quite the same... and honestly, I laugh every single time I see Spike in the opening credits, simply because he sure as hell doesn't look like he belongs there with his duster! Believe me - his mistaking of LA for hell was hilarious enough for me to want 24 episodes of Spike a year instead of the show 24, but still... sometimes I wonder whether bringing him over to Angel was such a good idea in the first place...

Wait a second... what am I thinking? Of course it was a brilliant idea, because where else could he have such great chemistry with his grandsire?... Angel himself was funny in this episode for the first time in years even, or at least since he lost his pesky soul, I always dare to say... I mean, I was laughing so damn hard as his "Casper" insult, not because it was funny, but because it was so damn unfunny that it was hilarious! Him actually trying to match wits with Spike... not going to work when you're talking about Captain Forehead... Now, I loved the chemistry between the two of them, both when Spike was taunting, and when both of them were actually being serious, actually. Although I don't see how he found out about it, I did quite agree with Angel that the whole soul ordeal wasn't quite fair, with him suffering 100 years of torment and infinite remorse, and Spike only being insane in a basement for a mere three weeks (which was already too long for the attention span of most Buffy viewers, it seemed...)... just little moments like that were enough to show me that this ambiguous... umm... vampiric... duo... definitely deserves to be on screen... but the only problem was... What about the rest of the cast? Gunn actually got to play third star for once, as his new law firmness has him as Angel's new intelligence sidekick, supplanting Wes in the end, which will probably piss Wes off more sooner than later... Wes himself didn't have many lines. He did have a lot of confused looks though at things Angel didn't find worth mentioning about Spike, which was good enough for me until the whole eccentric, Spike-centricity thing settles down... Lorne was just there. He's quickly becoming the Pete and Mayweather, or even the fourth season Gunn, of the series it seems... and he's not even a brother.... and Fred? She looked cute as a bosom as always... and I loved her lukewarm statement... but, umm... she doesn't seem to have much chemistry with Spike at this point, although I could just be hoping that he doesn't fall for her over Buffy... I agree with Spike's observation though - Fred and Angel seem to have a connection that I never saw with Cordy... I just hope Fred doesn't get passed around to Spike first like she seems to do with all the other guys on the show...

Angel was definitely a hallmark episode this week. I can only hope the writers can keep up the brilliant writing and directing... "

And there you have it! A review for the episode that has no name, much like myself... but now, onto the important shows in life... Angel unleashed its episode of "Unleashed" this week, and truth be told, something just didn't click right about it... Maybe it was the ending that through me off, considering it was all light headed and family-friendly or something, while the rest of the episode seemed like it was trying to be disturbed with slashing little girl's throats and everything... Overall, the writing just didn't seem to work in Unleashed, possibly because it lacked any sense of comic relief, and possibly because Spike was simply too vixenated or something by his travels to the dark side of the force, that he didn't even get off one single, decent comical line that I can remember... well, besides the look on his face when he learned Angel killed a werewolf with a silver pen, but still... The episode was simply too fragmented in the end as well. One moment, you had Fred ignoring Spike, and then without any flow in the sequence of scenes, after it seemed like she had forgotten all about him, suddenly he's the first thing on her mind... The episode also seemed to deal a little too heavily on Nina, the werewolf girl. Now, I was all for all the close-ups on her, considering Angel the series always manages to get girls that rile me up (Fred just looked perfect in her dress while ordering Chinese food, Darla always looked damn fine in silk, and Nina absolutely looked hot as werewolf hell in those tight T-shirts Angel kept feeding her... how does the Angel crew keep getting women this damn beautiful? No other show on earth can consistently get a full moon rise out of me...). But besides her looks, and besides how cute she looked in her PJs when she was all disoriented in the morning and everything, I can't say she was terribly interesting or anything... maybe I'm still bored of werewolf syndrome from the Oz days (Oz had cool lines, but I never really liked his character), but at times her lines just felt cliche about describing what its like to wake up in the morning a monster... and I can't say I sensed any real chemistry between her and Angel, although perhaps that was the point... because, well...

Fred got a lot lines to say, but none were truly memorable... except one, you see... I noted last week that Spike already noticed Fred looks up to Angel, and in this episode, Nina already could sense (or just guess) that there was something between the two as well. I've got a feeling that Fred will finally pass herself around to Angel this season, after going through all the other guys at Wolfram and Hart first and LA second, of course... Gunn got some decent moments in this episode too, as perhaps the Senior Partners are hoping he would eventually betray his friends after they all suspect him of already being a W&H spy, thanks to his brain jack job... Wes didn't get much to say. It seems with Fred and the science department dealing with all the magical stuff, Wes doesn't have much to do, although I loved how much he loved his pen near the start, but I digress... Lorne got some decent lines in Unleashed, but they all felt forced and out of place. He tried to give Angel a speech about isolating himself or something, which might work in later episodes when the group isn't so close anymore, but in Unleashed? How exactly was this speech supposed to fit in with the plotline, exactly?... and Angel? He got to help the helpless again for the first time in a long time, considering season four was all about the Big Bads and not the little bads... though his speeches were painful at best to listen to, about being a controlled monster and everything, but there was one thing I liked about him this episode... In the first two episodes, he killed humans without remorse: the commando leader in Convictions, and the Necromancer in whatever last week's episode was called... In Unleashed, he dives down deeper into the dark side, by sentencing everyone's favourite Dr. Phlox to death and not even flinching about it. At least in the first two episodes, he killed out of self defence, but in this one?... he simply didn't like the Denubulan guy... Angel's apparently a racist... but that's besides the point...

The point is, Unleashed was a simple episode that probably was supposed to remind us of the first and second seasons of the shows. There was a monster, there was a saving of the naked helpless from the monster, and of course, there was the nice twist of the eating-werewolves-alive for rich people convention, which was rather innovative... But truth be told, I didn't like Angel until the third season. So truth be told, Unleashed didn't move me one bit, except to unleash painful remembrances of why I so preferred the fourth season of Buffy over the first season of Angel...

"And, well...with Enterprise running a rerun this week of potentially their first and worst episode of the season, I was afraid that Smallville was all the TV I was going to have... and that's not a good thing... that's a thing as tortuous as Martha Stewart to me in the end... But thankfully, just thankfully, this week's episode of Angel, Hellbound, ended up being absolutely the best Angel episode since Soulless (although Just Rewards had its moments), and probably the best written Mutant Enemy episode since Buffy's Conversations with Dead People. And of course, I have to attribute this all to Spike... because Spike's truly 'da man! Da Yoda man for sures... Every single line he had in Hellbound was delivered with grace and poise and prose, from his comment near the start that he practically invented afraid of the dark, to simply the raw look in his eyes when he was refusing to talk to flunkie spirits anymore... and the real beauty of James Marsters, is that no matter who he acts with, he seems to bring out the best in the actor. Because I swear, his talk with Angel about being destined for hell? Not only did it raise some very important issues for the Buffyverse (now that the vamps have souls, they're doomed to suffer), but honestly, Angel gave his best speech since he was goddam evil last year. I loved the way the two were just snarking at each other on the couch, and honestly, the 'liking-his-poems' bit and the Barry Manilow comeback was just sheer brilliance, both in terms of pure comedy and perfect comic relief... And whenever Spike was with Fred? Hell, the way she smiled at him was better than she ever smiled at Wesley or Gunn. The way she froze when she was nipped by Spike on the shirt in the lab spoke more volumes about her acting skills than any of her Fredcentric episodes did last year... And hell, even when Spike wasn't on screen, just talking about Spike brought out the best in the cast and crew of the series. Fred's justification of going overbudget in the science department was brilliantly woven and written, as not only did Angel look and act very strangely like a real CEO (albeit a nervous one), but I loved the looks between Fred and Eve as well. Fred commenting about how she ain't some stupid school girl with a crush was brilliant, not only because her delivery of her sarcastic comments was perfect, but because she was a school girl with a dozen crushes just two years ago... And as great as the Barry Manilow comment was in the episode (and props to Angel as well for the Dark Soul references as well... although I wonder if Spike's beating him in that category...), probably the best comic relief in this episode definitely came from the Gunn and Wesley comments about Spike going to hell. Logically, if you think about it... they're right... and wonderfully, thanks to the overdramatic music, logically the scene was funny as hell...

But as great as all the cast was in this episode (except for Lorne, who was MIA probably because his own episode is up to plate next week), I really can't help but praise Spike some more. He did it all in this episode, in terms of acting in character. He was snipeful with Angel with his comment on his "block of wood mystique". He was disturbed in the basement scenes, when he saw the man cutting off his own fingers (which along with the girl who took the shard of glass out of her eye, was the only thing that disturbed me as well). He was tender in his scene with Fred, when he was thanking her for all she's done and couldn't do, even though she couldn't hear him... He was honest, but never throwing in the towel, when he was stripped to his bare necessities and forced to play by Pavayne's rules... He was wrathful, and hell, having a good ol' Spike duster time, when he finally got to get his groove on, and land a few dozen punches and licks in his first fight since becoming Casper... and hell, he was also sweet and thoughtful at the end of the episode, when he showed understanding and not selfishness in his final talk with Fred over his lost chance to relove and live... James Marsters did it all in this episode, and although I will admit that some of Pavayne's speeches and flunkies were cheesy as hell (and a little too disorienting too, when he kept making his flunkies speak for him inbetween sentences), Spike truly made the most of it, as he "sold" (as I would say if this was wrestling) the fear and literally hell that Pavayne was projecting as something that even a vampire like Spike would be scared of... Because Spike's always been a man in control. That's why he likes the world - because he's not some small bit player in it, and hasn't been since he was turned. And just the raw look of paralyzation in his eyes, when he realized that he's completely powerless to stop his descent into hell?... honestly... it was priceless... Spike being Hellbound, was simply priceless... All the talk of Shanshu prophecies this and Spike's passions to be a "real boy" that, were all simply goddam priceless... and makes me wonder just how I ever could've watched a Mutant Enemy show without Spike as a character...

... and it also makes me wonder how I possibly could've tolerated Smallville just an hour earlier... but that's besides the point..."

"I was hoping that this week's episode of Angel, Life of the Party, would wipe the awful aftertaste of Smallville right out of my mouth... and in some ways it did, as Life of the Party was a hilarious episode for the most part... it's just that... it sure as hell had insurmountable odds at ever meeting my Himalayan high expectations, considering I absolutely loved "Spin the Bottle", the comic relief Angel episode from around this time last year... Hell, I even gave Spin the Bottle my best episode out of all shows of last year award, so how in the blue hell was Life of the Party ever going to live up to those expectations?... and considering what the premise of Life of the Party was, of everything Lorne says coming true, how could I possibly not compare the episode to Something Blue of Buffy season four (the episode where Willow had her will done by magical accident), which I still rank as one of my favourite episodes of all time from any show that I've ever watched?

Short story short, Life of the Party on its own right was a pretty damn good, goofy effort. Now, I'm not normally a fan of Lorne in high doses. He's normally only good as the short stinted comic relief, as the magic 8-ball moment from last year all reminded us of... But I really did feel that if any episode can truly be considered a good Lorne-centric episode, it's this one (although Spin the Bottle might be considered one as well). Because not only did Lorne get to truly shine in the comic department, but he got a serious moment with Angel in the limo as well. Admitting that he really wanted to help the team in some way, really gave purpose to his character even being on the show. And admittingly, I never really looked at him as the 'morale fighter' of the motley crew or whatever before that scene... And admittingly, Lorne was pretty damn funny in Life of the Party. I loved his dialogue with "Harmonica", as even just pointing her out, dancing all alone on the dance floor (and I admit, she did look absolutely fabulous on the dance floor...), provided probably the hardiest honest laugh I've had in weeks... I loved it when he called Angel "Milkdud', although his "wallflowers" comment sort of left me feeling flat... And his smaller, less noticeable comments, such as his "I must really hate himself" when his own subconscious beat him down, caused me to chuckle the second time I watched the episode, although in a way, that was one of the problems with Life of the Party...

The thing was, the comedy was a bit too dark at times. And because of that, the episode felt more restless and lifeless than it did a party (not to mention the constant showings of the party sort of dragged on too long by the end of the episode)... I mean, I laughed quite a bit at the episode's lines the second time through, but on the first watching? Honestly, a lot of scenes simply felt forced, as if they were trying to be funny, but they never quite got there... I laughed out loud at Lorne's "you taste great!" comment to the blood drink slave, but the rest of the scene just felt cocktail bland, even with Angel's blank stare at the half naked slave... I felt that I should've laughed at the demon who was wearing a human costume, but something just didn't click right for that scene in the end... I also thought that I ought to be laughing at Lorne's disgust at the Pylean wardrobe, and I also thought that the idea of the "Hulk" Lorne would've been at least a bit funny. But both scenes just sort of were there for me, feeling like part of the background, when the real comedy seemed to come from the supporting cast of the episode...

Angel probably had his best comic lines of the past year in this one episode alone. I loved the silence in the room when he mockingly brought up the idea that he was inviting all the guests to the party to slaughter them all... I loved his "brooding" when his hockey team was losing (dammit, they better have been losing to the Leafs!...)... And honestly, although I guess it should've been funnier, I still absolutely loved his eagerness to go back to having sex with Eve after barking orders to the rest of the crew... And Eve? Well, I felt her "hands-on" comments about Angel relieving himself weren't delivered with the poise the lines needed to be funny. And I'm not one to really compliment the way she looks, considering she still looks like an Alias cop-out if you ask me.. But she certainly did look fine in that dress of hers, and she looked even finer as she was slapping Angel's ass behind the couch, so how can I possibly say anything against her?... But the thing is, what was with that look she gave at the end of the episode? Is she evil? Was she angry that Angel didn't like the magical, drunken sex they had as much as she did (otherwise he would've lost his soul)? Or is it a combination of both, and the start of a long, drawn-out storyarc, along with a wonderful friendship?... Gunn is the other character that this comic relief episode seemed to forever foreshadow in terms of a storyarc. Lorne's comment to him, to "stake out his territory", was to me absolutely the funniest part of the entire episode... Now, some on the internet have already cemented their attitudes, and commented that they hated his pissing over the entire firm routine, considering they think "peepee" jokes are immature. But I personally think it's immature to not be able to appreciate a good "peepee" joke any longer, because goddammit, this was a good one! Gunn had a great line when asked if Lorne told him to piss all over the complex: "Lord, I hope so"... because unlike the rest of Lorne's comments, this one was a mystery (his other "will be done" lines had obvious reprecussions... this one did not). Lorne's subconscious had transmitted his words "literally" rather than metaphorically, as Willow had done long time ago with her "why don't they get married" comment about Buffy and Spike (which resulted in the best romantic comedy ever on television, if you ask me). And not only was I pleasantly surprised at the subtext (if you can call it that) of the magic mojo done on Gunn, but it's interesting how it foreshadowed things to come. Not only was his positivity towards getting his own sleep removed rather disturbing if you think about it, but the fact that Gunn was pissing all over the entire complex... sort of showed that he was thinking the entire building was his territory... interesting indeed...

And Wes and Fred? Fred was absolutely adorable as a drunk, just like when she's sober, but I don't really think either of the two characters portrayed drunkeness properly on screen. They each had funny scenes though, although I wish Wes had something more than just that one elevator waiting scene to snicker at... I loved Fred whenever she was in the background, doing her drunken thing. She looked cute as a button whenever she stumbled and snorted, but still... And Spike? Unfortunately, he was a bit of a disappointment. His positivity was weird, but not really funny, except when Wes and Gunn truly realized something strange was going on... Overall, I still wish Life of the Party had all the metaphors and creativity that Something Blue long ago had. Instead though, while the episode was funny, it just wasn't very surprising, except for the Gunn staking his territory thing... you'd think though that Spike would be more important in Life of the Party, considering he's had experience with this subconscious fate control thing, but still... and, well... my only hope now? Something Blue truly turned into a classic episode not just from its humour, but from its foreshadowing of the Buffy/Spike romance, Willow's turn to darkness, and the Yoko Factor of the group... only time will tell whether the same will be seen with Life of the Party. But all I know for now, is that it was fun to watch the first time, and as a credit to the performances, it was even more fun to watch a second time around, like any good party I've ever been to...

... the problem is... umm... I don't think I've ever been to a party, but nevermind..."

"Meanwhile, Angel this week treaded a fine line. The Cautionary Tales of Numero Cinco, as the episode was called, was a bold mix of both comedy and cynicism. And honestly, you two no-name readers know me... how can I not love an episode based on both of the above, the fruits of the loom of my life?... First the comedy bits: Angel absolutely was brilliant with every look and line he had. I laughed throughout the entire starting credits, just because of his non-shellac and almost bored to death reaction to being goddam, casually thrown through a window by a mailman... I loved the look on his face when he saw the four dead wrestling brothers just darting away, as if they were facing the Devil's Robot all over again... And David's work with Wesley was simply awe-inspiring this episode, because not only was it funny as hell to watch, but it actually made sense with the context of the entire season... The blank face on Wesley's face when Angel sarcastically mentioned the Sahjen or however-you-spell-his-name prophecy, was probably the funniest moment Angel's had in... well... a week... but that's besides the point... And to top it all off, it was both amusing and depressing at the same damn time, that Wesley couldn't even remember all that he had done thanks to the mind wipe. And hell, the moment was revealing as well at the same damn time, since it's only a matter of time until Wesley looks the prophecy up himself (C'mon, he has to wondering to himself, "hmm... now how did I get all dark and broody and shotgun wielding exactly?")... And although the reactions weren't perfect for the scenes (I was hoping for more blank stares or disbelief or something), it was simply ingenious how the "El Diablo Robotico" story was a legend in Wesley's eyes, while Angel just glazed his own eyes over with the rest of us at how damn Andele stupid the devil must've been back then... But in all seriousness, Angel excelled this week in seriousness as well. He was noticeably "disconnected" in almost every scene, as he barely even seemed to care when he was fighting the Aztec monster. He acted cold towards everyone without being cruel, and that's exactly how I feel Angel should feel after losing his son... he's distancing himself, because what hope does he have? Any hope he ever gains is lost, since everything he touches turns to ashes, as he claims... It's hard for actors, in my mind at least, to properly portray hope and a lack of hope on screen. And somehow, Angel did it all this week. I give him major Matrix props for that... props that the god-awful Matrix movies have never had...

And as for the rest of the cast?... I've already mentioned how damn funny Wesley was in his clueness seriousness... I also was balling in laughter from his car shotgun statement, although I feel the joke would've worked better if Wesley was actually sitting in front... My only problem with Wes this episode, was his goddam shotgun... Why the hell could a sword stab through the Aztec warrior's armour, but a goddam shotgun blast could not? Was his gun tapered, or taped up, or friggin' made of scotch tape or some crap like that? I mean honestly, why must bullets suck so damn bad in modern shows? In Smallville this week, a gun blunt to Jorel's side did more "damage" visibly than an entire magnum round did! Every fucking week, I swear to God... but anyhew, that's besides the point... Gunn grew increasingly and increasingly evil this week as he seemed more and more happy with his job. He seems to be enjoying power a little too much for his own good. A turn to the Old Republic dark side may not be out of the question... Lorne was invisible for most of the episode. But I was laughing at how quickly the Angel-vs-the-mailman news spread on the "web" according to him. And honestly, how can I not agree with him when he shouted out that Fred was "every woman"?... And Fred?... puppy sigh... Fred... her face is just so damn beautiful, that I could've sworn Spike was falling for it when she said he saved her life... I'm not sure what that look of his really meant, whether he was realizing that she was falling for him, that he was falling for her, or whether he only started thinking of the Shanshu prophecy applying to him. James Marsters is great in that paradoxical sort of way... But overall, unfortunately, Spike was more of a nuisance than entertainment this episode, as he whined a bit too much like Dawn about all his holy ghostiness, although I did chuckle at a few of his taunts and ribs... But the stars of the show were truly Angel and Numero Cinco, combined with the enchanting and especially mood setting Spanish music, as their shared depression, hopelessness, and despair ended up proving to be a winning combo at the end, if only because Angel fighting with Luchador wrestlers has always been one of my dreams... sad to say... Overall, this episode spoke volumes to me. It may not have been the most entertaining, the most engrossing, or the most action packed of the season. But somehow, the perplexing mood shifts between cynicism and comic relief, just somehow made my day... and that's saying a lot, considering I watched it right after I miserably failed a 30%-final-mark mid-term... in a course I'm already failing... although I guess anything would look good after a Matrix-Reloaded-like travesty like that... but that's besides the point..."

"But while Smallville proved to be a bitter disappointed (not that it ever isn't, by my standards), my Wednesday night (the night that nothing could go wrong, if you read my download update) was mercifully saved by one of the best, if not the most in depth, Angel episode of the season thus far... Now, that's not to say that Lineage didn't have its downfalls. The idea of cyborg demons in the Buffyverse may have wet my Cyberdemon Doom roots way back while fans were complaining about good ol' Adam, but somehow, the idea of little ninja cyborgs in the "more realistic" Angelverse just seemed damn cheesy to me... And except for Spike and Wesley, the episode felt devoid of character depth as well, even though both Fred and Angel were onscreen for quite a long time... Gunn got his ass kicked, but at least he got to fight for once again, rather than just wear an expensive suit. Lorne said something, but once again, while it was worth a couple laughs, it was nothing special enough to remember... Now, I thought Angel fit nicely into the background in Lineage for the most part, and I'm not being sarcastic... mostly... Though he seemed a bit out of character when he was dressing down Wesley in his office, and it certainly felt forced when Eve tried to connect his bureaucratic outrage back to his son. But the good ol' Angel came back at the end of the episode, with a brilliant line about killing his own father... Sure, the delivery of his lines was a bit weird and bit too insanely giddy, but that was the whole point of the scene I think. The contrast with the overserious and overzealous Wesley by his side was simply hysterical!... But so what? Angel had one good comical line. Where's the real comic relief?... that's where obviously Spike came in. Now, he walked a fine line between comical sidekick and annoying prick in the side this episode. His constant taunting in Fred's laboratory even started getting on my nerves, and while I snickered at the return of the "head boy" title for Wesley, Spike mentioning it in Angel's office for the second time just seemed forced and a little too old... but honestly, the Wesley head boy thing was just one of the brilliant references Spike made to prior Whedonverse episodes. And honestly, as Mr. No-name Nostalgia over here, I was literally balling with laughter and tears every single damn time I was reminded of some of Spike's greatest moments!... The indirect comment about his own Buffybot shenanigans had me howling so damn hard that I missed the rest of the goddam scene! And his bluntness about his dead mom trying to "shag" him, in contrast to how oversensitive he was about it all last season on Buffy, made me goddam miss the entire last scene of the episode from goddam rolling on the floor as well... of course, since I had the episode taped, I simply rewound in the end to listen to the stupendous Spike antics all over again, especially when he finally got to smash a corporeal being in the face for once. But still... Spike truly was either love him or hate him this episode... and luckily for me, I can't even remember the last time that I chose the hate side of the force...

Meanwhile, Fred was in far more scenes than Spike ever was... I think... and yet I barely remember anything she did... She mostly just pined and tried to give soap opera-ish looks between Knox and Wesley, trying to make us care who she picks in the end (I'm going to go for Angel on this one though... because unless Darla or Cordy comes back, he really has no-one... and the lead, brooding star can't have no-one, now can he?). But really, the only scenes that Fred actually did a decent job in, were the ones in which she was whelping for help as the damsel in distress, both at the start of the episode and at the end. Although it's not like she did much when she was grabbed by the ghoulies of the man who would be Wesley's father or fazzha or devil's robot or whatever... but she did look rather cute in that little cast of hers... But really, what made that final rooftop scene memorable, besides the cool helicopter sounds in the background?.. it was the fact that the scene was so well written, and so well acted amongst the two British actors at the center of the Shakespearean play... Now, I can't say Wesley had his greatest moments ever this episode, but he sure had some decent ones. I loved the look on his face when he was talking about Lilah to his father, although I wish we could just figure out what he still remembers from the Conor mindwipe... I snickered at the look of embarrassment on his face, when he was talking to Fred as if the world was going to end, only to realize a second later that his father had already defused the bomb with no trouble at all... And I also loved how ingenious and yet cruel Wesley was in the torturing of the cyborg. Technically, considering it was a machine, torture shouldn't matter, right? They do it all to time to demons, and yet still... The only problem I had with Wesley, was that he didn't find it odd how one moment, his father was talking about the Wolfram and Hart books being out in the open, and the very next moment, a ninja cyborg conveniently came to claim them... though Wesley made up for his brief lapse in stupidity... by absolutely overkilling his father with like a dozen freakin' bullet shots, for Christ's sakes! I mean, I know he was just trying to protect Fred, willing to kill for her like Gunn did last season... but still! He shot his father like a half dozen times, as if he'd gone trigger happy on the Beast all over again! Oedipus beware... But at least I can be happy that in Wesley episodes at least, bullets actually do some damage to villains, which is more than I can say for last week's episode... Overall, Lineage may not have been the best written episode of the season (that honour goes to Hellbound), and perhaps it wasn't the best acted either. But the combination of the two, coupled with a hell of a lot of nostalgic references to past episodes, made Linear sure as hell stand out in my mind... far more than any ravenous freak of the week, Smallville episode will ever achieve, I pray to God..."

"And, umm... okay, guess I finally got that out of my system (and trust me... ask my friend who was talking to me on the phone through this episode... he'll confirm that both of the above are actual IvanFian quotes from watching the episode... sadly enough...)... But what I can't really get out of my system, is how I was so damn looking forward to "Destiny", this week's episode of Angel, and unfortunately for me, I was let down by a Whedon flashback episode for the first time that I could ever remember... One of the reasons was simply the fact that Druscilla, for the second time in a row (Lies my Mother Told Me being the first), was pretty much completely underutilized. And when she was actually used? I'm sorry, but her lines just weren't up to Buffy season 2 quality. Her only real moment was when she extended her arms, waiting for her dear "Willy" to come and take her, and that was already spoiled in the promo for me... but I don't know... I know we weren't supposed to see her face or anything when she was on her back on the bed, considering we were supposed to feel as shocked as Spike did... but honestly, was it me, or did she seem bored as hell during sex? And unfortunately, the same anti-Paris Hilton phony phase came over Harmony as well too, much earlier in the episode... neither gal looked like they cared, and somehow, I would've just preferred to have just kept the sex scenes behind smoke and cyborg shadows, rather than in the dull full moonlight, where I was expecting at least some sort of softcore porn and screaming... And I don't know, just the little things in this episode bugged me... I mean, I normally try my best to not let my love affair of the Buffy and Spike romance sway my judgment on episodes very much, but honestly, it didn't really make sense to me why the writers would make Spike get off on Harmony, when he's supposed to only think of Buffy? Honestly, Destiny made Buffy seem like a prize or a "chalice" to Spike, rather than the deep love he had for her through all the seasons of Buffy (and yes, I'm including season 2...), as if the writers wanted to make Spike look morally worse than Angel this episode... And other bits that bugged me? The make-up on the bleeding eyed people just looked cheap in the end... And all the cheap, monotonous talk from Eve finally got the best of me... I mean, I know that we were supposed to get the hint that she was behind all this, but honestly, did they have to spell it out to us with her constant, convenient yapping in every situation?... And although this isn't really a complaint, I will note it here in the negatives, for some odd reason... that although I didn't see it coming, I can't say I cared when I saw Lindsey in bed with Eve at the end... probably because I didn't care one damn bit for the first season of Angel, and Lindsay never seemed important to me in the second season of Angel anyhew... Now, don't get me wrong. I'm pleased that the old partner of Lilah is back, if only so he can start chopping off people's hands with that lovely, not so trusty sledgehammer of his again. But honestly... I don't know... maybe it was the episode's fault, or maybe it was recent failures in school's fault... but somehow, my only surprise at the end... was simply not caring about the surprise... Hell, I wouldn't even be surprised if Eve and Lindsay turned out to be the good guys in the end... somehow, I guess I'm with Angel: my heart's just not in it anymore...

Though there was a stretch of twenty minutes of the show that I did unconditionally love, however... and they all took place in the present... Now, I personally found the whole Shanshu thing annoying at best, if only because I hate how the Whedonverse handles prophecies (why the fucking hell should the universe tear itself apart from not knowing who the Shanshu vampire will be, when the fated one has been predestined since the beginning of time?). And I also detested "Sirc" or however you spell his IRC chat name, if only because his cliche, evil British voice was boring as hell, and it felt weird that Wesley kept him around even after Die Harding him last season... And I found it dreadfully annoying how Angel and Spike couldn't even see the midlead coming, even though the cup just conveniently happened to end up in Nevada after the Inquisition of all places... But while I won't really discuss the rest of the episode (Gunn, Fred, Lorne - they all didn't do much that I cared about, except Fred wearing really hot looking glasses... And Wesley? He pulled a Travis Mayweather on us and simply wasn't there, so props to him...), since I guess I shouldn't say anything unless I've got something decent to say... but... the thing is... I absolutely loved this episode from the moment we saw Spike in the Red Viper car (although a black one would've suited him much better), to the point where Spike finds out the cup is filled with bloody hell, Mountain Dew (ewch... I'd rather have Crab Juice... or some Code Red...)... the thing is, although some cheesy effects did detract from the battle (I hate all the jumping around done in Angel, as it ruined the fight between Angel and Faith last season), I must admit, that the one-on-one-with-the-Great-One bout between Spike and Mr. "I fell down some stairs", was perhaps the best damn battle since Angel took on the Beast for the first time, or even since Angelus took on Buffy back in Buffy season 2... I mean, besides the cheesy throw effects, this battle had it all: burning crosses, wooden stakes, and oh yes - really damn good choreography when it comes to dueling with phallic poles (gotta love all the laced subtext...). And this was all intermingled with some of the best damn taunts and comments since Spike first showed up on the series! I mean, Spike was annoying as hell for the first part of this episode, with that dumbass Harmony thing and all that constant reminding that he could be the Shanshuing Matrix one. But when the fight broke out between the two vampires with souls? And when even I was hurt when Angel revealed (dare I say it?) the truth about Spike's relationship with Buffy?... well, let's just say I actually cared at the end who was going to win the fight... and I sure as hell chuckled along as Spike admitted he wanted the cup, half for the burden, half for the prize, and half just to take yet another thing away from Angel... Now, the banter between the two wasn't all perfect during the fight, as I felt Spike's insight into Angel, hating the sight of him, simply because he was his evil Padawan apprentice so to speak, felt too forced in their argument, as if it came out of nowhere... But still, for the most part? These twenty minutes alone of the episode sure as hell made my day... I can't explain why I didn't really enjoy the rest of the episode. But suffice to say, regardless of what anyone on the internet say, Angel and Spike are the best things since... well?... Buffy and Spike, actually... although I'm not so sure if that sounds too good... unless I was a girl, and unless as Buffy says, there's some sort of oil involved... if I was a girl, that is...

"... speaking of Buffy... or Spike's redemptionist tale, that is... This was probably the most sappy thing written on Angel this year so far, as Spike's lame reason to stay clear of Europe kind of hurt this week's episode, Harm's Way. I mean, it's understandable that Spike would be nervous about seeing Buffy after all those months, but fear never stopped him from ever going after Buffy in the actual Buffy series. But since Spike was given such gracious lines in previous Angel episodes, I don't really mind one slip up by the writers... As for the other characters? In Harm's Way, none of the major guys did much to both my surprise and chagrin. Angel was one dimensional, carrying on his disappointment from possibly not being the Shanshu chosen one. I didn't really like how Gunn knew demon languages so well - he made Wesley seem obsolete in the process, although some (though not many) of the subtitles were amusing... I was shocked that Lorne didn't get much to do, since he obviously has grown fond of "Harmonica". I thought he would be Harmony's friend in this episode at least, but besides being knocked out in a closet, he was barely even there... and Fred? Well, to be honest, I found her cute as hell when she was giving girl talk to Harmony in the bar. Not that that's much of a surprise, of course - my precious Winnifred seems incredibly, innoculously cute to me, no matter what the episode... But I don't know. Fred just seemed both shy and open when talking to Harmony about the boys in her life. I just wish girls would be that open to me, I guess. While in reality, trying to get them admit anything to me is like pulling my own goddam teeth and groin... And Wesley? Like his fellow Englishman Spike, he was barely even there. At least Spike got a moment at the end of the episode, where he consoled Harmony out of the goodness of his souled guilt. He kept it simple - suits both him and her, I guess...

But the episode wasn't just named after Harmony for no reason. I really did find her funny this episode, much more than I ever have in any previous episode in either Whedon series (except perhaps Life of the Party). Her chop stick fight against the Replicator girl from Stargate or whoever was brilliant, if only because I've sadly done that same splitting-the-chopsticks thing myself when showing off in real life... because yes, I have no life... Harmony's intro in this episode was grand, as the music perfectly suited her morning routine. Sure, I found the joke about the camel lame and stuff like that, but all the cracks about her unicorns and those precious butterflies on her thermos were priceless comedy... As great as Spike was in terms of being good while being soulless, I think Harmony supplants even him. Sure, she's only behaving because she needs peer appreciation and a job, but honestly - she doesn't even have a chip in her brain, yet she even seems to feel genuinely scared and sorry about doing an evil thing... Although this episode wasn't great in my eyes, it was an enjoyable side story to tide me over until the February sweeps. It won't go down as classic or anything in the books, and I haven't bothered to watch the episode a second time around yet... and while nothing can ever match the bitch slap fight between Xander and Harmony long way back, the fact of the matter is... Harmony did steal the show this week. I loved her chemistry with Fred, I loved her reaction to the positive human blood test, and hell - it was even sort of cute when Angel kinda warmed up to her at the end by sort of softly demanding his coffee... As the parody intro of this episode sort of outlines, Harm's Way wasn't just meant to be a Harmony side story. It also showed just how entrenched the Angel crew has become in the corporate lifestyle. And besides, how can I possibly not endear to an episode with the brilliant and awkwardly delivered line, "... you don't kill... we don't kill you..."... the episode may not have had perfect harmony, but it did have the best Harmony we've seen in months..."

"I guess that's what I'm a fan of in episodes. Witty banter dialogue. And unfortunately for me, that law of IvanF sort of states that I wouldn't be much of a fan of this week's episode of Angel, Soul Purpose... and in the end? Just like with Restless, while I admire the episode for what it's worth, I just couldn't enjoy it... I mean, sure it had it's witty moments. I loved Spike's mockery of the woman he saved in the alley. It was about high time someone made fun of all the innocents who are too damn ignorant to know how to save their lives... And the moment where he did the double stake thing? I may not have watched Angel's first season, but I remember that scene well from the season 2 credits... and actually, come to think of it, I pretty much loved every Spike scene. I loved the camera work when the Mafia-like Gunn and Wes tracked him down in Spike's new basement apartment. The scene was just so damn styled to make it look like the big good guys were trying to put the little guys out of business, that the cleverness of the scene probably made it my favourite of the whole episode... But while I've always been a huge fan of anything Spike, I'm sorry to say, that the other supporting characters sort of didn't matter much to me in Soul Purpose. In reality, scenes with Fred, Wes, Lorne, and Gunn all made them seem uncaring. They never checked on Angel, but rather just talked about assassinations and vigilantes that. I guess that was sort of the point. They're all becoming disconnected... But in Angel's hallucinations? That's where some beauty lies... I can't say I enjoyed Fred's dissection of Angel. It went on far too long in my opinion, and just like I never cared for Cheeseman, I really didn't even find the Bear funny. I did like the idea of the dead goldfish as a soul however. Something that was gold, was now dead and adrift... and somehow, I did laugh at the bit about the raisins. Kinky, no? Winnifred can eat the raisins out of my ass anyday... Gunn didn't have a huge part in Angel's dreams, but I think the fact that he turned psycho cat on him sort of showed that Angel doesn't exactly trust Charles' deal with the White Room devil... And Wesley? What's there to say? He stabbed Angel not in the back, but in the front in his dreams. And Wesley was always up front in every sequence, applauding Spike for saving the world. Angel obviously still has some issues with Wesley... he knows Wesley will do the right thing, but doing the right thing doesn't always mean being loyal, as Angel knows all too well... And Lorne? I don't care what the internet says - I think he looked fab with that mustache on. He didn't have a huge part in this episode, like always, but even I have to admit, I was humming "Oh my darling Clementine" for the next three days after I watched the show...

But Angel himself? There was one scene alone that truly made the episode worthwhile to watch... Now, I didn't like the idea of the Blue Fairy. I more enjoyed seeing a fake Buffy utter strung together lines from BTVS season 3 or some crap like that. But when Angel took on the role of Numero Cinco? Even I felt sorry for the poor guy wheeling the mail... Angel had gotten so much hope from that Cautionary Tales episode, that maybe the Shanshu prophecy was real. But as soon as he got that hope, it was all crushed by the recorporealization of Spike. And that is the beauty of Lindsay's and Eve's plan... Lindsay wants revenge on Angel. He can't seem to kill him outright, so might as well kill his soul. And the two together want to get revenge on the Senior Partners for some odd reason as well, making them believe that Spike is the chosen one, so that they would dump Angel and really get screwed when the Apocalypse finally comes... And artistic wise, Soul Purpose was a damn good episode. Just the little things, like all the characters screaming when Spike came to the rescue, did make the show interesting to say the least. And how can you possibly not enjoy how damn fake Lindsay looked when getting those visions?... but like I stated before, episodes like this just aren't my cup of tea. There was only one thing I loved about Restless all those years back - how ingenious all the dream-like room transitions turned out to be. And there was only one brilliant moment like that in Soul Purpose - when Wolfram and Hart turned into a movie theatre for the apocalypse... everything else about the episode was brilliant in theory, but ended up feeling just so distant, disjointed and disconnected in execution... and obviously, that was the point. The episode formula itself was indicative of how Angel was feeling. And yet?... as much as I know I should love this episode, if only because of the thought behind it, I simply don't. David Boreanaz did an excellent job directing his first episode, but still... if this will be anything like Restless, then no amount of rewatching kinky Fred having a go at Angel's insides or giving him a lapdance on his chair in the great green outdoors, will ever change my mind.

But although I wasn't a huge fan of Angel this week, I will still admit that the episode definitely had a lot of rewatch value. And quite frankly, it's been a great week all around for episodic values, as this week's episode of Enterprise, Proving Ground, turned out to be one of the best Enterprise episodes of the entire year as well..."

"But episode of the week status, and potentially episode of the year status, no doubt will go to Angel this week, for having one of the best damn hours of entertainment on television since Angelus was locked in a cage last year. This week's episode, Damage, had so many brilliant lines that it even compares to the best of Buffy episodes from season three. First up on the list: Spike. I mean, does James Marsters have perfect chemistry with every actor or something? Honestly?... Because first of all, although it pains me to see him lose a battle, his fights with Dana, the psycho vampyre slayer, were the best action scenes since early last season on Angel. I loved his analysis of the situation, calling Dana a "water dragon" or some elemental thingy... I loved his speech to the poor fallen slayer as well, trying to tell her that he never hurt her, yet realizing that he has no right to plead innocence for the things he's done. And poor Spike! It's kick the Spike all over again, as he lost half of his damn arms, harking back to the fake ghosts he saw from Pavayne not so long ago. And Marters' acting was perfect, considering he was playing a vampire who was losing a ton of blood at the time... But most of all, I'll always remember this episode for the return of Andrew. I mean, I said it last year, and I'll say it again this year: the Spike and Andrew romance is one of the best ever on television!... I was cracking up so damn much from Andrew's "Frodo" line, especially considering the homosexual interludes from the LOTR series, that I was seriously snortling like season 2 Fred for most of the entire slayer conversation. I mean, every single line that Andrew uttered, or merely his slightest actions when telling the gang to "gather around" for the "slayer of vampyres" story, had me practically rolling on the floor, more so than I ever have since Spin the Bottle last season on Angel... And Tom Lenk's later interactions with Spike were simply golden. I loved the talk about the taste of blood, as to be honest, when I taste my own blood (don't ask), it does taste sort of metallic... I loved all the references back to the Buffy gang, with the Summers being in Rome, and with Spike having so much trouble debating whether to see her or not... I absolutely adored the talk of being "82%" more manly, as that's something that I normally am geek enough to say... Goddammit, I loved almost every reference that Andrew ever made this episode, from the "crappy third act" of the X-men line, to the mere mention of Uhuru for some odd reason to Angel at the end... and even without Spike on screen, Andrew still stole the show, quite literally in fact, by stealing away Dana. Because first of all, it sure was damn weird to see super powerpuff girls following Andrew of all people... and secondly, I loved the way he honestly talked smack to Angel! I loved how he mentioned that not one of his slayers has "ever dated" Angel, and the look on Angel's face when Andrew told him where his orders came from, was simply priceless and almost heart-breaking... Some on the internet feel that the speech about distrusting Angel would've felt more real coming from Xander, but then we would've missed out on all the glorious Andrew moments from potentially his best episode EVAH! I mean, all thanks to Spike and Andrew, Damage was absolutely more beautiful than Gandalf the White being resurrected from the pits of Balrog... obviously, considering I hated the Lord of the Rings movies, but I digress...

As for the rest of the cast? Fred and Wesley both took a back seat, although they both got their moments, with Fred wheeling the injured Spike away, and Wesley getting to talk a bunch of crap about demonic possession... Gunn looked more and more evil this episode, considering he's still lovin' it at Wolfram and Hart while everyone else was either cautious or brooding... And Lorne had one of his best episodes all season. He both got to be serious (with all the psychic house stuff), and he got to be ridiculously funny a couple of times (dammit, now I want to see his whip!... but oh wait... that doesn't sound too good... unless you're Andrew, but I digress...)... And Angel himself? For the first episode in quite a while, he truly looked like he cared. I loved the way David Boreanaz spoke those cliffhanger lines of his about Dana being a vampire slayer. I respected the way that he was willing to call for outside help to Rupert Giles... And Angel truly looked in charge in all those meetings of his. But if there was any one scene that truly was forever memorable this episode, it was the final one with Spike and Angel, both back together in one room, with nothing to say but the honest to God truth... I absolutely loved the juxtaposition between these two spiritual brothers when it came to killing. Spike always felt it was all about the rush, while Angel always knew that it was always about the art... Although we the viewers knew this long time ago, just seeing these two characters being honest with each other was somehow more gratifying for me than even Spike shagging Buffy a dozen times over in Buffy season six (well... more or less, I guess...)... Although I didn't exactly like the somewhat quick cut after Angel's dramatic "once upon a time" finisher line, still... this scene, amongst countless others from Damage, rank right up there with some of the best writing I've ever see on television period. The only damage that Damage did, was potentially make all the previous Angel seasons look like crap in comparison... And considering most of that five star writing I mentioned before comes from Buffy and Angel and not any other show? I guess that's saying a lot... more than the crap Lord of the Rings series ever could, but I digress..."

"Because if you've been living under a rock, or just don't like Angel, you would've at least heard somewhere that Angel's 100th episode aired this week. And trust me - You're Welcome was sure as hell one damn good episode... The problem is, just like with Heroes, while the dialogue in You're Welcome was brilliant, the plot was just a bit too thin to be considered best episode the week calibre. I mean, You're Welcome definitely ranks as the second or third best Angel episode of the year, behind Damage from a week ago at least. But in terms of dialogue only, this week's episode was probably the best in the business, as the return of Cordelia Chase definitely proved to me that Angel has been missing something since its second season actually (before Cordy went all saintly good and evil and crap like that)... Rounding off the cast, You're Welcome had something for every character to do for once. Lorne got to complain about having blood drained out of his neck. Harmony got a ridiculously funny moment when she just jumped Eve for the sake of being helpful and evil. Gunn got to look increasingly evil himself, lying and almost threatening the group to stay with Wolfram and Hart. Wesley got one of his best lines when he was "kickin' it old skool", and he finally got to work some magic mojo for once, instead of just relying on hybrid magical/scientific stuff made by Fred. And Fred?... well, she didn't have anything important to do per say. But I definitely did get some vibes when she looked cute as hell while hugging Cordy... but I digress...

The core of this week's episode lied in the Angel and Cordy moments, and these scenes alone showed the true strength of the writers of Angel. Cordy had so many brilliant lines that it was almost not funny - to the point where every line was so damn funny, that it almost felt too fast and too fake at times... which is was, I guess. That's what women do best... I knew something was up when Cordy closed the covers on the person in the hospital bed. And I knew things were definitely up when she magically was able to shut down the Wolfram and Hart device... But still. This was indeed Cordy. Season 2 Cordy actually, before the motherly crap of season 3 and the pregnant crap of season 4 (though I never did see season 1 of Angel). First of all, I agree with Wes. Thanks to all her Janet Jackson cleavage, Cordy really did look hot. And her lines sure didn't mask the gratuitous cleavage fact... I loved her references to the past seasons, all maternal instincts aside. I loved her clapping of the hands at the mere mention of shopping... Although I missed the "Lilah Jr." line the first watch through, I did enjoy her threatening of feeding Eve her own shoes (if she was referring to her shoes, that is... I'm a guy, so I wouldn't know...)... I loved her hugging of every character, especially Harmony, if only because I would've liked to see the two together again, one more time... And really, every scene where she was either with Wes or Angel alone, almost brought back tears of nostalgia, even when watching Doyle on the plasma screen that I should have (I guess I did watch a few season 1 episodes here and there...)... Her chemistry with Angel (aside from the kiss) was undeniable. Her subtlety when talking about the lost night that they were meant to meet, was perfectly executed if you ask me. Her expression when Angel admitted to feeling better after beating up a "little Texan" was enough to make me remember why she charmed me so much back in the second season... And Angel himself did his best brooding act since the start of the season. Although his quitting sub-plot felt out of place and sort of forced, his feelings of being lost without Cordy definitely felt like they rang true as he just flopped there on the ultra-comfy couch... and if there's any real reason why this 100th episode of Angel will forever be remembered, it's because of the ending. I mean goddammit, I almost cried when the news broke out! I almost saw it coming, and yet I still almost shed a tear! And every time I've watched the ending since, just the expression on poor Angel's face when he looks back and realizes that Cordy ain't there anymore, is simply priceless... and enough to tug away at my poor, aching heart... The twist at the end of the episode was pure Joss Whedon at his best, and truly brings some real closure (and real substance) to the Cordy storyline (although I still hopefully wish she'd come back at least occasionally if there is a sixth sense season). The last time I felt this way, was when Spike was bearing his breast and soul to Buffy in the church... I have to thank the Buffy and Angel writers for that...

So honestly... the writing for Angel's 100th episode was superb, so what kept the episode from being considered the best?... Well, Lindsay's plotline kind of sucked. He spent all that energy to get Angel to doubt himself, why? So he could kill him? Makes little sense to me, and their poor one-liners in their slow-paced, Matrix wannabe fight certainly didn't help... But what really, really, ridiculously bugged me this episode, was the fact that bloody hell Spike was playing Donkey Kong of all games on his bloody hell Xbox! I mean, I didn't know Vampires knew how to mod their Xboxes just to play MAME... and goddammit, when he lost the game?... heh... I guess even vampires don't have to strength to lift an Xbox... and no, that isn't besides the point... not for an obsessive, anal gamer like me, at least...

But the real reason why Angel's 100th episode didn't get the best episode of the week award, was simply because Enterprise was that damn good this week..."

"But Smallville wasn't the only episode with a trailer that was far more engrossing than its actual episode was. Unfortunately for Angel, it too succame to the pressures of making me expect too much thanks to a pretty decent promo... This week's episode, Why We Fight, was so devoid of life (no pun intended... wait, was that a pun?...) and humour, that I only laughed once (at the bus terminal reference). Hell, I barely even smiled at the Rasputin Lover reference, since this episode was so damn morbid and serious in the first place (though the Prince of Lies was alright, simply due to his lack of knowledge of anything technological)... Of course, that was the whole point of the episode. Being morbid, dead, and meaningless, I mean... The opening scenes demonstrated that working day in, day out, without a purpose and without variety, could eventually turn a man into nothing. And unfortunately for Why We Fight, a lack of purpose to the episode, except for trying to find a purpose for the hard working characters, made the episode feel like nothing in the end... Rounding down the characters, none of them had anything to do. They stood around with wires around their necks, although even then, Fred did look damn cute to me during the comment about her hair glistening in the sunlight... We did learn a bit about Gunn though. Something is going wrong with his brain download. Could be important in episodes to come, considering nothing has really happened to him lately... And Spike? Well, he tried to bring some life into the submarine parts of the episode, calling himself Captain and everything. But he really did feel dry, considering he was supposed to be fun-loving, evil Spike. I didn't like how he just sat there and followed Angelus' orders, because knowing him, he would've gladly tortured everyone on the ship, even if it meant getting stuck down there for eternity... I mean, since when did he really follow around Angel's lead?

The only real characters of the episode turned out to be Angel and Lawson... now, the actor who played Lawson was quite effective at the job. He reminded me of Tom Cruise in Pearl Harbor, even though Cruise was never in Pearl Harbor, but you get the point... The chemistry between the two sort of showed more of a captain and crewman bond than most Enterprise episodes seem to have. I did like the contrast in Lawson's voice between when he was an ensign and when he was evil, mocking Angel's quotes word for photographic word. But in the end, because of the lack of humour in the episode, I ended up liking Why We Fight even less than I did U-571 (which was a horrible movie with great sound, might I add). The depth charge scene was just standard fare, which resulted in the only real action of the episode lying in Lawson's death at the hands of a bloody hell screwdriver... And probably the only thing that interested me in the episode, was the talk of the "Demon Research Initiative" and the Nazis trying to learn ways to control vampires, in hope that the Initiative comes to Angel in season six (well... if there is a season six on UPN or something, since WB didn't pick up Angel for next season... zee bastards!...). Whenever a soldier or Angel said "son" in the flashbacks of the past, somehow it worked with the atmosphere of the episode, and I liked that (even though it definitely didn't suit Angel in the present). But for the most part, everything in the episode just felt monotonous and bland. Angel's voice in the past was both boring and patriotic at the same time, and something about that just didn't ring right with what we know of him in the 40s. Spike's voice wasn't much better either, which definitely irked me, as evil Spike never would've been that silent or subdued. And while I loved some of Lawson's lines (like his talk of what went through his mind while dying), it just didn't help the episode enough when every single line he uttered was just merely melodramatic and a cliche affair. Although as a guy, I do love the atmosphere of a submarine, I still expect some humour and light brevity from an Angel episode, no matter the setting. Why We Fight was a good reminder of why we should find purpose in what we do, before we literally get lost in our work. But in the pursuit of a purpose for the episode to convey, I think the writers sort of forget that just searching for a purpose, without already having one that people care about, is pretty damn boring to watch..."

"I don't know why, but lately, I just haven't cared about television very much. Maybe it's because I have a ton of mid-terms to study for, and I've barely studied for any of them. Eventually, the lingering guilt of being a lazy ass does get to you... Or maybe I'm simply a bit disgruntled from the fact that the WB chose Charmed over Angel to survive over to the next season. I mean, there's a chance that Joss Whedon's upcoming pitch of a plea will convince UPN to take up the show like they did with Buffy, but still... I don't know. I just don't seem to be looking forward to the next year of television anymore, just like I don't seem to be looking very forward to the episodes remaining in February sweeps.

But it's probably the guilt trip thing affecting me or something... because truth be told, yesterday's Angel episode, Smile Time, was sort of one of the best Angel episodes of the year. And I laughed from it, and maybe I even cried. But I don't know... I was entertained from the show, but at the end, I just felt empty. Somehow at the end, all I felt was melancholy, which really shouldn't happen after watching an episode full of evil puppets that make you smile, whether you like it or not... Now, I'll admit that when I saw the promo for Smile Time last week, the episode looked pretty damn bad. I was fortunately proven wrong last night, when this episode was a hell of a lot better than Whedon's Sid the Dummy one back in Buffy's first season... I absolutely loved every single scene with puppet Angel! His ever dipping eyebrows and his increasingly clenching felt fist while the brilliant "self-esteem" song was playing in the Smile Time background, had me literally rolling around in my chair in laughter. And I loved his moment of honesty when he showed off his condition to Nina. I mean, there was just some kind of chemistry between the two there, like a bizarro weird form of sesame street, except with an extremely hot and hard nippled woman and a vampire puppet who could tear off his own nose. And the mere sight of puppet Angel trying to get away from "bad Nina" was absolutely one of the most cinematic moments of the year... The puppets themselves were extremely well done in both detail and movement. Having a vamped faced puppet was simply ingenious, and I still chuckle every time I see the injured Angel puppet wielding a massive sword over his head. The final fight scene with all the puppets wasn't as funny as I hoped it would be though, but I still couldn't stop laughing when Fred started shooting off the eyes of the big blue puppet that could only make squeaking sounds... The irony and humour in this episode was some of Angel's best ever, even if the star character wasn't technically in the scenes. The only real thing that I can complain about, was that Spike got barely any role in this episode at all. And even he at least started off one of the best scenes in the episode, as the sight of the super serious puppet Angel, yelling at everyone to get back to work with Spike bloodied in the background, was definitely a candid camera moment that every Angel fan will remember for years. I mean, just the idea of the ever brooding Angel become a extra brooding puppet, who leaps out of his seat at the mere mention of Smile Time, was an idea that truly convinced me that whoever writes for Angel, is a pure (and insane) genius...

And as great as the humour was, I even liked the character developments and twists of the story even more. Gunn went back to the evil doctor and made a deal to stay who he was. Now, I don't know whether this deal will come back to haunt him soon, but I do know that it shows Gunn has lost a lot of integrity over the past few months. Although you gotta admit, seeing Gunn axe away at puppets was pretty damn smart... Lorne finally got some meaningful air time, although probably his only great scene this episode was when he was carrying around poor half eaten Angel in his arms... Wes didn't do much except seem clueless most of the time. Whenever Fred would try to say something to him, he'd just brush her off and get back to work, as if he was using his job to try to forget about her. But I did feel sorry for the poor guy when Knox didn't bring him his Starbucks coffee. Something about being the odd one out just struck a cord in me, both with Wes and with poor dejected Knox... And Fred? First of all, she looked damn cute as she was playing with puppet Angel's hair. I mean, while Nina is damn hot, Fred is simply damn adorable, and I couldn't help but feel bad for Knox when they were having the talk of Fred giving her the talk before... But honestly, what truly made this episode for me was the final scene with the kiss. Now, I personally think that Fred is more suited for Angel, but that doesn't mean my heart didn't still flutter like some completely whipped guy's when I saw how passionately Fred was kissing Wesley. And the song of "self-esteem is for everybody" playing in the background wasn't just priceless comedy - it was actually, strangely appropriate and provocative as well... I never thought a show about evil puppets would be anything but cliche, but Angel proved me wrong. Even the basic premise of the story was engrossing, as the sight of the evil puppets all talking about selling children's souls to Hell was actually kind of telling about the children's television industry... And yet somehow, I still felt empty after this episode was done. I'd love to say it wasn't the episode's fault - it was mine... but I don't know. Maybe after the brilliance of the episode, Damage, everything just seems to pale in comparison now?...

Actually... if Damage really did cause that kind of damage to my perception, then that'll really explain something that's really been bugging me since last nice... because you see, I hate to admit it, but I actually enjoyed Smallville last night..."

"But oh well, AOL, at least Smallville will always have Angel backing up its rear, if that sounds good that is... Because although I admit that I didn't love the episode, I will definitely admit that the IvanFian episode of the week goes to Angel this week, for the stunning acting and writing in this week's episode, A Hole in the World... I hate to admit this though, but for a Fred episode, probably the only thing that I really didn't like about this episode... was Fred... And not because I was sad that she was dying, but rather because I was laughing at the overdramatic performance of Amy Acker, actually... At one point, she admits that she still cares about how she looks - although she certainly shouldn't have to care, considering even with all the white death-becomes-her make-up she had on, Acker and her legs were still the best damn looking pair on television today... And I admit, drop dead Fred in a bed did have some decent and not so splotchy moments. I liked her reference to "handsome men" saving her, as a nice bit of nostalgia to her Pylean days. And probably the most powerful moment of the episode was when Wesley was reading to her a story from his Wolfram and Hart book, but still... I've always loved innocent and spunky Fred. Her comments about being "boring" in LA to her parents at the start of the episode, were brilliantly contrasted with the blazing inferno a second later... But I seriously hate serious Fred - the kind of girl who would try to look evil by killing her professor, but just couldn't look anything else to me than a damsel of a beauty... And here it happened again. I was laughing out loud at her little comments like "why can't I stay?" and her tearful forgetfulness of whatever her Anya-master-of-chaos bunny thingy was called (although I love the Buffy parallelism and irony there...). And to be honest, I actually was kind of happy when she turned into Illyria, or however you spell that goddess' name. Sure the blue hair and white pupils made her look too much like Darth Willow, and the cliche leather suit she wore in the promo just can't match her normal skirt attire, but still... Now she gets to be sexy Fred! I couldn't ask for more on television!...

As for the rest of the cast... Wesley was both charming and a bit stalkerish when he wouldn't leave Fred's side no matter what. I personally don't sense much chemistry between the two when they kiss, and his "turning on" comment during the fire intro stuff just felt forced somehow (even though she was turning me on)... But like I mentioned, reading to her from his book was definitely the highlight of the episode. And I liked some of his lines, like the mention that Fred was smarter than the rest of the gang combined. And Wesley definitely did have his brilliant darkness back - I loved the moment when he shot that employee, just for the hell of it... and I sort of saw something in Angel's eyes when he first realized that Wesley and Fred were together. I don't think it was jealousy, but there was definitely something there - it was probably meant to be sorrow, but still... I'll take it as jealousy then... I loved Angel's take-chargeness in the group circle this episode (and his comic relief - his fear of heights is quite psychoanalytically fascinating...). A lot of his lines were strong and full of conviction, like how he somehow both informed and threatened Spike at the same time, that Drogyn can't tell a lie (though Drogyn himself was a cliche English bore). And I couldn't help but feel sorry for the guy when he mentioned he couldn't lose Fred, because he had already lost Cordy. I mean, the only one he has left in his life now is... well... Spike... and Spike, I might add, was both brilliantly funny yet subdued in this episode. At first, I didn't like the silly caveman and astronaut argument, until the rest of the gang started talking about it in the halls (although I don't really agree with Fred's parallel - the ancient being Illyria does not represent a caveman, since a caveman isn't an unstoppable, immortal disease with super strength and invincibility to the cold; in reality, the astronaut (Fred) would always kick a caveman's butt, or simply make babies with him, but that's a story for another day...)... But Spike's little moments, like dreaming of being a 007 without the tux, or telling Angel just how bad Les Miserables really is, were definitely some of the highlights of the episode. But alas, I unfortunately didn't really enjoy Angel's and Spike's fight scenes or their staring down the Old Well, actually... It felt a bit too much of a Orcish LOTR moment when Angel and Spike took out all the demonic guards, and about that speech looking down the hole in the world? I know it was supposed to be a metaphor for a hole in their hearts or some crap like that, but about that Illyria-returning-to-the-well thingy... If there's really another well in New Zealand, can't Angel just do the spell there, since Illyria really won't have anyone to claw or kill on her way from LA over the Pacific (except for maybe an island of nobodies, that is...)? Or why didn't they think of bringing Fred over to the Old Well in the first place?... but I digress...

Now, A Hole in the World left me with quite a bit of a hole in the heart, since it just couldn't make me feel sad or depressed or anything, like Damage and the You're Welcome did to me this season. But if there's any real reason why this episode is my favourite episode of the week, it's because it truly felt like a team episode. Gunn got beat up by himself in what was quite a turn of events... I didn't like how stupid Knox was in blatantly admitting his evilness, but I loved Gunn's reaction to realizing his guilt in slowly killing Fred... I loved his reaction when this season, he realized he was the weak link, not Wesley (like he blamed him for the past two seasons)... And even Lorne got to get in the act. Him and Eve have always made a nice pairing chemistry wise, and punching her out and threatening her life was actually the best Lorne moment since Life of the Party... and even Eve looked good this episode! I guess I have a weakness for splotchy girls or something, because she and Fred somehow turned me on... they left a hole in my pants, so to speak... but I don't think any of you want me to go there..."

"Luckily, the WB managed to fix their television feed by the time Angel aired. And thank God or the Old Ones for that, because goddammit, I wouldn't have wanted to miss this episode... I mean, if "Shells" had aired any other week, it probably would've been declared my favourite episode of the week as well... Sure, it wasn't the most entertaining of shows, but it had a lot of great dialog and a lot of moments that just made me go "wow" or "really?", assuming the latter is a good thing... I mean, poor Fred. I laughed at her all last week as she was dying, and I laughed at her little montage of a mountain dew song this week. But something happened by the time I saw Fred packing her things up and leaving home in the flashback - I missed her... I missed her as much I loved her, as her cheery, cherry quirkiness and bashful, blooming cuteness was just as appealing to me as the fairness of her skin and hair ever was... And the thing is, Amy Acker did a great job as Illyria, with the alien head bobs and the cutesy little PN03 dancing to avoid bullet shots. But as cool as naked and sexy Illyria was (although I would've preferred a Star Trek catsuit, thank you very much), she wasn't Fred. And suddenly, it hit me - as Illyria was asking for Wesley's help in the end with such a cold, hollowing voice - I'm going to miss Fred so much! Sexy Fred isn't enough! I need glasses Fred back! I need science Fred back!... I'll give all the credit in the world to Amy Acker for somehow combining the character of Fred, with the harshness and yet naivete that that smurfette, Illyria, brought into the fold. And I'll give all the credit to the writers for making me miss a character so much for the first time in a long time... But I'm afraid, that with Angel ending this season (WB dropped it, UPN didn't pick it up, and I doubt SciFi will bother now), that I'll never get to see my precious Fred again! Maybe she'll get lucky and get Shanshued in the end, but still... Illyria was not the Big Bad of the season. But rather, she's here to help, shown from the fact that perhaps both Fred's memories and her own fears of being alone, will cause her to befriend humanity in the end. But even though it'll be nice to see who the real Big Bad of the season is, I guess I'm just a little sad now that Illyria will be there until the final episodes, helping out the gang - always present, but not as the Fred I love... guess I'm in the same boat as Wesley then, eh?... yeah, I miss her... and that says a lot, coming from me... considering we're talking about a fictional character here...

As for the rest of the characters... Gunn was most definitely the highlight of the show. His speech in the hospital bed was a bit too overplayed (I hate it when actors have to say the same line out loud twice... works in paper, but not in practice...), but I loved the rush of a chill I got when Wesley was standing right next to him in the office, apologizing for taking out his frustrations on Charles, since Gunn had 'nothing' to do with Fred's death... I loved the dryness in Gunn's voice at the time. I love how he was about to cry, but couldn't... I just wish I could duplicate same feeling the next time I'm petitioning off an exam... And Wesley himself? I laughed and snickered a bit at all his too-serious acting when it came to Fred's death. With the actress still around, I'll miss Fred - but I don't feel like she's really gone... But while Wesley's moping got on my nerves, I loved the two scenes where he actually took some spiny action. Stabbing Gunn was not only a shocking sight, but it was also pretty damn ironic - I was almost expecting Wesley to smother Gunn with a pillow in the hospital bed, just to repeat history all over again... And shooting Knox? Obviously, I didn't really mind that evil Knox died, considering this season, he never really reproduced the glory he had in Buffy's "Conversations with Dead People". But his death was absolutely brilliant comic relief! I was rolling my eyes at Angel's Buffy-like, black-and-white speech. And then out of nowhere -> BANG!... "Were you even listening to me?"... Heh. Brilliant. Poor Wesley... I just wish I could've felt something for Fred and Wesley at the end, that's it... As for Knox, since he played such a big role this episode, I might as well comment that it was probably his best Angel episode ever. The actor is definitely at his best when playing someone who's nerdy yet evil, and his awkward "my bad" comments were just as amusing to me as some of his psychology stints were back on Buffy. I especially loved his "Mom thought I was reading porn" comment... guess it reminded me too much of my own youth, as long as you substitute Illyria with... umm... well... porn... And as for Angel and Spike? I can't say I liked their battle with Illyria very much. While I found it cute how Fred was dancing to avoid bullets, I must admit that her dodging of the sword swings had too much style and not enough substance. I mean, it forced the fight to feel slow paced in the end, unlike the first battle with the Beast last season. But at least the "bullet time" didn't feel like a total copy of the Matrix in Angel, which is more than I can say for Smallville, mind you... And Angel, Spike, and Lorne all played back-up roles this episode. Angel felt horrible for letting Fred die, Spike got to be the man by beating the man - by choosing to stay until the final fight, and Lorne got to... umm... do nothing?... Either way, while Shells was not the perfect episode, it was much better to me than last week's episode, and definitely once again was some of the finest writing on television today. While it can't touch Just Rewards, Damage, or You're Welcome in quality, it definitely does stand on its own against every other show on television today..."

"Okay, I admit it. The truth is painful, but the truth must come out: I loved this week's episode of Smallville, far more than I could ever care for last week's episode of Angel... There, I said it. Hurts, doesn't it?... But it's not like that's saying much. Because I don't care what the fans on the internet say - Underneath last week was perhaps the most boring episode of Angel this entire season. I mean, anyone who reads my small Smallville week in reviews, fully knows that I absolutely hate overpretentious scripts and plotlines that sadly try to have meaning outside of the Star Trek universe... And Underneath definitely fits into both of those categories. I mean, honestly! Every character was just morbid and shallow and utter depressive in last week's episode. Take Gunn for starters. I mean, I liked how discouraged he was in the hospital bed, seemingly believing that Wes stabbing him was the right thing to do. But then we got stuck with his "atonement", which came far too damn easily for me to care, regardless of painfully tantalizing it looked. And don't even get me started on how damn much I groaned at the sight of a little kid holding an automatic. I won't get into crappy Columbine issues or anything, but the scene was just too damn comical for its own good, if only due to inproportionate proportions (although in a novel, it probably could've worked)... And Wesley? All he did was drink his life away. I mean sure, he has a good excuse to be depressed, considering the love of his life just died from his viewpoint... But dammit, it's been more than a month for us viewers! I got over Fred a hell of a long time ago - he should too... And Illyria? Her lines were the most overzealous crap that I've heard outside of the Matrix. I give all the credit in the world to Amy Acker for truly acting like an alien to her former character, but honestly! I didn't even laugh at her Smurf comment, which was pretty much the only comic relief in this episode! I was literally pressing against my temples, hoping that she'd just shut up as she prodded on and on about the world changing this, humans being in walls that. The only thing I cared about was her comment about the Shrimp Universe, and only because it brought back fond memories of Anya when she was still new to the world... Underneath was beneath me as far as I'm concerned, because it was the complete opposite of what Anya and Smallville's Truth stood for: a serious matter turned into the best of comedies. That's the television I want... but if this is the kind of crap that gets praised? Then honestly, I'm with Illyria - what has become of the world?...

And the A plotline of Angel and Spike going to Lindsay's rescue? What can I say?... Eve looked hot to me the last time we saw her in Lindsay's loft. I can't say she looked good last week... and without her looks? Sorry, but she ain't got the acting abilities to make up for her lack of uber hotness... And Lorne? I loved his "1 to Terminator" scale, but his character just couldn't execute his "I tell people what they want to hear" lines with the oomph needed for me to actually care... Now, I admit I laughed at Hamilton's cheesy punching of a guard through the gut. That was good. And I still love Angel's comment out of nowhere, "Damn... he is well dressed". But besides that? When I didn't even like Spike in an episode, you know it has to be bad... Angel just went on and on to Gunn about waking up in the middle of the night crap, as if Angel was somehow better than Gunn after all he's done. And I couldn't stand how damn many bullets Angel could take to the goddam chest without even slowing him down (although Spike taking them in the back was more "realistic")... But what really killed this episode for me, was the so-called "revelation" at the end, about Revelations. I mean, c'mon already! There's a difference between "an" apocalypse and "the" apocalypse? Give me a break already... And only now Angel realizes that the Senior Partners are doing stuff behind his back? Geez, talk about being slow and Angel Avengers dumbwitted... This episode just didn't have what it takes to be entertaining in the Mutant Enemy-verse. From beneath you it devours... That was absolutely the worst tagline in the history of the Buffyverse, and as a not very much of a naming coincidence, Underneath wasn't much better... Hell, I'd rather even watch Underworld than this crap. And that's bad..."

"I was really hoping that Angel was redeem itself this week as an act of atonement in my eyes...

It wasn't just the best episode of the week... It was probably the best damn episode of Angel season 5, next to Damage or whatever that episode was called... Origin really had that touch of writing that I can only dream of having. It had comedy, philosophy, action, and heart warming, all in three simple acts. It was brilliant, on all accounts... Gunn may not have had many scenes, but his chemistry when refusing a date with Tad Hamilton was simply astounding. The "gibbet" talk and Gunn demanding his necklace back as soon as he heard the word "deal", really almost made me forgive how damn cheesy Lindsay's breakout of this suburban prison really was... And Lorne? Even though he didn't have many lines, at least he didn't say anything wrong. He was back to being his old self. And although his character may hate to hear this, I really do prefer him as just the Green Hornet guy who goes around and snaps away nothing more than some smiles... And Hamilton? Although he'll never be as hot to me as Eve was, at least he has Stargate SG-13 under his belt for mucho respect. And unlike Eve, it's obvious that's a menacing enemy of the state - I loved his shoot down of Angel with the sex on the coach comment... And Vail was definitely a good villain of the week. I loved his comment about Sahjan having a nasty habit of trying to kill him - he perfectly merged seriousness with comic relief, in a definite way that made it believable that he would actually take away all of Connor's good memories... But the absolute two best supporting cast members this episode definitely have to go to James Marters and Amy Acker. This is the first ever episode that Illyria was great and actually interesting in my eyes, and kind of hot too... I've literally watched her two scenes with Spike about a half dozen times already, each time never getting bored of what happens on screen... I loved Spike's reaction to getting ass kicked in the face. I loved Illyria's hot "I enjoy hurting you line", as she had the same kind of chemistry with Spike as Fred did back when the season began... I still gurgle with laughter whenever she sends Spike flying across the room, and all Wesley does is walk in and shrug his shoulders... I absolutely loved Spike's finger pointing when he mentions "we're working on the basics"! I loved his "filthy harlot" line when he got his damn clipboard thrown right back into his face... And I loved how nobody at all cared when Illyria was literally stepping on Spike's head! The comedy between these two was as great as their romantic interludes ever were before, almost as if they were dancing... It was all capped off by a great line: "I want to keep Spike as my pet"... heh, it seems Illyria has grown fond of the half breed. And wow - we learned she can possibly talk to plants!... everything about Spike's and Illyria's scenes together were golden. Nothing could've been better... except perhaps an entire world of Shrimp, but I digress...

But the real stars of the show were of course Angel, Wesley, and Connor... I never really took a liking to Connor back in seasons 3 and 4, although I did love Soulless. But Vincent was simply great this episode - hell, as I mentioned before, the entire cast was... I mean, I can't help but feel bad for Wesley! He betrayed Angel a second time, just to learn that he already betrayed him before! Now, it still bugs me that we don't know what those falsified memories of his were. I mean, hasn't he ever stopped and wondered why he's become so dark and broody?... And now he knows. I can't help but feel sorry for him, but it was a hell of a ride along the way. Every moment that Wesley came closer to realizing that reality had been changed, from documents to signatures signed in blood and crap like that, I was really wondering to myself whether it was such a good thing to remember the past or not. I mean, Wesley has become a better person since taking over Wolfram and Hart it seems, although the real philosophy comes in wondering whether that would've happened with his real memories or not... And Connor? He played the perfect college kid. I loved his lusting after Illyria - his comment of always having a thing for older women, and Angel's "they were supposed to fix that" mutter under his breath, literally had me snickering while writing my exams all this week... I frivolously enjoyed his entire dynamic with Angel this episode, showing the kind of hero worship and curiousity that he never showed as a boy raised in Quortoth. I loved his Anne Rice novels reference, especially after my obsession became obsessed with that kind of crap back in high school... I loved his fascination with fighting, yet he was unable to even take an axe off of the wall any cleaner than I could. And his fight against Sahjan? Not only was their opening bout of talking rather amusing, but it brought real closure to a story arc long gone missing. And not only that, but it brought out the best acting I've seen from Vincent in the entire series... After remembering everything, he tried faking to Angel that he didn't remember a thing, perhaps to ease his father's mind. You could just tell from the half-shakiness in his voice - he was pretending like he didn't know the truth. And that still hits me to this day... Angel's reaction to Connor actually forgiving him before he left, quite honestly warmed my heart in ways that nothing but Buffy and Spike on screen ever could... Angel truly did feel like a father in this episode. In past seasons, he was more like a mere guardian... and Connor? For once, he actually did feel like his son. That's the impression I got at least. And as an episode, that's what worked. That's what made it my episode of the week.

Now, I was going to review Enterprise's "Damage" this week, but since I've wasted too much time already procrastinating from my last exam on Monday, I think I'm going to wait until my next series of reviews to bother with Enterprise... Until then, I have a lot of bitching to do about the Leafs and Phile series, not to mention what's going on in the heads of Nintendo of Jpaan it seems. And oh yes, I need a fucking job too... being the only one left behind the frontlines?... that's making me feel really cranky... I really don't like people touching my neck, at least away from Home...

"But as much as I have to give props to the Smallville writers for this week and the last, I still have to yield the best episode of the week award to Angel. Time Bomb may not have nearly the emotional impact on me that Smallville's Memoria or Enterprise's Forgotten had on me, but the writing was so damn strong throughout the entire episode, that it even made me forgive the fact that Fred isn't amongst the living anymore... I'll admit here and now that until this week, I really haven't seen any emotional point to Illyria, except for some steamy hot action scenes with Spike in the training room. But those few precious moments of screen time really evolved into something special in Time Bomb - it gave both characters real meaning to their character arcs, and it seems that every other character managed to feed off of their charm as well. Like leaking petrol actually... First things first, Spike was truly the man this episode. Not only can he now kick Illyria's ass in a fair fight, like I always knew he could. But his snarky remarks were some of his best since the start of the season, or even since Buffy to be honest. I loved his internet comeback against Illyria's constant glorification, and I still crack up whenever he conjectures that it's not murder "if you say yes"... Time Bomb was also the first episode in a long while that I've truly enjoyed Lorne's presence. Finally he's back to being the "demon clown" we all love him for! Although his walkie talkie routine did get old fast, who here didn't at least chuckle at his fan homage in claiming he still liked the villainous Hamilton over the ever annoying Eve? And although it took two rounds for me to finally get the joke, I now snicker in delight whenever I imagine Lorne hiding from Illyria inside an elevator... Lorne also had a great scene with the returning Gunn, in which both characters kept the entire scene interesting with a lot of character revelations and developments. Gunn himself had the best episode he's had in weeks, almost topping the dry throat he was hording back when he first found out that he was responsible for Illyria... Any viewer could've been able to tell the metaphor behind the suburbs as a prison: just like with Wolfram and Hart, a lot of lies cover up a lot of evil and guilt deep down below. But nevertheless, Gunn's speech to Angel did make a lot of sense, to the point where I was agreeing with him and almost feeling my pain, instead of just rolling my eyes at stuff I've already known for a damn long time. I mean, I can forgive an onscreen lecture if a) the acting is exceptional, which it was, and b) the episode has the jail demon hilariously stabbing out his own heart. 'Cause yeah, you know - that's just got to hurt...

The episode truly belonged to three characters though: Wesley, Angel, and I hate to say this, but Illyria as well... she did steal the show, as only my precious Amy Acker can... First of all, Wesley was hilarious in his conversation with Gunn. Not apologizing because it would've sounded awkward - why does that sound so familiar?... And the psychobabble books he had littered all over his office? Well, listening to his watch, Stone Cold style, was a bit too over the top for me, but I just loved the sight of Wesley frantically tapping the pages of his books! He was nerdy, geeky, and homicidal Wesley all wrapped into one... Angel himself didn't have much to do this episode, except oddly turn semi-evil in the end with the child sacrifice B-plot. But he really did put in a strong performance with Illyria during the time travel segment, where the Old One's "speechifying" was actually enjoyable thanks to some daring comments about it not being time for "When We Were Muck stories"... Angel and Illyria both had some great lines this episode, and that's why I gave it my best episode of the week award. Although I did kind of frown at her annoying hurricane and gales comments, I must admit that Illyria's talks about being a ruler and a king did feel spot on. Los Angeles is technically Angel's kingdom, considering how much power he has. Even Illyria knows it - hell, she now even fears science - which is probably why she's hanging around... The whole idea of the season has been that power corrupts, and that heroes simply don't accept the world as it is. They change it. And that's what this whole episode was about - how does Angel want to change the world?... Although the episode didn't involve the most special of special effects, I must admit that Amy Acker's acting (in pain) and the sound effects were more than enough to actually make the time travel paradoxes seem tolerable. And was it me, or did her hair look more brown at the end than blue?... I love brunettes, I really do. Or I love Amy Acker, but that's besides the point...

"The Angel episode of the week, The Girl in Question, was rumoured to be all about Buffy. And after the episode aired, people on the forums were still complaining that the entire episode was entirely about Buffy... and yet Buffy wasn't even technically in the episode! Although she was the girl in question... The entire Ford focus of the show though, was based on the rivalry between Angel and Spike, being put aside to take out the Immortal and all his infinite charms or whatever kind of crap. Because I must say, I too fell for his charms, at least when I saw the afterglow on Darla's face... I didn't start watching the Angel series religiously until I saw Julie Benz in action in the second season. She looked awful on Buffy, but hot damn, was she a perfect sexual match for Angel on his own show! Her chemistry and acting is still perfect for a vampire slot of a slut, and she sure as hell looked damn adorable when she was beaming over a night with the Immortal... concurrently with Druscilla, might I add... And yes, like the forums, I do admit that the two actresses were kind of wasted this episode on a single scene. But what we got instead between Angel and Spike was just as good as any Italian job flashbacks ever could've been... I still laugh my balls out whenever Angel tries to claim that he saved the world from Acathla (when Buffy killed him), simply because he "made her do it"... Angel's and Spike's rivalries over both Buffy and their saving-the-world resumes was simply hilarious, and reminded me so damn much of the chemistry between the two that I've been longing for since Just Rewards... Nearly every line that they uttered was pure comic genius this episode, from the "Ciao's" in 1950s Italy, to the mocking of the awful cookie dough speech in the series finale of Buffy... Spike claiming that having sex is a relationship if "you do it enough times" was pure William the Bloody at his bloody best! And did you see the poor dejected look on his face when his Slayer coat was bombed to shreds? I felt so badly for the guy... I felt so badly for the coat (even though it was technically fried last year in the Hellmouth too)... And Angel worked perfectly with his female counterpart at the Roman Wolfram et Hart. The gypsy spitting was simply classic, and quite frankly reminded me of some of the Simpsons running jokes that I still crack on and off with my friends... And the playful playing of the American and Italian stereotypes in this episode was right up my alley. The violence vs napping contrast is always a great broca divider, in my racist book at least...

But there was one thing terribly wrong with this episode: the pacing of it all... Somehow, despite so many of the lines written being comedy gold, something about the quirky, quick cuts made in this episode just didn't work for me... Either because it was predictable, or either because it was too quickly executed, the comedy screen transitions to Angel and Spike outside Buffy's apartment just didn't cut it for me. And Andrew himself was a bit of a disappointment for me, considering his lines weren't nearly as geeky or James Bondish enough to stand out from the crowd, especially considering he stole the show in Damage... And the rest of the cast didn't do a great job either this episode, or any job actually. Fred was back in full cookie dough force, but while her sweetness turned bitter cold (whenever she switched from her Winnifred to her Illyria personality and vice versa) was an acting job done well, I must admit that it's hard to take an evil bitch seriously when she looks that damn cute. And the overdramatic music constantly running the background, not to mention the constant Dark Wesley stale face running across his brow, didn't helped matters at all. The only thing that did help was the hint in Illyria's voice that she loves Wesley like Fred did, but I doubt they'll have time to explore that with only two episodes remaining... Lorne and Gunn were both noticeably absent this episode, and harking back to Wesley, the only good line uttered between these three of them was "be blue", which sounded weird out of context in the first place... But nevertheless, the Girl in Question definitely earned this week's episode of the week award in question. And why?... well, there wasn't much competition, but even if there was? To hear Liam's awful Irish or whatever accent once again, and to hear old skool Spike spit out a "Son of a Bitch"?... well, some on the internet may still hate this episode for being too much about the girl in question. But it was never about the girl to me... It was all about the tale of mens' inferiority complexes towards each other. And trust me - after a shitty week like this one, I really got a large one of my own... Afterall, size does matter..."

"Now, I just finished watching a horrid episode of Charmed where the sisters meet their evil twins, and I kept thinking to myself, this is the show that WB renewed over Angel's dead body?... Angel's second last episode ever, Power Play, was definitely good enough to earn episode of the week status for most weeks of the year. Just not this week, I'm afraid... Still, Power Play had powerful scenes for every single character in the cast. Illyria was the most useless, and I couldn't stand the fact that an Xbox for some odd reason was playing Crash Bandicoot (although the outdated series is now third party... but I digress...). But the odd correlation between her existence in the new world and the annoyances of games you can't stop playing, somehow did seem like a stroke of writing genius, at least to an E3 video gamer like me. And at times, I almost felt bad for her - Illyria, I mean... Amy Acker just has a way in her eyes to make me pine for her everytime she pines for a man, and poor gal - she really does look like she misses Wesley's "intercourse"... Gunn didn't have any memorable scenes to himself. But he got to play the anti-Devil's Advocate to Angel for most of the episode, wondering what the heck the big wig was doing with the Senator in his office... Lorne didn't have many great scenes either. But along with Gunn and Wesley, it was a team effort in Power Play. In every scene, whether they were interrogating Drogyn or Lindsay or Angel, these three played perfectly off of each other. Like a hat trick, so to speak... And I would include Spike in the three, but I'm sorry. As a Spike fan, he's a blonde cut above the rest. He was really the only character to present comedy this episode (one of the reasons why Power Play didn't earn best episode of the week marks), and he was really the only character to kick real ass as well. Most of the episode felt dull, like Drogyn dull, without Spike there and his snarky comments. I know it sounds weird to say this, but probably the biggest thing I'm going to miss about Angel, is Spike. And that one intimate time that is... though umm, nevermind...

The two main characters of the show were obviously Wesley and Angel though. I felt bad for Wesley at times. I mean, didn't he learn anything from remembering "the father will kill the son?" Once again, he was led to believe that Angel was going to betray them all. And once again, he betrays him first, for like the third frickin' time... Now, I never really enjoyed Angel's speeches about real power and being nothing without it, but at least they were worlds better than any of the crap Buffy spewed last year. But I do appreciate the point behind it... Because unlike Buffy, although Angel did mean his words in a way, he certainly didn't think himself higher than God as some Slayers seem to think they are... Angel's plan was to not let Fred's death be in vain. He was to infiltrate Wolfram and Hart's secret society of the apocalypse, which kind of sucked in terms of members in my opinion (none of the Circle except for Vail were really powerful or memorable or anything, as if the writers just wanted to mix all baddies from the season together and pretend like this finale was their plan all season long). But the plan itself was a nice twist for the show... Angel gave up a happy life with Nina (who may be absolutely the hottest Buffyverse woman since season 3 Sarah Michelle Gellar... or season 2 Darla at least...). Angel risked his existing power with the firm. Angel risked his life. Angel risked the lives of all his friends. And for what?... Some on the internet think it was a dumb plan to risk that all, just to make a small dent in Wolfram and Hart's plans. The Circle can be replaced - the apocalypse cannot be stopped... But I personally thought the plan was ingenious, at least from a writing point of view. The whole point of the season has been that heroes are heroes for a reason - they don't give up. They don't concede. They don't accept... Now, there may be better, more long term solutions to fighting Wolfram and Hart. There may be smarter ways to win in the end... but the show doesn't have a million years to go on. And if the show has to end now, I'm actually happy it'll go out on a bang... quite literally, actually... and except for some boring scenes with Drogyn, the Senator, and maybe even an unnecessarily cryptic Lindsay, this episode went out with quite a bang as well..."

Either way, Angel takes the best episode of the week award. Not Fade Away was a solid show, though definitely not the series' finest moment, nor was it even the season's finest moment. The main problem with the episode was that it definitely felt rushed. I mean, take the Connor and Angel coffee scene for example - the quick cut at the end of Connor's comment about Angel's girly handwriting, definitely showed that words were replaced in favour of Eve pacing around the office for some odd reason... Now, the pacing was overall pretty bad in all retrospects in the episode, but the coffee scene was definitely the one that I'd complain about the most. And why? Because it was absolutely the most interesting scene in the entire episode. Not Fade Away was trying to give props and air time to every character on the show, but it came at the expense of the most powerful scene in the entire hour... but rounding off the characters before I get to the plot...

First of all, Gunn. He spent his perfect day back in the hood with Anne from Buffy season 3. Which was odd actually... It was nice to see how Buffy had saved this girl in more ways than one. In a sense, it brought things full circle. But the moment was ruined by Gunn's awkward 'Illuminati' comment (which is pretty much what the Black Circle represents). And unfortunately, Gunn really didn't have any other memorable lines in the episode. I will say that he showed spunk in the scene behind the Hyperion's alleyway though. He was dying from a vampire wound, but he was still huffing and puffing away at the "30 000 on the left". It made me remember the best moments of Gunn from the past, and that's gotta be worth something... Lorne's perfect day was predictable, singing at a karaoke bar like he used to own. And I get what this story was supposed to convey for him - that he's a tragic figure, a naive Pylean who came to our world hoping to escape a harsh warrior life, only to turn into a cold blooded murderer in the end. Andy's acting definitely portrayed that well... Unfortunately, like I stated in earlier reviews, this is not what I wanted to see from our "demon clown". Lorne is best at cheering up the room, and unfortunately, his tragic ending didn't feel tragic because of it - it just felt hollow, I guess because we never really noticed his downfall from neutrality until this middle of this season. It felt tacked on to the true Lorne, I suppose. He's just no fun as a maniac depressive... And except for the possibility that Lorne knew all along after hearing Lindsay and Eve sing, that he would be the one to kill Lindsay (paradox - did reading them make him kill Lindsay in the end?...), I didn't really care for his fall from naivete at all. It wasn't integral to the season, so it didn't feel integral to this episode either, although his "Goodnight, folks" ender line did feel appropriate... And Lindsay? He was a strange character this episode. He didn't have the Texan fire we all know him for. He just kissed Eve, trusted the Angel trusted him with the fight, and then got shot. It was appropriate that he would be pissed that Angel wasn't the one who technically killed him in the end, and it did get me wondering how far Angel has sunk into the darkness if he was willing to lie to Lindsay just to kill him in the end... But overall? Lindsay was in the episode as a token figure, but he was there for all his past work on the show. He didn't do much, but nevertheless, he did deserve to be there. Although we seriously could've used more Connor scenes than just Eve pacing around the offices...

Connor himself only had a scene or two, but like I already said, his chemistry with Angel was undeniable. Connor admitting full-out that he was grateful for what his father did for him was powerful, and his return to the Wolfram and Hart Offices (because he aptly figured the world was ending) didn't just supply a nice sense of closure to the Angel/son arc, but also provided some pretty damn good comic relief as well. And I personally like to think that the W&H offices rumbling at the end were due to the senior partners of the WB, with Connor leaving to live for another day on a hopeful spin-off show, actually. He proved himself that he belonged on the show this season more than the last, and considering he was in just two episodes? That's saying a lot... Wesley and Illyria were inseparable this episode, and to be honest, they were kind of choking me up with their cheesiness. I snickered at some of Illyria's "inspirational" moments, but overall, Wesley and his speechifying of truth and lies was more roll-of-the-eyes quality than deep and meaningful. But what shocked me this episode was how powerful Wesley's death was... I wasn't going to shed a tear or anything, considering Wesley just looked so damn unnecessarily giddy at seeing Fred's face again. But Fred herself, with the face of an angel? Her tears were just so damn beautiful to me, that I couldn't help but feel terrible for her - for both Fred and Illyria, I mean. It was somehow brilliant acting, in the sense that you could see BOTH Fred and Illyria mourning in that one scene alone. Maybe I'm just seeing things, but somehow I saw that, the duality of it all, and it moved me, before moving mountains... And Spike? I loved his perfect day. He truly is a horrible poet, but I sure as hell would've given him a standing ovation for his "glimmering gleam" and "effulgent" lines from the good ol' days. I was disappointed in the end though - he went out fighting and saving a baby, but he really felt like he was in the background this episode. He served his purpose of comic relief, but he didn't serve his purpose of being a hero, it seemed... sniff sniff, I'm going to miss him though... I'm not going to miss Harmony, although she did get a good send-off this episode. I was thankful that she turned out to be evil in the end - even without a soul, she'd been acting nicer than Spike ever had with one. And the letter of recommendation on her desk was hilarious, although I admit it did seem to take up too much time away from the Connor scenes... And the villains? The Archduke should stay on Star Trek - he just wasn't menacing without the Dominion... Hamilton was cocky, and I loved how his suit never got ruffled, no matter what Angel tried. He provided some good comic relief with his taunting of Angel, but in the end, he wasn't much of a memorable character (although at least he was worlds better than Caleb was on Buffy)... All the minor Circle members felt worthless. The Fell Brethren, Izzy, the Senator, and whoever Lindsay killed just felt too damn weak to feel like major players in the Apocalypse. Sure, Angel mentioned that together they would've been powerful, but I just didn't get a sense of danger from any of them whatsoever... Except for Cyvus Vail of course. He was the only great villain Angel introduced this season, and he showed it in his battle with Wesley. It's just too bad he didn't have a fair fight with Illyria... instead, he let his head get imploded from a "little girl" (the hottest girl in the world if you ask me, but I digress...)...

All the characters played pivotal roles, but Angel obviously shined the brightest. I've already praised the coffee scene with Connor enough times, but I haven't mentioned the look on his face when he was told to sign away the Shanshu prophecy in blood. His talk of forgetting what it's like to be human - it was kind of ironic that signing away his chance at being human, made him sound more human in the process... And Angel definitely had a good fight with Hamilton. It wasn't the best battle in the series, but all the taunting and the comebacks definitely did make it feel like one of the liveliest. And the final scene of the series, with all the cast members (sans Wesley) standing tall in the alleyway, reading to slay the dragon and the orcish army? I was a bit miffed at the eternal cliffhanger given to us at the end, but in a sense, it made sense... The show is over. The characters can either live or die, depending on our imaginations. I would've preferred a definite answer, but that would've ruined what the entire season has been about... That's what Not Fade Away executed so well. It definitely had the "Armageddon" type of apocalypse feeling to it, in a good way that is, with the perfect last day formula or whatever. These people knew they were going to die. They knew it wasn't a "fairy tale" - they knew there wouldn't be a happy ending. But the series has never been about happy endings... The season has been about never giving up, no matter whether you can win or lose. And in that sense, Not Fade Away shall not fade away in memory for a very long time. Sure, killing the Circle seems pointless to us, since we accept the world as it is. But if the characters all die, then they die as heroes. That was the meaning of the show back in season one, and it was nice to realize it was still the ending bookmark to the final chapter in a great, thought-provoking series. Angel has always been about the characters and what it means to be a champion, and it's good to know that some things just never fade away.

Was Not Fade Away truly episode of the week quality? Not exactly. The pacing was off, the dialogue lacked enough humour, and I can't say the cliffhanger status at the end gets top notch marks from me... The ending may have been perfect for the writer, but it sure as hell sucked for the fan... But still, the series itself deserves all the credit and praise it can get. It was a damn shame that WB canceled the show when it was still in its prime... And it was a damn embarrassment that WB did that whole fucking "Thanks from your Friends at WB" montage at the end of the episode, even after ignoring the entire Save Angel campaign over the year... Angel didn't deserve to die, not in the episode and definitely not as a series. I will miss the Mutant Enemy universe... I will miss the coffees... I will miss Angel's furrowed brow... and I will miss dreaming of darling Amy Acker... oh, if only... what we leave behind..."