Angel...the beginning of the end

[RoJoHen]

Well, after a two-week hiatus, my friend and I finally finished the last 2 episodes of Season 4 and started Season 5. A few Season 4 comments, now that I'm done with it:

Cordelia - I didn't mind that they made her evil or anything, though I did miss her usual bubbly self during the season. However, I was very disappointed that she was non-existant/comatose in the final episodes. That was pretty lame. And now she's just in some room somewhere in Wolfram & Hart. Blah.

Conner - I actually started to feel bad for him towards the end, especially in the sporting goods store when he was going on about how he can't trust love. Considering I've been annoyed with him ever since he came back from Kortoth, this impressed me. And then he went and pulled a Reverse-Dawn and got erased from everybody's memory (I wonder where Wesley thinks that giant scar around his neck came from!). However, in Season 5 Angel and Eve keep talking about him, so I have a feeling (at least I hope) that we're not completely done with him. I still think there has to be more to the whole "the father will kill the son" thing.

Lyla giving Angel the amulet to give to Buffy was way too easy, but oh well. I did really love the scene with Wesley trying to burn her W&H contract. Very touching.

Season 5...

I miss the hotel.

I miss Cordelia. Even in charge of W&H, without Cordy's visions, they all seem rather lost as to what to do. I can't help feeling that they've lost the heart of their team.

Spike is back in a total plot device kind of way, and so far he hasn't really done much except bitch and moan. He does occasionally make hilarious comments, but...meh. The last episode I watched tonight was "Destiny," though, so at least that was a good Spike episode. I like that there is now some question about which vampire is actually in the prophecy.

Wesley killing his robot "father." Hardcore. He has definitely come a long way since he was a naive little Watcher on Buffy.

Oh, and Lindsey has come back! And he's all tattooey and sleeping with Eve! Dun-dun-dun!

And to complete my review: Harmony...really? We just can't get rid of her!

 

[Rii]

Cordelia - I didn't mind that they made her evil or anything, though I did miss her usual bubbly self during the season. However, I was very disappointed that she was non-existant/comatose in the final episodes. That was pretty lame. And now she's just in some room somewhere in Wolfram & Hart. Blah.

The treatment Cordelia received in S4 was atrocious, particularly in light of the inspired development of her character from Buffy through Angel S3. It's one thing to turn Angel into Angelus for a period of time, it's quite another to turn Cordelia into not-Cordelia without telling the audience about it, and never actually recovering from that. By the time it was clear that Cordelia was no longer part of the show, she'd been gone a long time.

 

[RoJoHen]

it's quite another to turn Cordelia into not-Cordelia without telling the audience about it, and never actually recovering from that.

Bolded for emphasis.

This is really my main problem. She was acting "off" for a good chunk of the season, and if that was because she was evil, I'm okay with that. But that she didn't get a chance to turn back into Good Cordelia is the part that makes it suck.

 

[Ethros]

Even in charge of W&H, without Cordy's visions, they all seem rather lost as to what to do. I can't help feeling that they've lost the heart of their team.

Not to spoil, but as you'll see later on that's kinda the point...


As for the ep where Wes kills his dad, some brilliant Spike quotes

"Heard what happened up top, offing your dad and all. Don't know if you know this, but, uh... I killed my mum. Actually, I'd already killed her, and then she tried to shag me, so I had to..."


Spike: I can explain. Apparently, when Percy here was younger, he used to be known as "head boy."
Angel: ...Yeah. I already knew that.
Spike: Right.... I have nothing else to report.

 

[Rii]

it's quite another to turn Cordelia into not-Cordelia without telling the audience about it, and never actually recovering from that.

Bolded for emphasis.

This is really my main problem. She was acting "off" for a good chunk of the season, and if that was because she was evil, I'm okay with that. But that she didn't get a chance to turn back into Good Cordelia is the part that makes it suck.

Cordelia's tale isn't quite over, I don't think I should say any more than that.

It was essentially the entirety of S4, though. She was in a coma towards the end, evil prior to that, amnesiac prior to that, and a disembodied voice with about eight lines across three episodes prior to that.

 

[RoJoHen]

It just bothers me because Cordelia is easily my favorite character from either series. She had the most dramatic yet subtle development over the course of her first 6 years, and I think she easily became the greatest Champion of them all while remaining a sexy, fun, down-to-earth girl.

 

[RoJoHen]

Cordelia's tale isn't quite over, I don't think I should say any more than that.

I fucking hope not. I would be beyond pissed if the show ended and she was just ignored.

It was essentially the entirety of S4, though. She was in a coma towards the end, evil prior to that, amnesiac prior to that, and a disembodied voice with about eight lines across three episodes prior to that.

This is true. Was there any part of Season 4 where she was truly Cordelia? Maybe for a little while after getting her memory back? I at least hope she was really Cordelia when she told Angel that they were in love!

 

[Reverend]

Speaking as a late convert to the whole Buffy/Angel franchise (I didn't really bother with it until after) I have to say Cordi was responsible for one of the funniest scenes I've ever witnessed on the telly and it was in the Angel pilot no less:-

- I finally get invited to a nice place with no mirrors and lots of curtains... hey, you're a vampire!
- What? No, I'm not.
- Are too!

So yeah, I was similarly unimpressed when they transplanted her for some kind of bizzaro pod person impersonator in the 4th series. It was like having a flatulent giraffe at the dinner table and being the only one to notice this was amiss.
Fred on the other hand was a surprisingly pleasant addition, once she kicked the rambling hermit shtick. Oh and for the record, I actually liked having Spike onboard for Season 5 as it shook the alpha male pissing contest dynamic between Gunn, Angel and Wes a bit and it never hurts to have someone constantly reminding Angel he's a melodramatic, neanderthal browed, poofter of a Barry Manilow fan. Just for the entertainment factor.

 

[RoJoHen]

^Definitely some of my favorite Cordelia moments are when she references her experiences from Sunnydale. That whole scene in the first episode of Angel is hilarious.

Still have 2/3 of Season 5 left, though, so let's be as non-spoilery as we can!

In other news, Lorne is starting to really get on my nerves. I was never a huge fan of his when he started being around being around all the time, and now that he's in charge of the "entertainment division," he's just plain obnoxious. And frankly, I've never been impressed with his singing voice. It's so nasally.

 

[Lindley]

Lorne's cheerfulness is an act. He's not happy where he is and may be overcompensating for that.

 

[RoJoHen]

Doesn't make it any less annoying.

 

[RaymondJames]

Harmony...you never know when she's going to pop up to annoy the hell out of ya.

 

[RoJoHen]

Harmony...you never know when she's going to pop up to annoy the hell out of ya.

I will say she's a lot less annoying this season than she's been in the past.

 

[Admiral Buzzkill]

Spike: I can explain. Apparently, when Percy here was younger, he used to be known as "head boy."
Angel: ...Yeah. I already knew that.
Spike: Right.... I have nothing else to report.

A little Spike makes the show watchable. Fred ain't half bad either.

 

[Dar70]

Hard to believe that Angel has been cancelled since May of 2003. 6 years and Im still pissed about it.

 

[Reverend]

Harmony...you never know when she's going to pop up to annoy the hell out of ya.

I will say she's a lot less annoying this season than she's been in the past.

I always thought she was annoying an endearing kind of way. There's a whole episode built around her later in the 5th season that was simply classic.

 

[Mr Light]

I don't think it's any spoiler for S5 to say (as I recall) that Cordy came back as Jasmine and was never herself. Either that, or she was Cordy with Jasmine sleeping inside and "Spin the Bottle" made Jasmine take over fully. I forget which. And the reason Cordy is in a "coma" for the end of the season was because the actress was pregnant and giving birth, hence the whole pregnancy storyline, and that's why she's just lying there taking a nap through the end.

 

[RoJoHen]

The only time she really bugged me was in that season of Buffy when she and Spike were dating...and then she got a band of minions...

 

[RoJoHen]

I don't think it's any spoiler for S5 to say (as I recall) that Cordy came back as Jasmine and was never herself. Either that, or she was Cordy with Jasmine sleeping inside and "Spin the Bottle" made Jasmine take over fully. I forget which. And the reason Cordy is in a "coma" for the end of the season was because the actress was pregnant and giving birth, hence the whole pregnancy storyline, and that's why she's just lying there taking a nap through the end.

Well, yeah, Charisma Carpenter was very obviously pregnant, which is fine. I would have preferred she give birth to Jasmine and then be back to normal, though. The way it worked out was lame.

 

[RaymondJames]

Honestly out of all the characetr sin Buffy and Angel my top 4 are

Oz
Spike
Willow
Faith

All of which could carry a show of their own.