People ask, between my writing and my family, when do I sleep? Answer is…never! It’s 5 AM, I just finished the script for “Fallen Angel #12” and I figured, hey! I’m semi-coherent! Close enough for the round-up! Spoilers follow…
SMALLVILLE: An episode in which the whole gloriously exceeds the sum of its parts. In terms of the latter, it’s another Freak of the Week, and Adam is kind of weird (which we knew) and Lex is poking around into things (which is SOP), the fact that Clark’s saving the coach changed Lana’s possible future (and that he was behind the kidnapping) were pretty obvious, and Jonathan has a heart attack (which we saw coming). But it all came together so beautifully that, dámņ, it was fantastically compelling. I was watching it on video tape and I couldn’t speed through the commercials fast enough. The psychic kid was great, the story pacing was seamless, I just LOVED that eerie future shot of the flapping Superman cape heading into…well, kind of looked like a Boom Tube, actually. Plus there’s fascinating ambiguities. “I think Adam died.” Well, if he’s really who we think he is, then in a sense, that’s true. Young Bruce Wayne, the innocent boy, died in the alley as he watched his parents’ lifeblood seep away, and something else was born…something that wouldn’t receive its real name until years later when a bat flapped through a window. And Jonathan’s protest of “Not now, it’s too soon”…a frightened man simply protesting his impending mortality? Or something more? The culmination of the mysterious deal he cut with Jor-El, perhaps? Bottom line, the series continues to fire on all cylinders.
ANGEL: Ðámņ. I mean, ÐÃMN. I had to say it, I just HAD to go and say it. People who watched it, you know what I’m talking about. People who didn’t, I can’t bring myself to say it. The episode itself–a superb 100th episode. Everything, from its nods to the show’s earliest days (including the Doyle video from “Hero,” giving us a look at the tragic Glenn Quinn) to the (for now) resolution of the Lindsay storyline to the snappy dialogue (“Harmony, if she moves, you can eat her.” “Really?!” or WES: We should come with you. ANGEL: No. I’m not going to risk the life of somebody I care about. SPIKE: I’ll come. ANGEL: Great, let’s go.”) to the returned Cordelia’s helping Angel recapturing the sense of heroism it all worked. You had to love Cordy feeling she’d woken up in a bizarro world; too bad she doesn’t remember the first time that happened back in BtVS. They played scrupulously close to continuity, right down to Conner. In every way, the episode worked not only as a smooth summary of what had gone before (notice the effortless exposition, as opposed to last week’s painful info dump from Andrew) but a powerful sense of what’s to come. But…aw, ÐÃMN IT, Whedon.
WEST WING: Okay, finally. This one had everything. Toby, deciding he’s going to try and fix Social Security, almost singlehandedly derails his own career and the Bartlet administration. No good deed went unpunished, and every best laid scheme gang agley (as they aft do). I’m still wrestling with how I felt about the ending. If you take the episode to its most reasonable outcome, Toby’s resignation is accepted, he’s gone, there’s some shouting on Capitol Hill for a while, and then everything settles down to non-business as usual while Social Security sinks slowly into the mire that no one is working to save it from. That’s what would have happened. Instead, once Toby started working with Josh (as opposed to working at cross purposes with him) they actually managed to sort things out, strike a deal, and save the program…although Bartlet had to keep quiet about how they brought it all about so his “legacy” remains barren (but, on the other hand, Toby gets to stay.) But you know what? That’s what “West Wing” is *supposed* to be about. An idealized government where things get done and nobility and self-sacrifice are the order of the day, instead of self-interest and ášš-covering. Perhaps it’s so long that we’ve seen that–either in our own government or in Bartlet’s–that it’s hard to accept it when it’s there. So yeah, I’ll give ’em the ending, unlikely as it seems. You know why? Because I haven’t slept.
Baby’s crying. Gotta go.
PAD
• 
Yes – all in all a pretty good week for TV.
I guess I saw the ending of Angel coming about halfway through (as in all good stories if there’s a line/scene that’s in there for no apparent reason to the story, usually it’s VERY applicable to the story) and in this case – I finally realised there was more to the reunion scene than had met the eye. Didn’t spoil my enjoyment – and that’s got to be a tribute to the show’s honchos. You mention Joss, Peter, but much of the kudos here must go to David Fury – yet again proving he can deliver both roses and sucker-punches simultaneously.
Nice character moments throughout. Good to see a well-balanced Cordelia/Charisma (see what she can do in her prime?)back.
As for West Wing. Dear God, if only more members of either of own governments were that inclined to put themselves on the line like that. The real world is all buck-passing, sound-bites and semantics nowadays… and even if WW hasn’t been at its best this season, I just wish some of these well-written characters were the real version instead of our over-written and under-written real-life equivalents.
John
WEST WING: I actually really liked last night’s episode. The focus on Toby, and on Bartlet’s willingness to sacrifice taking credit for the victory, were really well done.
I actually thought Will was well used in this episode, as well. The jokes about VP Bob Russell were actually pretty funny. “He’s so dull he needs a strobe light to look like he’s moving.”
The only minor irritation about this episode for me is Josh’s willingness to order Donna to spy on Toby’s assistant. I know Josh is desperate to remain the President’s “political” manager, but I can’t see Josh ordering Donna to spy on Toby’s assistant. On the other hand, yay for Donna in being unwilling to go through with it.
C.J. was well utilized in the episode as well. “I painted the rooms pink and blue. I bought the crib. I’m looking for a door. Shut the door…” Very nice use of humor.
All in all, a pretty good episode. It wasn’t outstanding, nor does it resemble this show at its best, but it’s a good episode in an otherwise uneven season.
WW: I liked that in the end it resembled the way it was, but as a whole I was disaapointed. I hated that Toby was hung out to dry, ( that’s not my Camelot I used to love watching ), but it is our govenrment, as PAD said, & Who wants to see more of that!? I too hated the spy thing…nope not my Camelot.
AND dammit I missed all but five minutes of Angel. Can’t wait to catch it later though, looked like a goodie!
( even if they did turn all noble in the end it took too long to get there )
oops that last line was supposed to go under my West Wing comment! DOH!
Glad to see you pegged my favorite bit o’ Dialogue too:
WES: We should come with you. ANGEL: No. I’m not going to risk the life of somebody I care about. SPIKE: I’ll come. ANGEL: Great, let’s go.
Hopefully they’ll get around to explaining Lindsay and Eve’s real plans beyond what we saw in this episode.
What about the ad for next week’s Angel though, Angel 1943? Since it’s a historical piece, makes me wander what they’ve got planned for the second half of the season…
I’ve also just noticed that I ruined CJ’s punchline.
It should read… “I’m looking for a donor. Shut the door…”
*ba-dum-bum-bum*
🙂
It’s way too much to hope for that Adam is really You-Know-Who (and I don’t mean Voldemort). I only so much hope in TPTB at DC/WB, and I have to ration it out. It’s great that you hope for it too, tho LOL. But I’ll give a cookie to whoever’s right.
Yes, some dámņ fine TV last night. http://www.comicscontinuum had plots for upcoming episiodes of both Smallville and Angel on their site this week. Looks like some good stuff coming up.
And, hey, next week is a Pete themed episode. Who knew?
Bobby
I can usually figure out the end long before it actually happens on most shows. I’m glad this wasn’t the case with Angel last night. The ending actually left me with a tear in my eye and wasn’t at all what I expected.
When Doyle died, he passed the gift on to Cordelia. Will Angel now have his own visions?
I’ll have to agree 100% with Peter on Smallville and Angel this week.
If I didn’t suspect that Adam might end up being an incognito young Bruce Wayne, the addition of the blatent last name of “Knight” (or was that Night?), plus the piano playing, transcript stuff, and reminder of his martial arts was a huge tip-off. Well, that plus we’ve heard they were going to try to put Bruce into the show somehow.
Before that I thought maybe he was the son of professional espionage agents or had been one himself at some point.
Question raised is with Lex looking into Adam’s background would Alfred be tipped off and find him?
And the “he may have died” migth also refer to some other R or Adult rated horror he might have experienced as part of his “accident”. Adam may have been created to be his rehab vacation, or he may have already had established his persona as Adam from Oklahoma before his “accident”. The accident could have been a result of trying some vigilanty action and being caught or Adam may have just randomly fallen victem to a human predator (hence the R to Adult rating of what happened to him implied).
Scott B raises an interesting question about visions on Angel.
Don’t watch the West Wing, but I suppose I’ll get to like it one of these days.
ANGEL: F%$K. Gall Darn it! Cordy was amazing. Strong, funny, up front, literate. It really was a great ep.
And then the phone rang. It became a timeless ep. And a sad one. I second your thouht PAD, Ðámņ Whedon. Ðámņ.
It all made sense. And it didn’t. I felt this way after coming out of ST:Nemesis. A great story. A great ending. A person gone. And make no mistake Cordy was a person in my life. She might have been fantasy but she was still a person.
Ðámņ.
-tpl
I’m trying desperately not to read the spoilers up in this thread yet, since we haven’t seen the show yet, but I’m reposting a request I put in VERY late in the last Angel thread, namely this:
My wife and I actually missed last week’s Angel (the Andrew one) owing to a VCR screw-up, and no local friends have a tape we could borrow.
Anyone happen to have a tape they’re willing to lend out? If so, e-mail me: I’ll happily pay round-trip postage and all that.
Thanks — sorry for the intrusion.
TWL
And they didn’t even have to resort to “She hasn’t touched anyone” silliness, great scene when Spike determined that Cordy wasn’t evil…
My favorite line from Angel:
(Cordy to Lindsay): We’re here for dinner and a show, and you’re both.
Last night’s Angel was a great episode, one of the best they’ve had in quite a while. It showed what they were missing this year.
However, it was also my last episode. I’m just not really digging the direction the show is going and with my favorite character gone I just don’t see the point. Wonder how many other long-time fans are going to leave?
I still don’t think Adam is Bruce Wayne. The whoe syringe thing throws it off for me, though it has been established in comics continuity that Bruce did use Venom to enhance himself, but the whole thing doesn’t ring true for me. Besides, Adam smiles WAY too much for it to be Bruce.
The only thing that would have enhanced the cape moment would have been a few bars of the John Williams “Superman” theme (which I hope the producers of the new movie will continue to use as a thematic hook, a la the “Bond” films), but this story, while it foreshadowed Clark’s ultimate destiny, didn’t really advance his journey to that destiny, per se. Therefore, it was appropriate that it wasn’t used (probably saving it for the next “Dr. Swann” episode in two weeks time).
And one last thing. The look of heroic determination on Clark’s face as he carried “psychic kid.” Does anyone here agree with me that the WB should stop their obviously abortive casting attempts and just wait until “Smallville” runs its course and THEN cast Welling as Superman?
Does anyone here agree with me that the WB should stop their obviously abortive casting attempts and just wait until “Smallville” runs its course and THEN cast Welling as Superman?
Oh, absolutely. I’ve become convinced that there is really only one actor in a given generation who is meant to play Superman
And, hey, next week is a Pete themed episode. Who knew?
Yeah, but it looks like just a “hey let’s have the useless guy act all reckless and crap because we haven’t even bothered to give him a character yet.” I hope it’s more than that, but to me it smacks of making the one black kid in Kansas a “troublemaker,” and that just is irritating tokenism.
As for the current Smallville, I thought it was pretty good, although it killed me that we didn’t get to see what exactly it was Adam’s “future” was. How sad is it that we’re all in a tizzy over this Dark-Knight-come-lately? With this much buzz it makes me wonder if they’ll be thinking pilot for Mr. Knight further down the road. Globe trotting, helping the helpless, being brooding and unstable.
On “Angel,” I can’t say enough how much I missed Charisma Carpenter’s cleavage. The entire episode was a nice nod to all of us fans that have hung in through the whole this season’s premise change. So many great nods to the past that it’s kind of sad realizing how much of the past has been glossed over this season in the hopes of bringing in new viewers. Maybe now they can say “All ashore who’s going ashore” and really pick up a head of steam.
Of course, it’s easy to say that right before this seasons supposed Big Bad gets sucked away into Hëll (of course, when Angel steps out of line in the future, it’ll make me wonder why they don’t pull this trick on him…or have in the past when he’s been in the building [I’m giving them the benefit of the doubt here saying they can only do this on their turf, but that still seems like a stretch]).
Was I the only one who thought it would have been amazing if the box with the anti-Angel device opened up and it turned out to be Connor?
So like the song says, where do we go from here? Is this a big raspberry to everyone who doesn’t trust Angel, because apparently the PTB actually *want* him at W&H?
As for the flashback episode next week, all the trailer made me think was “Hey, didn’t Spike not know that Angel had a soul when they met up after not seeing each other for years and years back in Buffy, Season 2?” Then again, he also said at the time that Angel was his sire, so it may be time to a little retcon…
Oh my god, those bášŧárdš, they killed her. I think I realized what was going on the minute the phone rang and Cordy says, “No, that you have to get.” And that totally colors the entire ep once you realize that she KNOWS she’s going to die. I don’t even think the emotional implact has hit me yet. But hey, it wouldn’t be a Joss 100th without him killing off the leading lady (and with a crying vamp at the end…). Can you tell I’m a little bitter? But quite a gorgeous episode.
ANGEL: It’s weird. Like Tobin, a (fictional, and oft irritating, but just as often wildly entertaining) person is now gone. For good, apparently… although death in the Whedonverse is only as permanent as Joss (and sometimes the actors) makes it.
I think this is for-real, though, unless they bring her back as a ghost or a flashback.
It was very interesting to see the growth of Cordelia’s character from the high-school popularity contest bimbette, to actual bonafide hero over the past… ahem… 8 years! Jeez.
On the other hand… oddly enough… I realized that while I missed Cordelia as a presence and definitely missed seeing the beauteous Charisma on-screen… like Wes and Cordy said while doing the research… I didn’t miss her as much as I would have thought.
If only because she wasn’t much of a presence last season.
Although I’d love to see more shots of that post-baby cleavage… (I know, I know, that’s superficial of me … hey, I’m a guy, what can I say?)…
..I don’t mind a Cordy-less Angel if only because I think the current cast has a tight, solid character dynamic, and it really does fine without Cordy. We’ll see if they get picked up for another year, though.
I hope so.
Definitely gonna keep watching.
…
SMALLVILLE – my wife hated Adam’s character as soon as she saw him on screen… he reminded her too much of a controlling ex. I decided that her judgement was borne out with last night’s ep.
Smallville: Adam isn’t Bruce Wayne. The reference to “my parents would have killed for a piano like this” doesn’t sound like the Waynes. Maybe it’s just a cover, but…
Angel: Spike met the ensouled Angel right after he killed his first slayer. He spent a couple weeks with him and didn’t know he wasn’t evil anymore. I imagine this episode will have him not learning the truth either.
WEST WING – I enjoyed it a lot for the first time in a while. I agree in the “real world” Toby would have been gone. However, I also like that they hit a real issue for the first time in a while: Social Security is going broke and we do have to make some tough choices.
In my opinion, we are going to have to do several things: 1) raise the retirement age, 2) remove the wage cap (why no more after $75,000?) and 3) increase risk/reward for younger people (there’s no reason not to put some of that money in long-term investments that even guarenteed will make more than the anemic trust fund).
However, as the episode demonstrates, no one really wants to touch it for fear of the wrath of powerful lobbying groups.
I was hoping for a glimpse of Doomsday during the flapping cape scene in Smallville.
Charisma Carpenter showed why she shouldn’t have been dropped from the show with her performance in this episode.
–your pal, Hoy
Anybody who didn’t tear up when Cordy was watching Doyle’s video, is a cold-hearted bášŧárd. Although, perhaps it made what was coming a bit to easy to guess. (Especially when she actually quotes Doyle’s last line of dialogue.)
And yes, it’s quite clear to me that TPTB want Angel in W+H, which is why they woke Cordy up as soon as he decides to quit.
STC
Angel:
Oh my god, those bášŧárdš, they killed her.
I’m still not sure that’s what really happened. As an outsider, and a newbie, it looked to me like she had one favor she could ask for… and she decided to cash it in. My guess is that she asked to be retconned into Connor’s life. Seems to me, that’s what any Mother would ask for.
Is she gone?
No, I don’t think so; but it seems that for now, her character has run its course.
One question I have is; Has anyone ever seen The Powers that Be, or any of the Partners? Has their power been established? Because, given the way they dispatched Lindsay… it just makes me wonder about the futility of being a pawn in their chess game.
Smallville
Darn, I miss the Dead Zone.
I loved the nod they gave to the mythology of Superman… “Clark, it’s as if you never die; like you go on living for ever”. Must have been scary for Clark, but I took it more as a metaphor. Funny, once I knew this guy could see the future, I was like… touch Clark, now touch Adam! Three more things… It’s good to know that Clark will become the Caped Wonder of Metropolis (’cause as far as the Smallville Universe goes, that was still up in the air). As far as Adam goes, there’s no way Gotham City is remotely near Oklahoma! No way! And since we were given no reason to doubt Josh, I’ll have to conclude he’s either another character or a thinly veiled version of the Dark Knight (just, not the real deal).
As for Jonathan… well, I didn’t see that comming. And well, to me, he’s the lynchpin of the series.
West Wing
My only complaint is that Josh really screwed Toby over. Screwed him really good. Reminded me of that time I asked a friend if he didn’t mind me dating his ex- girlfriend. He said “no, of course not”. His body language said otherwise, so I took a hint and backed off.
Josh, you and Toby have been friends for 6 years. You should’ve known to take a hint. But as the saying goes, friends in Washington have the courtesy to stab you in the front.
PAD last week: I’m hoping for better things this week. Let’s just hope they don’t do something unfortunate like kill off Cordy.
Oops. Guess Joss was listening. Do me a favor and don’t talk about my man Gunn, okay?
Well, late for the roundup again even though I’m on my lunch break at work as I type this (wasnn’t expecting the roundup until after Tru Calling airs tonight); so here’s whats left of my original notes…
Smallville:
While the great Adam debate still rages on, why can’t we see some other actual DC Universe characters instead of these cheap Marvel knock-offs? Maybe TRP Productions is auditioning to do a Marvel production?
Angel:
Of course with Whedon, even ‘death’ isn’t forever to every character. I will miss Cordy, but what is Ms. Carpenter doing in the meantime?
Meanwhile, after 1943 next week, where does the series go from here?
Okay… my spoilerish comments about Cordy can be seen here:
http://www.silentobsession.com/forums2/viewtopic.php?t=414
(as Village Mystic)
And I agree that they should save Supes for Welling, if they can.
On “Adam’s” abrasive but not evil personality — fits in with the almost preferredly single Bruce Wayne from the comics. If you had to be his friend, most of the time you wouldn’t be able to stand him! And he’s unaplogetic about it.
Oops, never mind. For some reason I thought Cordelia was Connor’s Mom. The episode wasn’t clear on that issue, but after doing some internet research, I know better now. But still, she was kind of like a surrogate mom, and according to the episode she had a wish she could cash in. So the question remains, did she wish to see Angel one last time? or did she wish for something entirely different (that’s still up in the air)?
ANGEL: Remember, though, that Lindsay sold his soul to the senior partners a long time ago. He is theirs to toy with as they please. Why else would he be so obsessed with the tattoos? The second they realized that he had betrayed them (not too long after he left Angel the first time, I think), they’d come looking for him.
Usually these cosmic chess games involve a balance of forces. TPTB aren’t just annihilating the Senior Partners (and vice versa) in large part because the other must be allowed to scheme against the others. Sure, there are probably protection spells, etc. in place, but it all boils down to waiting to strike until exactly the right moment.
I, too, missed Charisma’s cleavage. I also found that I did miss Cordy’s character, but I don’t believe her to be essential to Angel’s story in any way. She has completed her maturation process; she’s the only one of the group (other than Doyle) who has. An unconflicted character is a boring character. (I’ll skip over the fact that we haven’t seen too much of a conflict in Lorne other than the one ep earlier this season…)
Anyway…
Eric
I have a strong suspicion that Adam is a vampire.
ANGEL:
I’ve been watching DVD’s of the superb Season Two with a newcomer to the show… and I’ve been missing Cordelia a lot these days… Way before last night’s great show. Cordelia’s presence back then was so right on, so perfect as the counterpoint to Angel’s gruff demeanor.
Newcomers–please don’t confuse “Real” Cordelia with “Badly Possessed” Cordelia from last season. I thought it was shameful what Whedon did to the character and to Charisma… But I do miss regular ol’ Cordelia.
However, I did notice last night that Whedon is right about one thing concerning Cordelia’s character development– The writers really have painted Cordelia’s character into a corner. Cordelia once again came off as a mother figure– albeit a very HOT mother figure– and I can’t see “mother figures” being what the WB wants to help attract more viewers to this show.
Charisma needs to go somewhere where they respect her amazing talent and get a character that’s fresh– far away from the “mother figure” Cordelia that Whedon & Company slowly let slip further and further away. (And don’t say it was “character development”… It was more like “Character Demolishment”.)
I don’t think Cordelia is “gone” in the absolute sense. Didn’t she just “graduate” to being a Higher Power figure? Or am I forgetting something here?
And yes, I loved the whole episode… Except the line where Angel mumbles something about Lindsay & Eve going to an awful lot of trouble to make him doubt himself.
Get Over It, Angel! Geez, how many times have you lost your “faith” and doubted yourself? In just the last 8 years?!
What I’d really like to see is an entire season where the writers just let Angel kick major butt and figure out a way to make the character exciting without revealing he’s been possessed or putting him in a deep funk or whatever… Just straight Kick Butt Angel.
Then, if you want to pull the rug out from underneath the poor slob with only four eps to go in the Season… Be my guest. 🙂
I really enjoyed the SMALLVILLE & ANGEL doubleheader.
SMALLVILLE– PAD’s definitely not alone in grooving on the “future end” of Clark Kent. I have to admit I didn’t think of a boomtube. I was thinking of Alan Moore’s Mr. Majestic story in which the super-powered alien hero eventually lives to the end of the universe, only to give himself up to the big bang rebirth and death cycle.
Also Clark’s ummm… unique status in the flow of the events of the world, reminds me of that ep where the old lady could see Clark’s future and said that he was unique, and he was able to make changes whereas others couldn’t. What Jordan said echoed that idea in my head.
I haven’t seen anyone mention the fact that Knight is also the last name of the Starman family of heroes in the DCU. (Now if I was stretching things a bit, wouldn’t you say Adam was a little bit Strange? heh heh… just Panning, I mean Ranning, no, I meant to say punning.)
ANGEL–hasn’t MutantEnemy done this before- resolving the “big bad” plotline in the middle of a season only to have something come in out of the left field? I can’t remember which seasons of Buffy and Angel have done that but I know it must have been done before.
Now I’m left wondering- what next? I guess PAD was right in saying that Lindsey’s plotline was only resolved “for now.” Who knows, the stunts he pulled probably merited him a promotion. And there’s still the question of Eve. Like Gunn said once, “you don’t become a liason to the senior partners for nothing.”
Hmm wild idea- Gunn’s the next big bad? Seduced by evil so completely while living in denial and justifying it for being the greater good? Eve might be fired and Gunn might become the next liason. Ah well. Just brain-drizzling.
Also this ep. proved PAD or was it a regular poster’s? instincts right- Harmony is still evil. She’s just following the current moral code in place at W&H, just the same as she would follow a dress code.
Racquetball with the devil? Isn’t there an obscure phrase that goes “playing handball with the devil?”
eddie
According to TVtome, with the episode guide already up to episode 18 of this season, a possessed Fred will be the next big bad.
Loved both Angel and Smallville, but I have a couple of questions:
Who was the other female patient in the bed when Angel and Wesley went to the hospital? They both seemed to think it was Cordelia, until she actually spoke from the other side of the room, walked over and drew the curtain around the bed. I just thought it was wierd, but also a little telling.
And, on Smallville, did anyone happen to catch what info on Adam was displayed on Lex’s computer? I tried to read it, but without recording it and freezing it, I couldn’t make much out.
Just saw this: Scifi.com has a small news item that says Charisma Carpenter wants to play Wonder Woman! I’m not sure if I think she could pull it off or not, but its an interesting idea.
I’m guessing that the patient in the other bed was Cordelia herself. She was quick to distract them and draw the curtain before they saw a face, and brush off her healthy appearance as an odd side-effect of a mystic coma. Given the ending, however, I’d guess the Cordy we were seeing was using some sort of temporary body provided by the Powers.
I don’t think Cordelia is “gone” in the absolute sense. Didn’t she just “graduate” to being a Higher Power figure? Or am I forgetting something here?
That’s what I thought. I only got to see the last 20 minutes of Angel last night, but it really left an impression on me for the rest of the evening….
My favorite line from last night’s Angel was “Did you just call me a tit?”
Sweet ending to Cordelia’s character. I really love the new direction the show has taken this year…the stand alone episodes interleaved with small seemingly resolved mini-arcs. It’s reminiscent of the X-Files best seasons. If there’s one thing to be learned from the X-Files’ former glory, it’s that commercial and creative success is possible with this format. I was so sick of last year’s miserable “24” like season. This show has been rejuvenated and I think those fans who despise the change hinder the show’s success. This season ranks as one of the best of Angel (second only in my opinion to Season 3). Last night’s episode proves that Cordy is Angel’s past and if there’s one thing the Whedonverse excels at is change.
I agree with the comments above…I don’t think Lindsey or Eve are this year’s “Big Bad”. I think all the hinting is pointing to Gunn (or possibly the return of Connor). If there’s one couple I hope never to see again, it’s Lindsey or Eve. I do hope their stories are now resolved because neither actor is very good.
Who was the other female patient in the bed when Angel and Wesley went to the hospital? They both seemed to think it was Cordelia, until she actually spoke from the other side of the room, walked over and drew the curtain around the bed. I just thought it was wierd, but also a little telling.
My wife & I believe it was indeed Cordy…Angel & Wes were prevented from seeing her clearly, and we the audience didn’t get a look at her. When the caller at the end told Angel Cordy had never woken up, it seemed logical.
So much seemed to hint at the end, when looking with 20/20 hindsight, particularly Cordy’s comments about how Doyle had given his last breath to make sure Angel kept up the fight, and she understood that now.
Fantastic episode!
insideman: And yes, I loved the whole episode… Except the line where Angel mumbles something about Lindsay & Eve going to an awful lot of trouble to make him doubt himself.
Get Over It, Angel! Geez, how many times have you lost your “faith” and doubted yourself? In just the last 8 years?!
That may have been the point. The thought I had when he said that was, “They did go to a lot of work, considering how little one really has to do to make Angel lose his faith.
Frankly, I think Lindsay showed remarkably little foresight after how resourceful he’s been this season. Sure, he was all set to sidle into W&H, but he must have known there was at least the possibility that the gang might get the drop on him mystically. Unless, of course, Lindsay’s real plan was to gain direct audience with the Senior Partners — after all, what better way to get their attention than to show he can outsmart them? — suggesting that Peter may be wrong about his character arc being resolved for now.
William: Who was the other female patient in the bed when Angel and Wesley went to the hospital? They both seemed to think it was Cordelia, until she actually spoke from the other side of the room, walked over and drew the curtain around the bed. I just thought it was wierd, but also a little telling.
I’m pretty sure that was Cordelia’s actual body, since it was stated at the end of the episode that she never woke up, and Cordelia disappeared from Angel’s office right then.
“She Said, She Said”
As big an admirer as I was of “The Sixth Sense,” I already had the “big surprise ending” all figured out before ever walking into the theater based entirely on the trailer and reviewers’ innuendoes. But this “Angel” episode’s “big surprise ending” totally blindsided me and left me utterly awed for the remainder of the evening. Hëll, it still has me utterly awed! I was never a big fan of either Cordy as a character or Charisma Carpenter as an actress. In fact, I always thought she was one of the weakest elements in both “Buffy” and “Angel.” But this was undoubtedly one of the greatest swan songs (presuming it is, in fact, her swan song) for a regular character in television history. It even gives the final Henry Blake episode of “M.A.S.H.” a run for its money. Kudos!!
According to TVtome, with the episode guide already up to episode 18 of this season, a possessed Fred will be the next big bad.
Okay, first, some of us don’t actually want to know this sort of thing. Second, if this is the case, I will have lost all faith in the ME crew. I mean, they haven’t done a “one of our own turns against us/is posessed and is a major villain” since…last year (Angel s4)? The year before (Buffy s6)?
Please warn us before you post a SPOILER.
Both Angel and Smallville were fantastic this week.
SMALLVILLE: As PAD said, it was an episode greater than the sum of its parts. I had to re-watch the cape scene three times. It was just too cool.
My only reservation about Adam as Bruce is that we all think that, and the writers must *know* we all think that, and thusly could be misdirecting us. The vampire theory’s kinda cool, but I think he’s been out in the day. I *want* him to be Bruce Wayne, but I’m definitely not banking on it.
ANGEL: Cordy, you will be missed. This episode [almost] made up for the crap they’ve been doing to her since the end of season 3. A nice end, and as someone earlier said it, all the more emotional concidering the rest of the original Buffy crew is still alive. I think this episode was handled wonderfully. I’m genuinely sad to see her go.
Oh, one not-serious thing: Who was on crack when they decided to have Spike playing Donkey Kong on an X-Box? That was just….stupid.
For those males (and females) who are interested– there is a short blurb about the possibility of Charisma posing for Playboy here: http://www.charisma-carpenter.com/index2.shtml
It’s also just a fun Charisma site.
Doug, you beat me to to punch. I agree that it was, indeed, Cordelia’s body in the bed that she pulled the curtain around. Looking back, I can’t see W&H scimping on giving a private hospital room to someone so important to the new CEO. I remember thinking that it was weird when Cordy said it.
That said, I must be slow, because I totally didn’t see the last part coming…even when she told him to get the phone. I had it all mapped out that she was going to acend again and once more become a higher being. I was looking at the whole episode though that lens. I even looked at the tape of Doyle as a means to show him to the audience and tell us who he was. To explain why Angel & Cordy were so angry at Lindsey for the name he chose. Even her speech about Doyle “making the final sacrifice without compromise” I took as Cordy making a jab at Angel and his willingness to compromise with W&H instead of her looking forward to her own sacrifice. So I was strung along to to the very end when we get the gut-wrenching phonecall instead of the sparkling accension into heaven that I was expecting.
I had to rewind the tape and watch the whole thing a second time immediately after watching it. I could see it all the second time through: everything that had meant almost what I thought. The end result is almost exactly the same. She’s gone and won’t be able to help him outside of the most extraordinary of circumstances. She’s probably gone to some heavenly reward instead of going to work as a Higher Power, so it might even be a “happier” ending. Still, she’s dead and I realized it with the same punch-to-the-gut sensation that hit Angel. Sad, but still masterful.
One last thought. I originally thought that Eve knew about Conner because of her position as liason to the Senior Partners. How could she work in that capacity if she didn’t know what Angel’s “Signing Bonus” was. Now, I’m not so sure. I’m reminded of last season, when all references to and memories of the Beast were removed from our dimension. I’m thinking that what W&H did with Conner works in a similar manner. Eve’s knowledge of Conner could be analogous to the tome from another dimension that Lila came up with on the Beast. Maybe Eve knows about Conner because she’s from another dimension. What is Eve?
And how could anyone think that her role as an enemy for Angel is done. She left that last scene virtually swearing to Angel that she’d get revenge. To quote a certain Centauri, “Problems like this are like weeds. We fertilized them with indifference, water them with tears. Leave them alone; they grow.”
Okay. The water is fully chummed. I hope I don’t need a bigger boat.
Those of us in the Baltimore area get to watch this week’s Angel Saturday afternoon at 5 PM.
College basketball uber alles on channel 54.
Maybe I’ll forget the little surprises I saw while scrolling down here. My fault–I read fast.
Paul
I loved the episode, but was disappointed in the resolution of Lindsay. I was hoping he was gunning for the senior partners as a rogue force of good and going through Angel was just gravy. Maybe he was, but you sure couldn’t tell from this episode. Instead, we seemed to have an elaborate setup that lead up to little more motivation than a vendetta with Angel. How cool would it have been if TPTB had indeed chosen Lindsay as their new visionary with Spike to help the helpless and fight W&H because Angel went to the other side? Shame it was just a ruse.
I’m hoping the untold background story and motivation of Lindsay and Eve won’t be a throwaway one like The First in BVS, but I’m getting the notion that all the Lindsay elements were nothing more than a vehicle to have him participate for the grand 100th episode.
Like so many, I miss Cordy. Not the Evil possessed Cordy, nor the preechy do-gooder version in the latter half of season three. I miss the Cordy of season two. The one who dubbed our reality as the “Cordelia Is Not A Princess Dimension”. Self-absorbed-but-with-a-heart-of-gold Cordy. This was such a perfect grace note for that character’s exit.
At least they didn’t pull an “Amber Benson” and put her in the title credits. That would have been wickedly cruel.