Well, boy howdy, I was two for two. Spoilers abound…including the revelation of the single most horrifying moment of the evening…
Yup, two for two on being wrong in predictions for the season enders of SMALLVILLE and ANGEL. In both cases I wish I hadn’t been because, in one instance, it was dámņëd depressing, and in the other, it more or less made one element of the show predictable for me.
SMALLVILLE: As Lionel awaits his fate and Lana heads off to Paris, a blonde superchick shows up, claiming to be Kara from Krypton, to try and convince Clark that he should walk through a cave wall with her which will take him to see mommy and daddy dearest.
Last week I opined that the blonde girl in the teasers would be named anything but Kara. This week I wish to God she had been, because as soon as she said her name was Kara, I knew it was a red herring for the fanboys. That she would turn out not to be his cousin from Krypton or anything from Krypton, and certainly not a future Supergirl.
Why? Because, believe me, I know first hand exactly how determined DC is to keep Kara Zor-El squeaky clean, both in terms of the “S” label and in terms of the film currently in development. So when this chick says, “My name is Kara from Krypton,” the first thing that went through my mind was, “She blew up a car thirty seconds in the episode, like hëll she’s Kara from Krypton.” Granted, the driver–whoever he was–deserved what he got, because he should have known better than to drive in Smallville, the town where no one ever saves money by switching to Geico. So I knew something was fishy (and it was reinforced with the FBI agent’s fate).
But that awareness of the fakery pretty much didn’t matter with the jaw dropping fourth act. Talk about making up for the occasional pokey pacing of the latter half of the season. Considering the track record of the supporting cast, I’m surprised Lana’s plane wasn’t hijacked. I’ve run my video of the episode back and forth about six times and I still can’t tell for sure if Chloe actually went into the house (I sure know my spider-sense was tingling during that sequence, so maybe hers was as well). The only moment that nearly kicked me out of the episode was when Jor-El was saying, “Come to me, Kal-El,” I kept waiting for him to add, “Kneel before Zod!”
The downside of every season of “Smallville” so far has been an almost slavish determination to restore the status quo. Well, with this season ender, it sure seems like they’ve crossed the Kryptonian Rubicon this time around.
ANGEL: The Fang Gang spends one final night of “normalcy” and then goes toe to toe with the Black Thorns and the Senior Partners.
Okay, so…no pretty way to put it. Blew the call on that one. I figured Lorne would be “out” since they’d done nothing interesting with him all season, and therefore thought he was toast. Well, I got the “out” part right, since he said he was giving up the fight-for-right life, but I sure never saw the death of Wes coming. I’m absolutely positive that, were the series continuing, Wes wouldn’t have died. As it was, the farewell scene between Wes and Illyeria was not only heart-wrenching, but I think Wes is now firmly entrenched as being the single most tragic character in the entirety of the Whedonverse. That Andrew winds up with gorgeous blondes on either arm while Wes’ only solace is that he gets to wind up with Fred in death…jeez.
But hey, kids…let’s talk ending. The Butch and Sundance ending. An ending that I think is likely to polarize “Angel” fans. This will simply not be something that people go “eh” over. They’ll either love it or hate it.
Personally, I loved it.
Why? Because it wasn’t an ending. Why is that good? Because it was a true ending. It was true because the fight against evil has no ending. “Angel,” particularly in its last season, has been a series about ambiguities, about gray areas. The fact that there was no clear cut conclusion means that the series ended in a way that was thematically consistent. And that was a nervy, incredibly gutsy way to go. Gutsy because it was 100% guaranteed to pìšš øff a lot of fans who wanted to see if Shonshu was fulfilled, who wanted to see how (not if) Angel triumphed over the Senior Partners. The final episode of BtVS bent over backwards to have a tidy ending, and the incredible plot contrivances in order to accomplish that were painfully obvious. “Angel” made no such compromises. Whether Angel and the gang win or lose is almost less important than that they fought knowing that the fight itself is what mattered.
And what was the single most horrifying moment of the evening?
The closing adios from “your friends at the WB.” The WB which, in the words of Warners staple Elmer Fudd, would have to stand for “Wat Bastawds.” If they’re gonna be áššhølëš and cancel the series, then be áššhølëš and cancel the series, but don’t dump a sad, Gee, sorry to see you go tag at the end when they’re the miserable wat bastawds who handed Angel and Company their walking papers in the first place.
Jerks.
PAD
• 
ANGEL:
I thought the episode was stunning.
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED EVERYTHING ABOUT IT… Including how they kept dropping future storylines into the last plot.
But I especially loved the ending. In my mind, it was everything the “Buffy” ending should have been and more.
But I hated to see the show end so much I actually started crying at Angel’s last statement. A grown man. Crying over the ending of a Fantasy TV show.
Then the WB “Thank You” came up. And my deep sorrow turned into something that must have been an awful lot like homicidal rage.
But that’s OKAY– Because I’ve decided I’m not going to watch the WB Network EVER again. Period. And I can say this with certainty because of (2) reasons:
1) I truly believe you can say NEVER AGAIN and mean it
and
2) I know Joss Whedon will never let the WB near one his creations again.
I had the exact same reaction. Loved the Angel finale, as much as one can under protest, but the WB with that lame “Your friends“….UGH!! How infuriating. They are “Wat Bastawds”!!!
Man, They killed my two favorite Angel characters!
Dang!
Man, they killed all of my favorite Angel characters! (Well, except Lorne).
🙁
I relaly wanted to see angel fight that dragon Remember, the Blood of the Senior Partners flowing through him, so he probabaly could do it easilly.
I am torn by the ending of Angel. I agree in concept that it fits to not be all tidy, but hate it in practice. Even though Buffy was contrived, I found myself moved more for some reason. The scene with Wesley was the only one that came close.
Smallville came out of nowhere. I did not guess that she was not from Krypton, but as PAD said, I knew she was not the Kara who could ever be supergirl. So no real shock there. The ending however was something else. I bought all of it except Clark saying the frienship with Lex is over. It was just too sudden for Mr. Boyscout to do so even if he did find the shrine in Lex’s mansion.
I know PAD does not comment on Enterprise, but I will. I actually found tonight’s episode almost more moving and fulfilling than either angel or smallville. I hated the cliffhanger ending, but was strangely more engaged in the episode.
Last thought: I loved Conner again in this episode. His line about Angel not dropping by for coffee unless the world was going to end was great.
Jim
With you on all counts on Angel, PAD. *Loved* that ending, although I am sad that Whedon and company decided to off Wes (who had gone from annoying plot device to one of my favorite characters over the course of five seasons) and Fred (yeah, still stinging over that one).
But Angel has always been about a more ambiguous fight than Buffy. When Buffy was wallowing in darkness, it was an angsty, hard-to-relate to and completely annoying darkness. Angel went into those dark places in a much more interesting and wrenching way, so it’s fitting that the ending would maintain that sort of “doomed fight” mentality in the ending, while also having something of an uplifting message about the nature of heroism, to never give up, not even when things seemed hopeless.
And yeah, I was actually yelling at my TV when that stupid WB “farewell” came on. Good thing my daughter was asleep, I don’t want her learning any of those choice words from me.
Honestly, given that I thought Buffy’s sixth and seventh season had far more stinkers than good episodes, I’m tempted to say that for me, that show ended with Buffy dead at the end of season five, having saved the world. And with Angel, I was thinking that this cancellation might be a blessing in disguise, that five seasons was about right and the creators and characters would be going out strong.
But now I’m more pìššëd than ever, because I think these guys had at *least* one more great season in them. It’s a great ending, but we should have gotten it a season or two later, after more of the quality that we had for most of this year.
Brilliant ending for Angel. The only thing that threw me was that Joss had said about a cliffhanger ending that, and I quote: “he wouldn’t do that”. And this felt too close for that. If he hadn’t said that, I wouldn’t have been hit this hard.
Otherwise it was excellent. I feel it beat Chosen on several levels. Spike citing his old ‘Effulgent’ poem in a bar of bikers who actually love it, is already one of the classic moments of TV history for me. More than just him revisiting his old nerdy sensitive self, the side of him he fought so hard to suppress, the beauty lay in how he found an appreciating audience that was as far removed from the old aristocracy as he himself had tried to become. Beautiful.
And Wesley! I too did NOT see that one coming! Poor poor Wes. And guess what, he’s NOT reunited with Fred in death because Fred’s soul did not move on to some afterlife, it was CONSUMED! Fred is gone, even on a metaphysical level, remember? Saddest death in the entire Whedonverse. Loved how Illyria grieved though.
Connor helping out Angel, poor Lindsey dying the death of a sidenote and knowing it, the Butch and Sundance ending….powerful stuff. I can’t believe how much they managed to put in those 40 minutes.
Btw if there is nothing new of the Whedonverse ever, do we assume they all went down in a blaze of glory? Gunn was pretty much a goner, but Angel, Spike and Illyria were still quite capable of kicking a lot of áššëš.
Ah can’t believe it’s over. And with Buffy and Firefly gone, Gilmore Girls little more than a cute diversion, Charmed complete crap, Smallville a snoozefest and Tru Calling all but unwatchable……what else is there in this reality crap-ridden wasteland of a TV era???
ANGEL:This was such an awesome finale. Really, really, really cool. Normal adjectives do not do it justice. So many moments to remember forever in one hour, less commercials.Everything from the great action scenes, to the “do what you want todat because tonight we’re probably all going to die” scenes. Spike reading poetry – and getting cheered! – was both a nod to his pathetic past as William The Bloody (so named because his poetry was so bloody awful) and a vindication of his evolution. Lindsay being killed by Lorne? Major surprise, seeing as how, unlike many here, I really don’t care for the character. harmony’s betrayal was a minor surprise. Illyria’s lines were priceless, “I will make trophies of their spines!” Is Amy Acker a great actress or what?
And WESLEY died? The only reason I even thought it was possibility was because it WAS so unlikely, and Joss loves to trip us up. His early sppech about there’s “nothing I want” and did not want to be comforted by “a lie”, only to yearn for “the lie” on the doorstep of death – I had tears in my eyes! And I hardly ever cry!
Gunn’s scene shoed that even the “little people” without powers battle against evil and hopelessness every day. And that ending! Kind of jarred me at first, but in retrospect it was perfect! The battle never ends, and how our heroes’ fate turns out depends largely on how optimistic you want to be.
As for the WB “message” at the end, this is where I would usually disagree with PAD. I would say that the WB gave the show life, aired the show for 100 episodes, and let it push boundaries the bigger networks would have been determined to rein in. Plus, “Angel” never exactly got the ratings of “Seinfeld”.
All of that is true.
However…That’s just it. NO WB show has incredibly high ratings.Not even “Smallville”. The fact that they have so few affiliates makes that an impossibility. I could see if it was on NBC and was 100th in the ratings on Thursday nights. But this is The WB we’re talking about! And they decide to cancel a show with millions of loyal fans!!! And ignore the petition drive by those same fans that got national attention!!! And deny Joss and the marvelous actors he assembled the chance to continue to strut their stuff!! And deny us a chance to see planned stories that will never be told! Priceless Moments that we’ll never see!!! And add insult to injury by putting ANOTHER VAMPIRE SHOW – a lame Dark Shadows update – on the schedule!! And they want to say they’re OUR FRIENDS!!!? I have only three words:
SCRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWW YOU WB!
Actually, the Dark Shadows remake is not on the WB fall schedule, not even as a mid season replacement.
Which is a shame because the actor who played Drogan the Truthsayer would have had the role of Barnabas.
Oh, the irony.
Angel: Yeah, I liked the ending to that one… and seemed fitting for the show.
I was just as shocked as everyone else that Wes died. I didn’t know who it would be, but I thought for sure it wouldn’t be him. I liked Illyeria’s reaction… and her good luck wish to Gunn before the battle, though that seemed to come out of nowhere.
Smallville: I so did not see that ending coming. I figured the girl wasn’t really Kara, but the very ending with Lex and Chloe cought me off guard, especially Chloe… and I expect next season to be a big change as Kal is reborn.
ANGEL– I seem to be one of the few who expected it to be Wes who would die. He was a great character but since Fred’s death it seemed like he was just walking through life waiting for his own end. yeah, Peter’s right, his journey is the single most tragic arc in the whole ‘verse.
Lorne’s cold blooded murder of Lindsey almost knocked me out of the chair. Both characters reacted exactly as they should. great writing.
Between SMALLVILLE and ANGEL…anyone want to argue that THE GODFATHER, specifically the ending of it, is the most influential movie of the last few decades?
“Your friends at the WB…” Oh man, you little f***ers. With friends like that…You just know that some suit at the marketing department must have thought “Gee, the fans seem upset. Let’s placate them with a big kiss and some string music.” Jesus! And another new catch phrase is born! From now on, when something really really bad happens, like, say, I get run over by a paint truck, when my wife cradles my dying body in arms, I’ll try to make the last words that escape from my bloody lips “And that’s a big THANK YOU from your friends at the WB.”
Dickweeds.
Dang, I guess I was the only person who guessed that Wes was on the Hit List. By this point in time I figured it was a mercy killing…
Anyway, I guess now the only thing I can hope for is that the Firefly movie will get off the ground in one piece.
You just beet me to the punch with the Godfather comparison – especially the Lorne hit on Lindsay, which was so cold and exhilarating at the same time, and Lindsay’s reaction was absolutely priceless, somebody who thought he was so integral to the whole thing to be shot by a “lackey”. That and the Butch Cassiday ending were the highlights not just of the show but of the season for me. My wife, on the other hand, now feels that she has just wasted five years or so that she invested in the show – I tried to persuade her with some of the same comments and observations that people have posted here (neverending battle and all) to no avail – personally I love endings that let you finish the story in your head. Only caught a few minutes of Smallville until business called me away (a very minor motion picture probably not coming your way very soon), but this show loses me every week when Chloe calls her high ranking person at the (fill in the blank)- she’s a reoporter for a high school newspaper, not the Washington Post, fer cryin out loud-that plot device always destroys my willing suspension of disbelief. Enterprise rocked as well-just wondering if PAD watches and doesn’t comment because of his connection to the ST universe?
The end of “Angel?” Good! Another dámņ vampire show bites the dust. Now if I can only find a way to drive White Wolf Games bankrupt, and force Anne Rice to apologize on television for her crimes against humanity…
(breathing heavily to regain control) The “Smallville” was indeed a great surprise. That tentative edging apart of Clark and Lex looks like it finally reached a tipping point. There will be attempts for them to get together at the start of the next season, of course, but they’ll fail.
There was also another tipping point. Whether that entity that took Clark is really Jor-El or not, that powerful being murdered at least two relative innocents (the two guys in cars) and turned that poor girl into a zombie which he quickly incinerated when she couldn’t keep up the illusion. That is a WHOLE LOTTA killing gone unpunished for one show.
I don’t think it’s Jor-El, but I also don’t know to what extent they’re willing to mess with the “official” history of Superman. Adding a dysfunctional Kryptonian family might do it. (We didn’t see Jor-el standing by Lara when she was loading him in that rocket, did we? Kinda suspicious…)
There was one funny moment. As the unnamed prisoner barber finished shaving Lionel Luthor’s head, in that agonizing “Godfather” slow motion, I couldn’t help but imagine Lionel saying, “Nice job. Same time, next week?”
Smallville: Glad that the Kara on this show wasn’t the real one. Figured it wouldn’t be with the death at the beginning. The actress just didn’t fit the Supergirl look. Something about her face. OH well.
Hopefully the rebirth will give Clark some personality and brains. Not to mention make him more likable. Either that or get someone else to write his parts in the show as the current ones seem to just make him more dislikable each episode.
My husband has this thing that maybe Lionel is going to switch bodies with Lex. He figures that is the only way that Lex will reach the Magnificent B…. levels that Lionel has and Lex in the comics is that would make sense. He finds Lex to easy to sympathize with now. I sort of agree. It would be hard to get me to dislike Lex on Smallville right now.
Angel: Loved it. Seemed a tad rushed on the switching from person to person’s last day to live. Great that they brought Connor back to help the dad. Though i did think the way that Brian Thompson got killed so easily by a hit by Angel. Yeah, i know he was revved up on the blood, but i think it would make more sense to just keep draining the man of blood in some fashion. Glad they got rid of Thorne as they did. Waste of space though my husband likes him. I always thought they could spin out a whole new series just with Illyeria and Wes. Definitely won’t happen now. Glad Illyeria took care of the killer of Wes. Classic. Beat the heck out of the last season of Buffy in so many ways.
I liked the the Angel ending, even though the knowledge that the series was truncated lead to a sense that it was a bit rushed.
But to state the obvious; I thought it was SO COOL that it ended in the “Angel Alley”.
Angel got a good ending. The optimist in me kept watching after the last shot, hoping unconciously for a “next time on…” of some sort — I don’t know what I was hoping for, but you have to hope, right? If I hadn’t been an optimist in that regard, I wouldn’t have seen the WB “thanking” me. I’m converting to cynicism immediately.
The episode was great, though. I didn’t guess it was going to be Wesley that died — why bother? Aside from Spike, you could have made a case that any of the characters would have died, especially after we saw Illyria get her ášš handed to her last week — but it didn’t surprise me.
Why Spike? Angel signed the Shonshu over to him by relinquishing it for himself, meaning Angel is now expendable. I would have though Angel would be the more jarring choice — especially with all the flinders of wood being created by his fight. I found Wes’s death to be tragic, but not surprising. A bit anticlimactic, considering everything he has survived in his life, which only lends to the tragedy.
Gonna miss the show.
I have to say that I hated the whole Angel ending. I’m not a writer, just a fan, but the whole “circle” storyline seemed really forced and had no impact on me. It came out of the blue. I thought it was very tragic that Angel killed someone to “prove” he was evil. I thought it was horrible that Angel asked Lorne to kill a human. The only character I would have liked to see have his own show was Wesley, just because he was such an interesting person, now that is gone. The ending for me was predictable, I knew looking at the time that the WB and Wheadon had decided to go with a “cliffhanger”. Unanswered questions are fine in life because its real and cannot be helped, but on my TV shows I like my questions answered. For me this ending was on a par with the finale for Quantum Leap and She Wolf of London.
Agree with you on pretty much everything, PAD.
When Chloe died, I first yelled “AT LAST! I’VE BEEN WAITING YEARS FOR THIS!” Then said, “Jesus, I need a cigarette.”
But I knew Wesley would die and so wasn’t surprised. Why did I know he’d die? Because in the network ads for this week’s episode, they showed a shot of four figures in the rain, a very typical penultimate scene shot. Those four figures? Angel, Spike, Illyria, and Gunn. And since the network told us that one of the characters was going to die–and why tell us that at all? Wouldn’t it have been more shocking for Wes’ death to *really* come out of nowhere?–well, it had to be him.
Poor Lorne. Helluva last mission to give him.
I want to see a Harmony sitcom now.
The End of the Buffyverse
Last night was the series finale of Angel, the wonderful film noir spin of Buffy the Vampire Slayer created by Joss Whedon. Joss’s work has always been a guilty pleasure for me, mostly because most of my RL friends…
I’m surprised Lana’s plane wasn’t hijacked
I had the same thought. Actually, I expected we’d see the plane exploding/going down, but then I realized that was how last season ended…
Angel: Great fantastic episode. They went out fighting. Predicted the Wesley death, but had also predicted Fred would come back in the end (thinking they would kill Wes to prevent any ending happiness). Enjoyed the banter between Hamilton and Angel, “Did that hurt any?” “Little bit.” TV Guide has Whedon mentioning the possibility of direct to DVD movies on different aspects of the Whedonverse. Hope that happens. We’ll see how the Firefly movie does.
Smallville: Now that was a cliffhanger. Makes me wonder if there’s going to be a cast next year, or just Ma Kent.
Eric
When I head that there’d be a death in the finale, I knew it would be Wesley, as that’s the character whose death the most people would feel. After all, they couldn’t kill Angel, and while killing Spike in both the Buffy finale and the Angel finale would be hilarious, it didn’t seem likely. Then in the episode when he said he didn’t plan on dying, that was the final nail in the coffin. Wesley was one of my favorite characters in the series, from worthless Watcher to Rogue Demon Hunter to the bad, bad man he was at the end. Wesley rocked.
The Angel series started in an alley (more or less), with Angel dusting two vamps. So many of the scenes in the series have been in alleys. Buffy meets Angel in a dark alley. Season 5 of Angel starts with Angel fighting in an alley, but he hadn’t returned since then. In a very real way, the Buffyverse started in an alley as Joss’s idea of a blonde being attacked in an alley an kicking the monster’s butt. It was only fitting that it end in an alleyway. It was probably even the alleyway where Connor was born.
I loved this ending. It reminded me of the classic Marvel ending “Never the end.” I have no doubt Joss would have ended the season just this way even if the series had been renewed. Fighting the good fight. They were down, not still kicking. Loved that ending. My only gripe with the episode was from his departure in season 2, I really thought Lindsey was striving for redemption. I didn’t care for Lindsey’s characterization in season 5, and I thought the season’s pacing was horrible. Still, the finale, beautiful.
How did I know Wesley was going to die? When he said “I have no intention of dying tonight.”
If that’s not Joss, nothing is.
“I’ve run my video of the episode back and forth about six times and I still can’t tell for sure if Chloe actually went into the house”
I can’t tell either. It does look like she’s inside, as you can see the back of her head through the glass. That said it could also be a reflection of her standing at the edge of the porch. Which means next season we’ll probably get one of those classic “Saturday matinee cliffhangers” where they show us the one vital shot of her escaping that they didn’t show this time!
Not having a WB affiliate, I’m a season behind everyone. I have to rely on TNT’s reruns that are cut up for extra commercials. Bah.
Sucks that they killed Wes, he went from one of my most hated to my most liked character on the show.
And in a totally unrelated topic, have you had the opportunity to listen to the Bill Hicks and Voltaire CD’s I gave you at the Motor City Con? Just wondering what your opinion was of them.
SMALLVILLE:Missed some of the beginning but i caught the oh so good conclusion.Chloe go boom,
Jonathan dead or incapcitated,Lionel in prison,
Lex poisoned,and Clark elsewhere(krypton,phantom
zone).Very good ending .What was the symbol in the grass at the Kent farm?I couldnt make it out.
For some people who dont understand Jor El and his behavior,i only can go with this.The John Byrne miniseries kind of established the Kryptonians as a Cold blooded,logic oriented and in some cases almost Nietzchean race.His behavior is either a reflection of this or like others suggested this is someone else claiming to be Jorel(General Zod?)
ANGEL:Ah yes the episode i was dreading and waiting for all at the same time.Enjoyed the last day scenario which was sad in a way, made me wonder what i would do my last day if it was me.
Spike and the poetry reading was classic,and thanks to the writers for maintaining story continuity by remembering his background as a poet.
I liked the open (closed )ending.It wrapped up some storylines and left many open to be picked up later or questioned endlessly by us (the fans).
Is Angel basically out of the question at being human again and does he really want it anyway?He mentioned the things about being human he had forgotten and besides Spike always seemed a bit more comfortable with the world of flesh and blood in his own way.Conner being alive and aware gives us hope for the future and please tell he stakes Harmony 🙂
The final battles were great,Angel using deception to defeat the one Demon”I spiked his drink”,Illyria walking away from a demolished blood soaked scene ,and Gunn staking vamp ášš.
The Wes and Lorne sequences so sad,so sad.I feel bad for the Green man ,its not in his heart to be killer and he knows it .Though i did enjoy how Lindsey felt cheated that he went down at the hand of a mere lackey.
Wes ‘final scene was so heartbreaking ,i admit i began enjoying Wes since the Lilah episodes and hoped he would get some happiness,but it was not to be.Fred holding him and saying they would be together made me cry like a girl:(
Did find Illyria commenting to Gunn he was not entirely unpleasant to look at interesting.It makes me wonder if we dont have an Alec Holland situation there.Holland was the Swamp thing or at least until Alan Moore came along.He wasnt Holland he was a plant who thought he was Holland .So in Illyria we have an ancient god who absorbed Fred Burkle and her memories.So even though her soul was destroyed,Freds’memories and personality traits may have been assimilated by Illyria producing some unique feelings and reactions from her.For the record i am completely in love with Amy acker now ,she is so good in this part.:)
Final scene was awesome,Gunn bloody and still willing to fight,Angel jacked up on Hamilton
blood,Illyria looking to vent her anger and heartbreak on someone,Spike just waiting to wreak havoc while the demon hordes are charging ,classic.
By the way Eve seemed rather frail and helpless in the end didnt she?Guess Lornes’prediction for her was about right.
Finally the series began in an Alley and ends in alley ,full circle. Not as irate about the Wb comments as i am about the loss of this show and looking at the fall lineups,the state of TV in general
I thought both shows were very good and agree that “Angel” easily had at least one more season of material left.
I also happened to like the ending. First, as has been pointed out before, whether they win or lose isn’t as important as the fact that Angel, Spike, Gunn and Illyria are fighting the good fight against evil. Second, since we don’t know the end result, if there ever is a movie or new show a few years down the road, any or all of those characters could potentially be in it.
I’m also reminded of a comment JMS made (paraphrased from memory, and somewhat tongue in cheek, as I recall) about the ending of one season or another of “Babylon 5” having so many cliffhangers and such that if the show wasn’t renewed the fans would rise up as one and storm the gates of the studio in protest, giving him a sort of revenge. I can’t help but wonder if Joss Whedon didn’t decide on the uncertain ending of “Angel” in the hopes that the fans would be pìššëd øff at the WB for putting him in the situation where he’d have to end the show before he wanted to.
Then again, there’s the “Blake’s 7” factor. The last episode of that series, which people talked about for years afterward, had all the other rebels shot (and apparently killed), with Avon left standing alone, surrounded by armed Federation troops. Standing over Blake’s body, Avon raises his gun, as the troops raise theirs (all in slow motion); he smiles… The screen goes blank as we hear an exchange of shots. End of series.
Did Avon survive? Did anyone else? For years no one knew. Now, with Paul Darrow having gotten permisson from the estate of Terry Nation to revive Blake’s 7 with himself playing Avon again (recently released (or escaped) from prison) there appears to be an official answer (assuming his new program actually gets made). Perhaps Joss Whedon is hoping the “what happened next?” factor will keep fans talking about “Angel” for years, and thus keep it in their collective consciousness. Maybe there will be a movie or a new series one day. Maybe not. But either way, “Angel” isn’t likely to be forgotten anytime soon.
One question, however, did Angel actually give up his Shansu potential? When he signed the document, it was just a scribble, not his actual signature. He then put the pen down. Yet, in a later scene I saw what looked like his name on the document. So did he bluff the circle and just make a meaningless scribble, or did he pick up the pen again and complete his signature?
I also have to wonder what the reaction will be from the Scoobies when they learn what has happened. Will they feel any degree of guilt over not helping Angel earlier in the year after learning that he and the rest of his team were still the good guys all along?
I also have to chuckle a bit at that last paragraph, since the Scoobies, as fictional characters, won’t have ANY reaction until someone actually writes said reactions. But they’ve all been such well written characters that we tend to forget that sometimes.
As to “Smallville.” I loved the multiple cliffhanger ending. Clark, Lex, Jonathan, and Chloe all down, status unkown. We know , of course that Clark will live, as will Lex (or at least his body if you believe the ‘Lionel will switch bodies’ theories, which I personally hope doesn’t happen). Jonathan and Chloe are the big question marks. Up until the Byrne revamp, he always died during Clark’s formative years, so there’s no guarantee he has future. As to Chloe, a character never seen before, she either survives and assumes the name of her cousin, Lois Lane; or Lois, for whatever reason, is inspired to pick up where Chloe left off.
I thought Clark’s comment to Lex about their friendship being over was perfectly natural given the circumstances, and the anger that he felt. It doesn’t mean that it actually is over, just that he’s angry.
And I still love the irony that so much of the existing (and future) Clark/Lex conflict could have been avoided if Clark had simply confided in Lex. Then Lex would have no reason to try to solve the mystery about his “good luck” since the accident on the bridge.
There’s a lot about “Smallville” that I find subpar, but as I’ve said before, the Lex Luthor thread is what keeps my interest. Ironically, the same was true with the old Superboy TV series of the late 80s. If Lex Luthor (Sherman Howard) was in it, I’d watch; if not, I turned off the set.
Rick
Agree with most of the comments re:Angel, the WB and Smallville.
My two cents…
Smallville: Not the worst ending, I predicted when ‘Kara’ destroyed the FBI guy and his car that she was ‘the Eradicator’ or something, some sort of Krypto-device given human form by Jor-El. Looks like I was close. As for Chloe and her never-ending supply of contacts and favors… I think she probably sleeps around. I said this jokingly during the show, but upon more consideration of her character, and her interactions with others, it makes a weird sort of sense. She’s secretly banging all these random contacts every so often to keep them helpful just so she can be Nancy Drew. Admittedly a disturbing thought, but tell me it wouldn’t fit her. And does anyone else think Lex is gonna help her go into hiding and she’ll re-appear as her psuedonym ‘Lois’?
Angel: Rocked. Simply awesome. Angel’s finale vs. Buffy’s, no contest. Wes dying sucked but felt right, definitely the most tragic character in the Buffyverse. The only thing that would have made it better is a ring-side seat at the Alley Brawl. Anyone else notice the 20-30 ft. giant behind the troops and the wall crawling creeps just before the camera panned up on the dragon?
WB: Screw you guys, I’m going home. (Lucky I like Smallville enough to come back for it… )
-Dire
I am also uncomfortable with Lorne (who is not a killer) killing Lindsay (who is not truly evil). Other than that–a masterpiece. What a way to go out, with one of the most definitive statements on heroism and belief that I’ve ever seen.
The WB are filthy people we shall speak of them no more
Smallville: Keeping in mind that this is NOT Jor-El, but rather some sort of extropian brain-recording or something (as per Kara’s statements), then that makes Jor-El the Eradicator. A program designed to make sure Jor-El has some say in how his son is raised…but that went off the rails at some point and made decisions that the real Jor-El would never have made (if only because he’d take things like teenage rebellion into account).
Creepy possibility for Chloe surviving: The Eradicator grabbed her out of the explosion just as he grabbed “Kara” from her car wreck. And he makes her over into a pseudo-Kryptonian as well, on the grounds that maybe Clark would be more willing to propagate his species with a familiar female.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED Angel’s series finale. If anyone remember Blake Seven (British SciFi) the series ended similar. I loved the fact that the show faded to black and all you can hear is the fighting of the fang gang. I really am going to miss the Whendonverse, but hey he is working on one of the Xmen titles so I still have that outlet.
I have to admit that the Wesley IIlyria scene tugged on my heart strings, and the slow motion morph and head punch really was worth the price of admission.
Anyway I think that the show was fantastic and I can’t wait for the DVD to ship so I can watch the series finale over and over again.
Regards:
WSJ3
ANGEL:
Some great lines and scenes, but clearly rushed. My bet is that, if the show had not been cancelled, this season would have ended with Angel joining the Black Thorns, and the events of the finale taking up a good portion of the next season.
I knew Wesley and Gunn were goners. It’s ironic that Whedon’s view of the Buffyverse–“No normal people need apply”–came out of the mouth of a villain in the final episode.
As an interesting contrast to the usual comment, I disliked the _lack_ of ambiguity in the ending. Based on what we saw, it’s pretty obvious what happens next–the crew goes down fighting and evil wins.
My perfect ending would have been a bit more ambiguous–as Angel & co ready themselves for combat, the camera pans back to show an army of slayers coming (Faith and Xander in the front, Buffy and Andrew nowhere to be seen), Willow crackling with power, Cordy leading a heavenly host (allowed to manifest now that a demonic horde has been loosed) and the like.
Having it end with a battle and not knowing if they will survive is one thing; having it end with a decidedly lopsided battle where survival requires an unseen deus ex machina is less satisfying.
I enjoyed both episodes, and I wasn’t personally offended by the WB “so long, and thanks for all the fish” message at the end of Angel. Angel was a great series, but its time at the WB was over. It’s unfortunate, but television isn’t really about ratings, anymore; it’s about demographics. Angel could have pulled down the best ratings in history, and it still would have been canned if it didn’t deliver the right demographic. The WB, since very early on, has been able to promise the teen girl audience to its advertisers. Angel started out giving the WB this audience, but as the cast grew older and the themes and plots became deeper, it slowly lost it. Let’s face it, it’s been a few years since anyone on that cast was on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine. When Smallville’s cast passes their teen idol stage, it can expect the same thing. There are things that the Angel crew could have done to make the show more attractive to the WB’s target demographic, but it probably would have ruined the show for the rest of us. In the end, the WB execs did what was best for the station (and rightly so, as much as it pains me to admit it; it’s what they were hired to do), and the Angel cast and crew did what was best for the show’s fans. At least the WB gave both of their Whedon shows a fair shake, which is a Hëll of a lot more than Fox ever did. As I understand it, there’s no bad blood between Whedon and the WB (although I could be mistaken), and so I don’t think that their send-off was at all inappropriate. It might have stung, since we were losing one of the best shows on television, but I recall being angry at the hug my mother tried to give me when my parents (out of necessity) had my cat put to sleep.
As I understand it, there’s no bad blood between Whedon and the WB (although I could be mistaken)
The latest Entertainment Weekly has an interview with Joss, and Joss is much harsher in talking about Fox TV than he is WB. He says that Angel was cancelled because The WB said they “need more reality [TV].” He sounded upset, but his comments seemed much angrier when talking about Fox (“They’re a bad network that makes bad decisions,” etc.). Joss is probably more likely to do another show for the WB than he is FOX.
Corey
I see some others had the idea I just came up with independently right before coming here: The Eradicator makes perfect sense.
I adored the finales of both shows, both of which were intense and left me wanting more. Shame we’ll only GET more of SMALLVILLE, though.
I’m still shaken by the ANGEL finale, which had me in tears more than once. And I must be the only one that didn’t get mad at the WB’s “tribute” at the end — I thought it a nice touch, if yes, hypocritical. Was also glad they let us hear the “Grr Aargh” for the last time, rather than superimposing a lame promo for CHARMED over it.
I will not join the chorus of those claiming they’ll boycott the WB, though. They still have SMALLVILLE and I’m interested in the new JACK & BOBBY from novelist/comics scribe Brad Meltzer and the mid-season GLOBAL FREQUENCY based on Warren Ellis’s comics. Still, they obviously made the wrong decision, and I don’t think the comedy block they’re planning for ANGEL’s timeslot next season is gonna fly; at least, not in that timeslot.
Corey Tacker posted:
The latest Entertainment Weekly has an interview with Joss, and Joss is much harsher in talking about Fox TV than he is WB. He says that Angel was cancelled because The WB said they “need more reality [TV].” He sounded upset, but his comments seemed much angrier when talking about Fox (“They’re a bad network that makes bad decisions,” etc.). Joss is probably more likely to do another show for the WB than he is FOX.
Except that Joss is still under contract to Fox Productions, which means that the Fox Network (who, it’s important to point out, are who he has the problem with; his relationship with Fox Productioons is still good) will likely get the first shot at anything new he does. But after they stupidly pass, he’ll be able to sell his wares elsewhere.
Greg I disagree with you that Lindsey wasn’t evil. He wasn’t on a par with the movers and shakers of the world, but he was still willing to do dispicable things for the sole purpose of getting his selfish revenge on Angel. He was evil with a little “e”, but he was still evil.
Whelp posted:
It’s unfortunate, but television isn’t really about ratings, anymore; it’s about demographics. Angel could have pulled down the best ratings in history, and it still would have been canned if it didn’t deliver the right demographic. The WB, since very early on, has been able to promise the teen girl audience to its advertisers. Angel started out giving the WB this audience, but as the cast grew older and the themes and plots became deeper, it slowly lost it. Let’s face it, it’s been a few years since anyone on that cast was on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine. When Smallville’s cast passes their teen idol stage, it can expect the same thing.
Well, it may be partly that, but not entirely.
It’s more to do with aftermarket rights. WB owns SMALLVILLE and thus makes money on DVD, syndication, merchandising, etc.
Fox owns ANGEL and thus WB doesn’t make anything on the aftermarket and merchandising.
So despite ANGEL getting better ratings than, say, CHARMED (which WB owns), it makes less money for WB. So it makes economic sense to keep the lesser-rated show alive and kill the more popular show.
With media consolidation, you’re only going to see more and more of this. All the networks now have production arms, since NBC bought Universal. It won’t be long before each network is airing almost exclusively its own productions (Disney/Touchstone on ABC, Viacom/Paramount on CBS and UPN, Fox on Fox, WB on WB, and Universal on NBC).
Isn’t media consolidation great? Who says the free market was a good thing?
(Yes, that’s sarcasm, kids)
As an interesting contrast to the usual comment, I disliked the _lack_ of ambiguity in the ending. Based on what we saw, it’s pretty obvious what happens next–the crew goes down fighting and evil wins.
****************************************
The whole point of the episode I thought was that Angel and the gagn were going down fighting. They weren’t going to win. They would pay the ultimate price for taking down the Circle and putting a major crimp in evil’s plan. They would be made a lesson of but yet they would be an example of the shining moment when good overcame evil.
Heck, Spike, Angel, and Illyria (demons all) fighting the good fight at the end is a smack in the face of the bad guys, as well.
The good guys showing up giving hope of a victory would dilute the ending and the whole theme of the series. There is no big win.
Note, that W&H could have let loose the hordes at any moment. Why didn’t they? Doing this implies desperation, a loss on their part. Think about what Holland Manners said in “Reprise.” This counteracts all of that. The bad guys failed. They failed to turn Angel (their major goal for the most of the series) and now must resort to this show of strength.
And I like that the last stand was at the Hyperion.
I loved Smallville, and I think Terence Stamp is really playing Gen. Zod. How sweet is that, pulling on over on the fanboys by hiding him in plain sight?
The most disturbing thing for me was that awful Catwoman trailer!?!?!
HOLY COW does that look like crap on a stick or what?!!?!?!
-JS
Greg I disagree with you that Lindsey wasn’t evil. He wasn’t on a par with the movers and shakers of the world, but he was still willing to do dispicable things for the sole purpose of getting his selfish revenge on Angel. He was evil with a little “e”, but he was still evil.
He is only quasi-evil. The Diet Coke of evil.
Speaking of Scott Evil, when the hëll did Seth Green become part of the gang on That 70’s Show? I know he’s shown up in a couple of episodes before this season, but suddenly he’s hanging out in the Forman’s basement oggling Donna! What’s up with that?
One point on each show:
SMALLVILLE — If you’re going into the Witness Relocation Program, it would be better not to be dropped off by vans with the words “U. S. Government” on them, wouldn’t it?
ANGEL — Fred and Wes have now watched each other die, at different times.
So is it ok to start complaning (or praising, depending your preference) about the renewal of Enterprise for a 4th season? 🙂
Yes yes YES!
I made a comment about ANGEL ending like BLAKE’S SEVEN the second Gunn showed up all battered and the hordes started swarming around them.
I loved the ending.
SMALLVILLE
My quibbles: I think this episode featured some false conflict. For one, a judge wouldn’t need Clark’s testimony to deny bail to a terminally ill billionaire (who would have every reason to skip town and die peacefully in some beach resort rather than risking a trial and dying in prison). Remember that Lex had Lionel’s medical records (his attorney released them). That’s all the DA would have needed to convince a job to remand Lionel (I’ve watched too much Law & Order, I think).
Also, Lionel Luthor was allowed to send Clark a package? C’mon. Even if I hand-wave that, who allows a witness to speak to the person he’s testifying against? It’s clear witness tampering and intimidation. And while Clark acknowledges that he can’t trust Lionel and won’t “walk into a trap,” he does just that later. Why? (I would have placed his breaking into the pathetically unguarded Luthor house *after* his seeing Lex and Lana together.)
The Angel ending relfects Joss’ deisre not to wrap things up in a bow when TV shows end. Yes, it’s true we want to see that happy ending, but Joss and PAD are on the same page about how life just isn’t like that. I think Joss tried the same approach on Buffy, but was at cross-purposes in trying to give her a happier ending in keeping with that show’s relative lightness. It works betrer in Angel’s gray world.
I keep thinking that Joss would be better off trying to get his shows on HBO. That network seems to be willing to push the envelope as far as it will ever go – don’t have cable, but certainly The Sopranos sounds like that kind of show. HBO would give Joss the freedom and the time that he cannot get on a free network. Alas, even HBO steers away from SF and treats fantasy with some trepidation. To some degree, the biggest obstacle Joss faces is simply that he has no interest in anything but SF/fantasy. It’s why we love him, but why he will never get the kind of acclaim that Sorkin or Bochco get.
Whelp stated:
“The WB, since very early on, has been able to promise the teen girl audience to its advertisers. Angel started out giving the WB this audience, but as the cast grew older and the themes and plots became deeper, it slowly lost it. Let’s face it, it’s been a few years since anyone on that cast was on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine.”
No offense, Whelp– but I am having a really hard time understanding any of the supposed LOGIC or FACT that you use to compile your post.
“Angel” is being replaced by a 30 minute JEFF FOXWORTHY comedy (who, according to ImDB, is currently pushing 46) and yet another Improv Comedy show by DREW CAREY that basically takes his failed ABC crap-ola “Whose Line Is It Anyway” and adds Green Screen special effects/animation, etc. to the wacky proceedings.
Using your line of reasoning for the WB cancelling “Angel” to get that “teen girl” demographic…
When have you EVER seen Jeff Foxworthy or Drew Carey on the cover of Tiger Beat magazine?