Joss likes to present us with wonderful classic romance in the finest heart-wrenching fashion, and then twist it out of shape
Oh my God, does he ever! Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins, just you wait.
Ahem. Yes, Angel is one of the episodes in BtVS, setting up events and mythology for the show that reverberate all the way to the very end. I don't think it is prefect, mind - there are episodes later that will utterly blow you away and I think Angel does have flaws - but it is a hugely important episode.
Maybe because she was one of the few vampires we've seen so far who actually has a personality. One of the only two, I'd say, the other being Angel.
Yeah, that's fair. There are two kinds of vamps in BtVS - cannon fodder and ones that have agency of their own. The ones that are important to the plot are obviously better written - and the better written and more personality they have, generally the more important and lasting they are.
Cordelia characterization. [...]She's becoming predictable in an unamusing way.
She does become less predictable - even by the end of this season. I grew to love Cordelia on Buffy.
"Y'know, hey, I don't know what everyone's talking about. That outfit doesn't make you look like a hooker!" Oooh, good left hook! Is he developing some backbone? Some wit? Some defenses?
Yup, and yup. Xander vs. Cordelia tends to bring it out! And I think all the bits of dialogue you picked out in the Bronze scene are great.
And transforms. There's something a little "Beauty and the Beast" about that. Isn't the kiss supposed to turn the frog into the prince, not the prince into a vampire?
I find that moment interesting because of the loss of control by Angel. When I was watching the previous episodes again, one of the things I was noticing particularly was how uncomfortable Angel seemed around people. He never lingers, just gives Buffy whatever message and then leaves. So he is very isolated, unused to actual human physical contact and he says he hasn't fed on a human since the curse. He's stayed away because he can't trust his control, which of course means he has no practice staying in control when he does get that close. And that is why he vamps out and doesn't manage to stop himself. Anyway, that's what I think.
Xander isn't very compassionate about this. Sometimes he is... unendearing
Yeah. Angel does not bring out his best side, to put it mildly.
I absolutely love the exchange between Darla and Angel
Mm, it's very good. Though my favourite moment between them is the later scene where Angel pushes her against the wall and she says "You're hurting me. That's good too." Watch that Joss, sneaking in the twistedness.
I loved Darla telling Buffy's mother she's a friend of Buffy's, and getting Joyce to let her in
Okay, I love that plotwise for this episode. But it bothers me a bit because it makes a mockery of Buffy keeping her Slayerness a secret. How does Darla know where she lives? Well, presumably the Three told them, which means the Master knows as well. Or an outside possibility is Darla finds out because she knows Buffy's name, but either way the episode shows it is not that hard for the forces of evil to find out where Buffy lives and that means the secrecy puts her mother in danger because she is the only one who doesn't know the danger exists. That's actually my major complaint about this episode, btw, and I agree with your point about the plot playing on Joyce's ignorance. Thankfully, as someone else says, Joyce is allowed to move beyond a metaphor for parents not understanding.
Why not? I killed mine. I killed their friends... and their friend's children... For a hundred years I offered ugly death to everyone I met, and I did it with a song in my heart.
That is probably one of my favourite Angel moments. I love the little twisted smile he has.
"I just gotta... I gotta walk away from this." Hah! Famous last words
Absolutely. But also true, in many ways.
(Sigh. Edited because I forgot to close an italic. *is irritated*)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-20 11:45 am (UTC)Oh my God, does he ever! Just you wait, 'enry 'iggins, just you wait.
Ahem. Yes, Angel is one of the episodes in BtVS, setting up events and mythology for the show that reverberate all the way to the very end. I don't think it is prefect, mind - there are episodes later that will utterly blow you away and I think Angel does have flaws - but it is a hugely important episode.
Maybe because she was one of the few vampires we've seen so far who actually has a personality. One of the only two, I'd say, the other being Angel.
Yeah, that's fair. There are two kinds of vamps in BtVS - cannon fodder and ones that have agency of their own. The ones that are important to the plot are obviously better written - and the better written and more personality they have, generally the more important and lasting they are.
Cordelia characterization. [...]She's becoming predictable in an unamusing way.
She does become less predictable - even by the end of this season. I grew to love Cordelia on Buffy.
"Y'know, hey, I don't know what everyone's talking about. That outfit doesn't make you look like a hooker!" Oooh, good left hook! Is he developing some backbone? Some wit? Some defenses?
Yup, and yup. Xander vs. Cordelia tends to bring it out! And I think all the bits of dialogue you picked out in the Bronze scene are great.
And transforms. There's something a little "Beauty and the Beast" about that. Isn't the kiss supposed to turn the frog into the prince, not the prince into a vampire?
I find that moment interesting because of the loss of control by Angel. When I was watching the previous episodes again, one of the things I was noticing particularly was how uncomfortable Angel seemed around people. He never lingers, just gives Buffy whatever message and then leaves. So he is very isolated, unused to actual human physical contact and he says he hasn't fed on a human since the curse. He's stayed away because he can't trust his control, which of course means he has no practice staying in control when he does get that close. And that is why he vamps out and doesn't manage to stop himself. Anyway, that's what I think.
Xander isn't very compassionate about this. Sometimes he is... unendearing
Yeah. Angel does not bring out his best side, to put it mildly.
I absolutely love the exchange between Darla and Angel
Mm, it's very good. Though my favourite moment between them is the later scene where Angel pushes her against the wall and she says "You're hurting me. That's good too." Watch that Joss, sneaking in the twistedness.
I loved Darla telling Buffy's mother she's a friend of Buffy's, and getting Joyce to let her in
Okay, I love that plotwise for this episode. But it bothers me a bit because it makes a mockery of Buffy keeping her Slayerness a secret. How does Darla know where she lives? Well, presumably the Three told them, which means the Master knows as well. Or an outside possibility is Darla finds out because she knows Buffy's name, but either way the episode shows it is not that hard for the forces of evil to find out where Buffy lives and that means the secrecy puts her mother in danger because she is the only one who doesn't know the danger exists. That's actually my major complaint about this episode, btw, and I agree with your point about the plot playing on Joyce's ignorance. Thankfully, as someone else says, Joyce is allowed to move beyond a metaphor for parents not understanding.
Why not? I killed mine. I killed their friends... and their friend's children... For a hundred years I offered ugly death to everyone I met, and I did it with a song in my heart.
That is probably one of my favourite Angel moments. I love the little twisted smile he has.
"I just gotta... I gotta walk away from this." Hah! Famous last words
Absolutely. But also true, in many ways.
(Sigh. Edited because I forgot to close an italic. *is irritated*)