Been pretty darn busy this week - I totally forgot about this thread. Interesting comments obcooke - I have one or two responses.
Originally posted by obcooke
This season's Angel absolutely sucked.
I wouldn't go that far. Before the season finale's I would have said that I preferred Angel to Buffy. Buffy's season finale was great, and lifted my opinion of the whole year quite a few notches. On the other hand, Angel's finale felt much more like a mid-season cliff-hanger. Subdued, and not incredibly dramatic or earth shattering, even though the various events were pretty incredible. It felt like a missed opportunity to really pull out one or two stops...
Wesley's arc was interesting - even if some parts were inexplicable. Alexis Denisof did an excellent job of showing us Wesley's heartache over what was going to happen.
Gavin Parks was a bore - his combative relationship with Lilah was pretty much dullsville. The Wolfram and Hart angle is really feeling the loss of Lindsay, whom I doubt we will see back, ever.
The characters acted completely out-of-character to the point of being ridiculous. Just when I thought that they couldn't do anything more unbelievable, they would.
Wesley would not betray Angel as he did and he sure as hell wouldn't seek some sexual healing in Lilah's arms. Oh, he didn't get Fred. So he turns into a complete s***head????
He's worked with these people too long to keep prophecies a secret. Wesley would have known that if Angel thought there was any possibility that he, Angel, might harm Conner, that it would reduce the chances of that happening. Wesley also knows that prophecies are not immutable. None of his actions make any sense.
I totally agree with you on this one - in the episode discussions we have talked about his motivations. I certainly can't understand his actions at all. Highlander II brought up the point that speaking with Angel might not have been too fruitful, but what I can't process is the fact that he didn't tell Cordelia, or Gunn. Ok, so he hasn't known Gunn that long really, but he has known Cordelia for a good bit longer and the period in season two when they were without Angel was a pretty deep bonding experience for the three of them. Why on earth wouldn't he have told one of them? For goodness' sake, even Lorne would have been a good person to turn to, with his particular expertise
I don't know if the PTB are going to give us any more information that might help explain his actions, but the character development they have given us this season for Wesley has been confusing and unbelievable.
And even if he had concerns would he turn to Holtz? Of course not, the idea is laughable to the point of being pathetic.
This was the worst of the out-of-character action on the part of Wes. Insane.
Oh, and this Angel-Cordy romance completely leaves me cold. Is this the TV/Movie cliché that a man and a woman cannot work together closely without becoming an item? Well, that was old a generation ago. Now I have to watch that great friendship of Cordy & Angel turn into them flopping around half-dressed? Nice eye-candy for all, but it completely ruins the mix.
Actually on this point I will have to disagree with you. I really like the idea of Angel and Cordy. They have grown together over the course of the past three years. Season one Cordy mostly bugged Angel, but when she ended up in the hospital in To Shanshu in LA it was obvious that a non-romantic affection had grown there. Angel states in the hospital that they are 'family' and it feels heartfelt and honest. By late in season two they have become fast friends - although how much of this friendship on Angel's part stems from abandonment guilt I am not sure. The last episode of season three when they are walking down the stairs in the hotel makes me think of them as the best of friends - I didn't see any lust there, quite different from Angel and Buffy's angst-ful longings for each other. They (A & C) just seemed like two people that were made for each other.
Or now that Cordy's ascended will it be another, I-love-her-but-I-can't-have-her story? Where have I heard that before? Oh, yeah.
Well, regardless of what I have said above, I hope the story doesn't go this way....
The transition of Gunn from street-wise warrior to token sidekick is complete.
Fred's decisions are transparently designed to help justify Wesley's stupid decisions. If she acted like Fred, she wouldn't have been able to avoid reaching out emotionally to Wesley, sharing their intellectual interests and drawing closer together. Even if it didn't mean romance, it would have kept Wesley in the fold - so, of course, it couldn't be allowed to play out realistically.
The only Gunn epsiode I can remember clearly this season was Double or Nothing. While I quite liked the relationship-py stuff with him and Fred, the idea that he might have risked so much for a
TRUCK just seems ridiculous. Not on the scale of Wesley's out-of-character-ness, but just as unbelievable. Gunn is criminally underused in this show. At least in season two he was still juggling his time between his two worlds and wasn't officially on the AI payroll til mid-season. He just seems to stand around, making smart comments and doe-eyes at Fred
Loren is the only character who still speaks with the familiar Whedon listen-close-because-the-non-sequesters-are-going-to-fly speech pattern. Everyone else has been reduced to TV-speak. AND LOREN IS LEAVING!?!? There won't be anyone else left on the show worth listening to. He's got the best lines and delivers them with panache.
Lorne leaving ---> I am kinda torn on this point, he hasn't done much this season except for babysitting, and I feel he has been quite wasted, so maybe it is for the best, but a MUCH better situation would be to keep him, just give him an interesting story or two (or three).
As for the Whedon-speak, I have been wondering about that a lot recently. Even Cordy, the queen of acerbic one liners back in the day, hardly gets any o f her old trademark comments. I know her character has evolved, but I miss the old Cordelia's style!
More than any other show this season, Angel has caused me to crinkle up my face and say, "What the ****?! That's so stupid. They would never do that."
Boy, it feels good to finally get that said. Here's hoping to better times for both Angel & Buffy, which has had a rocky season, but nothing like the tailspin that Angel has gone into.
I have recently been rewatching my dvd's of the first two seasons of Angel, and although I had been enjoying season three, the comparison is not favourable at all. The single most annoying thing for me has been the introduction of Fred as a main character. Perhaps if they built her up slowly as they did with Anya, I would gradually accept her, but she totally bugs the xxxx outta me. They should ditch her real quick!
