FEATURE: Angel - First Impressions

Previously on Angel: Angel has discovered the useful sanctuary of The Host, where people go to sing in order for him to "read" them. He's also made an ally with Charles Gunn, who had to stake his recently turned sister, and the office has moved into the Hyperion hotel. Elsewhere, Wolfram & Hart have resurrected Darla in order to get to Angel.

Gunn arrives at the hotel for an appointment with Angel to go after a snitch for information on a demon named Deevak, but Angel has been asleep all day, dreaming of a date with Darla. Eventually, they make it to the meet, but are attacked by vampires; they take them out, but Angel struggles in the fight. Later, Cordelia has a vision of Gunn in danger. Unable to reach Angel who is asleep and dreaming again, Cordelia heads out to help Gunn and the pair have to team up, but Deevak is lying in wait for them.

Whereas last week, the focus was very much on Angel himself, First Impressions is a chance for us all to get to know Gunn a little better as well as spending time getting to know the new, improved and more selfless Cordelia. As odd couple pairings go, he of the poverty-stricken minority and she of the white privilege, it's one that's not perhaps mined for as much as its potential would suggest, but it functions enough for the character explorations needed. Gunn's still smarting from losing his sister and his continuing spiral into self-destruction just isn't acceptable now he's part of the team. Cordelia's little pep talk to him at the end of the episode is one of her best moments, a big sign of her willingness to change and put herself out there for other people.

The other great moment of the episode, though not especially important to the plot, is the ongoing development of the friendship between Angel and Wes (which we all know is going to real rocky soon). I don't have much else to say about it, but it's a scene so good that I'm going to print it here:

Wesley: Come on. What are you waiting for?
Angel: [holds up a pink motorcycle helmet] I-I-I really don't think it's gonna fit.
Wesley: Oh, of course it will. Put it on.
Angel: You know, I-I don't need a helmet for protection.
Wesley: Angel. It's the law in California. Do you want us to get pulled over?
Angel: No.
Wesley: Then what's the problem?
Angel: Well, it-it's just, you know... the whole... visibility issue, not to mention the whole hat-head thing and, you know, when you really think about it, how come I have to wear the ladies helmet?

Wesley: Stop being such a wanker and put it on!

[Angel puts the pink helmet on]

Wesley: Looks good. Hop on board gorgeous.

Angel: You'll pay for this.

The other element of the episode and one that plays more into the season's ongoing storyline is the Darla dreams that Angel has been having. Dreams are a funny thing in the Buffyverse, often prophetic, but nearly always dangerous in some way. The episode has some sly fun with Angel's dreams, allowing The Host to crop back up and reference Angel's eclectic music taste as well as showing Angel and Darla moon-bathing, completely with sunglasses and beach loungers. 

I like that Darla's tactic is to tempt Angel away from his path, shortly after his resolve to continue down it and help people for little or no reward. It's especially key after we see his more apathetic state towards humanity in Are You Now or Have You Ever Been, demonstrating that Angel is perhaps a little more corruptible than he likes to think if his resentment is high enough. Having Julie Benz back in full devious Darla mode is always a joy because she's one of the few characters to have made a massive impression with just a little runtime. Exploring her relationship with Angel further, as well as allowing Benz to be all sly, offers a good undercurrent for the rest of the episode.

Quote of the Week:

Cordelia: Maybe *we* can help.

Gunn: You two? I find Deevak, I'm gonna need more than C-3PO and Stick-Figure Barbie backing me up, no offense.
Wesley: Very little taken.

Let's Get Trivial: It's a truth universally acknowledged that a Jane Austen reference is a fine thing to get into a fantasy series about vampires. The episode title is a nod to Pride and Prejudice's original title and the plot carries the familiar hallmarks of two very different people coming together after initially not getting along very well. Not much romance between Cordy and Gunn though.

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at previous episode, Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been, here.

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TV REVIEW: Game of Thrones - No One

Spoilers...

One of the interesting things about Game of Thrones as a show is its ability to laugh at your story expectations like Syrio Forel laughs at death. There were certain elements that were always going to happen like we imagined, for example Arya's victory against the waif, despite the "shock ending" of her being stabbed in the gut. But several things happened this week that are either going to surprise people or/and make them a bit angry.

In terms of the latter, it's doing away with two widely rumoured events in the blink of an eye. Firstly, Lady Stoneheart - while it was always a slim chance, the show played around with her book iconography by showing the hanging men, but immediately brought back Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr, both ready to head north to fight the real battle. Joining them temporarily was the Hound, who managed to get bloody vengeance on the killers of Lovejoy as well as taking our what I assume were four other BWB members. And in King's Landing, Tommen decided to dampen his mother's excitement at the possibility of having Ser Gregor win her freedom by banning trial by combat. I always thought the little king wouldn't survive the season, but it may end up being at the hand of his own mother. So no Stoneheart and no Cleganebowl. Hmph.

While Cersei no longer holds sway on her son, she certainly still casts a spell over Jaime, who spelled out his intentions to a captured Edmure Tully, namely that he just wanted to win so he could go home to her. And he did, thanks to Edmure first coming home to Riverrun and then convincing his men to surrender, despite the Blackfish's protestations that it was all a Lannister plot. Sadly, the Blackfish died off-screen, but not before sending Brienne and Pod off on a boat. Jaime's relationship with Brienne is interesting, he actually comes across something off less of a knob than he is, but unfortunately he is still nowhere near the redemption we thought he might be approaching. Maybe next season?

For once Tyrion's plans went awry, as the masters decided to take back Mereen via a whole fleet of ships, only for Dany to come and rescue them. Strangely this all very downplayed, with her landing on the roof and only a fleeting background shot of Drogon. But with her back there this hopefully sets in action her journey to Westeros with the iron fleet. Arya's arc - and fate - was a bit awkwardly resolved, but it was a nice touch to have her cut out the flame before beating the waif, before proclaiming to Jaqen triumphantly that she is "Arya Stark of Winterfell!". Given the big battle to come next week, maybe they don't want us to get fatigued.

It was a fine episode really, nice and thoughtful and a bit of a breather before next week's giant battle between Jon and Ramsay. The horror nut in me was happy to see a nice bit of gore from both Cleganes, notably the bit where The Mountain just ripped that dude's face clear off, and I imagine we're going to get a bit more with the Wildlings and the Boltons together, two groups that don't know the meaning of the word restraint. With any luck, this episode will be brought to us by the letters N and C and the number 17.

- Charlie

You can read Charlie's look at the previous episode, The Broken Man, here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Replacement

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy now has a little sister that everyone thinks has been around forever. Xander's dissatisfied with his lot in life as a result of still living in his parents' basement.

A big, veiny luminescent demon comes gunning for Buffy, but instead whacks Xander with his very own glowstick of destiny at the city dump. Initially, it seems as if our boy's ok and is taken away by the gang, but then, what we believe to be the actual Xander wakes up still in the dump. He's not particularly good at, well, everything, whilst a considerably suaver lookalike inserts himself into Xander's life. Schlubby Xander turns to his oldest friend Willow as Suave Xander gets the Slayer onside. Eventually they figure out that Suave Xander isn't a demonic replacement, but Xander's other half. 

It's a Buffy classic storytelling device in this one; whenever any character needs to go through some kind of affirmation from the rest of the Scoobs, they have to go through some kind of transformation first. Think Giles turning into a demon in A New Man, Buffy when she turns invisible or Willow transforming everyone else. It's Xander's turn in this one as the two halves of himself battle it out for surpremacy without knowing they're two sides of the same coin rather than two distinct people. It's not quite Kirk in The Enemy Within but it does make for some good, concentrated Xander hijinks (also, they reference Star Trek together, which is just lovely).

It follows on from his desire to no longer be everyone's butt monkey, a rant seen in Buffy vs. Dracula. Xander's often the Buffy damsel-in-distress and frequently feels he is completely useless to the gang's efforts. It's Schlubby Xander's chief fear in this episode, that everyone's much more taken with Suave Xander and that he's of more use to the general scheme of things. Like The Zeppo, The Replacement is quick to demonstrate that, actually, that's really not the same. The promotion given to Suave Xander is earned by regular old Xander before the events of the episode, same with the credit check that lands him the apartment. As Giles says, everything in both Xanders already exists before the split. He is both Schlubby and Suave.

Also, the fact that the Scoobies keep saving Xander has got to count for something. As Primeval illustrated, he functions as the heart of the group and they'd quickly fall apart without him. His final scene with Riley, in which soldier boy admits he knows Buffy doesn't love him, is a clear indication of that; he's the one that people trust and he's the one that "sees" everything. It's something that will be more explored as the series continues, particularly in the seventh season where his sort-of outsider status helps with keeping Dawn on track. The Replacement is nowhere near as good as The Zeppo nor does it really say anything we don't already know, but it works as a solid reminder of Xander's strengths as well as building his confidence back up.

Quote of the Week:

Schlubby Xander: [Anya] entirely wants us to have sex together! Which would be wrong and very confusing...
Giles: We just, um, need to arrange the candles. Also, we should continue to pretend we heard none of the disturbing sex talk now.
Willow: Check. Candles and pretense.

Demonology 101: Jane Espenson revealed that Toth was so named, just so she could include the 'toth' is British slang gag.

Sunnydale Who's Who: Kelly Donovan, Nicholas Brendon's twin, plays the body double for Xander and gets to speak in the scenes where both Xanders have lines. Identical twins sure come in handy.

- Becky

You can check out Becky's look at the previous episode, Real Me, here.

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TV REVIEW: Game of Thrones - The Broken Man

Spoilers...

Is it really episode seven? This season has absolutely flown by, and has to be one of the most consistently brilliant so far, with The Broken Man, which is another great episode. And it doesn't waste any time in reintroducing a great character from previous seasons who had been theorised to return; The Hound aka Sandor Clegane, who is found being part of a religious commune building a sept. The show had taken Sandor on an interesting journey previous, having shifted not only loyalties but morality, with a somewhat different take on things after being paired with Arya.

Here, Clegane's story is given significant heft, with the episode structured around his story, itself a sad reminder of the inevitability of war in the world of Game of Thrones, and its effects on everywhere - nobody is safe, no matter how far, remote, or peaceful they are. And for a man with a history of violence, it's almost impossible to escape. He seems content as part of the commune, if still as cynical as ever, but it's fascinating watching his conversations with the leader Ray - played by Ian McShane - who has had seemingly as dark a past as Sandor. McShane's casting is a masterstroke, bringing wonderful gravitas and depth to a tiny part (in the scheme of things) which has a crucial role in reintroducing Sandor.

The warrior's attempt to get away is shattered by the Brotherhood of Banners, who kill everyone in the commune for no discernible reason - something we're unfortunately used to seeing in Game of Thrones. Joffrey may have become the king we all loved to hate, and Ramsay is doing a similar job, but they both did cruel and inhuman things not for tactical or leadership reasons, but because they wanted to and they had the power to do so. The episode ends powerfully, with Sandor finding the bodies of the commune members strewn across the field. In his scenes he was shown to be chopping wood with an axe, almost as a redirection of power from his previous use of similar items, but the final shot has him picking up the axe from a tree stump, his motivation clear.

Speaking of Arya, she's not having a wonderful time trying to escape Braavos and the faceless men, and after booking passage on a ship she was approached by an old lady who, hugely predictably, turned out to be the waif. It was a bit uncharacteristic for Arya to let her guard down like that, but it was after a little moment where it felt like was saying goodbye to the city - and ready to become a Stark again. She was stabbed quite a few times, although while the episode left her looking bleak, you know it's not going to kill her off (it doesn't help that you see her in the preview for the next episode afterwards). The other Starks aren't getting on particularly well either: While Tormund was able to rally the wildlings to Jon's cause, House Glover had no interest, and while House Mormont pledged their allegiance, they only have sixty-two men. Nevertheless, the young leader of House Mormont was a charming girl of ten years old who happily talked smack to Jon and Sansa, with Davos eventually getting through to her, possibly thinking of Shireen.

Things in King's Landing are beginning to pick up, and we finally have a bit more of an idea of Margarey's plan after she secretly passed a drawing of the Tyrell rose to her grandmother, confirming her allegiance under the watchful eye of the faith militant. Olenna had a brilliant scene with Cersei where she just absolutely railed against her leaving her absolutely struck dumb, and hopefully she'll stick around in the show even though she's back off to Highgarden. Cersei undoubtedly has something up her sleeve, and chances are the theorised "Cleganebowl" is about to come true with Cersei choosing zombie Gregor as her champion, and The Mountain versus The Hound sounds like a fantastic way to go.

PS Yara likes the ladies. Never saw that coming.

- Charlie

You can read Charlie's look at previous episode, Blood of my Blood, here.

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FEATURE: Angel - Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been

Previously on Angel: In the ongoing battle against Wolfram & Hart, Angel's offices were the first casualty, blowing up rather spectacularly. They're in need of a new place. 

After he briefly visited an old hotel in the previous episode, Angel becomes intrigued by the building’s past and gets Wesley and Cordelia to start investigating as he heads down to the hotel itself. The Hyperion dates back to the 1920s, but Angel has a history that he doesn’t disclose at first, having been a resident there in 1952. Strange events date back throughout the hotel’s past, including during Angel’s residency when a man in the room next door kills himself and sparks off an amateur investigation with disastrous results. Meanwhile, in the present, Angel seeks to destroy the Thesulac demon for good.

I adore the Hyperion set in all its 1920s glory. The production design and the way that it is shot in the 1950s flashbacks gives it a Gothic feel; long, dark corridors seem to stretch on forever, people lurk in shadows and it never feels entirely visible. Some of the colours used, muted greens and reds, also ensure that the episode has a pulp fiction look to it (of the Dashiell Hammett variety, not Tarantino). 1950s Judy is a classic mysterious dame with a stolen stack of cash and a secret; she's passing as a white woman at a time when being Other was not at all recommended. Like Angel, she's an outcast. He gets to be her brooding hero, begrudgingly deciding to help her.

That style builds into the world of the other guests of the hotel, glimpsed only through brief scenes in which they speculate about the guy who killed himself in 215. There's a blacklisted writer (McCarthyism is in full flow, seen briefly on a TV clip containing the episode's title) who sees it is as one of his plots, a blonde in a green dress with the kind of husky voice you expect in a noir and an actor who may as well have walked straight off the set of Dragnet. Just the facts, ma'am. Of course, they don’t actually have a clue what’s happened because it’s a Thesulac demon sucking the life out of the guests.

Everything, naturally, spirals out of control. Judy saves her own skin by pointing the finger at Angel and suggesting he’s a murderer. The angry mob hangs Angel and the Thesulac demon feeds on their rage. Setting it in the 1950s, a time of great paranoia and prejudice, is a masterstroke and really builds into the general uneasy atmosphere that the flashbacks carry. The moment is a crucial turning point in Angel’s post-soul life, trying to help out humans and receiving their ire and violence as a result. It’s hardly surprising that he allows the Thesulac to feed on the residents of the hotel after the lynching. It’s a really dark move and one which blurs the line between Angel and Angelus somewhat,

There’s a heavy foreshadowing of Angel’s indifference to Dru and Darla feeding on Wolfram & Hart lawyers later in the season, but there’s not just darkness there. There’s hope too. The final scene with Old Judy, in which he forgives and comforts her after her years of torment since his apparent death, shows Angel’s life is one of peaks and troughs. He may lose his way occasionally, but with the right people around him, he’ll find his way back.

Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been is a classy affair, one of Angel's finest, that both looks great and does a lot of solid character work for Tall, Dark and Forehead too. I like that there aren’t any really big set pieces here, no heavily choreographed scraps. Instead, it feels like Angel at its most human, exploring the kind of negative side of mankind whilst also demonstrating the need for forgiveness in order to move on. Plus, Angel looks pretty natty in 1950s threads.

Quote of the Week: 

Angel: Watch his tentacles!

Cordelia: Excuse me?!
Wes: Tentacles.

Cordelia: Ooh...

Let's Get Trivial: The odious bellhop's name is Frank Gilnitz, a reference back to writer Tim Minear's time as a writer and story editor on The X Files. "Gilnitz" was a name often used by The X Files writers' room for incidental or unseen characters, usually with the first name John. An amalgam of John Shiban, Vince Gilligan and Frank Spotnitz, the name became a running joke in the sci-fi series.

Demonology 101: Angel catches a Bible that is thrown at him by the bookshop owner and it burns his hands. This is the first time in the Buffyverse that it is confirmed that Bibles are harmful to vamps.

LA Who's Who: The concierge, Ronald Meeks, is played by John Kapelos. You Breakfast Clubbers might recognise him as Carl, Shermer High School's janitor.

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at previous episode, Judgment, here.

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FEATURE: Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Real Me

Previously on Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Buffy has a sister. What?!

Dawn, Buffy's sister, is causing a few problems for the Slayer as she needs taking care of, seemingly full time given her habit of getting into mischief. When the gang head to the Magic Shop for supplies, Willow quite literally falls over the dead body of the owner. It's a vamp attack, announcing a new squad in town who are researching the Slayer and have a fondness for ceramic unicorns. Yes, Harmony's back in town and she wants a showdown with Buffy, but is thwarted when the Slayer happens to be on a date when Harmony calls for her. Dawn, being Dawn, inadvertently invites her in and the vamp returns later to kidnap the sister and lure Buffy into a trap.

So, Dawn's arrived. I'm going to get the negative stuff out of the way first because, Dawn aside, this episode is a joy. The new little sister? Not so much. God, Dawn's narration is horrible. Just gratingly irritating. And I think it jars so much because, at this stage, it feels like such a caricature of how a teen girl speaks, which is something the show has never done. The teenage characters of Buffy, Willow and Xander never fell into that trap of feeling cliched or sketched. Even Cordelia had layers. Real Me is not the best first impression of the character we could have had, though I know it's the sibling relationship that they clearly needed to set up. It just feels clumsy given how much of a mystery Dawn still is.

Which brings me nicely on to the positive aspect about Dawn; the writers have just dropped her in there. She got a few seconds in the last episode and now everyone in the show is acting like she's always been there. It's a clever, brave move and instantly gets the audience speculating about where this annoying, diary-writing teen has come from. There's not much of a hint to what she is here, just that she will become something, but the encounter with the mad, homeless man offers up a neat callback to Faith's prophecy of Dawn's arrival back in Graduation Day. He calls her "Curds and whey," referencing "Little Miss Muffet, counting down from 7-3-0."

Positives for the rest of the episode are numerous and mainly revolve around how hilarious it is. From Giles' brand new, shiny red penis car to Buffy's reaction to finding out that Harmony has minions. And then there's Harmony herself. I love that Harmony's plans seem to be taken from the ideas whiteboard of a crappy Bond villain, that she's got the management skills of Michael Scott and the villainous presence of a poodle. Mercedes McNab's comic timing is spectacular here and her sparring with Sarah Michelle Gellar ranks amongst the funniest of Buffy's exchanges with villains.

We also have the second big plot development of the fifth season as Giles decides to buy the Magic Shop, despite Buffy's understandable concern that Magic Shop owners have a very limited shelf life. The fourth season did suffer from having a particular location that the Scoobies could be based out of; Giles' place is lovely, but I always got the impression that everything was a bit cramped in there. Now, we'll have the Magic Shop, a nice training room for Buffy and plenty of magical items for hijinks.

Thankfully, there is enough about Real Me to love in the face of the annoyingly whiny teenager plonked into the middle of it. I understand why they drop Dawn into the midst of everything so equally, and why they do make her so irritating, but boy is it a culture shock.

Quote of the Week:

Harmony: So Slayer! At last we meet.
Buffy: We've met, Harmony, you halfwit.

Inventive Kill: Buffy slays Mort with a unicorn horn. Cabin in the Woods, eat your heart out. Um, not literally.

Let's Get Trivial: Michelle Trachtenberg's updated status from her first appearance in the show to series regular is the fastest in the series' history, appearing in just one episode before promotion. The show will now set the record for highest number of main cast members (8) until Riley leaves in Into The Woods.

Sunnydale Who's Who: Tom Lenk, who plays a Harmony minion, will return next season to play Tucker's brother... I mean, Andrew.

- Becky

You can read Becky's look at previous episode, Buffy vs. Dracula, here.

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FEATURE: Angel - Judgment

Previously on Angel: The gang are working LA to fight demonic crime and help the helpless. In the process, they find themselves on the wrong side of a bunch of lawyers determined to bring Angel down, resurrecting Darla as part of their plan. Angel has formed an unlikely alliance with a vampire hunter named Gunn.

Since the explosion that destroyed their offices last season, Angel Investigations has been working out of Cordelia's apartment, complete with assistance from Phantom Dennis who has been very keen to help. When Cordy has a vision of a horrific monster, Angel goes on the hunt to track it down, but discovers that, when he kills it, it's not an evil demon. It's protecting a young pregnant woman whose fate is to be decided by a mystical tribunal and Angel just killed her champion. Wracked with guilt, Angel sets about trying to help, taking on the role of protector himself in order to save the young woman and right the wrong he committed.

If ever there was an episode that functions as a microcosm of Angel's ongoing mission, then Judgment is it, boiling down to Angel kills someone and then has to atone for it. One thing Whedon shows (and films) have always excelled at is the reintroduction of the show's MO and key themes, as well as sometimes expanding the world beyond what we're used to. After the Shanshu Prophecy revealed that he will become human again once he achieves his redemption, Angel's been going after the demons in LA hard and fast, but quickly learns over the course of the episode that this isn't about keeping score, but doing the right thing. We're introduced to The Host and his sanctuary nightclub, swiftly confirming the idea that not all demons are evil and that safe places exist within the downtown area.

Within just a few scenes, Angel has reasserted everything we know, reiterated Angel's ongoing quest for redemption and widened the world out to explore something more in how the demon world works. Lorne's introduction and narration is a key part of that, reminding us all of the kind of city LA is in this world (and singing Gloria Gaynor is a cracking joke). Likewise, Angel, Wes and Cordy interrupting the sacrifice in the gym swiftly asserts their respective roles. It's an astonishing bit of exposition that never feels like it, but instead feels like we're cosying back down with a few friends we haven't seen for a while. 

Judgment also contains two of the most memorable images of the series' run. The first is David Boreanaz absolutely slaughtering 'Mandy' in order to get information out of Lorne and admitting he's a fan of Barry Manilow's hit because he thinks it's pretty. Then, there's the big joust itself. I've only seen this episode once prior to this rewatch viewing, but the sight of Angel, on a horse and kitted out like a Knight of the Round Table on an LA street is one so incongruous that it sticks like glue in the memory. Not many shows could pull of that kind of image.

The last scene with Faith is a lovely moment to end on. She and Angel share their respective roads to redemption and support each other accordingly, a nice continuation of the relationship that was touched upon back in the third season of Buffy and cemented in Angel's first season. It offers up a different, more vulnerable dynamic to Angel's character that isn't often seen in his more leadership role with the Angel Investigations crew. It fits nicely into the undercurrent of the episode, around second chances and the ability to change your nature and go against it. 

A strong return then for Angel in the second season. I didn't even touch on Wolfram & Hart, but their Darla plan is already rumbling along nicely in the background. Now, if you don't mind, I need to go and listen to something catchy to get that damn 'Mandy' out of my head.

Quote of the Week:

Angel: There are three things I don't do; tan, date, or sing in public.

Let's Get Trivial: The closing credits feature outtakes from Angel's hilarious performance of 'Mandy'; stay to the very end post "Grrr, Argh" to hear David Boreanaz's Elvis impersonation: "Thank you, thank you very much."

LA Who's Who: The late Andy Hallett joins Angel's revolving cast of regulars as The Host, later known as Lorne. J. August Richards is bumped up to series regular and Eliza Dushku makes a quick appearance as Faith, her name hidden in the closing credits rather than the opening ones to keep the surprise.

- Becky

You can check out Becky's look at previous episode, To Shanshu in LA, here.

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