My thoughts on Angel 3-5 *spolierific*
POSTED BY: SerenityinScotland
UPDATED: Saturday, February 24, 2007 06:25
VIEWED: 7791
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Firstly, yay! I'v been allowed back on FFF.net - for the last 2 odd months my IP address has been banned for no reason that I can think of. And how could I contact the site without being able to get on it....
Anyway, I have used this time well as for my birthday I got Angel season 3,4 and 5. So my thoughts are as follows.
Season 3: Bloody Hell. What went wrong?! In my opinion Fred and Lorne were the only things that kept the series going. Gunn remained in his statis that he does until season 5. Fred was so sweet, but had a wonderful edge to her. Lorne provided much of the comic relief, his amusing reaching for the sea breeze had me laughing out loud an awful lot. I think the clear problem for me was that Angel was too happy. For someone that is supposed to suffer, cutting about with a baby he loves and moving towards a loving relationship didn't quite match up for me. Holtz was an interesting idea but beyond his core characterisation of a man who has lost sight of justice and turned to vengeance he didn't get a lot of development. And I was never really satisified as to how he managed to survive Quor-toth and raise a baby at the same time...
There were some great episodes though - 'Waiting in the Wings' and 'Sleep Tight' spring straight to mind. Alexis played Wesley's gradual descent to despair very well, though I felt that development deserved a couple more eps. The finale was a novel idea, tossing Angel's ass to the bottom of the ocean. Cordelia's elevation was bizarre, especially when considered with the truth revealed about Skip later.
Season 4 got it back on track I thought. Wesley was the stand out character, his dark persona and sleeping with Lilah. Plus one of the best lines in Angel "I'll take away your bucket." LOL! But the weak point of the season was Cordelia - I felt Charisma couldn't play evil at all. Bitchy maybe but not evil. And her breasts seemed to grow bigger every episode. 'Spin the Bottle' was a replication of 'Tabula Rasa', annoying. The Beast was a good mid-season evil I felt - the fight in 'Apocalypse, Nowish' was probably one of the best in Angel. I didn't think Angelus was bad-ass enough compared to what he was in Buffy season 2. And a cross-over with Angelus heading for Sunnydale would have been very welcome. 'Orpheus' was an excellent episode though - its always fun to see Angel's past. As for Jasmine - not a great villian imo. I felt no menace from her at all, though maybe that was the point. And she went down pretty easy.
Season 5 is the best season of Angel I think. The ensemble was greatly boosted by Spike and the lesser characters Hamilton, Eve, Lindsay, Nina and Knox. And the emotion was back. There were several moments that had me tearing up - Spike in the deeper well, Fred's death scene, Wes's death scene (well pretty much the whole of NFA, the last scene of 'Damage' but most of all...Spike in 'Just Rewards' faking goodbye to Angel. Even tho I knew it was some sort of bluff it still hit me hard. This happen to anyone else?! The fight scene in 'Destiny' is prob the second best one in Buffy/Angel ever. 'Smile Time' was just hilarious. 'Why we fight' was a brilliant mix of pathos and dry humour. Illyria was an interesting twist - the writer's were brave to take out Fred, a character they must have realised was very well liked. Even, though the Circle of the Black Thorn was introduced late on it felt like a long term plot arc, bringing back a few characters we had already seen. And the intriguing references to the Shansu prophecy. As for 'Not fade away'? Thats another post for another time cos this one has been a bit of a beast.
Like Book said 'It's good to be home.'
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In S5, I thought Fred's death was forced...destroying the soul...what was that? *Plot device alert*
Other than that pet peeve, an OUTSTANDING example of what TV can be!
I have yet to view 3 or 4 
.
Getting there Chrisisall
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Well, the title of this thread did have a spolier warning so I shouldn't bitch. I just finished up with season 3 of Angel and liked it a lot, now I get to find out that Fred dies in season 4 or 5. Great! That's all I need. I rather liked the fact that Gunn and Fred were in love, now along comes Joss to shoot the puppies.
The whole Cordilia becoming a higher being threw me a little, but I did like that episode where Cordilia got to see what her life would have been like if she hadn't met Angel. *The Cordy Show!* That whole episode was pure genuis.
I have season 4 and 5, but I haven't opened them yet. I think I'm going to watch all of season 3 again. Is it just me or does anyone else thinks that Wesly got screwed over?
Oh well!
-River
P.S. Oh for christ's sakes! I just looked at the date of this thread and its like old or something.
I guess I don't get points for paying attention.
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Quote:Hey, I found out ahead of time about every death in both Buffy AND Angel...didn't stop me from being shocked anyway- Joss does death well (curse him!).
Originally posted by RiveR6213:
Well, the title of this thread did have a spolier warning so I shouldn't bitch.
Death-challenged Chrisisall
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I just finished with season 5 of Angel. I am done with the whole series now after a week of watching 4 and 5.
What was the whole point? Everyone dies. So what if they showed the powers of evil that they can be slowed down for a small while? Everyone still dies. What a complete lame ending.
Why does Joss get off on killing people?
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One of the major themes running through Angel was that the fight never stops, that you never 'save the world' in the same sense Buffy does. I think that was what the end represented. Even though it wasn't supposed to be the ending...
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Quote:Yep. That was my first reaction.
Originally posted by RiveR6213:
What was the whole point? Everyone dies. So what if they showed the powers of evil that they can be slowed down for a small while? Everyone still dies. What a complete lame ending.
So, wasn't Buffy better?
That's what I thought Chrisisall
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lol, you put several of my thoughts right spot on... lol. The only reason I watch season 3 is because of Fred. Season 4 and 5 were however great (With the exception of the Jasmine storyline. As much as I love Gina, the Jasmine storyline felt just wrong.)
*~*~*
"Joss, if you kill him now I'll stuff a compression coil up your ass sideways!"
~ Kaylee, "Serenity in 2000 words or less"
Kaylee's the perfect woman!
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Quote:
Originally posted by SerenityinScotland:
One of the major themes running through Angel was that the fight never stops, that you never 'save the world' in the same sense Buffy does. I think that was what the end represented. Even though it wasn't supposed to be the ending...
I understand this but still it was a pointless ending and left a bad taste in my mouth. All of that drama and sacrifice for 5 seasons for nothing.
-River
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Nothing?
Maybe you should rewatch 'A Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco'. The conversation between No.5 and Angel in the bar is pretty relevant here. Something bout "You made a difference in the lives you saved..."
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