av Mr Chase » fre mar 12, 2004 2:01
Mr Chases tillblivelse:
"Buffy" doesn't get any better than this. If you thought that "Surprise/Innocence" or "Passion" would be impossible to top, well here is the proof that it's not. And the second part is even better, not that they should be compared since they form a unit together.
The Angelus arc has begun to unravel and in a couple of excellent flashback scenes we get to see the pivotal moments of his living, and undead, existence. No matter how many times I watch this it still makes me shudder with delight. Is it really possible to make this good TV?
The final confrontation between the slayer and her ex is drawing near as Angelus plans to wake up the petrified demon Acathla and ensue wackiness, as Spike put it. The crux is that Ms Calendars soul restoration disk has been discovered and there is a possibility, however remote, that Angel's soul can be returned. So what's a slayer to do, kill the evil vampire ex-boyfriend before he lets the world be devoured by the stone demon or hope for her friends to resoul him?
I for one am with Xander, the voice of reason, on this one -- Angel has to die before he can do any more harm. Even if Xander was being a bit of a jerk about it he was right, given what they knew at the time. When it comes to the end of the world as we know it it is better to be safe than sorry. And Angelus is deadly serious about this, make no mistake.
Angelus: "And every creature living on this planet will go to Hell. My friends, we're about to make history... end."
Francis Fukuyama would be so proud, or maybe not! It begs the question though, why he wants history to end. Vampires should be amoral creatures feeding on the hapless humans. Is it really in their best interest to extinguish their hunting grounds? But, unlike Spike, Angelus is no ordinary vampire. His insanity rivals that of Drusilla and his unpredictability makes it even more scarier.
Still, the flashbacks reveals that Angel is an interesting character in his own right. I've never been that much of a fan of him but here he gets even more depth. He was an Irish nobleman in the mid 18th century (yeah, they screwed up the dates but I hate math so I'm not calculating) when he was vamped by Darla (remember her). And Julie Benz *is* pretty. Who'd have thought that she would actually look worse in a Catholic school girl uniform than in her 18th century noblewoman dress. Sorry, I digress...
We get to see when his soul was being restored by the Romanian gypsies. And am I the only one who thought that the curse sounded a bit like Vulcan? ("Nici mort, nici de-al fiintei, Te invoc, spirit al trecerii. Reda trupului ce separa omul de animal.")
In 1996 we see homeless Angel being approached by Whistler, a good demon if ever there was one, who tells him to straighten up his act and make something of his hitherto miserable existence: "You can become someone. A person. Someone to be counted."
He takes him to see Buffy, the pre-Sunnydale Cordelia version, just when she learns of her calling. Angel is taken with the poor slayer. It is indeed a heavy burden for a fifteen year old girl to bear at the same time her parents are splitting up, and he wants to help (this, by the way, contradicts Angel's appearance in the pilot when he tells Buffy that he thought she'd be taller, as if he hadn't seen her before).
Angel heeds Whistler's words and rises to the occasion.
Whistler: "Bottom line is, even if you see 'em coming, you're not ready for the big moments. No one asks for their life to change, not really. But it does. So what are we, helpless? Puppets? No. The big moments are gonna come, you can't help that. It's what you do afterwards that counts. That's when you find out who you are."
Interestingly, all the major changes is Angel's life, and un-life, had until that time been involuntary. This is the first time he makes an active decision for himself. And look where it got him. In less that two years his soul is taken away from him again!
And now he wants to destroy the world. You can tell that Spike is less than enthusiastic about the whole idea. He's got something up his sleeve and hasn't yet revealed that he can walk again. He also taunts Angelus in a restrained but nevertheless hilarious fashion. Like "It's a big rock. I can't wait to tell my friends. They don't have a rock this big" and "Someone wasn't wor-thy!" when Angelus fails to waken Acathla.
We also get a glimpse of how Drusilla became to utterly mad when, in another flashback, Angelus in a deliberately cruel way terrorises the then still human girl in a confession booth (small nit-pick: how did the vampire gain access into a church?). And her clairvoyance was something she had before vamping.
The second slayer Kendra, now with a slightly less annoying accent, makes a reappearance at Sunnydale together with her pet stick Mr Pointy, only to get slain by Drusilla. It was probably a convenient plot development,
Spoiler s3ep3
setting up for Faith next season,
and I can't say I mourned her that much. But it was sad for her to die like that, what with having no life and all. Not even a stuffed animal. And wasn't her demise way too easy, even if you take Drusilla's hypnotic powers into consideration. Kendra is supposed to be a slayer for Pete's sake!
As befitting the horrible events the episodes begins in a light mood with Buffy and the Slayerettes, now in happy couple mode, sitting in the cafeteria. Both Willow and Oz and Cordelia and Xander are just adorable together. And then principal Snyder shows up.
Snyder: "These public displays of affection are not acceptable in my school. This isn't an orgy, people. It's a classroom."
Buffy: "Yeah. Where they teach lunch.
Snyder: "Just give me a reason to kick you Summers. Just give me a reason."
Cordelia: "How about because your a tiny, impotent nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu."
That last part always cracks me up. Go, Cordy, but it was probably a good thing Snyder didn't hear you!
And Buffy's: "Shouldn't you be out destroying the world right now, pulling the sword out of Al Franken or whatever his name is" to Angelus was good. Comparing the decidedly not funny (in my book) political pundit/comedian Al Franken to the demon Acathla wins my hearty approval.
Rupert Giles: "I'll be back in the Middle Ages."
Miss Calendar: "Did you ever leave?"