Season 3 Wrap-up Post
Season 3 Wrap-up Post:
So I have finished Season 3 in its entirety, and decided to make a nice, long post about my thoughts on these last few episodes, and the season as a whole.
First off, my top 5 episodes of Season 3:
5. "Birthday"
Cordelia gets a much needed episode spotlight, in one of the best episodes of the series. I thought the exploration of her life sans-powers was a wonderful character building moment, as it shows just how far she has come as a person. The Cordelia we met all the way back in S1 of Buffy would never have made the same choice that this Cordelia ends up making, but the transformation and development of the character is natural in its progression.
4. "A New World"
I know Connor is often cited as the most hated character in the Whedonverse, but I'm guessing that's due to S4's problems and not his introduction. Because I found that his presence gave S3 the jolt of energy it needed heading into its endgame. The fact that he becomes the villain instead of Holtz was an inspired piece of writing.
3. "Forgiving"
Wesley's arc in S3 is arguably the darkest character arc the show has done thus far, and it works on every level for me. This nature of what we can and cannot forgive only brings out the best (on a narrative level) of Angel and Wesley. To see Angel go ballistic on Wes in the hospital is still one of the most upsetting scenes I've ever seen in the Buffyverse.
2. "Billy"
An episode-long exploration and battle against misogyny? Yes, please. This episode is not only endlessly analytical, but it's also one of the best uses of the horror genre. I was on the edge of my seat for the entire second half of the episode, and Alexis Denisoff gives a terrifying performance, the catalyst for his dark character transformation to follow later in the season.
1. "Lullaby"
"Lullaby" is a knockout episode, on all counts. The fact that it does this, while centering around a side character the entire time, is marvelous. I've never found Darla to be a sympathetic character until this episode, her final episode. It's a 40 minute tale of redemption, death, birth, sacrifice, etc. You name it, it's here. The final minutes are expertly staged and it makes for one of the most moving (yet tragic) character moments in the entire Buffyverse. Simply put, it's television at its best.
End of season thoughts:
Having finished the season, I can safely say that it is my favorite season of Angel so far. While, it has some lulls ("Double or Nothing" for example, and really just the entirety of Fred and Gunn's relationship), it's long-form storytelling done right. I loved Wesley's arc, and was actually surprised that it wasn't "wrapped up" by the season finale. Instead of reuniting with Angel Investigations, Wesley sinks deeper and deeper into despair, and it's both sad and fascinating to watch. Originally, I found Holtz to be quite boring as a villain, however that was because I couldn't see the endgame in sight. Once I realize that he wasn't just set on killing Angel, but ended up stealing his child away from him (much like Angel did to him so many years ago), he became a much more nuanced and possibly justified character? When you think about it, Angel reacts the same way with Wesley. The series depicts that sometimes the line between good and evil isn't as thick as we thought. The introduction of Connor was nicely handled, I thought, and whatever season 4 brings with the character (which I have not heard good things about), I'll never think that his character was a bad idea from conception, because his character brought out some of the best episodes to date, both in infant-form and teenage-form. Cordy's presence was missed during her absence, but it made it all the more touching during their reunion for her to care for Angel the way she did, and knew she would. Her relationship with Groo, while silly, was a fun little detour and proved to be way more interesting than the Fred and Gunn pairing (sorry, I'm just not a fan of Gunn at this point. I feel he's the "Riley" of this series, in that he's incredibly bland, and has received the least amount of character development). Overall, this season was my favorite. While no arc was quite as powerful to me as Beige Angel, it's seasonal story-telling and structure was much more fine-tuned than Season 2's great, but occasionally messy seasonal arc.
