Cordelia: "Nobody gets my humor."
This is probably the first time I've heard Cordy admitting that her being ditzy sometimes is a form of humor, not because she's actually tactless. 😆 But goddammit, Charisma Carpenter scared the shit outta me with her too-real performance. I didn't know whether to praise her acting or go wrap myself in a wet blanket. LOL
David is so cute. I'm so glad he's returned just to 'hang' with the gang. I relate to him in so many ways, in that I get bored from my mundane vapid life sometimes too... except that I can't earn a cool million just from 'spinning a pager.' And I don't have a pager anymore.
I know I already expected Kate to drift apart from Angel the moment her father was killed by another vampire, and initially when she started getting on Angel's ass again this episode, I thought I would find her bigotry annoying. But then I put myself in her position, and I feel like something as traumatic as having your father murdered, it's easy to slip into that "your kind vs. my kind" mentality, even if it's blatantly wrong. There's just very little room for logical thinking in the face of trauma. Buuuut everything I've written here in this paragraph? This was before Kate showed up again after Angel HQ blows up and gives Angel a hard time AGAIN, so I take it back. Oh my god, woman. Is she the ONLY cop around L.A.? I didn't mind the first time she showed up just to give Angel shit, but this is getting tiring.
Last episode, TPN made an interesting observation that Angel was acting more out of character than usual, but not in the "bad writing Sanctuary" way. Rather, this felt intentional, Angel getting on Lindsey's case even though he made a big deal about helping those seeking redemption when arguing with Buffy. And he murdered the blind seer too even though she's not a demon, just a super-powered human. Sure, she's a child-killer, but Angel's probably done a lot worse (see Drusilla). And the interesting observation TPN made was that... Angel has began to fall into the fatalism mentality, something I discussed in last episode's discussion thread when I brought up Lindsey choosing against the moral high ground, whereas Angel accepted his fate of redeeming for his past crimes. This episode brought that realization to the surface when Wesley observes that Angel is just going through the motion, no longer having any 'want' in the world. He seeks redemption, yes, but it feels more like he accepts that his redemption as his fate, not his choice. And if he should die during this journey, then so be it. It's pretty depressing, but certainly not unrelatable, going through the motions of your ill-fated life 'till the point where you're suicidal. From how Wesley's character ultimately turns out, becoming more jaded in season 3, I'm guessing he will go through a similar phase of life too.
Something I noticed watching Angel is that, unlike Buffy, which is more about figuring how you're going to deal with the hardships of whatever comes next in life as you grow up, Angel feels more like it's about figuring out how to make through the next day of your depressing adult life without breaking down. The 'help the helpless' is just the surface characteristic, part of Angel's surface-level desire to redeem himself. When I probe deeper into the episodes that are clearly not experimental one-offs unconnected to Angel's overarching themes, there's a more morbid worldview present where the characters try to get through each day, struggling through the lives haunted by their past. Unlike Sunnydale, L.A. in AtS is not welcomed each episode with another bright sunrise. There's a painful and depressing struggle where everyday is a battle.
But all this makes sense. At the start of my viewing, I brought up that TPN has observed that while BtVS is about teenhood, AtS is about adulthood. And in adulthood, the struggle isn't about choosing the person you'll grow up to be; it's about struggling through the stagnation of our lives, an issue I've struggled with even until today (also something Xander's writers played with in season 4). I guess it's why I feel a closer connection with AtS than I ever did with BtVS. I've moved on from teenhood. Her issues are not mine. Angel's are.
This episode also raises the stakes of AtS in a more intense way than ever, befitting of a season finale. Overall, it feels more like a 'cleaning up' episode that's preparing itself for season 2, but I like it. It establishes the potential main themes to come, gives Angel a new goal to look forward to, gives Cordy and Wesley a clear outlook on what Angel Investigations is supposed to do from now on, firmly establishes Lindsey in the other side of the playing field, and last but not least, most important of all... Darla, the Moriarty I've been searching for. YES, YES, YES. All the yes. FINALLY, the personal-stake antagonist I've been waiting for.
Bring on season 2!
But alas, it's time for me to take a break from Angel and Buffy. See you guys in four to six weeks.
