The Thin Dead Line...

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Sunnydale Siren

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Decent M0TW episode, plus I love ALL THINGS Zombies.

One thing bugged me though..


why on earth would Gunn take a critically wounded Wesley back to the teen shelter? That was a "huh?" moment for me.


Cordy telling Angel to KICK R0CKS...Awesome!!!
 
Well they we're stuck so Gunn had no choice but to bring him back to the shelter. I love this episode but gosh I hate the cop doing the animating cause he knows they're messing up and yet he just doesn't care.
 
charmingslayer said:
Well they we're stuck so Gunn had no choice but to bring him back to the shelter. I love this episode but gosh I hate the cop doing the animating cause he knows they're messing up and yet he just doesn't care.
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Yeah, the Captain really wasn't about doing good.

He got off on the power of controling the zombie cops, not caring who they ended up hurting or killing.
 
I think something similar to the cop in this would make an interesting season big bad. Like just a powerhungry Police chief that has ties to Wr&h, and has alot of corrupt cops at his disposal. I think that would have suited an Angel type baddie perfectly.
 
I watched this epi shortly after watching The Thin Blue Line so I found it extremely amusing, but I don't know if I would have liked it too much otherwise. Not sure why.
 
Sunnydale Siren said:
Yeah, the Captain really wasn't about doing good.

He got off on the power of controling the zombie cops, not caring who they ended up hurting or killing.
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Actually you couldn't be more wrong.
The guy in charge of the precinct genuinely seemed to be doing what he felt was in the best interest of that neighbour hood, or did you forget the figures Kate tells us?

Angel: "Hi. - I thought you might want to know I took care of our little cop problem."
Kate hands Angel a file: "Crime reports from that precinct. - Up until three months ago there was a murder every two weeks, a rape every two days, a robbery every hour and a half. And that's what we just gave back to the people of that community."
Angel: "I can live with that."
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Sounds to me like he was effectively saving that area.
Yes some innocent people got hurt, but I think that was more a sad side effect - just like when one country attacks another country in war, ideally you just want to get the 'bad guys' but innocent civilians do get caught up in it.
 
Edmund Blackadder said:
Actually you couldn't be more wrong.
The guy in charge of the precinct genuinely seemed to be doing what he felt was in the best interest of that neighbour hood, or did you forget the figures Kate tells us?



Sounds to me like he was effectively saving that area.
Yes some innocent people got hurt, but I think that was more a sad side effect - just like when one country attacks another country in war, ideally you just want to get the 'bad guys' but innocent civilians do get caught up in it.
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Actually I was stating my opinion, which IS the purpose of this MB right?

And I didn't forget the figures Kate quoted.
 
E
Edmund Blackadder
There is no need to post in that tone
Edmund Blackadder said:
Sounds to me like he was effectively saving that area.
Yes some innocent people got hurt, but I think that was more a sad side effect - just like when one country attacks another country in war, ideally you just want to get the 'bad guys' but innocent civilians do get caught up in it.
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I actually agree, I never thought of it like that until I read the lines from Kate said. Unfortunately this was another going "too good" storyline to the point where it comes across as bad. The dead cops and the Police Chief just wanted the place to be safe but they took as it too literal and unfortunately innocent people got caught up in it.

Loved the episode though, its one of my favourites from season 2. 😀
 
THIN DEAD LINE

The Good;
Excellent ep, lovely to see Anne again, good story, especially like the Jackson/Gunn confrontation. Also a nice little role for the desk sergeant.

The Bad;
Could this really all happen without anyone knowing about it? Or should I ask without anyone caring? Doesn't anyone hear the gunshots in the police station?

Best line:
Angel; "I just killed a cop"
Kate; (looking around the police station) "I wouldn't say that in here no matter how immortal you think you are"

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Once again man's (or should that be zombie's?) inhumanity to man always more disturbing than the supernatural.

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Cliches

Damsel in distress; 17

Inverting the Hollywood cliche;

In disguise; 8

DB get's his shirt off; 11

Cordy's tattoo; oh yeah, we see it at the siege at the refuge
4

Cheap Angel;
6

Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 8
Wes: 3

Fang gang knocked out:Wes passes out after being shot
Cordy: 10
Angel: 12
Wes: 6
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1

Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 22 vamps, 31 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans and 1 zombie
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 1 demon
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 5 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
30

Recurring characters killed;
4;

Total number of Angel Investigations: 3/1?
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot: yes, Wes by the zombie cop
Angel: 10
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 2
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 1;Buffy
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
No time for that

Captain Subtext;
Or that!

Know the face, different character; 2

Parking garages;
5,

Guantanamo Bay;
Merle moves and I don't blame him. The whole thing is one big discussion of The End Justifies the Means, the police Captain uses vigilante methods to eradicate the crime in his area but at what cost? Angel is happy to give the area back to the Jackson's of the world because that's human trouble rather than supernatural.

Buffy characters on Angel; 14
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne

Questions and observations;
Nice mislead, you think Anne is going to Angel but instead she goes to Gunn. Gunn himself starts to feel removed from his old gang. Angel and Kate seem to have restored their working relationship after the Shroud of Rashamon. Love the Cordy's clothes gag. The whole ep is reminiscent of the old Maniac Cop horror film series (which also featured a vigilante zombie cop ressurected through voodo) with hints of Night of the Living Dead, Magnum Force and Assault on Precinct 13 (the original, forget the remake even if it has Gay Byrne)
Marks out of 10; 7/10, enjoyable but a step outside the arc.
 
I love Anne and her friendship with Gunn. It's good to see those kids with their big city life. I love how good people help each other. 🙂

About the zombie cops, great idea. I have issue with cops and soldiers because some of them think they're above the law. Only some of them. And I play GTA so it's good to see bad cops got their asses kicked.

I was shocked when Wes got shot. It reminds me when Cordy helps Gunn's friend in First Impressions. And now Gunn's friends help Wes. Gotta love the Gunn/Wes/Cordy friendship when Angel isn't around. 😉

I give 8/10
 
MinwaraYana said:
About the zombie cops, great idea. I have issue with cops and soldiers because some of them think they're above the law. Only some of them. And I play GTA so it's good to see bad cops got their asses kicked.
Click to expand...

You could say that but without the police/soldiers there would be no law at all?
 
MinwaraYana
MinwaraYana
Yeah, that's why I said "some of them" :)
Good episode and a nice metaphor for police brutality and crime in poor areas... You can reduce those crime rates without shooting Wesley or always grabbing for your baton.

Very suspensful and nice use of zombie conventions especially with the cops breaking into the shelter... I did jump when Wesley got the proverbial cap in his ass.
 
I'm a little torn on the 'good' or the 'bad' of the law man controlling the zombie cops, so let's just call him 'ugly'. The 'ugly' can creep out from under the rock of the worst and the rock of the best intentions. Law man definitely seemed a little power-crazed, like he was going to do this no matter who died or who tried to get in the way (ie: immediately shooting Angel when he finds Angel's onto him), but maybe it didn't start out that way; as the law man stated, he brought back 'good cops', and as Kate stated, they were eliminating rapes and murders (less the ones caused by said cops). The best villains are the ones who begin with good intentions, the ones who aren't evil just for the sake of being evil, but the ones who are trying to make a difference or save a loved one, but something goes wrong or they take things too far. Obviously if you kill all the murderers and rapists, no one will be murdering and raping (Anyone seen DeathNote? ...I'm one episode away from finishing, so please no spoilers!), but this goes beyond just the 'corporal punishment' of the 'bad guys' and the philosophy surrounding the right or wrong in that, and onto a whole new level of 'Kill em all. Let God sort em out.'
On a less philosophical note, I continued to love Gunn, Wes, and Cordy's determination to 'fight the good fight' even when Angel's MIA and for all they know fighting on the other side, or at least teetering on the fence of. It's a good show of 'We might not have much, but we're gonna help how we can, gorramit!', risking their lives for the greater good like true heroes do (RIP Doyle).
Aughh, I wish I'd written my thoughts on this right after I'd watched it a while back. I feel like I'm probably missing some crucial stuff!

---------- Post added at 10:59 AM ---------- Previous post was at 10:51 AM ----------

Hehe, I like my husband's review:
"Was a successful exercise in 'zombie apocalypse' and a great job at creating a nail-biter episode. I like that there were repercussions from this one in the next episode, and it's amusingly upbeat compared to the wrist-cutting episodes that follow in Buffy and Angel."
...and he's got one thing right! The next eps of Buffy and Angel are waaayy downers!
 
I liked this episode quite a bit. Wesley getting shot was frightening but his reactions were hilarious, like he didn't really realize he got shot. Zombie-cops were very interesting and I like they didn't make Lockley's dad a zombie, that would've been bad taste. What can I say, Angel's still brooding like crazy and I agree with Cordelia about what she tells him at the end (me agreeing with Cordelia..that's weird LOL). Overall, a good episode.
 
This episode isn't one of my favourites. I find that when Joss and co go for to obvious plot lines it can all get a bit boring. The whole 'corrupt cops are actually zombies controlled by a corrupt cop' seemed a little bit to obvious.

Overall though, I don't really like most cops as a whole so I can deal with it 😉

Wesley and Gunn had such a nice friendship blooming. Sorry Fred, I love you... but I hate you for breaking up that nice friendship!
 
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