Watching Angel: The Prodigal - Eternity
Just three episodes this time. I know the next two have Faith in them, and I want to watch them together, so I'm gonna save them for the next watch.
The Prodigal -
Oh, hey, time for a bad wig and accent!
But at least it was a good story. Joss seems to have something against fathers. So many characters have bad ones. Though this episode does give the dads some sympathy in that, while they may not have been the best dads, they didn't deserve the fate they were met with.
Also nice to get some more of Angel's history (And done in a better way than the flashbacks in Becoming Pt 1). Becoming a vamp for him seemed a way to unleash his anger and resentment towards his father and direct it towards just about everyone. He thought it was a way to prove himself. But, as Darla points out, he's never going to get his father's approval. Possibly, his time as an evil vamp and then getting resouled by the gypsies gives him the opportunity to actually try to make himself into someone his father would be proud of.
The Ring -
Oh, dear word, do I hate fighting episodes. Babylon 5, Voyager, Xena, Torchwood....just about every genre series has them (Did Farscape have one? Or TNG and DS9? Great, now I'm thinking about all the genre shows I've seen and wracking my brain to figure out if they had a similar episode. Must stop thinking about irrelevant shit like that). And I hate them. Just too much testosterone for me.
At least Wesley is entertaining. And very fervently loyal to Angel now. Wowsa.
Eternity -
How did Angel get into Rebecca's house? Did he have an invitation?
And, dude, Cordy's wearing Buffy's red leather pants from Buffy vs. Dracula! Is it kinda sad that I noticed that? Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.
Now, I thought this episode was a little humdrum. I mean, interesting romance between Angel and Rebecca, but not much more to it (And I was wondering where the demon plot was). However, Angelus coming out in the final act was fantastic. Loved it. His attack on Rebecca. His berating Wesley and Cordy. And then him getting shoved down the elevator shaft. Wonderful.
Something random that strikes me, though. Angel's very insightful about people now. This isn't something he's always had. In BtVS S2, he was horribly inept at reading people (Primarily Buffy). In S3, he was better at it. Now, on his own show, he's like a sage wise guy for understanding others. I don't understand where or how this development came about.
My theory here is that S2 Angel was focusing on getting out of his own self-imposed exile, and was looking inward, hence all the broodiness. After his experience as Angelus and being sent to hell, Angel in S3 is forced to reevaluate his attitude and start looking more externally and applying that deep introspection to others around him. We see him start doing this in S3. Then, in his own series, it's his entire purpose (And a big difference between BtVS and AtS, really).
On the flip side, Angelus was at least consistently portrayed as knowing which buttons to push in S2 (Though he generally reserved his button-pushing for Spike). It's good to see that in this episode, too.
And, back to the episode specifically, I'm struck with a sudden desire to huggle Wesley (My sister is now rolling her eyes as she reads this because she knows that this means I'm about to start fangirling a character.).
The Prodigal -
Oh, hey, time for a bad wig and accent!
But at least it was a good story. Joss seems to have something against fathers. So many characters have bad ones. Though this episode does give the dads some sympathy in that, while they may not have been the best dads, they didn't deserve the fate they were met with.
Also nice to get some more of Angel's history (And done in a better way than the flashbacks in Becoming Pt 1). Becoming a vamp for him seemed a way to unleash his anger and resentment towards his father and direct it towards just about everyone. He thought it was a way to prove himself. But, as Darla points out, he's never going to get his father's approval. Possibly, his time as an evil vamp and then getting resouled by the gypsies gives him the opportunity to actually try to make himself into someone his father would be proud of.
The Ring -
Oh, dear word, do I hate fighting episodes. Babylon 5, Voyager, Xena, Torchwood....just about every genre series has them (Did Farscape have one? Or TNG and DS9? Great, now I'm thinking about all the genre shows I've seen and wracking my brain to figure out if they had a similar episode. Must stop thinking about irrelevant shit like that). And I hate them. Just too much testosterone for me.
At least Wesley is entertaining. And very fervently loyal to Angel now. Wowsa.
Eternity -
How did Angel get into Rebecca's house? Did he have an invitation?
And, dude, Cordy's wearing Buffy's red leather pants from Buffy vs. Dracula! Is it kinda sad that I noticed that? Yeah. Yeah, I think it is.
Now, I thought this episode was a little humdrum. I mean, interesting romance between Angel and Rebecca, but not much more to it (And I was wondering where the demon plot was). However, Angelus coming out in the final act was fantastic. Loved it. His attack on Rebecca. His berating Wesley and Cordy. And then him getting shoved down the elevator shaft. Wonderful.
Something random that strikes me, though. Angel's very insightful about people now. This isn't something he's always had. In BtVS S2, he was horribly inept at reading people (Primarily Buffy). In S3, he was better at it. Now, on his own show, he's like a sage wise guy for understanding others. I don't understand where or how this development came about.
My theory here is that S2 Angel was focusing on getting out of his own self-imposed exile, and was looking inward, hence all the broodiness. After his experience as Angelus and being sent to hell, Angel in S3 is forced to reevaluate his attitude and start looking more externally and applying that deep introspection to others around him. We see him start doing this in S3. Then, in his own series, it's his entire purpose (And a big difference between BtVS and AtS, really).
On the flip side, Angelus was at least consistently portrayed as knowing which buttons to push in S2 (Though he generally reserved his button-pushing for Spike). It's good to see that in this episode, too.
And, back to the episode specifically, I'm struck with a sudden desire to huggle Wesley (My sister is now rolling her eyes as she reads this because she knows that this means I'm about to start fangirling a character.).