That memory wipe thing
OK, just as I was starting to grow a bit comfortable with season 5, and develop a little bit of trust towards ME, I read yet another post on the board predicting that the memory wipe from Home will not be brought up again or resolved because it would "confuse new viewers with too much back story".
So who is more nutso here--people who predict that (the same fans who sent me into the big tizzy I was in all summer), or people who think ME will have to address the memory wipe because after all, they created the memory wipe in the first place (when they could have just kept the gangs memories in tact and not made season 5 any more complicated), and it majorly messes up character continuity (a) for the characters to not remember the major events of the past two years or (b) unless the gang has some specific alternate memories that ME must explicate?
The person who brought this up on the board was commenting that it made him sad that people were threatening not to watch the show unless the memory wipe was brought up and resolved, or at the very least, the exact alternate memories the gang does have are clearly explicated.
This seems a basic requirement of responsible story telling to me. Maybe my expectations are too high.
For myself, I'm walking through season 5 as on pins and needles, believing that ME has to address this in some fashion or not be the writers I thought they were for seven years. They cannot be so pandering to "new viewers and better ratings" that they would leave us in the dark about what Wesley remembers of the past two years, or Gunn, or Fred or Lorne.
I don't know yet if ME will address the memory wipe, but given what I've seen so far, here are the reasons I think they will:
(1) There was absolutely no good reason, in Home, for the memory wipe. Angel could have sent Connor to a new life somewhere else, and told his friends about his decision. They might have thought he was wrong, but it was his decision, his son. And who could deny something drastic needed to be done about Connor? They would not have judged him that harshly. And Angel's not the type to be shy about "I did this, deal with it."
Why create this convoluted plot device unless you plan to do something with it? It can't be ratings.
There is no ratings reason for the memory wipe. Imagine season 5 as if the memory wipe had not happened. Occassionally, one of the gang might see a brooding expression on Angel's face and say softly, "You miss him, don't you?" And Angel would nod, and the gang would go on with their jobs. They would not have talked about the events of seasons 3 and 4 any more than they already do, and confuse those poor newbies with back story.
(2) In "Conviction" (5.1) Eve specifically brings up the memory wipe and reminds Angel about his choices concerning Connor (mentioning Connor by name), and how none of Angel's friends remember him. Angel gets a bit defensive about this. Why bring it up if you don't want to burden viewers with back-story? You bring it up because Angel will be forced to deal with his choices later in some future plot line that hasn't been fully developed yet.
(3) In "Just Rewards" (5.2) Spike tells the gang about his relationship with Buffy and the fact that he has a soul now. The gang is a little miffed that Angel didn't inform them about these facts. Gunn then makes the comment about Angel keeping secrets from them:
WESLEY Did-did you just say- Spike has a soul? (to Angel) You never said.
ANGEL Didn't seem worth mentioning, you know.
GUNN (frowns) Seems to be a lot of that.
It's not the important issue of episode 2, so it passes in a minute. But it seems to me it could be one of those foreshadowing moments that latter on gets blown open when the gang becomes more distrustful of Angel and their memories and their reasons for accepting Wolfram and Hart's offer, which is the major issue of season 5.
Addendum 1: what we know about who invoked the memory wipe in Home
Addendum 2: Why Lilah has not returned to W&H Los Angeles... yet
So who is more nutso here--people who predict that (the same fans who sent me into the big tizzy I was in all summer), or people who think ME will have to address the memory wipe because after all, they created the memory wipe in the first place (when they could have just kept the gangs memories in tact and not made season 5 any more complicated), and it majorly messes up character continuity (a) for the characters to not remember the major events of the past two years or (b) unless the gang has some specific alternate memories that ME must explicate?
The person who brought this up on the board was commenting that it made him sad that people were threatening not to watch the show unless the memory wipe was brought up and resolved, or at the very least, the exact alternate memories the gang does have are clearly explicated.
This seems a basic requirement of responsible story telling to me. Maybe my expectations are too high.
For myself, I'm walking through season 5 as on pins and needles, believing that ME has to address this in some fashion or not be the writers I thought they were for seven years. They cannot be so pandering to "new viewers and better ratings" that they would leave us in the dark about what Wesley remembers of the past two years, or Gunn, or Fred or Lorne.
I don't know yet if ME will address the memory wipe, but given what I've seen so far, here are the reasons I think they will:
(1) There was absolutely no good reason, in Home, for the memory wipe. Angel could have sent Connor to a new life somewhere else, and told his friends about his decision. They might have thought he was wrong, but it was his decision, his son. And who could deny something drastic needed to be done about Connor? They would not have judged him that harshly. And Angel's not the type to be shy about "I did this, deal with it."
Why create this convoluted plot device unless you plan to do something with it? It can't be ratings.
There is no ratings reason for the memory wipe. Imagine season 5 as if the memory wipe had not happened. Occassionally, one of the gang might see a brooding expression on Angel's face and say softly, "You miss him, don't you?" And Angel would nod, and the gang would go on with their jobs. They would not have talked about the events of seasons 3 and 4 any more than they already do, and confuse those poor newbies with back story.
(2) In "Conviction" (5.1) Eve specifically brings up the memory wipe and reminds Angel about his choices concerning Connor (mentioning Connor by name), and how none of Angel's friends remember him. Angel gets a bit defensive about this. Why bring it up if you don't want to burden viewers with back-story? You bring it up because Angel will be forced to deal with his choices later in some future plot line that hasn't been fully developed yet.
(3) In "Just Rewards" (5.2) Spike tells the gang about his relationship with Buffy and the fact that he has a soul now. The gang is a little miffed that Angel didn't inform them about these facts. Gunn then makes the comment about Angel keeping secrets from them:
WESLEY Did-did you just say- Spike has a soul? (to Angel) You never said.
ANGEL Didn't seem worth mentioning, you know.
GUNN (frowns) Seems to be a lot of that.
It's not the important issue of episode 2, so it passes in a minute. But it seems to me it could be one of those foreshadowing moments that latter on gets blown open when the gang becomes more distrustful of Angel and their memories and their reasons for accepting Wolfram and Hart's offer, which is the major issue of season 5.
Addendum 1: what we know about who invoked the memory wipe in Home
Addendum 2: Why Lilah has not returned to W&H Los Angeles... yet