Angel: AtF issue 1 summary and analysis
Angel: AtF issue 1 summary and analysis
Summary:
"It all started with a girl."
Season 6 starts with Angel saving a girl. In Hell. Or, rather, in Los-Angeles that has been sent to Hell. On the first panels Angel seems to be "back to the beginning" - he is a lonely hero who helps the helpless. But the more we find out the creepier it becomes.
The girl is a former lawyer who has now turned into a looter (people adapt quickly). Angel and his friend the dragon patrol the city and try to save the remaining people. Angel gives the girl the car and the address of safe place. But he prefers to stay anonimous. Because he blames himself for LA's current chaos. "I tood a stand. Wolfram and Hart has sent an army. There were losses on both sides. And then Wolfram and Hart sent Los-Angeles to Hell".
LA has been divided into zones where different demon lords rule. The majority of humans are their slaves. Sun and moon are on the sky day and night. The sun doesn't hurt vampires. The moon influences werewolves in a weird way. The remains of human resistance, including Nina and Gwen, have a headquarters in a hotel in Santa-Monica. Their leader is Connor.
Ghost!Wesley inherited Lylah's position of Senior Partners's representative on this plane. He tries to play the peacemaker between Angel and the demon lord whose minions Angel has killed. In one of the funniest and the creepiest twists Wesley assures the demon lord that Angel will be punished: he will be grounded and Wesley will "take away his TV privileges".
Obviously, SP still have plans for Angel. The plans may have something to do with a mysterious orb. There is a drawing of the orb at the wall of Angel's office. And on the next panel we see the identical orb embedded in the chest of a blue slimy demon who proclaims himself the lord of Westwood. A group of creatures who look like humans attack the demon and get the orb. "Yay team Gunn!" their leader proclaims. So, Gunn is fighting the forces of darkness again? Not exactly: the last panels reveals that he's a vampire and he feeds on the girl-slave from demon's harem.
Analysis:
Pre-cyberpank dystopian traditions usually depicted two versions of Hell. The first, mostly represented by European authors (Kafka, Orwell, "Brazilia" 's Terry Gilliam) explored bureaucratic dictatorships thwarthing an individual through paperwork and red tape. The second, very popular in Hollywood (Escape From New York, Escape From Los Angeles as well as countless B-movies), plunged poor humanity into chaos, anarchy and barbarism.
The originality of Angel: After the Fall lies in choosing the third way. Or, rather, paradoxically combining the first two. There is chaos, anarchy and barbarism in Hell - but bureaucracy still has the last word in every wrangle. And - it's very realistic. (Believe me. I lived in Soviet Union the first 30 years of my life)
Another radical change in season 6 is the total absence of humans in the regular cast. Angel, Spike and now Gunn are vampires. Wesley is a ghost. Illyria is a God. Nina is a werewolf. Gwen and Connor have superpowers. The battle for humanity is waged by non-humans. Humans are just extras in the war of superhuman beings.
Or so it seems. Judging by occasional leaks by actors and writers, Angel: AtF is Joss Whedon's "plan A" for season 6. And Joss has always been blatantly, glaringly antropocentric. Either the team Whedon/Lynch have some unexpected aces in their proverbial sleeves or... or Joss' worldview has changed.
And here I approach a theme that may be even more volatile than Spuffy/Bangel wars so I beg you not to throw stones at me.
The set-up - how would you behave in Hell? - is a sore point for modern America. Because in current political situation liberalism doesn't work. Liberalism is unable to defend the world against terrorism. When it's kill or be killed, you kill. You can't be kind in the world where cruelty is strength. You can't allow the luxury to be noble in the world where the noblesse is regarded as weakness and will kill you and your friends.
Do you remember the scene in "You're Welcome":
ANGEL What's a code 7, Eve?
EVE I don't know. (Cordelia glares at her) Seriously.
CORDELIA OK, this is getting us nowhere. Angel, torture her.
[...]
ANGEL I can't just... torture her.
FRED He's right, Cordy. If we sink to their level-
This is Cordelia, Angel' moral compass. A woman whose body and mind had been raped by demons and gods who used her "for the greater good" and killed her. Unlike Angel, she knows she's already dead and this is her last chance to do something worthy. Unlike Angel, she doesn't have any illusions anymore.
Obviously, a year later Angel also doesn't have any illusions. "Cavemen win. Of course the cavemen win," said Fred in AHITW before she died, thus destroying Angel's argumentation in favor of the astronauts. To win you have to be a caveman. To sink to their level. And Angel can. He can be ruthless, cunning, dangerous. He can unleash his inner Angelus.
Now, I know that Joss has always been a diehard liberal. But, judging by the dilemmas his characters face in Serenity and AtS season 5, lately he is ready to explore the opposite viewpoint and, probably, accept some ideas. So, one of the most compelling aspects of Angel: AtF is exploration of the hard choices Western society faces today. Genre gives the chance avoid the trap of political correctness, inevitable in case of realistic stories (as happensin the current batch of political movies - Rendition, Lions for Lambs etc. about torturing the prisoners and sending people to death). Genre stories can tell unpleasant truths more openly. Hopefully Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch won't miss the chance.
Brian Lynch seems to be Joss' perfect accomplice in this risky and dangerous adventure. His Spike comics revealed subversive mentality, gallows humor and ability to think out-of-the-box. His current issue of Angel has great narrative twists and sharp dialogs. Here are small tasty bits and and pieces I loved the most:
-- Urru's art. Bleak grungy visuals evoke the mood of "Escape from New York", "Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome" and other post-apocalyptic classics.
-- Angel + Dracon = Drangel Forever! (Seriously. Great idea. Two mythical creatures patrolling a desolate ruined city... awww!)
-- Parasite that heals Angel. "If it was used to heal, mutate, murder..." The idea of using a murder weapon as a healing tool may be foreshadowing of future means of saving the day.
-- The fact that there are both humans and demons in Connor's team is very interesting, especially given the inventiveness in their depiction (the guy with a tentacle growing from his gut is creepy).
-- The first demons we see have wings. Wings + tail = sinister and paradoxically funny.
-- The "ART" piece of "Wolfram and Hart" logo is priceless.
Some spoilery speculations.
This panel of Spike Shadow Puppets was spoilery, after all: Spoiler!Wesley's skin color suggested that he'll be back in undead state. So I suppose the rest of puppet stuff could be spoilery too. Illyria may split into Illyria and Fred; still don't know what to think about two Gunns.
The barrier Angel mentions is confusing. If they're in a different dimension, why do SP need a barrier? Maybe LA is still on Earth?
I wonder what triggered Angel's decision to start the war at this particular moment. Judging by Connor's mention of hundreds of cars with dragon claws in their backyard, Angel continued to help humans at least several months without starting a war. Why now? Was is the decrease of the supplies? Parasite's poison? Wesley taking away his TV privileges?
It would be neat if the girl Angel saves on the first panel possesses some knowledge or artefact crucial for breaking the barrier. This way "It all started with a girl" would sound deliciously ambivalent in hindsight.
To sum it up:
Issue #1 looks and sounds very promising and may establish a new tradition: to make season 6 the most compelling and controversial season of any Joss-related show.
Summary:
"It all started with a girl."
Season 6 starts with Angel saving a girl. In Hell. Or, rather, in Los-Angeles that has been sent to Hell. On the first panels Angel seems to be "back to the beginning" - he is a lonely hero who helps the helpless. But the more we find out the creepier it becomes.
The girl is a former lawyer who has now turned into a looter (people adapt quickly). Angel and his friend the dragon patrol the city and try to save the remaining people. Angel gives the girl the car and the address of safe place. But he prefers to stay anonimous. Because he blames himself for LA's current chaos. "I tood a stand. Wolfram and Hart has sent an army. There were losses on both sides. And then Wolfram and Hart sent Los-Angeles to Hell".
LA has been divided into zones where different demon lords rule. The majority of humans are their slaves. Sun and moon are on the sky day and night. The sun doesn't hurt vampires. The moon influences werewolves in a weird way. The remains of human resistance, including Nina and Gwen, have a headquarters in a hotel in Santa-Monica. Their leader is Connor.
Ghost!Wesley inherited Lylah's position of Senior Partners's representative on this plane. He tries to play the peacemaker between Angel and the demon lord whose minions Angel has killed. In one of the funniest and the creepiest twists Wesley assures the demon lord that Angel will be punished: he will be grounded and Wesley will "take away his TV privileges".
Obviously, SP still have plans for Angel. The plans may have something to do with a mysterious orb. There is a drawing of the orb at the wall of Angel's office. And on the next panel we see the identical orb embedded in the chest of a blue slimy demon who proclaims himself the lord of Westwood. A group of creatures who look like humans attack the demon and get the orb. "Yay team Gunn!" their leader proclaims. So, Gunn is fighting the forces of darkness again? Not exactly: the last panels reveals that he's a vampire and he feeds on the girl-slave from demon's harem.
Analysis:
Pre-cyberpank dystopian traditions usually depicted two versions of Hell. The first, mostly represented by European authors (Kafka, Orwell, "Brazilia" 's Terry Gilliam) explored bureaucratic dictatorships thwarthing an individual through paperwork and red tape. The second, very popular in Hollywood (Escape From New York, Escape From Los Angeles as well as countless B-movies), plunged poor humanity into chaos, anarchy and barbarism.
The originality of Angel: After the Fall lies in choosing the third way. Or, rather, paradoxically combining the first two. There is chaos, anarchy and barbarism in Hell - but bureaucracy still has the last word in every wrangle. And - it's very realistic. (Believe me. I lived in Soviet Union the first 30 years of my life)
Another radical change in season 6 is the total absence of humans in the regular cast. Angel, Spike and now Gunn are vampires. Wesley is a ghost. Illyria is a God. Nina is a werewolf. Gwen and Connor have superpowers. The battle for humanity is waged by non-humans. Humans are just extras in the war of superhuman beings.
Or so it seems. Judging by occasional leaks by actors and writers, Angel: AtF is Joss Whedon's "plan A" for season 6. And Joss has always been blatantly, glaringly antropocentric. Either the team Whedon/Lynch have some unexpected aces in their proverbial sleeves or... or Joss' worldview has changed.
And here I approach a theme that may be even more volatile than Spuffy/Bangel wars so I beg you not to throw stones at me.
The set-up - how would you behave in Hell? - is a sore point for modern America. Because in current political situation liberalism doesn't work. Liberalism is unable to defend the world against terrorism. When it's kill or be killed, you kill. You can't be kind in the world where cruelty is strength. You can't allow the luxury to be noble in the world where the noblesse is regarded as weakness and will kill you and your friends.
Do you remember the scene in "You're Welcome":
ANGEL What's a code 7, Eve?
EVE I don't know. (Cordelia glares at her) Seriously.
CORDELIA OK, this is getting us nowhere. Angel, torture her.
[...]
ANGEL I can't just... torture her.
FRED He's right, Cordy. If we sink to their level-
This is Cordelia, Angel' moral compass. A woman whose body and mind had been raped by demons and gods who used her "for the greater good" and killed her. Unlike Angel, she knows she's already dead and this is her last chance to do something worthy. Unlike Angel, she doesn't have any illusions anymore.
Obviously, a year later Angel also doesn't have any illusions. "Cavemen win. Of course the cavemen win," said Fred in AHITW before she died, thus destroying Angel's argumentation in favor of the astronauts. To win you have to be a caveman. To sink to their level. And Angel can. He can be ruthless, cunning, dangerous. He can unleash his inner Angelus.
Now, I know that Joss has always been a diehard liberal. But, judging by the dilemmas his characters face in Serenity and AtS season 5, lately he is ready to explore the opposite viewpoint and, probably, accept some ideas. So, one of the most compelling aspects of Angel: AtF is exploration of the hard choices Western society faces today. Genre gives the chance avoid the trap of political correctness, inevitable in case of realistic stories (as happensin the current batch of political movies - Rendition, Lions for Lambs etc. about torturing the prisoners and sending people to death). Genre stories can tell unpleasant truths more openly. Hopefully Joss Whedon and Brian Lynch won't miss the chance.
Brian Lynch seems to be Joss' perfect accomplice in this risky and dangerous adventure. His Spike comics revealed subversive mentality, gallows humor and ability to think out-of-the-box. His current issue of Angel has great narrative twists and sharp dialogs. Here are small tasty bits and and pieces I loved the most:
-- Urru's art. Bleak grungy visuals evoke the mood of "Escape from New York", "Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome" and other post-apocalyptic classics.
-- Angel + Dracon = Drangel Forever! (Seriously. Great idea. Two mythical creatures patrolling a desolate ruined city... awww!)
-- Parasite that heals Angel. "If it was used to heal, mutate, murder..." The idea of using a murder weapon as a healing tool may be foreshadowing of future means of saving the day.
-- The fact that there are both humans and demons in Connor's team is very interesting, especially given the inventiveness in their depiction (the guy with a tentacle growing from his gut is creepy).
-- The first demons we see have wings. Wings + tail = sinister and paradoxically funny.
-- The "ART" piece of "Wolfram and Hart" logo is priceless.
Some spoilery speculations.
This panel of Spike Shadow Puppets was spoilery, after all: Spoiler!Wesley's skin color suggested that he'll be back in undead state. So I suppose the rest of puppet stuff could be spoilery too. Illyria may split into Illyria and Fred; still don't know what to think about two Gunns.
The barrier Angel mentions is confusing. If they're in a different dimension, why do SP need a barrier? Maybe LA is still on Earth?
I wonder what triggered Angel's decision to start the war at this particular moment. Judging by Connor's mention of hundreds of cars with dragon claws in their backyard, Angel continued to help humans at least several months without starting a war. Why now? Was is the decrease of the supplies? Parasite's poison? Wesley taking away his TV privileges?
It would be neat if the girl Angel saves on the first panel possesses some knowledge or artefact crucial for breaking the barrier. This way "It all started with a girl" would sound deliciously ambivalent in hindsight.
To sum it up:
Issue #1 looks and sounds very promising and may establish a new tradition: to make season 6 the most compelling and controversial season of any Joss-related show.