Topic: Angel Marathon

[Tom]

I wasn't aware of the fact that Darla - Angel's Sire (the vampire who created another vampire) - was dead.

As far as I remember, she has been staked by Angel in Buffy Season 1 episode 7 "Angel". She has been dead since and was only seen in flashbacks thereafter until this Angel episode where she was resurrected.

[DJ Doena]

Season 2

Disc 1

Judgement

Synopsis: After Angel accidentally killed the demon bodyguard of a young, pregnant woman he feels obliged to take his role. But the young woman wants nothing to do with hin. On the other hand she needs a champion for the tribunal she has to face.

My Opinion: Karaoke, I love karaoke. It was simply cute to see Angel croaking on that stage. And the jousting on the middle of the main road: great idea. I liked that episode.

PS: Addicted, what have you done to me? Everytime someone sings in an episode I can't help but to think of what you would think.

PPS: Did I mention that I bought the "Once More With Feeling" soundtrack?

Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been?

Synopsis: Something strange happened in the long-closed Hyperion Hotel. Angel has lived there in the 1950s and something is pulling him back there.

My Opinion: We have seen it in the first season due to Angel's age we are able to see flashbacks into former times and thus connect the past and the present. I've always liked that in "Highlander" and I did like it here, too.

First Impressions

Synopsis: Cordelia gets a vision of Gunn being in mortal danger, but she can't reach neither Angel nor Wesley. Because Angel has sweet dreams about Darla.

My Opinion: It looks like Darla is indeed becoming the season enemy and I think that could become very interesting. After all, Angel was the best enemy Buffy ever had.

Untouched

Synopsis: A young woman has extreme telekinetic abilities when she feels herself endangered. Angel tries to help but Wolfram & Hart has also an elaborated interest in her.

My Opinion: The Darla plot continues. But Angel is able to rain on the lawyer's parade. What I did notice (again) was the fact that in "Angel" much more humans get killed (I mean the humans that get killed by the good guys) than in "Buffy". Granted they are all bad guys but I noticed it anyway.

[addicted2dvd]

LOL.... more times then not... I just ignore the singing... pay it very little (if any) attention. Goes in one ear and out the other. Though it is a bit more difficult when you have episodes like Once More with Feeling. 

[DJ Doena]

Disc 2

Dear Boy

Synopsis: Angel runs into Darla "by coincidence" outside of his dreams. But she denies to be this "Darla" person. She even has a husband and can walk into the sunlight. But Angel is quite sure he has the right person in front of him.

My Opinion: Darla is a human again. This could be getting really interesting with her having a soul. And now we've met Drusilla in the past I think it's only a matter of episodes until Spike, I mean William the Bloody, also makes an appearance.

Guise Will Be Guise

Synopsis: Angel seeks for the help of Swami T'ish Magev who was recommended to him by Lorne (the host of the karaoke bar) to discuss his Darla-issue. With Angel being absent Wesley asumes the role of Angel without thinking and gets hired as a bodyguard.

My Opinion: Very funny! Wesley as a vampire and he did all the things a vampire couldn't have done. But it also showed that Wesley has aquired some decent fighting skills.

Darla

Synopsis: Darla - like Angel - has a problem with having a soul again. We see a lot of flashbacks into the past from before and after Angel got his soul back. Additionally she begs Angel to make her a vampire again.

My Opinion: The Darla plot has taken an unexpected turn. In the beginning I thought that she would be his enemy but I don't see how that would be possible anymore. Sadly, Spike didn't got more screen time but the episode wasn't about him after all. I nonetheless liked the fact that they involved the time when Spike killed his first Slayer. Things like this make a fictional universe more whole.

The Shroud of Rahmon

Synopsis: Gunn asks Angel for help because his cousing has gotten into a thing that is getting over his head. Thus Angel helps to rob the "Shroud of Rahmon", a shroud that drives people insane.

My Opinion: I seriously hope that Kate gets over her animosity against Angel. I think the reason why Angel could at least partly escape the effects of the shraud is because he has been fighting his inner demon for more than a century.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 3

The Trial

Synopsis: As it turns out, Darla has the same illness that she had before she became a vampire. And she will die from it - within the next months. Angel tries anything in his power to prevent that - except for making her a vampire again.

My Opinion: Full circle. Darla sired Angel. Angel sired Drusilla. And now did Drusilla sire Darla. I liked the tests (they had an Indiana Jones touch), but I'm asking myself what kind of guys did try it before Angel, because the first guy didn't really looked unbeatable.

Reunion

Synopsis: Cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war! Angel couldn't prevent the rising of Darla. Dru and Darla waltz through the city and leave a trail of blood and they do a massacre - just like Wolfram & Hart wanted them to do.

My Opinion: This episode totally proves the point I made earlier. Angel has let these people die - willingly, when he could have saved them. Let's see how that develops.

Redefinition

Synopsis: Angel fires Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn and goes on a hunt for his "relatives". In the meantime the three try to do what is supposed to be Angel's job: help the helpless.

My Opinion: Angel can be a badass even without being Angelus. But being on a campaign of vengeance has such results. But it is exciting to watch him.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 4

Blood Money

Synopsis: Angel tries to find out how a youth shelter is connected to Wolfram & Hart. As it turns out, W&H is hosting a charity party for the shelter, but they intend to keep a great deal of the collected money for themselves.

My Opinion: Nice trap that Lindsey walked into. And I, too, think the question is important: How ethical is it to take money from dubious sources and use it for god purposes. At least in this case the money is "clean" because W&H couldn't take any of it.

Happy Anniversary

Synopsis: A young physicist works on a formula that can "freeze time". But he has - without his knowledge - help from demons who have other plans with that invention.

My Opinion: What bugged me in this episode - or rather in Angel in general - is the mingling of demon world and human world. The demons are so obvious that nobody should be surprised anymore that they exist. Sunnydale was directly over a hellmouth but even there the humans had their bar and the demons had another. There hasn't been a demon that walks into a human bar and the barkeep says that he usually serves only vampires disguised as humans.

The Thin Dead Line

Synopsis: Angel and the other work separately on the same case: A group of cops is out there who arrest and beat up youths with no obvious reason. And they even keep talking after they got beheaded.

My Opinion: There's nothing better than a nice group of zombies. But it is obvious again that good intentions don't necessarily result in good deeds.

Reprise

Synopsis: Angel learns that one of the senior partners of W&H plans to visit the firm. But this "senior partner" is a demon from a hell dimension. Angel plans to kill him and the other partners.

My Opinion: This episode was really depressing, especially the end and the lift to the "home office".

[DJ Doena]

Disc 5

Epiphany

Synopsis: After Angel has slept with Darla it becomes clear that he hasn't lost his soul and he has got an epiphany. It is now obvious to him which road he has gone down and why. It also becomes obvious to him that he can't go any further this way. But it will be hard to return to his friends because they will soon be dead.

My Opinion: Can't Angel have normal sex like everyone else? At least he has left his warpath. And it seems that the makers of "Angel" actually don't intend to create a season enemy and to defeat him in the end. But I like that, it makes it more unpredictable.

Disharmony

Synopsis: Harmony (who was turned into a vampire in Sunnydale) comes to L.A., to visit Cordelia. While she is staying Cordelia gets a vision of a vampire cult that is growing in numbers.

My Opinion: A very good fun episode with many moments where I had to laugh. It's good to see such an episode once in a while.

Dead End

Synopsis: Wolfram & Hart gives Lindsey a new human hand. But something is wrong with it. The hand has a life of its own and Lindsey tries to find out where this hand came from. During his investigation he runs across Angel.

My Opinion: Lindsey seems to leave L.A.. Let's see if this is permanent, I am not yet willing to believe that. I also wouldn't like it because I think he is a good enemy.

Belonging

Synopsis: After Cordelia got a vision she accidentally opens a portal and pulls a demon into our dimension. But this demon is a cousin of Lorne's. He helps the three to hunt down another demon that came through a similar portal. Gunn on the other hand has to pay his last respects to a good friend.

My Opinion: It's hard to have to choose between two groups, I know the feeling and it's a total lose-lose situation. But now I have to continue watching, I want to know where Cordelia went.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 6

Over the Rainbow

Synopsis: Cordelia was sucked into the home dimension of Lorne's, to Pylea. Humans are being held as slaves there and are the lowest of all creatures. Cordelia also finds herself in the position of being sold as a slave. But Angel and the gang find a way to Pylea but they can't be of any real help to her.

My Opinion: Interesting change. Nature and daylight. Definitively different than the usual metropolis and night. And Cordelia as a princess, that has to get funny.

Through the Looking Glass

Synopsis: The group gets more or less voluntarily separated, after the princess has annulled the death sentences. Lorne and Angel are going to Lorne's village and Gunn and Wesley can escape though a tunnel. Only Cordelia has to stay behind to fulfill her role as princess.

My Opinion: There was no doubt that the young girl would be Winifred "Fred", but Angel as a full-grown demon was really cool. IMHO, to kill Lorne was a bad idea.

There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb

Synopsis: Lorne isn't as dead as it looked like. However the entire gang is in mortal danger because killers were sent after them and Cordelia will also die if the high priest wishes it.

My Opinion: That's the main advantage of watching-TV-shows-on-DVD, you don't have to wait another week to see how it continues. I really liked this three-parter because it really was a change, in matters of story as well as location. But the moment Angel walked happily into the hotel I knew they would bring the end of the fifth season of "Buffy" into it.

The Season - My Opinion: I liked this season way better than the first one. It wasn't what I expected but maybe that's the reason. Maybe I was to hard in my evaluation of the first because I compared it to much to a "Buffy" season.

[DJ Doena]

Season 3

Disc 1

Heartthrob

Synopsis: "Angel" skips about the same time as "Buffy" did. Buffy has been dead for three months and Angel has been mourning in a monastery in Sri Lanka for about the same time. Now he's back and on his first hunt he kills an acquainted vampire before he recognizes her. But he also knows her boyfriend James and he wants vengeance.

My Opinion: On one hand I find it a pity that they jumped over these three months, on the other hand we would have only seen a broody and solitary Angel. The episode itself wasn't that interesting and a bit weak for a season opener.

That Vision Thing

Synopsis: Cordelia now gets visions that physically hurt her and several of it in a very short span of time. It is unclear why the "Powers That Be" would suddenly hurt Cordelia but Angel does anything in his powers to quickly finish the assignments.

My Opinion: I am quite interested in that prisoner. He could be a formidable enemy or we could never see him again, both is possible in "Angel". If it was not settled until now, now it's clear that it is a bad idea to try to blackmail Angel.

That Old Gang of Mine

Synopsis: A number of demons are arbitrarily killed and there is no pattern to be seen. Some of them are dangerous, some of them are totally harmless. As it turns out, Gunn's old gang is somehow involved in this.

My Opinion: I think it's historic irony that a group of black people tells other living beings that they don't belong here, that they have no right to live. Granted, demons are indeed no humans but blacks also were told that they were less worthy. The world is grey, it's not black/white and neither is it separable into good/evil.

Carpe Noctem

Synopsis: Angel and the gang investigate in a case were a number of men mysteriously died. Everything points to a certain gym  - or to the building opposite of it.

My Opinion: I love body-switch episodes. They are always fun because the actors can behave in a way which their usual role doesn't allow. It's also nice to see the confusion that comes out of such switches. The best body-switch episode I've ever seen was a "Farscape" episode.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 2

Fredless

Synopsis: After Fred's parents have found her in Angel's hotel, she runs head over heels. Angel and her parents - who are oblivious to supernatural phenomena - try to find Fred. And of course they cross path with monsters.

My Opinion: Finally Fred has come out of her self-imprisonment, it couldn't have gone on like this. And I seriously liked the attitude of the parents.

Billy

Synopsis: The man who Angel freed from the demon prison is at large and he uses his evil powers. Both Angel and Cordelia feel obliged to stop him.

My Opinion: That was quick. It's good that Lilah shot the bastard but that shortens the list of possible Angel enemies.

Offspring

Synopsis: Darla is very advanced in her pregnancy and she makes an impact at Angel's hotel. Neither Darla, nor Angel nor Wolfram & Hart (who of course learn of her pregnancy) know how it's possible that a vampire becomes pregnant. And Angel's friends are very disappointed that he lied to them.

My Opinion: Cordelia has gotten her maternal instincts in the very wrong moment. I didn't understand her behaviour from the beginning. Hopefully this story with his son and the vampire hunter is a longer arc.

Quickening

Synopsis: Darla has gone into labour and the gang gets her into a normal hospital. But several different groups have an elaborated interest in getting their hands on both Darla and the child, among them W&H, a vampire cult and the vampire hunter Holtz, who has been ressurected by a demon.

My Opinion: Chosen children never had an easy life, we've seen this on "Xena", on "Star Wars" and it will be no different here. Holtz is obviously stronger than normal men but I get the suspicion that their struggle won't last long because Holtz won't stop hunting Darla/Angel and Angel won't hide from Holtz. I supect that the main plot of the next episodes will be to protect the child. This episode was a good appetizer for that.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 3

Lullaby

Synopsis: Angel is confronted by Holtz who manages to trap Angel for a short time. But then Lilah bursts in and unwittingly explains to Holtz that Angel has a soul now. In the meantime Darla's water is broken but she seems to be unable to give birth to the child.

My Opinion: Will Lorne's bar ever be re-opened? The episode was OK as an episode of transition.

Dad

Synopsis: As predicted, several groups are after the newborn child and Angel has to care for his son as a single parent. The others offer their help but Angel seems unwilling to accept it.

My Opinion: How suddenly the world changes when one becomes a father. It's also funny to see how adult people resort to baby babbling. And I like the name Connor.

Birthday

Synopsis: Cordelia gets once again a vision but this time she falls into a coma and awakes in an astral body beside her own. The demon Skip explains to her that a human body isn't strong enough to get the visions of the "Powers That Be" for a longer period of time. He gives her a choice, to die or to never have met Angel in L.A..

My Opinion: A "What if" episode. Cordelia has certainly come a long way since her days in Sunnydale or the beginning of "Angel". If you think back of how she despised demons. Not even Doyle dared to open up to her. That makes the step she took even bigger. But I seriously hope that there aren't too many side effects to this.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 4

Provider

Synopsis: For the first time in his live, Angel has to care for someone, someone that fully depends on him. This responsibility weighs heavy on him and because of this he tries to get new profitable jobs for the agency.

My Opinion: One has rarely seen that Angel handled earthly things and now he has to think about health care and college funds. It was fun to see him complaining about unpaid bills while he was staking vampires.

Waiting in the Wings

Synopsis: Angel and the gang are going to the ballet, in a performance which Angel has seen before, in 1890. But something is strangely familiar. The actors are the very same(!) as a hundred years ago.

My Opinion: I am torn regarding the relationship between Angel and Cordelia. On the one hand I'd really like to see them together but on the other hand I know it won't happen because of the curse. But Wesley clearly hesitates too much and thus it's partly his own fault.

Couplet

Synopsis: The Groosalugg (Cordelia's friend from Pylea) has come to L.A., because he has been cast out of Pylea. Cordelia is of course pleased to see him. In the meantime, Gunn and Fred are going together on a job.

My Opinion: Two relationships and two that are shut out. And both are noble enough the let the others go. As if this would be that easy. But I expect that Angel and Wesley will be soon distracted because of the translated prophecy: "The Father will kill the Son.".

Loyalty

Synopsis: To study their fighting techniques, Gunn and Fred are lured into a trap, into which they walk - but both can fight their way out of it. Wesley on the other hand fears for the life of Connor and he seeks the advice of Loa. But Loa only confirms his fears.

My Opinion: A talking plastic hamburger! When I saw that I had a positive reminiscence of a certain Marshmallow Man from "Ghostbusters". But I can't imagine that Angel would hurt Connor even if he knew that the cild would bring the end of the world. It remains the question of what Wesley is going to do, but I will know this evening.

[DJ Doena]

I didn't want to start another disc yesterday evening and so I decided to watch the episode "Angel" again.

Intermezzo

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 1: Episode 7: Angel

Synopsis: The Master is really angry because Buffy is killing so many vampires. He sends "The Three" after her and they nearly succeed if it weren't for Angel who intervents, but gets hurt. In Buffy's home it happens: Angel inadvertently shows his "true" face and now Buffy knows what he is: a vampire.

My Opinion: If Angel hadn't help, it wouldn't have gone well for Buffy. That's the reason I don't understand why the Master killed all of The Three. Skeletor killed only one of the mercenaries in "Masters of the Universe" to make his point. And I wished that Angel wouldn't have told Buffy that he has a soul. The entire conversation ("So, what happened?") went to fast in my opinion.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 5

Sleep Tight

Synopsis: The fight for Connor reaches a climax. Wesley kidnaps the boy to protect him but Holtz as well as Wolfram & Hart want him - alive. Sahjhan on the other hand wants him to be dead.

My Opinion: That Holtz would kidnap the child came unexpected - I love this unpredictability. But Wesley looked rather dead and the episode when Buffy's mother died ended similar.

Forgiving

Synopsis: Angel tries everything in his power to open a portal into the hell dimension Quor'Toth, to get his son back. And for this he would stop short before nothing.

My Opinion: Phew, Wesley is not dead - yet. But he and Angel don't have anything to say to each other for quite some time. My assumption is that the Holtz/Sahjhan arc is over for now.

Double or Nothing

Synopsis: Cordelia returns from her vacation but everything has changed. And then there is a certain boss of a casino who wants to collect a soul that was promised to him quite some time ago.

My Opinion: This episode was ok, but I had the feeling that it was a filler. The story was complete in itself, they haven't continued old stories and haven't begun new ones.

The Price

Synopsis: The dark magics Angel used to make Sahjhan solid had unexpected side effects. A swarm of very thirsty creatures tries to break out of the hotel to find water.

My Opinion: There's the new arc (I presume). Conner is back and he has grown a "little". When I saw this I was remined of Hope in "Xena". But what else could they have done with the baby... But except for the last third the story was only average.

[DJ Doena]

Disc 6

A New World

Synopsis: Connor has found a way back into this world but now he is a teenager under the name of Steven, a name Holtz gave him. Now he tries to find his way through this new world.

My Opinion: They screwed up with the fighting logic in this one and I simply can't let go of something like this. First Connor/Steven fights against Angel, Groo and Gunn and he doesn't look overburdened. Then he jumps off a bridge, 20, maybe 30 meters into the deep. But shortly after that he has a problem to handle four muggers from the streets. Such a thing rankles me over an entire episode.

Benediction

Synopsis: Holtz has also returned into our dimension and Steven regards him as his real father. But Holtz sends Steven to Angel, to learn from him.

My Opinion: Even in dying Holtz is still perfidious. In any case, father and son fight very well together - yet I fail to understand why they've change the camera work (e.g. bullet-time) in the middle of the series.

Tomorrow

Synopsis: Steven has only ostensibly returned to his father because he assumes that Angel has killed Holtz. Lorne doesn't trus Connor/Steven and has also taken a job in another city. Groo leaves Cordelia because he sees that she loves Angel. And Cordelia and Angel want to admit to each other that they love one another.

My Opinion: Wow. This group has fallen apart. Not only are they scatterd into all horizontal directions but also into heaven and hell. Cordelia's ascension into another plane of existence strongly reminded me of Daniel Jackson in Stargate SG-1's fifth (sixth?) season. If they are remotely similar then we won't have seen the last of her.

The Season - My Opinion: This season was like a roller coaster. Darla returns pregnant. Holtz hunts them. Connor is "born". Connor is lost in a hell dimension and returns. And in the middle of it is always Wolfram & Hart. Yes, that was exciting.