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durham_knits at 09:28am on 20/05/2004
durham_knits at 09:28am on 20/05/2004So, I've just gotta say, I'm pretty sick of being kicked off the TV during the middle of whatever I'm watching. Yesterday, I had to tape Smallville and Angel because I wasn't allowed to watch them on the upstairs telly (Dad the TV Dictator didn't want to watch "stupid shows" like those. He watched the Weather Channel and the History Channel.... again). I started watching the 4pm Angel in the basement because Kelsey didnt' want to watch it, then had to move upstairs when she wanted the computer, then had to move downstairs when my Dad got home. Finally, after watching the West Wing finale with my mom, I started watching the taped Angel, only to be kicked downstairs with only 10 minutes left because my sister wouldn't stop talking over my show! ARRRRGH! I want to move out...
Well, it's time I had my say. Rants/spoilers are cut.
-First off, poor Donna! She seems to be getting better, then whammo.
-And poorer Josh! He comes halfway around the world in the middle of a crisis just to be with Donna, only to find out she's with some reporter... and apparently decides to one up the reporter with fabulous roses, only to find that Donna has the same thing that killed his father! Now, Josh has sometimes been quite the jerk, but I really think the New Writers have it in for him.
-How about Leo? If I didn't know better, I'd think that John Spencer was considering leaving the show. Of course, the NW did the same thing to CJ earlier in the season. Are they just gonna go through and have each character have a crisis moment of "I'm thinking about leaving, but... no." But Leo seemed out of character.
-The flashbacks. C'mon. I know it was supposed to be Sorkinesque, but all they did was stick out!
-Charlie was wasted in this episode. They should find him a storyline. Instead of wandering around with a bulletproof vest, he should've been doing something. Sigh.
-Finally, the ending. Mom was just sure someone was going to shoot at the president. There should've been some last, haunting image, not just the president throwing a ball. How disappointing.
-Spike spent the last day reading his poetry. That had to be the most perfect moment ever. It showed, in a way nothing else has, that he's got a soul.
-They killed Wesley. Why did they do that? It was so obvious a choice, so obviously set up that Wes had a bit of a death wish... that Wesley should've been the one to live. It would've been much more interesting to have him coping with being a survivor.
-It disappointed me that Wesley asked Illyria to pretend to be Fred at the end. I didn't think it was something Wesley would be likely to ask, even as he died.
-Lorne's moment was the incredibly exciting one. I never would've guessed that Angel would ask that of him. Wow. He's tragic. And he might be the only one of the group who survives.
-The final scene was the ultimate disappointment. I mean... at least with the end of Buffy, there was an END. The First was overcome. They would be moving on to new things, leaving Sunnydale and all its pain behind. But on Angel? Gunn had a stomach wound. Without medical attention, he'd be dead in a few minutes. We're left assuming he dies.
-The others, too. Angel has signed away whatever part of the shanshu prophecy was his. He has very little reason to go on, except to hurt the Senior Partners.
-What about Spike? It was left suggesting that the Shanshu prophecy had to apply to him now, since he's the one with the soul who hasn't signed the right away. Why doesn't he get his happy ending?
-Angel has been a series about hope. Up until the final scene, Joss stayed right with that. But leaving the four fighting for their lives? Letting us assume that they're utterly destroyed by the armies of hell? Right. Nice with the hope there, Joss. :P
-I think there should've been another scene, something like this: After they rush into battle, the screen goes dark. Then, the camera focuses on the sun rising on the horizon, doing an Angel flash of the four battling demons down to the alley. There, we focus first on Gunn, then Illyria, both dead. We then see a pile of ash being whipped into the air by the wind. Finally, there's a dark shape stumbling out of the alley onto a deserted street. It's Spike. He hangs in the shadows for a long moment, then looks back at the alley. He then steps out into the sunlight. As vampires are wont to do, he starts smoking, then bursts into flame. But, as he screams, the fire burns out. He's left standing in the sunlight. He puts a hand on his chest, then falls to his knees and starts crying. The screen goes dark, and we are left with the sound of Spike's heart beating.
See? Wouldn't that have been more haunting? More hopeful?
Well, it's time I had my say. Rants/spoilers are cut.
-First off, poor Donna! She seems to be getting better, then whammo.
-And poorer Josh! He comes halfway around the world in the middle of a crisis just to be with Donna, only to find out she's with some reporter... and apparently decides to one up the reporter with fabulous roses, only to find that Donna has the same thing that killed his father! Now, Josh has sometimes been quite the jerk, but I really think the New Writers have it in for him.
-How about Leo? If I didn't know better, I'd think that John Spencer was considering leaving the show. Of course, the NW did the same thing to CJ earlier in the season. Are they just gonna go through and have each character have a crisis moment of "I'm thinking about leaving, but... no." But Leo seemed out of character.
-The flashbacks. C'mon. I know it was supposed to be Sorkinesque, but all they did was stick out!
-Charlie was wasted in this episode. They should find him a storyline. Instead of wandering around with a bulletproof vest, he should've been doing something. Sigh.
-Finally, the ending. Mom was just sure someone was going to shoot at the president. There should've been some last, haunting image, not just the president throwing a ball. How disappointing.
-Spike spent the last day reading his poetry. That had to be the most perfect moment ever. It showed, in a way nothing else has, that he's got a soul.
-They killed Wesley. Why did they do that? It was so obvious a choice, so obviously set up that Wes had a bit of a death wish... that Wesley should've been the one to live. It would've been much more interesting to have him coping with being a survivor.
-It disappointed me that Wesley asked Illyria to pretend to be Fred at the end. I didn't think it was something Wesley would be likely to ask, even as he died.
-Lorne's moment was the incredibly exciting one. I never would've guessed that Angel would ask that of him. Wow. He's tragic. And he might be the only one of the group who survives.
-The final scene was the ultimate disappointment. I mean... at least with the end of Buffy, there was an END. The First was overcome. They would be moving on to new things, leaving Sunnydale and all its pain behind. But on Angel? Gunn had a stomach wound. Without medical attention, he'd be dead in a few minutes. We're left assuming he dies.
-The others, too. Angel has signed away whatever part of the shanshu prophecy was his. He has very little reason to go on, except to hurt the Senior Partners.
-What about Spike? It was left suggesting that the Shanshu prophecy had to apply to him now, since he's the one with the soul who hasn't signed the right away. Why doesn't he get his happy ending?
-Angel has been a series about hope. Up until the final scene, Joss stayed right with that. But leaving the four fighting for their lives? Letting us assume that they're utterly destroyed by the armies of hell? Right. Nice with the hope there, Joss. :P
-I think there should've been another scene, something like this: After they rush into battle, the screen goes dark. Then, the camera focuses on the sun rising on the horizon, doing an Angel flash of the four battling demons down to the alley. There, we focus first on Gunn, then Illyria, both dead. We then see a pile of ash being whipped into the air by the wind. Finally, there's a dark shape stumbling out of the alley onto a deserted street. It's Spike. He hangs in the shadows for a long moment, then looks back at the alley. He then steps out into the sunlight. As vampires are wont to do, he starts smoking, then bursts into flame. But, as he screams, the fire burns out. He's left standing in the sunlight. He puts a hand on his chest, then falls to his knees and starts crying. The screen goes dark, and we are left with the sound of Spike's heart beating.
See? Wouldn't that have been more haunting? More hopeful?