Mark Watches ‘Angel’: S03E20 – A New World

In the twentieth episode of the third season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and his friends must deal with the sudden appearance of a complete impossibility. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Angel.

WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?

• WHERE DID CONNOR GET THAT GUN?
• DO THEY HAVE GUNS IN QUOR’TOTH?
• JUST SO YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE RHETORICAL QUESTIONS I AM GOING TO ASK HERE ARE GENERALLY GOING TO BE ABOUT THE ABSURDITY THAT IS CONNOR’S JOURNEY.
• Please don’t answer them!
• ANYWAY. SO THEY SPEAK ENGLISH IN QUOR’TOTH???
• Well, yes, now I know that Holtz taught him English, but what language is spoken in that dimension? Why do I care about details like this?
• CONNOR IS A REALLY GOOD FIGHTER. WOW. He would totally be good at the Hunger Games.
• LOOK, HE WOULD. FIGHT ME ON THIS. I WOULD WIN.
• I really, really, really liked that Connor came back to our dimension and almost immediately ran into the sunlight where Angel couldn’t go. What happens after this is silly, but that brief moment really highlights one of Angel’s biggest fears about raising Connor. It’s just so fucked up to me, then, that Angel never got the chance to raise his son, and this is how we see Angel coping with his vampirism. Seriously, endless tragedy. ENDLESS.
• Okay, look, there is a lot of worthy stuff between Angel and Connor in this episode. Most of it is at the end. So I appreciate this episode’s existence, and I know it’s very necessary to tell this story. But as soon as Connor escaped and jumped on the back of that bus, I pretty much lost interest. First of all, it looked terrible, and that’s even considering Angel standards. The scene where he “surfs” the bus and jumps off is just… why? Why is that even there?
• But really, my major complaint about “A New World” is that Connor’s exploration of our universe is just so weird, nonsensical, and uninteresting. I want him to interact with Angel! Why are any of these side characters here? Why does Connor gravitate towards the people he does in this episode? What does this have to do with Holtz? And really, if Holtz raised Connor to hate Angel, then I assume that’s because Holtz’s end goal is to get Connor to kill Angel. If that is the case, what the fuck is Connor doing hanging out with anyone else in this episode? Why didn’t he seek out Holtz immediately?
• I do acknowledge that there is a fascinating dynamic present concerning Holtz and fundamentalism. To me, Holtz was always supposed to represent this dogmatic, dualistic view or morality. Things were never morally ambiguous. It was always easy for him to split the world into good and evil with nothing in between. So I think that there really is a great story to be told with Connor. He was raised in a fundamentalist, extremist system of belief, taught to hate and act out that hatred with violence. I WANT TO SEE MORE OF THIS.
• I must concede that it’s entirely possible that the last two episodes of this season will address that, but I do like to at least voice my thoughts at the time, even if I’m putting my foot in my mouth or making a fool of myself. WHAT WOULD THIS SITE BE IF I WASN’T WRONG EVERY SINGLE DAY?
• Okay, so, I’m pretty sure I spent a third of the Mark Watches video just geeking out about all the locations in Los Angeles I recognized. This show is kind of making me miss Los Angeles. Only kind of. Then I remember what a wasteland it is and I am glad I live in Oakland.
• Well, okay, yes, there is a lot of great shit in L.A. and I’m just bitter that I got burnt out on that city. CAN YOU TELL I AM BITTER???
• Okay, I think I know one of the reasons I didn’t care for any of the interactions that Connor had with Sunny and the drug dealers: the drug dealers didn’t seem real. I couldn’t believe them! And I don’t know that I have any specific reasons I could name for that. It’s more a gut feeling than anything else, but I just kept watching those scenes and thinking, “These are actors playing drug dealers.” Meh!
• WOW, CONNOR CUT OFF THAT DUDE’S EAR. WOW. I didn’t expect that.
• Groo has got some sass in this episode. I am going to assume this came from Cordelia, the queen of sass on this show.
• On a more serious note, it does seem a bit obvious that Groo is having second thoughts about Cordelia. It’s not that he doesn’t love her. I think he’s jealous of the friendship that she has with Angel. Is it possible that she really does have feelings for Angel? I AM NOT RULING THIS OUT. Still, Groo is, at the very least, far more aware of the dynamic between his girlfriend and her boss, and I don’t think he’s all too comfortable with it. And I like Groo! I do. But I don’t know that I care about him like I do the rest of Team Angel.
• WEEESSSLLLLEEEYYYY. Oh my god. How???? HOW DID I NEVER THINK ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF HIM WORKING WITH WOLFRAM & HART? I’d like to think that deep down, he’s still loyal to his friends, even if he doesn’t want anything to do with them at the moment. But Lilah makes a very good point. Even if his intention was to do good, he did betray Angel and his co-workers/friends. Oh fuck, she is totally manipulating his vulnerability, isn’t she? IS WESLEY ACTUALLY GOING TO JOIN WOLFRAM & HART? Oh god, MUST SEE MORE.
• Okay, sorry, the Connor/Sunny make out scene is just absurd. No! No, I can’t believe it. What the hell is this episode doing?
• I meant it as a joke at the time, but I commented during my initial watch of “A New World” that Connor seemed to be going through that teen angst period with his father that we’re all familiar with. It’s actually brilliant writing because it shows us how Angel wants to raise his son, but this is in the context of Connor returning to Angel LIKE SIXTEEN YEARS LATER. (He looks about 16 or 17, I’d say.) Like, it’s just so easy for Angel to slip into that protective mode again, and it kind of scares him that this happens. UGH, THIS IS REALLY GOOD CHARACTER WRITING.
• oh my god MISTRESS MYRNA IS SO GORGEOUS! Ugh, I was so jealous of her hair. I spent about six months of my junior year of high school dyeing my hair a new color every other week. I MISS DOING THAT. But now I shave my head every two weeks because hair is so hard to deal with. You have to wash it and stuff! TOO MUCH WORK.
• When Angel told Connor that he hoped Connor would accept his vampire side one day, I wanted to sob. Poor Angel, CHRIST.
• Wow, the police sure are using a lot of bullets.
• WOW, ANGEL JUST USED HIS OWN BODY TO BLOCK A SHOTGUN BLAST AIMED AT CONNOR. WOW. WOW. I AM SO OVERWHELMED WITH FEELINGS FOR THIS CHARACTER, Y’ALL. And you know, that’s such a big deal to me! I liked Angel on Buffy, and I’ve enjoyed the fact that he has his own show, but I don’t know that I’ve ever felt attached to Angel. He’s the impetus for most of the plot on Angel, obviously, but what he’s gone through this season has made me appreciate his character more than ever.
• “A big cosmic no-no.” Okay, so Holtz/Connor PUNCHED A HOLE THROUGH THE FABRIC OF REALITY. How the hell did they do that???
• HAHAHAHA OH GOD, RIGHT WHEN I ASKED WHERE CONNOR COULD POSSIBLY GO IF HE WASN’T GOING TO STAY WITH ANGEL, HE WENT STRAIGHT TO HOLTZ. Ugh, GREAT. Holtz is here too??? THIS CAN’T END WELL.

Admittedly, I want to see more of Angel interacting with Connor. I want to know more about Quor’toth! So it’s entirely possible that my desires got in the way of enjoying what happened in “A New World.” Still, I have to be honest with all of you. It’s not my favorite episode, though I know it’s quite necessary. I am quite excited for these last two episodes in this season, however. SHIT IS GOING TO GET SO REAL! I mean, I’m not prepared for it, but I’m excited for it.

This video, commissioned by Jane/yorkshiregal, is dedicated to her sister-in-law Becky!

The video commission for this episode is now archived on MarkDoesStuff for just $0.99.

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