In the ninth episode of the fourth season of Angel, everyone is in a huge fight with one another during the end of the world and then FUCK. YES. Intrigued? Then it’s time for Mark to watch Angel.
This episode essentially has two real themes:
Everyone is fighting, and it is really awkward.
This is like season six of Buffy, where everything is being torn apart all of the time because the only thing these characters can be deal is neverending pain. All right, I am being RIDICULOUS. I know that! But it is undeniable that this episode is kind of agonizing to watch. I don’t think anyone aside from Wesley and Fred is getting along for even five seconds. Gunn is fighting with Fred and Wesley. Angel fights with everyone. Cordelia and Lorne are furious with Angel’s brooding during an apocalypse. Connor hates that he can’t be with Cordelia. (EW EW EW.) Gwen and Cordy butt heads every time they’re in the same room. It is an unending stream of strife. And you know, I think I might have had an issue with this if it was happening at any other time. But it’s during the end of the world.
See, I get Lorne’s frustration with Angel and Angel’s refusal to just come downstairs with the rest of his team. At the same time, I think Mere Smith really hones in on the emotional state all of these characters are in. They’re ragged around the edges. They’re stressed in ways they’ve never known. In the case of some of them, their problems are exacerbated by the appearance of the Beast and the possibility that he’s literally impossible to defeat. In Connor’s case, his fear that he’s the reason for the Beast’s appearance has rendered him useless. On top of that, Cordelia tells him that his father knows they slept together, so there’s that, too. You know, I think I could have been bothered by the fact that Connor was missing for most of the episode, but it worked as a great misdirect to Mesektet’s prophetic line. By the final act, we have to begrudgingly accept that it’s entirely possible that Connor is connected to the end of the world. He’s got freaky super powers, he should exist, the Beast arrived in the spot he was born, and held his ceremony in the place Connor lived.
HAHAHA I WAS SO WRONG. But we’ll get to that as well.
Look, I still hate Connor/Cordelia like I hate Mitt Romney. Possibly more. Think about that. I’m glad that the show isn’t having them pursue a relationship further because I can only imagine one thing I’d like less than this: Mitt Romney as president. (Can you tell I dislike him?) (PS: Please don’t give this man your vote.) (PPS: I’m so subtle.) Still, can you dislike a plot point solely on the basis that it makes you feel bad things deep down inside of you? Like, I have no real complaints about the writing here. Everything I have to say about this isn’t substantial or intelligent or well composed or anything of the sort. I just kept thinking NO every time Angel and Cordelia fought. I hate it because my babies. I mean, yes, I’m totally biased here. I have never felt so close to shipping two characters since Roslin/Adama, and then the show purposely took it away from me, then teased me with it again, then had Cordelia sleep with Angel’s son because… well, I don’t even know anymore. So I don’t blame Mere Smith for me disliking Angel and Cordy’s reactions in “Long Day’s Journey.” If anything, they’re actually quite well-written, and I think Smith understands the rage both of these characters feel. Angel feels betrayed, and Cordelia is trying to think of the bigger picture instead of herself. That’s essentially what this boils down to. While it is uncomfortable and almost rude that Cordelia tells Angel to just “get over it,” I at least got that she was trying to get him to refocus his attention on more pressing matters.
Then we have Gunn. DAMN IT. He can’t keep Fred’s attention, and it’s just breaking my heart. You can just tell that Fred is drifting over to Wesley, and THIS SUCKS SO MUCH. I mean, I want Fred to be happy, but she’s breaking Gunn’s heart in the process. And now I’m seeing a role reversal in the two men in Fred’s romantic life: now Gunn is becoming the angry and bitter one, and Wesley appears to be finding happiness again now that he’s back with Angel Investigations.
SADNESS.
I also can’t believe I forgot Gwen after only six episodes. For real, it wasn’t that long ago, Mark! WHAT IS GOING ON WITH YOUR BRAIN. I’m totally stoked she’s back, but then half the time she’s insulting Cordelia or goading her on, and it just makes me sad. 🙁 Can’t these two awesome ladies get along? WHY IS EVERYONE FIGHTING. Oh my god, I just realized that I’m the child in the backseat of a car on a roadtrip while my parents are arguing with one another. That is the absolute best metaphor to describe what this experience was like.
HAHAHA OH MY GOD THE SUN AND ANGELUS AND WHAT
Let me just state something I have stated in the last week: I AM SO ONBOARD WITH THIS STORY LINE. It’s interesting that Angel is exploring a plot where Angel is controlled by an evil being because that sounds exactly like “Sleeper.” Right?
Okay, so I can’t ignore the similarity, but still. The Beast killed totems of Ra, put out the sun, and all because of some connection between the Beast and Angelus. ANGELUS. What the hell kind of deal did Angelus make with The Beast? THE BEAST HAS NO IDEA THAT ANGELUS HAS A SOUL NOW. Oh my god, THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE TO BRING BACK ANGELUS I AM SO TOTALLY OKAY WITH THIS IDEA. I honestly thought we’d never, ever see Angelus ever again. THIS IS BRILLIANT. So, why? Why now? Oh god, they didn’t succeed at stopping the Beast. That means it’s going to be permanently dark until they can figure this shit out. The potential for chaos is just too much, I swear.
I am all about this life, I swear.
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