Angel
Shells
original air-date: 03-03-04
Perhaps
more than anything else, this outstanding episode will make
a lot of frustrated fans scream "How can they cancel
a show that's turning out such great stuff?"
Because
this really is a terrific episode, perhaps the best of the
season. The acting is solid all around, the dialogue is ultra-crisp,
and the story utilizes a near perfect blend of drama, humor,
and action.
The opening
picks up right from last week's episode, i.e., Fred
has transformed into the Old One being known as Illyria.
Right
away, Amy Acker does a good job at creating a character who
clearly is not Fred. Sure, the special effects help ("thickening"
the stick figure-like Ms. Acker with a leatherlike exterior
was a particular savvy move). But in the end, it's the acting
that makes the difference. And that's a good thing because
fans really don't want another big bad who's a good gal gone
bad (a la Willow).
Nor do
the fans want to see Jasmine Part 2. Fortunately, the story
also avoids that trap. Illyria is something new, an interesting
character who certainly isn't the same type of evil we've
seen before on the show. In fact, there is some question as
to whether or not Illyria is evil at all. Sure, hollowing
out someone to use their body is not very nice. But that may
be more due to a lack of comprehension or a matter of perspective.
After all, Illyria comes from a time when many beings were
fighting for control and/or survival. And history, as they
say, is written by the victors.
Also,
it's interesting that Illyria clearly wasn't simpatico with
the then weaker Wolf, Ram, and Hart. Hey, if you had been
wrongfully imprisoned for millenia, wouldn't you want to run
out and conquer with your Army of Doom?
Of course
none of that matters to the remaining, non-blue members of
the Fang Gang. They want Illria out, and Fred back in. Illyria
seems impervious to physical harm and displays some unique
powers of evasion. Plus there's the whole question of whether
Fred is beyond salvage ('nuff said for the sake of the spoiler
free).
There's
also the question of whether or not Wes and Gunn's friendship
is beyond salvage. Fans know it's only a question of time
before Wes figure out Gunn's paper pushing involvement. How
the story unfolds in that regard is particularly smart. And
Alexis Denisof shines this week.
One question
answered: Knox did in fact survive the Gunn grinding of last
week. In fact, he's now Illyria's "Croissant" (hey,
close enough!) or high priest. But given that it's Knox, who
excels in multidimensional annoyance, it's really only a matter
of time before someone kills him.
Throughout
all this, Angel finally steps up as a leader. Spike also finally
accepts his role as lieutenant (or "first officer")
and delivers a great speech towards the end.
Of course
every diamond has its flaw. Here it's the ending. Put simply,
the ending stinks. Put complexly, it is an out-of-place, music-laden,
melodramic montage belonging to Dawson's Creek or some
other prime time soap. You would have thought the show's creators
would have learned earlier in the season when they inflicted
a similiar ending on us. But apparently they didn't. Who knows:
Maybe they outsourced the ending to some low-cost offshore
studio after blowing their budget on some of the cool effects.
Well,
now that Illyria's realized that the world has changed "a
bit" and that her old neighborhood isn't quite the same
(if only there had been a sign with "Coming soon: another
fine Starbucks!"), her allegiance really might be up
for grabs. That might be useful since, as Spike points out,
there's a much bigger storm on the horizon.
But if
Angel and Spike can't handle it, then there's still one man
in LA who can: Jack Bauer!
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