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Angel
The Girl In Question
original air-date: 05-05-04
This episode
will be controversial for several reasons. Faster than an
economics professor can say “opportunity cost,”
many fans will wonder why such a trivial episode is taking
up valuable space at the series' end. Other viewers will bemoan
any Buffy-cation while the more moderate might suggest
that if the writers can’t resolve the Buffy love triangle
arc in a meaningful way, why bring it up at all? And any fans
not put off by any of that might shake their heads with “Angel
and Spike deserve better than that!”
Fortunately
every flaw has its gem. In this case, there are a few bright
spots in what is otherwise a weak, disappointing episode.
The
basic premise: Angel and Spike head to Rome to retrieve
a demon head while investigating what their beloved Buffy
is doing with their one-time nemesis The Immortal. Viewers
learn of the rivalry through storytelling and a flashback
that utterly wastes the talents of Julie Benz and Juliet
Landau. Why bother? Though it was at least nice to see them
one more time before the end.
The
why bother also applies to Andrew, who at least exhibits
excellent taste in tee-shirts. But the viewers don’t
get much in the way of what made Andrew such a fun character
on Buffy. Sure, people change, as he advises our
vamp hero duo. But do they have to become duller? And apparently
Andrew has changed quite a bit given the gender of his dates.
What a disappointment.
Meanwhile
an LA based backstory involves a surprise visit by Fred’s
parents. Uh oh. Wackiness is ensured when Illyria “modulates”
her appearance to mimic Fred. OK, it is actually a little
creepy to see “Fred” again suddenly. Ms. Acker
deserves kudos not only for portraying two very distinct
characters, but also for being able to shift instantly between
the two. Advice to Wes: Therapy. Now.
So what
are the gems? Well, the Wes-Illyria scenes fare pretty well
overall. Seeing the Rome office of Wolfram & Hart is
fun (so wanted to see their version of Numero Cinco in the
background...). But the real keepers are some of the Angel
Spike buddy moments. There is a slow motion fight scene
which is brilliant and some fun moments involving a scooter.
But would the boys ever really be that incompetent at this
point in their lives? Probably not.
So what’s
wrong with this episode that supporters will call fun?
It takes
up valuable space at the series end.
The
Buffy storyline is not needed and not meaningfully addressed.
And
most of all, Angel and Spike deserve better.
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