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Angel
Destiny
original air-date: 11-19-03
There
are two forces more powerful than the Senior Partners, the
Powers That Be, and the Shanshu Prophesy combined. The first
is the strange compulsion of Whedonites to mess with character
hair styles. The second is the inevitability that Spike and
Angel will fight at least once this season.
Bowing
to that second immutable law, the writers have constructed
an episode leading to said fisticuffs. The universe is atilt
now because there are two souled vampires to act as champions
in the coming apocalypse (what, again with the apocalypse?
You can't swing a dead cat on this show without hitting an
apocalypse...)
But since
the actual fight is rather boring, perhaps the writers are
doing the fans a favor by getting it out the way early in
the season. The fight is probably not exciting because the
stakes are low (pun intended); neither souled vamp can win,
i.e., kill the other. Besides, did any self respecting
fan really think the key to the Shanshu Prophesy was so readily
at hand all those years?
It's a
good thing Wes was conveniently away in England visiting his
would-have-been-deceased-father-if-he-hadn't-turned-out-to-be-an-android-instead.
And some people think stepparents are confusing.
In an
attempt to make that key fight more significant, the writers
also offer several flashbacks that explain the root cause
of the rivalry between Spike and Angel. These scenes draw
attention to several questions. First, there is the ongoing
question as to the actual integration between a vampire's
demon and its former human host's personality. Second, there
is the question as to why, if you're going to use Dru at all,
don't the writers give her more and/or better air time? The
writers waste an opportunity to show her as more of a mischievous
instigator. And finally, why is Angel's hair lighter in the
past?
Oh yeah,
it's that first force mentioned above. The same force that
rendered Eve's locks lifelessly limp in this episode. At least
the writers do a much better job with her character this week.
Once again scenes between Eve and any character other than
Angel work well. The exchanges with Gunn are particularly
entertaining, with a dynamic that borders on jealousy of their
respective connections to the higher powers.
Given
Eve's genuine fear while choking, the writers seem to have
settled the question of whether or not she's human. More importantly,
they deliver a surprise ending that reveals a bit of Eve's
agenda while raising a lot more questions.
Some of
the little touches are fun. Harmony looks fantastic and adds
some well placed laughs. And certainly most adult working
fans will chuckle at the idea of someone going berserk because
their lazy co-workers don't change the toner. But the bloody
eye effects just didn't cut it.
The writers,
however, missed a golden opportunity for a huge laugh during
the Angel/Spike mutual pummeling. It would have been classic
if in the middle of trading blows, they suddenly stopped,
began to chuckle, and one of them said "What are we doing?"
But now
it seems that the two will competing for the post-Shanshu
Pinocchio prize. Hey, why not ensoul some other vampires,
too? Then they can change the name of the show to "The
Amazing Shanshu Race." Or maybe "Shanshu Surivor"
where each week another vamp is voted out of the prophecy.
Really,
it's not that far fetched because everyone knows Mark Burnett
must be a demon for starting the whole reality television
movement. Pure evil!
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