Angel
Shiny Happy People
original air-date: 04-09-03
Despite
the arrival of a new (or is that old?) goddess (Jasmine, by
her favorite scent, if not fanboard consensus), this episode
teeters on the brink of dull. The first half slowly familiarizes
the audience with Jasmine, the effect she has on everyone,
and their new mission to eliminate evil. A slow motion montage
certainly makes one wonder if the Fang Gang could have been
a lot more efficient over the years.
Actress
Gina Torres, a refugee from Whedon's Fox flop Firefly
(look for another alum to turn up on Buffy soon) is merely
adequate as Jasmine. She was much more enjoyable as Sydney's
arch nemesis Anna Espinosa during the stellar Season One of
ALIAS.
It would
be nice to see at least a glimpse of the menace the audience
knows must be lurking under the smile and gentle word (or
alternatively, Jasmine really is good, saves the world, and
the show is over). And the "I arranged for all this"
idea is still hard to swallow.
At least
it is fun to see the other characters with big grins for a
change. Connor is actually pleasant (and more creepy being
good) and Fred looks really cute - at least for while.
What causes
Fred to lose her smile is seeing Jasmine's true form, a worm-infested
mass of rotting flesh.
It is
not clear what caused Fred's release from Jasmine's enchantment.
Perhaps it was touching Jasmine's blood (apparently she can
be wounded or possibly killed) or perhaps she was "called"
per the suggestion of the other person in the episode who
saw Jasmine's true form. Whereas Fred ended up in a diner,
this poor fellow ended up in the psych ward with his face
rotting from Jasmine's touch (and this after a pummeling from
Angel that remarkably did not kill him).
With a better second half,
the episode overall did manage to build curiosity about Jasmine's
endgame and how Fred can possibly save the world.
Some fans
have suggested that the writers have taken inspiration from
Michael Moorcock's Eternal Champion books and J. Michael
Straczynski's Babylon 5 series, which makes sense;
the PTB have been about as clear and helpful as Kosh.
Instead
of the traditional good vs. evil struggle, Jasmine might be
part of a different battle involving Law vs. Chaos, an old
order vs. a new one (or Man), etc.
Others
have suggested that Angel will take a cue from ALIAS,
i.e., it will turn out the PTB are the bad guys.
Really,
though, it doesn't matter as long as the show delivers. One
good step would be to stop stretching every other episode
out so much.
Of course,
a little support from The WB wouldn't hurt either. While running
a special long ad about The WB in April, they mentioned almost
every show...except Angel.
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