![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I’ve got very behind on my Buffy/Angel watching recently, partly because I’ve been so busy and had other things to watch on the rare evenings I have time to sit down and watch t.v. and partly because I just haven’t felt interested in watching it. But Lullaby got me feeling excited about Angel again and wanting to carry on with the season.
Lovely tense opening scene between Angel and Holtz. Love the way they talk at cross-purposes for almost an entire act without Angel revealing he has a soul now – what a martyr! – and that it’s Lilah who eventually lets that titbit out to Holtz. Great vibe between Lilah and Holtz. Love the Crucifixion imagery of Angel held by Holtz’s men, and Lilah’s “They don’t crucify people – too Christian” (to Gavin) then cutting back to Angel. Oh, and Angel with the grenade.
Love the flashback of Holtz’s vamped daughter cowering in the corner and him throwing her out into the sun.
Love Angel and Darla on the rooftop – beautifully lit and acted.
Love everyone slapping Gunn in the face to test the Sanctuary spell.
Love Lilah’s scroll-translator (who apparently is played by Jim Ortlieb, who looks extremely familiar but the only other thing he’s been in that I have watched was Bones: The Man In The Fallout Shelter (the Christmas one) playing someone called Hal ??? Hmm).
Love Holtz appearing at Caritas, and strolling out humming, and Lorne’s face as he reads him. (Poor old Lorne: club just ready for its grand re-opening, only to be trashed again.) Love the slo-mo walk through the fire at Caritas. Love the good old alley in the rain. Love Darla’s speech, and Fred watching and crying, and Angel holding Darla’s hand only to find it turning to dust, and the baby lying there crying in the rain. (Interesting detail: the baby has no umbilical cord. It really wasn’t gaining any sustenance from its mother.)
Love Holtz emerging from the club and raising his crossbow at Angel, then seeing the child and lowering it again. And Angel walking past him to the waiting car with his son. And Sahjahn egging Holtz on, but Holtz realising the opportunity to make Angel suffer far more than he ever thought possible.
9/10
Interesting commentary too. Amazing that Julie Benz doesn’t have any make-up on in those last scenes! Wish I looked anywhere near that good without make-up!
And watching this has finally inspired me to get round to writing up and posting my reivew of Smashed, which I watched over a month ago but didn't feel so excited about...
Smashed is one of those episodes that has had a lot of criticism over the years. But I actually think it’s quite good. Not brilliant, but not bad at all. Especially for a writer’s first episode!
I liked: The mugging in the teaser – the irony of it being human ‘monsters’ for once and Spike going for them and getting a headache! Amy – so cool (“How’ve you been?” “Rat. You?” “Dead.” “Oh.” is one of my favourite exchanges ever). Spike discovering he can hurt Buffy – beautifully acted – and then trying to hurt someone else. Tara and Dawn and the milkshake (what Drew in the commentary calls the “Divorced parents conversation” – such a sweet little scene, and I love the way it shows that Tara is even more grown-up because of breaking up with Willow, while Willow is getting ever more childlike. Spike and the trio – fantastic scene. Anya, Xander and Buffy researching at the Magic Box while Willow’s out on the town, and Anya’s speech about “responsible types” and she and Xander not realising how much it applies to Buffy too. Buffy finally realising she wants Spike and getting on with it, even if it’s not what she really needs.
I disliked: The trio. Annoying, silly, and unnecessary. The weirdness of Amy’s hair having grown so much, and changed colour, while she was a rat! The strangeness of Anya being so knowledgeable about some aspects of human behaviour (i.e. about Willow) and yet so dim about others. The scene with Amy and Willow at the Bronze – parts of it are extremely cringe-worthy. The building falling down around Buffy and Spike – looks very unrealistic, especially once the sound cuts out.
Notes: Anya’s hair in the Magic Box scene looks very much like it does in the flashback to OMWF in Selfless. So they weren’t that far out. Not that they should have been ‘out’ at all!
And, in the commentary Drew mentions Willow magically searching the Internet being a precursor to her absorbing the magic books at the end of the season. I hadn’t thought of that!
7/10
Lovely tense opening scene between Angel and Holtz. Love the way they talk at cross-purposes for almost an entire act without Angel revealing he has a soul now – what a martyr! – and that it’s Lilah who eventually lets that titbit out to Holtz. Great vibe between Lilah and Holtz. Love the Crucifixion imagery of Angel held by Holtz’s men, and Lilah’s “They don’t crucify people – too Christian” (to Gavin) then cutting back to Angel. Oh, and Angel with the grenade.
Love the flashback of Holtz’s vamped daughter cowering in the corner and him throwing her out into the sun.
Love Angel and Darla on the rooftop – beautifully lit and acted.
Love everyone slapping Gunn in the face to test the Sanctuary spell.
Love Lilah’s scroll-translator (who apparently is played by Jim Ortlieb, who looks extremely familiar but the only other thing he’s been in that I have watched was Bones: The Man In The Fallout Shelter (the Christmas one) playing someone called Hal ??? Hmm).
Love Holtz appearing at Caritas, and strolling out humming, and Lorne’s face as he reads him. (Poor old Lorne: club just ready for its grand re-opening, only to be trashed again.) Love the slo-mo walk through the fire at Caritas. Love the good old alley in the rain. Love Darla’s speech, and Fred watching and crying, and Angel holding Darla’s hand only to find it turning to dust, and the baby lying there crying in the rain. (Interesting detail: the baby has no umbilical cord. It really wasn’t gaining any sustenance from its mother.)
Love Holtz emerging from the club and raising his crossbow at Angel, then seeing the child and lowering it again. And Angel walking past him to the waiting car with his son. And Sahjahn egging Holtz on, but Holtz realising the opportunity to make Angel suffer far more than he ever thought possible.
9/10
Interesting commentary too. Amazing that Julie Benz doesn’t have any make-up on in those last scenes! Wish I looked anywhere near that good without make-up!
And watching this has finally inspired me to get round to writing up and posting my reivew of Smashed, which I watched over a month ago but didn't feel so excited about...
Smashed is one of those episodes that has had a lot of criticism over the years. But I actually think it’s quite good. Not brilliant, but not bad at all. Especially for a writer’s first episode!
I liked: The mugging in the teaser – the irony of it being human ‘monsters’ for once and Spike going for them and getting a headache! Amy – so cool (“How’ve you been?” “Rat. You?” “Dead.” “Oh.” is one of my favourite exchanges ever). Spike discovering he can hurt Buffy – beautifully acted – and then trying to hurt someone else. Tara and Dawn and the milkshake (what Drew in the commentary calls the “Divorced parents conversation” – such a sweet little scene, and I love the way it shows that Tara is even more grown-up because of breaking up with Willow, while Willow is getting ever more childlike. Spike and the trio – fantastic scene. Anya, Xander and Buffy researching at the Magic Box while Willow’s out on the town, and Anya’s speech about “responsible types” and she and Xander not realising how much it applies to Buffy too. Buffy finally realising she wants Spike and getting on with it, even if it’s not what she really needs.
I disliked: The trio. Annoying, silly, and unnecessary. The weirdness of Amy’s hair having grown so much, and changed colour, while she was a rat! The strangeness of Anya being so knowledgeable about some aspects of human behaviour (i.e. about Willow) and yet so dim about others. The scene with Amy and Willow at the Bronze – parts of it are extremely cringe-worthy. The building falling down around Buffy and Spike – looks very unrealistic, especially once the sound cuts out.
Notes: Anya’s hair in the Magic Box scene looks very much like it does in the flashback to OMWF in Selfless. So they weren’t that far out. Not that they should have been ‘out’ at all!
And, in the commentary Drew mentions Willow magically searching the Internet being a precursor to her absorbing the magic books at the end of the season. I hadn’t thought of that!
7/10