These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
----------------------------recap-------------------------------
As a part of her new alliance with the Mayor, Faith tries to seduce Angel so that he will again lose his soul. When that fails, the Mayor summons a powerful demon to remove Angel's soul with dark magic.
--------------------------end recap--------------------------
MAYOR: There's more than one way to skin a cat. And I happen to know that's factually true.
Average character development, average dialogue and a poor plot.
Faith and the Mayor, now that they're working together have all sorts of good ideas to ruin Buffy's life. First off, they snatch the Books of Accession from right under her nose. Then they begin a plan to steal Angel's soul. Faith tries to seduce him, and Angel turns her down. So the Mayor enlists the help of some blue demon guy to use magic and take the soul by force. Faith splashes Angel with blood(?) and suddenly he's Angelus again. The two of them head off to meet with the Mayor.
Meanwhile the Scoobies are investigating the Mayor. It turns out that he's been around Sunnydale for over a hundred years. And Buffy is getting jealous of the time that Faith is spending with Angel. When Faith and Angel show up at her house, claiming to have found the Books of Ascension, she agrees to go with them to Angel's mansion to collect them. Once there, Angel and Faith quickly capture her and chain her to the wall. Faith admits that she working for the Mayor and taunts Buffy that the Mayor will take over Sunnydale come Graduation Day. Then, Buffy and Angel turn the tables on her. It seems that Angel was only pretending to be Angel/us so he could learn more about Faith's plan. He and Buffy fight Faith, but she escapes. The Scoobies begin the count down to Graduation Day, while The Mayor comforts Faith over the loss of her former friends. Buffy and Angel take a 'break.'
Even with the fake out there are still some really good segments in this episode. It brings Angel/us back (sort of) which is always good. You gotta love the Mayor consoling Faith at the end of the episode, after Angel tricked her and the Scoobies learned that she's fighting on the Darkside. "Are you still unhappy? Well, I have two words that will fix everything: Miniature Golf." Mostly, though, this episode brings Faith's character into much clearer focus. Her resentment towards Buffy and her fear that she'll never be good enough. Her willingness to follow the Mayor solely because of her need to belong. Her shame at turning into a killer and then her unwillingness to turn back. It's all good.
Questionable mythology. Faith doesn't need to keep Buffy alive to prevent another Slayer from being called. She is Buffy's replacement (indirectly through Kendra). Faith needs to die for a new Slayer to be called. Otherwise there would have been three Slayers in season six.
Foreshadowing
Angel: ... All of our time together and we never tried chains. Well, can't dwell on the past, especially with the future we have ahead.
Buffy and Spike in season 6
My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Spike - absent
Angel/us - like
Oz - like
Overall I consider this an average episode compared to the rest of the season.
Musings on life and other matters.
Showing posts with label episode 17. Show all posts
Showing posts with label episode 17. Show all posts
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Passion
These snapshots may contain SPOILERS for the entire series, so if for some reason you haven't yet seen some of the episodes and do not want to know what is going on, read no further.
----------------------------recap-------------------------------
Angelus continues his obsessive torment of Buffy by visiting her during the night and leaving presents in her bed. Meanwhile, Ms. Calendar tries to make amends for deceiving Buffy and Giles by attempting to translate the Gypsy curse to restore Angel's human soul, with dire consequences.
--------------------------end recap--------------------------
Angelus: Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping...waiting...and though unwanted...unbidden...it will stir...open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us...guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. the joy of love...the clarity of hatred...and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd truly be dead.
Solid character development, great dialogue and a riveting plot.
This is the episode that cranks up the entire series continuing where Surprise / Innocence pretty much left off. Up until this point, Angelus has mostly been wandering around Sunnydale, taunting Buffy and playing little mind games. Passion is a terribly sombre episode, darker in tone than any other in Season 2. Much of the episode is atypical of the series. For the first half it's all doom and gloom... and then it gets even worse. From here on out its a dark and tragic story that carries through the rest of the season.
In the teaser when Angel/us is stalking Buffy, its almost identical to when Spike first saw and stalked her in School Hard.
There's a lot to like about this episode. I love Willow's face when she opens that envelope and sees what Angel/us did to her fish. And you just have to laugh when Cordy announces that she's traded cars with her grandmother. The end of the episode is brilliant. While the factory burns, Buffy and Giles collapse into each others arms sobbing. It's a beautiful scene. Mostly, though, I love Angel/us. The smirk he wears as he watches Buffy, Willow and Joyce react to Jenny's death is just so wonderfully evil. The voice over, as he talks about passion, is so sinister and perfect. And he kills Jenny. Having a major character of the show brutally murder a woman who is also a significant character is a REALLY gutsy move, but then thats Whedon for you. We knew Jenny, we liked her and Angel/us snaps her neck on screen. That is genuinely distressing, and pretty shocking.
On the upside one of the more heartwarming parts of the episode: Spike and Little Miss Sunshine. Dru comes in, cuddling a puppy that she's gotten. She just wants Spike to eat it for dinner. He refuses, angry that she keeps babying him. Angel/us arrives. Spike and Angel/us immediately begin arguing, the two of them glaring at each other furiously as they fight. Drusilla, enjoying the chaos, casually drops Little Miss Sunshine into Spike's lap. Never taking his eyes off of Angel/us, Spike moves his arm so the puppy won't fall off the wheelchair. In "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," we learned that Angel/us used to nail puppies to things as a valentine gift. Spike, in his soul-less state, automatically protects Little Miss Sunshine. He doesn't want the puppy hurt. He's not even conscious of it, it's an unconscious gesture that speaks volumes. Spike without a soul, is a much kinder vampire than Angel/us without a soul. It's one of the first glimpses of the gentler Spike underneath his evil facade.
Foreshadowing
Willow telling Buffy, you're still the only thing Angel thinks about.
My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Spike - like
Angel/us - like
Oz - absent
Overall I consider this a very good episode compared to the rest of the season.
----------------------------recap-------------------------------
Angelus continues his obsessive torment of Buffy by visiting her during the night and leaving presents in her bed. Meanwhile, Ms. Calendar tries to make amends for deceiving Buffy and Giles by attempting to translate the Gypsy curse to restore Angel's human soul, with dire consequences.
--------------------------end recap--------------------------
Angelus: Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping...waiting...and though unwanted...unbidden...it will stir...open its jaws, and howl. It speaks to us...guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. the joy of love...the clarity of hatred...and the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd truly be dead.
Solid character development, great dialogue and a riveting plot.
This is the episode that cranks up the entire series continuing where Surprise / Innocence pretty much left off. Up until this point, Angelus has mostly been wandering around Sunnydale, taunting Buffy and playing little mind games. Passion is a terribly sombre episode, darker in tone than any other in Season 2. Much of the episode is atypical of the series. For the first half it's all doom and gloom... and then it gets even worse. From here on out its a dark and tragic story that carries through the rest of the season.
In the teaser when Angel/us is stalking Buffy, its almost identical to when Spike first saw and stalked her in School Hard.
There's a lot to like about this episode. I love Willow's face when she opens that envelope and sees what Angel/us did to her fish. And you just have to laugh when Cordy announces that she's traded cars with her grandmother. The end of the episode is brilliant. While the factory burns, Buffy and Giles collapse into each others arms sobbing. It's a beautiful scene. Mostly, though, I love Angel/us. The smirk he wears as he watches Buffy, Willow and Joyce react to Jenny's death is just so wonderfully evil. The voice over, as he talks about passion, is so sinister and perfect. And he kills Jenny. Having a major character of the show brutally murder a woman who is also a significant character is a REALLY gutsy move, but then thats Whedon for you. We knew Jenny, we liked her and Angel/us snaps her neck on screen. That is genuinely distressing, and pretty shocking.
On the upside one of the more heartwarming parts of the episode: Spike and Little Miss Sunshine. Dru comes in, cuddling a puppy that she's gotten. She just wants Spike to eat it for dinner. He refuses, angry that she keeps babying him. Angel/us arrives. Spike and Angel/us immediately begin arguing, the two of them glaring at each other furiously as they fight. Drusilla, enjoying the chaos, casually drops Little Miss Sunshine into Spike's lap. Never taking his eyes off of Angel/us, Spike moves his arm so the puppy won't fall off the wheelchair. In "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered," we learned that Angel/us used to nail puppies to things as a valentine gift. Spike, in his soul-less state, automatically protects Little Miss Sunshine. He doesn't want the puppy hurt. He's not even conscious of it, it's an unconscious gesture that speaks volumes. Spike without a soul, is a much kinder vampire than Angel/us without a soul. It's one of the first glimpses of the gentler Spike underneath his evil facade.
Foreshadowing
Willow telling Buffy, you're still the only thing Angel thinks about.
My views/status of characters;
Buffy - like
Willow - like
Xander - like
Giles - like
Cordelia - like
Spike - like
Angel/us - like
Oz - absent
Overall I consider this a very good episode compared to the rest of the season.
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