AOQ Angel Review 2-12: "Blood Money"
Arbitrar Of Quality
episodes in these review threads.
ANGEL
Season Two, Episode 12: "Blood Money"
(or "Drains and spills/soaks the pages/fills the sponges")
Writers: Mere Smith and Shawn Ryan
Director: R.D. Price
Okay. After the string of episodes leading up to "Reunion," I
thought I had a handle on the kind of show ATS was becoming and where
it was going. Now I'm a little confused. So let's see if I can
talk through some of that confusion.
So Angel ends up coming to the aid, sort of, of another young woman.
Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
one-week guest characters must display at least two unique traits to
merit further pondering. Otherwise, they're not worth telling apart.
The premise could almost be a Season One episode. So why are we
telling this kind of story at this point in the show's life? It's
so garish and goofy, and seems like a low-key story for Angel to come
out of his broody shell for. And then the episode plays with the idea
of him as the hero, subverting it several times but seemingly wussing
out on that at the end. The simplest answer I can come up with is that
BM could be seen as an S2 take on ATS S1. The old stories filtered
through the lens of recent events.
Running with that, this gives the episode some of its kick with the
aforementioned playing with the audience. Angel runs into someone who
might need help and acts all nervous and charming and such, and then we
see that he has a wall of photographs and has been essentially stalking
her. Same thing at the end, where the whole purpose of his involvement
isn't to help someone in need, but to mess with Lindsey and Lilah.
What I found most interesting and clever about this setup is that
we've known for a long time that he's shy and has a hard time
communicating, but when he's found a character to play, he knows
people well enough to be totally convincing. Well, now S1-era Angel
*is* the role that present-day Angel is playing so well. It works as a
contrast between how he is and the gentlemanly vampire detective he
used to toy with becoming (several times in the past, if one remembers
"Are You Now...").
Thoughts like that kept me amused for awhile, but I don't know if
it's enough to build an episode around. It's not enough to keep me
from wondering - why are we spending so much time on this teen center
party? What's Boone doing in the episode? I signed up for a war,
and I'm getting a ridiculously elaborate scheme to make a couple
lawyers look silly. I don't know how many of my misgivings are
disappointment with BM's actual quality (some are, though), and how
many are just the natural byproduct of having expectations and reality
diverge. It's kinda confusing, as I've said.
Another thing that seems a little strange is that this is such a
personal issue with the L.M.s. He and Lindsey have a past, sure, and
Lilah still hasn't suffered appropriately for "Untouched," but
doesn't he know that even with their occasional bursts of initiative,
they're ultimately just tools of the Senior Partners? I think I'll
remember the encounter in Lilah's car as one of the episode's
strongest scenes, not for anything that was said, but for the
non-verbal stuff. Angel's at his most quietly intimidating getting
right up in her face ("personal bubble!"), and it's clearly
working. It also works as sort of a reversal of the mannerisms from
their first meeting in "The Ring."
Team Wesley's banter is a little more on target than it was last
episode, but still not up to the standards set earlier in the season.
The writers are really determined to wring some humor out of the
lobster gag, aren't they? The sequences with the never seen
fire-farting monster play like someone forgot to write a punchline.
Wes and Cordy also pop up on the video at the end, which plays as more
bizarre than actually funny. Maybe we're upping their screentime to
disguise their growing irrelevance to the series.
Amidst what I'd have to classify as a "light" episode, overall,
the show finally gives us a direct statement about what W&H want out of
Angel. The plan isn't that much more complex than turning him to
their side, as I'd feared, but throws in a few references to texts
and an apocalypse or two (weren't we supposed to get one of those
based on vague hints from last year? Maybe they're resurrecting that
plotline). In other words, it's not simply taking insane risks
because of wanting a new ally, it's part of something bigger. That I
can live with just fine.
Some more random thoughts:
Angel's found his own people to work for him... well, one demon. He
can be beaten into submission and doesn't try to impose any morality
on things. Merl is actually less worthy of comment than Anne, so I'm
sorry to be giving him this much space. And while we're at it, I
don't have anything else to say about Boone either. There's a cool
visual at the end, at least, that I could enjoy without worrying about
the context - the two squaring off to play their particular game, as
pre-parodied by the Risk joke at the beginning.
You know what I liked? Cordelia having a vision sans special effects
or musical cues. So this is what it's looked like to the rest of the
world all this time, huh?
Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I? (I've heard
some people speculate that this was a joke, but I remember it being
played pretty straight.) ATS as a whole has played pretty loose with
that, come to think of it, going all the way back to the wrong-vehicle
bit from "City Of."
On the dumb-but-fun side of things, "mugging" donors is just corny
enough that I can buy it as a real theme for a gathering like that.
The tone of the episode totally changes during those few moments. "I
have to know, this thing with making your character gay, is that like
all about ratings? Because I don't get it." Heh.
Holland's posthumous appearance (ME shows love posthumous cameos like
one wouldn't believe) may be the best that the character has ever
worked for me. He's just dripping with slimy insincerity as he
earnestly talks about how people can change the world. One can see why
W&H is so reluctant to let go of him as a face for their firm.
So...
One-sentence summary: A bit of a weird, subdued mindfuck.
AOQ rating: Decent
[Season Two so far:
1) "Judgment" - Weak
2) "Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?" - Decent
3) "First Impressions" - Good
4) "Untouched" - Excellent*
5) "Dear Boy" - Good
6) "Guise Will Be Guise" - Decent
7) "Darla" - Good
8) "The Shroud Of Rahmon" - Decent
9) "The Trial" - Excellent
10) "Reunion" - Good
11) "Redefinition" - Decent
12) "Blood Money" - Decent]
*rating changed from original viewing
Kermit
> A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for future _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads.
>
>
> ANGEL
> Season Two, Episode 12: "Blood Money"
> (or "Drains and spills/soaks the pages/fills the sponges")
> Writers: Mere Smith and Shawn Ryan
> Director: R.D. Price
>
> Okay. After the string of episodes leading up to "Reunion," I
> thought I had a handle on the kind of show ATS was becoming and where
> it was going. Now I'm a little confused. So let's see if I can
> talk through some of that confusion.
>
> So Angel ends up coming to the aid, sort of, of another young woman.
> Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
> the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
> supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
> one-week guest characters must display at least two unique traits to
> merit further pondering.
For what it is worth, that was "Anne's" third Buffyverse appearance.
B2 - Lie to Me
B3 - Anne
lili...@gmail.com
One thing you might not have noticed, but this isn't Anne's first
appearance.
She's kinda like a fave recurring character of mine, because of the
huge changes that her char goes through.
Her first appearance is in Lie to me, in s2 of Buffy. She's one of the
wanna be vampires.
Then she returns in s3 in Anne, where she ends the story, asking Buffy
if she can be Anne now and Buffy sets her on the road to becoming the
kind of person she is here.
She's like an example of Buffy's influence in the world.
Lore
lili...@gmail.com
I was just pointing that out as well *g*
Lore
Arbitrar Of Quality
> One thing you might not have noticed, but this isn't Anne's first
> appearance.
> She's kinda like a fave recurring character of mine, because of the
> huge changes that her char goes through.
Huh. That's a big embarassing kind of thing to not notice, but there
ya go. My only excuse is that it's been a long time since the
Chantrlily episodes.
-AOQ
Lord Usher
news:1151560110.6...@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
> as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I? (I've heard
> some people speculate that this was a joke, but I remember it being
> played pretty straight.)
It was a serious matter for Cordelia, but it's entirely possible that
everyone else was just humoring her.
--
Lord Usher
"I'm here to kill you, not to judge you."
Don Sample
"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
> A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for future _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads.
>
>
> ANGEL
> Season Two, Episode 12: "Blood Money"
> (or "Drains and spills/soaks the pages/fills the sponges")
> Writers: Mere Smith and Shawn Ryan
> Director: R.D. Price
>
> So Angel ends up coming to the aid, sort of, of another young woman.
> Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
> the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
> supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
> one-week guest characters must display at least two unique traits to
> merit further pondering.
Anne isn't a one-week guest character. This is her third appearance.
First time she was calling herself "Chanterelle," in "Lie to Me." Next
time we see her she was calling herself "Lily," in "Anne." At the end
of "Anne," she asked Buffy if she could be "Anne" from now on.
> Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
> as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I?
"Passion" established that Cordy insisted that they do her car, not that
it actually was required, or that it did any good.
--
Quando omni flunkus moritati
Visit the Buffy Body Count at <http://homepage.mac.com/dsample/>
George W Harris
<tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
:Holland's posthumous appearance (ME shows love posthumous cameos like
:one wouldn't believe) may be the best that the character has ever
:worked for me. He's just dripping with slimy insincerity as he
:earnestly talks about how people can change the world. One can see why
:W&H is so reluctant to let go of him as a face for their firm.
:
Oh, he's perfectly sincere; don't you think W&H
wants to change the world? You might not like what
they change it into...
--
/bud...@nirvana.net/h:k
George W. Harris For actual email address, replace each 'u' with an 'i'
George W Harris
<tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
I didn't notice it on first viewing either; she really
changed her look. But rewatching you see she had a
brief look of shocked recognition when first seeing Angel
(they had a conversation in "Lie To Me").
:
:-AOQ
Don Sample
George W Harris <gha...@mundsprung.com> wrote:
> On 28 Jun 2006 23:34:36 -0700, "Arbitrar Of Quality"
> <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
>
> :lili...@gmail.com wrote:
> :
> :> One thing you might not have noticed, but this isn't Anne's first
> :> appearance.
> :> She's kinda like a fave recurring character of mine, because of the
> :> huge changes that her char goes through.
> :
> :Huh. That's a big embarassing kind of thing to not notice, but there
> :ya go. My only excuse is that it's been a long time since the
> :Chantrlily episodes.
>
> I didn't notice it on first viewing either; she really
> changed her look. But rewatching you see she had a
> brief look of shocked recognition when first seeing Angel
> (they had a conversation in "Lie To Me").
Actually, there is no sign that she recognized Angel at all.
Daniel Damouth
news:1151560110.6...@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:
> A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for future _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads.
[...]
> I don't know how many of my misgivings
> are disappointment with BM's actual quality (some are, though),
> and how many are just the natural byproduct of having expectations
> and reality diverge. It's kinda confusing, as I've said.
I've had the same misgivings many times. Expectations twist
interpretations madly.
> Another thing that seems a little strange is that this is such a
> personal issue with the L.M.s. He and Lindsey have a past, sure,
> and Lilah still hasn't suffered appropriately for "Untouched," but
> doesn't he know that even with their occasional bursts of
> initiative, they're ultimately just tools of the Senior Partners?
Willing, enthusiastic tools, who have had the chance to leave.
[...]
> Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
> as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I? (I've
> heard some people speculate that this was a joke, but I remember
> it being played pretty straight.)
Cars have not been established as being protected from vampires. It
was joked about by the more knowledgable characters.
I appreciated this episode for continuing the story of "Anne", who as
of this episode has given herself an appropriate surname, "Steele".
-Dan Damouth
mariposas rand mair fheal greykitten tomys des anges
> Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
> the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
> supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
previously on buffy anne got herself locked in bomb shelter
full of vampires (using the name chantrelle) and was rescued by buffy
and went to parallel dimension hell (using the name lily)
and was rescued by buffy
shes still using buffys alias but apparently has moved beyond waitress
> The premise could almost be a Season One episode. So why are we
> telling this kind of story at this point in the show's life? It's
angel seems to have special regards for all things wolfram and hart?
> party? What's Boone doing in the episode? I signed up for a war,
> and I'm getting a ridiculously elaborate scheme to make a couple
> lawyers look silly. I don't know how many of my misgivings are
wars dont always open with cataclysmic battle
but with opening skirmishes as they feel out their enemy
arf meow arf - nsa fodder
ny dnrqn greebevfz ahpyrne obzo vena gnyvona ovt oebgure
if you meet buddha on the usenet killfile him
Apteryx
news:1151560110.6...@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for future _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads.
>
>
>
> thought I had a handle on the kind of show ATS was becoming and where
> it was going. Now I'm a little confused. So let's see if I can
> talk through some of that confusion.
>
> So Angel ends up coming to the aid, sort of, of another young woman.
> Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
> the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
> supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
> one-week guest characters must display at least two unique traits to
> merit further pondering.
I was waiting to see if you'd recognise Anne, but obviously I needed to be a
lot quicker off the mark to be the first to point it out :) Three episodes
so far, she's practically a regular.
> Otherwise, they're not worth telling apart.
> The premise could almost be a Season One episode. So why are we
> telling this kind of story at this point in the show's life? It's
> so garish and goofy, and seems like a low-key story for Angel to come
> out of his broody shell for. And then the episode plays with the idea
> of him as the hero, subverting it several times but seemingly wussing
> out on that at the end. The simplest answer I can come up with is that
> BM could be seen as an S2 take on ATS S1. The old stories filtered
> through the lens of recent events.
Well, this is episode 12, and throughout the Buffyverse, that's the time in
a season when any episodes that are mostly filler are likely to be inserted
(but not in every season). There is certainly some season arc advancement,
and some acknowlegdments of the new, not necessarily improved, Dark Angel,
but mostly they seemed tacked on to a stand alone story.
> Another thing that seems a little strange is that this is such a
> personal issue with the L.M.s. He and Lindsey have a past, sure, and
> Lilah still hasn't suffered appropriately for "Untouched," but
> doesn't he know that even with their occasional bursts of initiative,
> they're ultimately just tools of the Senior Partners?
Not here, as is evident from the telling off they get from their boss.
> Amidst what I'd have to classify as a "light" episode, overall,
> the show finally gives us a direct statement about what W&H want out of
> Angel. The plan isn't that much more complex than turning him to
> their side, as I'd feared, but throws in a few references to texts
> and an apocalypse or two (weren't we supposed to get one of those
> based on vague hints from last year? Maybe they're resurrecting that
> plotline). In other words, it's not simply taking insane risks
> because of wanting a new ally, it's part of something bigger. That I
> can live with just fine.
A significant revelation. We know for a fact that the SP's want Angel alive,
even if not all their employees are singing from the same song book.
>
> Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
> as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I? (I've heard
> some people speculate that this was a joke, but I remember it being
> played pretty straight.)
Well, one possibility is that you may not be the world's greatest authority
on what is a joke. I mean, you don't even claim to be Arbiter of Humour.
Hint: in Passion, it was only Cordy who was worried about cars.
> On the dumb-but-fun side of things, "mugging" donors is just corny
> enough that I can buy it as a real theme for a gathering like that.
> The tone of the episode totally changes during those few moments. "I
> have to know, this thing with making your character gay, is that like
> all about ratings? Because I don't get it." Heh.
Wonder where that came from :)
> Holland's posthumous appearance (ME shows love posthumous cameos like
> one wouldn't believe) may be the best that the character has ever
> worked for me.
I always thought Holland was good at that. But agreed, this was his best
performance.
>
> So...
>
> One-sentence summary: A bit of a weird, subdued mindfuck.
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
To me it's Good. But a part of that is from seeing how Anne has grown since
we saw her last. It's my 24th favourite AtS episode, 9th best in season 2.
--
Apteryx
Stephen Tempest
<mair_...@yahoo.com> writes:
>and went to parallel dimension hell (using the name lily)
>and was rescued by buffy
And vice-versa. Lily/Anne personally killed the chief demon of that
hell dimension with her bare hands, allowing Buffy to escape.
Stephen
Terry
*snicker* Imagine how long it was for those of us watching seasons one year
at a time!!!
I love me some Chantarelle/Lily/Anne. She's such a great character.
Terry
jil...@hotmail.com
George W Harris wrote:
> On 28 Jun 2006 23:34:36 -0700, "Arbitrar Of Quality"
> <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
>
> :lili...@gmail.com wrote:
> :
> :> One thing you might not have noticed, but this isn't Anne's first
> :> appearance.
> :> She's kinda like a fave recurring character of mine, because of the
> :> huge changes that her char goes through.
> :
> :Huh. That's a big embarassing kind of thing to not notice, but there
> :ya go. My only excuse is that it's been a long time since the
> :Chantrlily episodes.
>
> I didn't notice it on first viewing either; she really
> changed her look. But rewatching you see she had a
> brief look of shocked recognition when first seeing Angel
> (they had a conversation in "Lie To Me").
> :
It's kind of interesting, what happens to some of the important people
Angel helps and what happens to some of the important people Buffy
helps....
Elisi
>From the transcript:
Anne: "A few years ago it would have been a big turn on. I thought
vampires were the coolest."
Angel: "What happened?"
Anne: "I met one."
And that one would be Spike...
I went back and looked up your review of 'Anne', and here's what you
said about Lily/Anne:
>I also
>think maybe she [Lily] shouldn't have been so overwhelmingly pathetic, to
>the point where even at the end, one doubts that anything Buffy can
>ever do for her will actually help much.
See? She did alright! :)
mariposas rand mair fheal greykitten tomys des anges
Stephen Tempest <ste...@stempest.demon.co.uk> wrote:
actually lily just pushed him off a ledge
giving buffy an opening to climb up
buffy killed the chief
- hey ken wanna see my gandhi impression
whomp
- gandhi?
- like if he was really pissed off
Horace LaBadie
"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
> And while we're at it, I
> don't have anything else to say about Boone either. There's a cool
> visual at the end, at least, that I could enjoy without worrying about
> the context - the two squaring off to play their particular game, as
> pre-parodied by the Risk joke at the beginning.
Boone is homage to Richard Boone.
HWL
peachy ashie passion
I can't tell you how relieved I was that you didn't notice it right
off the bat either.
I thought I was the only one in the whole darn world.
rrh...@acme.com
Uh... Sure! I saw it right off the bat. I didn't cluelessly watch
all those episodes multiple times without catching it, only now
learning about it from this thread. Nope! That couldn't happen to an
acute observer like me!
Richard R. Hershberger
peachy ashie passion
Agreed.
And with the knowledge of who she is, that's some serious added depth
to not just the character, but to the episode as a whole, and the story
it tells.
mariposas rand mair fheal greykitten tomys des anges
rrh...@acme.com wrote:
notice the suster sunshine-chantrelle-lily-anne
somehow inspires buffy and angel to protect her
and that her origins are never disclosed
also remember in ghostbusters there were two
the keymaster and the gatekeeper
would you like to guess that dawn and anne are somehow related?
Arbitrar Of Quality
> It's kind of interesting, what happens to some of the important people
> Angel helps and what happens to some of the important people Buffy
> helps....
Have we seen any long-term followup on the people Angel's helped, other
than Faith?
-AOQ
Arbitrar Of Quality
Elisi wrote:
> I went back and looked up your review of 'Anne', and here's what you
> said about Lily/Anne:
>
> >I also
> >think maybe she [Lily] shouldn't have been so overwhelmingly pathetic, to
> >the point where even at the end, one doubts that anything Buffy can
> >ever do for her will actually help much.
>
> See? She did alright! :)
Yeah, she came through for herself (and others) better than I'd have
given her credit for.
AOQ
One Bit Shy
news:1151560110.6...@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> ANGEL
> Season Two, Episode 12: "Blood Money"
> Okay. After the string of episodes leading up to "Reunion," I
> thought I had a handle on the kind of show ATS was becoming and where
> it was going. Now I'm a little confused. So let's see if I can
> talk through some of that confusion.
When I initially watched this a few days ago I thought it was just plain
awful. But when I rewatched it before this review it played a lot better.
I don't know if I was just in a bad mood the first time, or if some
familiarity makes it go down easier. Either way, I go along with the flow
of the episode in itself ok now. But I still don't think it's especially
good, and wonder about its place as to where Angel is at in the broader
story.
> So Angel ends up coming to the aid, sort of, of another young woman.
> Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
> the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
> supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
> one-week guest characters must display at least two unique traits to
> merit further pondering. Otherwise, they're not worth telling apart.
Everybody's already told you Anne's background. Thankfully I got that. And
Anne is easily the best, most interesting thing about the episode to me. I
guess knowing where she came from made it interesting seeing what she had
made of herself. By most standards it would be pretty good. Evidently self
sufficient and doing good things to boot. But there's a penalty in there
too. She's taken on a bit of a hard edge and a readiness for moral
compromise. It's interesting watching Angel and Lindsey try to sell her in
turn on their stories, while she cooly appraises each from the standpoint of
what's best for her and her teen center.
Angel pushes hard on her sense of good and right. How she can't accept
blood money. And later, how the difference between them is that she still
cares. Evidently he got through enough to eventually convince her to play
the tape publicly. But upon reflection, one might also realize that if the
tape had actual evidence of a plot to steal the money, then the likely
upshot would be the teen center keeping the money with W&H left in the cold.
Anne would have thought that through. But she didn't predict Angel's heist,
which pisses her off.
The truth of how hard she really is comes home in the excellent concluding
scene.
Angel: Wolfram and Hart find out that you have that money...
Anne: I can find a way to hide it. (She fingers the money than looks at the
dark liquid coming off onto her fingers) What's this?
Angel: Blood.
Anne: It'll wash.
This is not to say that Anne isn't good. She obviously is. But it's not
the innocent good and easy mark that both Lindsey and Angel imagine her to
be. Her skepticism of Angel and his sweet words are shown to be right as we
learn that Angel sought to manipulate her every bit as much as W&H. More,
in a sense, because W&H would have left some of the money behind.
So, I think this is all intended as a kind of window into Angel's character.
Anne wasn't really what he thought she was. He was projecting something
fierce onto her. He seemed to have been listing his character failings by
projecting what was missing in him onto her. But in so doing appears to
have demonstrated that he hasn't quite gotten rid of those qualities even
though he's consciously been trying to. It might have been nice if Angel
went after the money at the end instead of just letting it come to him. The
message might have been clearer. (Though that would have messed up the nice
stand-off scene with Boone.) On the other hand, he's probably not mentally
in a place to voluntarily choose that way. The money forced upon him forces
him to re-appraise what he's done.
Why the series would want to do that now after working so hard the last two
episodes to put him somewhere completely different is a mystery to me.
Seems very confused to me. Or maybe that's it. Angel's confused. Wesley
and Cordy were right all along. Conceptually that doesn't feel very
satisfactory to me. But I guess I'll just have to see. That's what tune in
next week is all about.
> The premise could almost be a Season One episode. So why are we
> telling this kind of story at this point in the show's life? It's
> so garish and goofy, and seems like a low-key story for Angel to come
> out of his broody shell for. And then the episode plays with the idea
> of him as the hero, subverting it several times but seemingly wussing
> out on that at the end. The simplest answer I can come up with is that
> BM could be seen as an S2 take on ATS S1. The old stories filtered
> through the lens of recent events.
The general framing story of the teen center and the fundraiser as front for
W&H theft interests me very little. Feels very concocted to me. Say the
word "children" a few times to let everybody know who the good guys are.
Never mind that a charity operation that small doesn't generate a
multi-million dollar fund raising event without suspicions raised. It's
just a silly Hollywood story, which I suppose does serve to justify the
Hollywood jokes the actual event gets filled with.
> Another thing that seems a little strange is that this is such a
> personal issue with the L.M.s. He and Lindsey have a past, sure, and
> Lilah still hasn't suffered appropriately for "Untouched," but
> doesn't he know that even with their occasional bursts of initiative,
> they're ultimately just tools of the Senior Partners?
Lindsey continues to be a bit testy. I think he's still pissed that Lilah
survived the wine tasting. He was a little in love with the idea that Darla
had chosen him as special. And I think he feels he should be in charge.
Maybe even harboring the notion that he knows better than the Senior
Partners. Perhaps the explanation of what they really have in mind for
Angel will cool his shorts some, but I suspect not. He doesn't exactly seem
filled with respect for Nathan. (I do like the big thick glasses on Nathan.
A much more interesting looking and acting boss than the guy that promoted
them last episode.)
> I think I'll
> remember the encounter in Lilah's car as one of the episode's
> strongest scenes, not for anything that was said, but for the
> non-verbal stuff. Angel's at his most quietly intimidating getting
> right up in her face ("personal bubble!"), and it's clearly
> working. It also works as sort of a reversal of the mannerisms from
> their first meeting in "The Ring."
I like that scene too. It's pure Angelus, reminding me a lot of the way he
messed with minds back in Passion. And it shows him fully into character
for his "war" with W&H. (Which is part of what puzzles me about the counter
feelings raised in his relationship with Anne.)
I also liked the tone of Lilah and Lindsey's squabbling when they think
Angel has taped them. Not the plot content. Just their chemistry together.
The way they play off each other is improving. I also liked how Lilah
physically distances herself from Lindsey when he challenges Nathan about
Angel.
> Team Wesley's banter is a little more on target than it was last
> episode, but still not up to the standards set earlier in the season.
> The writers are really determined to wring some humor out of the
> lobster gag, aren't they?
That punchline sure fell flat, didn't it?
> The sequences with the never seen
> fire-farting monster play like someone forgot to write a punchline.
I think the fart *was* the punchline.
> Wes and Cordy also pop up on the video at the end, which plays as more
> bizarre than actually funny. Maybe we're upping their screentime to
> disguise their growing irrelevance to the series.
I was amused at parts of the screening. Like Cordy practicing "milk" and
wondering why nobody will hire her. But there sure was a lot of it. Got
old quick - like watching other people's home movies.
One scene of theirs worked very well for me, though. When they joyfully
recounted their battle with the fart monster. From begiinning to end there
was a kind of adrenalin driven infectious giddiness to them that seemed very
true to what it feels like to have a big success - one way better than
expected. They were very happy at that moment, and it felt good just
watching them be happy.
How this fits in remains a mystery. It's still an out of context side story
that I can only hope will eventually come together as relevant. For now I
guess it serves as the ongoing reminder to what Angel has carved out of
himself. Perhaps foolishly. Perhaps with this episode an inkling that he
misses it. Like I said last episode, it's sort of like they've borrowed
Angel's soul while he isn't using it.
> Angel's found his own people to work for him... well, one demon. He
> can be beaten into submission and doesn't try to impose any morality
> on things. Merl is actually less worthy of comment than Anne, so I'm
> sorry to be giving him this much space.
I got beat up on last episode for not liking him. He actually seems much
better to me this episode. At least it's not just a bunch of whining
alternated with being dunked in water. The triple play of getting bashed in
his lair works for me as simple physical humor along with the situational
lines about people knocking and needing to get a new lair. Hardly high
humor, but at least played right. Asking Angel why he isn't using Cordy to
do the research I suppose serves as another reminder to Angel what he's left
behind. But... you're right, this is probably too much space for him. I
still don't much care for the character.
> And while we're at it, I
> don't have anything else to say about Boone either. There's a cool
> visual at the end, at least, that I could enjoy without worrying about
> the context - the two squaring off to play their particular game, as
> pre-parodied by the Risk joke at the beginning.
He's got to know. I enjoyed Boone. He had some interesting qualities -
like his nice lines about ending their first fight when the sun came up. He
might have been interesting to know better, but I guess he's throw away.
> Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
> as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I? (I've heard
> some people speculate that this was a joke, but I remember it being
> played pretty straight.) ATS as a whole has played pretty loose with
> that, come to think of it, going all the way back to the wrong-vehicle
> bit from "City Of."
If you live in your car long enough for it to truly become home, then
maybe... Otherwise I'd say no. Here's what I wrote back in the Passions
review.
"Here's my only Cordelia comment for the episode. I hope it's clear that
when she's running on about the car that it's really about her wanting to be
part of the group - which is still on uncertain grounds. As you can see
later at Willow's when she's told she can leave now and she kind of snaps
back at them - since she doesn't really want to leave."
(As a reminder, the rest of the gang was worried about Angelus getting into
their homes because he'd previously been invited. Cordy was on the outside
of that conversation, so in her usual amazing way of making everything be
about her, she found commn ground with them by making a stink about Angel
having been in her car.)
> So...
>
> One-sentence summary: A bit of a weird, subdued mindfuck.
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
Me too.
OBS
Don Sample
"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
A fair number of the people Angel's tried to help have ended up dead, so
for long term followup, you'd have to check their corpses.
He was helping Lindsey back in "Bind Date." Since then he's lost a
hand, and gotten even more evil.
Clairel
--Really? I never saw all that much similarity aside from the names.
What interested me about Boone is the idea that he and Angel would have
once had a romantic rivalry over a Mexican senorita. Somehow I never
pictured morose, soulful Angel going in for that sort of thing. We've
seen him in his down-and-out gutter stage, and we've seen him in his
James Dean AYNOHYEB stage in the 1950s, but even when living in a hotel
he seemed so withdrawn to me that I never pictured him putting romantic
moves on anybody.
Clairel
Elisi
On a completely unrelated note... I hope you're keeping well away from
the FFL thread, since it is now riddled with spoilers!
JJ Karhu
wrote:
>"Passion" established that Cordy insisted that they do her car, not that
>it actually was required, or that it did any good.
Please. If a character says it, it's undeniable truth and subject to
no further discussion.
// JJ
George W Harris
:"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in
And hotter'n a $2 pistol.
:
:Terry
George W Harris
:What interested me about Boone is the idea that he and Angel would have
:once had a romantic rivalry over a Mexican senorita.
Although Boone just said they had a
disagreement over a senorita. Didn't say it was
romantic. He might have been being ironic.
--
"I'm a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." -Wash, 'Serenity'
Clairel
George W Harris wrote:
> On 29 Jun 2006 10:48:04 -0700, "Clairel" <reld...@usa.net> wrote:
>
> :What interested me about Boone is the idea that he and Angel would have
> :once had a romantic rivalry over a Mexican senorita.
>
> Although Boone just said they had a
> disagreement over a senorita. Didn't say it was
> romantic. He might have been being ironic.
--I don't think he was just talking through his hat, and I think it was
implied pretty clearly than their disagreement was romantic in nature.
Clairel
Horace LaBadie
"Clairel" <reld...@usa.net> wrote:
> Horace LaBadie wrote:
> > In article <1151560110.6...@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
> > "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
> >
> > > And while we're at it, I
> > > don't have anything else to say about Boone either. There's a cool
> > > visual at the end, at least, that I could enjoy without worrying about
> > > the context - the two squaring off to play their particular game, as
> > > pre-parodied by the Risk joke at the beginning.
> >
> > Boone is homage to Richard Boone.
>
> --Really? I never saw all that much similarity aside from the names.
A blend of the character traits of the actor, who was known to carry on
a pretty good binge (there are still stories on the Kona Coast about
him), and Paladin, the gunfighter who was often motivated by money, but
also by a strong code of honor and competitiveness.
HWL
jil...@hotmail.com
This could be regarded, too, as another sign (though they've been
trying to wave a flag about it) that it ISN'T MERELY HAVING SEX that
made Angel lose his soul!! I mean, heck. He's had that soul for a
long time, been sullen and broody, wandered about, and probably did at
the very least get laid a few times seeking comfort. Or even giving
comfort.
He even says himself that the sex-issue is more of a guideline than an
absolute. I'm guessing post-Buffy he'd cut himself open with her, and
worries that he is now vulnerable to being so emotionally involved with
a lover, he could conceivably lose his soul again. But with that
hanging over his head, how is he ever going to have to really worry
about it?
Arbitrar Of Quality
> On a completely unrelated note... I hope you're keeping well away from
> the FFL thread, since it is now riddled with spoilers!
I noticed all the spoiler warnings, so yes, I'm keeping away. That and
the fact that there were about 29,152 posts about the same few things.
Well, I'm ready to talk about new things.
-AOQ
~to that end, I'm away for the weekend, so I'm finishing up some
reviews to dump into the group all at once. Hopefully BTVS 5-13/14
will stir up some interesting conversations...
-AOQ
peachy ashie passion
> On Thu, 29 Jun 2006 12:20:47 GMT, Terry <no...@nonesuch.com> wrote:
>
> :"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in
> :news:1151562876.3...@p79g2000cwp.googlegroups.com:
> :
> :> lili...@gmail.com wrote:
> :>
> :>> One thing you might not have noticed, but this isn't Anne's first
> :>> appearance.
> :>> She's kinda like a fave recurring character of mine, because of the
> :>> huge changes that her char goes through.
> :>
> :> Huh. That's a big embarassing kind of thing to not notice, but there
> :> ya go. My only excuse is that it's been a long time since the
> :> Chantrlily episodes.
> :
> :
> :*snicker* Imagine how long it was for those of us watching seasons one year
> :at a time!!!
> :
> :I love me some Chantarelle/Lily/Anne. She's such a great character.
>
> And hotter'n a $2 pistol.
She was the fastest thing around.
MBangel10 (Melissa)
Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
> A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for future _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads.
>
>
> Season Two, Episode 12: "Blood Money"
> Writers: Mere Smith and Shawn Ryan
> Director: R.D. Price
>
I've been away for awhile but I'm finally back... for a day at least...
I don't remember this episode but when I saw your tag line I just had
to comment.
June 23rd rocked at the Mellon Arena. Now on to catch up with your
Buffy reviews....
> Okay. After the string of episodes leading up to "Reunion," I
> thought I had a handle on the kind of show ATS was becoming and where
> it was going. Now I'm a little confused. So let's see if I can
> talk through some of that confusion.
>
> So Angel ends up coming to the aid, sort of, of another young woman.
> Another blonde, naturally, Anne is deeply committed to The Children to
> the point of being ready to sell her soul, and is unfazed by the
> supernatural. I'm thinking of imposing a new rule decreeing that the
> one-week guest characters must display at least two unique traits to
> merit further pondering. Otherwise, they're not worth telling apart.
> The premise could almost be a Season One episode. So why are we
> telling this kind of story at this point in the show's life? It's
> so garish and goofy, and seems like a low-key story for Angel to come
> out of his broody shell for. And then the episode plays with the idea
> of him as the hero, subverting it several times but seemingly wussing
> out on that at the end. The simplest answer I can come up with is that
> BM could be seen as an S2 take on ATS S1. The old stories filtered
> through the lens of recent events.
>
> Running with that, this gives the episode some of its kick with the
> aforementioned playing with the audience. Angel runs into someone who
> might need help and acts all nervous and charming and such, and then we
> see that he has a wall of photographs and has been essentially stalking
> her. Same thing at the end, where the whole purpose of his involvement
> isn't to help someone in need, but to mess with Lindsey and Lilah.
> What I found most interesting and clever about this setup is that
> we've known for a long time that he's shy and has a hard time
> communicating, but when he's found a character to play, he knows
> people well enough to be totally convincing. Well, now S1-era Angel
> *is* the role that present-day Angel is playing so well. It works as a
> contrast between how he is and the gentlemanly vampire detective he
> used to toy with becoming (several times in the past, if one remembers
> "Are You Now...").
>
> Thoughts like that kept me amused for awhile, but I don't know if
> it's enough to build an episode around. It's not enough to keep me
> from wondering - why are we spending so much time on this teen center
> party? What's Boone doing in the episode? I signed up for a war,
> and I'm getting a ridiculously elaborate scheme to make a couple
> lawyers look silly. I don't know how many of my misgivings are
> disappointment with BM's actual quality (some are, though), and how
> many are just the natural byproduct of having expectations and reality
> diverge. It's kinda confusing, as I've said.
>
> Another thing that seems a little strange is that this is such a
> personal issue with the L.M.s. He and Lindsey have a past, sure, and
> Lilah still hasn't suffered appropriately for "Untouched," but
> doesn't he know that even with their occasional bursts of initiative,
> they're ultimately just tools of the Senior Partners? I think I'll
> remember the encounter in Lilah's car as one of the episode's
> strongest scenes, not for anything that was said, but for the
> non-verbal stuff. Angel's at his most quietly intimidating getting
> right up in her face ("personal bubble!"), and it's clearly
> working. It also works as sort of a reversal of the mannerisms from
> their first meeting in "The Ring."
>
> Team Wesley's banter is a little more on target than it was last
> episode, but still not up to the standards set earlier in the season.
> The writers are really determined to wring some humor out of the
> lobster gag, aren't they? The sequences with the never seen
> fire-farting monster play like someone forgot to write a punchline.
> Wes and Cordy also pop up on the video at the end, which plays as more
> bizarre than actually funny. Maybe we're upping their screentime to
> disguise their growing irrelevance to the series.
>
> Amidst what I'd have to classify as a "light" episode, overall,
> the show finally gives us a direct statement about what W&H want out of
> Angel. The plan isn't that much more complex than turning him to
> their side, as I'd feared, but throws in a few references to texts
> and an apocalypse or two (weren't we supposed to get one of those
> based on vague hints from last year? Maybe they're resurrecting that
> plotline). In other words, it's not simply taking insane risks
> because of wanting a new ally, it's part of something bigger. That I
> can live with just fine.
>
> Some more random thoughts:
>
> Angel's found his own people to work for him... well, one demon. He
> can be beaten into submission and doesn't try to impose any morality
> on things. Merl is actually less worthy of comment than Anne, so I'm
> sorry to be giving him this much space. And while we're at it, I
> don't have anything else to say about Boone either. There's a cool
> visual at the end, at least, that I could enjoy without worrying about
> the context - the two squaring off to play their particular game, as
> pre-parodied by the Risk joke at the beginning.
>
> You know what I liked? Cordelia having a vision sans special effects
> or musical cues. So this is what it's looked like to the rest of the
> world all this time, huh?
>
> Do you want to remind the writers that "Passion" established cars
> as being protected from uninvited vampires, or should I? (I've heard
> some people speculate that this was a joke, but I remember it being
> played pretty straight.) ATS as a whole has played pretty loose with
> that, come to think of it, going all the way back to the wrong-vehicle
> bit from "City Of."
>
> On the dumb-but-fun side of things, "mugging" donors is just corny
> enough that I can buy it as a real theme for a gathering like that.
> The tone of the episode totally changes during those few moments. "I
> have to know, this thing with making your character gay, is that like
> all about ratings? Because I don't get it." Heh.
>
> Holland's posthumous appearance (ME shows love posthumous cameos like
> one wouldn't believe) may be the best that the character has ever
> worked for me. He's just dripping with slimy insincerity as he
> earnestly talks about how people can change the world. One can see why
> W&H is so reluctant to let go of him as a face for their firm.
>
>
> So...
>
> One-sentence summary: A bit of a weird, subdued mindfuck.
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
>
Arbitrar Of Quality
> In article <0du6a2ho5jibv7vil...@4ax.com>,
> George W Harris <gha...@mundsprung.com> wrote:
> >
> > I didn't notice it on first viewing either; she really
> > changed her look. But rewatching you see she had a
> > brief look of shocked recognition when first seeing Angel
> > (they had a conversation in "Lie To Me").
>
> Actually, there is no sign that she recognized Angel at all.
>From a quick archives search, from Mere Smith herself:
"actually, we talked about that -- whether or not Anne would
recognize Angel, and we finally came down on the side of "no". they had
a brief exchange in "Lie To Me" three years ago, and to tell you the
truth, i have a hard time remembering people i met three days ago. so,
that's why they don't recognize each other."
-AOQ
(Harmony) Watcher
"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in message
news:1151904360....@h44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
right now as I need to appeal to spoilery information (no peeking here for
AoQ: <rot13>uggc://oqo.ieln.arg/oqo/pyvc.cuc?pyvc=4979</rot13>).
==Harmony Watcher==