AOQ Angel Review 1-20: "War Zone"
Arbitrar Of Quality
episodes in these review threads
ANGEL
Season One, Episode 20: "War Zone")
(or "Orphanage FROM HELL")
Writer: David Straiton
Director: Garry Campbell
Some episodes lend themselves to a lot of discussion and typing. This
isn't one of them. This is more like one of those shows that leaves
me struggling to think of anything to say. Let's see if I can muster
up ten or so individual thoughts.
1} This makes more explicit an ongoing theme of the series - L.A. as
Angel's city. If there's bad shit going on, it's automatically
his business. Even if it wouldn't affect him if he ignored it, and
even if both sides want to kill him, he will get involved. This also
ties into the contrast that some people have noted between the
Buffyverse shows. Buffy fights evil in a city where everyone knows
everyone, and notoriously silly plot devices and widespread cover-ups
are needed to keep her exploits from shaking up the town. Whereas in
L.A., where murders aren't front-page news, there's a whole
underworld of demonic activity that unobtrusively thrives, and Angel
has taken it upon himself to join any fight he sees, as arbiter and
executioner.
2} TV gangs are always so racially integrated.
3} Gunn isn't a character so much as a personality type. What we
see is pretty admirable, maybe unrealistically so. He's a born
leader who thinks that undead killers are his business. He's quick
to violence when it's needed, but has enough of a rational streak
that he'll stop to ask questions when the situation demands it.
He'll never give up his war, since lives hang in the balance. His
big "flaw" is that he's become totally swept up in the fight, and
has no other interests; happiness and safety are things to be
experienced only vicariously. (Remind you of any other character on
the show?)
4} I have no comment at all on the David The Rich Guy plot, except
that it's nice to see the gang actually make some money beyond
whatever Angel mysteriously has. This is only the second time we've
seen them earn anything; like the first one, this one seems to be a
pretty fat check.
5} The whole sequence with the house o' booby traps didn't really
work for me.
6} I liked the line "I don't need advice from some middle-class
white dude that's dead!" And as thoroughly silly as it is, I like
the scene where Angel forgets that he has a cell phone and could've
called for help. "Besides, it was a lot easier and quicker to
just..." The episode needed a little comic relief right about there.
7} Seeing Alonna get taken away in the van is pretty striking, since
we know she's gone. The scene in which Gunn realizes that he'll
have to re-kill her, wrapping around a commercial break, takes quite a
lot of time to not say very much. It's like someone recorded a good
scene at 45 RPM and then played it back at 33 RPM (or is it the other
way around? Whichever makes something slow and weird-sounding).
8} The first and last scenes are probably the best of the episode. I
like how the teaser sets up Alonna's vulnerability while also playing
with expectations: she starts off looking like random vamp-prey rather
than a member of her brother's group, and a character we've never
seen before gets to be the one to make the big dramatic entrance to
save her... backed by a pickup truck full of kids with weapons. As he
says, it's not quite what we were expecting to see, huh?
9} The rooftop conversation at the end is nice and understated, as
Angel and Charles survey their city. Gunn isn't interested in having
someone talk at him and be all daddy-figure, or having someone try to
give his crew a happy ending. Which is good, given that that's not
what our hero's there for. And that closing exchange: "I don't
need no help." "I might." Was that the real point of this
episode from a long-term story standpoint?
10} That's it. I have nothing else to say about "War Zone."
Not very interesting as an allegory, but as an ATS episode, it's
okay.
So...
One-sentence summary: Competently bland.
AOQ rating: Decent
[Season One so far:
1) "City Of" - Good
2) "Lonely Hearts" - Weak
3) "Into The Dark" - Good
4) "I Fall To Pieces" - Good
5) "Rm W/ A Vu" - Decent
6) "Sense And Sensitivity" - Weak
7) "The Bachelor Party" - Decent
8) "I Will Remember You" - Excellent
9) "Hero" - Good
10) "Parting Gifts" - Decent
11) "Somnambulist" - Good
12) "Expecting" - Bad
13) "She" - Good
14) "I've Got You Under My Skin" - Decent
15) "The Prodigal" - Decent
16) "The Ring" - Decent
17) "Eternity" - Decent
18) "Five By Five" - Excellent
19) "Sanctuary" - Excellent
20) "War Zone" - Decent]
angelbuffy0
being IWRY and Somnabulist.
George W Harris
<tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
:3} Gunn isn't a character so much as a personality type. What we
:see is pretty admirable, maybe unrealistically so. He's a born
:leader who thinks that undead killers are his business. He's quick
:to violence when it's needed, but has enough of a rational streak
:that he'll stop to ask questions when the situation demands it.
:He'll never give up his war, since lives hang in the balance. His
:big "flaw" is that he's become totally swept up in the fight, and
:has no other interests; happiness and safety are things to be
:experienced only vicariously. (Remind you of any other character on
:the show?)
It seemed implied to me in the conversations
between Gunn and his sister that vamps had killed the
rest of their family.
--
/bud...@nirvana.net/h:k
George W. Harris For actual email address, replace each 'u' with an 'i'
One Bit Shy
news:1148512834.9...@y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for later _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads
>
>
> ANGEL
> Season One, Episode 20: "War Zone")
> (or "Orphanage FROM HELL")
> Writer: David Straiton
> Director: Garry Campbell
>
> Some episodes lend themselves to a lot of discussion and typing. This
> isn't one of them. This is more like one of those shows that leaves
> me struggling to think of anything to say. Let's see if I can muster
> up ten or so individual thoughts.
And you'll be relieved to know that I don't have much to say myself. I'm
actually a little befuddled as how to take the episode.
I did want to say up front that there is one moment in here that made me
gasp. Angel called himself "Angelus".
Maybe I'm crazy, but that seems like a really big deal to me. I was also a
little startled to see Angel seriusly repeat the, "This is my town,"
refrain. It's one thing to scold Buffy with that. It's another to announce
it to the whole vampire community. And then there is the, "What else are we
going to do," remark in the closing scene. Between those three moments I
sense that Angel is on the edge of forcing some kind of issue - raising the
stakes as it were. Being vampire detective isn't enough for him. And using
the Angelus name is kind of disturbing. Not just because of the evil
aspect, but because that's tapping into his extravagant side.
Of course a more extravagant show might not be such a bad idea, but I think
you get what I mean.
> 2} TV gangs are always so racially integrated.
While I enjoyed some of the visuals used with the gang, the dynamics of the
group itself irritated me. Maybe it's the TV gang idea. It felt so pat and
kind of preachy. It's sort of like it's made clear that nobody's allowed to
talk "at" Gunn, but talking at the audience is fair game.
That's probably not entirely fair, but I sure felt like I was being force
fed something with that gang and didn't much like it. I wish I had a
clearer explanation of what was bothering me.
> 3} Gunn isn't a character so much as a personality type. What we
> see is pretty admirable, maybe unrealistically so. He's a born
> leader who thinks that undead killers are his business. He's quick
> to violence when it's needed, but has enough of a rational streak
> that he'll stop to ask questions when the situation demands it.
> He'll never give up his war, since lives hang in the balance. His
> big "flaw" is that he's become totally swept up in the fight, and
> has no other interests; happiness and safety are things to be
> experienced only vicariously. (Remind you of any other character on
> the show?)
Perhaps this will be a recurring character with an opportunity to grow.
We'll see. But initially I found him to be a TV stereotype.
However, the one thing I did like was the parallel with Angel. The teaser
opening, "You expecting somebody else?" is funny, but also genuinely
startling. And just the idea of another force loosely allied with Angel -
but not working in his office - is intriguing. Opens possibilities. I have
no idea if or where it will go, but Angel saying he might need help pretty
strongly suggests it will go somewhere. (At least Angel isn't hiring
castoffs from the Initiative.)
> 4} I have no comment at all on the David The Rich Guy plot, except
> that it's nice to see the gang actually make some money beyond
> whatever Angel mysteriously has. This is only the second time we've
> seen them earn anything; like the first one, this one seems to be a
> pretty fat check.
I also jumped a little when Cordelia said she wanted to prostitute herself
to David Nabbit. I'm not sure what to say about that. But I jumped.
That reminds me of my favorite line in the episode.
Cordelia: I like the smell of a little money once in a while.
Angel: She's not just saying that. Hide some in the office sometime to
watch her. It's uncanny.
> 5} The whole sequence with the house o' booby traps didn't really
> work for me.
It worked for me to the extent of successfully showing Angel unable to keep
up with the action thrown his way. The action itself wasn't so good. And I
hated the way he got staked, but survived. Considering the usual standards
for staking, that was way too close to the heart to retain any continuity.
Didn't seem necessary to me to do that.
However, the scene was a little bit redeemed by Angel's hand save with the
arrow and, "Ow! - You know, for some reason I'm getting the impression you
don't like me too much! (Pulls the quarrel out of his hand) Maybe I'm just
over-reacting."
> 6} I liked the line "I don't need advice from some middle-class
> white dude that's dead!" And as thoroughly silly as it is, I like
> the scene where Angel forgets that he has a cell phone and could've
> called for help. "Besides, it was a lot easier and quicker to
> just..." The episode needed a little comic relief right about there.
Yes. I also liked the earlier moment when Angel is checking out the empty
lair, steps to the side, and the pouncing vampire on the ceiling crashes to
the ground. Funny in itself, but I think also well staged. There are good
things in the episode.
> 7} Seeing Alonna get taken away in the van is pretty striking, since
> we know she's gone. The scene in which Gunn realizes that he'll
> have to re-kill her, wrapping around a commercial break, takes quite a
> lot of time to not say very much. It's like someone recorded a good
> scene at 45 RPM and then played it back at 33 RPM (or is it the other
> way around? Whichever makes something slow and weird-sounding).
Blech, blech, blech. Again, almost all of this (from capture to truce)
annoyed me for reasons I don't quite get. Maybe it really is too much
standing around not saying much. Like the painful scene with the smoke
grenade and them standing there saying they don't see anything.
But again there's a moment (in adition to Angel calling himself Angelus)
that struck me. I really enjoyed Gunn peering into the escaping van and the
vampire looking up at him and punching him through the window.
> 9} The rooftop conversation at the end is nice and understated, as
> Angel and Charles survey their city. Gunn isn't interested in having
> someone talk at him and be all daddy-figure, or having someone try to
> give his crew a happy ending. Which is good, given that that's not
> what our hero's there for. And that closing exchange: "I don't
> need no help." "I might." Was that the real point of this
> episode from a long-term story standpoint?
"Skulking - professionally." I liked that.
The idea of this scene is, I think, very good. And several of the lines
were excellent too. But it didn't play smoothly to me. The daddy-figure
stuff makes sense conceptually, but I struggle imagining him actually
delivering the lines without Angel provoking them. It's kind of forced.
> So...
>
> One-sentence summary: Competently bland.
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
It's hard for me to rate a show like this because there is good stuff in
it - even striking stuff. Plus some promising elements that make me
interested in the future. Yet so much of it is uninteresting, kind of
annoying to me - even downright bad.
On the basis of volume alone, I don't think I can avoid rating it Weak. But
I have a suspicion I'm going to need to reference this episode again some
day.
OBS
Slayah
>However, the scene was a little bit redeemed by Angel's hand save with the
>arrow and, "Ow! - You know, for some reason I'm getting the impression you
>don't like me too much! (Pulls the quarrel out of his hand) Maybe I'm just
>over-reacting."
I love sarcastic Angel almost as much as sarcastic Angelus! So similar and yet
so different.
--
ajs...@aol.com
reputation. As Doyle commented even other vampires were afraid of
Angelus.
For that matter, I'd say for the most part Angel doesn't consider
Angelus a separate entity. It seems to me that Angel considers Angelus
his evil side, that everything Angelus did he did.
vague disclaimer
"Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote:
> Competently bland.
What a marvellous turn of phrase. I feel it should be paired with
"comfortably numb".
--
A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend
Apteryx
news:1148512834.9...@y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for later _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> episodes in these review threads
>
> white dude that's dead!" And as thoroughly silly as it is, I like
> the scene where Angel forgets that he has a cell phone and could've
> called for help. "Besides, it was a lot easier and quicker to
> just..." The episode needed a little comic relief right about there.
That was pretty much the high point for me.
>
> So...
>
> One-sentence summary: Competently bland.
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
It was pretty forgetable for me too, even with the demon brothel and the
vampires who attacked in daylight using their anti-sunlight suits.
Actually the first time around I ranked it the worst of season 1.
Considering Expecting, She, and The Ring, that's a lot of hate for a
pretty ordinary epsiosde. I think I was reacting to the widespread
awareness of demons in LA, and to image of vampires as gang members
effectively fighting a turf war with a human gang. Its risen a little
since then, to be my 91st favourite AtS episode, 19th in season 1.
--
Apteryx
gree...@gmail.com
Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
> This is more like one of those shows that leaves
> me struggling to think of anything to say. Let's see if I can muster
> up ten or so individual thoughts.
I'm impressed you came up with ten. Or nine really, I guess. Still, I'm
impressed.
> AOQ rating: Decent
You're too kind.
Terry
Slayah
>It was pretty forgetable for me too, even with the demon brothel
"Look, ma, no hands!"
--
kenm47
viewers, and ME decided to be more politically correct with a heroic
not white character.
Seemed forced on many levels. Decent enough I guess, but further
silliness with everyone in LA knowing about vampires and such, except
the police.
Ken (Brooklyn)
Exp315
Arbitrar Of Quality wrote:
>
> ANGEL
> Season One, Episode 20: "War Zone")
> (or "Orphanage FROM HELL")
> Writer: David Straiton
> Director: Garry Campbell
>
> AOQ rating: Decent
It's a while since I saw this one. Only the main plot points stuck in
my mind - Gunn the gang leader, killing his vamped sister etc..
Certainly rates no more than Decent on the AOQ scale.
Best line: "I wasn't actually talking to you."
Hated the inappropriate "prostitution" speach by Cordelia. I assume AOQ
skipped commenting on it due to general dislike of thinking about bad
Cordelia scenes more than necessary?
Mel
I don't think it's inappropriate at all. It shows she still misses being
wealthy and is willing to do darn near anything to insure financial
security for herself.
Remember when she went to Russell's mansion in "City of..."? You can't
honestly say she thought the guy was really interested in her acting
skills. He was looking to buy/own her and until she realized he was a
vampire, she was more than willing to go along with it.
The scene is this episode moves her along a little, because she actually
doesn't think she could go through with it now. And David is at least a
nice (human) guy, even if he is "a big nerd."
Mel
Arbitrar Of Quality
Mel wrote:
> Exp315 wrote:
> > Hated the inappropriate "prostitution" speach by Cordelia. I assume AOQ
> > skipped commenting on it due to general dislike of thinking about bad
> > Cordelia scenes more than necessary?
> >
> I don't think it's inappropriate at all. It shows she still misses being
> wealthy and is willing to do darn near anything to insure financial
> security for herself.
>
> Remember when she went to Russell's mansion in "City of..."? You can't
> honestly say she thought the guy was really interested in her acting
> skills. He was looking to buy/own her and until she realized he was a
> vampire, she was more than willing to go along with it.
>
> The scene is this episode moves her along a little, because she actually
> doesn't think she could go through with it now. And David is at least a
> nice (human) guy, even if he is "a big nerd."
The scene didn't do much for me or bother me horribly, but I think it's
a little inappropriate simply because she's already moved on, as was
made abundantly clear back in the Doyle era. If anything, this is a
backstep. I've always been tempted to regard "City Of" as an
aberration myself, since I can't really see either pre-poverty or
post-AI Cordelia prostituting herself that way. She was hopeless, then
Angel helped her.
-AOQ
kenm47
One Bit Shy wrote:
> "Arbitrar Of Quality" <tsm...@wildmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1148512834.9...@y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
> >A reminder: Please avoid spoilers for later _Buffy_ and _Angel_
> > episodes in these review threads
> >
> >
> > ANGEL
> > Season One, Episode 20: "War Zone")
> > (or "Orphanage FROM HELL")
> > Writer: David Straiton
> > Director: Garry Campbell
> >
> > Some episodes lend themselves to a lot of discussion and typing. This
> > isn't one of them. This is more like one of those shows that leaves
> > me struggling to think of anything to say. Let's see if I can muster
> > up ten or so individual thoughts.
>
> And you'll be relieved to know that I don't have much to say myself. I'm
> actually a little befuddled as how to take the episode.
>
> I did want to say up front that there is one moment in here that made me
> gasp. Angel called himself "Angelus".
>
> Maybe I'm crazy, but that seems like a really big deal to me.
<SNIP>
I tinl it was just because he figured that name was known to the other
vampires. No big.
Ken (Brooklyn)
peachy ashie passion
I don't think Cordy's mind was on prostitution as such in City of. I
really don't. It's not how her mind works.
KenM47
Where do you draw the line between prostitution and the willingness to
be "kept" by a rich guy?
Ken (Brooklyn)
peachy ashie passion
How clearly the transaction is set up?
I lived with a guy for a while. He totally supported me, I stayed
home and played. Did some volunteer work when I felt like it. Shopped
some. Neither of us thought of it as prostitution.
Maybe it was the wedding ring?
The lines between relationships and how money gets involved is very
fuzzy.
Tammy Davis
Exactly. After a second of being surprised when I heard it, I realized
he said it because Angelus would make a bigger impression on the
vampires than saying he was Angel.