5.12: You're Welcome - 100th episode

[Highlander II]

*****100th Episode of Angel*****





Angel quit. He's done. He's out.


But - there's something giving him a swift kick in the pants and tellin' him to get over it and remember who he is...


And Spike's still following the visions of that guy named Doyle, who dresses like an urban cowboy, has tattoos and had his hand cut off once upon a time...

 

[Highlander II]

Okay - even with the weird hype-ing the WB did about this episode - I really liked it...


which is cool considering I got spoiled about one plot point -


Very nicely done -- the spoily bit was about Cordy returning - it was EVERYWHERE! not as bad as the stuff about JM moving to AtS, but it was all over the place... which - grr - hello - not everyone wants to know that stuff - we like surprises -

Anyway - it was a nice set-up and a great way to get the gang back on track.

Spike playing the X-box was funny! Donkey Kong - (JM is *big* into videogames - makes it funnier!) But, beer in a can? thought he was a 'beer in a bottle' kind of guy -

And the slow-mo walk down the hall and Cordy being all happy and chatting up Spike as he strutted down the hall, vamped out and slammed her against the wall, sinking the fangs in - that was cool!

The Lindsay - Angel fight was kinda cool too -- but what was that thing in the cage that's designed to go after Angel?

Harmony and Eve - that was a fun fight too!

Angel: Harmony, she's talking.
Harm: She is? Already?

*snort*

Angel: I don't want to put anyone in harm's way that I care about.
Spike: I'll go.
Angel: Okay.

um - typical - thought they were gettin' past that stuff though? What are they? Brothers? of the ages of like 5 and 7? I mean - ugh - get over it and work together you nits....

and on words that rhyme with 'nit'

Spike: ... you gormless git.
Angel: Did you call me a t*t. (hey, he said it on the show - and it didn't get censored)

not sure what the next line was - was laughing...

This was a nicely done episode --- and the end - the end was sad - do they do that on purpose? someone has to die at the end of the 100th episode? If Firefly had kept going would Joss have done the same there??

So - other thoughts???

 

[Mysterious Stranger]

Well, I haven't been a real big fan of the series since they killed off Doyle way back in Season 1 (which I was VERY glad to see the small "cameo" in this ep btw). But this year it's been starting to grow back on me. Angel's been more and more brooding and isolated and that's the way I like him. He shouldn't be all chummy with everybody. Tortured souls should act tortured. But I digress . . .

This ep is one I was looking forward to if for no other reason than to see Charisma back on screen. I thought her return was well timed and scripted perfectly. And she looked great!

And Harmony was perfect! She's definitely filling some of the gap left by Cordelia. Her scene with Eve was funny and so dead on with the characters. Wish we could have seen more of that, but it would have taken away from the story.

I thought the whole "Lindsay/Doyle" issue was wrapped up too quickly. If they don't follow up with it at all I'll be disappointed. I never liked this storyline to begin with but I'd like to see it dealt with properly. My own personal theory on the thing in the cage in the basement is that it's an uber-slayer. Something the senior partners got after the whole Buffy end of the world thing. Eve did say it was something designed to take care of Angel specifically. Needs more thought . . .

Spike and Angel continue with their hate/hate relationship. I think Angel is a little more used to the fact that Spike's gonna be around for a while and he might as well put him to work. And it Spike gets offed then all the better. Spike continues to be the perfect foil to Angel.

And about the ending. I have one question. Spoiler text on:

Spoiler

In the beginning we see Cordelia in her hospital room and she appears to be by herself. Yet when Angel and Wes arrive, Cordy has a roommate, who I take it is near death. She pulled the curtain really quickly when they entered, so I'm wondering, seeing as how Cordy dies at the end, is the other patient that Cordy's hiding actually a dying Cordy? And thus, the Cordy that's up and walking around merely a corporealized incarnation of Cordy's soul/essence/being?

Just something I thought about after watching the ep.

Spoiler

And next week, Angel on a submarine?! Spike with black hair?! AAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

***Mod note - next week's promos are SPOILERS!***

Edit: My bad. I just get so excited sometimes my mind doesn't work quite right. Won't let it happen again. - MS

 

[Highlander II]

About the bit at the end of the episode-- you're not the only person to think that -- I was in a chat last night and that exact question came up --- it's an interesting thought - and it makes a lot of sense ---



And - ACK! I didn't wanna know that about next week!! Promos are spoilers! Please remember this and put that info in the Spoiler thread.........

 

[Shaun]

Mmm, Cordelia is really hot, especially waking up from a coma. Ideal image much. One of the advantages of being buddies with TPTB I guess.
Great episode but a little anticlimatic for Lindsey-Eve plot. Hopefully it continues in some sort of fashion.
I'm happy with the way they finished of Cordelia, she was a great character (for the most part). Also happy she hung out with Wes a lot so that it just wasn't focusing on her and Angel.
Plenty of references thrown in, including Connor, Doyle, Darla, Lilah and even one about the Hyperion.
I'm wondering why Joss didn't write and direct this episode. Anyone know?

 

[bibliosylph]

that just rocked. i can't say much more than that. i wish we could all sit and talk in person over coffee. that's how much it rocked for me. i'm a complete loner and would usually prefer typing to talking. but this was special.

that posted idea about Cordy? very cool, and i think it makes a lot of sense. thanks!

oh, regarding H2's being spoiled about Cordy, this is by no means a spoiler, but in my light perusal of them, i sense some information about upcoming episodes is being much more well-hidden than usual, and without even having any idea of what it might be, that excites me. if they're keeping a big secret, it might be pretty cool.

wasn't Wesley fun? and Gunn was more normal. and oh, Wesley.

y'all just come over to my new house and i'll make tea and we can really talk this over!

 

[Highlander II]

I actually had a post that was supposed to go after Shaun's - but the server at work was being wonky and ate my post - so, it got lost in cyberspace - and my brain's so fried, I'm surprised I remember that I had a post typed up -


I was never a big fan of the Cordy / Angel ship (I know, I know, bit surprise there) - but the way this was wrapped was nice - honestly - WAY better than the 'tie up of loose ends' of the Buffy / Spike stuff - which I hated even more - it was just a nice wrap up - nothing overly dramatic, nothing way out there weird, just a kiss and a 'you're welcome' --- simple, neat, nice.

What I think would have worked *so* much nicer on BtVS, was if Buffy had told Spike 'thank you' instead of 'I love you' - the ILY seems 'add on' / 'tacked on' / 'last minute' / 'afterthought' -ish -- saying 'thank you' would have been much nicer - b/c, though evil and something of a pain in the butt over the last several years, Spike did a heck of a lot to help Buffy and her friends, and Buffy never wanted to admit that she really needed him there - at least, not until after he regained his soul - lame reason for not acknowledging his help -- 'but, he doesn't have a soul, so if I pretend he doesn't exist, then he really doesn't, until I need him to, then he does' <-- that is what irritated me about Buffy for 4 years and why, I think, that, until S4, I liked Cordy on AtS better - she was always straight about things (I think Spike would have liked her, given the chance to get to know her) - she didn't sugar coat things -- and she never forgot that Angel could become an evil killer under the wrong circumstances. Buffy was always in her own little fantasy world where if she just ignored Spike, he really wasn't there, until she needed a babysitter, a punching bag, a bodyguard, a bouncer, whatever - and, thinking about this, Buffy was like that about all of the people she knew - if she didn't like what they were doing, she'd find a way to explain it away until someone pounded it into her head that that was the way it was -

okay - gotta stop - I'm on a Buffy rant again and this is the Angel section ------

Let's talk about hot guys with superpowers -- Spike, Angel, Lindsay, eh - throw Wes on the fire too - he's got some magical mojo up his sleeves, that's a power ---- :evil:

 

[bibliosylph]

it was just a nice wrap up - nothing overly dramatic, nothing way out there weird, just a kiss and a 'you're welcome' --- simple, neat, nice.

it was one of the nicest, best "conclusions" i've yet seen on tv. i couldn't be very sad, because it just felt so good, so right. heh.

they were all so real for a little while.

 

[Tabitha]

Just caught this episode and my eyes are still misty after Cordy's farewell. It was very well done all round, although I absolutely agree with the posts above that have pointed out the abrupt ending to the Lindsay storyline - but you know, it ain't the end! I wouldn't be surprised if, when Angel has to go toe-to-toe with the senior partners (it has to be coming at some point, right?) that Lindsay is their chosen golden boy. I mean, who wouldn't be impressed by that kind of initiative?

Lindsay's final line 'Do you think they'll be mad?', and the look in his eyes when he said it, really brought back his season two character for me. Up until this point something seemed wrong with the way he was being portrayed. It just came as a surprise that after he left LA - and he seemed to be at peace with himself at that point - that he would have ended up resenting Angel's priviledged place in W&H. I think it would have made much more sense had he come back to try and talk some sense into Angel, or actually try to unwrap the senior partners' heinous plan and thereby help Angel foil whatever cunning plan they were cooking up.

And Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia. She brought some heart back to the show - and I hadn't noticed it was missing until now. She really is the only person who is able to speak to Angel as an equal - apart from Spike I suppose, but he isn't that helpful usually - and Angel really needed to hear some home truths.

Mysterious Stranger - I like your theory about Cordy's hospital 'roommate', that definitely makes a lot of sense, well spotted!
On the issue of Cordelia's return being spoiled all over. I was a little frustrated by that myself, but I only knew the actress was coming back, I had no idea what was actually going to happen - and the death at the end was a total surprise. The only comforting thought is that deaths haven't really stopped anyone else from coming back in the Whedonverse, so I think I can deal.

Cordelia was written in such a way this episode that managed to completely encapsulate her character - shopping, her love for Angel, her connection to Wes, there were just no flaws in her portrayal, and Charisma did a fantastic job. I have posted elsewhere on this site that Charisma is dreaming if she thinks anyone would seriously considering her a good enough actress to pull off the role of Wonder Woman, but she was great here, I think I had forgotten her strengths. On the other hand, I wonder if perhaps acting out the emotion of a final goodbye was made easier by the fact that this was mirrored by reality?

Loved the memories of Doyle - made even more poignant by Glenn's death. I am glad they didn't bring up his name just to brush it under the carpet. His character definitely got the respect it deserved here.

And whoever said season five was supposed to be less arc-y? There was a lot of stuff in here that would have been completely lost on new viewers!

 

[obcooke]

Okay, first off...

It took me a long time to track it down, but I knew I had written it down somewhere -

[OB-Wan (06-30-2003): ]But I also figure that they are going to be in a "Monkey's Paw" position, where they use the resources of W&H to stop evil, but each time it has unintended consequences that actually makes things worse. That should build to a pretty dramatic conclusion at the end of the season.

Now, if you add Spike to that equation, it seems to me that Spike will be the outside wild card.

Soulful Spike may well play the role that Angel played in the early seasons - the brooding underdog hero. Only this time he's trying to counteract the actions of Angel's W&H.

Boy, am I good. I just didn't know how far they would go to make Spike into early-Angel, including giving him, literally, his own Doyle.

--------------------

Cordy-

What can I say? The only thing that really bugs me, is a pet-peeve of mine - someone has to survive to make all the fighting worth it.

If every principal character eventually succumbs to evil, then what's it all for? I had this problem when they killed Buffy's Jonathan. It seems to me that sooner or later they have to let someone who's been on the show for years and years live.

Even Lindsey couldn't manage to escape the Buffy-Angel curse - be on the show long enough and you'll eventually be killed off.

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[Mysterious Stranger: I thought the whole "Lindsay/Doyle" issue was wrapped up too quickly.]

I think we all can agree on that one. You never know with Joss, sometimes the characters don't get a proper send-off. And sometimes he brings them back for an encore.

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[Mysterious Stranger: ...is the other patient that Cordy's hiding actually a dying Cordy?]

Again, I completely agree. Had the exact same thought myself when watching the episode over again.

And what's with the spoiler stuff, guys? This is the proper thread for discussing this episode, so nothing but the future (like next week's episode) is spoiler.

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[Shaun: Cordelia is really hot, especially waking up from a coma. Ideal image much...]

As you say, an ideal image is appropriate, since she is apparently an apparition.

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[Tabitha: And whoever said season five was supposed to be less arc-y? There was a lot of stuff in here that would have been completely lost on new viewers]

The thing I find delightful is how, after seasons of - "Oh, Angel is a different show from Buffy." and "Buffy-Angel crossovers will be very limited." - now barely an episode goes by without mentioning her and how Angel-Buffy-Spike's stories are inseparable.

 

[pamie]

Originally posted by Tabitha

And Cordelia, Cordelia, Cordelia. She brought some heart back to the show - and I hadn't noticed it was missing until now. She really is the only person who is able to speak to Angel as an equal - apart from Spike I suppose, but he isn't that helpful usually - and Angel really needed to hear some home truths.

Totally totally agree with you there Tabitha.
I really miss Cordy and really didn't know how much until that episode.
Why can't we have her back for the rest of the season!!