Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 26

A1.21 Blind Date
Although as a story of the week this episode is mostly average, as a part of the Wolfram and Hart arc, this episode is really excellent. Watching the inner machinations of the evil law firm is highly enjoyable; the shamans, mind readers, terminating employees literally all prove to be very interesting. Holland Manners is great as the boss in this episode, he reminds me a little of the Mayor in his speech, mannerisms and father figure role to Lindsay. His talks about finding his place in the world as well as Lindsay and Angel's soul searching made the episode very poignant and I liked a lot of what he said.
The blind assassin was a bit of a creepy storyline though I liked the way in which Angel was able to defeat her. Its interesting that Angel doesn't think twice about killing her even though shes human- another distinction between Buffy and Angel (the shows). One thing I found a little odd with this episode was how angry Angel was with W&H at the start of the episode, even with the Faith thing, he just seemed overly angry with their interference even more than he does at some points on season 2. (8.5/10)

B4.21 Primeval
Such an excellent wrap up the the seasons arc and in many ways this would've made a brilliant finale episode. However since there wasn't the build up to it we have got from other finales, Restless works as a better way to end the season. The Initiative experiment both for the government and for the show gets wrapped up as we always knew it would- tragically with Buffy saving the day. I always find the final speech with the nameless government very creepy indeed and perfectly adds to the unsettling nature of the Initiative. The Initiative scenes were all very impressive, almost film worthy, the fighting and violence all top notch. The revelation of Adam's plan isn't that shocking once you've seen the episode before and perhaps that's why it was only revealed in this episode rather than any earlier, as its something that science fiction has toyed with before.
One of my favourite things about this episode is the spell in which the Scoobies perform. Its very cool, a terrific idea and brought the gang full circle and back together again. However I would've liked to have seen uber-Slayer Buffy fight Adam more. We did get to see a terrified Adam which was interesting to see as we've never seen that before as he's usually such an impassive character. (9.5/10)

B4.22 Restless
This episode is so intense and crazy that's its easy to forget so many things that happen in the episode; a lot of the dreams felt new to me even though I have seen the episode before. Generally this is regarded as on of the best Buffy episodes and its obvious why. Joss and co really went to town on this episode and it makes a brilliant capper to the season as a whole. Each dream sequence addresses the characters own fears that have been bubbling throughout the season. Willow's and Xander's were perhaps the most obvious to me; Willows new identity and Xander's lack of direction. Both issues are largely resolved for the characters during season 5 as Willow becomes more comfortable with who she is and Xander finds a calling in life. Giles' was a little more subtle maybe looking at what his life has been like for the last year and looking forward to accepting his calling as Watcher again. Buffy's dreams were definitely more forward thinking into who she will become next season and the impact the First Slayer will have on her life. Personally I think either Giles or Willow's is my favourite dream sequence; Buffy's is my least favourite because it is more like normal life than the random dreams the others were having especially at the end. The whole randomness and etheral-ness of the dreams is really excellent though and such an enjoyable aspect of the episode, since dreams are rarely the sequential images we see in other shows or dream sequences. It was also a real thrill to see many old characters back including Joyce, Harmony, Snyder and of course Oz.
In many ways this episode helps to set up for season 5 as much as it does to conclude season 4, (also I think it is best watched in the context of season 4 rather than a standalone episode due to the arcs addressed in the episode.) which makes it a brilliant finale episode. It is a very weird episode and hard to watch sometimes but one of the most creative episodes any show has ever done. (10/10)

A1.22 To Shanshu In LA
I think this is one of my favourite episodes of the whole show. The episode serves as a fantastic set-up for season 2, and also wraps up season 1 quite well. The episode is well plotted and includes all the key elements of Angel's life. The demon Vocah in this episode is suitably scary as he actually causes harm; the killing of the Oracles was the most tragic I think.
This episode marks a change for many of the characters which makes it such an important episode, including Cordy who becomes more compassionate, Lindsey who becomes more vengeful, Angel who now has something to live for and it amps up Wolfram & Hart's involvement in Angel's life. There is also the fact that Darla is now alive and kicking; shes not some scary demon but for Angel, she's far worse. It was a brilliant twist to end the season on.
One of my favourite things about this episode is the sense of family between the Angel Investigations. The bond between the three is at its highest here I think. Its taken a while to get there after Doyle's death and the bond will be broken by midway season 2, (and completely after midway season 3) but here the three are so close and its really heartwarming.
Overall this is a great finale for the show and one of the strongest for the show. It sets Angel the show and the character on a direct path which contributes to why its later seasons are so great. (10/10)