There isn't an abundance of actual storyline in this episode, but there is a lot of character development and it the episodes acts as a good setup for the coming arc.We get glimpses into all of the characters issues in this episode; Gunn being torn between his old friends and new, Wesley's father and leadership issues, Angel struggling to fit in, in the real world, Cordy's aspirations of being an actress in contrast to the reality of her life and Lorne's family and home dimension loathing/fear. Whilst I enjoyed all these insights; Wes' phonecall with his father and Gunn watching the body of his friend burying were especially strong scenes; overall it means the episode is very disjointed. Of course this isn't helped by the fact that the episode is basically the first in a four parter and the storyline of Cordy's vision is barely started let alone concluded meaning that the episode isn't as enjoyable as it could've been. (7.5/10)
A2.20 Over The Rainbow
A decent episode and introduction into the world of Pylea. In terms of storyline, this episode lays the basics for what Pylea is like both in Lorne's description of it and Cordy's experiences there. I have to praise the set/costume design people however as they the most to create the world of Pylea and they do an amazing job. It must've take ages to get everyone in green make-up/masks etc. The boys rushing and struggling took up a fair bit of the episode and it was sweet to see, though I would've liked to see more of Gunn's struggle whether to go or not rather than just sitting in his truck. I like the scene where they go through the portal in the car, it always makes me smile, but honestly for most of the episode it would've been nice to see more fear/saddness about possibly never returning. The final scene is one of the best of the episode, the reveal that Cordy has been made a princess is priceless. (7.5/10)A2.21 Through the Looking Glass
This is episode is a little more interesting than the last, probably because all the gang are together. There are a lot of funny moments; Lorne's family, Angel's reaction to being praised by them, Cordy being princess and trying to steal the loot and Gunn and Wes getting captured and Wes typically making things worse. This is a great episode for Cordy especially though; the beginning of the episode showed us who she was before, spoilt princess Cordy; however over the episode she showed who she is now, in trying to make the people's lives better through the proclamations.The other storylines were decent enough, Angel saving Fred and a little bit of her back story and the Angel turning into his demon, also Lorne dealing with his family and the reveal of the far reaching power of Wolfram and Hart (love that bit). However since the storylines were largely separate, this disrupted the flow of the story a little lessening the enjoyment of the episode. Another great ending though! (7.5/10)
A2.22 There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb
A very satisfying ending to the arc and the season. There was a lot more action in this episodes and all the story threads tied up making it a lot more enjoyable than the previous two Pylea episodes. Amidst the fighting and action there was some serious character development, with Angel coming to terms with his demon, Lorne realising he truly belongs in LA, Fred finally leaving her hell, Gunn getting to stand by a group of rebels similar to his own in LA, Cordy giving up what she wanted to fight evil back home and most importantly Wes becoming a true leader and the emergence of the darker character he will become. All of these character issues were brought up in Belonging and have slowly but surely been either resolved or progress has been made. Even though the episodes in between weren't as strong, this character development shows how strong and important the Pylea arc is to the show. It is a little disappointing that the show ended on the Buffy cliffhanger, rather than an Angel one (as the Angel characters all had a happy ending as it were), though I do love the appearance from Willow. (8.5/10)
2 comments:
Not bad episodes really. I liked most of the Pylea stuff, anything that gives us backstory into Lorne is a good thing and it seemed like the gang were becoming a stronger unit as well.
Plus the last scene with Willow is affecting.
I definitely liked getting a Lorne backstory. He was definitely under-used during the 4 years he was with the show, especially in season 5.
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