Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 51

Buffy Season 6

This is a mixed season for the show. It has some of the best episodes of the whole show and some not very good ones as well. Many fans will cite this as the worst season, but I don't really agree with that.

The overall arc of the show was very different from any other the show has had. Instead of the arc being based around the season's Big Bad, it was based around the characters- their depression, their addictions, their fears and ultimately their failings. Giles was right in the finale when he said he should have never left. Without a parental figure the characters floundered! I must say Giles' leaving did impact on the feel of the show. The gang tended not to deal with monsters unless they had to and there was very little of the traditional research done, which definitely changed the vibe of the show.
This reduced the big bad to a side story for the most part. To begin with the Trio were vaguely amusing. Geeky and silly, it added some light hearted entertainment for the show. Their obsession with Buffy was a little inexplicable at times. Usually villains get obsessed with Buffy after she has foiled their plots not before. And lets face it, its not really until after the death of Katrina that Buffy really starts to care about them. The Trio do start to get more annoying, though they don't get much screen time. Many of their geeky references get lost on me a lot of the time and only Jonathan is really half likable.

Most of the season deals with the main characters who all have their problems. Willow's addiction and eventual turn to the dark side, is great to watch, mostly because Alyson Hannigan pulls it off so well. It is a shame that most of it is done so abruptly and quickly though. Some of the magic addiction parts do feel a little shoe horned in to fit in with the number of episodes.
Its a shame to see Anya leave the group after 'Hell's Bells'. With the sad death of Tara, its reduces the core Scooby group that has been in place since at least season 5 and definitely causes a shift in dynamic leading up to season 7.

Overall I think this is a highly enjoyable season. Its very dark and different from the earlier seasons, but the arcs are strong and the episode are mostly of very high quality. (8.5/10)

Angel season 3

This was Angel's first major arc season, in which most of the episodes contributed to the overall season arc; there were very few stand alone episodes or cases that dominated the episodes.
Mostly I love this season. The idea of giving Angel a child definitely adds a dimension to the character and show and propels all the characters forward.

For the characters, the season mostly depends on the romantic relationships that form. The gang work so closely and in such a strange world that its only natural that they should start to look at each other in a different light. The Gunn, Wes and Fred triangle is perhaps the most tragic. Wes, bumbling and English, fails to make his move on Fred. Of course he is hampered by his misogynistic chase of her in 'Billy' but Gunn, whose probably better at attracting the ladies manages to do what Wes can't.
It's funny, Fred and Gunn are the most normal, healthy and long lasting relationship in Angel, yet in fandom, they are never really thought of that much. Fred is usually placed with Wes though their relationship lasted just hours. I guess there are a few reasons for that. Firstly there was no drama in their build up no will they won't they; that was more reserved for the Fred/Wes relationship. Their relationship, then, seems a little sudden. If you look hard enough the signs that they will get together are there. Fred spends a lot more time with Gunn than Wes and is more open with his feelings for her. Secondly for most of their relationship they chug along quite happily, the cracks of course do appear but that's in season 4. Thirdly and this is just my opinion of course, but Gunn kind of steps all over Wes to get to Fred, without really sparing much thought for the man that took a bullet for him. Poor Wes is left out in the cold and Gunn doesn't really make the effort to be the bigger man. Lastly, Fred and Gunn lack the kind of chemistry that makes relationships on TV so popular. In that way they are the everyday, ordinary couple that is so rarely seen in the Buffyverse.

The other relationship was of course was Cordy and Angel. As shown in 'Birthday', the night she met Angel in LA, the course of Cordy's life changed forever and soon after she joined Angel Investigations she stopped being the queen bitch she was in LA, though thankfully she still retained her edge. With Cordy's more saintly personality and her sacrifices, its little wonder that Angel fell in love with her. Some don't really like this character development, but I think it was natural and the characters work well together as episodes like 'Waiting in the Wings' show. Personally I love the pair together. Sadly of course it is never to be.

There were lots of new characters this season. Angel Investigations had Fred who had already been introduced and Lorne became more involved with the group, more than I realised he had been. There was of course Connor. a lot of people don't like him and I do concede that he becomes more annoying in season 4, here he is just a troubled teenager, who has been given a bad lot in life.
There were more new characters in terms of villains in season 3. Bringing Holtz back was an interesting idea. As villains go he is pretty effective and his motives remain ambiguous the entire time he is on the show. Its hard to hate him, since Angelus did kill his entire family, but obviously you don't want him to succeed. Justine, is a little more annoying than Holtz. I'm glad the writers never went down the path of the two having a romantic relationship considering how much older (even without the time jumping) he is than her as that would've been kinda icky!
Wolfram Hart gained two replacements this year, Linwood and Gavin, both as annoying as each other. Gavin was very effective in what he did, installing cameras in the hotel, but mostly he just grated. Fortunately we got to see more of Lilah, more in charge but who became a lot more interesting once we saw her weaknesses.

Overall this was a strong season. There were a couple of bad episodes and some mediocre ones, but there were plenty amazing ones too. (8.5/10)

Buffy and Angel

These are probably the hardest seasons of the shows to watch together so far, as apart from some brief scenes at the beginning of the seasons there wasn't really any crossovers making them completely separate shows.
Both seasons were heavily arced with many episodes spilling over into the next (especially Angel) which meant that I often watched up to 5 episodes of one show before going back to the other one, which made it a little disjointing to watch sometimes.

I was struck in these seasons how similar they were, especially in certain themes or events. Firstly of course there's Connor and Dawn, ready made teenagers for our lead characters to have to take care of. Both Angel and Buffy moved on, with their ex's frenemies so to speak. This was also the year for the sidekicks, with Willow/Xander and Wes/Cordy playing major villainous and heroic roles in the show.
Couples were hugely important in these two seasons as well. In Angel they spent most of the time circling each other than in actual relationships, to extent this was true in Buffy as well with most of the couples spending time in a 'not official' state.
Whether these similarities are just lazy story telling or a way to bind the two seasons together, its hard to tell. The storylines worked in both shows though, so its hard to fault the writers too much. Its hard to pick a better season as they are pretty evenly matched. Both seasons have highs and lows but I think with episodes like 'Once More With Feeling' Buffy slightly edges out on Angel.