Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 69

5.21 Power Play
As everybody knows, this episode was done pretty quickly to bring the series to a suitable conclusion. However that doesn't stop the amazing-ness of this episode. Making Angel appear evil was a brilliant and excellently pulled off storyline. When I first watched the episode, I nearly believed it and watching it again, he continues to pull it off convincingly. It's nice to see the gang work together, for the first time in a long while- first against Angel and then with him in that stunning final scene (one of my favourite of the show). There are some flaws with this episode as it was so rushed; Angel's explanation of what happened since Cordy's final flashback doesn't quite fit in with what's happened on the show; the Angel/Nina stuff is pretty awful since they have no chemistry together and the pair have gone from zero to 100 in the space of a few episodes and it feels very quick; and finally the Black Thorn idea, slightly contradicts everything we've known about the Senior Partners up until now. However looking at that final flaw from another angel, it does make sense especially since the society was secret and until they were inside W&H the gang had no idea how it truly worked. Either way, this episode neatly sets up for the final showdown. (9.5/10)

5.22 Not Fade Away
Apparently two episodes was all that was needed to create the perfect finale for this stunning show. The gang went out fighting and even though Angel was a little bit wordy in doing it, he reminded us of the mission statement of the show- fight the good fight, help the helpless and never give up. Angel and the gang showed exactly what they were made of by going to their deaths in a fight not to win, but to keep on fighting.
The composition of this episode was impeccable. Every character was allowed a moment of happiness. There were few surprises in what they decided to do; I loved seeing Lorne and Spike up on their stages, having Wesley stay with Illyria was just perfect for where he is emotionally and Angel and Connor's honest conversation was beautiful as they finally got to have the father/son relationship that Angel always wanted. Gunn's perfect day was perhaps the biggest surprise, but bringing Anne and the 'streets' back was an inspired move and it worked so well. Having Harmony betray Angel was perhaps a little sudden, and the dialogue was a little odd, but it served the purpose.
The fight scenes were equally amazing. We didn't really need to see much of Illyria's, Lindsey's or Spike's; it was clear that they would easily win. The subsequent death's of Wesley and Lindesey were far more important and utterly heartbreaking. Bringing Fred back for one final moment was a cruel and beautiful decision; Lindsey got a distinctly imperfect death, but Wesley's final moments were a lot kinder on him. It was sad to see Lorne walk away so defeated though. He was definitely a shadow of the character that entered in season 2. I'm only sad we didn't get to explore more of that.
In a way it was good to see Angel get beat up a bit as it made his final fight a lot more meaningful. Having Connor join him was yet another joyous moment and it's a nice way to wrap up their storyline together.
The final fight in the alleyway is definitely the best way to wrap the show. It's fitting that only the non-humans made it bar a nearly dead Gunn, as it presses home the reality of the fight they undertook. Overall a superb finale in which storylines are simultaneously wrapped up and left completely open ended- perfect for the show. (10/10)


Angel Season 5
Overall this was a very mixed season for me. The season started of shakily and produced very few good episodes within the first half. At the network's bequest most of the episodes were played as standalones which was a disjointing change from season 4, which had virtually no standalone episodes. The second half of the season was a lot better, but some of the shows worst episodes were in this part of the season, so it's difficult to say that the show found it's footing again.

One of the things I disliked most about the season was the arrival of both Spike and Harmony. Harmony wasn't so bad as she had appeared on the show before and fitted in with W&H's moral ambiguity. However Spike's appearance, not only lessened his heroic death in Sunnydale, it put him centre of stage which cause all the main Angel cast to be booted in favour of his hijinks with Angel. Whilst some of these escapades were funny, Spike generally got on my nerves and if he hadn't out stayed his welcome by returning to Sunnydale in season 4 and staying til the end, he definitely out-stayed it here.
There were other new arrivals in the form of Eve, Knox, Nina, Hamilton and various W&H clients, particularly those that ended up forming the Black Circle. Eve was a character that became more interesting as she lost power and I respected Hamilton in his obvious villain role. Knox was irritating, so it was almost a relief when he was revealed to be evil. Nina continued to be annoying during her performances- the network must've been behind Angel's romance because I can't seriously believe that the writers though that the pair had chemistry.

The season wasn't all bad however. I loved the gang's stint in W&H, it did help to rejuvenate the series and gave them new situations to face, which after the epic-ness of the previous season was needed. I'm sad we didn't get to see more of what Lorne and Gunn did within the firm; it would've been fun to see them do their thing- Gunn especially since it was so new to him.
I also liked that the show, despite network intervention, managed to to tie up lose ends- Cordy, Connor and Lindsey all returned to see out their storylines (sadly ending in 2 of them dying, but at least it was closure).

Overall this is easily my least favourite Angel season; there were many highs but many were cancelled out by the lows. (7.5/10)


There'll be one final blog to follow in which I'll round up the rewatch!