Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 57

B7.13 The Killer In Me
This episode feels a little weird as it left two major plot points hanging and not in a cliffhanging way. Giles not being the First, my favourite storyline is revealed but what actually happened when he encountered the Bringer is held back from a later episode, which is a little odd. Still it was very easy to feel the fear the gang felt when they thought Giles could the the First. Similarly Buffy's quest to get Spike's chip checked was also not resolved; we find out Buffy's answer in the next episode. However its good to see that Buffy and Riley are on good enough terms for him to help her with Spike. The government conspiracy/ flower shop thing was funny though.
The weakest aspect of the episode was the Kennedy/ Willow storyline. Whilst I think Willow did need to deal with her murdering Warren and her grief for Tara, having Warren appear, at Amy's doing, was not the funnest way to do it and honestly it was a little boring. Then there's the Kennedy relationship which I find hard to swallow for two reasons- Kennedy is 17/18 at most and so the age difference is a little icky (Willow and Cordy have a lot in common in these seasons!) and Tara has only been dead for a few months, so Willow moving into a new relationship is a little disrespectful. I know this is TV, so the process is usually speeded up but even Xander never really moves on from Anya! (6.5/10)

B7.14 First Date
As Giles comments by the end of this episode, the events here are very lighthearted, but Giles puts them mostly back on track for the remainder of the season. Poor Xander's date with a demon reeks of stunt casting, but at least it gave the opportunity to show that demons other than the bringers are aligning themselves with the First, which is what we would suspect. Andrew and the others attempting to tape the First was foolish; they could've sent Andrew in with questions and no tape recorder but it did bring about a very creepy scene with Jonathan/The First.
It was good to finally expose Principal Wood and its good to have another fighter on the side of good, one who is actually good at fighting. He and Buffy do have a nice chemistry so its sad they don't pursue that, since she's busy making googly eyes at Spike. I have to say, I;m kinda rooting for Wood here in his quest for revenge against Spike as revealed by The First as Spike is getting a tad annoying now. (7/10)

B7.15 Get It Done
Even though I'm not a fan of the creepier episodes but I really like this one. Getting to see how the first Slayer was made is a very important thing in the lead up to the finale. I must admit Buffy was a little judgmental in how the men made the first Slayer- does she think she got her super strength from flowers and puppies? She did make a valid point though in that the men who made her were cowards, in that they made her fight so they didn't have to.
Buffy's speech to the rest of the gang was a little annoying I must admit and its the start of her more annoying tendencies being very obvious. I understand that she was hard on the Slayers but on Willow and Xander? It was very unfair even if it did give Willow the kick she needed. Another odd point of the episode for me was Kennedy being in the inner circle when they opened the box. It was obvious later, but it was an annoying plot contrivance and her pushiness is part of what makes her such an unpopular character.
Still the episode was mostly highlights. I love Buffy's tour of the house with Robin, Spike getting back into the swing of things by wearing his coat. The sheer horror of Chloe's death made a nice impact as well, showing how far the First can go. (8.5/10)

A4.09 Long Day's Journey
This is a pretty thrilling episode and one of the best apocalypse ones. Though I would've liked more time spent on the Ra-tet, the fact that the killing of nearly all the members happened in one episode added to the sense of the ticking clock. Bringing Gwen back for the episode was a great idea, she rounded off the team nicely, bringing in a few extra super powers. Also knowing that its Jasmine inside Cordy, its easier to side with Gwen in their cat fight and not hate her.
The Beasts quest to blot out the sun is a good one and its more tangible idea than most apocalypse effects- destruction death etc. The Beast was menacing this episode even though he had more to say, which can often negate any scariness.
The ending of course was wonderful, the dramatic fight, the sun disappearing and the revelation that we need Angelus was an excellent cliffhanger ending. (9.5/10)

New Entourage trailer

An uncharacteristically subdued trailer from the show now going into it's 7th season. The show are moving away a little from the excesses of Hollywood life (recession induced perhaps) and this trailer feels a little more arty. Also their outfits feel very season 2 for some reason.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 56

B7.09 Never Leave Me
A lot of this episode is spent talking, Buffy and Spike in particular and it can be a little boring. Even though Anya and Xander are a good and funny tag team when it comes to interrogating Andrew, since Andrew doesn't really tell them anything, it feels like the episode doesn't really go anywhere. That is until the last 10 minutes when the Bringers enter, the revelation that the Big Bad is The First, the blowing up of the Watcher's Council and the emergence of the Ubervamp. This really kicks the arc up more than a notch and makes the slow beginning to the episode justifiable. I'm not particularly sad to see the end of the Watcher's Council. Their last scene about their operations elsewhere make them seem more like an organisation akin to Wolfram and Hart, than anything else! (8/10)

B7.10 Bring On The Night
The end has well and truly begun as this episode begins Buffy's own personal arc of the burden she faces the (almost) lone Slayer that will bring about the events of the finale. The Turok Han was a formidable opponent and its been a while since we've seen Buffy beat up like this. Even when she was killed by the Master, or beaten on a regular basis by Glory, I'm not sure we've ever seen Buffy come out of a fight so beaten. Of course that was just physically as she demonstrates in the amazing war declaration she makes at the end of the episode (which of course is the start of another personal and more annoying arc- her speechifying!). Giles' return was a much needed element to emphasise the gravity of the situation and its always good to see him after his absence for most of the season. Also returning was Dru in the form of the First, a great person to torture Spike as the only other women he loved. The potentials aren't a welcome addition, but they aren't too annoying here, though I'm glad they got rid of the posh one as I hate posh English accents! (8.5/10)

B7.11 Showtime
I love the showdown at the end of this episode and how the Scoobies led it there. Its very powerful at showcasing what Buffy can do, although I am a little sceptical about the telepathy thing between the three friends. It was a neat way of establishing their bond though. It seems a little strange that Buffy would want to fight in front of the girls when it could've gone so badly wrong. Maybe it was Buffy's new sense of leadership that allowed her to kill the Turok-Han, as she seemed sure that she would be able to beat him the second time round, when she wasn't able to the first.
The girl who played Eve the dead Slayer/The First was just wonderful and it was a suitable creepy plot device in which to show the Firsts reach and manipulation skills. The Beljoxa's eye thing was the oddest part of the episode though; it necessitated some exposition about why the First was coming now, but it all seemed a little too easy- why haven't they used it before. Over on Angel, mystical devices like that have been used before and they've always been a lot creepier and hard to access. (8.5/10)

B7.12 Potential
The problem with starting the season's Big Bad arc so early (the first episode) is that it can't maintain the same speed that the show has been going at, meaning that at some point the episodes have to get a little quieter and this episode is the start of that for the next few episodes. Saying that however, this is one of the stronger episodes that aren't action filled. Its a shame that Dawn is least annoying in this season and its the season she gets the least amount of screen time (or perhaps its a coincidence). This episode showcases that Dawn has certainly grown up and Michelle Trachenburg pull it off well. Its endearing to see Dawn selflessly hand over her potential status to Amanda without pausing, even more so since Buffy never found out that she was temporarily a potential.
I'm not a fan of the Buffy/Spike and potentials aspect of this episode, apart from the visit from Clem (who didn't say a word to Spike, which was a little odd), its a little boring, though it does work with the inter-cuts to Dawn. The best things about the episode have to be the gentle introduction of the least annoying potential Amanda and obviously Xander's heart wrenching speech at the end, which is probably more powerful than most of the speeches Buffy gives or will give this season. It so perfectly sums up the Scoobies role in Buffy's life and in the show in general. (8.5/10)

The 90210 finale was ker-razy!

Just caught up on the last two episodes of 90210's vastly improved second season and they didn't disappoint.

There were break-ups galore; Teddy and Silver, Ivy and Dixon, Harry and Debbie, and Naomi and Liam. The latter two pairs stuck whilst the former two managed to find a happy ending before the credits rolled.

There was also a happy and totally sweet make-up in the form of Adrianna and Navid, though that irritating Javier made things difficult for the pair by inviting Ade on his year long tour, which became the first cliffhanger of the season.
Jasper made his return in the penultimate episode, just in time to see Annie and Liam cosying up on his boat. Liam makes the decision to confess about stealing the coins for his father which prompts Annie to make her own confession about killing Jasper's grandfather.
Unfortunately whilst Annie is doing that Jasper is setting fire to Liam's boat- y'know the one he has spent all year making.

Oh yeah and Jen is back with a baby bump- urgh, she's a good antagonist, but only for so long. And it looks like since it's Ryan's baby- she might be around for a lot longer. Ryan's of course isn't allowed access to the child, so he goes off on a drunken bender setting fire to the school sign and his car.

Proving it's not a great day for West Bev's teachers, Harry gets blackmailed for covering up Dixon's involvement in the school break in and admits this to the school superintendent and gets fired.
Lastly but most shockingly after losing her finances to Jen, breaking up with Liam, her car not starting and her phone battery failing, Naomi turns to falsely accused Mr Cannon for help, who then in turn tries to rape her, thus ending the season.

It was definitely a shocking finale and there's lots in place, storyline-wise for next season. Naomi, Liam, Jasper and Ryan's fates, Adrianna's decision, and the consequences of Annie's confession.

However the thing that has impressed me most about the finale is how all the little things came together. There was the season long storyline about Liam's boat, demonstrating the show's ability to have long term continuity; Annie's confession on the computer in the penultimate episode which was 'auto-saved' in a not so subtle promotion for Windows in a much earlier episode; and Naomi's lie about Mr Cannon coming back to haunt her.

The show is still glorious, gorgeous to look at, fluff and whilst some of the dialogue and acting is still a little bit questionable, the overall arc's of the show are vastly improving showing that the show can more than hold it's own.

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 55

B7.07 Conversations With Dead People
I'm not the biggest fan of this episode because I'm not a fan of scary movies or anything like that and the Dawn portion of this episode is definitely that. Still the episode kick starts the arc that will take us into the finale, in a major way. Evil is most definitely coming and its coming after the Scoobies. Though Dawn's is the scariest story, Willow's is definitely the creepiest. It would've perhaps been nicer to see Tara herself, but Cassie was a good second best as she was excellent as the evil masked as good thing. Buffy's story was perhaps the funniest and seeing her go through a form of therapy was interesting as we saw her lay out what she really feels. Spike's storyline was obviously more to do with the next episodes story, but it lay a decent foundation, in an entirely silent story. I was a little sad to see Jonathan's death or more specifically the Trio back in force. Jonathan was always the most likable one and funnily enough as they pondered, the one most likely to be allowed to join the Scoobies, more so than Andrew was. Though it was a real shame not to have a story from Xander, the format of this episode was a nice one and was more enjoyable than I previously thought. (8.5/10)

B7.08 Sleeper
This episode is a little slow to begin with and I think I would've liked more fallout out from the previous episode. However it was a tantalizing look at the Big Bad and just how influential it is. To make Spike kill even with his soul was a powerful thing and something which obviously will have a great effect on him as the season goes on. There were some funny scenes, with Anya and Xander and then Anya and Spike which helped to break the episode up a little, but overall it was a little too slow paced. (7/10)

A4.07 Apocalypse Nowish
Its hard not to love this episode. Visually alone this is an incredible episode to watch, the rain of fire is beautiful and thrilling to see and the make-up for the Beast is incredible. Storyline wise, seeing all the signs of the apocalypse rain down on LA was pretty exciting; we've never seen an apocalypse before in the Buffyverse, not really, so seeing the 'traditional' signs afflict the team was enjoyable and scary at the same time. The Cordy/Connor sex is obviously a low point of the episode, though Angel's reaction is just wonderful. For the purpose of this review and future season 4 ones (up until Inside Out), I'll be referring to Jasmine when I refer to Cordy because the idea that Cordy herself is in the driving seat when she sleeps with Connor is just too icky. I think the highlight of the episode for me is the boys all working together finally. Wesley has been estranged for so long now and it gave me a real kick to see them all working and fighting side by side at last. (10/10)

A4.08 Habeas Corpses
After such an incredible episode, there were perhaps only a few ways to follow it up. But honestly would anyone have thought it would be to have the Beast kill all of W&H? Killing of the show's big bad was a brave decision. They have been dogging Angel for years now, constantly a looming presence and with their end here they won't really be an opposing evil force until late in season 5. It also creates major questions as to the Beasts goal and the extent of its strength, shown by his killing of the White Room girl to not be just physical. Overall this is an enjoyable episode. I'm not mad on the zombies and glad we didn't have to put up with too much of them.
The show perfectly manages to balance humour and drama in this episode. Lilah's ironic comments on W&H's safety in an apocalypse, Lorne checking his drink, Angel's biting remarks to Cordy and his throwaway line of not letting Cordy fight and then telling Fred to hurry up was hilarious. The drama came from the W&H deaths, the White Room, and of course one of my favourite speeches from the show, when Lilah waxes lyrical on white and black. And of course the highlight of this episode was Gavin's death, he's been a thoroughly irritating character and I was glad to see the back of him! (9/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 54

B7.05 Selfless
When a show has as many 'old' characters as this one does, its always fun to explore their previous history's. Anya's was a lot of fun, which was a good thing as it evened out the tragedy of the main part of the episode. The flashbacks covered the defining points in Anya's life plus some fun little extra bits as well; I liked her part in the Russian Revolution, seeing that she wasn't always such a capitalist and of course her 'Mrs' song which is just wonderful.
In the present day Buffy took a very quick decision to kill Anya, and the Scoobies were even quicker to fight about it. The argument seemed a touch forced, dredging up the past, but considering its the final season, its little surprise that they are doing that. Anya's granted wish was particularly gruesome though, so in some ways I do understand why she felt she had to kill Anya. The ultimate act of vengeance was D'Hoffryn taking Hallie's life rather than Anya's. It was a neat little trick to get round killing Anya, but it was a very cruel thing to inflict upon Anya. (9/10)

A4.05 Supersymmetry
I'm not sure there was really a need to go back to Fred being sent to Pylea and the ret-con of how she was sent there didn't really make sense, which weakened the episode a little. It was good to get a Fred centric episode though and there were some good moments like Angel being thrilled about being talked about in the 'chatty rooms', the contrast between the Cordy/Connor storyline and Fred's and the interaction between Wes and Fred. It also well served the purpose of cracking Gunn and Fred's relationship which for the first time for me, wasn't that annoying in this episode. You do have to feel sorry for Gunn that the very thing he hoped would hold his relationship together (killing the professor for her) was actually the thing that killed it. As for the Cordy and Connor stuff, icky as it may be, its understandable that Connor would be drawn to Cordy; he's a hormonal teenage boy and for him, Cordy was never really his mother, surrogate or no. (7.5/10)

A4.06 Spin the Bottle
This episode is obviously comparable to Buffy's Tabula Rasa, but they were different enough to both be enjoyable. Whereas Buffy's didn't have that much impact on the overall season, this episode was pivotal with Lorne's spell finally restoring Cordy's memories and awakening the bast within. The framing device used was a neat one, it always nice to have Lorne front and centre and he made for a good if mysterious narrator. The episode is a lot of fun as the characters do remember who they are so have distinct personalities and its so much fun to see them all revert to the characters they were either when we first saw them (Cordy, Wes, Gunn and to an extent Fred) or who we have seen them be before (Angel, in flashbacks). A lot of the jokes made in the episode as well hark back to teenage years which was funny and fit the episode well. Cordy and Wes are especially fun as they make a lot of links back to Sunnydale and the mythology that started the whole show. I also liked hearing Wesley with his old accent, his hybrid one at the beginning of the episode was odd and a bit distracting. (9.5/10)

B7.06 Him
I expected to hate this episode this time round, but it was actually quite funny in places. The story was a frivolous, filler one, though it did let us have a look at Dawn's first big high school crush albeit at a fastforward pace. The episode very much felt like old school Buffy, the similarities with Xander's own tale of women falling in love with him in season 2's 'Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered' were noted, though oddly through use of flashback, which felt a little bit out of place. The four split screen technique to show all the girls also was a little odd but was used with better effect. Its funny that Buffy had a fringe in the episode, its a small thing but she hasn't had one since season 1/2 and she looked a lot like she did in those seasons, along with her behaviour and seduction technique in this episode which again was mirrored in 'Bewitched...'. The episode did drag on a bit especially to begin with, but mostly it was a nice episode. (7.5/10)

Buffy and Angel Rewatch part 53

B7.03 Same Place, Same Time
This feels like a filler episode in a way, buts its a neatly written and produced episode. The scenes where Willow is actually in the same place as Buffy and Xander are really well done and I like the aspect of piecing the story together. Gnarl the skinning demon was creepy, especially when he was eating the skin and there was obvious Xander foreshadowing when Buffy squeezed out the demons eyes.
Its interesting to see Dawn getting so involved with the research and being so good at it, she's obviously learnt a lot in the past few months. Its also nice to see Anya helping the Scoobies, especially with her one-on-one time with Willow, since they've never really gotten on. (8/10)

A4.03 The House Always Wins
This was a really nice fun episode; a rarity in season 4. The road trip to Las Vegas was a lot of fun to watch. I did like Angel's quips about being in Vegas in the past though continuity wise I'm not sure if it fits really. Lorne's performance was an obvious highlight, and I love the songs he sings as well as the whole show they put on. The main storyline was a little blah as it turned Angel into a zombie like creature which was a bit boring. Having Cordy commenting and interfering was a neat little touch and a good way to bring her into the action.
Not much from Wesley, though his once phone sex scene with Lilah was a little creepy as he was doing it with the weapons guy still in the room- shows how dark Wesley has gone, stiff upper lip no more! (8/10)

A4.04 Slouching Towards Bethlehem
This episode felt a lot longer than it was, probably because of Cordy's amnesia thing. Amnesia when played for laughs, can be funny and lead to all sort of results. When serious, honestly its a bit of a downer, though it did have some funny moments like Cordy looking through the Sunnydale High yearbook.
The episode only really got interesting when Lorne read Cordy and saw something awful and then when Lilah and Wesley got into the mix with her double crossing. Lilah takes advantage of the fact that both Wesley and the AI team are predictable creatures; Lorne would read Cordy and Wesley would do the right thing and try and keep Cordy from W&H. The double cross was very interesting for Wes as it does put him on uneven footing with both Lilah and AI. (6.5/10)

B7.04 Help
This is a beautifully tragic episode. Having Buffy as the school counselor this season was an interesting choice. It allows her to mix with the students in a funny and sad way as shown in this episode, it brings back the Sunnydale high school years in a tangible way and when it brings about it episodes like this, you know it was a brilliant decision on behalf of the writers. Cassie's story was so sad and yet it was such a good and poignant one. Her death was inevitable but by at least trying to save her Cassie had an almost happy death, knowing that someone was fighting for her. The trying is the most important thing. The only thing that lets down this episode, id the fact that the demon looked exactly like the demon Skip on Angel. Very poor and lazy make-up decisions. (9.5/10)

Lets all do the time warp- Grey's Anatomy style

Ever since the casting of Sarah Paulson and J August Richards (Whedon alums) were announced for this episode, I was excited to see them portray the young lovers. I'm happy to say this episode more than pulled off the flashback stunt. It was a more simple episode than most Grey's episodes. In a series of lectures watched by the residents, Arizona and Derek, Callie, Bailey and Richard gave a lecture about a defining moment in their surgical careers.

Callie was the most humorous one, she could barely tell the story through her nervousness, but it was a sweet tale about how she and Alex fixed a man's badly disfigured legs. They ended the story showing them ending up in the call room together which led to an awkward scene with Arizona realising they've slept together!! Ooops!


Bailey's was another fairly funny story about how she stood up to her bitch of a resident, by diagnosing a patient with chronic pain and impressed Richard in the process. This was a nice story and I liked hose Bailey used the chocolates to get the audience (namely the residents) involved. Her girlishness with the Jason George character at the beginning and end of the episode was very sweet as well.


The strongest story was obviously Richard's. 45 days sober and offered a general surgery job back in the hospital, he told the story of when he and Ellis Grey dealt with an early case of AIDS. This case was sensitively dealt with; there was a lot of prejudice back in the early 80's about the disease and little research had been done on the nature of it. Richard and Ellis showed the wonderful doctors they would turn into in their handling of the case. Their burgeoning relationship was also shown; its a little wonder that they bonded over their minority status in the white, male dominated hospital. The end was especially strong showing how Ellis led Richard down the road to his alcoholism, persuading him to drink.

The highlight however was ending the lectures with Richard reciting with physicians code. Simple but oh-so effective.
It was a stellar episode and a nice change from the usual disasters that Seattle Grace endures.