Expecting

Expecting
Written by Howard Gordon
Directed by

Original Airdate: January 25, 2000

Plot: Cordelia meets a new guy and after spending the night with him, wakes up eight and a half months pregnant.

Review

Warning: I'd be lying if I told you not to expect SPOILERS for the latest episode of Angel here. If you haven't seen it yet and want to see it unspoiled, please turn back now...

In short: Better than I'd hoped for.

When I saw the preview for "Expecting" last week, I groaned loudly. If anyone out there is a fan of Star Trek: The Next Generation and has seen the 2nd season episode, "The Child," you'll know why.

In that episode, Counselor Troi is visited by a flashing light alien and impregnated. In the course of the hour she gives birth, names the child and has him grow up and leave her. It's an interesting concept, but not very well executed and not among the finer hours in Trek history.

Hence, you can see why I groaned.

I was seriously worried about the same thing happening on Angel. And I didn't want to see that.

But, this is a Joss-produced show and he's more than once exceeded my expecations. And, for the most part, Angel did that here.

However, while Expecting was an enjoyable enough episode, there were some relatively vital flaws in it that kept me from fully enjoying the hour I spent watching it.

But, first let's examine what made Expecting a good episode. Namely, the performance of Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia. Once again, Charisma brought the right sensibility to the part. Cordy's reactions to being pregnant were dead-on and well done. Also, her performance as Cordy, overcome by the telepathic link between Cordy and the demon was nicely done. I also liked the way in which Cordy slowly went from horrified to being taken over. The lines were written as such so that in retrospect you could see the progression, but at the time, it just made sense as part of Cordy's being pregnant. Indeed, looking back her line about "Are my babies healthy" worked well on both levels.

However, what I did't like was the progression that it took to get Cordy to this point.

In the universe of Angel, it seems only a few weeks have passed since Doyle died. Doyle who Cordy was starting to fall in love with, if you remember. To have her want to move on, I can understand. But to have her move along to the point of having dated a new guy three times (unless he's the guy we met earlier this year and then he's got a lot of patience for three dates in four months..) doesn't make a lot of sense. Then, to have her jump into bed with the guy makes even less sense, other than we had to have them sleep together in order to get to Cordy's being pregnant with the demon-children. It makes Cordy out to be a bit of a slut and I don't buy it. AS Cordy stated back on Buffy, "When it comes to dating, I'm the Slayer." I don't think that this progression of her character makes much sense.

What would have made sense was if it had been shown that the demon's agents had some kind of more magnetic power over the women. (To think one of the three would be up for a one night stand makes more sense than all three, esp. if they'd just met). If it had been shown or even put in the dialogue that they used a bit of mind manipulation to get what they wanted, I'd have found it a lot more convivicing.

Also, I hate to say it, but I got the distinct feeling this idea came into the writing cycle before they knew Doyle was leaving. There were times that I can imagine that Doyle would have been a bit better in terms of his reaction to events that Wesley would have. It might be that I miss Doyle a great deal. But there were times I found myself wishing he was there over Wesley.

However, once the plot got rolling, I did enjoy parts of it.

I loved the beginning sequence with Wesley and Angel hunting down the demon in the apartment. Absolutely a riot. Especially the scene with the old couple and Wesley kicking in the door. The "oh, it's termites" was a classic. The only part that stuck out as a nit-picky detail, was I figured that that plot might tie in with the Cordy is pregnant plotline. It didn't but that's OK.

The other part of the episode I like so much was Angel and Cordy referring to each other as family. That bond has really been great to watch as its been explored this year. To see Angel take such a personal interest in saving Cordy was nice. And it was nice to see Wesley get a moment to shine as heroic type in the episode.

The whole sequence where Angel gets shot by the demon's helpers was nice. Again, I laughed out loud when Angel stated he was tired of getting shot and it only bugged him. Coupled with the scene in the phone booth where he removed the bullets and it was a remarkably effective sequence of events.

Well, I guess that's about it for now, except a few niggling points...

--Shouldn't we have at least seen or heard of Cordy's new freinds by now?

--Where does Wesley order these things such as the ax?

--Angel again show no regard for going near sunlight. When they approach Cordy's apartment at noon (stated by Angel and Wesley!) he shows to affects of being hurt by it. This from a vamp who used to flinch away from the mere precense of it in Buffy. It seems that the writers convienently gloss over this continuity point when they need to...

--I liked seeing the return of Cordy's ghost-friend. Anyone want to bet he hasn't been talking to Doyle? :-)

Well, that about wraps it up for now. "Expecting" exceeded my expecations (no pun intended) in some ways but feel far short in others....

My rating: 6.5 (out of 10.0)

Next up: A repeat of The Bachelor Party.