Sanctuary

Sanctuary
Written by Tim Minear & Joss Whedon
Directed by James Contner

Original Airdate: May 2, 2000

Plot: Angel attempts to rehabilitate Faith as Wolfram and Hart, the police, the Watcher's Council and Buffy close in to exact justice and vengenace on the rouge slayer.

Review

Warning: If you are seeking to curb your inner demons and not see SPOILERS for the latest episode of Angel, "Sanctuary" I suggest you turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead....

In short: A slam-dunk.

When Angel first hit the airwaves back in October, I saw a lot of promise and potential for the freshman series. It had a good cast, a great set-up and an interesting long term story arc. Yes, at times it's faltered this year. The show basically had to re-invent itself midstream with the exit of Doyle and the return of Wesley. It's had growing pains and trials.

But, in the last two weeks, those growing pains have given way to some splendid storytelling and an overall new found enthusiasm for Angel.

And it all reached the pay-off with this week's offering, "Sanctuary."

The episode itself had a lot going for it. First of all, it continued the trials and tribulations of Faith. Secondly, it furthered the conflict between not just Angel and Wolfram and Hart but also between Kate and Angel. And finally, it had the pedigree it needed--a script offering by Joss Whedon (with help by Tim Minear).

And this script literally had Joss written all over it from beginning to end.

So many of the long-term plotlines that had seemed separate and dangling came together in such great fashion here that it proved to be one of the better episodes of the year. I got the same feeling that I got two years ago watching "Innocence" for the first time. Namely, I felt as if things were coming together and then being sent out in a myriad of new directions. And certainly, there's a lot of potential for a lot of growth here.

I liked the fact that we finally got some sense of resolution to Faith's arc. I've been intrigued by her character since the beginning and watching her decline and fall to the dark side has been fun. But what's been even more fun is watching her realize the error of her ways and come to grips with the fact that she must atone for what's she done. I loved the sequence in Angel's apartment in which she spoke of not being able to really say she was sorry for the evil she had caused, such as torturing Wesley. Or just how exactly she could get it across that she was sorry for the crimes she's commited not only to Wesley but also to Buffy and everyone else whom she's crossed paths with. Also, the idea of is she really sorry that she did them or sorry that it's all catching up with her was nicely realized.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the fact that only Angel was willing to give her another chance. He obviously knows something of what Faith is going through and making amends for past sins. And to see him guide Faith through the process was certainly nicely done. Yes, he was a bit overprotective (such as the whole dialogue about Faith not being in danger the whole four minutes he was in the shower) but that's Angel. We've seen that with Buffy and it certainly worked here. Now, please don't misquote me here. I'm not saying that Angel is any way or should in any way be romantically involved with Faith. I'm saying that he's overprotective of people he cares for or that come under his sphere of influence. And it showed through here.

Also, there were so many small references to the anger that Faith felt inside. Her longing looks at the knives, her anger at the demon, her breaking down, her meek attitude when faced with Buffy, it all worked. Eliza Dushku is once again to be commended for a great performance as Faith. All I'll say is that I hope we haven't seen the last of this character as she really brings a strong presence to any show she's on.

That said, there were other strong performances around. I loved everyone else's reaction to her.

As many of you know, I've not been sold on Wesley's return to the show.

I'm sold now. Wesley worked superbly in not only this episode but last week's. His character arc was just as strong as Faith's. Indeed, in many ways, he had to deal with the same temptation to betray everything he trusted and loved as Faith did last year. Wesleys' first reactions to Faith not being chained down and given doughnuts was nicely done as was his reaction of leaving Angel's in a huff. Seeing him in the bar worked well, as did his interaction with the Watcher's council. To see Wesley tempted as he was to not only betray Faith but Angel as well in order to get back what he wanted most--the respect and approval of the Watcher's Council was nicely done. And Alexis Denisof really shone in the episode, portraying barely suppressed rage in the beginning to a bit of softening in realizing that Angel has a point and is doing the right thing to save Faiths' soul. I loved seeing the line late in the episode to Angel about his not wanting to help Faith as much as no! t betray Angel. It was that line that so accurately summed up Wesley at this point in the show and it's interesting to watch how much he's grown in the past year from someone who followed all the rules even if the results weren't necessarily right to a character who wants to do the right think, even if it's outside the rules.

But, there was a lot of stuff for the supporting cast to do as well. We got to see our first contact with Kate in a while and it worked. She wasn't there a great deal, but she was in there enough to have an impact on the episode. It was nice to see the lawyer from Wolfram and Hart taunting her so. I loved the look on her face as they revealed they knew that not only did she know Angel was a vampire but that she's taken the life of a demon. It certainly makes you wonder if they'll use that as leverage later down the road.

It was also an interesting point that Kate now seems to be keeping a closer watch on Angel. Apparently she's wanting to keep tabs on him by watching for crimes that might attract his attention. I wonder if and how this new found conflict between them will play out over the upcoming epiosdes and during next season.

Joss also gave us a check-in with the other long term plot of the year--namely Angel's dealings with Wolfram and Hart. Seeing the firm go through various processes to cover their track and cover their posteriors was nicely done. I liked the way they played with expectations a bit. I honestly expected when they pulled back to reveal the demon in the office that we'd see Buffy sitting there talking to him. I wonder how long it will be before the lawyers use the Buffy card against Angel. It certainly would have made sense for them to tip off Buffy about Angel and Faith. Overall, I'm glad they didn't but it certainly would have been an interesting wrinkle.

It makes you wonder what contacts Wolfram and Hart have in the demon underworld. And how deep the corruption goes. I have a feeling we've only seen the surface of the evil they are about. After all, we're only seeing lackeys at this point, not the powers behind the firm. Hopefully we'll see more, though I suspect we won't see the real force behind the firm until next year at the earliest.

And while all of these long term plotlines coming together worked well, it was the resolution of one plot and the beginning of another that worked even better. Namely, a bit of a closing the door on the Buffy and Angel romantic relationship.

I've got to admit that part of me dreaded Sarah Michelle Gellar being on the show. Her last appearance was just too much for me. I'm one of the few people out there who just despised I Will Remember You, namely because it had too big a reset button and they used it. And I dreaded such a thing happened again here.

Thankfully, it didn't.

Seeing Buffy's reaction to Angel harboring Faith was nicely done. Her lust for vengeance was nicely done and her feeling that she had a right to it worked well on a lot of levels. It also shows how easily Buffy can slip down the slippery slope that Faith went down. Indeed, if Buffy had been allowed to kill Faith, she might have felt as little or no regret as Faith did about killing the Mayor's aid. It was nice to Buffy slowly realize that Faith does indeed deserve another chance and that she needs to seek her vengenace in another way. Faith doesn't deserve to be put back in the hands of the council, who would surely make her disappear, but needs rehabiliation. And it's nice to see that while Buffy isn't ready yet to forgive Faith for what she's done, she is ready to allow her the chance for redemption and to save her soul.

But what really made the episode hum was the discovery by Angel that Buffy has a new love. Seeing David Borenaz's look when Faith revealed this was priceless. And then to see the confrontation between Buffy and Angel at the police station over Riley really worked. It's obvious that Angel hasn't moved on. Part of it may be that Riley can give Buffy what he can't--happiness. And that Angel had to throw away his one chance at that in order to save the world in Buffy's ealier apperance this year. And that Buffy can never know what he did for her and the rest of the world to fight the good fight. Certainly, it worked extremely well from a character standpoint and it certainly seems to set-up some intersting confrontations for next week on Buffy.

And the final arguement in which Buffy tries to tell Angel of Riley was perfect. Both parties reactions worked extremely well and DB and SMG carried them off with just the right emotional impact for each of them.

Again, I'll say that when all the elements came together, it really, really worked.

Well, that's about it for now, excpet a few small things...

--I was disappointed there wasn't more Cordy. I can see why they gave her a small role in the episode, but I'm still disappointed.

--You've got to wonder if the council is now going to come after Angel and Wesley. They've got to be pissed that they both defied the directive of the Council.

--Time on Angel and Buffy seems to move differently. On Angel, it's been only a week or so since Faith left Sunnydale. But on Buffy it feels as if a bit more time has passed.

--Nice touch of Buffy having the same hair style as the end of "Who Am I?"

--I wish Joss had directed the episode. His usual flair would have make a great episode even better.

Well, that's it for now. "Sanctuary" is the most successful episode of Angel to date and certainly one that I will look forward to watching again, when it comes time to review the entire season.

My rating: 10.0 (out of 10.0)

(Yes, this is my first 10.0 for Angel and also my first pefect 10.0 for the entier Buffy/Angel offering all year. High marks for the shows, IMHO)

Next up: Angel battles demon teens.....

--Buffy