Darla
Written and Directed by Tim Minear

Original Airdate: November 14, 2000

Plot: As Angel struggles to find a way to rescue Darla from the clutches of Wolfram and Hart, flashbacks reveal Darla's history and her turbulent relationship with not only Darla, Spike and Druscilla. (This episode is part of a 2-part Buffy/Angel crossover).
Review

Warning: If you are looking to avoid SPOILERS for the latest episode of Angel, "Darla" I strongly suggest you turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead.

In short: A strong outing that nicely completes the fourth Buffy/Angel crossover.

As many of you know, I'm not a huge fan of Tim Minear's work. He did some decent work on Lois and Clark, had one so-so and one good episode of the X-Files and, so far, on "Angel" he's had some episodes with great potential that wasn't really realized.
That is until now.
At long last, "Darla" makes good on the potential Minear has shown all along. I'm not certain if this is a credit on his part for maturing as a writer (I think it is partly) or it's because he was able to step into the director's chair to bring his vision of the script to life. I think it's a combination of both really since on just about every level, "Darla" worked. If this is the type of offerings we're going to see from Mr. Minear when he gets to both write and direct, I say we pull out the director's chair for him again very soon!
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
I was prepared to find myself a bit disappointed by "Darla." Why do you ask? Namely because "Fool For Love" on Buffy was such a spectacular episode that I honestly wondered if Angel could follow it up and deliver another home run. (I admit that after Buffy left me breathless, I took a break and tuned into Frasier (it's Farscape week on Sci-Fi so my other VCR was tied up with that) and then watched Angel after it was finished airing. I've got to admit that I think that giving Buffy a bit of time to settle in my brain allowed me to enjoy this episode that much more and to judge it on its own merits and not to compare it too much to the Buffy episode that had, quite frankly, set the bar very, very high.
I'm glad that I did that. Because I found that I actually enjoyed the Angel episode that much more.
"Darla" did a lot of things really well. Most of them involved giving us some backstory on the character of Darla. Certainly we knew from past dialogue and references to her that she'd been a pretty bad vampire back in her day. But to see the person she was before she was vamped and then to see how she developed into the character she is today was nicely done.
In many ways, this season has been about a search for identity--both from Angel and Darla. Their lives are linked whether they like it or not--with Darla as Angel's sire. As I stated last week, Angel seems desperate to save Darla to not only save her but also to continue his quest toward redemption. And we saw that theme continued this week.
As we've seen in the past, when Angel gets something into his head, it's hard for him to let go of it. Certainly that was what made Angelus so ruthless when we saw him on Buffy a few years back. I loved the touch Minear gave the show of having Angel draw Darla's face over and over again, much as he did to Buffy in "Passions." It was chilling to see Angel revert to his old habits and it shows just how obsessed with Darla he had become.
David Boreanaz did a great job here of portraying the quiet desperation Angel felt. Boreanaz has really delivered some fine performances this year on the show--from his dual performance in ARYOHYEB to this one here. He got to play Angel not only as Angelus here (and on Buffy) but we also saw his quiet desperation to get back with Darla once he fell and then his desperation to save her in the present day. Boreanaz was able to pull off three different sides of Angel and do it through his acting and not just rely on the fact that we had the visual clue that Angel was dressed in different period costumes for each scenes. For a person who a year and a half ago, I doubted could carry an entire series devoted to his character, Boreanaz has nicely enough proven my wrong at just about every turn.
But the real focus on the episode wasn't really Angel, but Darla. And I've got to admit that I've liked the arc that Darla's character has taken this year. (On a personal note, I must pat myself on the back for calling--without the help of SPOILERS mind you--that Darla would ask Angel to be re-vamped!). To see her having to face the consequences of having a soul again and the great evil that she's brought into the world was nicely done. But to see her as a character and to actually understand why she might have done the things she did worked even better.
This character exploration reminded me of the first two books of Anne Rice's "Vampire Chronicles." In "Interview with a Vampire" we meet Lestat who is very much a bastard and does horrible thing. But then, if you read "The Vampire Lestat" you see the events from his point of view and while the reaction is, "He's still a bastard...but he's got some motivation and reasons to be that way."
That's what seemed to be happening with Darla in this storyline.
And I've got to admit that it worked.
Seeing Darla's origin, before she was a vampire was interesting. To see that she was a prostitute before she became a vampire worked. To see her on her death bed, dying alone, and declaring there is no God was interesting. To see her be so utterly alone in an hour when she needed someone to be there for her and to be as bitter and dark as she was worked well. It also explains why she fell into the Master's clutches so easily--namely that he offered her the love and sense of family she yearned for. She yearned to make some type of connection to anyone--no matter how she might make it.
Indeed, to see her progress and to not only take on the Master but Angel as lovers worked well. I also liked her attempts to seduce Lindsay at Wolfram and Hart. It was a very consistent portrayal of Darla. In many ways it seemed as though Darla felt the way to achieve the emotional intimacy she desired so much is to have the physical intimacy she offered to all those who "loved" her. In a lot of ways, this reminded me a lot of Bethany from a few weeks ago--except for the fact that Angel was able to save Bethany from herself. Of course, the point is that Bethany hasn't had 400 years to fall into the same traps that Darla has and to make them long-term habits.
But the thing that makes Darla's story arc work is that it's a tragic one. She never achieves what she seeks most--a connection with another person. We see this in the scenes right after Angel falls in which she tries to give Angel one true moment of pure happiness that obviously fails. It certainly brings up some interesting points that Angel can achieve some sense of physical intimacy without losing his soul. And to see Darla's anger and disappointment after Angel does not fall again and takes the baby away is nicely done.
Also nicely done was her relentless obsession with the gypsies to bring her Angelus back to her. It fits in well with her desperate need to have another person there with her.
Indeed, even seeing her trying to connect with Lindsay worked on that level--even up to the point of her trying to bite him as she was used to doing for so long.
But the thing that makes her character the most tragic is the fact that she doesn't want to be helped. She has forgotten the person she was--even to the point that Darla is not her real name but one given to her as a pet-name of sorts by the Master. To see her come to Angel, seeking redemption and wanting the pain to stop worked well. I also was chilled when she asked Angel to re-vamp her so the pain would stop. That scene worked really well and I loved it. It was something that I'd figured was coming a long time and it made sense that it happened at this point in her arc. You've got to wonder if Darla might not try to do away with herself again or find another vampire to turn her back to her vampire ways. (It certainly wouldn't hurt to see her swing by Sunnydale and try to get Spike to turn her back...and if it would work with the chip in his head).
I loved the paralleled structure of the final act with Angel rejecting Darla's lifestyle choice twice over. From his rejection feeding on the baby to his rejection of allowing her to become a vampire again to end her pain, that last sequence really worked. And Darla's telling Angel to not try and find her again was a real slap in the face and worked nicely. I'm glad to see the character moving this way and it will be interesting to see how this develops over the course of the rest of the season.
But while the show focused on Darla and Angel, there was some other nice character work done. Namely, we saw a bit more of Lindsay, who has been underutilized this year. It's interesting to see how caught up in Darla be became--indeed his obsession with her paralleled Angel's to some extent. Also, to see him want to save her proves again that last year's crisis of conscience in "Blind Date" wasn't an isolated moment. I only hope they continue to develop Lindsay's disgust with the tactics his bosses use in order to get the results that want.
On the whole, I have to admit this is the most satisfied I've been with an episode of Angel all year. I'm not sure if it's warm-fuzzy's due to the fact it was part of a great crossover event and was led into by a superb episode of Buffy.
I think to be that way is to sell short a superb effort by Tim Minear and the rest of the Angel crew.
So, I guess that's about it for now...except a few small things...
--Again, I loved the direction in the shot at the Boxer Rebellion with the four vamps walking in slow-motion. Superb. Glad it got used again here...just meant I got to enjoy it without rewinding the Buffy tape!
--Cordy, Wes and Gunn had limited roles but they all worked well. I liked Wes's continuing assertiveness with Angel and confronting his inner demons. Also I liked the way Cordy could come up with exactly the right thing to say at the right time.
--Marc Metcalf as the Master. He nailed it. He always is superb when he re-assumes this role.
--I'd like to see more of Angel's torture of Dru and her fall to becoming a vampire. I can't imagine the transition was easy.
Well, that's about it for now. All in all, a great effort and probably the best Angel episode of the year. I enjoyed it.

My rating: 10.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Angel must give into his blood-lust....

"This time...don't look for me!"

--Darla

Review Copyright 2000 by Michael T. Hickerson. All Rights Reserved.

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