Dear Boy
Written and directed by David Greenwalt
Original Airdate: October 24, 2000
Plot: Darla kicks her plan into overdrive to mess with Angel's head in the
hopes of bringing out his darker half, after she runs into him in public.
Part of her plan includes framing Angel the murder of her "husband" (an
actor planted by Wolfram and Hart). Meanwhile, Cordelia and Wesley brace
for the possible return of Angelus and Gunn is told of Angel's dark side.
Review
Warning: If you want to avoid being under the spell of SPOILERS for the
latest episode of Angel, "Dear Boy" I suggest you turn back now. There are
major SPOILERS just ahead....
In short: Raising the stakes (no pun intended).
If this week's episode of Angel were to be, say for example, an episode
of the X-Files, it would probably take place during one of the critical
sweeps periods. After all, most shows reserve such huge, broad ranging,
huge ramifications inducing shows for the three sweeps months each year.
But, as we've seen in the past, Buffy and Angel are shows that can deliver
some great sweeps months episodes but also aren't afraid to have major
revelation episodes fall when they need to in terms of the storytelling
process. (Remember, in fact, that Angel's original fall to Angelus took
place in mid-January on Buffy). I've got to admit that as a fan I
appreciate that because it allows me the pleasure of going into each episode
without any set expectations that it's going to just be filler until the
really big events (tm) can occur. And it also sets us up for episodes that
deliver the goods when the storylines demand they be delivered--not before
and not after.
Part of that freedom may be that Joss and company are working with the
WB and are, thus, given a bit more freedom than other shows get on the other
big networks. If that's so, then I must thank the WB because it's made
viewing their new shows truly a week to week event--especially when it comes
to watching Buffy and Angel each week.
And this week's episode of Angel was certainly no different. In fact,
it raised the bar yet again for Angel as a series.
Since the season opener, we've seen Angel's old sire lurking in the
shadows, teasing him, taunting him and trying to break him down mentally.
This week the events got kicked into high gear as Darla comes out guns
blazing to try and bring back the Angelus that she loves. And along the
way, we got a lot of interesting revelations--not only about Darla but about
Angel as well.
The first thing I've got to say is that Darla really needs to come up
with a new plan when it comes to framing Angel. Or that Angel's got to get
a lot smarter about not falling into the same trap every time. Way back in
season one of "Buffy" Angel was framed for an apparent attack on Joyce. In
that case, it was to drive a wedge between Angel and the Slayer but it
worked--for a while. Angel fell for it hook, line and sinker. And again,
here, Angel falls for the same trap again. At some point, the man has got
to get wise about the fact that Darla tricks him the same way every time. I
can chalk part of this up to the fact that Angel, at the point he fell into
the trap, was pretty much walking the line between being good Angel and
falling back to the dark side, so maybe he wasn't thinking straight. But as
a creature of instinct, as we've seen him be in the past, I can only hope
that he'll learn from this and grow as a character.
Second of all, I liked Darla's campaign to destroy Angel. Certainly her
not being a vampire makes a lot of things a lot more clear. She can now
move freely about (well, at least during the daytime) to put a stop to Angel
and his plans. And as a human, as Angel pointed out, she has a soul again.
This may prove interesting if the overwhelming magnitude of her sins at some
point catches up to her. It certainly did with Angel and it may with Darla.
Of course, it hasn't bothered her yet and we've seen from past flashbacks
that Angel's crimes immediately overwhelmed him. I wonder if it's due to
the fact that Darla is older than Angel in some way. I guess we'll have to
wait and see how it plays out.
As for Darla's being human, this brings up some other interesting
points. The first is--is she safe from Angel is she doesn't invite him into
a private residence? We saw last night that Angel was able to burst into
the home she and her "husband" inhabited after he was killed. But, if Darla
is human, should he have been denied access? Or does the fact that she's
linked to him in the past and had an initiation override that. This is a
major sticking point for me since the question of Angel being invited into
the house becomes so critical in the resolution of the main conflict--namely
with Kate and her now apparent vendetta against our favorite souled vampire.
Another portion of Darla's plan I liked was how it echoed certain plans
Angelus has used in the past. Namely, Darla sought to cut Angel off from
all his means of support and sanity in order to trap him. We've seen Angelus
do this to Buffy in "The Becoming" and it worked well here. There was
honestly a moment when I thought that Angel would go back to his old ways
and kill Darla. But another explanation of that sequence could be that since
Darla is human she might want Angel to re-vamp her. Certainly that thought
did occur to me, though it does make Darla a bit too easy to dispose of
should she fail Wolfram and Hart. After all, dust is some much easy to clear
up than a dead body. And let's face it--Wolfram and Hart like nice, neat
solutions to their problems. Or at least ones that allow them to keep their
hands clean.
I also liked the fact that while we saw Angel descending into obsession
over the course of the episode, that it's been a long-term obsession. This
obsession with Darla has taken place over the past couple of weeks. And to
see it paralleled by Angel's current obsession with Darla and his previous
obsession with Dru. Indeed, the innocence of Dru in the early stages was
nicely set-off by the innocence Darla was trying to project. Indeed, Darla
might have taken a page from Dru in her acting the innocent, much as Dru
cried and begged for relief as Angel and Darla made love in front of her and
tortured her.
On the Dru front, I've got to say two things. First, I am glad Juliet
Landau is back. And second, it's about time! And third--Dru and Spike need a
reunion. (OK, so technically that was three...)
I also must admit that I enjoyed the resolution of the Angel/Darla
plotline (at least for this episode). To see Angel warn her that she will
have a soul and the ramifications of that was nicely done. And to see Darla
shrug off the intended consequences of her having a soul was nice. I have
a feeling it's only a matter of time before her crimes catch up to her and
she feels the guilt Angel does. Or even that she feels remorse for turning
Angel over to Wolfram and Hart and giving them so much information about
her.
I also liked that Angel revealed that while he could have sex with
Darla, she couldn't give him the moment of true happiness required for him
to lose his soul. That was a very powerful moment and both David Boreanaz
and Julie Benz did a great job with it. From David's spiteful but even
delivery of the lines to Julie's looking as though she'd been slapped in the
face at the news, it all worked. And it showed that Angel does have a way to
wound Darla without hurting her physically. Will this be used again in the
future? I hope so as it's a powerful weapon for Angel to have when it comes
to combating Darla.
And while there was a lot of information and time given to the Angel and
Darla plotline, it was nice to see the regulars get a chance to grow. I read
somewhere that the producers stated they wanted to give the supporting cast
more to do this year and develop them. So far, it's working.
And the biggest surprise is Gunn. As you may remember I didn't like him
much in "War Zone" and he has, this year, been hit or miss. But in the last
couple of episodes, he's become far more interesting and a bit more hit than
miss. I really liked his reaction to find out that Angel could turn evil
and come back to haunt Gunn. Also, his defiance in the face of the authority
figures of the police was nicely done. He isn't quite yet loyal to Angel as
Cordy and Wesley are, but he's getting there. I also liked the fact that
he's realistic--namely his stating that if Angel comes back as Angelus, he
has not qualms about staking him. That's a dynamic that needs to continue.
I also liked the unflinching loyalty to Angel displayed by Cordy and
Wes. To see them going to such great lengths to defend their boss is nicely
done. And I really liked the hostility they had reflected back at Kate.
But I will say this--Wesley is being sorely underused this year. He's
got a lot of potential and I think it needs to be explored. So far, this
year, it feels like all he does is research and give clues to Angel about
fighting the demons. We haven't had any looks inside his character and I
think we need that. I like Cordy and Gunn, but I also want to see more of
Wesley. I am hoping that David Greenwalt and company will shed some light
on his character and soon before he gets lost in the shuffle.
And while I enjoyed much of what I've referred to throughout this
review, there were some niggling points that bothered me.
First and foremost--Kate.
When I saw that Elizabeth Rohm would be a part of the episode, I perked
up. I like her and I like Kate. Or at least, let me say I liked Kate from
last year. I don't like where this character has gone and is going. Kate,
at first, was a complex, interesting character--a strong female
character--who has become one-note. Namely, she's obsessed with the Angel.
I can buy the fact that she wants to help the innocent who are victimized in
Angel's fight for good. That works well coming out of what happened to her
father (who we can argue until the cows come home about his innocence in his
fate...). But to see her become so one-dimensional in her hatred of Angel
and her want and need to believe the worst of him because he's a vampire is
getting old. As Angel told her last year, it's time to move on. And the
character needs to. Otherwise you run the risk of making her unlikable and
that's now what Kate needs. I liked her in the first half of last year.
Hell, I liked her even after she found out Angel was a vampire. But now
she's become so one-note I don't like her anymore. We've got to see her
progress beyond this or else she becomes the obsessed detective that we've
seen so many times before (Inspector Gerard of the original "The Fugitive"
comes to mind).
Also, I found the initial fight a bit derivative of old Buffy. Namely
Angel's beating up the cult member. I could almost hear Giles' "You usually
don't beat them to such a bloody pulp first" line from "Ted" echoing in my
head.
Anyway, that's about it for now. For the most part, this was a good
episode. Not a great one, but a good one. I can only hope that some of the
events shown here will continue to affect the show--as they should in the
long-term development.
My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)
Next up: Buffy airs a Halloween treat--back-to-back Halloween themed
episodes. So, it looks like Angel will be taking a rest until November.
See you then!
Review Copyright 2000 by Michael T. Hickerson. All Rights Reserved.
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