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Editors Comment: No, I don't think the show will
focus less on the Romance angle. I think it will take a while for
Buffy to get past Angel, but eventually she'll move on. She is a
Romantic at heart, and she will
Editors Comment: I had pretty much felt the same
way you did about Joyce, right up through Surprise. But starting
at the end of Innocence, I began to like her more because she showed
so much more depth. It wasn't until this episode that cemented it.
Her reaction to Buffy's revelation was so truthful that Kristine won me
over. I agree that Spike was a highlight, but I would be loath to
credit him alone with "making" the episode. It was entirely an ensemble
effort.
First of all, I would like to tell you your site is great. I especially like the reviews. But I don't agree with you about everything. I don't think Angel is dead. You see, when a vampire dies, he turns into ashes in a matter of seconds. But Angel didn't. He just disappeared in that hell warp thing. So I think he's stuck in that Hell dimension or something. And, in the next season, Buffy will find a way to get him back. (I hope) Anyway, they can't just get rid of David like that. The target audience are teenage girls and most of them watch the show because of his relationship with the slayer. If the show changes too much, most of them won't be as interested in it as they are now. (me included) Then again, I might be wrong. All I know is that this season finale was spectacular and that I can't wait for season three. I wonder how it'll start? Is Buffy coming back? (probably) And where is she anyway? I think she went to LA or something. Well, we'll just have to wait I guess.
How do you explain the contract that David B. signed. Will he return only in flashbacks?
I recently read that David Boreanaz will be spun off into his own "Angel" show on the WB network in fall 1999. So, it's unlikely that his character is gone for good it will be interesting to see how they "resurrect" a vampire.
Editors Comment: I don't think I got as
much flack in anything as I did in my bold prediction in the Becoming,
Part 1 review (which actually wasn't that bold, I just stated it was
possible despite what everyone thought,) or my declaration that Angel is
dead and off the show. The truth is, I don't know for sure if David
Boreanaz is coming back or not. However, I don't think he is.
Here are my reasons: technically, Angel probably isn't dead.
He is in hell. However, Angel is still, by his own admission, a demon.
And demons can't just wander back and forth from hell. That's what
the whole "master opening the hell mouth" in season one was about.
Demons were banished to hell from this sphere, and the hellmouth is the
only way to get out. And it's closed. I don't think they can,
or would call him back, because that goes beyond the spell casting talents
of even Ms. Calender, I'm sure. Calling a demon back from hell is
fraught with peril, and I doubt Buffy would risk it, or Willow or Giles
would let her.
Furthermore, Joss shocked
us all by killing off Angel. In two seasons he has never pulled a
punch. I don't think he'll start by cheapening this episode by having
Buffy get Angel back. Especially since he is "souled", being in purgatory
would be enough retribution for the death of Ms. Calender. It wraps
things up in a neat little package, and Joss doesn't tend to do that.
Logistically speaking, David
has a contract committing him to the WB. But none of us know the
details of the contract, and normally a network or producer can terminate
an actor any time. I don't think the WB is obligated to keep him
around if Joss has written him out.
Re the spin-off: I don't
have alot of faith in it. Only about 1 out of 10 spin-offs are good
anyway, and the ones that are, like Frasier, don't try to duplicate
the original show. Plus, I don't think the character of Angel is
strong enough to carry a series. David Boreanaz is a fabulous actor,
but both Angel and Angelus are too one note to focus on. You either
have Angel the brooder, or twisted Angelus, and besides I don't think a
show where such a homicidal psycho is the lead.
There is one alternative,
which would make everything make sense: The show would focus on Angel's
past. It could portray the two hundred and forty years between meeting
Darla and meeting Whistler. An interesting twist on this would be
to intermix the two, Angel trying to atone for things Angelus did in earlier
years. Julie Benz, James Marsters, and Juliet Landau would figure
prominently, and maybe even Mark Metcalf. That would be an exciting
twist, and the duality would obviously eliminate the problem of the one-dementionality
of the characters.
Also, if David is having his
own show, it appears that he would then be leaving Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
This is probably how they are writing him out. That way, the Angel
won't be seen as just Buffy without Sarah Michelle Gellar, but an entirely
different program. Furthermore, it would explain why Buffy and Angel
are apart. He probably needs the year to develop the show, and that's
why he was killed off in the episode.
Finally, for the people convinced
that the show will lose viewer because of Angel's death: no, it won't.
People who tune into the show solely to see Angel won't stay veiwers anyway.
It is the powerful acting and storytelling that keep people tuned in.
I agree, the Angel story was a good one. But all stories end, and
new ones begin. If the entire series became Buffy/Angel, then the
show would lose viewers.
In the present tense, I would
say Angel is gone. He might appear in flashbacks or visions, but
I think he'll be spending more time developing his new show. And
I think the new show will take us back in time, not forward. It is
a facinating angle that most people want to see. And that would satisfy
the Angelites anyway. Do I think David Boreanaz is gone? No.
Do I think Angel is gone? Yes. It's time to move on.
By the way, Sarah Michelle
Gellar has a five year contract keeping her around. And I'm sure
the WB isn't going to let her go. I mean, they can't rightly
have a Buffy the Vampire Slayer without Buffy. I wonder how quickly
she'll return, if it will even be in the premier or maybe just at the end.
The show could focus on the other characters reaction to her disappearence.
Based on seeing the show last night, I wouldn't say it was Jenny
channeling through Willow. SOMETHING was though! I thought
that scene
was the spookiest in the whole show.
The term Pyrrhic victory is applicable. Buffy saved the world
(again).
But look at the cost.
Editors Comment: I'll admit, there was nothing
in the show, apart from Robia LaMorte's presence and the constand mentions
of Ms. Calender since Passion aired to prove that it was Jenny who
possessed Willow. But what I say is, who else would it have been?
No one else could have possibly known to help them, known they had the
spell, and been willling to do it. Jenny herself said that the gypsies
only play their part, (maybe that was her uncle, anyway). But Jenny
was detirmined to help them. I would suspect that she's the one who
led Buffy to the disk, after all she never saw the pencil fall before.
Something triggered it. I bet Ms. Calender was reaching out
from beyond the grave to help one final time, to make up for her failure
in life. When you get right down to it, this is no answer so it is
up to your own interpretation. I think it makes a nice farewell to
Jenny, resolves her story a little, for it to have been her. Since
the evidence suggests it, I'm sticking with this opinion until it is conclusively
refuted by Joss on the air.
Editors Comment: I think what Xander did was right. Buffy's unwillingness to kill Angelus resulted in the death of Ms. Calender. Being a male, and starting to fall in love with Cordelia, Xander identified with Giles the most in Passion. Remember what he told Buffy? Angelus was going to destroy the world, and Buffy needed to stop him. If she thought that maybe the spell would work, she might not have fought to kill. And she would have died. Remember, Angelus almost beat her. It was only at the end, when everything else was gone, and Buffy had only herself to fight with, that she won. If she had thought that maybe Willow had a chance, she wouldn't have had that last inner resolve. She would have died. Xander knew Buffy needed to be completely focused to save the world, and I don't think he was motivated as much by jealousy as concern. On a final note, I think Xander believed that Angel needed to pay for his crimes, whether committed by Angel or Angelus. Ms. Calender was still dead. And I agree with him.
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