Connor returns to his father and appears to be following in his footsteps, while Cordelia and Wesley find themselves making choices that will radically alter their lives.

The key word here is unsatisfying. Considering how far this season has come, from a shock pregnancy to teenage son, the least you could expect would be a degree of closure to the whole thing. Considering Buffy manages to conclude each season and Angel has as well to date, this episode comes as a rather unwanted surprise. Now, I've nothing against cliffhangers per se, but this episode doesn't resolve any of the elements that have been building over the last few weeks. There's also the fact that I'm not sure a lot of the changes that occur in this episode are the right way to go for the series.

The rapport between Cordelia and Angel has been building nicely this season, and I don't see why love has to come into it the second they start to bond. It's too convenient and obvious and I don't believe that it can serve a useful function. You'd think, therefore, that I'd be grateful that Cordelia never gets to meet up with Angel, but her apparent ascension to the heavenly host or somesuch is faintly ludicrous, especially in the way she's allowed to spend time talking to Skip, but can't have 30 seconds to pop by and talk to Angel or write a note or something. I liked the idea of demonizing Cordy, but why go to this extreme? Why can't she be merely an instrument of the Powers That Be with visions and some neat little powers?

Then there's Connor. Considering how many times his emotions have been played with over the last few weeks, you'd think he'd be a little more wary of people exerting an influence on him, especially when they're claiming Angelus killed Holtz. The purging of his hatred by Cordelia should have helped things sort themselves out, but here he's back in full bile mode, joining with Justine in coming up with a nice little torture for Angel. Connor gets the letter from Holtz and only has the word of one untrustworthy woman or his father; why does he so easily sway to the wrong side? I'm not sure what David Greenwalt thinks he's doing, but it's not endearing Connor to we viewers to use him like this, changing his outlook by the minute.

And finally we have Wesley. The last few episodes have been difficult, watching his decline into apathy and dejection, but I'm starting to feel that there's no need. He's lost everything before and bounced back (although admittedly not had his throat cut), and it seems unlike him, not only to mope but also to have sex with Lilah because he happens to be feeling a bit depressed. He's got some superbly nasty put-downs for her, but it's difficult to tell if she cares or if she is merely acting as a means to an end. The rest of Wolfram & Hart still seem to think they can take in Connor by force of arms, which seems massively unlikely. Their attempt is pointless and their position in the plot is negligible.

By the end of the episode, the growing cast is down to two: Gunn and Fred. While I appreciate the irony in Angel being sent down while Cordelia ascends, I feel the season really should have ended better than this, wrapping up the plots about Wesley, the prophecy, Connor, Justine and even the apparently-forgotten Sahjhan rather than this cop-out finish which has great moments but never makes the sum of its parts. Quite where things go next season I'll be interested to see, but for the here and now I worry about the direction the show is taking.

***

Would you like to go to the Angel Season Three guide, head back to the main TV reviews page, read older reviews in the Reviews Archive or return to the front page?