Kelly Ann's Horribly Sarcastic Episode Reviews-City Of
Thanks to Leah for giving me a place to post these, because I hated to think
I spent 8 months of life working on them for nothing.
Disclaimer: I do, in fact, thoroughly enjoy both Buffy the Vampire Slayer
and Angel. But I also get a perverse pleasure from making fun of that which
I love. So with that in mind, enjoy. And be glad you aren't someone I love.
Episode: City of...
Wait…what's Angel supposed to do?
Summary/Praise/Snide Comments
Note: I have been a very good girl and read almost nothing about the
upcoming seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, so you may notice
that I am surprised by things that nearly everyone else has known for ages. [
You will also notice that about midway through the season my admirable will
power falls apart faster than a dusted vamp. But I gave it a try. --KA]
Teaser
The season premiere of BtVS has just ended and I am anxiously perched on my
couch, thinking that if the series premiere of Angel doesn't start soon I am
going to go nuts. But I will be objective. I will.
An airborne shot of LA at night, and Angel's voice-over: "Los Angeles. You
see it at night, and it shines. A beacon. People are drawn to it.
People...and other things. They come for all sorts of reasons. My reason?
No surprise there. It started with a girl." Cut to the inside of a club.
Angel is sitting at the bar, drunk. "[S]he was a hottie girl," he slurs to
someone off-camera. I am liking this already. "Ya know," he says, looking
to his off-screen buddy, "you kind of remind me of her." We see that Angel
is talking to a large bald black man, who is not amused. Drunk Angel looks
over his shoulder at a group of men and women playing pool. One of the guys
bellies up to the bar between Angel and the large bald black Buffy. Angel
looks up at the guy and giggles. "Girls are nice," he says, and giggles
again. Now he's Silly Angel. The guy doesn't think Silly Angel is very
funny. He leaves with his friends. Angel's smile starts to fade as he looks
over his shoulder, tracking their departure. Hey, he's not Drunk Angel, or
Silly Angel, he's regular old Fightin' Angel!! What a faker! He pivots on
his stool and cool thumpy music kicks in as he gets up, perfectly sober and
perfectly delicious in his long black coat, and heads for the door in slow
motion. Did I just whimper? I wish this scene could last forever, but...
Cut to the alley, where we see our pool-playing buddies. The girls think
they are going to Lido but the guy in the red shirt grabs the blonde girl and
says he wants to "party right here." Blondie resists and he responds by
grabbing her by the throat and telling her to "shut up and die" as he turns
into a vampire. His vampire face looks pretty fake. Maybe the FX crew lost
their touch over summer hiatus.
Enter Drunk Angel, who appears to be a little unsteady on his feet. He
wanders up and asks if anyone has seen his car. Wait a minute, I just
realized that there are three guys and only two girls. That seems a little
off, since no matter what kind of action they were looking for, someone is
gonna get left out. Red, who is still holding Blondie by the neck, tells
Angel to "piss off." Can they say that at 8pm on the WB? Apparently so.
Drunk Angel looks at Red and does a double take, apparently awed by just how
bad the vampire effects are in this scene.
Red snarls and pushes Blondie away, sending her stunt double flying into a
pile of trashcans. He swings at Drunk Angel, who suddenly becomes Fightin'
Angel again, blocking the punch and sending Red flying. Back to Angel as the
other two vampires rush him. He thrusts his arms down and spring-loaded
stakes pop out of his coat sleeves. Wow. He stakes both vampires
simultaneously. Cool scene.
Uh, oh, Red is back and he has a big metal trashcan. He nails Angel in the
head and our boy falls to the ground. I know what's next and I can't wait.
Angel looks up, snarling, and...and...and he has Silly Putty stuck to his
forehead. Oh man. Ya know, while checking out the Silly Putty website a
while back I noticed that you can buy a 5lb blob of the stuff for $85.00, and
my first reaction was "What the hell would you do with 5lbs of Silly Putty?"
Now I know. But I've waited months for this moment, so I guess a really fake
game-face is better than none. He and Red exchange a few punches before
Angel sends him crashing onto the windshield of a nearby car. Red is
apparently knocked unconscious. Once again, I wonder how a creature that
exists without circulation or oxygen can pass out, but I guess I should just
get used to it.
The girls approach Angel, who turns away, panting pretty heavily for a guy
who doesn't breathe. Angel tells them to go home. Blondie tries to touch
him and he growls as he turns on them, still in vamp face. We get a close-up
of Blondie's bloody head wound. "Get away from me," Angel snarls, his eyes
glued to the blood. Ooh, Dangerous Angel. Quick, somebody get him some
leather pants. She backs off and he exits, staking Red, who is still
sprawled on the car, as he walks by. The girls huddle together in the alley,
watching him go. "Who was that rubbery man?" I imagine them saying. Angel
strides purposefully down the perfectly lit alley, coat billowing behind him.
Oh yeah.
The credits start with a cool haunty cello thing. Hey, one of the first
shots is from the BtVS when Buffy lived in LA ("Anne"). The drums kick in to
punctuate Angel smashing through a set of double doors, wearing leather and
vamp face. Hubba hubba. He dives out a window. He drives. He smiles. Oh
my God, this is going to be the best show ever. Reviewer objectivity:
officially gone. We see Charisma Carpenter and Glenn Quinn, and oh, there's
that scene from "Amends" where Angel dreams that he has sex with Buffy and
then kills her.
Act One
Angel enters a cool old building and walks through an unused office space,
taking an elevator down to what I assume is his apartment. He takes off his
coat and then his springy stakes, and it looks like he is still wearing his
claddagh ring. Awww. Then he takes off his shirt, revealing a black tank
top. That's a good boy. But just when things are getting good, some idiot
blocks my view. Damn. It's that guy from Roseanne. But I like his Irish
accent, so I will cut him some slack. I'm sure there will be other
opportunities to see Angel without his shirt on.
Irish makes a Batcave joke, which I like to see, because everyone is aware of
the inevitable comparisons. He has that "I shop at thrift stores and listen
to Fugazi" look. He says his name is Doyle and Angel tells him, "You don't
smell human." Angel is doing that thing where he talks without hardly moving
his lips at all. Why do I find that so appealing? Doyle sneezes and his
face breaks out in blue spikes. He shakes it off and admits that he is half
demon. Then he says that he came in uninvited, so it's obvious that he is
not a vampire like Angel. Okay, that line seemed out of place in the
conversation, so I assume that Doyle's comment was for the uninitiated. Or
is Doyle just showing off that he knows what Angel is? Plus, I thought the
invitation thing was only for vampires entering human homes. Seems to me
that on BtVS Darla just made her little ol' self at home in Angel's apartment
("Angel") and that Angelus waltzed right in to Spike and Dru's factory
hidey-hole ("Innocence"), all with nary an invitation in sight.
Must...not...think...so...much.
Angel asks Doyle what he wants, and Doyle says he was sent by the "powers
that be." I don't know whether to capitalize that or not, since I am not
sure if he is using that as a figure of speech, or if there really are Powers
That Be. It turns out that the Powers That Be want Doyle to give us the
Cliff's Notes version of Angel's unlife so that all the newbies can hit the
ground running. Doyle gives us the run-down, punctuated with lots of scenes
from BtVS. Between the credits and this scene, it must have been a short
workweek over on the set of Angel. Oh no, not all the wigs!! And they used
the one with the really bad mustache!! Help!! Angel doesn't look too
thrilled with this either. The scene is slightly redeemed by the fact that
Doyle refers to Buffy as "Young Miss Puppy Thighs."
Okay, now that that nightmare is over, Doyle tells us that Angel is in LA to
fight evil blah blah blah. Dialogue, schmialogue, Angel's in a tank top.
Then he asks if Angel has any beer, which of course he doesn't. Hmm, he's an
Irish guy who likes to drink? Imagine that. Doyle says that Angel must have
something around besides "pig's blood," thus telling us how Angel survives
without killing humans. But speaking of that, Doyle says that Angel has been
craving human blood ever since he drank from Buffy ("Graduation Day Part
II--and I'm bummed we don't get to see that again). I notice that our boy
doesn't deny this. Sooner or later, Doyle warns, Angel will feed on humans
again, unless he makes an effort to see them as people and make a connection
with them. Now Doyle needs a beer so badly they have to change sets.I'm not sure what happens when they cut from scene to scene, but it's
blinding and confusing and the first time it happened I thought I had died
and was heading for the white light.
Next we see Angel and Doyle outside a liquor store, Doyle clutching the
obligatory brown paper bag. "It's not all about fighting and gadgets and
stuff," Doyle says. Hey, I like the fighting and the gadgets. Throw in some
fangs, some snarl and a few shirtless moments and I will watch this every
night for the rest of my life. Anyway, Doyle says that Angel needs to reach
out to people and show them there is love and hope in the world. Yeah,
because Angel is a shining example of optimism. He's the vampire
Mary-frickin-Poppins. An old woman asks for spare change and Doyle snaps at
her, "Get a job, you lazy sow." "It's about letting them in your heart," he
concludes. Hee hee.
Doyle explains that he gets painful visions that show him people who need
help. Angel asks why Doyle was picked for this gig and Doyle says that
everyone has something to atone for. Doyle's shadowy past established.
Doyle hands Angel a note that says "Tina. Coffee Spot. S.M." I notice it
is written on the back of a receipt and I think that's perfect, since I doubt
a guy like Doyle keeps a supply of Post-It Notes around. Angel asks why Tina
needs help and Doyle says it's Angel's job to find out. Then Angel asks why
a woman he doesn't know would talk to him. Doyle implies that Angel is hot.
Tell me something I don't know. Then Angel whines that he is not good with
people. Doyle looks as frustrated as I am and tells Angel that's the whole
point. Geez. If he's going to pull this fighting evil thing off, he's going
to have to be a little quicker on the up-take. Doyle asks Angel if he is
"game," but we don't get to see Angel's response.
There's another bright, flickering, over-exposed jump-cut and I thank God
that I'm not epileptic. Angel's driving his cool black convertible. Next we
see him in the coffee place. Someone should call the health department,
because some guy brought his dog in with him. Tina walks into the scene,
having a conversation with a guy I assume is the manager. He uses her name
so we know who she is. Tina is blonde, just like Buffy. What a shocker.
She is trying to get the manager to give her more hours--I guess she needs
money--but the manager is non-committal. So, okay, Angel gives her a couple
twenties and voila, problem solved. Then he can go home and take off his
shirt again.
Tina heads in Angel's direction and he makes a really awkward attempt at
striking up a conversation by pointing out how cute the "doggie" is. Angel
said "doggie." Heh heh. Tina walks right past him. Ooh, a swing and a
miss. Tina starts clearing off tables and Angel doesn't get up to leave, so
I guess that means he's not going with my plan. Rats. Tina moves closer to
Angel and he makes another lame attempt to talk to her. Tina knocks a cup of
coffee off the table and Angel catches it with his lightening fast vampire
reflexes, which impresses me and Tina. Angel blurts out, "So, are
you...happy?" She isn't quite sure how to react and Angel makes what at
first appears to be a pretty good save by saying that he noticed she looked a
little sad. This only gets Tina all riled up and she accuses Angel of
watching her. Paranoid much? He stammers and fumbles through a denial. Has
anyone else ever noticed that cute thing he does with his hands sometimes,
kind of playing with his fingers, when he talks? Tina's suspicion caves
under his endearing awkwardness and they agree to meet when her shift is over.
Next we see Angel leaning against his convertible. Mmmmm. Tina isn't as
pleased with the view as I am, because when she appears, in her Little Black
Dress, she pulls out some pepper spray or mace, maybe it's breath freshener
and she's bluffing, I don't know. She tells Angel that she knows who he is
and what he's doing here--yikes!!--and she wants him to tell "Russell" to
leave her alone. Cancel "yikes." Angel says he doesn't know Russell, and
Tina asks why he was watching her. Angel says, "Because you looked lonely.
And I figured then we had something in common." I think I whimpered again.
Tina can't resist that line either. She apologizes and says she's having
"relationship issues." Angel asks who Russell is and Tina gives an evasive
answer. Then we get the scoop on Tina. From Montana. Former aspiring
actress. Wants to go home. Pretty uninteresting, except for the part where
Angel says he was in Montana during the Depression. "Uh...my depression," he
amends. Looks like someone needs to practice the mental editing process if
this undercover gig is going to pan out. Tina says she is on her way to a
party and Angel volunteers to drive her.
So you know how at every party there is an idiot running around with a
camera, making everyone feel really uncomfortable? At this party, that
person is Tina's friend Margo, who is stalking her guests with a video
camera. Margo says that Angel is hot. Hey, you just back right the hell
off, sister. I saw him before you did. Angel and Tina stand by the buffet
table and Tina picks up a little star-shaped sandwich and makes a wry comment
about everyone being a star in LA. Then she apparently puts it back, because
we never see her eat it. Okay, that right there is why I don't eat the food
at parties. "Who's Russell?" Angel asks. Smooth, Angel, real smooth. You
worked that into the conversation so slyly. Tina still isn't telling.
Tina takes off to talk to Margo, leaving Angel to wander the party alone.
Some guy named Oliver tells Angel he is "beautiful" and offers to be his
agent, but Angel politely declines. Why does everyone keep talking about how
good-looking he is? That's the third person in like five minutes. Then he
runs into Cordelia. He totally checks her out in her tight red shiny dress,
and when he finally looks her in the eye he says, "It's nice to see a
familiar face." Huh. Face. Yeah, okay. Cordy tells him her acting career
is in full swing and she lives on the beach in Malibu. She asks Angel if he
is still "Grrr," and Angel points out there is no cure for "Grrr." Cordy
says that she needs to go talk to people who "are somebody." "It's nice to
see she's grown as a person," deadpans Angel as he walks away.
Later, Angel sees Tina talking to some oily guy who tries to grab her arm as
she walks away. She tells Angel she wants to leave and Angel asks who Oily
is. Once again, Tina supplies only a first name--Stacy--and no other
details. Ya know, I'm thinking that this chick doesn't deserve to be helped,
since she isn't being very forthcoming with information. Angel and Tina are
attacked by some nameless henchmen as they leave the party. Two of them grab
Angel and pull him back into the elevator, while a third grabs Tina.
Act Two
Back in the parking garage, Stacy appears and tells Tina that Russell wants
to talk to her. Tina makes a lame escape attempt. We see Angel emerge from
the elevator, the two bad guys crumpled on the floor. I would rather have
seen what he did to them than Tina's running and shrieking, but I guess I
can't have it all. Our hero runs to his car and hops in, fumbling with the
ignition. He looks dumbfounded for a moment, then realizes he is in the
wrong car. Hee hee. The bad guys are driving off with Tina, but Angel
engages them in a game of chicken and the bad guys lose, crashing into a
parked car. Angel disarms the driver and rescues Tina. For a few seconds,
Angel points the driver's gun at Stacy, which is very weird to see.
Cut to Cordy, who lives in a hovel and has one dress. Her answering machine
tells her that not only does she not have any acting jobs, but the whole city
is sick of seeing her face at auditions. Her dinner is a couple of those
sandwiches from the party, which I realize now were star-shaped so we will
recognize them and know Cordy is living on purloined hors d'oeuvres.
Angel is making tea for Tina. He asks if she takes milk and sugar and when
she says yes he says, "Because I don't have any of those things." Tina makes
a comment about all the medieval weapons hanging on Angel's wall and he says
that he has "relationships issues" also. Maybe they should swap stories. Or
maybe not. Tina says that Angel gets to "comfort" her, but he politely
declines. She is so touched by this that she starts to cry and he hands her
a dishtowel. Angel's shopping list so far: beer, milk, sugar, a box of Puffs
Plus. Angel asks again about Russell, but Tina still won't talk. Christ,
how long is this going to take? I'm kind of wishing that Angel would just
kill her and get it over with, since it's obvious that he's getting nowhere
with this and she doesn't really want his help. She does say that Russell
"likes pain" and that he made her friend Denise "disappear." Suddenly, Tina
is sleeping and Angel is snooping through her address book, looking for
Denise's last name. Luckily, Tina knows only one girl named Denise.
Next we see Angel at the public library, looking for Denise on the Internet.
He finds her all right, and I guess they blew the budget on those awesome
vampire effects, because I swear it looks like they dressed Charisma
Carpenter in a cheesy Vegas showgirl outfit and snapped a couple pictures.
Denise has a lame rose tattoo on her bicep. What, she couldn't afford the
tribal ankle band? See Angel use three computers at once!! See Angel hack
into the LA morgue and look at autopsy photos!!
The sun is rising and Angel is walking in some kind of tunnel, complete with
train sound effects and drippy pipes. We hear a girl screaming and Angel
rushes to a ladder on the wall...and pops up out of a door in the floor of
his apartment. Wow. You'd think this place was designed specifically for a
crime-fighting vampire. Tina is having a nightmare. Angel wakes her and
they hug. Watch it, chicky baby, not too close now. I don't want to have to
kick your ass. Tina confirms that Denise had a tattoo, and Angel tells her
that Russell killed her and possibly other girls too. Angel's triumphant
sleuthing moment is ruined, however, when Tina sees Doyle's note with her
name on it lying on the table. You'd think a neatnik like Angel would have
tossed that already. Tina freaks and accuses him of working for Russell as
she grabs her stuff and runs upstairs. Angel follows and tries to explain.
He grabs her arm, but as she tries to wrestle free she pulls his hand into a
ray of sunlight. Angel's hand bursts into flames. The Silly Putty comes
back and he snarls. Tina looks at him and screams. I don't blame ya, honey,
it's upsetting me too. She runs out as Angel cradles his charbroiled arm.
Act Three
Tina is in her little hole of an apartment, flinging clothes into a suitcase.
She opens a drawer and pulls out a gun, spins around and aims it at a guy I
assume is Russell. He has the "older-slimy-businessman" thing down pat. She
demands to know what he did to Denise and he says that he paid her way home.
Tina says Denise is dead and Russell asks who told her that. She says that
she thought "he" was working for Russell but that he "turned into
something--it was the most horrible thing I'd ever seen." We all know what's
coming next, but let me take a moment to tell Tina to watch what she says
about Angel. She's not looking so great herself right now, all messy hair
and puffy eyes. Sheesh. Anyway, Russell puts on his vampire face, and let
me just say, not a good look for him. He looks moldy. All green blotches
and stuff. Blech. Then he kills Tina. Thank you, Russell.
Angel bursts into Tina's apartment and sees her sprawled on the floor. He's
upset, because he doesn't know she was talking about him behind his back. He
crouches down and touches her neck, I'm guessing to examine her wound rather
than check for a pulse, because I believe he would be able to come rushing in
uninvited like that only after she was dead ("Graduation Day Part II"). Plus
living humans normally aren't all gray like that. He gets blood on his
fingers and stares at it 'til the scene fades out. Next we see Tina being
zipped into a body bag as Angel watches from a rooftop across the street.
When he walks away he kind of just steps off the edge of the roof. Neat.
Now he's back at his apartment with Doyle, who is going to track down the bad
guys through the smashed up car from the party scene. Doyle tries to make
Angel feel better by telling him that it wasn't his fault Tina took off, but
Angel cuts him off. Doyle reminds us again that Angel can't distance himself
blah blah blah. Ya know, I really wish they'd clue us in as to why Doyle is
there and what Angel is supposed to be doing, because I'm a little unclear.
Angel cuts Doyle off again by saying that he doesn't want to share his
feelings, he just wants to find Russell. Doyle asks what Angel plans to do
when he finds him, and Angel channels Clint Eastwood and says, "Then I'm
gonna share my feelings." Whoohoo!!
We finally get to see Russell's huge white mansion, complete with Secret
Service wannabes and girls in French Maid outfits. Russell is watching the
video from Margo's party while his attorney briefs him on his alibi for
Tina's murder. The lawyer works for a firm called Wolfram & Hart and he's
kind of cute. Russell spies Cordy on the video and says he wants to meet
her. Cute Attorney Boy asks if this is going to be another "long term
investment," but Russell's in more of a snacking mood.
Next we see a storefront for "Stacy's Gym Supplies" and a brief shot of Stacy
talking to what I believe is a customer, right before Angel tosses said
customer through the window. I'm guessing Stacy just lost that sale. Angel
pins Stacy down with a big barbell and demands information on Russell. When
Stacy says that Angel doesn't know what he's getting into, our boy says, "Let
me guess. Not big on the daylight or the mirrors? Drinks a lot of V-8?"
Ha! Stacy says that Russell will kill Angel and everyone he cares about.
Angel says that there isn't anyone left he cares about.
Cut to Cordy. Subtle, no? Margo calls and tells her that Russell saw the
party video and wants to meet her. Just in case we don't know that Margo is
a shady character, she washes down some prescription drugs with a Bloody
Mary. She tells Cordy a limo will pick her up at 8pm.
Angel is back at his apartment stuffing an arsenal into a black duffel bag.
And I must say that he looks fabulous in that close-fitting black sweater.
Cordy is in the limo on the way to her date with mildew-covered death. The
big gates at Russell's house clang shut ominously. Angel makes Doyle drive.
Cordy is in Russell's house. A butler shows her to the parlor or sitting
room or whatever it is you have when your house looks like a goddamn museum.
Act Four
Cordy looks around Russell's parlor-because that is what I have decided to
call it-and mentions the heavy curtains. She then gives us a nice summary of
her riches to rags story as Angel and Doyle pull up to the gate. Angel gets
out of the car, wearing what I believe is a Hawaiian shirt and a blazer. He
punches out the guard and rips the wire out of the security camera, then
thankfully takes off his "disguise" to reveal he is still wearing that nice
black sweater. He tells Doyle to tie up the guard and wait ten minutes.
Then he goes over the wall and into Russell Manor.
Cordy is whining to Russell about how hard her life is. Russell says he will
help her and Cordy asks, "What do you want me to do?" Okay, if that is meant
to be taken in the context I took it in, I feel a little queasy. Russell
looks like he's about to move in for the kill, but Cordy suddenly gets
concerned that her teary-eyed whining has ruined her make-up, and starts
looking around for a mirror. She puts the heavy curtains and the lack of
mirrors together and realizes Russell is a vampire. Which she tells him.
His denial is hilarious, the way he looks all guilty and shifty-eyed.
Cordelia brags that she knows all about vampires, then realizes that it
probably wasn't too bright to let on that she knows the truth.
Angel puts some explosive device or something on some kind of electrical box
on the side of Russell's house. I know you are all really impressed with my
tech-speak right now. Then he uses his super-hero grappling hook to get up
onto a balcony. Cordy somehow got out of the parlor and is now being chased
up the stairs by Russell, who is all moldy again. I would think some Dial
Anti-Bacterial would take care of that. When they get to the landing he
grabs Cordy, but Angel's bomb thing explodes, and all the lights go out
before Russell can sink his teeth in. Angel emerges from a darkened doorway,
which answers my question about vampires needing invitations from other
vampires, and Russell says that Angel made a mistake in coming to his house.
Cordy then says my favorite line in this episode: "You don't know who he is,
do you? Oh, boy, you're about to get your ass kicked." Hee! It's made even
better by the fact that she says it with such glee, because that's totally
how I feel right now, too.
Angel and Russell duke it out a little while Cordy stands uselessly by,
screaming Angel's name. The Russell Service guys show up with guns and Angel
shields Cordy from the bullets, then picks her up and jumps off the landing.
They run for the door. Doyle is checking his watch and getting agitated. He
starts to drive off when he hears the gunshots, then comes back and rams the
gate with the car, which doesn't damage the gate at all. He is inspecting
the steaming front end of Angel's bitchin' ride as Angel and Cordy run up. A
bullet-ridden Angel collapses into the back seat as they speed away.
Angel has his shirt off! Angel has his shirt off! Doyle is digging a bullet
out of Angel's chest as our boy grimaces and groans. Cordy stands in the
background, clutching a bandage and covering her eyes. "Finally!" she says,
as Doyle moves away, "I thought I was going to faint while barfing." I have
to remember that line. She cleans and bandages the wound and we get an even
better view of Shirtless Angel. Take your time, Cordy, no need to rush. You
want to make sure that bandage is on just right. She asks if Angel scared
Russell into leaving them alone, at which point Doyle and Angel exchange
meaningful looks.
It's daytime again. Russell has his own office building, with his name right
on the front. I guess he subscribes to the "hiding in plain sight"
philosophy. He's in a conference room with a bunch of suits, including Cute
Attorney Boy. It's interesting to note that everything in this scene, from
the walls to the tables to the clothing, looks like it is some shade of gray.
Yes, that's exactly how I feel about life in corporate America too. Cute
Attorney Boy is telling Russell that the authorities have no information
about "the intruder" who broke into his home and interrupted his dinner the
night before, but private investigators are working on it. That's Angel's cue
to stroll into the conference room. He looks a little ticked off. Cute
Attorney Boy stands up and blocks his way, thus insuring that he will get his
ass kicked by Angel at some point. He tells our hero that they can't pin
anything on Russell and that if Angel doesn't leave him alone they will be
forced to "bring [him] into the light of day."
Angel steps around Cute Attorney Boy and stands in front of a smug looking
Russell. Russell tells him that he can do anything he wants because he has
money and attorneys. Angel puts his foot on Russell's chair, leaning down to
stare at him intently. "Can you fly?" he asks, and then pushes the chair
with his foot, sending it and Russell right through the floor-to-ceiling
window. Russell bursts into flames and we see the chair land on the sidewalk
in a cloud of dust. "Guess not," says Angel. He exits as Cute Attorney Boy
pulls out his cell phone and tells someone to schedule a meeting to discuss
the "new player in town."
Tag
Angel is sitting on his bed, staring at the phone. He picks it up and dials
and we hear Buffy answer before Angel hangs up without saying anything. That
was, of course, the "mysterious" (like we didn't know who it was) phone call
Buffy got in "The Freshman." Doyle walks in and asks what happened to
Russell and Angel tells him that he "went into the light." See, I wasn't the
only one confused by those jump-cuts. Doyle asks why Angel is so bummed.
Don't worry, Doyle, you'll get used to it. Angel says that he didn't really
help anyone, thinking of Dead Gray Tina, I suppose. She sucked! Get over
it! Doyle says that Cordelia, who is upstairs, is pretty pleased with how
things turned out, so of course Cordy starts screaming. Angel and Doyle run
to her rescue and I ask myself why that never happens when I start yelling
like a ninny in my house. Anyway, Cordy says she saw a cockroach. In
California? How shocking! I assume it was not a vampire cockroach, judging
by all the sunlight that is streaming in through the blinds, but then again
it doesn't seem to be bothering Angel. Cordy basically tells Angel that they
are forming a business and she is going to work for him. He is reluctant at
first but then Cordy acts all vulnerable, and now we have a show, ladies and
gentlemen. Angel looks scrumptious in that nice tight burgundy sweater.
Cordy leaves the room and Doyle says that she will provide Angel with a
connection to the world. (He also says the she has a very "humanizing"
effect, so I guess poor Doyle is in for a rude awakening about Queen C.)
Hey, I just had a crazy thought: maybe that's the point of this episode! Do
you think? Anyway, Angel, who is not fooled, says, "You think she's a
hottie," and Doyle confirms that she is a "stiffener." Oh my. And that's
twice that Angel has used the word "hottie" in this episode. Where did he
learn that? Doyle asks Angel once again if he is "game." Cut to Angel
standing on a rooftop, looking at the night skyline of LA. "I'm game," he
says in a voice-over as he kinda smiles and turns away.
Now Tell Us What You Really Think…
In General
This episode was obviously about establishing the premise of the show and
introducing characters, so mission accomplished there. I like the darker
tone and the show is interesting visually, so I can't complain. Even though
I knew the backstory, it still held my interest.
New Characters
Doyle
He's funny, he's got the accent, and he's easy on the eyes. Plus he's half
demon, so he's not all boring and safe. Pass me another helping of that,
please. So far I like his attitude towards Angel, which is much different
from most of what we saw on BtVS. He's not influenced by emotion or
suspicion; to Doyle, Angel is just some vampire guy he was sent to help. It
will be interesting to see Angel interact with a guy who doesn't hate him
(Hellooo, Xander!), since we have never seen him have anything resembling a
friendship with another male character.
Cute Attorney Boy
I obviously don't have too much to say about him, since all I know is that he
is a bad guy and now he has one less client. I mention him because I assume
he will be a recurring character, based on his request for a meeting about
Angel. I hope we see some more of him, because Angel still owes him that
ass-whupin'.
Familiar Characters
Angel
Even if nothing else exciting happens this season, I'm happy just to see
Angel become more 3-dimensional. His character is darker on this show, but
at the same time more human--he has a sense of humor, he has a car, he uses a
computer. All pretty ordinary things, but new for us as far as Angel is
concerned. Keep that stuff coming, I am eating it up like Ben & Jerry's.
He's got the set-up now-the office, the sidekicks, the mission, the wardrobe.
Bring on the baddies.
Cordelia
I know that more than a few people thought that moving Cordy to Angel was a
terrible idea, but I'm optimistic after tonight. Of all the Scoobies, she is
probably the one who has the least in common with him, which I think will
make for a better show. Her character is also one of the lesser defined on Bt
VS, which gives the writers more to play with. Interesting to note that
while Angel seems a little more menacing in LA, Cordy is more vulnerable.Thumbs Up
Socially Awkward Angel
I'm sure we will get to see a lot more of this and I'm looking forward to it.
One of my favorite Angel scenes from BtVS was when he slipped in the doorway
of the professor's apartment ("Graduation Day Part I"), because it was silly
and kind of out of character for him. We've all seen Angel look mopey,
tormented, angry, lovesick, evil, blah blah blah, and it's a nice change to
see him be clumsy and tongue-tied.
Dead Gray Tina
How cool is it that Angel's first "assignment" died? Although I will mention
once again that if she had been a tad more cooperative, things might have
gone better for her. Maybe the Powers That Be never intended for him to save
Tina anyway. Maybe they, like Joss, were just using her to get Angel and
Cordy together. Too bad for her, I guess. It would be fine with me if all
the girls Angel is sent to save die and all the hot guys he is supposed to
help live. And become recurring characters.
Russell Winters
He wasn't much for facial hygiene, but he was a pretty good one-shot villain.
He was evil and smarmy and pretty gross, but worst of all, he was a
corporate fat cat. A nice switch from the vamps skulking around in the
cemetery that we are used to.
Dialogue
Angel: I still save 'em. Who cares if I don't stop to chat?
Doyle: Look, high school's over now, bud. Ya gotta make with the grown-up
talk now.
Doyle: Wow, you're really going to war here. I guess you, uh, you've seen a
few in your time, yeah?
Angel: Fourteen, not including Vietnam. They never declared it."
Angel getting in the wrong car.
Because we don't want our superhero to be too super. This, combined with
Dead Gray Tina and his inept social interaction, made for an interesting hour
of Angelriffic fun.
Thumbs Down
The Vampire Make-Up
I admit it, I find Vampire Angel a teeny weeny bit attractive. Oh, hell, who
am I kidding, he's the frosting on cake. The game-face will get better. I
know it. Incidentally, if you are in the area you can see the Silly Putty
collection at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American
History. No Sunday funnies allowed.
KellyAnn's Checklist
x Angel Vamps Out
x Angel Snarls/Growls
x Angel Uses Vampire Speed/Strength
Angel Requests An Invite
Angel Has No Reflection
x Angel In Flames
Angel In Leather
x Angel Smiles
Angel Cries
Angel Gets Sweaty
x Angel Shirtless
Angel Naked
Angel In Chains
Angel Gets Tortured
Angelus Moment
Miscellany
Angel can drive!
And the Angelmobile is one badass set of wheels.
Angel with a gun!
Bizarre. It reminded me that I read somewhere that BtVS had a rule that no
photos or stills showing Giles or Angel holding a weapon could be used for
publicity purposes. The abundance of guns in the season premiere gives me
hope that Angel will get shot at more often, necessitating lots of
please-remove-your-shirt-type first aid.
Angel hits the hooch!
Can we see him get drunk for real? Please?
Naughty dialogue
"Mommy, what's a 'stiffener'?"
Russell's Moldy Face
I assume that he is pretty old, based on his ugly mug, since The Master was
totally ancient and we all know he wasn't much of a looker. So a vamp's
human face never ages, but his demon face just gets gnarlier and gnarlier?
Guess that beats having it the other way around.
The Final Verdict
Overall, I thought this was pretty damn good, but since this is the very
first one and I want to leave room for awesome future eps, I will give "City
Of…" 4 out of 5 Pairs of Leather Pants.