OH MY LORD!!!!! EEEEEKKKK!!!! YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!
Okey-dokey, breathing now. How unbelievably incredible was this episode?!!!! After the last B/A crossover, I tried not to expect too much this time round - and I abstained from any episode spoilers, so boy o boy was I pleasantly surprised!
Buffy and Angel on screen together are always a winning combination, and there was no mistaking the sparks zipping between the two. And the heated jealousy on both sides!!!! Boundless joy.
But as usual I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me order this slightly more coherently:
Faith:
I'm still finding the whole sudden reformation thing just a little difficult to swallow here - ever since the coma, she's been evil heavy make-up girl, and now we're supposed to buy the guilty and tortured act? Aaaahh, but maybe heroic Angel brings out the good in people. (Excuse me while I turn around and barf). The mind-flash where Faith imagined herself stabbing Angel was startling but a helluva lot more believable than the touchy feely-ness to eventuate through the course of the hour.
Were the writers trying to do another drug-addict analogy with Faith here? The having to be monitored in case she gave way to temptation, the having to deal with the resentment of people whom she'd hurt, etc. And Angel, having been a former addict himself, leading her out of the darkness. (Sorry, 'nother barf pause.)
What have they done to my funky Faith?! She was so kick-ass cool with the leather and cruel intentions, and now they go and make her an example of Angel's heroicness. Oh my lord, that last shot of her looking peaceful in jail - Argh! OK, I get the reforment idea, but they could have constructed the transition more gradually and oh yeah, - more BELIEVABLY! Season Three, I miss you!!
Buffy-Angel:
Eeeeekkkk!! Where to begin?!
- I was practically on the floor when Faith let it slip about Riley! Oh Jealous Angel, how I've missed your angsty face!!! ;0>>> Thank you Joss. Thank you, thank you!
- Buffy walking in on Faith and Angel hugging: Was the parallel with "Enemies" here intended? (Where Faith goes to Angel for help undercover on a mission for the Mayor pretending to be all repentant, when all she really wants is a lay to make him Evil, and he so almost kisses her until he finally remembers Buffy and says no way hoe, and then Buffy walks in on them hugging goodbye and is all hurt and stuff. Pant, breath.)
- More Buffy walking in on them hugging: SCREAM!!!! Perfect television entrance there - B's pissed of look of jealousy was priceless. As was the argument that ensued…. The jealousy, the pain, the anger, the guilt, the defensiveness, the undeniable sexual tension! Finally remembering why I used to be so obsessed with this show.
- He hit her! I can't believe he actually hit her! (The Amends hilltop fight doesn't count as real hitting - um, he was trying to prove a point or something…) I'm damn glad she made an effort to make him feel bad here though - shame on him, after the memory of IWRY and all - I hope B's look of shocked pain haunts Angel for a good long while. That was very un-Angel-like to try and weasel his way out of the situation with those school-yard excuses though - assertive character development, my foot.
- OK, I feel personally affronted by Angel's insensitive dismissal of Buffy at the police station. I can't believe she took that sort of subordinate treatment without a bickering! Humph.
- Last B/A scene: Woah, tension! Very cruel of Buffy to stick the fact of Riley in Angel's face like that. I mean, for someone who's been willing to put his life on the line for her time and time again, you'd think Angel would've earned Buffy's trust by now. I felt like crying out "No!" when Angel did his whole "I've got my own life now and you're not a part of it so there" spiel. Decoded, that was an obvious declaratory statement by the writers, that the two characters are separate and that there's no hope in hell of a reunion in the near future. Noooo!!!!
- But ooo - it cuts him up inside every time he sees her! Woo-hoo! ;0>>> And didya hear the resentment in his voice about her laying the distance between them on her last visit? Definite sign of his inner frustration about the fact that he must carry the sole burden of the IWRY day.
- I'm glad that Buffy got to walk away in silence with Angel feeling bad about being so harsh. You deserve it Angel, those "go away"s of yours were way harsh - now saunter off somewhere to brood and look really gorgeous. Meanwhile Buff, all I can say is, please realise what a dork Riley is, and transfer to UCLA.
Buffy-Faith:
As much as I love a good slayer fight scene, words between the two were long overdue - but unfortunately, not the words that were said here.
Buffy is perfectly justified in her hatred towards Faith, and it is not fair of Angel to imply that Buffy was being insensitive to Faith's position. As Buffy said, she has tried countless times to reach out to Little Sister, only to be repeatedly kicked in the face. Seeing as her last encounter with Faith left Buffy battered and bruised, and her relationship with her boyfriend yet again in tatters, blondie had understandably reached her breaking point. Having said that, I guess I can understand her cheesy yet revealing last line "Faith wins again." It's as though Buffy and Faith are still in competition for Angel's affections, and I guess in that respect her line revealed that old wounds never heal. But was the statement supposed to indicate Buffy's jealousy of Faith, or Buffy's bitterness towards Angel in general for all he's done to her?….
Faith's sudden reversal in attitude towards Buffy was again, completely unrealistic, especially given the violent and bitter history between the two, not to mention the little sister complex that Faith has. All of a sudden we're supposed to believe that the very thing that spurred Faith into her evil psychosis - her jealousy of Buffy - has dwindled to nothing more than perhaps a lingering pang of being misunderstood by the Good One?!
No thank you, if this was the verbal interlude they concocted, I wish the writers had rather manifested the conflict in a cool battle scene. I hope we'll get better closure than this in a future episode.
Storyline:
Lovin' this evil Law firm arc - not very original (Xfiles-ish), but at least it gives Angel a different angle from Buffy. But come on, Angel can't be that incredibly difficult to kill, can he? Jeez, he had plenty of Buffy-come-save-me near death experiences in Sunnydale, and now he's supposed to be untouchable? Oh yeah, and notice that since he's the hero on this show, Angel did the day-savage with the helicopter stunt. Oh puh-lease! He was never able to jump that high before - and anyway, we all know Buffy would have emerged victorious regardless of Angel's unrealistic theatrics. She could kick his ass any day - and the cute thing is, he knows it. ;0))))
Kate the cow. How could she think of sunlighting Mr Dark Avenger after all he's done for her?! I'd like to see more interaction between her and evil lawyer guy though - I felt some sexual tension there - promising stuff - and more importantly, promising stuff not involving Angel betraying Buffy.
The Watcher's Council. Good to see more links between the two shows, especially this conspiratory twist. Also nice to have the connection to the original Slayer mythology stuff, and a platform from which ex-Watcher Wesley's character can develop. It'll be interesting to see where this storyline goes, especially in terms of the Faith's fate.
To sum up, this episode pretty much rocked. Action, romance, conspiracy, betrayal, and self-enlightenment. Not bad for an hour's television. Granted, the characterisations in this episode were written quite poorly - but then, crossover beggars can't be choosers. It's comforting to know that the love between Buffy and Angel is still binding the two closely together. Buffy once said that love should include pain, and she shares that in abundance in her relationship with Angel. It is evident through their verbal and physical sparring, that there is still a plethora of issues and emotions that they still need to work out. Her sending him to hell, and him leaving town after almost killing her, are just a couple of examples of the problems they have been ignoring for too long. The fact that they can still anger and hurt each other to such heights, merely illustrates the violence of their affection. For:
"Love isn't brains children, it's blood. Blood screaming inside of you to work its will."
