Season 2 Part 1
Season 2 Part 2
Season 3 Part 1
So good old TV3 are still showing the last season of Angel, several years late at 11pm on Tuesday night. I can't be fucked staying up that late, and it's a pain to try and record it, so it's kind of convenient that they've waited so long to show it that it's already out on DVD. So I bought the two sets and watched the whole damn season over a week. It's kind of sad now that I've seen the end of my second favorite show, but at least it went out with a lot more style than it's parent. Anyway, if you're still bothering to watch it on TV, don't read the rest of this post because I'm going to tell you what happens at the end.
After four years of more or less the same concept behind the show (Angel as the underdog P.I.) they shook things up a bit by putting Angel in charge of Wolfram and Hart, the big evil law firm that had been his arch-nemesis for the previous four seasons. This turns out to be a pretty good idea because it supplies a lot of engaging plot hooks. The central conflict arises from our heroes trying to do good and change the big evil corporation from within, while still trying to please their clients (a nasty bunch of demons and necromancers) and keep on the good side of the senior partners, the mysterious demonic entities who own the company.
I would have liked the overarching plot to be a bit more cohesive, the senior partners' big plan behind giving the firm to Angel turns out to be little more than a variation on the 'Lets try and make Angel go nuts!' scheme they've been trying since the show began. I would have liked something a little more epic to finish up the show. Plus a few of the interesting plot threads introduced in the first half of the season, like Spike getting resurrected as a ghost and Angel having a new girlfriend, get resolved a little curtly, almost like they had lots of cool ideas at the start that got forgotten or cast aside later on (a problem that plagued (some might say 'ruined') the last season of Buffy).
The season takes a little while to build up steam, opening with a bunch of 'monster of the week' episodes which, while they aren't that exciting, introduce the new situation and the moral dilemmas the characters are facing this year.
'Soul Purpose' is probably my favorite off the first half. It uses the rivalry between Angel and Spike to great effect, and Angel has some hilarious hallucination scenes while he's in his demon-induced coma. The third to last episode 'The Girl in Question', is a bit of a classic too. Angel and Spike travel to Italy supposedly on business, but really to get Buffy away from her new boyfriend (an old enemy of theirs known as 'The Immortal'). The fact that neither The Immortal or Buffy ever actually make an appearance only enhances the humour (probably an artistic decision based on Sarah Michelle Gellar's unavailability). It nicely closes off the relationship triangle between the three of them.
Then there's the finale. The big confrontation comes out of left field a little too much for my taste (we only learn about the big baddies in the second to last episode). I think a bit more foreshadowing and build-up would have been good. Despite that it holds up pretty well, especially compared to the limp Buffy finale. The final scene is a little vexing though. On one hand it's cool that they go out fighting, but the ambiguity of it all (Do they all get killed? What about the prophecy about Angel?) is a bit frustrating, especially considering that it's the end of the whole Buffy story, at least for now.
Apart from that though, it's a great season, probably the best of the shows run. The character arcs are tied up pretty nicely, except for Angel's. I was a bit surprised that Angelus (Angel's evil alter-ego) didn't show up at all during the season, I thought a confrontation with him would be necessary to properly close off his story, but maybe that just means they're holding out to continue it someday. Well, probably not, but I can hope.
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