Angel: To Shanshu in L.A. Rewatch
October 8, 2015 6:22 AM - Season 1, Episode 22 - Subscribe
The first-season finale brings us the Shanshu Prophecy, the destruction of the Angel Investigations offices, the death of the Oracles, Lindsey losing a hand, and the rise of the Beast (or at least, someone dangerous).
Wolfram & Hart raises Darla from wherever it is that vampires go when they "die".
Wolfram & Hart raises Darla from wherever it is that vampires go when they "die".
I thought it was bold at the time for the creators to tear down everything about Season 1 by the end, particularly destroying the old Angel HQ. Shows were so status quo in those days that to redefine things was a major twist.
posted by Servo5678 at 8:07 AM on October 10, 2015
posted by Servo5678 at 8:07 AM on October 10, 2015
It doesn't really feel like Angel to me until they get to the Hyperion.
posted by chaiminda at 5:15 AM on October 11, 2015
posted by chaiminda at 5:15 AM on October 11, 2015
I enjoyed this one a lot, mostly because I enjoy the main cast when they come together as a family (the last scene in particular is very sweet).
Nabbitt is back, briefly, treating life and death peril as a fun game (maybe a jab at the fans).
It's pretty neat that they essentially destroy everything to rebuild next season, though I really have absolutely no idea how Wesley would have possibly survived that explosion with such comparatively minor injuries. It's an interesting bookend to his last Buffy appearance, where he's whining about being in "quite a lot of pain" while being lifted into an ambulance and being completely ignored, (Cordelia even draws our attention back to it by saying, "He didn't scream like a girl as some of us would have?" about Angel's reaction to the prophecy saying death), and here, he's carried out by Angel, who walks beside him as he's put back in an ambulance but is silent (well, unconscious) and it's treated a lot more seriously. I'm wondering if the hospital fakeout with the patient they're resuscitating ("Clear! Ok, we got him back") not being Wesley is a reference to the Great Cordelia Death Fakeout on BTVS when Buffy and Willow walk by a funeral and say, "so, Cordelia's going to be okay?"
Lindsay's cut-off hand (after he says he's going to sever Angel's connections) is a surprisingly bloodless special effect. I guess he lived through that somehow.
Angel is particularly touching with Cordelia. Not sure I ever bought the romance, but I did love them as family.
"Okay - as tiny mistakes go - that's not one."
I'm not sure I ever really loved the Darla plotlines, but they were interesting, at least, and possibly necessary for Angel's character.
"Typical. I hook up with the only person in history who ever came to LA to get older." Angel is delighted (trying to hide it) by the Shanshu prophecy (he now wants something), which is both understandable and a little odd, given the events of "I Will Remember You" (human, he can't protect anyone). Really, the Gem of Amara was probably a better deal.
The saddest thing is to contrast this episode's thematic content with that of the series' final episode:
S1e22:
Wesley: "He's got a soul - but he's not a part of the world. He-he can never be part of the world."
Cordy: "Because he doesn't want stuff? - That's ridiculous. (Wesley takes her doughnut away from her) Hey! I want that!"
Wesley: "What connects us to life?"
Cordy: "Right now? I'm going with doughnuts."
Wesley: "What connects us to life is the simple truth that we are part of it. - We live, we grow, we change. - But Angel..."
Cordy: "Can't do any of those things. - Well, what are you saying - that Angel has nothing to look forward to?
S5e22
Wesley: "There is no perfect day for me, Illyria. There is no sunset or painting or finely-aged scotch that's going to sum up my life and make tonight any...There is nothing that I want."
posted by ilana at 10:47 PM on October 16, 2015
Nabbitt is back, briefly, treating life and death peril as a fun game (maybe a jab at the fans).
It's pretty neat that they essentially destroy everything to rebuild next season, though I really have absolutely no idea how Wesley would have possibly survived that explosion with such comparatively minor injuries. It's an interesting bookend to his last Buffy appearance, where he's whining about being in "quite a lot of pain" while being lifted into an ambulance and being completely ignored, (Cordelia even draws our attention back to it by saying, "He didn't scream like a girl as some of us would have?" about Angel's reaction to the prophecy saying death), and here, he's carried out by Angel, who walks beside him as he's put back in an ambulance but is silent (well, unconscious) and it's treated a lot more seriously. I'm wondering if the hospital fakeout with the patient they're resuscitating ("Clear! Ok, we got him back") not being Wesley is a reference to the Great Cordelia Death Fakeout on BTVS when Buffy and Willow walk by a funeral and say, "so, Cordelia's going to be okay?"
Lindsay's cut-off hand (after he says he's going to sever Angel's connections) is a surprisingly bloodless special effect. I guess he lived through that somehow.
Angel is particularly touching with Cordelia. Not sure I ever bought the romance, but I did love them as family.
"Okay - as tiny mistakes go - that's not one."
I'm not sure I ever really loved the Darla plotlines, but they were interesting, at least, and possibly necessary for Angel's character.
"Typical. I hook up with the only person in history who ever came to LA to get older." Angel is delighted (trying to hide it) by the Shanshu prophecy (he now wants something), which is both understandable and a little odd, given the events of "I Will Remember You" (human, he can't protect anyone). Really, the Gem of Amara was probably a better deal.
The saddest thing is to contrast this episode's thematic content with that of the series' final episode:
S1e22:
Wesley: "He's got a soul - but he's not a part of the world. He-he can never be part of the world."
Cordy: "Because he doesn't want stuff? - That's ridiculous. (Wesley takes her doughnut away from her) Hey! I want that!"
Wesley: "What connects us to life?"
Cordy: "Right now? I'm going with doughnuts."
Wesley: "What connects us to life is the simple truth that we are part of it. - We live, we grow, we change. - But Angel..."
Cordy: "Can't do any of those things. - Well, what are you saying - that Angel has nothing to look forward to?
S5e22
Wesley: "There is no perfect day for me, Illyria. There is no sunset or painting or finely-aged scotch that's going to sum up my life and make tonight any...There is nothing that I want."
posted by ilana at 10:47 PM on October 16, 2015
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posted by kewb at 4:29 PM on October 8, 2015