Like many Buffy fans, I've watched the last two weeks' worth of its spinoff series Angel, mostly due to its connections to BTVS via the return of the Faith character. After two episodes, all I can say is that I don't know what to think. When the Angel series premiered, my cable company did not provide us with a WB affiliated network so I missed the first season (as well as most of two seasons of BTVS). By the second season, we had a WB channel but I decided not to watch the show, mostly because I didn't want to have to figure out what I had missed previously. So before last Wednesday, I had never watched a single episode. However, the allure of Eliza Dushku was too much for me to resist, so I tuned in.
It seems like the underlying plotlines of the two shows are similar; a malevolent force is able to assume the shape of one of the trusted inner circle and cause problems. The apparent difference being that Buffy's First Evil only impersonates dead people, and Angel's villain seems to possess living people, specifically Cordy. I don't think she's dead, anyway...I wouldn't know. It would be cool if the two shows would be interrelated like that; I find it far fetched that there would be two Ultimate Evils, one in LA and one in Sunnydale, both independent of each other. I like the basic cast OK, although I still don't understand the interrelationships, like the apparent triangle between Wesley, the girl with the glasses and the young bald guy. The kid who's supposed to be the offspring of two vampires (although I'm a bit at a loss as to how he has demon blood, too) is an interesting character. I miss Faith the way she used to be, a impulsive badass instead of the weepy punching bag she is at present. The scene where she punches out the shower wall was...diverting, I guess, but I kept thinking what a bitch it would be to be stepping on broken tile and concrete while showering. I remember Angel from BTVS as whiny, brooding lunkhead except, of course, when he lost his soul for a while there and became an annoying, obnoxious, overbearing loudmouth asshole. Pleased to report that characterization hasn't changed. These last two episodes have had me gritting my teeth, he's so annoying. An intriguing possibility, though, is the one that Bill Sherman brings up: He's faking, since he hasn't really killed anybody yet. He's only beat them to a pulp while running his mouth constantly. Could be. Hope so, actually, but I also hope that one of the LA Scoobies kicks him in the nuts for being such a jerk when it's all over.
Next week looks promising due to the guest appearance of Willow. Maybe if more of the Buffy cast ends up on the show, then I'll watch after this crossover event is done!
