Thursday, October 07, 2004
Angel Season 4
Wow. This is the best season of Angel yet. It may turn out to be the best that ever was—I haven't seen Season 5 yet (the DVD hasn't been released in the US) but it will be hard pressed to top this.
By the end of Season Three, Angel was feeling a little safe, even stodgy. Sure, Season Three ended with the characters (somewhat) scattered, and two possibly gone forever—but it didn't take an Einstein to know that they'd be back; the only question would be at what price.
The first few episodes of Season Four reassembled the characters with worryingly few surprises and at worryingly little cost; was the stodginess now a permanent feature? Fortunately, the sixth episode (written and directed by Joss) is anything but stodgy, and the final scene points to something larger. That's paid off in spades by the seventh episode, which begins something that occupies the rest of the season in its twists, turns, and consequences. Along the way, there's some brilliant writing as, for instance, when the characters lose their leader, they fall back on their implicit second-in-command—not knowing that character does not have their best interests at heart.
Angel Season 4, in my view, is as gutsy and risk-taking as Buffy Season 2. Its huge continued plot is epic in scope, and has echoes of some of the best prose stories: There are elements that seemed to me like homages to Lovecraft, and Sturgeon.
The only downside is that the last few episodes are rather clumsy in resolving things; there's some idiot plotting, and one of the smartest characters is uncharacteristically slow on the uptake, presumably to let the writers spell things out for the audience.
The final episode caps off the season, putting the show in a whole new place yet again, and giving a troubled—but beloved—character a bittersweet exit.
By the end of Season Three, Angel was feeling a little safe, even stodgy. Sure, Season Three ended with the characters (somewhat) scattered, and two possibly gone forever—but it didn't take an Einstein to know that they'd be back; the only question would be at what price.
The first few episodes of Season Four reassembled the characters with worryingly few surprises and at worryingly little cost; was the stodginess now a permanent feature? Fortunately, the sixth episode (written and directed by Joss) is anything but stodgy, and the final scene points to something larger. That's paid off in spades by the seventh episode, which begins something that occupies the rest of the season in its twists, turns, and consequences. Along the way, there's some brilliant writing as, for instance, when the characters lose their leader, they fall back on their implicit second-in-command—not knowing that character does not have their best interests at heart.
Angel Season 4, in my view, is as gutsy and risk-taking as Buffy Season 2. Its huge continued plot is epic in scope, and has echoes of some of the best prose stories: There are elements that seemed to me like homages to Lovecraft, and Sturgeon.
The only downside is that the last few episodes are rather clumsy in resolving things; there's some idiot plotting, and one of the smartest characters is uncharacteristically slow on the uptake, presumably to let the writers spell things out for the audience.
The final episode caps off the season, putting the show in a whole new place yet again, and giving a troubled—but beloved—character a bittersweet exit.
