Angel: Home

[selenak]

If "Peace Out" was basically Connor's episode, "Home" was Angel's. Not that it wasn't also an ensemble piece, far more than "Peace Out" - but Angel was the (breaking) heart of this episode, and DB delivered what can be easily called his best acting. Now I have a confession to make: I lost my emotional connection to Angel, the character, and largely to Angel, the series, around the Pylea episodes (coming as they did directly after the Darla arc which I loved and adored). Season 3 kept me interested with Wesley's storyline, Darla's reappearance and final death, Holtz and Justine, Lilah, and hey, count me among the few who liked Fred back then (and I like her even more now) - but Angel and Saint Cordy, a sad shadow of the Cordelia I had loved? I didn't get them anymore.
Connor's reappearance in the person of Vincent Kartheiser towards the end of season 3 somewhat changed that as far as Angel was concerned; during "A New World" I felt for Angel again, for the first time. The scenes with Angel and baby Connor - except for the final scene of "Lullaby" had made me feel overdosed on syrup; the scenes with Angel and grown up Connor were fascinating from the start. (Plus DB and VK have fabulous chemistry.) There was still Glowy Cordy to resent the writers for, though, and the A/C sort-of-romance.
Season 4 now, season 4 is the first season of Angel since season 1 I loved from the start to the end. (Problems with season 3, see above; season 2 had the Darla arc which was fantastic but then the wimping out of just what Angel did happened in "Epiphany" and afterwards the Pylea fluff which even in retrospect I can't bring myself to watch again.) From "Deep Down", written by Steven DeKnight, he of the awe inspiring "Dead Things" and the brilliant "Seeing Red" on BTVS, onwards, I felt my complete emotional connection to Angel & Co. was finally back. And now "Home" has brought the season - though hopefully not the show - to its conclusion, I join in the applause.



Someone, I don't know whether it was Joss or Marti, once said that in season 5, Dawn was Buffy's love interest. Well, in season 4, Connor - not Cordelia - was Angel's. It wasn't an easy love, as the one for the baby Connor, who was just a blank Angel's hopes could be projected in, had been. Nor was Connor a symbol for saving himself, as human Darla had been in season 2. Nor was Angel free from (understandable) anger at being dumped into the sea for three months, or competitive jealousy over Cordelia, from the "she always steals the blankets" moment onwards ("the thought of losing her to CONNOR", as he puts it to Wesley in "Inside Out"), and it was certainly not just Connor who itched for physical fights from time to time. (Even Angel's perfect day in "Awakening" had to include winning one of these against Connor.) But it was the most raw, passionate and unconditional love I've ever seen Angel feel. And I never was more struck by it than in his confrontation with Connor at the mall, and then later, in the final scene. Whether or not Angel made the right choice remains to be seen; but at this point, and both "Home" and the entire storyarc leading up to it, convinced me of it, it was the ONLY choice he could have made.

Now, on to the other characters:

After dominating the last episode, Connor had only three scenes this time, but VK was perfect in each of them. The way he moved from Connor wanting sincerely to help the cop and indeed saving him from committing suicide to losing it on him once he sees the family photo (parents comitting suicide - could there be a worse button to push?) summed up his past. In the confrontation with Angel, we get the suicidal, homicidal and utterly despairing present. "You can't save anyone through lies." At this point, Connor simply can't believe in love anymore, or in hope, or even in being worth a future or anyone's love. "You tried to love me. I think you did." And finally, the last scene, mirroring the very first scene of "Deep Down" - Angel's ideal version of Connor, and just as poignantly Connor's own wish, finally fulfilled - being part of a family, belonging, being happy. This being the Jossverse, however, I can't help but suspect that Connor's earlier words to Angel - "you can't save anyone through lies" - will be prophetic, now that he's basically a reverse Dawn.

Lilah: so good to see her back. You know, considering I liked Lilah best of the W&H lawyers way back when the rest of the fandom seem to be collectively in Lindsey's thrall, her current popularity makes me feel like an insect Jasmine worshipper (I loved her first!). She's her usual delightfully smug self with the AI crew, continues to show spark with Angel, but her brief sad scene in the files room with Wesley, when he tries to release her from her contract by burning it, takes the price. When she tells him "but it means something that you tried" she's absolutely sincere, and in its way, it sums up the Ballad of Wesley and Lilah.

Speaking of Mr. Wyndham-Pryce, nice to have fanon about him knowing the CoW is destroyed confirmed. For Wesley, too, the scene in the files room is the most intense - when Lilah, and we, realize he didn't come for the knowledge, or the power, or for the fight, but solely to finally save Lilah. And he can't.

Wesley and Fred were the only two AI members who didn't outright agree to accepting W&H before Angel did. Granted, Fred was in all likelihood closer than Wesley was, but I think if we get a season 5 they might be the first ones to break away.

Gunn: had his intriguing moment in the White Room, discovering his inner Jaguar. Is he a member of the Ra-Tet now? Only more episodes will tell.

Lastly, some questions: just how precisely did the senior partner's rewriting of Connor's life and writing him out of everyone's memories (but Angel's and Lilah's) work? Did they create his new family from scratch? Can they do that? Or did they simply give an existing family new memories, similarily to what happened to Joyce and Buffy with Dawn? Of course, there is an even nastier third possibility: that what Angel sees in the final scene is one complicated illusion while the real Connor is locked up somewhere and awaits experimentation. However, one assumes that with his supernatural senses, Angel would notice the difference.

And how on earth does the AI team remember the last one and a half years since Darla showed up pregnant?

Comments

[thran.livejournal.com]

Of course, there is an even nastier third possibility: that what Angel sees in the final scene is one complicated illusion while the real Connor is locked up somewhere and awaits experimentation. However, one assumes that with his supernatural senses, Angel would notice the difference.

Guh. Wow. That would be amazing and awful and in some cosmic dramatic way, really really cool. And on the Angel-noticing-the-difference thing: Maybe, but he's not exactly infinitely observant. I would buy Angel not seeing through a well-constructed illusion.

Whoa. ::brain explodes::

I love having you on my friends list. I like the way you think!

::snogs you::

as an old Babylon 5 fan...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

...could you buy the following analogy: Jasmine = Vorlon, W&H = Shadows, Lilah in "Home" = Mr. Morden?

Re: as an old Babylon 5 fan...

[thran.livejournal.com]

I had a longer response to this that got lost, dangit!

::fumes::

Short version: hells yeah. Especially the Jasmine bit -- she's definitely the Order half of the Order-Chaos dichotomy. I'm a little more ambivalent on defining W&H as the Shadows/Chaos half, just because they're so orderly and working within the law. Though I suppose the Shadows were all tightly organized within themselves, right? Oh, and if you go with the W&H=Shadows, then Lilah is such a beautiful Mr. Morden. :) So does that make Team Angel the Centauri for accepting her proposal? Hey, Angel at least used to have the hair-sticking-up thing going for him. Angel Mollari. Hee!

Re: as an old Babylon 5 fan...

[selenak.livejournal.com]

And Jasmine, in her tentacly glowing shape, looked like a Vorlon, too. I actually had the idea of TPTB as the forces for Order, which isn't identical with being good, for the first time way back in "The Trial" in season 2, but the Jasmine arc brought it back with a vengeance. And remember, JMS said getting rid of both Vorlons and Shadows was about killing your parents.
Lilah and Mr. Morden: soul mates, clearly. Would so love to see them negotiate with each other. Who'd out-smug, out-smart, out-insinuate the other?
And yup, Team Angel would be the Centauri in this equation. (Although, consider: G'kar told Morden what he wanted as well. There was absolutely no moral difference between Londo and G'kar in season 1. It was Morden's decision to go with Londo instead of G'kar, but he could have gone with either at that point. So maybe Angel & Wesley are Londo (in which case Lilah would do double duty as Adira as well), Gunn is G'kar and Fred is Vir?
Shadows and chaos: as you point out, they're pretty well organized among themselves. Definitely don't like chaos in their own yard. When the Vorlons start with the planet killers, our Mr. Morden looks honestly shocked and declared they must have gone insane. (In "What happened to Mr. Garibaldi?") And hey, the "using living beings as weapon components and ship controllers" fits as well for W&H - just think of Files & Records!

Order and Chaos

[whitehats.livejournal.com]

Have you read "The Time Master" trilogy by Louise Cooper? I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't, because it's a really good story, but it has a similar set up between Order and Chaos, where you are set up at the beginnng to believe that Order=Good and Chaos=Evil and as the story progresses you are forced to question that assumption along with the characters. I was reminded of the books both when watch the Vorlon/Shadows story in B5 and the Jasmine-arc on Angel.

Re: Order and Chaos

[selenak.livejournal.com]

No, I haven't read it yet, but thank you for the tip! I'll certainly look it up now.

[cbrownjc]

Of course, there is an even nastier third possibility: that what Angel sees in the final scene is one complicated illusion while the real Connor is locked up somewhere and awaits experimentation. However, one assumes that with his supernatural senses, Angel would notice the difference.

Not only that, but I agree with Wes' assesment that W&H are pretty honorable with the deals they make. If Angel made a deal with them to wipe Conner's memory, then I think that's just what they did.

Still doesn't make me feel anything but dislike for the Oedipal Idiot, but at least he has a chance to live the family life he's always craved.

Have to say though, I've been mostly disapointed with season four. Not as much as I was with season three, but season four didn't pick up, offically, for me until the Jasmine arc.

And I totally agree with you about Cordy, which is sad considering she used to be one of my most favorite characters on the show. The Angel/Cordy hard-sell the show was doing at the time didn't help much IMO.

C & C

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Admittedly liking Connor helps enjoying season 4 as a while. As for Cordelia - I felt the same way last year. This year, I'm still somewhat disgruntled but mollified by the Jasmine retcon, which means I can accept St. Cordy of the "Angel's pain is all I care about" attitude as being Under The Influence and can hold out hope for Real Cordy to return. Incidentally, I loved the EARLY relationship between Angel and Cordy - you know, the sibling one of season 1. DB and CC had good chemistry as buddies. As lovers? Zilch. And the scripts didn't help by having everybody and their dog TELL those two how perfect the other was for them. Compare that to the build-up of the changing Buffy/Spike relationship, and the difference is even more glaring.

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

Not only that, but I agree with Wes' assesment that W&H are pretty honorable with the deals they make. If Angel made a deal with them to wipe Conner's memory, then I think that's just what they did.

Wow. I just thought, "Oh, Wes, you're so stupid when you're in love," and was only slightly mollified when it was clear he wanted any excuse he could find for getting into W&H. I think W&H keep to the letter of their contracts with painful (and boy, do I mean that) fidelity, including the fine print, and if they can keep to the letter while violating the spirit, it's just a big plus.

I do think they wiped Connor's memory/reset his life, but I think the consequences will be dire.

W&H keeping their word, or not

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Agreed. For some reason I'm reminded of "Bedazzled" (the original version with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore), in which the devil did manage to grant every wish our modern Faust made, but each time going completely against the intention. Also, the B5 fan in me is bearing the Lilah=Morden association in mind.

Re: W&H keeping their word, or not

[coffeeandink.livejournal.com]

It was set up as a pretty typical Faustian bargain. Which doesn't mean I don't think the execution was cool. ;)

Not at all familiar with B5, I'm afraid.

Re: W&H keeping their word, or not

[selenak.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, it was coolness personified. B5: borrow the videos, buy/rent the DVDs, perform illegal downloads - but it's a must. Before Farscape, before Buffy, there was Babylon 5, and I can't imagine either playing out the way they did without it. It's moral ambiguity and character development and arcs reaching over years (and most importantly, as opposed to a certain show produced by Chris Carter, planned that way).