Redefinition

Angel Episode Review

In which I pout.

What Did I Think?

Excuse me while I pout. When this ep originally aired, it came after a spate of reruns. The cliffhanger ending in "Reunion" had left most of Wolfram and Hart at the mercy of Darla and Drusilla, plus Angel's support staff reeling from being fired.

The promos pumped it for all it was worth, noting that Angel would "be unprepared for the enemy he left for dead." This over a really cool shot of Lindsey waking up in a pile of corpses. So, was he alive or vamped? What about Lilah and Holland? What were Darla and Dru planning? Just who was Angel fighting in that sewer?

I was all set for a big showdown between Angel and Lindsey. I assumed that Darla would make Lindsey a vampire, since, let's face it, as a human he'd pretty much get his butt kicked. (As we saw in "Epiphany.")

But noooOOOooo...

Instead, we get teased. Darla teases Lindsey about whether or not she cares if he lives or dies. Lilah teases Lindsey that they might get away from Wolfram & Hart. Lindsey teases Lilah when he realizes that she's wearing a wire. Drusilla teases Darla about her "crusade" to take over LA being all about Angel. The weird higher-up at W&H teases that he might actually pick Lindsey or Lilah over the other, then picks them both. Co-Vice-Joint-What-Evers. Try fitting that on a business card.

And the final tease: Angel setting Dru and Darla on fire and walking away. They both live. Neither one of them goes *poof*. I mean. Really.

Sure, the more I think about it, the more I think that Lindsey's a better character when he's human.He's just kind of pathetic, you know, like a puppy dog that's had its tail stepped on. And killing Dru and Darla off too soon means we can't play with them later. (Darla, anyways, I've got no attachment to Dru at all.)

And, yeah, it's another step on Angel's descent in darkness and all, but there's all this build-up and then only Holland dies? Only Buffy or Angel could get away with wasting this opportunity, cause if any other show tried it, you just know they'd screw it up. These shows, however, are so good at spinning out stories for just long enough...