Don't have that much to say about these three episodes, which seemed a slightly odd anti-climax to the 'Five by Five'/'Sanctuary' double for all but a few moments in 'To Shanshu in LA'.
1.20 War Zone
An interesting introduction to Gunn. There's a classic mislead in the pan-up on him at the end of the teaser: 'What you were expecting someone else?'. Of course, fighting demons in a dark, seedy backstreet, we expect Angel. And as there's no 'previously' section, the trick works all the better. It seems as if the scene will be invested with some special importance for Angel, and instead we don't see him at all.
Somewhere deep down, the episode is meditating on wealth. We have David Nabbit, the bloke with all the money, but no social skills. Angel, an average-ly well-off vampire with few social skills, and Gunn, a leader of men, with a very powerful relationship with his sister Alonna. We might be expected to see an obvious subversion here- that the person with the least monetary wealth has the greatest spiritual wealth. But it's not that simple or neat. Gunn loses her sister, and has only his unending war to keep him going. Angel's life is other- he still can't lead the life of a human, even with an average human's money. But even great amounts of money can't buy assuredness, with David Nabbit still feeling uncomfortable.
The triumvirate is an interesting parallel, and Gunn's subsequent hang-up, (at least affected) with white men plays interestingly off their superior wealth. Otherwise, I was largely quite bored. Too much fighting which isn't really my interest, too many dark-lit apparently suspenseful scenes.
1.21 Blind Date
Here we see Angel again trying to help someone whom he sees some of himself in. Lindsey, despite Angel's help, is lured back to the dark side by money and fortune. In this, the essential darkness of this series is shown. In Buffy, it seems that people are essentially good, and a only a history of abuse or a strong will allows them to pervert the natural status quo. In Angel, the natural attraction of the 'pureness' of evil, its clarity, means that everyone must constantly struggle to understand and act on impulses which can be perceived as 'good'. but 'good' is so often hard. To a degree, that's what ME were going for in Season Six, and, due to the revolutionary moral philosophy that implied to the Buffyverse, it confused many people. Suddenly the status quo was fragile, and perosnal morality was edgier and elss easy to understand. Angel's ethics invaded Sunnydale.
I enjoyed the performance of Christian Kane as Lindsey, and Holland Manners is also a really good character- with wisdom and a degree of insouciance which mostly covers, (and sometimes accentuates), his obvious power. Angel's despairing speech about evil is interesting. Good can never win outright. It's an ongoing struggle.
1.22 To Shanshu in LA
Never understood all the 'Shanshu' debates on the board properly until now. I spent a proportion of this episode pondering just how, in the (I suppose imaginary), primal language, how 'death' also means 'life'. The yin and yang of life and death, of birth and re-birth, of crucifixion and resurrection, of matyrdom and the continuing world, is such an ultimate question.
Although, as a finale, this episode was better than many, it still wasn't invested quite with the zing of many Buffy finales. This is mostly due to the lack of a seasonal arc, which I can accept as part of the show's anthology feel, (for now at least). There were a few excellent Greenwaltian lines for Cordelia: I think he underestimates how much other writers have developed her sometimes, but he is still master of writing her occasional vacuousness and humour.
'Family' has been a crucially important word for the Season. It's there in 'Expecting'. It's there again in 'The Prodigal', and twice importantly in 'To Shanshu'. First, Angel exasperatedly tells the hospital ward he is family, as if it is obvious. Next, Cordelia drops it when shes encouraging Angel to drink his blood. Just as yabyumpan wrote earlier, the whole latter part of the season is about these three outcasts, outcasts from Sunnydale and from LA, forge their own family. It's a story repeatedly as powerfully in microcosm in Tara's 'Family' in Buffy's Season Five.
Enjoyed the last scene with Angel, Cordelia and Wesley immensely. It was nice to see how it alternated between funny, full of emotional depth, and with the revelation about Angel. A revelation which essentially gives strength to Angel's journey, and imbues the show with a kind of forward momentum, which, at times this season, I would argue it has been lacking.
The very last scene? I thought Joss wasn't a fan of cliffhangers. But if that isn't a cliffhanger, I don't know what is. Sneakily, however, I don't have to wait three months for the next season.
A few questions I've been holding onto:
At the moment, I think that 'Angel' has had a potential throughout, (since the excellent 'City of'), which it hasn't really been able to capitalise on except in rare flashes, ('Hero', 'I've Got You Under My Skin'), or with the help of the Buffyverse's creations, ('Five by Five', 'Sanctuary'). I think this is partly due to an inconsistency in writing, and partly due to a lack of focus. However, I've managed to find some message in most episodes, which means it is at least engaging me on an intellectual as well as emotional level, which suggests that it IS a rare show on television. But I think for the moment, it has to do a lot more somersaults before it comes anywhere close to Buffy.