First and skip this if you prefer, a little background on the reviewing experience for me.

In these days of electronic mail, I have found that my 5''x3'' envelopes are not going to any good use. In these illiberal days when I'm only allowed to write in black or blue, I have found little use for my pink highlighter pen. Until now. I meticulously remove one envelope from my pile and take my pen. I am only allowed one side of the envelope for one episode, (otherwise I'd bore everyone even more). I am not allowed to refer to any reference books while watching the episode. I am not allowed to rewind the episode at any point. I may not rewatch the episode until I have posted the review. I have restricted myself to reading one review only, that being the cityofangel one. This is because I usually disagree with the reviewer, and the review is often about things I'm not interested in. Were I to read Masq or Jenoff or someone, I'd end up stealing half their ideas, although I do rush to AtPo once I've finished. So just so you know, this is an equivalent to something someone might post immediately after an episode, if they'd happenned to be taken pink notes on the back of an envelope. Just so you know.

Anyway...

2.4 'Untouched'

I was initially rather puzzled by this episode in my mind. I was thinking to myself, 'Mere's drawing parallels I don't get here'. I kept hearing lines that seemed given with more weight than appeared obvious. Then I got it. I'd been going on the obvious parallel, not the important parallel. Of course, the surface parallel is that Bethany has a depth of power she cannot control which seems odd to other humans. And so Angel has a wealth of power which he (thinks he) has learnt to control. OK, not exactly earth-shattering. But why this overarching Darla arc? Sure it's giving the season a sense of propulsive intrigue, and is quite mysterious, but it wasn't fitting in for me. Then of course I realised- sexual, Oedipal parallels. Darla-Angel. Bethany and her Father. And the wildcard- Lilah and Holland- who makes one realise that though the problems in this episode are supernatural, the causes are almost all human. The Angel/Darla scenes are some of the most disturbing sex scenes I think I've ever seen on Buffy or Angel. There's something violent but strangely magnificent about the consummation at the end of 'Smashed'. There's something obsessive but loving about the sex scene in 'Where the Wild Things Are'. But here in 'Untouched', Darla and Angel's scenes are really, really unpleasant. They're in vampire face, devouring each other like animals in a state of evil pleasure, implicitly plotting all the time their next victims. The link between food and sex is perhaps never more emphasised.

I wondered how I managed to get such a strong reaction to a couple of short scenes. I think it must have been excellent directing by Joss Whedon. There's not a lot there on paper, but it's nasty on screen. Couple of thoughts about this. In the familiar camaraderie scenes between Angel, Cordelia and Wesley, there seemed a little extra, almost intangible zing. I think this is good directing by Joss. Also, am I being amnesiac, or is this the first episode Joss has directed from someone else's script? I think he wrote all his Buffy directions.

The other reason why the Angel/Darla fantasies are so unpleasant is because of what they're linked to. Bethany, who is played with exceptional skill for an (I assume) one week actress. She had to show fragility, lack of trust, and a growth in strength, and did all three magnificently. This is one of the nastiest little stories that I've seen on the shows. I find Father's use of the word 'rabbit' truly terrifying, and actually jumped slightly from my seat when he appeared at the Hyperion, with the consequence of all the windows in the hotel smashing. Of course, Bethany's trust problems extend even further, as the one person she attempts to trust, Lilah, has her worst intentions at heart.

So the key scene where these two plots link together. Angel in bed, aroused by Darla. Bethany coming in, attempting to coldly seduce him. This is all that Bethany understands. Angel has played the Father figure, and so now is her father. And all that can mean is that he wants to 'make love'. Of course, humanising the act makes Bethany uncomfortable, which is why she has the '18th Century' line. For her, it's a cold humanless act. She claims she is not the little innocent. The point is, she reall is still. Like Buffy at the end of 'Innocence', sex appears to have changed a lot, but actually love shows it may have changed little. If Bethany can learn to control her reactions, she may be able to be innocent again. But it's a hard road.

The same hard road as Angel, and for him it's getting harder. For this is the important parallel of 'Untouched'. Bethany, while physically touched and violated everywhere, is untouched by love and affection. Angel, while giving in to fantasies of lust and dark obsession, will find no real affection with Darla. Or will he? Certainly not healthy love. Darla is the consuming mother. She turned him, and she moulded him. He is both mother and lover, as Bethany's father is both father and lover. How does Bethany's hopeful conclusion impact on Angel's continuing?

You all know better than me, having seen the whole season. What I will say is this. Even before watching 'Dear Boy', I realised that there was a nasty slide going on for Angel, for several reasons. He tells Bethany to use her power, to control it. I believer, (some who have seen the episode more may care to disagree), that Angel expected and sanctioned Bethany to kill her father. That she doesn't shows inner strength which is quite unbelievable. Strength enough to say, you may live, but not near me. To pull the father up telekinetically a metre short of certain death.Bethany practices what Angel has taught her. That there just might be redemption. Not an easy ticket ot be bought from the corner shop. But a Faith-like, Angel-like struggle.

Ironically, Angel is having problems with the message he imparts. In this episode, it is manifestly clear that he is starting to be more compelled by Darla's influence than by the grounding Cordelia and Wesley, whom he snaps at. And Angel was ready to let the father die. To say in some situations there can be no redemption. And as he does this, he starts to allow himself to think that perhaps he is the father. The man who has committed such heinous crimes against a person, (Drusilla is his Bethany), that he should never be forgiven- never have a chance of redemption. And waiting, in the dark, in the dream self, the real self, is Darla. Interesting that a Joss directed episode begins with the 'villains' claiming that they like dreams, and that they tell you about other people. Just like Joss with his 'Restless'. Windows into peoples very minds.

Good script from Mere Smith- will look forward to more from her. Powerful story; well-directed by Joss. And the link between Darla-Angel and Father-Bethany give the episode a tidy structure. It was one of those moments like after 'I've Got You Under My Skin', where it all suddenly clicked.

So from a tightly structured success to a more untidy triumph:

2.5 'Dear Boy'

Not quite so easy to tidy this one up into neat little segments. All sorts of different things going on simultaneously. To the important stuff first:

It's been nagging at my for a while now. Does David Boreanaz actually sing like that? Or is he singing that badly for the role? Someone must know. If it's the former, I can only say I'm glad 'Angel' haven't done a 'Once More, With Feeling'. Lorne is quite enough.

I'm starting to think I might have just figured Greenwalt out a touch. There's something about his episodes which I find a bit scattershot. Sometimes dead-on, sometimes mediocre. I think the thing is, he's ambitious and slightly weird as a writer. He doesn't have a tidy over-riding structure or theme like Joss Whedon or Tim Minear usually do. But he also has a certain creative freedom which they don't. This can result in 'I Fall To Pieces', 'She', and 'Reptile Boy', or again 'Homecoming', 'To Shanshu', and 'Judgement'. When his surreal ideas happen to work and meld, it's a bizarre joy to watch. When it fails, it's an over-complex confusing stew.

So what about this one. I'd say not on a par with 'Judgement', but a good episode. I would imagine mayn people to be big fans of this because of the Darla/Angel plot. For me, this was superb in the final few scenes, but had a strange Morse Code ish disjointedness up until that point, which is because Greenwalt was trying to interweave other plots which were not so interesting to me. I love Kate Lockley as a character. She's one of my favourites. But she's not used for any thematic purpose in this episode. She's there as the Police Detective, and as the person who thinks he's gone bad, which contrasts Cordelia, Wesley and to an extent Gunn's stoic support. But we don't see more of her story, which is a disappointment.

It's a similar story with the A?-plot, (although it's really of B interest, but it's the plot-of-the-week story), about the man being cheated on. It's a great, typically ephemeral Greenwalt moment when Cordelia and Wesley look in shocked disbelief at the fact that he thinks she's being routinely abducted by aliens. Playing with the audience's suspension of disbelief. We're supposed to believe there is a rampant thriving demon community in LA, but that aliens are just ridiculous. And of course they are! But the story seems a little pointless to me.

Which leaves Darla. The 'Darla-trying-to-pretend-to-be-someone-else' seemed a touch odd to me. Does she really need to be this undercover to drive Angel to despair. The very learning that she's back confuses him plenty. But, with beautiful execution and a surprising chemistry between Julie Benz and David Boreanaz, (whose acting is slowly improving, thank Joss), the final scenes are wonderful. They draw together the Church joke from earlier in the episode, which is a typical ME-ism (of the kind of 'Note to self. Religion freaky'), with Darla's 'God doesn't want you...but I still do' line. And the number of questions that this scene throws up about any number of things is staggering. Redemption, (Darla and Angel), new souls, (Darla and Angel), what it is to be human, (Darla and Angel), what it is to change (you get the idea), how good can corrupt and pervert evil, with Buffy, how spirituality is necessary but sometimes fleeting, and how these two people, connected for 250 years, ('Our love was eternal. Literally'), can ever begin to understand how to live apart. For this one, it's most specifically Angel's dilemma. Can he give up on Darla? Will he be lured back. Signs from this episode point, (for me at least), to him succumbing later in the season. Massive angst, a fall from grace, and major tension within the main players. Sounds like excellent fun.

A couple of notes:

-portrayal of Darla was much rounder than before- appreciated that they largely dumped the dimness she has in Season One Buffy and went for the mystical allure of 'The Prodigal'.

-Juliet Landau was brilliant in the few seconds she had in the episode. So few, but so great. More Dru please!, (Oooh, we have the 'Fool For Love' tie-in soom. Could be lucky!)

-The episode has overtones of resurrection for Darla, who comes back as different as Jesus did, but appears to be playing the same old games. Will she adjust and become more human?

- Greenwaltian moments. Cordelia being petted by Angel. Angel falling asleep in the middle of one of Wes' fascinating speeches. Gunn's criminal record. Moments of genius, but not fitted together like the master craftsmen Minear and Whedon. As I say- scattershot.

Thanks for reading. More rambly than usual.