SPOILERS: "Primeval" and "Blind Date"

[AngelusBells@xxxxxxx]

Spoily-type space...
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"Primeval":

Oh, wow. Easily *the* best episode of season four, the only competition being
"This Year's Girl" and "Who Are You." I'd almost forgotten what a stellar
"Buffy" episode looked like without Faith.

Of course, y'all know my favorite part of the ep was the "reunion" of the
Scooby Gang!!! Oh, me heart is all aflutter! Being that what was happening
between them was making me so sad, before this ep even aired I thought of the
exact picture that Buffy picked up of her, Willow, and Xander during closer
times, and how happy they looked together. Buffy said *all* of the things
that I have been thinking about what was going wrong, and when she and Willow
talked in the elevator shaft (they sure do pick strange places to have
heart-to-hearts) and made up I was so indescribably happy (oh, yes, obsession
reaches new highs)...not to mention laughing: "Falling now." And even though
when Xander came down it was so funny seeing them hug him from both sides and
tell him they loved him and his reaction, I'm still a big sap and it made me
cry. But not in a sad way, in a happy, touched way. I love yous all around!
Did I mention I'm a sap?

Not only am I glad about the making-up of the Gang for obvious reasons, but
it made me able to appreciate all the more that kick-ass final fight with
Adam. Buffy looked like a princess standing there as the bullets rippled the
shield in front of her, and I know I wouldn't have been able to appreciate
that if I'd still been mad at her. She was absolutely amazing when she became
empowered by...whatever the hell that was -- her fighting, her eyes, turning
the bullet into doves, even when she was dodging Adam's hits. Wow. I stand in
awe of the special effects team, who have reached new highs with "Primeval."
Not to mention the fantastic way the plotline was intertwined with the real
life situation in the ep.

The collapse of the Initiative was yet another highlight. I believe, and I
know it's been discussed a lot, that the military had no place in Sunnydale,
and kinda ruined the mythical ambiance of the show itself. I will admit that
some of the storylines were intriguing (as much as I thought Adam was rather
boring in the beginning, I eventually realized he was pretty formidable), and
I will *never* regret the characters we got out of it (Riley, Graham, Forrest
<sniff>), but ultimately I want the show to get back to its origins -- the
Slayer in her fight against Evil. Anyhow, the way it was played was oddly
beautiful. It's hard to explain, but some directors have a way of making
battles into something poetic, and this episode had that. Very James
Cameron/"Terminator 2"...in theme as well, in fact: Don't try to harness a
power you can't fully comprehend. In the end, you knew things had to play the
way they did (albeit with my beloved Graham escaping unscathed, thankfully --
it's dangerous becoming attached to recurring characters).

Next week: Oh, wow. How can I keep calm for a whole week? I can't wait to see
where this ep takes the newly "happy together" Scoobies. And just when you
think The Man must have tapped out all of his creativity...

"Blind Date":

The recipe is Angel, Lindsey, and Gunn, and you have to ask whether or not I
loved the episode? Pshaw! Seriously, though..."Angel" is a series about
saving souls, and that can get pretty heavy sometimes. It can leave you with
a feeling of disquiet even with the most well written and filmed episodes,
because it explores the psyche...usually not a pretty place to be. "Blind
Date" was one of those episodes for me.

The first thing that struck me about this episode is how beautiful Angel is.
No, I'm not talking about the outside, though the vamp is a looker. That
would mean nothing if he didn't possess his soul -- he may look damn fine in
leather, but that could never draw me in the way just his eyes can when he
has his soul. The battle that goes on inside him daily is a hard one, and it
makes his soul all that much more pure every day that he wins that battle.
One of my favorite scenes in this ep was right after he found out Vanessa
Brewer had gotten off, just because of the passion it invoked from him. A
great majority of the reason I see him the way I do stems from the fact that
he's not perfect. Not everything goes the way he wants it to or the way it
*should* go, and he gets frustrated, and mad, and he has doubts, but in the
end he's nothing if not noble, and he finds himself a place among the chaos.
I'm so glad for this show in general because we get to see that, get to see
the complexity that is Angel's mind far beyond the brooding vampire. For
example, he misses the clarity that he used to have as Angelus, yet the way
he truly wants that clarity back is in a way he can use it for his atonement.
"The righteous shall walk a thorny path." And another favorite scene was in
the end when Wesley told him what he'd translated from the scrolls, because I
realized what that must signify to him. Where he is and, more importantly,
*who* his is now is *not* a mistake, and to Angel that's got to mean so much.

In regard to Angel, I have to give props to David Boreanaz, who just keeps
getting *better* and *better*. I've continually been impressed with his
performances this season, and "Blind Date" has taken the cake so far. Angel's
not the easiest character to grasp, but I believe David has him down.

What I mentioned earlier about the feeling of disquiet brought about by the
exploration of the mind especially applies to Lindsey. I *really* had to
think about what happened to him in this episode. The question in my mind is,
did Lindsey really sell out? On first glance it definitely looks that way.
Aside from that being really disappointing, the next question that was raised
was whether or not it really flew that Lindsey returned to Wolfram & Hart
after *all* that occurred in the episode, and all that he learned. I'm
leaning towards no. From the beginning I thought that if Angel was going to
save any of the W&H types, Lindsey would be the one. You can tell there's an
honesty in him smothered by the lawyer exterior. He's become so good at
justifying things to other people that it's worked inwardly, and he's
believed what he's justified to himself -- to a point. So was it believable
that after coming to terms with the moral dilemmas his work caused him,
realizing what he can achieve without the help of the firm, and getting no
sympathy for his justifications from Angel, Lindsey would go back to W&H?
There's a gray area if I ever saw one, but I'm leaning towards no again. I
have a theory...I just hope I'm not reading too much into Jeannine Renshaw's
writing. When Lindsey comes back to the office and has the conversation with
his boss, his boss says something that may be very determining in where
Lindsey goes from here. "...You had potential. Potential for seeing things as
they are. It's not about good or evil. It's about who wields the most power."
And though he still has superiors, who has just gained a lot of power with
this promotion? Uh-hu. Lindsey. And it spoke to me a lot that he didn't smile
evilly or anything as he sat down at his new desk. It seemed like he'd lost
none of the weight on his shoulders. Okay, and here's where I'm really
pushing it: Could it be significant that instead of basking in the glory of
his new office, secluded in the save alcove Wolfram & Hart can provide,
Lindsey turned toward the window and the city, as if really seeing the world
for the first time? Seeing things as they are? After all, many things his
boss said to him about "finding himself" doesn't just apply to evil, but can
apply to good as well. However you want to look at it. And I don't think his
points were lost on Lindsey. I mean, I don't know how much the writers and
directors want us to read into it, but I think it's just possible that
Lindsey might try to change things a little bit from his new position. After
all, the only way to defeat W&H may be from the inside. Overall, to the
casual observer it may seem that Lindsey gave in to evil once more.
However... "You may not know me as well as you think you do." But that's just
my opinion...I could be wrong. And, *wow*, have I been doing too much
literary analysis lately...

Favorite quote, just for shits 'n giggles: "Ohh, I get it, I get it. Y'all
can cater to the demon, cater to the dead man, but *what about the black
man*?" - Gunn

Next week: Was that Angel's office I saw get demolished?!?! Therein badness
lies! No, no, no! Anyway...lots of good A/C/W interaction comin' up, and you
know I feed off that. :-)

Jennifer NightBloom
http://angelshellmouth.faithweb.com
http://graham_crackers.tripod.com
http://cawriters.faithweb.com
"That's great. It's nice...you moved on. I can't. You've found someone new.
I'm not allowed to, remember? I see you again, it cuts me up inside, and the
person I share that with is *me*. You don't know me anymore, so don't come
down here, with your great new life, and *expect* me to do things your way.
Go home." - Angel, to Buffy ("Sanctuary")