ANGEL

S3x02 – That Vision Thing

Review by Terry J. Aman

 

 

"That Vision Thing" as an installment was somewhat ill-considered, but not as badly as Lilah's hair, which was just distractingly terrible.

The problem with it is, after realizing last week I really wanted to start exploring the motivations behind the PTB, I wasn't allowed to, because "that vision thing" was just another evil scheme by Wolfram & Hart.

After Fez removed the effects of his little encroachment on the celestial pipeline (Lorne's words, btw, not mine) – Angel was justified in killing not just him, but ...

Y'know what? I'm just gonna call him Billy. Not because I've been reading ahead of course. It's just that he seems like a Billy.

... Billy, and Lilah, and the henchmen and everyone.

What they did to Cordy was torturous. And they used her to get to him, and they indeed got to him. Rat bastards. Angel would've been perfectly within his rights to unleash unrelenting hell on them. So in terms of retribution, just destroying the shaman was unsatisfying, regardless of how dramatically cool it was.

Also, I felt his confrontation with Holly Hobby Hair Lilah was terrifically unconvincing. Where was the Lilah of "Supersymmetry" who had a vampire in her very face and shrugs him off – indeed, insults him? Where is the shiny-thighed-she-of-the-pert-bootay? Where is the sassy head of W&H Special Projects?

What the heck is Gavin there for? To prove how pointless and ineffectual W&H can actually be?

I wonder, distractedly, if they ever produced a work order for Gunn or not. And I realize I don't care. Nice little interlude between him and Fred; two cute kids who look cute together.

I do need to understand at some point where Cordy's dislike of Fred is stemming from. If it's just that Fred is following Angel around like a puppy dog, that isn't enough for Queen C of Sunnydale to consider her an actual rival, is it?

Motivations were hard to gauge in this episode. I think the writer was left a little in the dark.

And speaking of hard-to-read ...

Skip. Seems like he must be a good guy. This, however, is only implied by his breezy manner and cool piercings. It is suggested that he's on the side of good and saving puppies and whatnot, but I think being employed in the incarceration of a black hat is not the same as being a white hat, and it'll be interesting to rewatch a few of the upcoming episodes with that in mind.

And not all motivations were muddly. Cordy was being very honest about the fear she felt about this current batch of visions. She'd wanted to appear brave and steadfast in the face of everything -- a few short months after reconfirming her commitment to the whanging headaches and their much with the vagueness, all for the good of the team, but she is deathly afraid of them.

I sort of remember what's coming up, but I'm really looking forward to watching it all again.

One question: He took them to his home dimension. He helped rescue Cordy. He got his head chopped off taking one for the team and got flung across the room and knocked unconscious for awhile (again, another installment for "Perhaps Ill-Considered Plot Point").

So why is Wes still calling Lorne "The Host"?

* sigh * Never mind.

As for next week, sort of mostly looking forward to "That Old Gang of Mine." Even relatively boring installments of "Angel" are more interesting than most of the veck on television, so yay.

                                                                                                          

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