"That Old Gang Of Mine" has
been decried as irrepressibly drab and awful elsewhere in this forum.
On rewatching it, I respectfully disagree.
First, some nice development on Gunn. It's always good to check motivations
once in a while, and Gunn is still relatively new in terms of being committed
to Team Angel. He is not a Fang Ganger. Gunn was in charge of his own crew only
a year before.
It is interesting to note in the protracted standoff that Gunn was so
unforthcoming about what "the mission" was. That he didn't accuse the
gang of killing demons who weren't a threat to anyone. That he didn't
participate in the differentiating.
It is possible that he was, himself, still being convinced.
It took a while for Wes to get Gunn on board with investigating the deaths of
demons that posed no threat. The balancing demon was completely non-violent, as
opposed to the baby-killing demon Gunn shot himself.
Then there was the vampire with a soul. Gio was way off base on his read of
Gunn. Gunn knew that his undead sister needed killing. He knows what a vampire
is. He knows what attacked him in Pylea. And he knows that -- between his old
crew and Team Angel -- that Team Angel has a better operating comfort level
working within shades of gray.
This was a nice little hint of future attraction between Gunn and Fred. More
than the "forking" comment, Gunn's smile when he saw Fred singing
"Crazy" (and what a delightfully appropriate choice of song and
delivery) was brief and real -- nice implicit development there.
And something a little more longterm. Cordy suggests to Angel that Fred is
talking to the shrubbery. Later, Illyria confirms that she indeed communes with
plants. This is less comic than it might be otherwise if for no other reason
than Illyria's comedy is always unintentional. Fred giggling at a particularly
ripping bon mot from the begonia is hilarious and at the same time, for
that reason, almost heartbreaking.
It'd be wonderful to know what Cordy's discomfort around Fred stems from. She
breezed by Willow without so much as a shudder -- she's not intimidated by her
big brain. So what's the what, Cordy?
Cordy who hasn't had a real vision for a couple of episodes ... ?
The joke, at this point, is getting a little tired. All it takes for monsters,
gunfire and explosions to erupt around her is for someone to tell Fred
everything's finally gonna be OK. Ha. Ha. Ha. Gotta get over that -- it's
getting lame.
What was cool was that Fred stepped forward and took charge, taking control of
the giganimous crossbow (just like she grabbed the biggest gun in
"Home") and shifted the balance of power for a moment during the
standoff.
It'd have been interesting to know what Gio did. Lord knows they had plenty of
time to find out. Couldn't have been a bigger crime than what he did to
"Wind Beneath My Wings."
Gunn: Quit reading me.
Lorne: Sorry -- you're a billboard.
Lorne's poor club. No one even bothered to acknowledge his loss at the end.
They were too busy being scolded (Wes: "Don't ever withhold information
from me again or you're fired") or working through the advanced stages of
testosterone poisoning (Gunn and Angel's exchange was good writing, but a lot
more portentous than it ever, ultimately, merited).
Gotta love the Furies, however. Lotsa good characters introduced in this
episode.
And we get to see Gunn's room.