ANGEL
S5x20 –
The Girl in Question
Review by Terry J. Aman
I ... could've
done with a dropped binder.
More on that in a bit.
With Fred dead and Knox shot, the Practical Science Division pretty much shut
down.
But Illyria does seem terribly interested in the world she so recently despised
(I've just got to go with the feminine article for this review because it's
going to get too confusing otherwise).
It's possible that with much of her power drained, she needed more information
left over from the shell she'd arrived in. She was exploring her new
limitations while still maintaining what distance she could.
And then she discovered a new source of strength, I think.
Fred had always had an amazing heart. While they never explored this point
specifically, I feel her love was part of the meaning she found in her life.
When we met her, she was reaching out to help people, and so incredibly brave
-- putting herself in danger to help Cordy, luring Angelus away from Wes and
Gunn -- that strength, so otherwise undefined, seemed to make her
indestructible, and it was something Illyria found she could explore.
And found she had opportunity to do so.
It was interesting to me that when she appeared as Fred, she appeared in the
dress she'd ripped from Fred's body when she sarcophomorphed into the two rolls
of electrical tape Illyria generally went about in. It's hard to imagine anyone
stitching it back together so it must have been part of the morph.
Speaking of haberdashery ...
Just remembering Spike saying the duster was a second skin, and remembering the
times it had vanished -- it wasn't in evidence in "Tabula Rasa," I
don't think he was wearing it when we saw him in the basement in B-S7, then it
was destroyed in the closing of the Hellmouth, and it was spectral while he was
a ghost (Pavayne made it vanish with his mind and he made it come back) and
then it recorporealized with the box o' flashy. It can't have been anything like
the same duster, but it's nice he had the same regard for it.
That puzzle -- the clothing that vamps wear also not casting a
reflection -- has never been explained to my satisfaction, but it doesn't
really have that much of an impact, so ...
Sorry for the sidetrack. Back to Illyria. Back to her exploration of what gave
Fred her strength. Back to her project.
When the Burkles arrived, Wes knew he'd been terribly remiss about notifying
next of kin. The conversation was about to get very awkward when who
should walk in but ... well ... Fred.
So much more than not being able to handle their grief, I think Illyria, who'd
always had a very nuanced relationship with power, had no interest in limiting
the amount of grief in the world. As she'd explored Fred, as she'd reviewed her
memories, I think her understanding of Wesley had taken on a greater interest
than when he was simply one more bug under her feet. With the drawing away of
her power, she'd become more ... Fred-sized in her shell, and while she was
clearly more powerful -- I don't think Fred could do what she did to that car
in "NFA" by herself and would've snapped like a twig in Hamilton's
hands -- I think she discovered something about Fred that was of interest to
her -- their shared interest in Wesley.
No time like the present. Enter the Burkles, all sweetness and light as they
always are, and Illyria makes a very quick decision.
Let's explore this "love" thing.
I think her's was slightly less vulgar and certainly less humorous than what
was going on on the other side of the globe.
* grabs a microphone and a double scotch on the rocks *
TAKE ME IN YOUR
ARMS by Dean Martin
Once upon a lovely time
Many million dreams ago
Once there was a man in love dear
Many million dreams ago
Once he thought he had a sweetheart
Then he broke the golden rule
Never take your love for granted
Wise men often play the fool
Now he'd like to say I'm sorry
Can't you see within his heart
Without you there's no tomorrow
Why should true love have to part
Take me in your arms
I promise to be true
Never again I'll stray
Away from you
Take me in your arms
I promise to be true
Never again I'll stray
Away from you
That music was perfect. Absolutely perfect. The running around was comical and
some would say absurdly so. But let's not forget a moment's inattention that
ended with our boys chained up while the Immortal enjoyed Darla and Drusilla
concurrently. And like 10 years later Angel was cursed with a soul and lost
track of all of them for nearly a century. And honestly, Spike got pinched for
tax evasion? I was certain his death would've made him exempt. 
They couldn't allow the same thing to happen to Buffy.
And let's face it, after all the Sturm und Drang of B-S7, Buffy was due for
some glowing.
Spike (of Darla): She's glowing, mate.
Angelus: No she isn't ...
Darla: Little bit!
I don't understand Dru sometimes, tho. If the Immortal felt like sunshine,
wouldn't he have been burning the flesh from her body?
I guess not from any parts that would show.
Angelus: Did he hurt you?
Darla: Not until I asked him to.
Oh jeez was that a nice last long look at Darla and Dru.
How to resolve the undying love between Spike and Buffy and Angel and Buffy?
Don't.
Y'know, I found this to be a perfectly acceptable way for them to leave this.
They'd go to see Buffy and something
would always be in the way. Andrew (I guess Buffy and the Immortal took Dawn
along for a double-date -- unless he was doing them concurrently, which
I hadn't thought of before and now wish that I hadn't), the little demon guy I so
wish they'd ripped the ears from (although the game of keepaway was fun) ...
Also, I can't believe I missed this before now, but consider the phrase:
"You geeve us the money, we geeve you the head." 
Another moment where context makes all the difference. If there hadn't been a
physical head in a bowling bag flying around, that offer becomes verr'
naughty.
And standing most exquisitely in the way is ...
CIAO! Benvenuti! WELcome!
Ha. Ha. Ha.
Ilona Costa Bianchi: "Ah, Spike! You are the very meaning of
handsome. You take my breath away. Ah, I have no breath."
Oh, I'm not so sure about that. Let me here welcome one of the most pneumatic
characters in the entire 'verse.
ICB: "I am Ilona Costa Bianchi. I'm the CEO of the Roman offices of
Wolfram e Hart. And please, we are at your disposal. Whatever it is that you
want, we give to you. If you want the world, we give you the world. We give you
two worlds, in fact, because this is our way!"
* wants very badly to need legal counsel in Rome all of a sudden *
Even before we meet this absolutely delightful treasure, Joss has
scattered a late-night workforce around in the lobby of Wolfram e Hart. The
demons and the lawyers all have this wonderfully detached European air about
them which is just stage-setting.
Anyway, for such an improbably magical creature (she certainly seemed to defy
all known laws of gravity) she only has a dozen lines, so let's quote them all,
shall we, courtesy of the Buffy Dialogue Database:
THE LINES OF ILONA COSTA BIANCHI
"And you,
what an honor. The great Angelus! Ah, yes, of course. The gypsies, they gave
you your soul. The gypsies are filthy people! * spits * And we shall
speak of them no more!"
"Now, let us go into my office and we talk like adults. Come. Pietro! Vai
un circare un caffe e dolce qual checosa di mangiare!"
"Please, make yourselves as though you were at home. Your problems, they
are no more. You have no more problems. What are your problems?"
"Ah, The Immortal. Ah. Then your friend is lucky. Ha ha. I have had
dealings with The Immortal many times, and I must say that the outcome is
always ... most satisfactory."
"The Immortal doesn't use spells. He considers them dirty. Dirty tricks
for dirty people. Like gypsies. * spits * We will speak of them no
more!"
Angel: "Look, don't you guys have, like, an Italian Wesley here?"
ICB: "Yes. Yes, we have, but he's taking a nap! And I do not need him to
tell me what is already widely known, that The Immortal does not use
magic."
"We know all about your mission to retrieve the Capo di Famiglia.
And I have to say, right now it seems a bit more important than trying to pry
your friend off of The Immortal. Your head is in great danger. We have already
received a ransom note. It was addressed to you via our offices. I took the
liberty of sneaking the peek. We must hurry because the drop is about to take
place in less than one hour."
"No, no, no, no! The two of you are so precious. But no! This is a
civilized country. We do these things all the time. Somebody gets kidnapped,
somebody pays the money. Everybody goes home happy. Grazie. Prego. Kiss-kiss.
We already have the money ready to go."
ICB: "Now, what happened to the drop? No grazie, prego, kiss-kiss?"
Angel: "Grazie, prego, ka-boom.
ICB: "Oh, they always do this to first-timers in this country. Did I not
mention that?"
... and ...
"No, no, no, no! I love the two of you so much, but brute force will only
get your precious head smooshed. You have done such fine quality work. Now,
please, relax. Let us handle it from here. Sometimes you have to put your fate
in a higher power."
I ... really
can't believe Hamilton isn't constantly in Rome ... auditing or ...
something.
The button on the Rome trip was left to Andrew, who put it all into
perspective:
Andrew: "Spike, is Angel crying? You may want to hold the waterworks, big
guy. The Immortal's cool and all, but
he ain't all that. He's got his flaws. The point is she's moving on. You guys
do the same, and you might catch her one day. One of you, anyway. But you keep
running in place, you're gonna find she's long gone. Buffy loves both of you,
but she's gotta live her life. People change. You guys should try it sometime."
Moving on. Angel with his feelings for Nina, Spike with a potentially cool gig
flying around the world in the W&H jet fighting the good fight (perhaps
more than once again in Italy, so there's perhaps ultimately better hope for
Spuffy), and Buffy slowly prying herself off of the Immortal.
The resolve was too simple and required nothing of our heroes (beyond a blast
which both survived -- heck, Spike got a load of shoes out of the deal, making
his dream in B-S7x22 - "Chosen" perhaps prophetic). The Immortal --
with, apparently, an even faster jet -- getting the Capo di Famiglia to
the W&H offices in L.A., popping up for one eppy and vanishing forever,
Spike and Angel brooding in their offices, Harmony, Gunn and Lorne not having
much to do at all in this eppy, which is interesting because ...
Flowing through the offices like a river of pain is the adorable little
Winifred Burkle-shaped Old One.
Wesley's resolve was dark enough for all of them.
In exploring the concept of love, Illyria learned that one cannot simply
resemble and emulate an object of affection. If it's not true, it's rejected as
artifice. And Wes could barely maintain his composure throughout that terribly
awkward and unexpected visitation.
But he couldn't say anything until they were gone, either. At which point his
devastation surfaced completely.
Illyria had initially balked at his suggestion that she go to the lab.
At the end, her only comment in reverting to her indestructible Smurfdom was
"As you wish."
Which interests me because it seems to suggest she's also learned the power of
teamwork -- when to be the unassailable god-thing and when to conform to the
will of the group.
Which brings us back to the dropped binder.
Really, no one else reacted in surprise and alarm to the vision of Fred Burkle
apparently returned from the dead?
I get that any gasp of astonishment, anyone running up to her and asking if she
was ok, any acknowledgement that something was wrong would indeed have been
hard to explain to the remaining
Burkles.
So it just hangs there. And much like Angel stopping and remembering the head
in the bag sitting on the bar while
both he and Spike dashed onto the dancefloor ("Dancing. Why did it have to
be dancing?" -- fun line), the complete lack of response from everyone
else in the building ... rings a
little hollow.
But not to fret.
The episode told the part of the story that needed telling in the time it had
to do it.
Illyria, through her exploration of Fred, learned how to be part of the team
that would take on the Circle of the Black Thorn.
And Angel and Spike were left without resolution but not without hope.
And ... no shortage of adventure in their very near future.
I liked this one. I liked it a lot. Emotionally it fits perfectly into
the downward spiral of pain it precedes and is a light, shiny spot of fun to
remind us all what we loved about the best parts of the 'verse and did the best
it could with what it had -- there was no way to resolve the Angel/Buffy/Spike
triangle once and for all without disappointing large sectors of the fanbase,
so it played a nice game of keep-away.
Well done, Joss. Nicely played.