Saturday, June 13, 2009

DVD review - Buffy season 5/Angel season 2 episodes 9

Continuing my viewing and reviewing of Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 5 and Angel season 2...

*** SPOILERS ***

B5-9: Listening To Fear (written by Rebecca Rand Kirshner, airdate 11/28/00)

This one felt, for the most part, like a filler episode. We have this weird Queller demon fall from the stars and attacking mental patients. Sure, we see some subplot movement on Riley's allowing vamps to feed off him, and we have the gang doing some patrolling and research, but it still felt "off". Even Spike's sudden arrival at the house seemed out of place. The only things bring it back around is the movement towards Joyce's impending surgery, Buffy having a moment to break down, Joyce's realization (affirmed by Buffy) that Dawn is not hers but that they need to proetect her, and the juicy tidbit that intern Ben actually summoned the Queller demon in order to clean up Glory's mess (which he's had to do all of his life). Still, not a great episode. I'd put it worst of the season so far by a mile.


A2-9: The Trial (written by David Greenwalt, airdate 11/28/00)

Daaaaamn! That was a great episode! We've got Wesley and Cordelia upset and skeptical about Angel's obcession with over Darla (rightly so - he had Gunn out looking for her, and Gunn comes through), we have Wolfram & Hart back involved (with Lindsey clearly in love with her and willing to do anything to save Darla), we have Darla now dying from the syphyllis that was killing her back in the colonial days, we have a return to the karoake bar for a reading from the Host (and damn, can Julie Benz sing!), we have an awesome set of trials for Angel - who proves he'll do anything to save her ("death is the final challenge" indeed) only to discover she can't be given yet another chance, and finally we get that awesome last few moments (damn! Drusilla is back and does the one thing that Angel couldn't and that Darla wouldn't let him do now that she saw how devoted he was). This was the perfect episode.

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