Angel S2-14: The Short Review

'The Thin Dead Line'

Written by Jim Kouf and Shawn Ryan

Directed by Scott McGinnis

This is, I think, a hard episode to review, because whilst it has many strong points, it also has major flaws (why did Gunn take the ambulance to the shelter?). However, it is still a significant increase in quality from the previous two weeks, and there are good indications here that things are getting back on track.

One of the things highlighted by this episode is just how much the show has improved since the first series. The handling of the issues surrounding police brutality is by no means perfect, but it is a major step up from the overplayed metaphors in, say, 'Hero' or 'She'. The reason, perhaps, is the way that the episode is structured - it's not about the police methods as much as it's about the people who are affected by those methods. In this respect, it was a welcome surprise to see the return of Anne. To me, one of the strengths of 'Angel' has always been the way it has managed to portray LA as a living, breathing city; little touches like bringing back the agent Oliver James in 'Eternity', rather than creating a new character, have helped in this area. Anne fits in surprisingly well, and it's not a stretch to believe that she knows and respects Gunn. It also helps that the scenario is shown in shades of gray; at the end of the episode, one type of senseless violence has been stopped, only to be replaced by another.

The episode is a welcome showcase for the A-team. We haven't really seen them in any significant role since 'The Shroud Of Rahmon'. One reason is simply that the story hasn't been about them, it's been about Angel, and I can certainly understand the writers' desire to focus on that; but we needed to be shown more about how they were coping in Angel's absence. This episode succeeded in that admirably - there is real sense that they trust and care about one another now. They also still care about Angel; their reaction to Anne's comments is enough to show that.

It's always nice to see J. August Richards given the chance to perform, and in this respect, too, the episode does not disappoint. There's a nice parallel between the way Angel has cast out the A-team and the way Gunn has grown apart from his friends. Where the former is a deliberate, considered act, the latter has arisen more from neglect than anything else; but in both cases, there is some resentment amongst the people left out in the cold. I'll leave discussion of Gunn's characterisation to elsewhere, save to say that I think the way the character has been portrayed in this episode is entirely consistent with the way he's developed over the course of the series; once again, the writers have provided an explanation for events after the fact and it is, for the most part, believable.

The problems with the story are, I find, mostly related to Angel and Angel's actions. Despite the fact that he was checking up on the A-team, he showed no signs of getting involved until it got personal; indeed, it seems that he's just killing time until the big Wolfram and Hart meeting mentioned by Merl. My interpretation is that he was tentatively starting to let himself care again; this is supported by his surprise visit to the hospital at the end of the episode. When Cordelia tells him that they no longer need him, however, I think it serves both as a reminder of why he originally severed the ties between them, and as an impetus to return to his original goal - bringing about the fall of Wolfram and Hart.

Things are starting to make sense; various threads of the arc are being drawn together, and it feels as though something has to snap soon. And, of course, I want to know what happened to little miss 'there's an eye in the back of her head!' (wonderful delivery on that line)...