Angel S2-18: The Short Review

'Dead End'

Written by David Greenwalt

Directed by James A Contner

I do wish they'd stop giving David Greenwalt important episodes to script. The man has ideas to spare, can rustle up a damn good story, and some of his dialogue is superb; but his episodes never hang together all that well. We saw it with 'To Shanshu In LA', and 'Dear Boy', and now we see it here - if you think about them too hard, they start to show cracks. And, sadly, it puts a slight stain on what could and should have been a truly top-class episode.

For example, Lindsey knowing the codes for Nathan Reed's office - the problem isn't that there is no explanation; the information could easily have been in the files he stole back in 'Blind Date' (although I find it a little surprising that Nathan hadn't changed his password since then). However, the explanation is never given to us, leaving the casual viewer (I would imagine) unimpressed. More importantly, the security at Wolfram and Hart's body part bank - why was there no CCTV? And if there was, why did they still choose to promote Lindsey?

There are several other examples. However, I'm not going to bother mentioning them because plotting gripes aside, this was a fantastic episode. The final scene at Wolfram and Hart was magnificent - Christian Kane clearly had the time of his life with that material - but it was by no means the only enjoyable scene in the episode. Seeing the people kept for body parts didn't send a chill down my spine in the way I presume it was meant to, but only, I suspect, because I've read about the idea enough times previously ('Spares', by Michael Marshall Smith, for example) that it seems merely unsettling, rather than shocking. However, it was still very effectively done, and made Lindsey's decision a believable one - he does have some moral standards, and he will make a stand when those are breached.

The episode was also a showcase for the new and improved Angel. He's not brooding any more; he has the air of a man who knows what he's meant to be doing with his life, and is quite happy to be getting on with it (what colour is his aura these days?). It certainly makes for a change of pace - the tone of the show has altered completely since the days of 'Reprise' - and at the moment, I'm loving every minute of it, but I can't help wondering if I'm going to miss the brooding a little if it continues.

More generally, I have two vague worries about the show as a whole. The first is, with Lindsey gone - although not, I hope, forever - there's a problem at Wolfram and Hart. Lilah is not as sympathetic or as watchable a character as Lindsey; it could make the Wolfram and Hart scenes less dynamic, less enjoyable. Presumably a new lawyer will be introduced at some point to help out in this regard. My second worry is that, just possibly, they may be overusing Caritas a little. Don't get me wrong, I love the Host, and seeing Christian Kane singing was a real treat; but I do sometimes get the impression that maybe it's being treated as a catch-all solution for plot problems. Yes, given that exists, characters are likely to use it; but do they have to use it all the time?

There's still no real arc, although I suspect that Cordelia's worsening vision hangovers are leading up to something on that front. In many ways it feels like the end of S1 did; the start of something new, without any real clues as to where it might all be leading. If I'm honest, though, at the end of the day this was a very good episode, and an awful lot of fun. The absence of an arc isn't going to bother me overmuch if the remaining episodes can keep up to this standard.