Last night’s “Angel” – 100th episode – wow. I say “Wow” because of the ending. (spoiler alert; wait for it; skip if you don’t want to be spoiled; then again, I won’t give away everything…) – Lindsey the ex-Wolfram & Hart lawyer steps up on his revenge against Angel (not just on Team Angel). Basically, it’s total recall time – if one doesn’t remember the first season, we get all kinds of reminders – Lindsey’s recollection of his first meeting of Angel (not a good memory for either man); a hint of Doyle, Angel’s late sidekick, who was sorely missed, psychic, half-demon/half-human, and all-Irish (more than Angel ever was, since his accent thoroughly disappeared during his 200 year lifetime); and, more importantly, the return of Cordelia, the girl sidekick who joined Angel from “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and spent the past year in a coma (on the show, that is). (Wesley, the other carry-over from “Buffy” didn’t come in until season 2 and even Spike and Harmony are late-comers).
The storytelling was quite compelling – as it seems as if Angel has finally regained the sense of self, thanks to Cordelia (Lindsey always brings out the most compelling feelings out of Angel). Spike realizes that Lindsey has strung him all along – but, does this mean anything less about Spike’s mission to do good and be good? (Spike has to be good on his own – intrinsic good, for goodness’s sake! – after all, he can’t just be good because he wants to attract some girl or continue his rivalry with Angel – i.e., due to outside forces). It was also nice to see Cordelia recall her own journey – from being shallow California girl to a woman determined to make good win. And, then came the surprising end. Wow.
Quibbles – really, answers are not fulfilled. Angel is still heading Wolfram & Hart, and both the forces of good and evil are after him and the team (the good are after Team Angel because Team Angel’s working for the evil firm, and the evil are after the team because they are/were good; there’s no end to the confusion for Team Angel, but no one but Angel and Spike get it? Wesley seems close to realizing and being disturbed by the dilemma of working in the gray area). There were moments I would have liked more of – the rest of the team ought to realize what Angel’s feeling; I would have liked to see if they’re feeling the dilemma too – that the ambiguity they’re in isn’t pleasant stuff. I mean, come on – why don’t Gunn, Fred and Lorne realizing that working for Wolfram & Hart is going to suck them in before they start changing the world, as they claim they’re doing? Wesley’s so close to feeling it, short of expressing it. Worse, the rest of Team Angel still have amnesia about what had happened the past two seasons, relating to Angel’s son Connor – but at least Cordelia called Angel on the decision of wiping everyone’s memories about the past two seasons. I would have also liked to have had more Cordelia moments with the rest of the gang – but, for whatever reason (in real-life or in terms of the storyline), she was available for only the one episode.
Next week – Angel and Spike recall their World War II days, when Spike was still evil (and apparently working for the Nazis – odd, since he’s so British, but not so odd because he was evil) and when Angel was really struggling to atone for all his sins (by apparently working for the Americans). The teaser preview looked good (although it looked eerily like a commercial for “Pearl Harbor,” a movie I so definitely have not and probably won’t be seeing, since it didn’t seem that good; unless, someone tells me otherwise?).
Can’t believe I watched yet another episode of “The Apprentice” – there’s something eerie that made it compelling to actually watch it, even though I don’t like the show. Producer Mark Burnett (the same guy who brought us “Survivor”) is very good about editing his series so that there’s suspense.
Finally, an “ER” episode that didn’t end in complete misery. Hmm.
Tomorrow – the end of NBC’s “Ed”? Well, it was a nice series; catch it, especially if you’ve been enjoying it the last four years and would like the end. What is it with NBC letting decent shows go but keeping the not-so quality stuff?