Sacrifice
Desperate times call for desperate measures this week, as our favourite demon hunting detective agency take to the sewers to evade Jasmine’s insidious influence. Insidious and scary, I should specify, as the scene at the gas station was supremely creepy and fun. It also allowed Gina Torres one of a few chances to show off some fairly impressive maniacal laughter, which is always enjoyable.
Like all the best Angel episodes, there were some solid themes running through this episode — questions of sacrifice and perspective. The opposition of Angel and Fred’s viewpoints on how best to manage themselves during the crisis were interesting, and I felt slightly disappointed that they never got to have a proper forthright discussion on the matter. I would have liked to see her stand up to him, and how he’d deal with it.
Once down below, of course, our heroes met up with a bunch of plucky kids. Guest characters! Yay! I’d almost forgotten you could have a character in an Angel episode who wasn’t in a previous one. Unfortunately, as mentioned, they were plucky kids. But I got over it. Especially when they got a little evil at the end. And it was a sensible way to really rub into Angel what he’d just done to Connor.
But the best aspect of this week’s Angel was, of course, the monster bug. Good computer effects (for television at least). Amazing make up. Hilarious dialogue. Excellent acting. Every scene between him and Wesley was a pleasure, also in part due to seeing Wes be as clever as everyone says he is. As a result of this section, I found a few of the more minor plausibility problems of the episode easier to ignore, or forgive. Such as — what are the odds of running into Jasmine worshipping insects? Or these tricky keys that open doors the moment anyone rubs them with blood.
For freshness, creepyness, and excellent handling of the regular characters, this episode stands for me as one of this season’s best. And did I mention the damn cool cliffhanger?
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