It is a truth universally acknowledged that the final season of a long running dramatic series cannot do a comedy episode for it’s third last episode. Apparently. Personally, I’ve always enjoyed Angel‘s ability to switch genres at the drop of a hat, and let’s face it — things hadn’t really been very funny recently. I needed something to cheer me up.

And so, we switch from the previous episode’s hints of Angel suddenly acting a bit callous and nasty, to a fun filled romp where Spike and Angel travel to Italy to save Buffy from … the Immortal. One of the vampiric pair’s most hated foes once upon a time, we had never seen the Immortal before in either series — and we still haven’t. Nor, in fact do we see Buffy. Your mileage on whether this is funny may vary. I like a bit of mixing between the fiction and reality[ftn], so I enjoyed it.

The danger of a story where two characters are trying to find someone and never do is that it makes them look like complete fools. Angel and Spike don’t quite come out of this unscathed — but there is the handy excuse that when it comes to Buffy, they don’t think straight, which is pretty well established. Still, even Angelus and … Spike aren’t quite acting at their most sharp in the flashbacks. Some people will have issues with dumbing down characters to do a comedy. I personally don’t, as long as the jokes are up to scratch. And for the most part, they are.

The interplay between Spike and Angel that has gently helped every episode this year now comes to the fore, and is always good. The fight in the bar, their discussions in the plane, and one moment in particular that must be one of the ten most funny Angel moments ever. As well as some great, silly flashbacks. There are a few misses too, however. The Italian demons are alright I suppose, but not particularly amusing. The head of Wolfram & Hart in Italy is amusing at first but then keeps on talking for ages without a sign of a joke. Her huge cleavage feels like setup to a gag — but nothing ever comes out of it, aside from vaguely flustered looks from the vampires.

This episode does contain a repeat visit from Andrew, one-time evil genius of Sunnydale. Though Andrew was one of the only bright spots for me in the unbearable pain that was Buffy‘s seventh season, it would have been nice to see a more integral character. Personally, I always wanted to see Angel and Xander meet up again. But since the plot really only needs someone who tells them that Buffy isn’t home and to come back later, it’s not particularly important. Though Andrew going out for dinner with two beautiful women while professing how important it is to change concerns me.[ftn]

Of course, the best part of this episode has nothing to do with the leads, and everything to do with Wesley and Illyria. Amy Acker stuns as she switches between good ol’ texas twang Fred and the deep-voiced former omnipotent goddess. Alexis Denisof is given even more to work with as the broken, pained ex-Watcher. These two are even better to watch than Wesley and Lilah were. Clearly, Wes is more suited to evil women.

And so we have an episode that is funny, but with some dodginess, that probably should have been transmitted one or two episodes back. But comedy has always been a big part of Angel and I’m glad we got one more in before the end.

Footnotes

1. Sarah Michelle Gellar was busy filming the remake of Japanese horror film Ju-On. I’m glad she’s moved beyond Scooby-Doo.
2. Partially in the sense that I’m not sure what message it’s sending to gay Buffy fans, but more because, if a character was going to turn heterosexual again, couldn’t it have been Willow? I won’t be happy until she and Xander are together again.[ftn]
3. Not strictly true.

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This entry was posted by the illustrious Tom Charman on Wednesday, September 1st, 2004. It concerns such pressing issues as . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.