Steven Paul
Mar 30, 2004, 03:00 pm
Reviewer: Steven Paul Watson vipereyes_2000@yahoo.com
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: ‘Shells’
An old one returns to a new world.
Writer/Director: Steven S. DeKnight
Cast: David Boreanaz, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards, Amy Acker, James Marsters, and Andy Hallett.
Warning: Some Spoilers Ahead!
With the recent news of Angel’s cancellation at the end of its current fifth season it makes it somewhat depressing to watch the remaining episodes, especially when those episodes are like the extremely funny ‘Smile Time’, the very exciting and dramatic ‘You're Welcome’, the thrilling ‘Damage’, and the powerful (and some would say one of the best episodes of Angel ever) ‘A Hole in the World.’ In fact a lot of this season of Angel has been exceptional and makes one ask “why won’t there be a sixth season?”
We can only hope that the remainder of this season continues to be as good as the past few episodes. It is easy to see why fans of the show (like myself) get so attached to these characters and their stories. Angel at it’s worst is still a great escape from reality for an hour a week.
An excellent example of Angel’s typical offering to its fans is the episode, ‘Shells’ and it does not disappoint. It begins where the last episode ends with Wes now facing what is his greatest fear. Like the last episode was about Fred and how her ‘illness’ affected everyone around them. It affected no one as much as it did Wes; Fred after all was the love of his life. And Wes is the first who must face the ‘Old One’ who now inhabits Fred’s body.
From there, Angel and Spike return and the group try to figure out how to stop Illyria and who all was involved in bringing her to Wolfram & Hart. Two ill-fated confrontations with her and a visit to her temple before the end of this action packed episode and you know Angel Inc is out of luck.
This episode is a turning point in Spike and Angel’s relationship: they don’t get along but they know they must work together and get past their own personal feelings. It’s what Fred would have wanted.
Probably one of the less talked about points of this episode is Gunn’s role in bringing Illyria to Wolfram & Hart. In wanting to be something that he is not, to be more than the muscle of the group, he is the cause for everything that is happening. If not for him Illyria would have never ended up at Wolfram & Hart or infected Fred. When Wes finds out he is initially shocked in explaining his feelings to Gunn, but he understood why he did it. But the one thing Wes could not forgive is Gunn not coming forward and telling the others when he learned about his role in tragic events.
Illyria is an interesting character, sort of a pinch of Jasmine and Glory in one. The world is not what she expected it to be on her return to the living. After all she says it herself she thought the human race would have died out long ago and by the end she is set up to be completely different from the other two God like entities that have had a presence in the Buffyverse (not saying Illyria is a god though, just a demon before the time of man, an ‘Old one’ as they are called).
The conclusion of the episode brings the real questions, what next? And Spike says it best when he talking to Angel “Lot bigger than Illyria” he says about a battle is coming and he may be right. And just where does Illyria fit into the coming battle? And just how will losing Fred affect them in the long run? All of these questions are sure to be answered once new episodes begin to air, but now we can only wait and see.
The direction of the episode continues the same theme that began pretty much since the first scenes of this season. Angel Inc is out of place at Wolfram & Hart, they are the good guys and Wolfram & Hart are the bad guys. And they keep getting the constant reminders that going there could be the worst mistakes of their lives. And the first real causality is Fred. Sure not to be the last. It only adds to the disappointment that this looks like it will be Angel’s last season as the episodes finally come together to make it one of its better seasons. Plus with its premature ending, there are a lot of plots and stories yet to be told or explained that don’t look like they will ever see the small screen.
Like Amy Acker’s acting in ‘A Hole in the World’, this episode was a stand out for a lot of the cast, especially for Alexis Denisof who plays the some times geek, sometimes complete bad ass ex-Watcher Wesley. He is especially powerful in the scenes where he talks about being with Fred when Illyria awakens.
I can’t give an honest review of the episode if I don’t at least mention the song “A Place Called Home” by Kim Richey and it is the song that is played at the end of ‘Shells.’ So often it is hard to pick the perfect song to bring the audience into the episode and give off the emotion of what is going on. I thought this was the perfect song for the end of ‘Shells’ as we get to see what all of the characters are doing, their frame of mind, and a flashback. The perfect song goes a long way.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg
Quick Rating: Great!
Story Title: ‘Shells’
An old one returns to a new world.
Writer/Director: Steven S. DeKnight
Cast: David Boreanaz, Alexis Denisof, J. August Richards, Amy Acker, James Marsters, and Andy Hallett.
Warning: Some Spoilers Ahead!
With the recent news of Angel’s cancellation at the end of its current fifth season it makes it somewhat depressing to watch the remaining episodes, especially when those episodes are like the extremely funny ‘Smile Time’, the very exciting and dramatic ‘You're Welcome’, the thrilling ‘Damage’, and the powerful (and some would say one of the best episodes of Angel ever) ‘A Hole in the World.’ In fact a lot of this season of Angel has been exceptional and makes one ask “why won’t there be a sixth season?”
We can only hope that the remainder of this season continues to be as good as the past few episodes. It is easy to see why fans of the show (like myself) get so attached to these characters and their stories. Angel at it’s worst is still a great escape from reality for an hour a week.
An excellent example of Angel’s typical offering to its fans is the episode, ‘Shells’ and it does not disappoint. It begins where the last episode ends with Wes now facing what is his greatest fear. Like the last episode was about Fred and how her ‘illness’ affected everyone around them. It affected no one as much as it did Wes; Fred after all was the love of his life. And Wes is the first who must face the ‘Old One’ who now inhabits Fred’s body.
From there, Angel and Spike return and the group try to figure out how to stop Illyria and who all was involved in bringing her to Wolfram & Hart. Two ill-fated confrontations with her and a visit to her temple before the end of this action packed episode and you know Angel Inc is out of luck.
This episode is a turning point in Spike and Angel’s relationship: they don’t get along but they know they must work together and get past their own personal feelings. It’s what Fred would have wanted.
Probably one of the less talked about points of this episode is Gunn’s role in bringing Illyria to Wolfram & Hart. In wanting to be something that he is not, to be more than the muscle of the group, he is the cause for everything that is happening. If not for him Illyria would have never ended up at Wolfram & Hart or infected Fred. When Wes finds out he is initially shocked in explaining his feelings to Gunn, but he understood why he did it. But the one thing Wes could not forgive is Gunn not coming forward and telling the others when he learned about his role in tragic events.
Illyria is an interesting character, sort of a pinch of Jasmine and Glory in one. The world is not what she expected it to be on her return to the living. After all she says it herself she thought the human race would have died out long ago and by the end she is set up to be completely different from the other two God like entities that have had a presence in the Buffyverse (not saying Illyria is a god though, just a demon before the time of man, an ‘Old one’ as they are called).
The conclusion of the episode brings the real questions, what next? And Spike says it best when he talking to Angel “Lot bigger than Illyria” he says about a battle is coming and he may be right. And just where does Illyria fit into the coming battle? And just how will losing Fred affect them in the long run? All of these questions are sure to be answered once new episodes begin to air, but now we can only wait and see.
The direction of the episode continues the same theme that began pretty much since the first scenes of this season. Angel Inc is out of place at Wolfram & Hart, they are the good guys and Wolfram & Hart are the bad guys. And they keep getting the constant reminders that going there could be the worst mistakes of their lives. And the first real causality is Fred. Sure not to be the last. It only adds to the disappointment that this looks like it will be Angel’s last season as the episodes finally come together to make it one of its better seasons. Plus with its premature ending, there are a lot of plots and stories yet to be told or explained that don’t look like they will ever see the small screen.
Like Amy Acker’s acting in ‘A Hole in the World’, this episode was a stand out for a lot of the cast, especially for Alexis Denisof who plays the some times geek, sometimes complete bad ass ex-Watcher Wesley. He is especially powerful in the scenes where he talks about being with Fred when Illyria awakens.
I can’t give an honest review of the episode if I don’t at least mention the song “A Place Called Home” by Kim Richey and it is the song that is played at the end of ‘Shells.’ So often it is hard to pick the perfect song to bring the audience into the episode and give off the emotion of what is going on. I thought this was the perfect song for the end of ‘Shells’ as we get to see what all of the characters are doing, their frame of mind, and a flashback. The perfect song goes a long way.
OVERALL:
http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mfull.jpg http://www.comixfan.com/xfan/images/reviews/mnone.jpg