Rapid Reviews - Angel Season Two DVDs - Part I

Angel [2-01]: Judgment: The opening shot, of Lorne singing, strikes a *ahem* chord in me since I know what Lorne eventually becomes. Gunn is now in the opening credits, after showing up in the last three episodes of the first season. And it's nice that their office didn't magically get better... the crew is working out of Cordelia's haunted apartment. This was a really basic plot, but I think that was intentional to allow for all the elements of the show to be pulled together. And there were a LOT of elementals that showed in this one. We've got the introduction of Gunn to the crew, the introduction of Lorne to the show, the nastiness of Wolfram & Hart's current plan (including an answer to my question about Darla), reintroduction of Cordelia's visions, more angst for Angel, and the ongoing efforts to save one soul. If it weren't so crowded, it might have been stronger, but it wouldn't have told everything that needed to be told. Oh yeah, and I really wish I hadn't seen Angel trying to sing "Mandy" *shudder*.

Angel [2-02]: Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been: In the last episode, Angel walked through the lobby of the hotel that is investigated in this episode. In this episode we learn the history of the hotel, including Angel's stay at the place in 1952. This episode built up nicely, creating a terrifying mystery. The flashbacks to an Angel unconnected to humanity are great... the whole construction of the episode is excellent. Like many episodes of Angel, the end of the story is a bit of a let-down. I think the tendency of this show to end on Angel beating up on a goofy looking demon is one of its greatest weaknesses as well as one of its greatest strengths. The horrors in this show are so often reduced... which makes them easier to deal with. A prevailing theme of this show is that horrors are much more scary when they aren't visible. Overall, I like that, but sometimes it seems like a failure in the story when the end is just the act of taking out a guy in a monster suit. Coming back to this episode, it all fits together nicely... the bits with Wesley and Cordelia learning the history of the hotel are great. The ending of the story, the final fight between Angel and demon - is foreshadowed nicely. It's a terribly creepy story, with a very sad ending. This episode also has writer commentary, which is fun to listen to. His comments on censors were choice, too.