Episode 10 - Amends
5 November 2011
Synopsis: Angel is tormented by apparitions of those he killed. Buffy then begins to appear in his dreams. The gang research the possibilities and believe that he is being tormented by the First Evil. The First pushes Angel to lose his soul and kill Buffy. He fights the temptation and chooses to die instead. Elsewhere Joyce invites Faith to spend Christmas with them and Willow and Oz get back together.
The Good: The Angel-centric episode that the story has been crying out for finally arrives. This was thorough in answering the obvious question about him - why did he come back?
The answer it would seem is some tug of war between good and evil. The gang deduce that the First Evil was responsible for bringing him back from a hell dimension to Earth. However when Angel chooses death rather than becoming evil again the sun doesn't rise. Or at least it is hidden behind the snow. Such a miracle, in Sunny California, strongly implies that a force for good agrees with Buffy and wants to see Angel go on living.
It's hard to argue with such a general answer to the question. I don't think the specifics matter. The key for Angel's character is that he will now fight for good to redeem himself for all the years he was evil. As we saw last week, without Buffy this change wouldn't have taken place. She is the catalyst that gives him a reason to go on living.
Their confrontation addressed the emotions that have been buried since he returned. I thought the temptations he faced were well explored. The idea that he could actually be tempted into turn evil was intriguing. It would be a way to stop feeling guilty and miserable and it's easy to imagine the human weakness that could lead you to see that as a solution. He was also attacked from the other angle where his love for Buffy made him want to grab the very happiness that would simultaneously comfort him and end his life. Buffy's love for Angel is overwhelming and leaves her unable to move on. The repulsion and attraction that they feel cannot go on forever.
The scene where Angel comes to Giles for help was very good. As you would expect Giles overcame his hatred of the demon to help the man. And Angel came off well by not telling Giles who he could see over his shoulder. The scenes of torment were well executed and confirmed our picture of Angelus as a demon who enjoyed human misery as much as their blood.
Oz and Willow remain the cutest of the cute couples. Her attempt to make things better between them with sex was well written. As usual he understands her motivations clearly and refuses to jump ahead to somewhere they aren't ready to go yet. Even Xander was being mature here by offering to help Buffy out and turning the other cheek to Cordelia's insults.
The writers love their double entendre moments but it's hard to beat Joyce discussing Christmas decorations and saying "So, Angel's on top again?" I also liked the call back to "Band Candy" with Joyce stubbornly refusing to invite Giles over.
The Bad: The idea of Sunnydale getting an unexpected white Christmas which happens to save Angel's life is a gooey ending. I don't mind that. However it's hard not to be slightly miffed at the sheer cheesiness of the joy of all our characters at this magical moment. The direction seems to think that there's no point in being ironic at a moment like this and instead goes full steam ahead into the cliché of happiness that it conjures up. It's not a big deal to me but I don't blame anyone for rolling their eyes at such silliness on a show which works so hard to always laugh at itself.
The Unknown: This was paced differently to pretty much every other episode of Buffy. The torturous visions and dreams which Angel endured were repetitive and the sense that he might actually give in to temptation wasn't well established. I don't mind a quiet Christmas episode, especially one that answers such important questions but again I don't blame anyone who felt this was dull.
Is Oz too perfect a boyfriend? I noted last season that his amazing ability to always say and do the right thing with Willow can make him seem a bit too manufactured. Here he reads her so well and talks her down so beautifully that I can't help but see him as a bit of a female fantasy rather than an actual guy. I wouldn't say it had crossed a line yet where I have a problem with him as a character but I find him the least convincing of all our regulars.
Best Moment: Giles seeing Angel again and reacting with that assertive tone that he saves for such moments.
The Bottom Line: I think this episode was needed as it addressed a bunch of questions that have been hanging since Angel returned. As an actual TV episode though it was slow and the ending didn't try to hide how silly it was.
Cordia's Second Look
Amends
Season 3, Episode 10
Original airing: 12/15/1998
My Rating: 54
The Good: The show finally addresses Angel's mysterious return from the hell dimension. It's been completely ignored up to this point, so I'm glad they finally tackled it. The show presents two possibilities here: one, we still don't know why he's back and two, The First Evil brought him back. The First, played wonderfully by RobiaLaMorte in the guise of Jenny Calendar, takes credit for it, but Buffy points out that this may not be true. Regardless, it's an interesting thought that Angel is still considered a playing piece in the battle of Good vs. Evil. Becoming Parts 1 and 2 (S2E21, S2E22) was very open about Angel's place on the board. Whistler mentions how he always assumed Angel would be a force for good, but he could obviously fall on the side of evil. It's another hint at how important free will can be.
The First is an interesting villain. It's always fun to see Buffy frustrated by something she can't physically fight. She even yells at Giles in this episode to give her something she can pummel. It was also thrilling to see The First posing as Angelus' victims, including Jenny. It made very clear just how cruel and happy Angel was when he didn't have a soul. In many ways, being Angelus was a much easier and more enjoyable life for him. The temptations presented by The First are pretty reasonable and it's a mark of Angel's character that he refuses to give in despite the emotional pressure he's undergoing. I appreciated his final decision to kill himself to avoid causing any more pain.
This is all neatly wrapped around some wonderful humor centered on Christmas. Joyce was particularly enjoyable in this episode with her unintentional double entendre of Angel on top and her complete refusal to invite Giles to Christmas Eve. I also enjoyed the little moments between Faith and Buffy. We haven't seen Faith in a while and it was interesting to see that her budding relationship with Buffy has gone drastically south. When Buffy arrives, Faith assumes it has to be about a monster. She also initially lies, very badly, to avoid accepting Buffy's invitation. I liked that she eventually came around and then agreed to protect Joyce when Buffy had to leave.
The Bad: I'm glad the show settled Willow and Oz's relationship in this episode. I can recall high school love being pretty fluid and the break up, get back together dynamic was displayed here. What bothered me was Oz's handling of the sex scene. I like that he turned her down because it wasn't the right time for them, but the way he did it was too pat. Lately, Oz has come across more and more as just The Perfect Boyfriend for Shy and Inexperience Willow than Oz. I don't feel like he's a separate character so much as an extension of Willow. This is especially disappointing in the light of how well defined the other characters are.
Xander was also disappointing in this episode. He goes from blatantly pointing out yet again that Angelus killed Jenny to wanting to help free him from The First. Absolutely no real explanation is given for this change of heart. He just kind of shrugs and says, whatever. One could presume it's because he doesn't want to risk Angel becoming Angelus again. But I think when a character trait is so ingrained, as is Xander's hatred of Angel, it should be explained if the character suddenly decides to turn around and do the opposite.
I was also confused and disappointed by the resolution with The First, who apparently decided to just give up and go away. When Buffy confronts her, The First rattles on about how evil she is and how she's everywhere, then she bursts into a ghost-like apparition and disappears. Is that it? She doesn't appear to Angel again and he no longer seems tormented. It's a question for the future, but it sure seems like she gave up pretty easily.
Finally, I was extremely disappointed in the show's ending. A miraculous snowy Christmas morning in southern California to save the day?Really? Even the weather man comments that it's never snowed in Sunnydale. Since there was no explanation for this, it just came across as ludicrous to me. Again, I suppose we can presume that some force of good wanted Angel to live and so prevented the sun from shining, but I don't think it worked here. The scene was getting pretty intense between Buffy and Angel to have it end with awestruck snow gazing from all the Scoobies. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief this far.
Favorite Moment: Angel goes to Giles for help. Giles, being the man he is, overcomes his revulsion to attempt to help him, but only at crossbow point. The show plays this moment well with Giles accepting the insanity of it all with humor and courage. I also appreciated that Angel didn't blurt out that he could see Jenny. That would have been very painful for Giles and probably have changed the flow of the episode. I don't think Giles would have been at all keen to help after that.
The Bottom Line: This episode needed to happen for the mythology of the show. Overall, I enjoyed the story, but the ending was too much to swallow.
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