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5.18 Origin Connor: "I went a little hard core there for a second. That guy made me really cranky." When Connor was so beautifully written out of the show, several good-sized loose ends remained: (1) the possibility that Connor still had powers; (2) whether or not he would eventually remember who he was; and (3) the unfulfilled prophecy that Connor would kill Sahjhan. This episode took all of those loose ends, along with the unresolved emotional issues between Angel and Connor, and tied them up in the most satisfying way possible. It was perfect. After last week's plunge into the well of gloom, we got some wonderful lighthearted moments, although Gunn probably wouldn't think so. (Pun intended.) My favorite was, of course, Spike's unorthodox methods of testing Illyria's powers. Connor Lite was also a lot of fun; he rarely got the funny lines before with the raging psychopath thing and all, but he got in some good ones here. It's interesting that even in his gosh gee incarnation, Connor was still Angel's son on the inside, retaining his taste for older women, and not even hesitating to say he'd kill Sahjhan to ensure his family's safety. We could choose to interpret that Connor was behind the mystical wall and didn't get his memories back when the Orlon window broke, but I don't believe it. Illyria said that both sets of memories still existed; I think that Connor's happy, normal childhood memories and loving family were enough to heal him and balance out his memories of Quor-toth, Holtz, and Jasmine. That final, powerful scene convinced me that Connor now knows that Angel really loves him more than anyone on earth, and he can now appreciate the sacrifice Angel made for him. Connor finally accepted Angel's gift of love, and he was kind enough to let Angel know it. ("You gotta do what you can to protect your family. I learned that from my father.") It was no surprise that Wesley, in spite of his current alcoholic depression, would be the one to figure out the Connor situation. Like Wesley, for a moment I thought maybe breaking the Orlon window would do something for Fred... but no. Issues with Illyria are still on hold. There have been several references to Illyria's mouth being unusually big (the petrie dish), certainly bigger than it appears. This made me think of the voracious aliens on "V," as well as Jasmine. What I'm saying is... I don't think Illyria is going to end up as one of the Scooby Gang. On the penalty box front, poor Gunn continues to suffer. Even though Gunn's predicament was mentioned, Angel doesn't seem to be in a huge hurry to rescue him. Perhaps on a subconscious level, Angel feels that Gunn deserves to suffer for awhile; interestingly enough, Gunn feels the same way. What Gunn did -- not even listening to Hamilton's offer -- that really took guts. (Yeah, I'm hot with the puns tonight.) This episode left me wondering what sort of future Connor will have. There should be a comic book or something. Maybe there is; I'll admit I'm not up on comic books. Bits and pieces: -- My favorite exchange was in the teaser. Wesley: "Illyria can be difficult. Testing her might be hard without getting someone seriously hurt." Angel: "We'll make Spike do it." -- Speaking of which, Illyria isn't the first supernatural woman who likes hurting Spike. I kept thinking about Buffy knocking him around. -- "I'm not a little girl, and you and I won't be making love on this couch any time soon." Adam Baldwin is scary in a way that Eve just... isn't. And that's not because she's female, either. Lilah and Drusilla could be plenty scary. -- Spike: "Old broody pants got you wound up, eh? Keep in mind he can't get laid without maybe going crazy. Makes it funny." -- Connor asked Angel, "Do you spend all your time making out with other vampires like in Anne Rice novels?" Except in Anne Rice novels, the vampires bite each other romantically; they don't actually have sex. But I guess that could still be interpreted as making out, since they get off on it. -- Gold acting stars this week to Vincent Kartheiser and David Boreanaz. We could see Angel trying to hide his love for Connor, even though it kept coming out (finding out Connor was going to Stanford, straightening his collar, and so on.) That final scene was just outstanding. -- The child of two vamps doesn't like people touching his neck. I find that funny. -- I enjoyed seeing Sahjhan again. He was always a hoot. -- Connor: "You know, they have dried scorpions in the vending machines downstairs?" -- Connor's new last name is Riley, a fine Buffyverse name. I'm sure we didn't know that before because I would have commented on it. His parents' names are Lawrence and Colleen; I'm fairly certain we didn't know that either. -- Lorne and Gunn still won't remember Connor. Except with only four more episodes to go, it's probably not an issue any more. This is so a four, Billie View all comments or post a comment. |
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