Regarding AtS "Hole in the World"
Feb. 26th, 2004 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxI"ll probably give more in-depth thought later, but initial thoughts:
All the Angel/Spike stuff was excellent. Spike was in character the whole time AND he's not called stupid once. That alone makes me like the episode. Gunn was also wonderful in this episode as was Lorne. The stuff that didn't work was Fres as a romance. I agree with Barb that I think it would have worked better if Fred had never returned Wesley's affections as more than a friend. The angst would have been more genuine. The suddenly cutesy-pie romance just didn't ring true. However, I don't find that fatal (no pun intended) to the episode. While I don't believe Joss's sudden sell of Fres as star-crossed romance, I did find Fred's desperation not to die both moving and believable. And while I don't buy the romance, I also don't doubt Wesley's devotion to Fred (which is why the romance stuff was really unnecessary). The same thing could have happened--and been more poignant-- if Wesley's feelings had remained unrequited. For myself, the thing that rang least true was Fred asking "Could you have loved me?" Come on, it's been obvious for years that he loved her and that question seemed to be there to up the angst, not because it was something Fred needed to hear.
Still, I loved Fred's "my boys..." and her "I walk with heroes." I loved, loved, loved Spike's "There's a hole in the world. Seems like we should have known." And hee! At Spike looking "heartbroken" when Angel says this isn't working out and asking "You want us to annoy other people?" as if he was saying in (mock) dismay "You want us to date other people?"
Also priceless is the rip roaring argument about cavemen vs. astronaughts and Wesley's look of... I don't know when he realizes that THAT is what Angel and Spike have been yelling at one another... for the last forty minutes.
The ep was flawed where Fres was concerned, and yeah, yet again Joss holds back on other eps so he can put all the plot development into his own, usually leaving him trying to do way too much in too little time. But where the Whedonverse is concerned I've limited my wants to few, and those wants were satisfied -- Spike kicked ass and he was IN character. That alone puts it about 2/3 of the eps this season.
All the Angel/Spike stuff was excellent. Spike was in character the whole time AND he's not called stupid once. That alone makes me like the episode. Gunn was also wonderful in this episode as was Lorne. The stuff that didn't work was Fres as a romance. I agree with Barb that I think it would have worked better if Fred had never returned Wesley's affections as more than a friend. The angst would have been more genuine. The suddenly cutesy-pie romance just didn't ring true. However, I don't find that fatal (no pun intended) to the episode. While I don't believe Joss's sudden sell of Fres as star-crossed romance, I did find Fred's desperation not to die both moving and believable. And while I don't buy the romance, I also don't doubt Wesley's devotion to Fred (which is why the romance stuff was really unnecessary). The same thing could have happened--and been more poignant-- if Wesley's feelings had remained unrequited. For myself, the thing that rang least true was Fred asking "Could you have loved me?" Come on, it's been obvious for years that he loved her and that question seemed to be there to up the angst, not because it was something Fred needed to hear.
Still, I loved Fred's "my boys..." and her "I walk with heroes." I loved, loved, loved Spike's "There's a hole in the world. Seems like we should have known." And hee! At Spike looking "heartbroken" when Angel says this isn't working out and asking "You want us to annoy other people?" as if he was saying in (mock) dismay "You want us to date other people?"
Also priceless is the rip roaring argument about cavemen vs. astronaughts and Wesley's look of... I don't know when he realizes that THAT is what Angel and Spike have been yelling at one another... for the last forty minutes.
The ep was flawed where Fres was concerned, and yeah, yet again Joss holds back on other eps so he can put all the plot development into his own, usually leaving him trying to do way too much in too little time. But where the Whedonverse is concerned I've limited my wants to few, and those wants were satisfied -- Spike kicked ass and he was IN character. That alone puts it about 2/3 of the eps this season.
no subject
Date: 2004-02-26 11:46 am (UTC)I dunno. Perhaps they were just pleased because the 'B' word didn't get mentioned so they think that shows Spike has given up on her, Cordy was mentioned but it was a nice (for them) reminder that she's dead, and then, seeing as their obsession with B/A makes me rather peg them all for diehard romantics, they must've loved that Wes/Fred stuff.
I've obviously let this get to me far too much.