The introductory episode to Angel's character. Highly forgettable. Angel is just so BORRRRRRRING. This will probably be a short one because Angel bores me to death.
Summed up: Buffy gets attacked by vamps, Angel jumps into the fray, they make a break for Buffy's house, where Angel stays the night because Buffy doesn't want him leaving and possibly getting attacked again. Note: Angel doesn't put up too much of a fuss when she comes to this conclusion, even though he's a perfectly capable fighter and probably wouldn't get attacked anyways due to the fact that HE'S A VAMPIRE.
The next day, Buffy trains a bit, Xander gets jealous of Angel (whoa, didn't see that one coming), and Buffy gets home to find Angel still there. I guess he couldn't just leave while Buffy's mom was home was his excuse, although it's really because he can't go out in sunlight because HE'S A VAMPIRE. And then...
I can pinpoint the exact moment Angel stopped being an interesting character to me, and it was this:
Angel: I did a lot of thinking today. I really can't be around you. Because when I am...
Buffy: Hey, no big. Water... over the bridge, under the bridge...
Angel: When I am all I can ever think about is how badly I want to kiss you.
OH FOR GOD'S SAKE.
So, Buffy and Angel kiss, and then for some reason when this happens Angel turns vampface, revealing that, spoiler alert, HE'S A VAMPIRE. (I read a theory somewhere that said that he turns vampface because it's a precursor to when he ultimately loses his soul when he and Buffy eventually frickle frackle, which I'll buy, but was that really where their mind was going when it happened? Well...)
And can I just talk about how fundamentally weird the Buffy/Angel relationship is? I mean, besides the perverse vampire/slayer relationship thing, because that I can get over, whatever. I'm more concerned with the fact that Buffy's sixteen. She's my age. And she's in a relationship with a guy who looks like he should be finishing college, and in actuality has been around since the industrial revolution. Like, he wasn't even her age before he was turned. I don't mind Buffy being attracted to him, because, um, that's a nice piece o' man. I do think that Angel, on the other hand, should have the presence of mind to, well, to break her heart. Because, seriously.
And don't get me wrong, there are parts of the Buffy/Angel thing that are genuinely beautiful. The cross thing, for a start (I'll get into that, don't worry), and Becoming (don't worry, I'll probably reference that ordeal). But the relationship bugs me, and that's mostly because Angel has been around since the 1700s, and Buffy's still.... she's still becoming someone. She's still cookie dough. Not even. She's batter. And there's Angel, just eatin' that batter. (This was an extended metaphor Buffy used in the last episode, when Angel asked if they would ever get together. She responded that she was cookie dough, and she wasn't done baking yet, she wasn't done becoming whoever it was she was going to become. Which Angel took to mean, don't worry, you'll get cookies soon, which was SO NOT the point, but anyways).
Honestly, this episode was really not memorable (other people will argue with me but Angel is so boring I just arghhhhhhhh). So I'll just go through the highlights.
We meet Darla. I mean, she was already a recurring character, but we actually meet her here, and what she's all about. Turns out, she and Angel had a thing, since she was his sire and all. I'm very disappointed, actually, because Darla was a recurring villainess who was close to the Master, managed to get an invite into Buffy's house (Buffy's mom made an understandable mistake, whoops), was Angel's sire, and let's face it, was fun and diabolical, and then Angel stakes her by the end of the episode.
Honestly. What were they thinking. Even if Darla wasn't the strongest of villains, that wasn't her primary purpose anyways. She exists to just screw with people. I just keep thinking how much fun could have been had with the weird twisted love triangle between Buffy and Angel and Darla. That would have been a fun dynamic to explore. Unfortunately, Darla gets barely anything to work with from the Buffy series. (Luckily she later gets resurrected on the Angel spin-off. Fun times.)
Although, thinking on it, it's maybe for the best she didn't become a big deal at the time. This is season 1, it's all about the Monster of the Week. I don't think they wanted to alienate people with long-running storylines right away. Still, I think Darla had more to say than people give her credit for. Problem is, she didn't really get to say it.
But yes, Angel kills Darla, which convinces Buffy that Angel is good. Or something like that. This is all after a big long fight between Buffy and Angel, because she was convinced he was evil (he is, after all, a vampire). That was an awesome fight. Is it really bad of me that even on the rewatch I was yelling at my screen, "Kill him! Stake him! KILLL HIMMMMMM!!!!"?
And then the Master throws a little tantrum because he was so fond of Darla, and Angelus used to be such a promising pupil before he got that dumb soul of his, and the Master actually gets quite emotional about the death of Darla (this makes more sense in retrospect, because we find out in the Angel series that Darla was actually sired by the Master. In vampire circles, that pretty much makes him her father). Then he's comforted by the Anointed One who, in case you've forgotten, is like a six year old boy. So, yeah, that's a thing.
Also, I realize that Xander was already wary of Angel just because of teenage jealousy, but can I please defend him right now and say that he has good reason to distrust Angel. Angel is a vampire. Giles told Xander at the beginning of the series that vampires are not the people they're inhabiting, they're the thing that killed them. Can you blame him? And that's putting aside the fact that Angel was dishonest with Buffy to begin with, and still slept over at her house. Justified distrust, I believe. It's not all about the girl.
Speaking of Xander, that first scene at the Bronze, though. One can only see Xander making a fool of himself for so long before the laughter is replaced with really feeling sorry for him. Or maybe that's just me.
Also, Buffy kicks Giles's ass during training. It's delicious.
Buffy: Cool! Crossbow! Goodbye stakes, hello flying fatality. What can I shoot?
Giles: Uh, nothing. The crossbow comes later. You must first become proficient with the basic tools of combat. And let's begin with the quarterstaff. Which, incidentally, will require hours of vigorous training. I speak from experience.
Buffy: Giles, 20th century? I'm not going to be fighting Friar Tuck.
Giles: You never know with whom or what you'll be fighting. Now, you show me good, steady progress with the quarterstaff, and in due course we'll discuss the crossbow. Now put on your pads.
Buffy: I'm not gonna need pads to fight you.
Giles: Well, we'll see about that. En garde!
(They fight with the quarterstaffs. Buffy blocks all of Giles's blows, then pretty much just whoops him good.)
Giles: (laying on the ground) Good. Let's move on to the crossbow.
I mean, even besides the fact that it's funny, the balance of power between Buffy and Giles is such a fascinating dynamic. It's one of the things that can shift so quickly, and they both let the scale sway as it will and it's just really fun and interesting to see.
And what else was there..... Buffy's mom gets attacked by Darla, and for some reason people still think it's a good idea to just not tell Joyce about vampires and demons and the Slayer... even Giles, which I don't understand. Although Giles is all about letting Buffy learn on her own, though, so maybe that's one of those things, where he'll go along with it so that Buffy will eventually just see how dumb it is and not get upset with him. I dunno, seems weird to me. Also, how does Joyce not suspect anything? Literally everyone in Sunnydale seems to be victim to this weird denial thing, where whenever anything weird happens, they completely forget about it, and usually blame it on gang fights. Again, how much gang activity could there possibly be in a "one Starbucks town like Sunnydale"?
But the most important part of this episode I think was the end. The symbolism was rich and great and yeah, even as someone who isn't a huge fan of the Buffy/Angel, I can appreciate this.
Remember in the first episode, Angel gave Buffy a cross necklace. It saved her from Luke before, and so she wears it all the time now (and will wear it even during Becoming, which I think says a lot). So basically, they're at the Bronze, and they kiss, and it's this sweet thing. Then, as Buffy walks away to meet with her friends, camera goes to Angel, watching her go, and then down to his chest, where there's a cross-shaped burn on his chest where Buffy was leaning against him when they were kissing.
Because he's a vampire, and so her cross necklace burned him. And he said nothing. Because he loves her. Or something.
Again, as someone who doesn't love the Buffy/Angel, I can still appreciate the symbolism here. Star crossed lovers and all. It's the perfect story of people who can never be together, but they will try and love each other anyways. The cross necklace comes to represent all of that.
I really don't like star-crossed lover stories. Have I mentioned that yet? There just isn't a new way to twist it to make it interesting. No matter the reason why they can't be together, the story will be the same. Love, tears, love, heartbreak. Sometimes death. Whoops, just summed up the entire three season long arc. Did I mention that it's a story that no one has found a way to retell differently?
I always say the post will probably be short and then it ends up being long. It's official. I am physically incapable of writing something under 1000 words.
But yeah, Angel's a guy, he has a dark past, he's a vampire, but he's also a good guy and attractive, so hey, welcome to the team, I guess. Ugh.
There was nothing else noteworthy about this episode. It was basically just a "We need to set up this character properly" type thing. Changed just about nothing, except now Darla's dead. I'll be happy to get back to our Monster of the Week chain (four more before the grand finale), because in my opinion, season 1 Monsters of the Week were some of the most fun.
One last thing: Whedon LIED! Welcome to the Hellmouth was not the last time we saw Xander with a skateboard! Because he has one in this episode! I mean, he's not riding it, he's just carrying it like the big doofus that he is, but still. It exists. Although I'd be willing to bet that this is the last time we ever see Xander with a skateboard at all. He's just... not a skateboarder.
Okay, yes, I believe that is all.
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