Angel 4/23 - Spoilers

[Chun-tzu]

I know Jasmine's true name!!!!!!

It's....





Piratecat! The hivemind is taking over Los Angeles!

 

[John Crichton]

Apparently so. But that doesn't seem to stop them or First Evils.

Damn those intangible, ancient, omnipotent foes!!

They always spoil the formula...

 

[Mallus]

(But yeah her getting sliced and diced and NOT dying and yet laughing. That was pretty damn disturbing.)

What was chilling about that scene for me was that those wounds, in particular the large slash across the throat, were originally appearing on the bodies of Jasmine's completely innocents followers. And somehow I doubt those were being auto-healed.

What a fantastic way to render a scene that 1) wouldn't pass network censors and 2) might just be unwatchable. Am I wrong in believing that Team Angel was forced into willingly killing innocent people during that last battle??

Oh, and I really enjoyed the epsiode...

 

[drothgery]

Indeed. Medicore by Angel standards is far and way BETTER than half the shows out there. The end just after Jasmine was "feeling" was pretty righteous too. I was like "Dude this is SO Mordor!" (But yeah her getting sliced and diced and NOT dying and yet laughing. That was pretty damn disturbing.)

Also like the fact these guys don't use "word magic" but blood magic. Tells us something about Jasmine herself. I am curious though just WHAT the hell is she. Certainly got more "oomph" than Glory did being a god. Course Glory could take down the National Guard without breaking a sweat...

Eh. Different powers, and different weaknesses. Glory could be killed as Ben; Jasmine's weakness is her true name. But I think Glory would probably win a fight between the two of them; she had a lot more physical power, and I can't think Jasmine's mind control juju would work on her.

 

[Henry]

What was chilling about that scene for me was that those wounds, in particular the large slash across the throat, were originally appearing on the bodies of Jasmine's completely innocents followers. And somehow I doubt those were being auto-healed.

I got a totally different image from that battle - it looked like Jasmine was taking the wounds onto herself - which would imply the minions weren't taking anything at all. When I saw the scene, I thought, "Oh, $^%&" - because the Fang Gang would have had no chance at all if they couldn't put down the opponents permanently. That's why she was laughing I think - she wasn't getting off on the power of death, she was laughing that the Fang Gang couldn't hurt her minions, and they were doomed and she knew it.

As for the rest:

-I LOVED the scene with Gunn and the gas pump - I just hope it never happens to me.

-Fred and Gunn are obviously growing farther apart, and when she finds out about Gwen's "opening night," she's gonna seal off her emotions from Gunn for good, I believe.

-I really enjoyed the nameless creepy crawly critter - and after reading Monte Cook's section on Truenames in AU, it just fairly jazzed me up to see Jasmine having a truename, and the group needing to find it out.

-When Angel was surrounded by creepy crawlies, I halfway expected him to say, "Oh, Boy" - but too bad he didn't. (I am such a Quantum Leap Geek.)

 

[Petrosian]

Been watching buffy for years and angel since the beginning and for a while angel was hit and miss and definitely second fiddle...

but not this season.

wow!

killer ep after killer ep.

I too loved to death the beaty, cleverness and all around shocking nature of the slicing jasmine scene.

SOAPBOX...

It has become in vogue in recent years to overdo violence depiction. Saving private Ryan made it fashionable to be gratuitously graphic (remove one g for SPR) and Tv series like the shield and others have also pushed that limit.

The scariest moments in movies, the most horrifying (different than shocking) have not been accomplished for me by exposed bone shard and gallons of cherry jello gooiness. They have been accomoplished by seing the bad and the vic walk off scene and then either hearing a noise which sparks my imagination to fill in what happened OR by seeing a shadow or a spray of blood. give me just enough stimulous to trigger my mind inexorably rushing in to fill in the gaps and you can drive me under the covers.

The slicing jasmine scene was the first time i have seen the indirect horror technique used well in a long time. As it went along and the wounds became more lethal and her joyous laughter increased, it was as if evil steps out of the Tv and patted me on the shoulder and said "Howdy, how ya' doin'?"

I really loved the artistry.

and "oh crap" did not do bad either.

 

[Mallus]

I got a totally different image from that battle - it looked like Jasmine was taking the wounds onto herself - which would imply the minions weren't taking anything at all. When I saw the scene, I thought, "Oh, $^%&" - because the Fang Gang would have had no chance at all if they couldn't put down the opponents permanently. That's why she was laughing I think - she wasn't getting off on the power of death, she was laughing that the Fang Gang couldn't hurt her minions, and they were doomed and she knew it.

Okay, interesting take. But when she first used her followers as familiars, in the seance scene when they're searching for Fred, it looks like both she and her flaming minion get burned. And in this episode, its clear that she takes on Connor's wounds, and hers heal, but is it shown that his go away as well?

Let me be clear: I hope her followers stay wounded, and in fact die. It makes the horror of fighting her all the more intense and dramatic. Its a riskier move for the writers, but one that offers a far greater dramatic payoff.

 

[John Crichton]

Okay, interesting take. But when she first used her followers as familiars, in the seance scene when they're searching for Fred, it looks like both she and her flaming minion get burned. And in this episode, its clear that she takes on Connor's wounds, and hers heal, but is it shown that his go away as well?

Let me be clear: I hope her followers stay wounded, and in fact die. It makes the horror of fighting her all the more intense and dramatic. Its a riskier move for the writers, but one that offers a far greater dramatic payoff.

We'll find out in the next ep if she absorbs the wounds of the followers or not, I assume. While I would love to see the darker aspect and have people die, I don't think that's what the writers are going for.

 

[WizarDru]

Well, my hope for this season's ending, vain though it may be, is that it isn't erased from the minds of everyone but the cast. Jasmine has pretty much taken over California, and her power is continuing to grow. It's more difficult for the writers, but I'd love it if the rest of reality didn't turn a blind eye to the hell that LA has become in recent weeks, and the horror of Jasmine's power. But I suppose not turning back from all that is a terrible challenge in and of itself.

I am no convinced that Connor is set to be a recurring villain next year, and is pretty much not going to be a hero again...but I could be wrong. The writers continue to suprise me, and that's a good thing.

Oh, and kudos to Ben Edlund. If there was any question of his being a one-note wonder, I think this pretty much puts it to rest. (I hadn't seen the episode of Firefly he worked on, but he's kicked butt here. Obviously he's on the Joss' preferred list. ).

 

[Mallus]

While I would love to see the darker aspect and have people die, I don't think that's what the writers are going for.

Thinking about it more, you're probably right. But it just works so much better for me the other way; reinforcing Jasmine's utter evil, and brutally demonstrating to Team Angel that not everyone can be saved, and in this case, from them...

I love the way Joss takes the safety net away from fantasy. Its still an epic struggle between good and evil, right and wrong, but he and his team leave all the pain inherent in that struggle in... and it makes for powerful drama.

Okay, maybe a sewer strewn with the bodies of hapless soldiers and soccer moms might be a bit too much, but I can hope, can't I?