Angel (April 9) Spoilers

[Welverin]

Uhm an old friend that I don't see that often and I won't see for some time now that he's off to spend most of his time in Poland. But I do wish I had been able to spend time watching Angel.

Just to be clear, that part wasn't to be taken seriously.

 

[WizarDru]

The way it started out, I was thinking "This is cheesey..." but by the end, it was more like, "This is creepy..." Very nice overall. Poor Fred. Anyone else yell at her to run for her life after she told Wes her thoughts?

That would be me, sitting there saying: "No, Fred. Fred. No. Leave Fred. Leaving is still an option. Leave now, Fred. Fred. LEAVE."

So what does she do? Picks up a crossbow and takes the shot. Credit for guts, I'll give her that.

And now, with Angel next week, every single guy on the show has macked on her. (and understand, I'm not disagreeing with the choice, just marvelling at it.)

The brilliance of it was that, out of context, you would have a hard time understanding why anyone would fear Jasmine. She appears to be like a benevolent, loving diety, who encourages with love and unity and sends her warriors to stop evil monsters. In short, a regular D&D good-aligned god. But we know she's not..she's horribly evil, and her acting so good is just the depth of her evil. That single shot was really well done. Gah.

Personally, I think she's starting by eliminating any potential competition, and by gathering the good guys around her, she can use their power for whatever she plans on doing. Once you have control of the world, you can start twisting, little by little, until you've made a mockery of everything you claimed you were doing in the first place. It's worked for real world dictators since the dawn of time, after all, why not her?

The riddles I really want answered are: What part does/is Angel to play in Jasmine's plan? Obviously, Cordievil wanted Angelus and wanted eternal night. Why? To make an obvious common threat to bolster her campaign against "evil"?

 

[Umbran]

The brilliance of it was that, out of context, you would have a hard time understanding why anyone would fear Jasmine. She appears to be like a benevolent, loving diety, who encourages with love and unity and sends her warriors to stop evil monsters.

You forgot a major clause in that sentence: "...who encourages with love and unity, and by robbing her followers of free will..."

Even out of context, devotion beyond a certain point is a pretty big signal that something is wrong. Not that the sane people in the Buffyverse ever have a chance to notice

 

[WizarDru]

You forgot a major clause in that sentence: "...who encourages with love and unity, and by robbing her followers of free will..."

Even out of context, devotion beyond a certain point is a pretty big signal that something is wrong. Not that the sane people in the Buffyverse ever have a chance to notice

Well sure, but if you didn't see the part where they suddenly all became devoted to her, it would appear far less sinister. Identifying with something greater than yourself is a classic human trait...and if you could accept that Jasmine was a messiah-like being, their devotion to her would be swell. I mean, the bible is full of tales of the faithful being knocked around and then being thankful for the privelege. If you take Jasmine's tale to be true, then she's just so wonderful to behold, all doubt is swept away.

Unfortunately, so is all reason, as we've seen. I only wish it took an incredibly powerful Cthulu-like being to entrance people so, instead of the far more mundane and chilling Pohl Pots and David Koreshs of the world.

I also note that you used the words 'sane people' and 'Buffyverse' in the same sentence, obviously a big signal itself.

 

[Lucius Foxhound]

And now, with Angel next week, every single guy on the show has macked on her. (and understand, I'm not disagreeing with the choice, just marvelling at it.)

You're right! Who would have thought that Fred would get passed around Angel investigations? Connor's next, I guess.

Of course Cordy's gotten it on with as many people ... since Wes and Cordelia had a thing on Buffy, and, of course, Angel and Connor...

 

[Nightfall]

Just to be clear, that part wasn't to be taken seriously.

Sorry Wel. I misread that. My bad. And you're right.

 

[Welverin]

Sorry Wel. I misread that. My bad. And you're right.

It's alright. If I didn't disdain using smillies so much it would have been more obvious.

 

[Pielorinho]

think they only showed the face once the whole episode. The first time fred saw. And I about flipped backward off the couch, even though I expected her to look all evil, because I didn't know it was coming right then. Even later, when fred was looking at Jasmine, they just showed Gina Torres. Which made it more disturbing, because with repetition you'd get used to it seeing it really. Just imagining it, it gets worse every time I mentally see it. Ugh. And every time they showed the normal lady, you're imagining the face. Bloody brilliant cinematography, really. Less is indeed more.

This was my favorite thing about the episode, a marvelous decision about pacing.

You go into it, and Jasmine's being all sweetness and light, and you're thinking, "Holy crap! She's evil, but what's her scheme?" And the nicer she is, the tenser you get, and you keep waiting for the other shoe to drop, but you have no idea what the other shoe is going to be.

And then, about halfway through the episode, in a calm, light-looking scene, when your guard is down,

THAT FACE!!!!!

pops up on the screen. And it's up there long enough for you to to take a good look at it, to scream, "Holy crap!!!" again, to leap over your couch to hide behind it

-- and then it's gone. And every time they cut back to Jasmine, you keep thinking, "please don't show that face," but you're also kind of hoping they do show the face because you want to make sure you actually saw it.

And for the rest of the episode, you're thinking the same thing. One of the tensest bits of storytelling I've encountered.

Good stuff!
Daniel

 

[Merlion]

I really enjoyed this episode. The Buffyverse has never really done the whole mind control thing before...and rarely done the evil in a good seeming package thing. Very nice.
And yes the face....and the way they did it...some of the best plotting/pacing in buffyverse history. Especialy the fact that they didnt actualy show it again.
I always thought Fred would be the first one to break free. She's highly intelligent and percpetive....however I think you guys might be right about the blood(although I like the naming idea too...however...we dont actualy know who gave her the name Jasmine).
As to who and what she is...well if Angel and Buffy really are going to merge for the Buffy finish my guess would be that she's a part of the First incarnated. She can establish an army in LA while Buffy deals with its phantoms in sunnydale.

 

[Umbran]

Re: don't be afraid this is just a reference to V:tM

It's Jasmine?s blood.

It may be the blood. I was not watching closely enough, it that does require that Fred does not look upon Jasmine between starting to clean teh shirt and seeing that face...

It may also be Fred's supposition - insanity. her particular insanity, back when she first joined the show, manifested largely as obsessive-compulsive behavior. And, lo, when she starts exhibiting that behavior again, kerplooie!

The blood's a bit easier to come by, though, so it is easier to get people out from under her spell...