I don't have a lot to say about the things I'm all confused and ambivalent about.
You probably all know I am deep and sticky with the Spike Love, so when I see him all old and wrong and old and get upset about this, it's not because I don't respect him, it's because I *do*. Spike is supposed to be 26 and beautiful forever.
I'm incredibly shallow. So the first summary for the ep I have is: Angel's hips and waist were incredibly slim. So why did his shirtless torso look so beefy?
Ambivalence again.
Spike huddling in on himself for no apparent reason. Annoying and distracting.
Unsurprising plot twist with Spike playing bad and serving good.
Spike & Fred. Sigh.
Spike's dialogue? Sucky.
Spike in Angel's bedroom: thank you.
Fred, telling Spike that he should go to *Wes*, because *Wes* is the *real* expert: YES, YES, YES. Please listen to her, you bleach-blond, shrimp-for-brains ectoplasmic-challenged berk. Please go lick Wes and make him your bitch, okay? Thanks.
Still no explanation of why Wes recongized Spike.
Gunn: very snazzy in his suit. Finally noticed and liked the hair this week. The whole "suddenly smart" deal? Sigh.
Lorne: non-entity.
Wes: not enough to do.
Angel & Spike: overused. Unsurprising.
Harmony this week? What. Ev. Er.
Spike & Angel's banter and issues? Predictable. Needed more wackiness, unexpectedness. The routine of Canon Bible is affecting the writers. They need to snap out of it, but it's probably too late for them. (Hope it's not too late for me. Is noir becoming boring and predictable? Must punch it a few times, try to mess it up.)
The idea of Spike with a death wish as rendered here: I am dubious, feeling dissatisfied. And then in fact he *really* wants to live. Or whatever. As
thebratqueen says so much better, what the fuck is this guy's motivation?The whole episode was like watching a tolerable writer work with tolerable material. Nothing exceptional, a few goodies tossed to the audience.
And oh my god--the dialogue looping? I know it wasn't just me and my transmission. Becaus Jesus Christ, it fucking sucked. It sucked *so* *fucking* *much*. Mostly on Spike's dialogue, but on several scenes w/Angel as well. That shit needs to stop right now.
Maybe I was too drunk to appreciate this episode. But I think I'm going to go to bed and fantasize about Eternally Young and Beautiful Spike with Tender Wes for a while.