Didn't hate it. Far from loving it. Wasn't scary. Pacing slow, DB's hair painfully dyed, opportunities wasted. When did ME become unable to juggle multiple character or plot arcs, or to insert easter eggs into the A-plot? I remember the many moments of character development and incredible revelations that were peppered throught an episode like "Hush" and I grrrrrrrrrrowl. Or in "Where the Wild Things Are" when we pause to contemplate everyone's reactions to Giles singing. (I'm going back to BtVS not to draw comparisons between the two shows--because I had issues with, you know, the suck that was S7 Buffy too--but because the material is more accessible to off-the-cuff memory.) It's like, everyone is static while we focus on the plot-of-the-week. Same last week with the werewolf. What's going on with Wes and Gunn? Even Fred's development has been derailed in service of plotwork. She is research girl. See her be tired. See her slump and walk in an ungainly fashion and sigh and promise to eat and sleep. Thrilling.
I didn't consider anything of Gunn's dealings in the white room character-furthering, by the way. Mostly they just give us tiny meaningless crumbs: Gunn with his passing reference to having a lot of law jammed in his head (we *know* that already!), Wes making little remarks to convey his Fred-appreciation (get *over* it already). The only meaty character exploration in the ep was Angel-Spike, and that was okay. Not especially exciting in any way to me, but okay.
Also, none of these people interact with other characters a whole lot. They've moved out of the Hyperion, but they're still isolated. And I know you're all like: huh? What about Knox, Anna? What about Eve and the psychic and the big loony ghost from last night's ep who Angel taunts at the end? But those interactions are facile and expedient to plot--there's nothing especially interesting about any of that, nobody playing in and out of the episodes, and off of the main characters like Forrest and Graham, Dr. Walsh, Larry, Amy, Ethan, Jenny, Principals Flutie & Snyder, Jonathan, Clem, Mr. Trick, even that guy Faith killed who always had such pricelessly nervous expressions around the Mayor. Where are the all the underlings and assistants and otherwise little people that the ex-A.I. gang depend on when they conduct their daily business?
Pacing slow. Lots of atmosphere shots, which were nice, but...eh. And the graphic and disturbing content and nudity? Oh. Please. They--I suppose we can blame the network--were so obviously trying to garner attention with those elaborate warnings, which were entirely unwarranted for that material. Whatever.
Cranky!Anna. I'm only just waking up.
They did light JM well for most of the ep, right up until his last scene with AA. For that I was grateful. Wes was fucking gorgeous and they wasted him so utterly I could weep and kill tiny underlings in a fit of frustrated rage.
Basically, as a 45-minute chunk of television, it lacked complexity. I want more from ME. I may end up living in dreamland all season.
ETA: Also, that Reaper guy? So not scary. That guy was like the PG Disney version of scary. The big, dopey, lisping villain who stalks the eight-year-olds and makes them scatter and run and then gets a goofy expression of thwarted rage and surprise on his face when the kids fight back and he steps into the rope trap and is hauled up by one foot to swing and howl. He was like those villains in "Home Alone."
Lame.