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Angel
Hello again Angel Fans!!
This episode has received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative. My Buffy-reviewing counterpart Savoir Vivre didn’t like it at all, and there are those like me who were just glad to see this much Fred in one episode. However, as any good reporter should be, I’m going to be as objective as possible and give you the good & the bad about last week's episode...
"Fredless"
Season III, Episode 5
Written by Mere Smith
Directed by Marita Grabiak
This episode has a really basic premise. Fred was lost in Pylea for 5 years. When she got back, she wrote her parents a letter telling them that she is okay, but not to come looking for her. They ignore her request, hire a private investigator and trace her to the Angel Investigations Hotel. When Fred finds out that they’ve found her, she freaks out and splits.
So let’s backtrack a bit. We begin with Angel returning from his rendezvous with Buffy, and taking Fred out for some ice cream. While enjoying a nice Haggen Daaz, they’re attacked by a demon that usually never comes above ground. They give chase into the sewers, and we catch up with Fred talking to Angel as he searches. One of the best lines comes in this scene, as Fred finds the sewers very comfortable and homey, and tells Angel that she “could build a condo” down there. After they find the demon’s lair, Angel sends her back to the hotel and heads in to take care of business.
While they’re out chasing demons, Wes, Gunn & Cordy are paid a visit by Rodger & Trish Burkle, Fred’s parents. As they are telling Wes, Cordy & Gunn about how they came to find out that Fred was at Angel Investigations, Fred walks in and sees them. As I said above, she freaks out and hightails it on to the streets, by herself.
She heads to Caritas, where we find the bar still in shambles, and Lorne in a robe. She begs him for help, even though it’s obvious that he’s not too thrilled about the intrusion. We get to see an interesting side of Lorne here, a darker side brought out by the invasion of his club and his solace. It’s a very intriguing development. Meanwhile, Angel is down in the sewers and Wes, Gunn, Cordy & Fred’s parents are searching at the library where Fred used to work. With no luck there, they too decide to pay Lorne a visit.
Lorne is no happier to see the Angel Investigations crew than he was to see Fred, especially Gunn. He has a great scene where we get a glimpse into his point of view when he tells Angel that he’s not a “vending machine” there to spit out an answer whenever anyone needed it. However, he breaks down and tells them to find Fred on the run at the bus station.
The bus station scene was the best part of the episode in my opinion. We see Fred break down in tears as she conveys the fear that while she’s repressed all of her nightmarish memories from Pylea, the fact that she’s home with her parents after 5 long years only proves that yes, it was real, and yes, she did go through it. The monster she’s been running from is not her parents, but the reality that they bring with their presence. The bittersweet reunion is quickly brought to a halt however, as a HUGE bug attacks the group that not even Angel is able to stop, until Ma Burkle brings her bus driving skills into play and runs the giant insect over.
Once the excitement is over and everyone is safely back at the hotel, friendships are solidified, and Fred makes a difficult decision. She’s going to return home to Texas with her parents. She and Angel have a wonderful moment as she explains how she’s created a cave at the hotel much like the one in Pylea, hoping that “the handsome man” would save her from her solitude again. A long goodbye is given, and Fred leaves. Followed closely by an army of giant insects intent on killing the Angel Investigations crew. How it ends – you’ll have to watch to find out. And don’t worry; the re-runs will start soon enough!
This episode was both good and bad in quite a few ways. As I said above, I’ll try to be as objective as I can, being the Fredaholic that I am. There were some excellent scenes that truly showed what great characters the show is developing. Lorne and Fred both showed amazing emotion and depth, fear and longing. Lorne seems to be transitioning, and to what I’m not sure. He’s not happy about what has happened to Caritas and it’s taking a toll on his well being. Fred is showing her true nature finally. She’s taken a bigger step back into reality, and while she may still have a bit of the spaz in her that we all love, she still shows that her mind is as sharp as ever, ready to tackle whatever technical problems she may face.
One of the things that I didn’t like was the immediate transition of Fred’s parents. One minute they’re skeptical, worried about their daughter and ready to call the LAPD. The next, they’re fighting demons side by side with a vampire without a blink. THEN, once it’s all over, they sit around and make jokes while Fred packs to go. But with only an hour to play with minus commercial time, I can understand that they didn’t have the ability to write them the way that they probably wanted to. The good-bye scene was also dragged out a bit. It got a little too sappy for my tastes, but overall I thought the episode was solid.
I hope to see more of Fred’s blossoming character, and intrigued by Lorne’s bad attitude. Let’s see what we’ll find out when the guys go anti-woman this week in “Billy”!
Episode Rating: 7 out of 10
- The guy who would rather have a spring loaded decapitation device than a toaster, PunkJr
