jackepstein

Now that Season 4 of Angel has finished, I went back and rewatched some of the episodes to gain added perspective of the season that was.

- The focus of the season changed way too many times. In the beginning, it seemed that the theme would be "father vs. son." Then it changed to "The Beast is going to kill us all", then "Cordelia is actually evil", then "Jasmine", and finally the Wolfram & Hart offer. I'm not complaining, but I think there was too much going on this season (as opposed to Buffy, where nothing really happened at all).

- When was the exact moment that Cordelia became "evil"? To me, it was a few episodes after she and Connor had sex, right around where Angel lost his soul.

- I hate the idea that EVERYTHING that happened in all 4 seasons was supposed to lead up to Jasmine's birth. It seems like something the writers came up with at the last minute. I liked the "world peace saving millions vs. Jasmine eating dozens" theory, tho.

- Connor being written off the show. I think they wrapped up his storyline nicely after realizing that he really wasn't as interesting a character as he should have been. There is no reason for him to return next year, but unfortunately, I feel he'll be making a few cameos.

- No more Angel Investigations? Obviously its a Wolfram & Hart setup. They're going to be season 5's Big Bad.

- The Beast died way too quickly and easily.

thats about all i can think off.
-r

Doughboy

Part of this is due to the writers having to alter the storyline after Charisma Carpenter became pregnant. They had to do the same thing in Season 2 when Julie Benz left to do the Glory Days pilot. Frankly, I think they did an outstanding job given the circumstances. And the pieces do fit together when you step back and look at the season as a whole.

The Beast was always meant to be the muscle, nothing more. Evil Cordy/Jasmine was the brains behind the operation. It's really not that complicated. Some of the actions taken by the Beast and Evil Cordy such as blotting out the sun and convincing the gang to extract Angel's soul would appear to contradict Jasmine's intentions, but the truth is all of the things that happened before her birth were meant to divert the gang's attention away from Evil Cordy and her pregnancy. That and attract all the demons to L.A. so Jasmine could eventually wipe them out.

As far as Wolfram & Hart resurfacing at the end of the season, that's meant as a lead-in to a potential 5th year. Plus, they helped bring Connor's storyline to a satisfying conclusion(something I never thought was possible earlier this season).

That's probably because it WAS brainstormed at the last minute. But again, it all seems to fit, so I ain't complaining. And I wouldn't say everything that's happened on Angel has been building up to Jasmine's birth. The events of the past two seasons, yes. But the first two years were much more character-driven.

I have to admit I was surprised that he died in the 13th episode, especially at the hands of Angelus(I guess removing his soul WAS a good idea!). But again, he's a mini-Bad and throughout the years, they've never lasted very long(the Anointed One, Mr. Trick, Prof. Walsh, Ubervamp, Sahjhan). The Beast was just the latest casualty.

Hey, I'll take too much plot over no plot any day of the week. The difference in quality between the two shows is almost laughable at this point.

das Monkey

I agree with most of that. I've gone on record (and upset a few friends ) with the opinion that this season wasn't the brilliant masterpiece they've proclaimed it to be. I like a lot of what they did, and I'm happy with the Connor resolution and the potential new direction for the show, but much of the season was very disjointed, and I agree that the focus shifted too frequently.

Boring points were dragged out too long, and some interesting points were resolved way too quickly. Overall, I felt it was a strong season but a flawed one. I felt myself watching many episodes from a distance, not completely engrossed like I normally would be. A bit too much meandering plot, and I too wonder if the writers weren't making some of it up as they went along. Everything made "sense" in most respects, but I would think with some planning, they could have presented it in a more coherent manner that flowed better.

All that being said, I enjoyed the season and look forward to another one that's not bogged down with all the annoying Cordy/Conner/Angel stuff.

das

nny

I almost hate to say this since Buffy has done nothing but drag this season, but they really should have dragged the Beast thing out longer. I really liked him as a villain and even though I liked how he was killed, it felt just as simple as how he died in the dream episode. The second half of this season was much weaker than the first half, but it was still my favorite show this season. Of course that's partly due to how much this tv season has sucked compared to the previous 2 seasons (the best 2 years of tv I've ever seen).

spainlinx0

Are those themes?

mdc3000

I think it was since she returned from the higher plane.. IE. ALL SEASON... it's just the full on evil was waiting to be unleashed, it was manipulating her, but it wasn't until she was pregnant that it could fully take over... but Cordy didn't **** Connor of her own free will...of this I am sure...

MATT

Nathan Gervais

as someone who has felt that seasons 2 & 3 of Angel were often all over the board, going from great TV to totally average...I am amazed by season 4. This year of Angel was as strong as the best seasons of Buffy....in spite of the fact that I always felt both the Gunn/Wesley/Fred & Angel/Cordy/Conner love triangles felt forced the show still managed to impress with its focus...while it appeared that the show did some jumping around it seemed pretty clear that the writing staff had an endgame in mind and stuck to their guns....this season had so many highs that it is easy to forgive the low points......I like how they threw in that everything from the past four years was leading up to Jasmine...it fits and it gives people a good context for viewing previous seasons when they hit DVD...as for Conner...he served his purpose and I would argue that all the mean things said about him just proves that the writers did their job....I'm not going to miss him having him around but he served his function which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of other characters running around TV....overall I'd give Angel S4 a B+...