I guess Eve wasn't enough to put Angel into a perfectly blissful state (even with Lorne's demonic directive) to bring Angelus back.

I agree this season has been very disappointing, Spike is being wasted. The only thing I really like on the Show are Wesley and Fred, I say give them there own show.

A quick lay won't bring on perfect bliss. The only times he's experienced perfect bliss was with people he loved.

Man, you guys have some seriously high expectations for this show. I think they're doing fine so far. Yeah, if the entire season is like this, I'll be a little disappointed, but I really doubt that. Story arcs are Joss Whedon's signature. There may not be a large story arc that covers the entire season, but I think we're being setup for one - the whole W&H thing is one big setup for a whopper of a storyline. We're just not privy to what it is yet. Relax and enjoy the shows for now.

My thoughts exactly. The saving grace for me was seeing my Angel almost-naked. Drool.

I'm hoping so, but after the mess that was Season 7 of Buffy, I think we're all entitled to be a bit worried.

Are you all mad? I thought was EASILY the best episode of the season so far. Why? Because it's the first one where they didn't shuttle half of the cast to the back... hell, most of the eps this season Wesley, Gunn, and Lorne have been practically glorified cameos in their own show. This ep gave everyone something to do, and even found room for newcomers Spike, Eve, and Harmony as well. As for Spike being pushed into the back... good! I love Spike, but there's no reason he should hog the limelight every week like he did for awhile on Buffy.

I thought this show was somewhat obnoxious and the story was dull - and we have too much Lorne to thank for that. The gang needs to get out and about and kick some ass. The sooner the better.

Ok, but when? We are about a quarter of the way through the season already, so if the arc ever starts, I promise you we will probably be complaining about JW trying to cram it into the end of the season like the writers did for Nip/Tuck.

As for the ratings being up, I would be willing to be that the increase in new viewers are just Buffy fans who never watched Angel and since Buffy if gone they need their fix for the Buffy/Angel universe or for Spike. I could be wrong, but people don't all of a sudden start watching a show in the fifth season and continue watching it when absolutely nothing is happening.

The show has lost is focus, and I understand how some might not like the constant dark feel to the show, and that is fine. Use Gunn, Harmony or Spike to lighten the mood and stop turning Angel into a sniffling dweeb.

I will continue to watch just because I have watched every season of Buffy and Angel, but I am really disappointed right now.

I enjoyed this episode , was fun and yes Eve was hot!

i think things are just warming up before the serious nasty stuff starts

I think it's important to explore the environment of Wolfram and hart before any possible big bad is introduced

Hulk Lorne was so cool ! imagine if the gang could learn to control him and when they needed backup, they just take away Lorne's sleep !

Ratings being up is very cool

Looking back at, arguably, Buffy's best two seasons, two and three, the main storylines didn't kick into gear until the second half of the seasons.



Maybe, at this point in Angel, they're just buidling the new "AI runs W&H" paradigm until they really start to tear shit up in the second half of the season. Or not.

Not much in terms of plot, but really dang funny IMO! Gunn "marking his territory" in Angel's office was hilarious.

Also, drunken Fred is hot!

I disagree. The storylines were there and developing for most of the season. What you are talking about it the appearance of one of the "Big Bads".



I don't mind if the big bad doesn't show up until the last 8 or so episodes, but the previous 14 must establish the groundwork for that arc. Otherwise we just have another season six of Buffy on our hands.

I'm considering deleting my season pass. I thought I did last week, but I must not of since it taped anyway. To me, this is just a blah show now--sort of a vampire sit-com that tells a story in 1 hour that could have been told in a half hour. I really hope it gets better since I used to love the show.

tasha

I agree with this, but isn't "the Angel team working for Wolfram & Hart" probably the 'groundwork' you speak of? I know in those seasons it was hard to ascertain where things were headed after only five episodes. Only in hindsight could we see how cleverly they had stacked the cards.

Pretty much what I was getting at.

Like in BTVS S3, Faith came in in the third episode, and we knew she was a liar with responsibility issues, but didn't know where it was going. It wasn't until "Bad Girls" and "Consequences" that the show got a kick in the ass.

From what I've read, the Angel gang seems to be a little too comfy at W+H, and none of them really seem to be asking "What the **** are doing, working for the enemy?"

So maybe -- MAYBE -- something is going to happen in the second half of the season that gives the arc a big kick in the ass.

And, I look at Faith's fall from grace as being a big theme in the third season of BTVS. Faith was brought in to be Buffy's equal and opposite, sort of a "road not taken." She is Buffy's dark mirror, what, under different circumstances, she could have become. The confrontation between Buffy and Faith in the penultimate episode -- "Graduation Day Part One" -- essentially asks the question of how far will Buffy go. The theme of killing a (hu)man essentially changing one's character was brought up during the "Bad Girls"/"Consequences" affair, and then echoed again as Buffy was going off to confront Faith. (re: the conversation with Xander in the cage).

The Mayor -- and don't get me wrong, I love the guy -- was really secondary to the overall plot.

Yeah, I always thought of Faith as Buffy without the support system (which is why Buffy probably has lasted a lot longer than most slayers).

But on a side tangent, I think I'd rather have my ass kicked by Faith than Buffy...