Well...that was a bear. I hope you enjoy. Taking a day and then starting in on...The Body. Yay? Jack and I will also be setting up the next rewatch stream and discussion of the Pylea arc. Details on that soon, after which the rewatches and Patron hangouts will be covering Firefly before we come back to Buffy/Angel Season 6/3. Link to Patreon if you'd care to join in on that: www.patreon.com/passionofthenerd Cheers, all. More soon.
I'm watching both shows with my Buffy-naive friends. Been nagging them for years to watch it, and I'm so glad to be able to share this with them. Today, we are watching The Body. Please sent tissues. And Ian, you've been able to elevate both shows for me beyond where they already stood on it's own, which isn't an easy feat as I'm sure you know. Thank you for all of your insights over the years. It's been like therapy for the soul. I am wishing you all the best for your analysis of The Body - as a long-time viewer, I know this is a particularly hard one for you. I am however looking forward to your work about it. Armed with tissues, of course.
Just curious. I know the thought process for these essays is a bit time consuming. But I was wondering why you seem to take so much longer doing these videos than the others you do? Is it personal preference? Life finding a way?
Kate's drugs of despair are from MANNERS pharmacy at the same time Angel is drowning in the despair given him by Holland Manners in the elevator. Damn that's good and I never noticed!
Your analysis about how there always has to be another apocalypse and how adulthood equals hitting the same beats over and over - I think maybe I finally get why the series finale had to end the way it ends
Exactly! It is the PERFECT final episode to this show, and as for the final line of the series... well, the only other final line in the same league is the final line of Firefly, which is also a Whedon show.
Season 2 of Angel is so incredibly underrated, I feel like this last stretch of episodes is a wild ride from beginning to end, and that includes Pylea, it's my favorite part of the series
personally I found the whole Darla shit in s2 so dull, and this episode especially I hated. the whole "hell is REAL LIFE" thing is so fucking corny. Pylea is great though
@@thebasedgodmax1163 your hatred of this is noted. But the “I found it dull & I HATED it” is projection, eh? 😂😂 But, if you don’t get it, philosophically, or with a sense of the prosaic or poetic elements, then none of the show’ll benefit you. Stay with computer games & The Blacklist: come back when you’re 30 in about 12 years because you fail to appreciate deep sadness & triumphing, thru hard work, over pedestrian… evil….or it is this to you, anyway. 😂
I think I was too young when I watched it for the first time, I didn’t get it and I always hated an anti climax. Now as an adult in my mid 30s this season smacks you in the face and I feel it so much more.
Yep.... the smugness of Manners ending with "..... they'd all be Angels." and the irony of that in the scene just hits me like a bomb.... its one of the best moments of writing in the entire Whedonverse, as high a bar as that is.
Angel has said Darla doesn't make him happy, and he knows the curse isn't about $ex. The parallels between Angel and Buffy are also interesting, they were both depressed and pursued by soulless blonde vampires, which led to unhealthy relationships
As one who exists perpetually on the verge of taking my ball & going home, that Elementary monologue just hits deep man. Oddly enough, it’s only balanced by the idea that, “if nothing we do matters, than all that matters is what we do” (go figure).
Hey Ian, from the couple who ran into you at the apartment complex, I just wanted to leave a comment saying thank you again for being kind enough to talk to my Girlfriend and I. These videos have been a really important part of our relationship as has Buffy/Angel. It was really exciting getting to meet you and I apologize if it was uncomfortable or if we blindsided you yesterday. It meant a lot to us and felt like a very weird coincidence for us and made our week. Thanks again, Kam and Holly.
Honestly, this video's timing has been incredibly apt. I've just come off a really rough two-month stretch and I'm trying to commit to getting back up again. It always feels like the hundredth time. This chunk of the season has already helped me through the worst period of my life, and this video coming out now, on what feels like day one of trying to put myself back together, feels very fitting.
What I like about Whedon's work is that he's fine with letting the Bad Guys get one up on the heroes... permanently. Holland Manners was smugly dancing around Angel for 2 years, and then I was so stoked when Angel threw his "and yet somehow, I just can't seem to care" words back in his face when he locked them in that cellar..... only for Holland to come back just a couple episodes later and completely shatter Angel entirely in one elevator ride. Wild.
Holland: *Slow sarcastic clapping* Congratulations. Great victory. Angel: You're... Holland: Holland Manners. Angel: Not alive. Holland: Oh no. I'm quite dead. Unfortunately, my contract with Wolfram and Hart extends well beyond that. Hop on in. You certainly earned it. *Angel gets in the elevator* Holland: *Laughs* No, not a ghost either. It's just me. Dead me. *Shows vampire bites on his neck* See? Home Office, wasn't it? I should mention the trip is one way. Well, if there are no objections, I suggest we get going. It's rather a long ride. *Holland pushes the Down button* Holland: Well, this is exciting, isn't it? Going straight to the source. So, what's the big plan, Angel? Destroying the senior partners? Smash Wolfram and Hart once and for all? Angel: Something like that. Holland: Mm-hmm. Now tell me just what do you imagine that that would accomplish, in the end, I mean? Angel: It'll be the end. Holland: Well, the end of you, certainly. But I meant in the larger sense. Angel: In the larger sense, I really don't give a crap. Holland: Now, I don't think that's true. Be honest. You've got the tiniest bit of "give a crap" left. Otherwise you wouldn't be going on this kamikaze mission. Now, let me see, there was something in a sacred prophecy. Some oblique reference to you. Something you're supposed to prevent. Now, what was that? Angel: The apocalypse. Holland: Yes, the apocalypse, of course. Another one of those. Well, it's true, we do have one scheduled. And I imagine if you were to prevent it you would save a great many people. Well, you should do that then. Absolutely. I wasn't thinking. Of course, all those people you save from that apocalypse will then have the next one to look forward to but, hey, it's always something, isn't it? Angel: You're not gonna win. Holland: Well, no, of course we aren't. We have no intention of doing anything so prosaic as winning. *Laughs* Angel: Then why? Holland: Hmm? I'm sorry? Why what? Angel: Why fight? Holland: That's really the question you should be asking yourself, isn't it? See, for us, there is no fight which is why winning doesn't enter into it. We...go on, no matter what. Our firm has always been here in one form or another. The Inquisition. Khmer Rouge. We were there when the very first caveman clubbed his neighbor. See, we're in the hearts and minds of every single living being. And that, friend, is what's making things so difficult for you. See, the world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us. *Elevator stops and doors open* Holland: Welcome to the Home Office. Angel: This isn't... Holland: Well, you know it is. You know that better than anyone. The things you've seen. The things you've, well...done. You see, if there wasn't evil in every single one of them out there why, they wouldn't be people. They'd all be angels. *Angel drops the Glove and walks out of the elevator* Holland: *Doors closing* Have a nice day.
Both the commentary and the editing on this episode are absolutely stellar. Genuine chills. I've been watching since the Buffy Guide began and I'm always delighted when a new episode appears in my subscriptions.
I also found the elevator scene anti-climactic on first viewing. But on some level, something about the hopeless inevitability of it must’ve stuck because 25 years later, I still remember everything about where I was when I first saw it. There are moments in the show that had more emotional impact on me, but none that stuck quite the same way.
Angel: If nothing matters, all that matters is what we do. Also Angel: It doesn't matter. None of it matters. Love that you pointed out that line of him losing site of his own lesson learned.
Reprise may be my all time favorite episode. There's something to the whole elevator ride that just hits me in the right spot to feel truly honest about the world that they exist in. Saving the world is a grind. It's a job. No matter how much you love that job, it never ends, never stops, and never completes. There's always more work to do. There's always a spike in annoyance due to the work. The only thing you can do is find some way to keep going and hold tight to the things that make that grind worth it.
I find it interesting that Buffy has those big moments episodes and we can easily point to the best and most memorable parts of the series, but Angel as a series kinda blends together and it's hard to pick out THOSE episodes or moments. I watched Angel shortly after hs and it was one of the first non comedy shows I watched on my own, so I missed a lot of the metaphors and wish I could rewatch the show without knowing all the spoilers, but that elevator scene is definitely one of those moments for the series that I remember watching and feeling that sinking feeling with Angel
I've been watching since, the witch? Such a long ride. I love the anti-climax of this episode. It's probably the most relatable thing in the sense of for all we go through and deal with, the world still ticks by. There's no big epic battle to end all battles. I always get excited when a new guide drops. Can't wait for the next....... oh.........oooh....... wait........
I love the Elementary quote you used at the end. I watch it from time to time, especially when I struggle with my own issues with depression and the downward spirals I feel that result from it. Great work with this guide, as always.
As a medium term subscriber I can’t wait till we get to the 5th season, it’s always stuck me as an epilogue for the Buffyverse that was made in good faith but with some serious flaws.
Reprise is a title thats a play on Buffys episode Surprise. In which theres a certain soul losing act thats mirrored inversely on Angel. Where in a sense here he is resouled, coming out of the darkness, having an epiphany and getting back on the righteous path.
This and Epiphany are my favorite episodes. The quote Angel says at the end of Epiphany is something I think about often. Such a powerful quote. Great video as always, excited to see your Epiphany guide :)
I was looking to see if anyone had touched on this. Ian does go into the parallels that are set up between the two episodes, but not the way that they're presaged by the title.
The discover of the Home Office.. there is such a truth to it where it hits me to be relatable to Dark Angel’s character.. where you at times just become exhausted with all the hopelessness that comes with the territory. Thankfully there are people who care about you to pull you back out.
Kate's voicemail to Angel is devastating, but also so interesting to unpack. I always found it kind of shocking that he ignores it, despite - as his actions in 'Epiphany' prove - knowing what it meant. But she says: "You made me believe". For Angel, that same quote could apply to any number of things: Buffy, the Higher Powers, his team, the Shanshu Prophecy, Darla, Wolfram & Hart... Him turning off her voicemail is obviously evidence of his belief, in that moment, of how meaningless it is whether someone lives or dies, but I think there's probably a silent line Angel says to himself when he presses the button: "Yeah? Join the club..."
I’ve been subscribed since early into the Buffy Season 3 analysis I’d fallen off a Buffy watch through early into season 6 years before that and never gave Angel a proper shot. Then I got to one of your Top Tens where you discussed this very episode (and Epiphany). That was when I knew I needed to go back and actually finish both of these shows to fully engage with the material you’d presented. Now we’re back here at those episodes proper and it’s honestly cathartic. Even as certain real world truths speak to a darkness from the making of these shows, this channel is as much a reason the Buffyverse means so much to me as anyone responsible for making it. Take care of yourself, Ian See you next video
Other than Not Fade Away this is my favorite Angel episode, so much development and so many things happen. That Holland Manners speech I think, sets the tone for the rest of the series. This is one of the top 3 Episodes in either Buffy or Angel. It's amazing.
The only DVDs I have left after leaving almost everything behind and the only reason I have a DVD player in my custom computers. Angel and Buffy. And one Christmas gift Cowboy Bebop. And once again, need to re watch this. This time to prepare for Halloween.
Wow. You've made a lot of excellent episodes Ian, but I think this might be my favourite so far, just excellent work. And jesus christ the drugs coming from Manner's pharmacy...
Great video as always, I've been watching these along with my rewatch of buffy and angel and there's so many things i hadn't noticed. what you said about the title was interesting, and some of i'd missed. I was pondering it earlier. in addition to what you said there's also an implied trilogy with Reunion and Redefinition, as well as it sounding like, and paralleling the ending of 'Surprise' and reprise itself is often used in music for a tonal shifted variant of an earlier song in the same album/musical/whatever. thanks again, sad I've nearly run out of guides to watch for now, can't wait to see the next.
The one-two punches of I WAS MADE TO LOVE YOU and THE BODY with REPRISE and EPIPHANY are just the pinnacle of what this world has to offer. Such bold sentiments of and explorations of the human condition. Grief, monotony, loneliness, goodness. So overwhelming how perfect they are.
I've said it before I think, but these kinda help more than therapy ever did EDIT: For ME. Because my history with therapy sucks. If you need therapy, go. Therapy is good.
Thanks for the wonderful episode, Ian. I really admire your commitment to this series. I know interests change and the temptation to drop current videos for others must always be there. So I appreciate and celebrate your hard work and focus.
This is one of the episodes I remember not quite "getting" as a teenager initially - but still there was this feeling that I was watching something really profound. Now, on each rewatch I discover something new, it just keeps getting better and better. Can't wait for your take on "The Body" (another stunner in the Buffyverse)
Tim Minear is the credited writer (or co-writer) of The Prodigal, Are You Now..., Darla, The Trial, Reunion, Reprise and Epiphany. We might say that he did for Angel what Whedon did in Buffy's Prophecy Girl, When She Was Bad, Lie to Me, Innocence and Becoming.
One of the most profound philosophical quotes from Angel is "If in the end nothing we do matters, than everything we do matters right now, today ". This quote has never been soo true to me in regards to professionalism and being a self aware adult.
We finally made it, the moment I've been waiting for for literal years. Possibly the best moment I've ever seen in television. And I've been so excited to see your take on it...gah I can't wait until next episode
Wow, so many things I didn't realise, Kate being a mirror to Angel, Manners pharmacy?! The theme of relearning the same lessons in adulthood and the ongoing struggle to overcome them again and again and again. Brilliant stuff. It reminds me of the Buffy quote "it's funny how you can see someone and not really see them..." as you say, sometimes we need a Kate in our lives to point out these things and then bam, epiphany.
Every single one of your videos is absolutely worth the wait. Thank you for sharing with us. I often find new layers to appreciate about what is probably my favourite show of all time.
For half of your episode i was thinking about that scene from elementary. It is such a simple yet powerful scene, that fits perfectly in this context. The mundane grind bringing all of us, not just people addicted to someting, but every adult down, scratching away our motivation step by step, while you hope for an emotional epiphany, that may never come.
A wonderful episode and a wonderful analysis of it's significance and re-assertion of the key themes of the show. This episode is one I recall enjoying on first viewing as a teenager for the dark story and twist ending, but I never gave it any deeper meaning. Rewatching as a 36 year old is a totally different experience and your video perfectly encapsulates this. As you've shown many times with these videos, Buffy is an adolescent growing up metaphor and maybe that's why it has more critical and mass appeal than Angel, especially all these years later. Its easier and, at least early on, more black and white, unambiguous. But Angel is the show about just how difficult it is to get through this thing called life. It's hard, it's often mundane, unfulfilling, pointless, and it's every single day. Something I hadn't really considered before is that the occasionally repetitive storytelling throughout the course of the show is entirely intentional and reflective of this endlessly monotonous daily grind of life that we've all experienced, and will again (and again and again). There may be better episodes, there may be more deeply moving and emotional episodes (hello season 5, you know the one) but I don't think there is a better mission statement for the entire show than what this episode (and the next) represents. Angel's conversation with Kate in the next episode contains perhaps my favourite line in the entire Buffyverse because its the most simple, human statement of just getting on with life and doing the best you can, because what else is there? What else matters?
It’s interesting. The reason Angel gives Darla for why he’s finally succumb to being with her (“I just want to feel something besides the cold”) is the same reason Buffy gives Spike for why she finally succumbs to him in season 6 (“This isn’t real, but I just want to feel”). There’s probably a good amount of parallels between Angel/ Darla and Buffy/ Spike (in their toxic era) that I never noticed before
Oh my goodness. Got the Griffiths Observatory/ Red Jacket/ James Dean connection from my very first run through 20 years ago, and yet.... WITHOUT A CAUSE. How did I not see that 🤦♂️
If Buffy is about struggling to become an adult, is Angel about choosing your own purpose for adulthood? He, as the protagonist, fights so hard to find meaning, only to see each one be hollow. We work so hard to become "an adult", and then we get there and realize we don't feel any different, we're just now in charge. Things we believed in, can't stand up to scrutiny (shanshu). We try to be good people and fail in moments of weakness or exhaustion. We do something we think will be funny or trite (speaking latin in front of the books) and it turns out to have serious consequences... I guess they're showing one has to find their own reason to keep pushing the rock up the hill, because letting it roll crashing down over others is easier. And the best we can do is to surround ourselves with others who will prop us up on our individual boulder rolling missions.
Well...that was a bear. I hope you enjoy.
Taking a day and then starting in on...The Body.
Yay?
Jack and I will also be setting up the next rewatch stream and discussion of the Pylea arc. Details on that soon, after which the rewatches and Patron hangouts will be covering Firefly before we come back to Buffy/Angel Season 6/3.
Link to Patreon if you'd care to join in on that: www.patreon.com/passionofthenerd
Cheers, all. More soon.
I'm watching both shows with my Buffy-naive friends. Been nagging them for years to watch it, and I'm so glad to be able to share this with them.
Today, we are watching The Body. Please sent tissues.
And Ian, you've been able to elevate both shows for me beyond where they already stood on it's own, which isn't an easy feat as I'm sure you know. Thank you for all of your insights over the years. It's been like therapy for the soul. I am wishing you all the best for your analysis of The Body - as a long-time viewer, I know this is a particularly hard one for you. I am however looking forward to your work about it. Armed with tissues, of course.
I just wanted to thank you ive been going through it lately and this video and all your videos help remind that the fight that is everyday is worth it
Just curious. I know the thought process for these essays is a bit time consuming. But I was wondering why you seem to take so much longer doing these videos than the others you do? Is it personal preference? Life finding a way?
@@defrostedrobot77 , Undo it! Undo it!
Take care of yourself when working on The Body 🤎
Kate's drugs of despair are from MANNERS pharmacy at the same time Angel is drowning in the despair given him by Holland Manners in the elevator. Damn that's good and I never noticed!
Your analysis about how there always has to be another apocalypse and how adulthood equals hitting the same beats over and over - I think maybe I finally get why the series finale had to end the way it ends
Exactly! It is the PERFECT final episode to this show, and as for the final line of the series... well, the only other final line in the same league is the final line of Firefly, which is also a Whedon show.
Guess this is a good time to reference the name of a book from Star Trek. "The Never-Ending Sacrifice".
@@cirrustate8674 yet they continued it in comics.
@@yardknight4953 And thus ruined a perfect work of art
Now let's go to work
Season 2 of Angel is so incredibly underrated, I feel like this last stretch of episodes is a wild ride from beginning to end, and that includes Pylea, it's my favorite part of the series
I can't decide whether Season 2 or Season 5 is my favourite Season of Angel, they're equally perfect imo
personally I found the whole Darla shit in s2 so dull, and this episode especially I hated. the whole "hell is REAL LIFE" thing is so fucking corny. Pylea is great though
@@thebasedgodmax1163 your hatred of this is noted. But the “I found it dull & I HATED it” is projection, eh? 😂😂 But, if you don’t get it, philosophically, or with a sense of the prosaic or poetic elements, then none of the show’ll benefit you. Stay with computer games & The Blacklist: come back when you’re 30 in about 12 years because you fail to appreciate deep sadness & triumphing, thru hard work, over pedestrian… evil….or it is this to you, anyway. 😂
That moment when the elevator doors open and they're right back where they started always gave me chills.
I think I was too young when I watched it for the first time, I didn’t get it and I always hated an anti climax. Now as an adult in my mid 30s this season smacks you in the face and I feel it so much more.
@@karlie3596 I got a lot more of the nuances as I got older and rewatched too.
Yep.... the smugness of Manners ending with "..... they'd all be Angels." and the irony of that in the scene just hits me like a bomb.... its one of the best moments of writing in the entire Whedonverse, as high a bar as that is.
Angel has said Darla doesn't make him happy, and he knows the curse isn't about $ex. The parallels between Angel and Buffy are also interesting, they were both depressed and pursued by soulless blonde vampires, which led to unhealthy relationships
Great point! There's a definite parallel there
As one who exists perpetually on the verge of taking my ball & going home, that Elementary monologue just hits deep man. Oddly enough, it’s only balanced by the idea that, “if nothing we do matters, than all that matters is what we do” (go figure).
I just want to remind you that you said this, since it's been a year, in case you happen to be getting pulled in the wrong direction 😉
@@bernardsoul5186 heh. Hanging in there. Every day for a year now.. but still here. Let’s see if I can do another, shall we?
@@locomadman Might as well, but make it count
These videos never fail to make me feel a whole mess of emotions. This is the best series on TH-cam.
Hey Ian, from the couple who ran into you at the apartment complex, I just wanted to leave a comment saying thank you again for being kind enough to talk to my Girlfriend and I. These videos have been a really important part of our relationship as has Buffy/Angel. It was really exciting getting to meet you and I apologize if it was uncomfortable or if we blindsided you yesterday. It meant a lot to us and felt like a very weird coincidence for us and made our week. Thanks again, Kam and Holly.
Wait, y'all are neighbors and you recognized him? That's wild!
Honestly, this video's timing has been incredibly apt. I've just come off a really rough two-month stretch and I'm trying to commit to getting back up again. It always feels like the hundredth time. This chunk of the season has already helped me through the worst period of my life, and this video coming out now, on what feels like day one of trying to put myself back together, feels very fitting.
What I like about Whedon's work is that he's fine with letting the Bad Guys get one up on the heroes... permanently. Holland Manners was smugly dancing around Angel for 2 years, and then I was so stoked when Angel threw his "and yet somehow, I just can't seem to care" words back in his face when he locked them in that cellar..... only for Holland to come back just a couple episodes later and completely shatter Angel entirely in one elevator ride. Wild.
Holland: *Slow sarcastic clapping* Congratulations. Great victory.
Angel: You're...
Holland: Holland Manners.
Angel: Not alive.
Holland: Oh no. I'm quite dead. Unfortunately, my contract with Wolfram and Hart extends well beyond that.
Hop on in. You certainly earned it.
*Angel gets in the elevator*
Holland: *Laughs* No, not a ghost either. It's just me. Dead me. *Shows vampire bites on his neck* See?
Home Office, wasn't it?
I should mention the trip is one way. Well, if there are no objections, I suggest we get going. It's rather a long ride.
*Holland pushes the Down button*
Holland: Well, this is exciting, isn't it? Going straight to the source.
So, what's the big plan, Angel? Destroying the senior partners? Smash Wolfram and Hart once and for all?
Angel: Something like that.
Holland: Mm-hmm. Now tell me just what do you imagine that that would accomplish, in the end, I mean?
Angel: It'll be the end.
Holland: Well, the end of you, certainly. But I meant in the larger sense.
Angel: In the larger sense, I really don't give a crap.
Holland: Now, I don't think that's true. Be honest. You've got the tiniest bit of "give a crap" left. Otherwise you wouldn't be going on this kamikaze mission.
Now, let me see, there was something in a sacred prophecy. Some oblique reference to you. Something you're supposed to prevent. Now, what was that?
Angel: The apocalypse.
Holland: Yes, the apocalypse, of course. Another one of those. Well, it's true, we do have one scheduled. And I imagine if you were to prevent it you would save a great many people. Well, you should do that then. Absolutely. I wasn't thinking. Of course, all those people you save from that apocalypse will then have the next one to look forward to but, hey, it's always something, isn't it?
Angel: You're not gonna win.
Holland: Well, no, of course we aren't. We have no intention of doing anything so prosaic as winning. *Laughs*
Angel: Then why?
Holland: Hmm? I'm sorry? Why what?
Angel: Why fight?
Holland: That's really the question you should be asking yourself, isn't it? See, for us, there is no fight which is why winning doesn't enter into it. We...go on, no matter what. Our firm has always been here in one form or another. The Inquisition. Khmer Rouge. We were there when the very first caveman clubbed his neighbor. See, we're in the hearts and minds of every single living being. And that, friend, is what's making things so difficult for you. See, the world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works with us. It works because of us.
*Elevator stops and doors open*
Holland: Welcome to the Home Office.
Angel: This isn't...
Holland: Well, you know it is. You know that better than anyone. The things you've seen. The things you've, well...done. You see, if there wasn't evil in every single one of them out there why, they wouldn't be people. They'd all be angels.
*Angel drops the Glove and walks out of the elevator*
Holland: *Doors closing* Have a nice day.
This is the first in a trilogy of videos that are... kind of a big deal.
Absolutely love this! Learning the same lessons over and over until we get it right IS part of adulthood 💯 ❤️
Both the commentary and the editing on this episode are absolutely stellar. Genuine chills. I've been watching since the Buffy Guide began and I'm always delighted when a new episode appears in my subscriptions.
I also found the elevator scene anti-climactic on first viewing. But on some level, something about the hopeless inevitability of it must’ve stuck because 25 years later, I still remember everything about where I was when I first saw it. There are moments in the show that had more emotional impact on me, but none that stuck quite the same way.
You meant 21 years later, but yes, I agree with you
That was a cruel flash to the sarcophagus T.T I can't wait to hear you talking about season 5 but I also know I'm gonna be bawling.
Angel: If nothing matters, all that matters is what we do.
Also Angel: It doesn't matter. None of it matters.
Love that you pointed out that line of him losing site of his own lesson learned.
Reprise may be my all time favorite episode. There's something to the whole elevator ride that just hits me in the right spot to feel truly honest about the world that they exist in. Saving the world is a grind. It's a job. No matter how much you love that job, it never ends, never stops, and never completes. There's always more work to do. There's always a spike in annoyance due to the work. The only thing you can do is find some way to keep going and hold tight to the things that make that grind worth it.
Your buffy and angel reviews are such a source of comfort. I cherish every single one of them.
I find it interesting that Buffy has those big moments episodes and we can easily point to the best and most memorable parts of the series, but Angel as a series kinda blends together and it's hard to pick out THOSE episodes or moments. I watched Angel shortly after hs and it was one of the first non comedy shows I watched on my own, so I missed a lot of the metaphors and wish I could rewatch the show without knowing all the spoilers, but that elevator scene is definitely one of those moments for the series that I remember watching and feeling that sinking feeling with Angel
If you watch it when you're really, really high, it will feel like a first-time watch
I'll keep that in mind 😂
I've been watching since, the witch? Such a long ride. I love the anti-climax of this episode. It's probably the most relatable thing in the sense of for all we go through and deal with, the world still ticks by. There's no big epic battle to end all battles.
I always get excited when a new guide drops. Can't wait for the next....... oh.........oooh....... wait........
I love the Elementary quote you used at the end. I watch it from time to time, especially when I struggle with my own issues with depression and the downward spirals I feel that result from it.
Great work with this guide, as always.
One of the best eps of the series, imo. One of the cornerstone thematic and character pieces. And full of great choice moments.
Omg the use of Holmes speech at the end is perfection
The wait for epiphany is going to be painful..... Thanks for another awesome video. Best playlist on yt xx
Amazing as always. Please keep them coming. This is legit therapy for me 👍👍👍👍
The Holland manners scene literally had me speechless the first time I saw it. Genuinely one of my favourite moments of any show I've ever watched.
fucking brilliant dude. i swear some of your essays are as moving as the episodes themselves.
As a medium term subscriber I can’t wait till we get to the 5th season, it’s always stuck me as an epilogue for the Buffyverse that was made in good faith but with some serious flaws.
Reprise is a title thats a play on Buffys episode Surprise. In which theres a certain soul losing act thats mirrored inversely on Angel. Where in a sense here he is resouled, coming out of the darkness, having an epiphany and getting back on the righteous path.
Does the appearance of Elementary imply an Episode guide for Elementary? DO IT! DO IT! You'll eventually run out of Angel and Buffy episodes!
At the pace he's going, it's going to take at least 4 years for him to finish Angel. And the way the world is going, we might all be dead by then.
This and Epiphany are my favorite episodes. The quote Angel says at the end of Epiphany is something I think about often. Such a powerful quote. Great video as always, excited to see your Epiphany guide :)
Just wow, thank you for your insight into this season of Angel! Well articulated and crafted beautifully.
these videos are absolutely beautiful! Never stop writing
I think it was called 'Reprise' because it ends like 'Surprise', the episode where he slept with Buffy. So 'Re-Surprise' 😋
I was looking to see if anyone had touched on this. Ian does go into the parallels that are set up between the two episodes, but not the way that they're presaged by the title.
The discover of the Home Office.. there is such a truth to it where it hits me to be relatable to Dark Angel’s character.. where you at times just become exhausted with all the hopelessness that comes with the territory. Thankfully there are people who care about you to pull you back out.
I had to watch this video twice just to absorb all of the layers and subtly. What a good season this is! Very well done sir
i love to discover thiese episodes again with you
gives me a new appreciation for a show i already love
thanks for your work
“Angel without a cause” and the James Dean reference photo killed me. ☎️ 911
One of your best guides Ian :)
13:15 I think we forgot how old Angel is.
For the record, Holland could be older considering he died and came back.
And the body is next. Man we have some great episodes on the horizon that I've been waiting to watch for years. This is well done.
amazing as ever
the lessons of this and the following episode are something I carry with me every day
I'm addicted to your videos, I want finish watching each episode just to go to your review of after 🥰
Kate's voicemail to Angel is devastating, but also so interesting to unpack. I always found it kind of shocking that he ignores it, despite - as his actions in 'Epiphany' prove - knowing what it meant. But she says: "You made me believe". For Angel, that same quote could apply to any number of things: Buffy, the Higher Powers, his team, the Shanshu Prophecy, Darla, Wolfram & Hart... Him turning off her voicemail is obviously evidence of his belief, in that moment, of how meaningless it is whether someone lives or dies, but I think there's probably a silent line Angel says to himself when he presses the button: "Yeah? Join the club..."
Wait…. THIS is the Bad Place!
I’ve been subscribed since early into the Buffy Season 3 analysis
I’d fallen off a Buffy watch through early into season 6 years before that and never gave Angel a proper shot. Then I got to one of your Top Tens where you discussed this very episode (and Epiphany).
That was when I knew I needed to go back and actually finish both of these shows to fully engage with the material you’d presented. Now we’re back here at those episodes proper and it’s honestly cathartic.
Even as certain real world truths speak to a darkness from the making of these shows, this channel is as much a reason the Buffyverse means so much to me as anyone responsible for making it.
Take care of yourself, Ian
See you next video
Other than Not Fade Away this is my favorite Angel episode, so much development and so many things happen. That Holland Manners speech I think, sets the tone for the rest of the series. This is one of the top 3 Episodes in either Buffy or Angel. It's amazing.
Did anybody order an existential crisis? Suberb work again. Your best yet.
I love listening to you and I appreciate your hard work! Thank you ❤
I really can't think of anything to say right now, so I'll just leave a like and a comment for the algorithm and move along.🤗
The only DVDs I have left after leaving almost everything behind and the only reason I have a DVD player in my custom computers. Angel and Buffy. And one Christmas gift Cowboy Bebop.
And once again, need to re watch this. This time to prepare for Halloween.
I've been binging all the Angel ones today and am dying for more.
So happy to see this, and yeah… the body…
I love that you referenced Elementary.
Yay your back I missed you and this is one of my favorite episodes of Angel.
Wow. You've made a lot of excellent episodes Ian, but I think this might be my favourite so far, just excellent work. And jesus christ the drugs coming from Manner's pharmacy...
Great video as always, I've been watching these along with my rewatch of buffy and angel and there's so many things i hadn't noticed. what you said about the title was interesting, and some of i'd missed. I was pondering it earlier. in addition to what you said there's also an implied trilogy with Reunion and Redefinition, as well as it sounding like, and paralleling the ending of 'Surprise' and reprise itself is often used in music for a tonal shifted variant of an earlier song in the same album/musical/whatever. thanks again, sad I've nearly run out of guides to watch for now, can't wait to see the next.
Beautiful as always.
The one-two punches of I WAS MADE TO LOVE YOU and THE BODY with REPRISE and EPIPHANY are just the pinnacle of what this world has to offer.
Such bold sentiments of and explorations of the human condition. Grief, monotony, loneliness, goodness.
So overwhelming how perfect they are.
I've said it before I think, but these kinda help more than therapy ever did
EDIT: For ME. Because my history with therapy sucks. If you need therapy, go. Therapy is good.
Next few episodes are gonna be *ROUGH*
Glad you're gonna be guiding us through the maelstrom
Thanks for the wonderful episode, Ian. I really admire your commitment to this series. I know interests change and the temptation to drop current videos for others must always be there. So I appreciate and celebrate your hard work and focus.
That being said, the ending of this video made me have to pee.
Cool to see Elementary mentioned here!
This is one of the episodes I remember not quite "getting" as a teenager initially - but still there was this feeling that I was watching something really profound.
Now, on each rewatch I discover something new, it just keeps getting better and better.
Can't wait for your take on "The Body" (another stunner in the Buffyverse)
And the deep dive goes on. Good to see this, PotN.
Tim Minear is the credited writer (or co-writer) of The Prodigal, Are You Now..., Darla, The Trial, Reunion, Reprise and Epiphany. We might say that he did for Angel what Whedon did in Buffy's Prophecy Girl, When She Was Bad, Lie to Me, Innocence and Becoming.
One of the most profound philosophical quotes from Angel is "If in the end nothing we do matters, than everything we do matters right now, today ". This quote has never been soo true to me in regards to professionalism and being a self aware adult.
Absolutely incredible video, keep up the amazing work
Been subscribed since 2017, I have been waiting so long for this review !!
How far you've come, Ian.
What a great surprise to wake up in the morning and see a new upload from you! I hope that everything is well with you!
always good to see another entry into the Buffyverse episode guide!
Ohhhh hangouts covering firefly?! Double yAyyyyyy!!!! Wish I had enough to donate. For those who can, DONATE TO THIS GENEROUS MAN!.
We finally made it, the moment I've been waiting for for literal years. Possibly the best moment I've ever seen in television. And I've been so excited to see your take on it...gah I can't wait until next episode
Oh wow, I didn't expect a new Angel! yAyyyyyy!!!! Thank you!!!!
OH IAN THE ELEMENTARY REFERENCE AT THE END GOT ME GOOD HOLY SHIT
You hit me in my feels on this one, **hole. Great work.
I loved this so much and God I can't wait till we someday get to S5
Angel without a cause! Damn it, I just got that now obvious costuming hat-tip too!
Wow, so many things I didn't realise, Kate being a mirror to Angel, Manners pharmacy?! The theme of relearning the same lessons in adulthood and the ongoing struggle to overcome them again and again and again. Brilliant stuff. It reminds me of the Buffy quote "it's funny how you can see someone and not really see them..." as you say, sometimes we need a Kate in our lives to point out these things and then bam, epiphany.
EYY!!! I'm SO EXCITED for this!
Every single one of your videos is absolutely worth the wait. Thank you for sharing with us. I often find new layers to appreciate about what is probably my favourite show of all time.
Powerful stuff Ian. Outstanding! Great video, well done! Thank you for sharing this with us 😊
For half of your episode i was thinking about that scene from elementary. It is such a simple yet powerful scene, that fits perfectly in this context. The mundane grind bringing all of us, not just people addicted to someting, but every adult down, scratching away our motivation step by step, while you hope for an emotional epiphany, that may never come.
I just got chills thinking about all to come from both shows.
A wonderful episode and a wonderful analysis of it's significance and re-assertion of the key themes of the show.
This episode is one I recall enjoying on first viewing as a teenager for the dark story and twist ending, but I never gave it any deeper meaning. Rewatching as a 36 year old is a totally different experience and your video perfectly encapsulates this.
As you've shown many times with these videos, Buffy is an adolescent growing up metaphor and maybe that's why it has more critical and mass appeal than Angel, especially all these years later. Its easier and, at least early on, more black and white, unambiguous. But Angel is the show about just how difficult it is to get through this thing called life. It's hard, it's often mundane, unfulfilling, pointless, and it's every single day.
Something I hadn't really considered before is that the occasionally repetitive storytelling throughout the course of the show is entirely intentional and reflective of this endlessly monotonous daily grind of life that we've all experienced, and will again (and again and again).
There may be better episodes, there may be more deeply moving and emotional episodes (hello season 5, you know the one) but I don't think there is a better mission statement for the entire show than what this episode (and the next) represents. Angel's conversation with Kate in the next episode contains perhaps my favourite line in the entire Buffyverse because its the most simple, human statement of just getting on with life and doing the best you can, because what else is there? What else matters?
Great use of that clip from elementary. Hopefully we can a video on that series along with Evil for future videos.
so now I'm in season 7 and season 4 in my current rewatch but as you release these it makes me want to rewatch everything all over again, darn you
Ian, I'm always impatient for your videos and then I savour every moment. I love your analyses. So worth the wait as always.
Haven't watched this show in years but every time a new video pops up my heart skips a beat. damn I miss this series :o
Excellent as always
Sorry for so many comments but damn, that ending....damn.
Pretty sure Holland Manners is not twice Angel‘s age. 😂
Well, physically not chronologically.
It’s interesting. The reason Angel gives Darla for why he’s finally succumb to being with her (“I just want to feel something besides the cold”) is the same reason Buffy gives Spike for why she finally succumbs to him in season 6 (“This isn’t real, but I just want to feel”). There’s probably a good amount of parallels between Angel/ Darla and Buffy/ Spike (in their toxic era) that I never noticed before
Oh my goodness. Got the Griffiths Observatory/ Red Jacket/ James Dean connection from my very first run through 20 years ago, and yet.... WITHOUT A CAUSE. How did I not see that 🤦♂️
Great video man
If Buffy is about struggling to become an adult, is Angel about choosing your own purpose for adulthood?
He, as the protagonist, fights so hard to find meaning, only to see each one be hollow. We work so hard to become "an adult", and then we get there and realize we don't feel any different, we're just now in charge. Things we believed in, can't stand up to scrutiny (shanshu). We try to be good people and fail in moments of weakness or exhaustion. We do something we think will be funny or trite (speaking latin in front of the books) and it turns out to have serious consequences...
I guess they're showing one has to find their own reason to keep pushing the rock up the hill, because letting it roll crashing down over others is easier. And the best we can do is to surround ourselves with others who will prop us up on our individual boulder rolling missions.