Angel: Damage

Andrew: "Check the view screen, Uhura. I got twelve vampire slayers behind me, and not one of them has ever dated you."

Lots of good stuff, but there were also beaucoup de possible boo-boos. And I could have done without my favorite character being dismembered.

The best part of this episode (for me, anyway) was Angel and Spike finally bonding, especially in that final scene in the hospital room. We heard their takes on the nature of their own evil; Spike thought of it as one big party, while Angel acknowledged that he was the type who would have tortured Dana. Despite the wonderful barbs they keep throwing at each other, Angel and Spike can't help relating; they have too much in common. (Angel: "She's an innocent victim." Spike: "So were we, once upon a time.")

It was fun to see a very British, 82% more manly Andrew, and of course, the Andrew/Spike scenes were as good as they always were. I also enjoyed the army of slayers scene at the end. But why would a firm that specializes in the supernatural, especially one run by a vampire, not know about all the new slayers? Spike tends to "yammer," too. He didn't tell them?

The actress who played Dana was great, and the storyline was strong. She often seemed Faith-like to me. But part of me hated seeing a vicious, homicidal slayer running around attacking people with a bone saw. (Speaking of which, Dana knew what Spike was. Why didn't she stake him? And why didn't his hands dissolve into dust?) Secondly, even though they said that her mental illness intensified them, it seems unlikely that a slayer would have such specific, detailed memories of the lives of past slayers. There have been zillions of them over the centuries; how could Dana remember only those few who have encountered Spike? Buffy certainly didn't remember how earlier slayers died, even in a dream, or my favorite BtVS episode, "Fool for Love," wouldn't have happened. And if Dana had every slayer's memory, why doesn't she have Buffy's memories of Spike, too? On the third hand, :) there was no suspense for me, since I never once suspected that Spike was actually Dana's kidnapper. Pre-soul Spike wasn't into torture (see the BtVS episode, "What's My Line.")

It's a bummer that Buffy and the Sunnydale Scoobies don't trust Angel and the L.A. Scoobies any more. Angel must have been hurt. Wesley, a former Watcher, must have been offended, too. But then again, he's used to the Watchers Council treating him like crap.

Bits and pieces:

-- One of my favorite bits was Andrew's rundown on what's happening with the Scooby Gang. Xander is in Africa, Willow and Kennedy are in Brazil, Buffy and Dawn are in Rome, and Dawn is in an Italian school. And we can infer that Giles is in England training a whole new gaggle of Watchers.

-- Ripoff alert: At the beginning of the episode, Dana looked exactly like the girl in "The Ring." There were even videotapes of her sessions with the doctor, like in the movie.

-- "Sorry, love. I don't speak Chinese" was a line from "Fool for Love."

-- Spike: "We can play cat and mouse all night, or I could wedgie you unconscious and be done with it." Andrew: "Bravo. I see your senses seem to be as well honed as your Viggo Mortenson pectorals."

-- Gunn makes plea bargains on the golf course? Even though I think he looks cool and his current cloudy affiliations make him more interesting, I agree with Angel: "I think I liked you better when you just wanted to hit people."

-- No resolution with Eve. I was kind of hoping that the Senior Partners had done her in.

-- There was a reference to the "Angel" episode, "Dead End," in which Lindsey had an expensive, mystical hand transplant at Wolfram & Hart's expense. (Fred: "For god's sake, tell the shaman, no cadavers. We have his hands.")

-- Lorne: "Vernon's top drawer. He does all of Tom Arnold's readings."

-- The real estate agent didn't look at Lorne twice. As far as I know, Lorne still looks a bit unusual, doesn't he?

-- Wouldn't the drugs have dried up in fifteen years, and/or lost potency?

-- Yeah, Andrew. Pick up a penny off a wharf in Pedro and put it in your mouth? Although I did like the joke about the smell being stronger. "Like nickels?"

-- In this week's hair report, I'm starting to like David Boreanaz' Elvis impersonation. And his wardrobe is looking cooler, too. He used to wear black on black; the new duds are Becoming. (That was a Buffy pun.)

I'm not coming up with a stake number. Maybe the members of BtVS101 should rate this episode. What do you think? How many stakes?

Billie