Angel: War Zone

Cordelia: "God. Twenty minutes ride from billionaires and crab puffs, kids going to war."

Previews for this episode did nothing for me so I was surprised at how good it turned out to be. The homeless gang-banging vampire fighters were touching; they struck a chord with me, and I cared what happened to them -- especially the leader (Gunn, was it?) who had to be strong enough to stake his own beloved sister. The sister was good, too. The stakes-all-over-it truck and the booby-trapped warehouse were way cool. And the almost-rumble at the end was well done.

The humor in this show continues to please me; I enjoyed the meat-locker/cell-phone scene, Madame Dorian's Demon Brothel in Bel-Air, and Cordelia's trying to talk herself into the idea of prostituting herself with billionaire geek David (feels good in your mouth) Nabbit. (As in Dag-nabbit?) (Although I think in real life, people at that party would have been fawning over him, not ignoring him.)

Wesley recovered very quickly from his torture session, didn't he? Of course, this is TV, the ultimate time warp, but still -- I would have expected him to be carrying around a few cuts and bruises for a while. Not to mention some emotional scars.

Bits and pieces:

-- I couldn't help but notice during that coffee scene on the park bench that Alexis Denisof has an earring hole and Charisma Carpenter has a light smattering of freckles. Never noticed either before, I don't think.

-- I wouldn't mind seeing more of Gunn, the gang leader. A beautiful young man, and a very appealing character. And the Angel PTB seemed to be leaving the possibility open.

Quotes:

Cordelia: "Oh, I miss that smell."
Wesley: "Camembert, I believe."
Cordelia: "What? No, money. I like the smell of a little money once in a while."
Angel: "She's not just saying that. Hide some in the office sometime to watch her. It's uncanny."

Nabbit: "Are you familiar with Dungeons and Dragons?"
Angel: "Yeah. I've seen a few."
Wesley: "You mean the role playing game."
Angel: "Oh, game. Right."

Cordelia: "You should rest. You look like..."
Angel: "Like I've been beaten and stabbed?"
Cordelia: "Want to see the check again?"

Cordelia: "Mmm, smell that salt air."
Wesley: "That's not salt."
Cordelia: "I don't think it's air either, but reality is a choice, Wesley. You see what you want to see and I see what I want to see."

Gunn: "What are you doing here?"
Angel: "Skulking. Professionally."

Three out of four. Very good; I liked this one a lot.

Billie