BtVS - 1.07: Angel

[wearing_tearing]

Original Air Date: April 14, 1997
Writer: David Greenwalt
Director: Scott Brazil

While Buffy grows more and more annoyed with Angel's mysterious disappearing act, she can't deny her growing obsession with him. Meanwhile, it's killing Xander that Buffy doesn't have a clue how he feels about her and, as he vents his frustrations to Willow, she knows all too well how he feels. And in the underworld, The Master is incensed that Buffy has taken the lives of so many members of his family, and he summons warrior vampires to annihilate her.

Are we ready to get some answers about Angel? :D

This is another one of those Big Memorable Buffy episodes that gives us lots and lots of lore and backstory and other fun things. So the opening scene with Colin/The Anointed? Sort of unsettling to see a little kid hanging out with The Master like that. Especially with how bloodthirsty that kid is!

I do find it interesting that Darla shows up at the top of the episode as well. At this point in the season, we don’t know all of the connections she has with other characters, but it’s still a good way to bring attention to her and remind us that she exists.

I will forever say that cockroaches are scarier than any vampire.

Okay, I’m pretty sure that every single conversation Buffy and Willow have when they’re hanging out together (without Xander) is about guys. Funny to think that even with Buffy being a feminist show by 90s standards, it still falls into stuff like that.

Angel, forever lurking in the shadows.

I do appreciate that, even as strong as Buffy is, we still do have moments during fights where she shows how scared she is. It’s refreshing to see her have a full spectrum of human emotions instead of just being Powerful all the time.

And Angel joins the fight! Buffy inviting him into her home without knowing about him is so good. It manages to keep us in the dark until that twist comes out to punch us in the gut! The height difference between Buffy and Angel in this scene is also A+.

Buffy, please, having a possible stalker is not something to smile about!

Buffy hiding Angel in her room is giving me lots to think about in terms of how formative this show was for me. We sure were learning all sorts of behaviors while watching this, huh.

We get a tiny little bit of Angel backstory before he changes the subject to flirt with Buffy. We now know his family was killed by vampires!

I feel so much for Giles here. I’m a teacher and having to listen to my students go on and on about their crushes can be so tiring. Willow questioning him about how he always knows this stuff and him answering about actually doing the work of research is wonderful.

Okay, but The Master is so right that sometimes a little joy is enough.

Buffy telling on herself re the diary thing is so embarrassing. And then Angel starts with the entire “I can’t be around you” but also “I want to kiss you” back and forth and… yeah. We get a first kiss! AND WE FIND OUT HE’S A VAMPIREEEEE.

I’m not going to talk about age gaps between vampire/human relationships since that’s how it goes.

The way he legit throws himself out of the window is such a funny contrast to Buffy’s utterly shocked expression. I’m sorry, but I always laugh at this scene.

I do believe this is the moment Buffy starts questioning her duty as the Slayer a little bit. Sure, it’s because she has feelings for Angel that she doesn’t want to slay him, but it introduces a very intriguing question of: when is it okay to keep non-humans alive? Is it only when they help us/are good to us?

Darla and Angel! We discover they know each other and have some shared history, which only makes things more interesting and complicated! This is also the first time we hear about the curse.

And then we have the first time Angel is referred to as Angelus! I do enjoy how we get these little bits of information that help us paint a picture of what might be going on. We still don’t have all the pieces, but we’re getting there.

Darla lurking in the shadows! We know where Angel got that from.

It took a while, but Joyce is finally faced with a vampire! Kudos to Darla for working out how to frame Angel for all of this. Very convenient that Joyce doesn’t remember what happened. I feel like, as the show goes on, this does become less a question of memory and more a question of Joyce seeing what she wants to see.

Darla truly is a little demon on Angel’s shoulder, huh?

We now have Buffy with a crossbow while she fights Angel! Angel really doesn’t help his case here but not explaining to her what happened, especially when Buffy actually stops to ask him why he did what she thinks he did. He does tell Buffy about the curse, though, and having a soul! Go Angel!

Darla making clear she made Angel and they used to be involved is another big piece of the Angel history puzzle. Her pulling out the guns is so incredibly funny to me I have to pause the episode so I can laugh. Who brings guns to a vampire fight?

How many bullets do those guns have???? Wow.

Angel staking Darla is poetic, in a way. Him walking away after that is just sad.

Ah, Colin… with his promises of death and destruction. What a cute kid.

Buffy and Angel discuss how they can’t be a thing, but we all know how that goes. She’s the one that has the strength to walk away… and leaves her mark on Angel.

Vampires Slayed: 4.
Series Total: 12.

Giles Taking Off/Putting On Glasses: 2.
Series Total: 9.

Episode Quote:
Angel: I can walk like a man, but I’m not one.

Comments

[apachefirecat]

I love your last comment here particularly, about how BUFFY is the one strong enough to walk away and leaves her mark on Angel. Some relationships, too many really, just aren't healthy for ANYONE involved.

I also love that you mention the things this series was teaching us as children/young adults watching it coming up. This is the second episode where I can really, REALLY say I should NOT have been watching it at the age I was! I can see why I was pulled into the Angel/Buffy relationship at this point (long before Spike was even a character!), but now, watching it through more mature eyes, the simple fact of how fast they move into the kissing -- no handholding, no actual dates, etc. -- very much disturbs me. Having been in a relationship myself that was complete toxicity for me, with a much older person, I even partially wonder how much of an impact Buffy made on me being willing to accept this older person's advances.

It is disturbing, eerie, and makes my skin crawl the more I think about it. And yes, there is the excuse of Angel being a Vampire to cover the age difference -- PARTIALLY. The thing is, even before he was turned, Angel was older than Buffy is now. The moments with Buffy and Willow just talking and hanging out makes it PAINFULLY clear how young they are. They're still mere children trying to fight the world's evils and getting into way more than any child should ever have to deal with -- and not just because of Buffy's calling! I used to disagree with my husband about 16-18 year-olds still being children, but yeah, now I see it... They very, very much are.

Which brings me to Xander... I never understood all the Xander hate before, but I'm seeing it now... In the last episode, he had the possession to blame for his hurtful remarks to Willow and his down-right rapey remarks to Buffy. He still definitely has his sleaze moments in this episode, with NO hyena excuses! I know they all grow a lot as characters, but still... At least I understand all the hate he used to get. *nervous laugh*

Colin bothered me the first run through, but now we've seen so much of the evil!child trope that it seems almost passe... I even had to remind myself and my hubby, who, again, is watching the series for the first time, that this was done during a time when that trope had NOT been done to death and an evil child was still kind of a rarity.

I may well get some slack for this as well, but the Master, who used to scare me when I was younger, now seems almost... lame. But I do appreciate the way he's constantly referring to the family, and being upset as to how his family is being pulled apart. It almost makes me question if that was done to kind of refer to the elders in our actual real lives, being upset at all the changes and the families growing apart.

And then there's Darla. The scene with Angel staking her clearly speaks volumes for how much he is determined to stay on the side of Good -- but... he STAKED her? And we SEE her turn to dust? I'm quite curious to see how she ends up showing back up later on....

Looking forward to the next episode! And hubby wanted me to share his nickname of the show with y'all -- "Hot Teenagers Fighting Vampires"... And he thinks the evil!child trope is cliche! ;) LOL

[wearing_tearing]

Some relationships, too many really, just aren't healthy for ANYONE involved.
EXACTLY!

There are a looot of things in the show that, upon rewatching as an adult, are obviously very much Not Okay when it comes to life as a teenager and what is appropriate behavior. I'm not really sure if watching this as a tween was the reason I didn't make the best decisions as a teenager of if that was just me being... a teenager lol

I used to disagree with my husband about 16-18 year-olds still being children, but yeah, now I see it... They very, very much are.
I teach High School and yup! They are still kids learning about themselves and the world and their limits. Their brains are still developing!

Xander was never my favorite, but show rewatches do make me dislike him quite a bit. :( He does have his good moments, though, but it's a bit difficult to balance those out with some of the awful things he says to Buffy and Willow throughout.

I'm biased because I love the evil!kid trope! Mostly because I do believe some kids are around to cause problems on purpose and watch the world burn.

The Master used to scare me too! Now I find him kind of funny lol He's camp.

And we SEE her turn to dust?
In my head, Darla lived as a vampire longer than this? But I think that's because of all the flashbacks we get with her... And then yes! How she comes back :D

"Hot Teenagers Fighting Vampires" is quite right!

[apachefirecat]

I never considered that about the Master, but now that you say that ("He's camp.), I'm like YEAH! I wonder if that's what they were going for??? Hubby still complains about him, but if that's the angle they were working for, and being that Joss (not that I've got much good at all to say about him anymore!) was all "the show's supposed to be about a teenage girl finding her way in life with friends and relationships, and the fighting Vampires thing is a SIDE angle" and his known love for B-rated horror movies... YEAH, I can DEFINITELY see that!!

I wonder if that's what it is about Darla, that the flashbacks made us think she stayed around longer? Shall be interesting to see -- if and when J and I ever get back to watching the show. Life's been crazy, as usual. Sigh.

What grade/subjects do you teach??

[wearing_tearing]

"the show's supposed to be about a teenage girl finding her way in life with friends and relationships, and the fighting Vampires thing is a SIDE angle"
I think it could have been half this and half them not wanting to create this big mega super scary terrible evil Bad Guy for Buffy to fight in season 1??? Because then if the series got picked up, they would have to keep one upping a character that was already supposed to be The Worst. Camp definitely also helps with that!

What grade/subjects do you teach??
I'm now teaching High School freshmen! English and Literature. They're around 15-16 years old and they're kiddos.

I hope you and your husband are able to get back to the show and life settles down soon!

[apachefirecat]

Thank you. I had never considered that (re: the Master), but I can definitely see how setting such a precedence early on would make it difficult to keep delivering.