Some Quick Thoughts About "Shells"

[fenchurch]

Wow... who knew DeKnight could do boring?

Okay, so not all boring... there were some really good scenes in tonight's ep, in particular the first half of the episode was incredible, but the ending certainly did drag -- it was the scenes with Illyria and Wes at the end that did it, I think. And it's odd, because stuff actually happened there, it just seemed to take forever. Maybe it was the lack of background noise.

The Spike and Angel tandem fighting was really neat, if a tad over-choreographed (I know, all the fights are choreographed, but that one really looked it). Still, it was cool seeing them fight together like that... like I've seen described in fanfic for years (though until recently it's been Buffy and Spike instead of Spike and Angel).

I liked Fred as a character. Really. But Illyria is much cooler. Wes has been unstable for awhile now, pretty much since he kidnapped Connor, and tonight we see that he's crossed the border into full-blown Looneyville. The weird part, to me, was that Angel and the gang didn't seem to react to it much. That always makes me nervous... wondering if perhaps I'm seeing something the writers didn't intend (because, hey, not like that hasn't happened before *cough*).

I can understand, a bit, why Gunn is beating himself up over his involvement in Fred's Death (however indirect it may be), and why Psycho-Wes is doing the same... but come *on*, if he hadn't signed the paperwork it would have been someone else. In fact, it probably would have been Wes they'd have gone after next to authorize it or even Fred, herself. Gunn just happened to be the first one they tried. The fact that all the other characters seem okay with blaming him for it seems to only serve the purpose of piling on the angst. And, yeah, I know Wes is bonkers, but I still don't quite understand exactly what Gunn telling them earlier that he'd signed the paperwork allowing the sarcophagus past customs would have done to help prevent Fred's death.


What is with the orange blood this season? I'd noticed it earlier and thought it was just a trick of the light or something, but nope. It's on the very orange end of red. And speaking of lighting, I figured out what's wrong with it this year... It seems to all be coming from overhead. It makes JM's wrinkles a bit more noticeable, and it makes DB's brow seem even more prominent. Not flattering for either of them.

Comments

[jerrymcl89.livejournal.com]

I agree with you about Wes, specifically about whether the writers see him the way we're seeing him. Because sometimes I think they just think it's cool that he goes around shooting people without warning, and providing a lot of opportunities for John Woo-style slow motion. But I have to think that his befriending the walking corpse of his dead girlfriend isn't really supposed to be a sign of mental health. :)