Souls For Sale, Good Price

Well, I tried, but definitely not going to get my Angel writeup done before the new ep airs. Restless night, woke up late, busy at work. So in lieu of having a website update, I'm going to have to resort to posting my shiny, happy thoughts on 5.8, "Destiny," here. (I reserve the right to plunder this text later for the actual episode review, although hopefully in a more coherent form) Enjoy.

Things I Liked About Angel Episode 5.8, "Destiny"

1. Spike finally getting over Buffy
Evidence: Boffs Harmony
Since his first appearance on BtVS, Spike has been established as a one-woman sort of guy - the last couple of seasons of Buffy actually made a big, hairy deal out of this fact by taking careful note of every time he looked at, touched, or contemplated looking at or touching another woman other than Buffy, a monogamy theme continued in this very episode with the Drusilla flashbacks. Therefore, Spike gettin' busy with Harmony - which he clearly would not do if he still thought he had a ghost (pardon the pun) of a chance left with Buffy - means that he and Buffy are officially OVER. This doesn't necessarily mean emotionally "over," or rule out the prospect of him going into instant busted boyfriend mode if Buffy were ever to show up on his doorstep, but since we already know that Buffy will NOT be appearing on Angel, the likelihood of this happening is about nil. Which makes me a very happy camper.

The Angel/Spike fight was awesome
Evidence: IT WAS AWESOME!!!!!
Watched this the first time, thought it was good. Watched it again while cueing up the tape for a friend to see the ep - still good. Watched it again with friend. Even better. There is frankly nothing about this fight I didn't like. It kicked mucho ASS.

That Spike, not Angel, might be the Souled Vampire of prophecy
Evidence: The last five years of BtVS
Although hinted around at from the beginning of the season, "Destiny" finally pulls this plot point out of hiding - the idea that Spike, not Angel, might actually be the one qualified to fulfill the Shanshu prophecy (a fan speculation that began at the precise moment Spike gained a soul - which technically puts the series two years behind its viewership, BTW). After all, it can be easily argued that Spike is "different" from, or even better than Angel, given that he fought on the side of good for years even while soulless and fought to regain his soul "because it was the right thing to do" rather than having it rained down on his head in punishment by pissed-off gypsies. But both sides of this theory are addressed, including the counter-argument that Spike actually gained the soul to "get into a girl's pants." The issue is far from solved, but at least all the cards are on the table.

The flashback scenes are even better. Angelus is played as a "deviant" even among vampires, one who gets off on pain and humilation. In contrast, VampWilliam's interests are pretty much limited to having lots and lots of sex with his girl. Carnage is amusing to William (he laughs hysterically recounting Angelus's exploits), but hardly a priority. He just doesn't seem to care all that much. This is consistent with Spike's appearance on Angel during Season 1, where he hired someone to torture Angel rather than do it himself. We're being asked to notice how little has changed between the two over the years - even though we're contrasting the soulless and souled versions of both.

And if it's weird that soulless William and souled Spike seem uncannily similiar, how much weirder is it that the souled Angel we see in this episode - arrogant, nasty, and childish - is a recognizable parallel to soulless Angelus.? He even makes some of the same insults, and has a similar relish in going for the emotional gut punch. (This is frankly why Spike's line about "puttin' it to" Buffy didn't offend me - sue me, I laughed - it hardly ranked higher on the offense-o-meter than Angel's line "That's why Buffy never loved you... because you weren't me." Neither one of them comes off looking good on that one.) The broody, self-doubting Angel we've come to know and love doesn't make an appearance until after he gets the shit beaten out of him Dragon Ball Z style. Until then, he doesn't doubt for a minute that he is "the one." Angel feels entitled to his reward.

This is what I think is ultimately the point of this episode - that Angel, the first vampire we got to know intimately in the BtVS series, is actually something of a freak - his soul operating as a good/evil on/off switch is looking more and more like a split personality, a creation of his guilt-riddled mind in order to keep himself sane. We've seen Angel go dark - very dark - in the series several times, and all of those with a soul. The danger posed to Angel by his sellout job as CEO at Wolfram & Hart is what we see showcased here - he's losing track of his carefully built-up Angel persona, the lesson in humility he learned in Season 2. He's falling prey to the sin of pride. Having being lionized as the "Champion" for so many years, he's come to believe his own PR.

So yeah, that's where we're at! Angel has to get in touch with his humble-guy-who-wants-to-help-people core. Spike has to stay on target with the whole good-guy trip and not let competition with Angel drag him right back into the muck again, just like it did when he was a soulless vamp. Because jealousy, after all, has already been called out as an issue for Spike - admittedly, he's spent the last few years getting a particulary raw deal, trying to better himself and getting kicked in the teeth for his trouble. He's died and no one cared while Angel has been made a corportate CEO with a penthouse, a helicopter, and a garage full of sports cars. This being the case, I can see how Spike might have some issues about entitlement. But that gets us right back to that "sin of pride" thing again...

Ever seen The Devil's Advocate? Do. Then watch this episode again. "Vanity. Definitely my favorite sin."