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butterflyWhich makes sense. It's his show, therefore everything is About Angel, just as everything on BtVS is About Buffy (notice the differences in both of them when they go to each other's shows and shift from being the primary agent to being a shadow piece of that show's protagonist - and I love that the writers do this, because Buffy as seen through Angel is going to be a different creature than Buffy as Buffy, and this is also why I had no problem with the difference in S7 Willow and Orpheus's Willow (and Willow has a very interesting path in BtVS, as she goes from the embodiment of Buffy's innocence to the embodiment of Buffy's power.).).
On true ensemble shows, all the characters interact with each other in a roughly equal fashion, but on a show with a strong single lead, everything we see can be translated through the filter of the main character. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is Buffy's journey in Sunnydale, as Angel is Angel's in L.A. (which is why it would not surprise me if either Angel or L.A. moved on at the end of the series run - the place is nearly as key as the person, as the place represents where they are in their journey).
I'm just about to watch Untouched. Now, this episode amazed me the first go-round. Bethany is such a strong personality and such a fascinating character. But this time, I suspect I'll see far more into how she connects with Angel and his journey. She almost, but doesn't quite, kill her father, unlike Angel. Bethany actually strikes me very much as a key to looking at Wes. This was our second hint about Wes' childhood (the first coming in I've Got You Under My Skin), as he pierces right to what Bethany is repressing. Now, we don't know how extensively Wesley was abused by his father - we do know that his father dismisses him and looks down on him, and we know that his father locked him up under the stairs (shades of Harry Potter), but we don't know if his father was ever physically abusive. We know that Wesley was damaged very deeply by his father. "What our parents do to us," Angel says in Sense and Sensitivity. And he also said his parents tasted like chicken - interesting thought, as they were certainly terrified of what he'd become, before he killed them. Angel wasn't literally locked up, but he certainly felt emotionally locked up by his father. Wesley is an extreme case of a part of Angel, and Bethany is an extreme case of a part of Wesley.
And then there's Lilah. Lilah, who just isn't top priority, not compared to Angel or Lindsey. Lilah, who recruits for evil at high schools. Lilah, who we know has a perpetuity clause (does Lindsey? Would Holland care so much about corrupting and keeping Lindsey if he'd already had him locked up tight?). Wolfram and Hart can fuck with Lilah all they want - they own her. And all she can do is take it, because she made the deal, signed away her soul, and fire can't burn what's already hopelessly charred. Lilah never has a doubt in her mind about what side she's fighting on. We never see her doubt her career choice (unless she did in one of the S3 eps that I haven't seen yet). Lilah knows that this is where she has chosen to be and that that choice is final.
Sometimes, the Lilah/Wesley angle reminds me of Damned Yankees (two lost souls). She's locked up tight, he signs up (and ultimately does break free) but leaves himself an opening (I can't see Wes signing anything with a perpetuity clause). I always did like Lola.
And Lilah/Wes has shades of Darla/Angel. She is what he is capable of. Wes and Lilah played the same game, but played for different sides. They knew the stakes and they knew the rules. And it was the same game, just as Darla and Angel played the same game (whereas too often, Angel and Wes are playing two different games).
And now to watch the episode.
On true ensemble shows, all the characters interact with each other in a roughly equal fashion, but on a show with a strong single lead, everything we see can be translated through the filter of the main character. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is Buffy's journey in Sunnydale, as Angel is Angel's in L.A. (which is why it would not surprise me if either Angel or L.A. moved on at the end of the series run - the place is nearly as key as the person, as the place represents where they are in their journey).
I'm just about to watch Untouched. Now, this episode amazed me the first go-round. Bethany is such a strong personality and such a fascinating character. But this time, I suspect I'll see far more into how she connects with Angel and his journey. She almost, but doesn't quite, kill her father, unlike Angel. Bethany actually strikes me very much as a key to looking at Wes. This was our second hint about Wes' childhood (the first coming in I've Got You Under My Skin), as he pierces right to what Bethany is repressing. Now, we don't know how extensively Wesley was abused by his father - we do know that his father dismisses him and looks down on him, and we know that his father locked him up under the stairs (shades of Harry Potter), but we don't know if his father was ever physically abusive. We know that Wesley was damaged very deeply by his father. "What our parents do to us," Angel says in Sense and Sensitivity. And he also said his parents tasted like chicken - interesting thought, as they were certainly terrified of what he'd become, before he killed them. Angel wasn't literally locked up, but he certainly felt emotionally locked up by his father. Wesley is an extreme case of a part of Angel, and Bethany is an extreme case of a part of Wesley.
And then there's Lilah. Lilah, who just isn't top priority, not compared to Angel or Lindsey. Lilah, who recruits for evil at high schools. Lilah, who we know has a perpetuity clause (does Lindsey? Would Holland care so much about corrupting and keeping Lindsey if he'd already had him locked up tight?). Wolfram and Hart can fuck with Lilah all they want - they own her. And all she can do is take it, because she made the deal, signed away her soul, and fire can't burn what's already hopelessly charred. Lilah never has a doubt in her mind about what side she's fighting on. We never see her doubt her career choice (unless she did in one of the S3 eps that I haven't seen yet). Lilah knows that this is where she has chosen to be and that that choice is final.
Sometimes, the Lilah/Wesley angle reminds me of Damned Yankees (two lost souls). She's locked up tight, he signs up (and ultimately does break free) but leaves himself an opening (I can't see Wes signing anything with a perpetuity clause). I always did like Lola.
And Lilah/Wes has shades of Darla/Angel. She is what he is capable of. Wes and Lilah played the same game, but played for different sides. They knew the stakes and they knew the rules. And it was the same game, just as Darla and Angel played the same game (whereas too often, Angel and Wes are playing two different games).
And now to watch the episode.