Angel 4x18 Shiny Happy People

[oyceter]

And despite the fact that I thought spoilers for the entire Jasmine thing sounded silly, I really liked it.

So many Buffy references! Angel as general, the story of the Jossverse before the time of the demons (albeit with a highly unreliable narrator)... Jasmine's entire thing on coming before the demons reminded me very much of the Master/First's "Before the bang, before the word" deal. And Jasmine's spiel about having to eradicate all evil, with Angel as the general, was an extreme shoutout to the battle Buffy's going through.

While I could see the attraction in Jasmine and her speeches on love and acceptance, the real turning point of the episode for me was Fred finding out the truth. Or what we think is the truth. I'm still so confused... now Angel's trial by fire for Darla is part of the Big Plan too? The scene in the psychiatric ward felt like classic X-Files, and I was actually extremely scared and frightened when the man showed his face and when Fred saw the real Jasmine.

It's interesting now that Fred's in the spotlight, because I realized just how little I actually knew about the character. We haven't really seen her in any situations in which she's by herself and not completely subsumed under the group or under a romantic plotline. And apparently, according to the trailer for next week...

I also loved the entire attack of the pod people atmosphere when Fred told Wes that she was seeing things. Very creepy.

And my jaw just dropped at the last scene of the trailer for next week.