Angel 1x22 To Shanshu in LA (spoilers up to S4)

[oyceter]

Very tired today. Luckily, not that many people came to sell their books to us, although pre-coffee I was in a pretty grumpy mood. I'm not a morning person, and I define "morning" as anything before noon. Sometimes one.

So instead of whining about how I don't get a Thanksgiving break, I will think about things I do like: tons of leftovers means I don't have to cook for a while. Thanksgiving break means I get to see people from Taiwan who I haven't seen for a while (plus free dinner tomorrow!). As a happy holidays present, the bookstore owners gave us all $100 in trade credit! Yay!

Spoilers for Angel up to S4

I watched To Shanshu in LA again last night and was struck again by how important it is to the next three or four seasons. Some random thoughts I had:

This is Angel's first time seeing Wesley in a hospital bed, and now it makes me so sad because I remember the scene in Forgiveness and the rift between the two. I miss old Cordy. This Angel, despite his seeming nonchalance about dying, desperately cares for his adopted family, very different from the sort of detached Angel now. Lindsey and the shanshu prophecy start here. Darla starts here, and W&H bringing back Darla will have repercussions for the next three or four years. I am perpetually amazed at this, how much things go back to Darla. Without Darla, Angel would not have gone beige and started distancing himself. Without Darla, there would have been no Connor, without Connor, no Jasmine, without Connor, Angel most likely would not have decided to take over W&H, Wes would not have gone dark, there would have been no memory wipe. And here is the beginning of Cordy's eventual sainthood (yick).

Comments

[scrollgirl.livejournal.com]

"To Shanshu in L.A." is one of my favourite early eps because this is where the "we are family" theme becomes fully articulated (with hints in "Parting Gifts" and "I've Got You Under My Skin"). And I don't mind Cordelia in TSiLA. Yes, it was the start of the downward spiral to sainthood, but as the ep stands, Cordy simply reaffirmed her mission, made Angel's mission her own. It's just what happens later that taints TSiLA-Cordy.

Re: Wesley's annual hospital stay. I was actually kind of surprised that Wes didn't get stuck in the hospital in S4. I was so certain it'd become an annual tradition for him to be mortally wounded and carted off to the ER. I guess he's all grown up now!

Darla is still my favourite Angel female character, even over Lilah. Lilah is great with Wes, but I'm not captivated with her by herself the way I am with Darla. Darla is the reason Angel exists, the root of so many of his issues. Darla is the reason Connor exists, the reason Lindsey lost control and ultimately left W&H. I really really hope Julie Benz shows up this year! (I have no idea if she's supposed to, I don't read spoilers or specs, but it'd be really cool if she did.)

[oyceter]

Oooo it would. I have (amazingly) kept away from spoilers so far! We'll see if this lasts me through the two months without Angel, since that's when I usually buckle under the strain of having nothing new from my show and succumbing to spoiler sites. And I loved TSiLA Cordy, and most of Cordy up until around mid S3, so it sucks that later Cordy has now influenced the way I read early Cordy, because I loved early Cordy. I think she was my favorite female Angel character just from the sarcasm and bluntness.