Angel

[oyceter]

Filler! But fun filler. I think I would have had more fun if the constant countdown of Angel episodes left hadn't been running in the back of my head.

And while I enjoyed the wacky hijinks of the Spike and Angel show (particularly Angel's cookie rant, which was perfect), Wes and Illyria...

GUH.

It's so wrong and so twisted, and the look on Wes' face when she walks through the door as Fred... just small things, little modulations in his voice. I can't believe they didn't tell her parents!

And I've said it before, but Amy Acker is absolutely amazing, the way she was switching from Illyria to Fred at the drop of a hat. I particularly liked watching the Fred expression melt off her face, and the strangeness of Illyria-body-language in the Fred body.

Nothing more to say. Sigh. I want a giant, kick-ass, mind-blowing finale, and I'm not quite sure I'm going to get it =(.

Actually, I am still trusting the ME team, but this super filler episode right after last week's move-the-pieces-around episode didn't help.

Also: Guy Gavriel Kay has a new book out!!

My general feeling about this is: why didn't anyone tell me?! Not that anyone would have known to ;).

Comments

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

I think I'd seen it in the SFBC newsletter, but hadn't realized people would be interested. For my part, I've given up reading GGK until I get specific recommendations. I loved Tigana, but I find certain writerly tics increasingly annoying, and the trend has been continuing for some time, so if things are going to get more annoying than SARANTIUM, I really don't want to be the first one in....

[oyceter]

Hrm, what tics?

I haven't read his later stuff (Sarantium), and I don't remember much of Lions at all...

[yhlee.livejournal.com]

Without getting too detailed (spoiler-problems): unnecessary obfuscation of character identity; gratuitous and as-far-as-I-can-tell pointless graphic sex scenes; characters masturbatorily congratulating each other or themselves over their cleverness and the poignancy of it all; obnoxious moral melodrama (this refers specifically to stuff toward the end of SARANTIUM--if you want to know what I'm referring to after you read it, feel free to ask again); repeated subtle problematic treatment of women, especially the potentiality of women as artist/artisans (this last is more of a quibble, perhaps).

(Keep in mind, he's still quite good. But I expected better after Tigana, and have been largely disappointed. I believe I am a tiny minority, however. Oh, Dianora...)

[oyceter]

Mmm yes... one of the things that used to annoy me about him was the way there was no clear romantic pairing ;). Hee, but I think that's out of my system now that I've started reading romances.

My favorites of his are still Tigana and the Fionavar trilogy (I know, Tolkien derivative, but I'd actually rather read it instead of LotR... ah the blasphemy).