Warning: If reading SPOILER for the latest episode of Angel will make you want to perform an ancient cleansing ritual in response, please turn back now. There are major SPOILERS just ahead for the latest episode of Angel, "The Bachelor Party...."

In short: A nice effort.

It seems the last few weeks of Angel have been directed at showcasing the supporting cast. The first few weeks, we had some rather Angel-heavy episodes and a couple of stories that introduced us to the supporting cast and the overall concept of the series. Now, we've had a couple of episodes that are designed to let us get to know the supporting cast a bit better. Two weeks ago, it was a Cordelia driven episode, last week we got some insight into Kate and this week, we got a bit more information about Doyle. Of the three, I've got to admit that this one worked the best overall. Part of it may be that of the three supporting characters we've seen to date, Doyle has the most overall potential in terms of what we've seen so far. (This is not meant to be a slight against Cordy in any way, namely because we had four years to get to know her on Buffy and so she's got some interesting stuff to do but it's not always new. I think they can really develop her as the show goes along)

And this week, it worked pretty well.

It was pretty Doyle heavy and pretty-angst heavy, if you're a Doyle fan.

But I think we learned a lot about Doyle.

For one thing, there hasn't been much made about Doyle's being half-human/half-demon. Yes, we've had some references made to it in Doyle's wishing to hide this fact from Cordelia, but until this week, we've never really got a good exploration of Doyle's other half. And, for the most part, it all works here.

We get to see here that Doyle is obviously none too thrilled with his demon side. He thinks of it as an obvious handicap and acts accordingly. He's got some huge self-esteem issues going on--seen mainly through the references Harry made to their marriage. It's obvious that Doyle is a bit ashamed of being half-demon. Unlike Angel who has, on some levels, embraced that being a vampire can be good if the power he has is used for good purposes, Doyle hasnt' come to that realization just yet. In fact, we see that early on when Angel asks him why he doesnt' use his demon half in combat knowing that it gives him a bit more strength. We also see that in the explanation Harry gives as to why the marriage broke up to begin with--she wanted to accept who Doyle was, but he didn't.

On a character level, that really clicked for me.

Also, seeing Doyle slowly begin to accept who he was and that people would love him and accept him as demon was nicely done over the hour. It even went so far as Doyle battling with Angel in demon-mode...at least until Cordy comes in.

And then, the insecurities spring back into the picture.

Overall, that worked so well.

It's good to see Doyle developed so well. I like the character. And it's also nice to see him given a bit more depth than the hapless drinker with a dark past. (Indeed, his self-esteem issues may explain his drinking a bit, though I find it interesting he refused a drink with Angel early in the episode).

As for Harry, I liked her as well. She had her moments that just really, really worked. I liked the give and take between she and Cordelia in the episode--especially in the final scenes when they put the clues together and discover the real reason behind the bachelor party....

As for the bachelor party itself, as a plot device to hold the episode together it worked pretty well. Seeing the demon family in the limited mode that we did was nicely done. The one scene that really clicked for me was the family dinner in which they casually talk about eating Doyle's brain but are horrified by the thought of playing charades. An absolutely laugh out loud scene that does what Angel and Buffy do best--combine horror and laughter at the same time.

As for the party, it worked fairly well. The only part I didn't like was Harry's financee. He fell a bit flat at times--namely at times when he wasn't in demonic form. The actor really failed to do well with the part and that's about the only major drawback I can find to an otherwise enjoyable hour of Angel.

So, I guess that's about it for now, except a few small things...

--It's nice to see the Doyle/Cordy relationship take a few steps forward. You've got to wonder how long this crazy dance they're doing will go on...
--"You brought a vampire to my bachelor party?" Great line..
--The direction this week was similar to the one used in the pilot. I liked the jumps that were used to hold the episode together.
--Cordy's date was a riot. I'd love to see more of her social side. And give this woman a female friend or two. Maybe even make Harry a recurring character...

Well, that about wraps it up for now. Overall, "The Bachelor Party" was enjoyable and a good character exploration of Doyle. I hope we see similar, strong episodes in the future...

My rating: 8.0 (out of 10.0)

Next up: Buffy visits LA and the sparks fly...

"You brought a vampire to my bachelor party?"