Episode Reviews   

Innocence - Tuesday 20 January, 1998

"Innocence" has to be the 2nd pivotal Angel Episode. Heartbreaking, crushing, shattering; these are just a few of the words I could come up with to describe this episode. Joss definitely took us on an emotional roller coaster and he did it with the Whedon style. Awesome storytelling, Joss! I must admit that while I may not have liked the results, I did enjoy the ride. Watching Angel lose his soul and set out to emotionally destroy Buffy, like he did Dru, was simply fascinating torment.

When Angelus first saw Buffy after losing his soul and said those horrible things to her, I felt her despair and pain. I mean isn't that a girl's worst nightmare after her first sexual experience? I felt Buffy's hurt and disappointment. And when Angelus grabbed Willow, I was freaked to realize that he had truly lost everything about himself. Angelus will stalk Buffy until he mentally breaks her, but Buffy is not Dru, she is much stronger. When she was crying on her bed, I wanted to bawl my eyes out with her. It was so painfully moving.

The promo showed Buffy hugging Xander. What does this mean for Angel and Buffy? If Buffy gets involved with Xander so soon after losing Angel then what does that say about her love for Angel? I don't think that she has romantic feelings for Xander, but she is hurting and may turn to him in desperation. In any case, how long can Buffy hold out waiting for Angel to return (as we know that he must)? As for Jana "Jenny," I swear I just want to slap the crap out of her. Good riddance to her uncle, I say. I was glad that Giles turned his back on her. Giles' support of Buffy was so sweet and she is going to need it desperately.

My poor Angel, how will he survive when his soul returns and he realizes what he has done? The things he has said to Buffy? He will be destroyed and don't think he could ever forgive himself. His heart will be completely broken. This is absolutely torture for me. I know there are some people who have said that will stop watching the show, especially if Angel does not get back his soul quickly. My position is that I'm not giving up on Angel and Buffy. I believe that they have this fantasy mystical love of a lifetime that I have rarely seen and I want to see them triumph over all the obstacles that Joss throws their way. I have to have faith that no matter what Angel and Buffy's love will survive and that they will hold on to each other. So don't give up! Joss said the one thing that he knows is that Buffy loves Angel and that he loves her and as long as Joss holds to this principle, there is hope for them no matter how tragic things appear.

On a positive note, David was shirtless again which is always a good thing, I say. He looked sexy as hell in those leather pants. Wonder if they were in his closet all along? There was also something chilling and majorly breathtaking about the evil Angelus. He promises to be Buffy's strongest enemy ever. He knows all her weaknesses and is willing to exploit them. The cockiness we saw in the first season is back. He is simply mesmerizing. His banter with Spike and Dru was great. I suspect in the end that Spike will team up with Buffy to get Angelus away from Dru. Angelus and Dru belong together. They both have that ruthlessness that Spike does not really have. Spike wants results, but Angelus and Dru like playing their sick games. There is no way Spike is going to lose Dru so at some point he will have to take action to get rid of Angelus even if he has to ally himself with Buffy for awhile.

The real question is how long is the evil Angelus going to be around. Joss will definitely be tight lipped, but we can assume that Angelus will be around to at least the end of the season, which is about 7 to 8 more episodes. So Angel fans hold on to your old episodes. We'll have to rewatch them over and over to give ourselves some comfort.

Don't forget David's chat tonight. To any of you who can make it, I can't. I would love hearing from you about what David said. Email me and I'll post your summary of the chat.

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