Episode Reviews   

"In the Dark," Tuesday, October 19, 1999

by Chrystal

I continue to be really pleased by Angel. Besides David looking sexy as usual, the plot was intriguing and gave some insight to the emotional turmoil that is the cause of Angel's incessant brooding. He recognizes from the beginning the danger of possessing the ring of Amara seen in his decision to hide the ring rather than wear it. I do believe that his explanation to Doyle of why he destroys the ring is incomplete. Angel was telling his torturer the truth when he said what he wanted was forgiveness. He does not believe that he deserves the ring after all the awful things that he has done. He is a creature of night. He committed his sins in the night and therefore, believes that is where he belongs. However, I was moved by the moment that he stepped out in the sun. Just for one day he saw all the things he had forgotten, longed and dreamed to share with Buffy. About Buffy, I saw parts of her show, I guess out of sight is really out of mind where she is concerned. I mean, Angel's been gone how long? Okay, I won't go into a bitter diatribe on behalf of Angel:)

Spike is a deliciously evil character. This time around he seemed quieter, but more determined. I laughed out loud in the opening scene where he mocks Angel's conversion to vamp P.I. His last scene where he rants and raves at the himself, the faiths, and then his head starts to burn was hysterical.

I also enjoyed Cordelia more in this time around. She was aggressive in her attempts to save Angel. I loved her with the crossbow. This the spunky Cordelia that I like. I also like that she seemed to care about Angel's welfare beyond her own self-interests. She and Doyle have great chemistry as the quirky sidekicks. Doyle again was fun and proves himself a good confidant for the brooding Angel.

A couple of things: I didn't buy Angel fighting the torturer in broad daylight. Also the sunset at the end looked really fake, it had to be computer generated.

The good news is that the overnight ratings for this episode, 6.0/9 (5.6/9), were higher than the last week's.

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