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The last season of Angel was certainly its most unusual. It had a fantastic new
setup, thanks to the last episode of the fourth season. Longtime Angel villains
Wolfram and Hart have made Angel's PI Gang an offer that they just can't refuse.
It was a deal with the devil to be sure. That is, if the deal with the devil was
that you would work for him, but be able to kill a few of his buddies once in a
while.
The gang spends the season trying to do as best they can working for the bad
guys while still trying to do some good. Much of the tension and fun of this
final season comes from seeing them making what turns out to be difficult
decisions. Do they attack a clan of baby-eating Imari demons, or do they stop a
virus from destroying a small town? Examples are my own, but you get the idea.
Per usual for the Buffy-verse, there's plenty of interpersonal drama going on
with the gang. Perhaps the focus isn't as much on angsty relationships, but
given that backdrop, there's going to be plenty of inter-vamp trouble. Remarkably brought back from the near dead, Spike is the most changed. He's now a ghostly apparition that can do nothing during fights but make smart-ass comments. Come to think of it, that's pretty close to what he did before. Gunn
has had his mind juiced to become a super-lawyer, and Fred, Wesley and Lorne are still the same, though definitely more self-aware. And despite his reservations of "working for the bad guys" Angel starts to come to the realization that he's important and he has work to do as a hero.
The fifth season of Angel, as different as it was from the other seasons in both Buffy and in its earlier years, proved to be a worthy end to the run of the show. Like the end of Buffy mere months before it, the show forced you to consider the meaning and importance of each character, even in their deaths.We've spent a lot of time with these people, after all. Even Muppet-Angel. Now where's the next Whedon show that we can obsess about?
Grade: A
Rain soaked finale. |
Video and Audio: 4 out of 5
The season isn't as dark as the seasons that have come before it. Given that much of the show takes place in a wide open and bright office building, the murky depths of the "Apocalypse" season is far behind us. Except for some slight pixelization and contrast problems in a few
episodes, it's mostly a good looking transfer. Sound is good, front centered and bold, but nothing beyond normal TV.
Widescreen Anamorphic - 1.78:1 / Dolby (English 2.0)
Extras: 4 out of 5
The typical Buffy-universe extras reign, including a retrospective documentary, a couple of featurettes on the more interesting episodes (like the puppet one), a long gag reel and the typical good collection of commentaries.
Overall: 4 out of 5
The final season of Angel lacks some of the more "legacy" type episodes that connect with the universe at large, probably because they were trying to draw new fans before the series was cancelled. Still, it's a worthy end to a great spin-off.
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Angel: Season 5 and Support Lights Out Films |
