I'll go with the same review structure I used for my Buffy Season 1 reviews, since I've grown so accustomed to it...
Best Character:
Gunn. That last scene broke my heart. While I'm not a hundred percent sure of what use he thinks Frillyria will be to him, his inner conflict and despair there were absolutely believable and real to me.
Best Dynamic:
Gunn and Frillyria. We'd never seen any significant interaction between Gunn and Illyria in Angel canon until now, despite Gunn's history with Fred and his unwitting orchestration of Illyria's rebirth, and I had been feeling the lack of it since Season 5. This scene definitely lived up to my expectations, with Illyria having one of her rare -- but all the more treasured for that very reason -- moments of compassion, and with Gunn seemingly stuck in that "bad but trying so hard to be good" area that I'd come to associate with Season 6 Spike. (And both soulless vampires eventually fail at their efforts, as can be expected.)
Best Scene:
See above.
Best Surprise:
I totally bought that Spike fake-out for a moment there, so I'll have to go with that (and its resolution). Very cruel and evil and twisty and I kinda love Brian for it. :) My second favourite surprise was probably Fred's apparent death. The execution is brill, even if she isn't really dead (and even if she isn't really Fred, for that matter.)
Worst Surprise:
Nothing, really. Maybe Cordelia's sorta abrupt departure, but even that only in retrospect.
Best Quotes:
3)
GUNN: Sending an army, huh? Been there, done that.
WESLEY: No, you really haven't.
GUNN: Oh, yeah? What do you call the army in the alley?
WESLEY: Comparatively? The company softball team.
- - -
2)
VAMPIRE LACKEY: You think this will stop me? I survived slayers!
SPIKE: I didn't. Yet here we are.
- - -
1)
GUNN: Admittedly, I didn't think of your feelings but in the grand scheme of things -- who the hell are you, anyway?
CONNOR: I'm Angel's son. I'm Gwen's boyfriend. I'm also the guy who just did that.
Worst Quote:
Not a specific quote, but I didn't much like Connor repeating paraphrased versions of past monologues. (Didn't like it in the Kate issue, either.) I get why they're there, and I get what they mean for Connor's character, but still, I would have rather seen some original monologues in their place.
Best Panel:
I'll say... the Angel/Cordelia hand-holding panel ("Please. Let's go.") and the splash page with all the dragons.
Worst Panel:
I'll give you two. One is the Angel/Cordelia "It's not all building up to something ..." panel, in which Cordelia looks... incongruously scary. The other is the Gunn/Fred "What can I do to help?" panel in the second-to-last page. That was such a crucial moment for both characters that Mooney should have tried his best to do it justice, but his Fred's proportions and features came out all wrong.
Question You Most Want Answered:
What's gonna happen to Angel now?
Additional Notes:
- Like the art, dislike the colouring. Here's hoping the new guy will do a better job at it.
- Xavier on BuffyForums pointed out that Spike's "I didn't [survive slayers]" line could be considered a big moment for his character, because he seemed strangely... okay with that fact. Proud of it, even. Pretty big leap from the guy whose entire Spike persona was built around that "Slayer of Slayers" title.
- Why did we have to see that Spike-thumbing-his-belt pose (very obviously taken from a Season 2 promo) twice? It's not a mannerism of his, and it wasn't even particularly suitable for the panels in question.
- Loved Gwen's epic death to bits, and thought it very fitting for her to die while using the powers that had ruined her whole life -- and using them for good, this time. That said, I thought the dialogue got a bit confusing at one point: Gwen saying "Oh, Charles. You'd better be right." and immediately following it with "Love you so much" -- the latter of which I assume was directed to Connor, not Gunn. That's the comic equivalent of changing speakers without changing paragraphs.
- I'll miss Cordy the Dragon more than I'll miss Gwen, unfair as that may sound. His death really bummed me out (but in a good way -- guess you have to be a bit of a masochist to properly enjoy the Jossverse).
- Agree with King on this: Why are the slayers suddenly all buddy-buddy with Spike?
- Angelus is going to make a comeback, y/y? I don't think there's an awesomer direction for this story to go in (but on the other hand, I know Brian could prove me wrong, if he so desired). I'm siding with the IDW posters who want a Soulless Angel vs. Souled Spike showdown. That would be (NPH voice) legendary!
- Not missing Spider and co. in the least, but missing Lorne, and, to a lesser degree, Betta George.
- The Cliffhanger from Hell. November can't come fast enough.
Verdict: Definitely one of the best issues in the series so far. I might have liked Issue 12 more, but it was a tight contest.
Rating: 7.5/10
Best Character:
Gunn. That last scene broke my heart. While I'm not a hundred percent sure of what use he thinks Frillyria will be to him, his inner conflict and despair there were absolutely believable and real to me.
Best Dynamic:
Gunn and Frillyria. We'd never seen any significant interaction between Gunn and Illyria in Angel canon until now, despite Gunn's history with Fred and his unwitting orchestration of Illyria's rebirth, and I had been feeling the lack of it since Season 5. This scene definitely lived up to my expectations, with Illyria having one of her rare -- but all the more treasured for that very reason -- moments of compassion, and with Gunn seemingly stuck in that "bad but trying so hard to be good" area that I'd come to associate with Season 6 Spike. (And both soulless vampires eventually fail at their efforts, as can be expected.)
Best Scene:
See above.
Best Surprise:
I totally bought that Spike fake-out for a moment there, so I'll have to go with that (and its resolution). Very cruel and evil and twisty and I kinda love Brian for it. :) My second favourite surprise was probably Fred's apparent death. The execution is brill, even if she isn't really dead (and even if she isn't really Fred, for that matter.)
Worst Surprise:
Nothing, really. Maybe Cordelia's sorta abrupt departure, but even that only in retrospect.
Best Quotes:
3)
GUNN: Sending an army, huh? Been there, done that.
WESLEY: No, you really haven't.
GUNN: Oh, yeah? What do you call the army in the alley?
WESLEY: Comparatively? The company softball team.
- - -
2)
VAMPIRE LACKEY: You think this will stop me? I survived slayers!
SPIKE: I didn't. Yet here we are.
- - -
1)
GUNN: Admittedly, I didn't think of your feelings but in the grand scheme of things -- who the hell are you, anyway?
CONNOR: I'm Angel's son. I'm Gwen's boyfriend. I'm also the guy who just did that.
Worst Quote:
Not a specific quote, but I didn't much like Connor repeating paraphrased versions of past monologues. (Didn't like it in the Kate issue, either.) I get why they're there, and I get what they mean for Connor's character, but still, I would have rather seen some original monologues in their place.
Best Panel:
I'll say... the Angel/Cordelia hand-holding panel ("Please. Let's go.") and the splash page with all the dragons.
Worst Panel:
I'll give you two. One is the Angel/Cordelia "It's not all building up to something ..." panel, in which Cordelia looks... incongruously scary. The other is the Gunn/Fred "What can I do to help?" panel in the second-to-last page. That was such a crucial moment for both characters that Mooney should have tried his best to do it justice, but his Fred's proportions and features came out all wrong.
Question You Most Want Answered:
What's gonna happen to Angel now?
Additional Notes:
- Like the art, dislike the colouring. Here's hoping the new guy will do a better job at it.
- Xavier on BuffyForums pointed out that Spike's "I didn't [survive slayers]" line could be considered a big moment for his character, because he seemed strangely... okay with that fact. Proud of it, even. Pretty big leap from the guy whose entire Spike persona was built around that "Slayer of Slayers" title.
- Why did we have to see that Spike-thumbing-his-belt pose (very obviously taken from a Season 2 promo) twice? It's not a mannerism of his, and it wasn't even particularly suitable for the panels in question.
- Loved Gwen's epic death to bits, and thought it very fitting for her to die while using the powers that had ruined her whole life -- and using them for good, this time. That said, I thought the dialogue got a bit confusing at one point: Gwen saying "Oh, Charles. You'd better be right." and immediately following it with "Love you so much" -- the latter of which I assume was directed to Connor, not Gunn. That's the comic equivalent of changing speakers without changing paragraphs.
- I'll miss Cordy the Dragon more than I'll miss Gwen, unfair as that may sound. His death really bummed me out (but in a good way -- guess you have to be a bit of a masochist to properly enjoy the Jossverse).
- Agree with King on this: Why are the slayers suddenly all buddy-buddy with Spike?
- Angelus is going to make a comeback, y/y? I don't think there's an awesomer direction for this story to go in (but on the other hand, I know Brian could prove me wrong, if he so desired). I'm siding with the IDW posters who want a Soulless Angel vs. Souled Spike showdown. That would be (NPH voice) legendary!
- Not missing Spider and co. in the least, but missing Lorne, and, to a lesser degree, Betta George.
- The Cliffhanger from Hell. November can't come fast enough.
Verdict: Definitely one of the best issues in the series so far. I might have liked Issue 12 more, but it was a tight contest.
Rating: 7.5/10
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