Wow. Okay. Now that I've actually read the issue, instead of relying on summarized spoilers, I have to eat my criticisms. I liked it best out of all the Angel: After the Fall issues, and possibly even better than Issue 4 of Spike: After the Fall. Real sorry about that textual eyeroll over at Whedonesque, Brian!
King and Pat are absolutely right that it brought about too many changes for it to be dismissed as a "reset" -- not least the disclosure of the supernatural element to the public. And even the problems I would have had with the character deaths are ameliorated by this exchange: "No. Leave me be. Please, let me die." -- "Sorry, Charles. It's not that easy." Reminds me of what D'Hoffryn said in Selfless: Never go for the kill when you can go for the pain. (One has to hope, though, that that's actually followed up in Angel: Aftermath.)
'Course, in this 'verse, you get joy and happy-teary right alongside the pain: Angel/Connor reunion. Most moving scene in the issue, and even moreso after Angel's acknowledgment of Connor as his "true love". Wouldn't this have made a great ending to the issue, if not the series? "In fact, it's kind of a happy ending, isn't it?" -- "I'm not sure... I've never had one before." Sniffle.
Now, I have to admit that Wesley's presence in After the Fall after his incredible death scene often felt like unjustified fanservice, and that, other than the few and far between Wesley/Illyria bits, he's competing with Spike for the least satisfying arc out of all the characters, but: his closing line here was perfection. "Yes. But so was she." There's never been any question in my mind that Fred had to be his "ever after", even though I'm going to miss Wesley/Illyria something terrible in the future continuations.
Other things I liked, writing-wise... the funny Brian managed to squeeze into so grave an issue. ("Illyria. Have you lost weight? See, because -" -- "Because I was a massive creature. I understand. It was a marginally successful attempt at humor." -- "Thank you?" Nyahaha!) The alley fight; much more exciting and atmospheric than the glimpse we got in First Night. The Doublemeat Palace! LOVE EET. I think I would like Buffy: Season 8 so much more if it ignored its pride just long enough to slip in an Angel reference or two, the way Angel: After the Fall and Spike: After the Fall have been doing all along.
The only things I'm unsure about are Westerberg's inclusion, which seemed more than a bit self-indulgent, and the lack of payoff for the Spider decapitation panel. What was the point of her character again?
On another note, the colouring was one of the first things that rubbed me the right way about this issue. It's positively breathtaking and by far the best in the series so far; no other issue even comes close. Vibrant yellows and reds and blues is what Hell should have looked like all along, not the washed-out browns we've had to tolerate for the past issues.
And art-wise, Urru outdid himself. His best work. I didn't like the double use of Wesley walking to Illyria's body, but he knocked all the rest out of the park, from the triumphant and eerie power-shot of "I'll live" to the adrenaline of "-- she won't have to" to the extremely emotional Angel/Connor hug.
10/10
King and Pat are absolutely right that it brought about too many changes for it to be dismissed as a "reset" -- not least the disclosure of the supernatural element to the public. And even the problems I would have had with the character deaths are ameliorated by this exchange: "No. Leave me be. Please, let me die." -- "Sorry, Charles. It's not that easy." Reminds me of what D'Hoffryn said in Selfless: Never go for the kill when you can go for the pain. (One has to hope, though, that that's actually followed up in Angel: Aftermath.)
'Course, in this 'verse, you get joy and happy-teary right alongside the pain: Angel/Connor reunion. Most moving scene in the issue, and even moreso after Angel's acknowledgment of Connor as his "true love". Wouldn't this have made a great ending to the issue, if not the series? "In fact, it's kind of a happy ending, isn't it?" -- "I'm not sure... I've never had one before." Sniffle.
Now, I have to admit that Wesley's presence in After the Fall after his incredible death scene often felt like unjustified fanservice, and that, other than the few and far between Wesley/Illyria bits, he's competing with Spike for the least satisfying arc out of all the characters, but: his closing line here was perfection. "Yes. But so was she." There's never been any question in my mind that Fred had to be his "ever after", even though I'm going to miss Wesley/Illyria something terrible in the future continuations.
Other things I liked, writing-wise... the funny Brian managed to squeeze into so grave an issue. ("Illyria. Have you lost weight? See, because -" -- "Because I was a massive creature. I understand. It was a marginally successful attempt at humor." -- "Thank you?" Nyahaha!) The alley fight; much more exciting and atmospheric than the glimpse we got in First Night. The Doublemeat Palace! LOVE EET. I think I would like Buffy: Season 8 so much more if it ignored its pride just long enough to slip in an Angel reference or two, the way Angel: After the Fall and Spike: After the Fall have been doing all along.
The only things I'm unsure about are Westerberg's inclusion, which seemed more than a bit self-indulgent, and the lack of payoff for the Spider decapitation panel. What was the point of her character again?
On another note, the colouring was one of the first things that rubbed me the right way about this issue. It's positively breathtaking and by far the best in the series so far; no other issue even comes close. Vibrant yellows and reds and blues is what Hell should have looked like all along, not the washed-out browns we've had to tolerate for the past issues.
And art-wise, Urru outdid himself. His best work. I didn't like the double use of Wesley walking to Illyria's body, but he knocked all the rest out of the park, from the triumphant and eerie power-shot of "I'll live" to the adrenaline of "-- she won't have to" to the extremely emotional Angel/Connor hug.
10/10
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