Angel Review – “You’re Welcome”

Cordelia’s back, and she’s still telling it exactly
as she sees it.

Cast and Crew

David
Boreanez
as
Angel

Alexis
Denisof
as
Wesley Wyndham-Pryce

J.
August Richards

as Charles Gunn

Amy
Acker
as Fred
Burkle

Andy
Hallett
as
Lorne

James
Marsters
as
Spike

Written and directed by David Fury

Original Airdate

You’re Welcome originally aired on
Wednesday, February 4,
2004.

Synopsis

Cordelia wakes up as a result of a vision.

High Point

“I’ll go.” “Okay.”

Low Point

The framing was off in the big battle scene. Maybe
that was a
limitation of how tall they could build the set, but
we shouldn’t lose
their heads through the top of the frame when the
bottom half of the
screen has nothing of relevance.

The Review

The elements that strongly reminded me of previous
episodes did so
deliberately and effectively, so I won’t include them
in the
originality score. This was a fan payoff
episode, marking
the big 100. They brought out all sorts of classic
elements and
moments from the entire series, and did it without
resorting to a clip
show. There weren’t really any new elements, but it
didn’t really
feel like a retread either. I give it 5 out of 6.

The effects were well done. The wire
fighting was well done,
as were the physical effects in the last scene.
Angel’s good hit
could have looked much worse, but they kept it quick
and edited
rapidly, consistent with the rest of the scene. I
give it 5 out of 6.

The story was well done, setting up the rest
of the season
and series on a great foot, providing some closure to
past threads
that pay off for long-term fans. Expectations were
high, and were
well met. I give it 5 out of 6.

The acting was very good. I truly believed
that Angel and
Cordelia missed each other (which could well be
because David Boreanaz
and Charisma Carpenter missed each other; readers
know I’m not
thrilled with his acting ability, and hers is
comparable when she’s
trying to play evil or bitchy.) Charisma Carpenter
was actually in
very good form tonight. Cordelia’s role in the group
dynamic just
hasn’t been filled, and that’s even more obvious
after tonight’s
episode. I give it 5 out of 6.

The emotional response was very strong.
Apart from the
laughter in a very amusing episode (including
Harmony’s scenes,
surprisingly), I had pretty strong emotional ties to
the past, and
felt an effective kick in the gut in the final scene.
(This is
particularly impressive, as I was expecting it.) I
give it 6 out of
6.

The production was fairly well done in the
first three acts.
The big battle sequence just felt like they didn’t
have the facilities
to meet the expectations of the script. It was
framed as though they
needed to hide a ceiling, “the blue one” looked
pretty bloody red, and
the rising centerpiece seemed to be pretty low given
the rate and
duration of its climb. (I suspect it was lowered a
bit between cuts,
to give the impression of being larger than the set
would allow.) I
give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, it’s a very good episode, despite
the limitations of
the facilities in producing the big battle sequence.
I give it 5 out
of 6.

In total, You’re Welcome receives 35 out of
42.

19 replies on “Angel Review – “You’re Welcome””

  1. Plot Set Up?
    So… Maybe I Just Missed It, But I Don’t Get Where They’re Going From Here. They’re Still In Charge Of Hell, Inc., And They’re Not Looking To Change That.

    Also, Was It Just Me Or Did Cordy Miss About Three Or Four Buttons On Those Shirts? I mean, We See Cleavage, But Usually Not Down To The Bra Itself! (Not That I’m Complaining.)

    • Re: Plot Set Up?

      So… Maybe I Just Missed It, But I Don’t Get Where They’re Going From Here. They’re Still In Charge Of Hell, Inc., And They’re Not Looking To Change That.

      Also, Was It Just Me Or Did Cordy Miss About Three Or Four Buttons On Those Shirts? I mean, We See Cleavage, But Usually Not Down To The Bra Itself! (Not That I’m Complaining.)

      What has me thinking is the way people were dying in this epp. Cordelia was walking around with the crew and simultaneously laying in a coma. We know this wasn’t a First style illusion because she picked up the sword & hugged people. Ergo the TPTB can concoct her a new body whenever they feel the hankering. Her or anybody else for that matter. So I’m thinking Cordelia might be back.

      And Lindsay… Oh, I will lay some serious money that he will be back. Now that Angel knows about the thing in the basement, he can take steps… like filling the entire room with concrete. That said, the Senior Partners will be looking for a new Omega option. Anybody see where this is going?

    • Re: Plot Set Up?

      So… Maybe I Just Missed It, But I Don’t Get Where They’re Going From Here. They’re Still In Charge Of Hell, Inc., And They’re Not Looking To Change That.

      Also, Was It Just Me Or Did Cordy Miss About Three Or Four Buttons On Those Shirts? I mean, We See Cleavage, But Usually Not Down To The Bra Itself! (Not That I’m Complaining.)

      What has me thinking is the way people were dying in this epp. Cordelia was walking around with the crew and simultaneously laying in a coma. We know this wasn’t a First style illusion because she picked up the sword & hugged people. Ergo the TPTB can concoct her a new body whenever they feel the hankering. Her or anybody else for that matter. So I’m thinking Cordelia might be back.

      And Lindsay… Oh, I will lay some serious money that he will be back. Now that Angel knows about the thing in the basement, he can take steps… like filling the entire room with concrete. That said, the Senior Partners will be looking for a new Omega option. Anybody see where this is going?

  2. Personal Low Point
    I was a bit disappointed by the thing in the cage. It was set up as the unstoppable power established by The Senior Partners to kill Angel in an emergency. Well, I guess I was expecting something scarier than just a bug monster (thinking back to Joss himself talking about the human Reavers in Firefly would be scarier than any kind of bug eyed monster).

    Then again, I was expecting some kind of thing where the device didn’t contain the unstoppable monster, but would rather create it, probably out of Lindsey. Then again, I’m cliche like that.

    • Re: Personal Low Point

      I was a bit disappointed by the thing in the cage.

      I thought it was pretty neat. Very Hitchcock-ian of them to only give us indistinct glimpses of the monster, which in my mind was some chthonian beast of infernal origins. It vaguely resembled a creature included in one of the Buffy or Angel comics, renouned for its ability to devour vampires. The issue escapes me at the moment.

  3. I Miss Cordelia
    Last night I finally realized what’s been missing from both this season, and most of last season: The old Cordelia! And now that she was back to remind us of just how good the show can be, she’s gone and likely we’ll never see her again. Damn it, Joss!! What are you playing at??? She was the “glue” that held the gang together, and now she’s gone. :'(

    • Re: I Miss Cordelia
      There’s a continual theme of “Things Fall Apart” in the Whedonverse. It goes for Buffy, Angel, and Firefly – the only constant is decay. Continually happy characters are uninteresting and unrealistic; if people want that, they go watch The Simpsons or a similarly lighthearted show where everything is the same at the end of every episode, no one gets killed, and everyone lives happily ever after.

      Relationships are especially prone to it – Buffy and Angel were destined to failure; a pair of more star-crossed lovers you’ll never find. She was then taken advantage of by Parker, couldn’t open up to Riley, and engaged in a unhealthy relationship with Spike (who, amazingly, was the most honest of anyone in a relationship with her).

      Xander never got Buffy. Jenny was slain by Angelus to hurt Giles, who kept betraying Buffy in little ways. By the time Willow got Xander, it was the worst possible moment. Xander was taken advantage of by Faith, and then almost killed by her. Spike lost Dru. Willow lost Oz three times; the first with Xander, once because of Veruca and once because of Tara. Willow lost Tara, only to regain her and watch her killed. Xander lost Anya twice in a similar fashion. And Spike started become close to Buffy again just in time to die.

      And that’s just the short, short version of Buffy.

      • Re: I Miss Cordelia

        There’s a continual theme of “Things Fall Apart” in the Whedonverse. […]
        Relationships are especially prone to it [extensive list of Buffyverse failed
        relationships]

        Well said!

        And then, there’s Andrew…

        ;-)

    • Re: I Miss Cordelia
      It was great seeing Cordelia again, the show just hasn’t been the same since her departure. But TPTB can always bring her back if she wants to come back. Miss Carpenter has moved on and has been in some made for TV movies, plus she has had some bit parts in a few series, nothing with monster or vamps in them. But the truth hurts, it was her choise to leave the series and I don’t think she’ll be back other then a cameo show or two. SHE LOOKED GREAT WOW!!!!

  4. You’re Welcome

    All in all, an enjoyable episode. I really missed Cordy, which is odd since I spent the first 1 1/2 – 2 seasons hating her. But she is what this show needs to get back on track. I was so dumbstruck by the last few seconds I just stared at the screen for a few minutes after the ep ended. So sad.

    WTF happened to Dennis?!?!

    I don’t really have much else to say except: That was Lindsey’s big plan? Unleash a monster on Angel? Oooh, scary. Somehow I expected more. Hopefully we haven’t seen the last of him. And I am really disappointed that a monster is the Senior Partners’ idea of a good failsafe against Angel. He’s been taking out monsters for years now, I don’t see him really sweating another one, no matter how powerful it might be.

    Oh, and: Spike still sucks. Next week’s ep just looks bad, so bad…

  5. One question
    So, is Angel going to get the visions now?

    It seemed the point of flashing back to Doyle was to remind us how he passed them on to Cordy.

    • Re: One question

      So, is Angel going to get the visions now?

      It seemed the point of flashing back to Doyle was to remind us how he passed them on to Cordy.

      Well, the last time that Angel had visions he was reduced to a quivering wreck chained up in a room in the hotel, unable to be a champion at all – of course, that was in an alternate reality/vision induced by Skip and as such is suspect, but hey, I’ll go with it.

    • Re: One question

      So, is Angel going to get the visions now?

      It seemed the point of flashing back to Doyle was to remind us how he passed them on to Cordy.

      There was another person who had that sort of contact with Cordy, though not identically. Spike bit her. What if… ;)

      • Re: One question

        There was another person who had that sort of contact with Cordy, though not identically. Spike bit her. What if… ;)

        I can think of someone who had a hell of a lot more contact with Cordy than either Spike or Angel. Perhaps Connor’s perfect life will suddenly be upset by the onset of (not so?) brain wracking visions.

        • Re: One question

          There was another person who had that sort of contact with Cordy, though not identically. Spike bit her. What if… ;)

          I can think of someone who had a hell of a lot more contact with Cordy than either Spike or Angel. Perhaps Connor’s perfect life will suddenly be upset by the onset of (not so?) brain wracking visions.

          I don’t think it’s passed by just any contact, but more by a kiss before dying.

          • Re: One question

            I don’t think it’s passed by just any contact, but more by
            a kiss before dying.

            The kisser has to be in love with the kissee. Also, Cordy
            still had them when she went into the coma, and didn’t
            pass them along before she came back. I think that Angel
            and company are going to have to do without them.

            • Re: One question

              I don’t think it’s passed by just any contact, but more by
              a kiss before dying.

              The kisser has to be in love with the kissee. Also, Cordy
              still had them when she went into the coma, and didn’t
              pass them along before she came back. I think that Angel
              and company are going to have to do without them.

              Or Groo Could Come Back, Much To My Sister’s Delight.

  6. Great ep….
    Well IMHO Lindsey is due to drop out of a portal again in a couple of eps, probbaly fresh from killing the senior partners with those powers he had that were never explained.

    hmm?

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