Angel

1st season - 70% - Because it was clear that over time Angel would become just a sidekick in Sunnydale and there were many possibilities hidden within his character, separating Angel's fate from the rest of the party was the best solution. However, in the first season, there is still a lack of it, especially a more significant long-term storyline. Compared to the parallel fourth season of Buffy, the episodic nature is particularly surprising. Another problem is the group around the main hero. Instead of the main partner, the unexpected departure makes it a somewhat problematic role, and Wesley, in his angelic beginnings, still looks grotesque. Unfortunately, Cordelia only alternates between annoying/materialistic/misunderstanding/sympathetic, but the ending itself hints at better times. And finally, the positives? Angel! David Boreanaz could just wave his coat and look sadly into the camera and it would work. Whether he dislikes something or just remembers a recent romance, the viewer can only go through everything with him. This is most evident in the episodes when both series overlap, whether it is "I Will Remember You", fulfilling dreams for all B+A fans, or "Five by Five", which deepens the special relationship with Faith, emotions almost come off the screen. And as for the villains - Wolfram & Hart look good, act slyly and cunningly, and at the very end, they show unexpected claws. Yes, there were episodes that I experienced, but Buffy also didn't start off on the right foot. And considering what magnificent fantasy Angel eventually turned out to be, I am willing to forgive a few initial stumbling blocks. 2nd season - 90% - The enemy comes, against whom there is no defense. Someone who wraps you around their finger and you won't know whether to hate or adore them. Angel intertwines the past with the present because of him, rejecting more and more of his current existence and reaching the edge of the abyss from which he might never escape. The continuation of Angel leaves its beginnings far behind. Also because it is never clear if I will get a dark spectacle from a torn soul or a classic detective story like in the old times. And the idea to make the end of the season a four-part adventure instead of a gradual finale deserves some kind of award for Joss Whedon's team. 3rd season - 100% - The past brings the future. An old enemy, a new enemy, an unexpected enemy, and one surprising motive for redemption, surrounded by so many webs that it almost takes your breath away. Hyperion thus becomes definitively the place where I want to work. And not just because there's nothing better than twists that make it clear that the main storyline will never be the same. With this, Angel definitely steps out of Buffy's shadow, and to my infinite surprise, in several respects, surpasses her. It's all thanks to that pervasive darkness. Bad things often happen in Buffy too, but when a motive for potential betrayal from within appears - that's the moment that completely paralyzes the viewer. And the way the final episode ends suggests a story of genuine tragedy. 4th season - 100% - Climax, misfortune, ruin, and climax again. What the first half of the season brings, that is, drama in which there is no room for happy endings, is without exaggeration the best that the world of Angel and Buffy has ever offered. Surprising revelations interspersed with humor, escalating apocalypse, a few returns, and dialogues so well thought-out that they send shivers down your spine. But when beloved characters appear and unexpected enemies arrive, it's a sign of impending fate. Although I had to get used to the final antagonist for a while, with hindsight, there is nothing to criticize. But it wouldn't be Angel if there wasn't a twist at the end of it all. And it's not just any twist, but an explanation and an indirectly shocking conclusion to the previous four years. The episode "Home" is a daring and incredibly bold leap into unknown waters. The fifth season will show us where it can lead us. 5th season - 100% - The lion's pit has opened, the heroes enter it with their heads held high, and the limits of what one small story can achieve are pushed to the maximum. Since the blonde with a stake first appeared at Sunnydale High, twelve seasons have passed, either in Sunnydale or Los Angeles. And at the end of it all is her inconspicuous pensive protector, whom no one could have predicted such rich fates for in the pilot episode of Buffy. And whether the final (and best) batch of episodes tries to attack the viewer's senses in a deadly way or destroys them with the departure of the main character, for the entire series, I never doubted for a moment that everything always led right here. To the essence of the whole story, to gather the last bit of strength. To the final resistance, one rainy night, back alley behind the Hyperion. And that is what makes Angel a legendary TV monument. (02/08/2008) (less) (more)