Angel - 5.16 "Shells"

As I still hadn't quite come to grips with Fred being gone, the first time I watched this ep I felt kinda uncomforatble. Not willing to accept that Fred was gone gone. To watch each of the charaters also fight with this notion seemed to fit perfectly.

On second viewing, which for this ep felt necessary, I felt more at ease with Illyria, and started to appreciate how well Amy Acker adapted to this character. I know it's called acting, but when Cordy was all possessed it just didn't sit right, Illyria is already a complex character I'm wanting to know a little more about.

Wesley's greif throughout was totally believable and didn't cross the well trod boundary into melodrama. I had a physical reaction when he knifed Gunn in the guts. Who spent the whole episode waiting for him to shoot Knox! Wesley has always been a fav of mine, and even when he's a bit unhinged, I still think he's the best character on the show. Angel: 'Were you even listening?'

I still feel like Lorne has a reduced part now that he's a regular, back when he first started they needed a reason to have him on screen, now they're trying to find a reason to have him. Harmony has certainly found a hole to fill we didn't know needed to be this year and shines week to week.

Right now there isn't a character that I don't want to have around. Even Spike. Everyone is playing the game and is paying the price.

I think the fact that the rest of the team all helped in their own way in Fred's demise could have been explored differently, but I certainly felt Wesley's betrayal. These last two eps appear to be a 2 parter but don't have the usual impact or structure used before. Perhaps it was, because Illyria didn't turn out to be the Big Bad we assumed she would be. I believe it was about this time The WB pulled the plug on the series.

I don't care how, I still want Fred back.