Angel: 5x10 Full Reaction
Added 2025-10-29 15:00:08 +0000 UTC
Comments
Reminiscent of the David Duchovny directed episodes of The X Files.
Joshua Taylor
2025-10-31 16:24:55 +0000 UTCAt the time it was ending, I remember a ton of rumors about them doing a Buffy/Angel movie to finish things, but rumor at the time was SMG & AH weren't going to come back because they had other projects they were moving on to. There was also rumor of a Faith spin off at the time, but then Tru Calling and Doll House happened instead. Sigh. What could have been.
MaggieStormborn
2025-10-31 12:12:34 +0000 UTCI have my own (unconfirmed) thoughts about Angel's fever dream this episode. Specifically, regarding Angel's dream with Buffy and Spike having sex, I always wondered why they brought up those specific lines of dialogue from the Buffy episode "The Prom". When she says: " Can you say jumping the gun? I killed my goldfish." when just a few minutes earlier in the Fred dissection dream scene Fred removes a fishbowl from Angel's body and says thats his soul, and that the fish (soul) is dead. The way I interpret those scenes is that is how Angel subconsciously imagines his soul to be, or at least because of that convo he had with Buffy in The Prom episode, because in a way he may have internalized Buffy having been responsible for killing his soul (or the ensouled Angel) when they slept together in S2 of Buffy and he became Angelus. Which also ties in with how Buffy viewed herself in that whole scenario back in the S2 episode "I only have eyes for you". She blamed herself for "killing" the person she loved and she couldn't forgive herself, until the end of the episode and from then on was able to move past that trauma in order to do what needed to be done and kill Angelus. There's a couple other details and pieces of dialogue in this episode I've formed interpretations about but can't say cause of spoilers...
Ariel17
2025-10-31 05:26:48 +0000 UTCThe goldfish/Pinocchio connection I had never realized. That’s really interesting. Regarding the bear thing, that also makes me chuckle every time I see it, it’s just SO random. But if I try really hard to find meaning in it then I have an idea (that just occurred to me watching this episode again) that the bear may be a reference to the “Pangs” episode of Buffy when Buffy “made a bear” and Angel was in that episode in the background so he would’ve seen that moment. We already see in a later dream that Buffy is on his mind…
Ariel17
2025-10-31 05:17:43 +0000 UTCBuffy said that to Angel before prom, when he was breaking up with her for her own sake. But the manner in which it was said was a lil different.
Morgan Williams
2025-10-30 06:07:07 +0000 UTCI was a bit baffled, too, as to why Lindsey would send Spike to save Angel, but it makes sense once you realize that the goal isn't to incapacitate Angel. If that was it, they could have driven him into a permanent vegetative state. But the real goal is to make him give up voluntarily: "All you have to do is stop caring," Fred operating on Angel is filled with goofy obscure clues. My favorite is the goldfish in a bowl, which Fred identifies as his soul. I didn't get it until one of my online Buffy/Angel friends reminded me that one of Pinocchio's traveling companions was a goldfish in a bowl (tying in to the later scene where The Blue Fairy turns Spike into A Real Boy). I still don't know what the bear means (though "Thank you, bear" is my favorite line), but Angel sadly walking off pushing the mail cart once again identifies him with Numero Cinco.
DanielOrme
2025-10-30 00:38:40 +0000 UTCSome people claim that this episode was a test for a potential new Spike spinoff, but to my knowledge there's never been any sort of confirmation on that. I think it's just because there are so many references to the pilot episode of this series that people think it's a "secret" pilot. It's set up that Lindsey is lying about it all, including the visions. With Doyle and Cordelia we -- the audience -- always saw part of the vision as well (Flashes, sounds, etc.). Just seeing him squint and pinch his face says he's playing pretend.
JBK405
2025-10-29 23:48:23 +0000 UTCSo many cool directorial choices by David in this episode - I love when shows let a cast member take a shot at directing, and I think he did a great job for his first time. It helps that the dream parts are pretty wacky, so he could really have fun with them. The tone shifts from bizarre and funny to genuinely creepy are well-handled in my opinion. I find it so interesting the way Wesley and Gunn are shot and framed in their conversation with Spike: the way the camera is angled up at them makes them look imposing and threatening. Makes them look like bad guys; it really helps sell the theme of the season. I couldn't believe it when I first watched this and Lindsay called himself Doyle. It felt like such a slap to the face. We're definitely meant to understand that his "visions" are total crap. His little performance when he's supposedly having one is laughably bad, especially compared to what we've seen the real visions do to Doyle and Cordy - how violent and painful they were. As for Eve, I don't think she was expecting to be called out at the end: her microexpressions betray an inner panic as she tries to cover her back. Next episode is one of my favourites! Can't wait :)
Jordan McLaren
2025-10-29 21:23:27 +0000 UTCThis was David Boreanaz’ directorial debut, also he was recovering after undergoing knee surgery, hence so much of Angel sitting or lying down in this episode.
James Smith
2025-10-29 20:17:24 +0000 UTCThe license plate and the gulf stream line is a Jaws reference and I love it. And yep, they're old lines from the prom episode, I think. The shot of Angel walking away slowly with the mail cart is one of the funniest moments in the show for me.
Jorgalorg
2025-10-29 19:25:40 +0000 UTCI've found it to be true with some of my other favourite series as well, some of the best directed episodes are the ones done by it's own actors.
Preaching to the Horse's Mouth
2025-10-29 16:21:28 +0000 UTC
