Angel: 5x9 Full Reaction
Added 2025-10-27 15:00:10 +0000 UTC"Harm's Way"
Comments
Legitimately might be one of my favourite episodes of the show. I don't think it's one of the *best*, but it's one I can rewatch happily a thousand times. There was much talk of a Faith spin-off that never got off the ground (and a Young Ripper one) but Harm's Way, the 22-episode-a-season sitcom about a working vampire gal trying doing night school to become a supernatural lawyer while working her day job in demon law? That has mid-2000s concept sitcom written all over it.
Jon D Arthur
2025-10-31 19:00:13 +0000 UTCOne thing I really like about the Buffyverse is that they paid attention when characters/actors (like Harmony) ended up being awesomer than expected, and they continued to make space for them. Also at this point it's fun that Mercedes McNab has the second longest run for a Buffy actor - she was in Buffy episode 2, so she's second only to Angel himself.
Arlo Murphy
2025-10-29 02:44:17 +0000 UTCRates!!
Ariel17
2025-10-28 04:53:38 +0000 UTCOh, fun tidbit, according to the internet rumor mill (So I do NOT vouch for the accuracy), there's a deleted scene where Harmony was going to have a "Muscle Bound Hunks" calendar at her desk and one of the models would be the Groosalugg. Fred would recognize him. Like I said, I have no source beyond internet repetition, but it sounds like something the show would do.
JBK405
2025-10-28 03:51:43 +0000 UTCAgreed. I would also add that I think Spike is especially concerned with how people perceive him even more than usual with the candidate for the Shanshu prophecy being up in air.
Lime Pie
2025-10-28 02:29:21 +0000 UTCI think Spike's reason for staying works. I think he'd value the poetic act of going out in a blaze of glory. He acts like he doesn't care how other people see him but it kind of seems that deep down that's one of the things he values most. Before he wanted to be seen as the ultimate bad guy now that he's switched he likes being seen as the ultimate good guy. An empty sacrifice would take that ultimate good guy badge from him. When you factor in that he doesn't really think Buffy loves him I think he'd value the self image in his mind more than a probably doomed come back with her.
Captain Hammer
2025-10-28 00:13:58 +0000 UTCTamika did appear for ONE SCENE at the start of the episode (Harmony bumped into her in the lunch room), but she had no lines and wasn't identified. So when she pops up at the end it really is a completely unknown character revealing themself as the mastermind. Something which I saw pointed out elsewhere that I think helps explain why Harmony is having so much difficulty at work and being An Adult is that she was literally turned into a vampire at her high school graduation. It's been five years chronologically speaking, but she's still stuck as a teenager, and never had the chance to mature on her own. It's always iffy just how much vampires "grow" emotionally over time, but it's definitely different than humans do. So to these other people in their twenties and thirties, who've moved out of their parents houses and gone to college and made that transition from teenager to adult, she's always going to be out-of-place. Like a kid sitting with the grown ups. And I've know plenty of Emotionally Mature and Intelligent kids -- sometimes more mature and intelligent than my co-workers -- but they're still KIDS (Or teens). The "Alien" reference with Weyland-Yutani is one of several references to the franchise that have been strung throughout the series so far. Usually they're poking at "Alien: Resurrection", the film which Joss Whedon wrote and which he has publicly said was changed from his script to distance himself from the final product.
JBK405
2025-10-27 23:02:17 +0000 UTCOn paper there doesn't seem to be a lot to like about Harmony, but Mercedes Mcnab is so damn charismatic and hilarious that she's one of my favourite side characters of the Buffyverse, I love her ❤️ Her moment at the end, when she says about having to try a lot harder without a soul, also breaks my heart every time - such a good line delivery. She carries this episode on her back effortlessly with a great comedic performance The rationale for keeping Spike in LA is a bit weak, and definitely meta, but it doesn't bother me too much. I think it boils down to Spike being afraid to see Buffy again more than anything.
Jordan McLaren
2025-10-27 21:00:06 +0000 UTCI always forget that the company from the Alien movie, Wayland-Yutani, is mentioned as a client of Wolfram&Hart in this episode (probably because Joss wrote one of the Alien sequels).
The Testimony of Mushroom
2025-10-27 20:43:40 +0000 UTCI can see Harmony headlining a Real Vampire Housewives of LA type thing. Love Mercedes McNab, great comedic performance in this episode which felt like a real showcase for her while giving the rest of the cast a break. Agreed on Spike; his reasoning doesn't need to make sense as long as it's in-character, but it's not. Spike is at a point in his development where he shouldn't give much of a damn about that kind of thing, especially when it comes to Buffy. I think he would even feel he owes it to her to let her know he's alive, because he absolutely does.
Jorgalorg
2025-10-27 19:29:12 +0000 UTCOh man I adore this episode - now that you've pointed it out I desperately need that vampire Devil Wears Prada style spin-off! The previous 2 episodes have such good heavy character stuff going on but I just love how this episode comes in with a different spin on it, Harmony is just so fun to watch any time she's on screen and I also love seeing the employee perspective of Angel taking over w&h, like he's kinda scary lol. And that opening video always cracks me up, but it's also such a long way from s1's 'our rats are low'!
Mollie K
2025-10-27 17:20:05 +0000 UTCA fun Harmony centric episode. Regarding the employee orientation video- Wolfram&Hart has News Corp as a client. News Corp is the parent company of FOX which screwed over Firefly. This happened a few months before Angel was given control of the LA branch of Wolfram&Hart. Clearly, the cancellation of Firefly was part of Wolfram&Hart’s evil schemes. Also they represent Weyland-Yutani, the corporation that wanted to get the Xenomorph in the movie 'Alien'.
James Smith
2025-10-27 16:49:59 +0000 UTCI'm at work so I can't watch the full video, but I'm popping in to predict that you EXPLODE when you realize that this is a Harmony-focused episode!
JBK405
2025-10-27 15:54:18 +0000 UTC
