Angel: 4x10 Full Reaction
Added 2025-08-05 14:44:47 +0000 UTC
Comments
Yeah you really gotta put your thinking cap on this season. They got you with this episode lol!
Morgan Williams
2025-08-07 22:26:53 +0000 UTCEverything in this episode is a misdirect. People are being manipulated into doing very disastrous things for their personal mental health. The unseen hand (of the writers?) seems to be leading our crew towards desperation tactics, that might save the day, keep them alive, but lose anyway. They are already talking about thousands of casualties, something they haven't ever had to deal with. They handled a whole building of murder victims OK, mostly because the zombie thing and that they were the "enemy" before, they were a bit more shaken by the rooftop eye of fire massacre, but had no time to think about it. Actually they seem to be more off their game when they have downtime to think about it. Somebody is a traitor, that seems clear. Angel we know is not. But now there is Angelus, very much a traitor to anyone. Gunn is disaffected, wrapped up in his failing romantic relationship with Fred. He is known to compromise his allegiances for personal gain. He has totally abandoned his old group, mostly I guess because of the action, being saved by Angel, and falling in love with Fred. But with Gunn, nothing good ever lasts. Cordelia seems a bit sad and lost, and emotionally distant, even though she tries to "open up" with Connor and Angel, it seems more like she is trying to decide if she can live with herself more than to help Angel and Connor, stay on mission. Fred seems to be absorbed in the mystery, the fact finding keeps the fear from consuming her whole, but her judgement regarding Gunn seems like she is just going to leave it up to Gunn to do something to get her back emotionally, and he can't. Wesley is shining, his bravery and intelligence is winning, and he shows his value to the group. He has been morally ambivalent this season tho, but he seems genuine, and would not side with the beast, it is not in his nature. So enter Gwen Raiden, an amoral criminal with a tragic backstory, and suddenly all the people they are trying to protect start dying all around her. She doesn't seem to be aligned with the beast, because he attacked her, I guess. But that scene at her place, (the locked door mystery murder, that was not even close to being figured out, they didn't even find a single clue yet), make her very suss. But then she's just gone? Lastly there is Lorne. We find him beaten up, knocked out, acting weird, and hanging out all the time listening to the group. He doesn't really help them, tho. In fact he was bringing human-eating monsters into the hotel earlier. We like him but he seems a bit manipulative and petulant. Maybe he sees more about the dark destiny, and he sure hasn't gotten close to Cordy like he used to. He seems to only really be concentrating on Angel, trying to make him back off from a frontal assault. He definitely should have put his foot down on the bring back Angelus plan, that should have been a green line for him not to tolerate. He is a prime suspect.
spikeysnack
2025-08-07 15:05:23 +0000 UTCAlso (and as a disclaimer: please no-one come for my head on this one, I just thought it was funny) Connor: She (Cordelia) was mine1 Cass to Conner: "You can't own women." ...2 minutes earlier... Cass: She was his (Angel's) first. Made me laugh :p
Brandon Scott
2025-08-06 21:46:58 +0000 UTCI can't believed I've never noticed he said Buffy in that moment. After you said it I went back and watched it once, watched it twice and then watched it with the captions on because I couldn't believe I had never heard what I was hearing. That's wild!
Brandon Scott
2025-08-06 21:44:54 +0000 UTCI always call this the best "15 min" episode of Angel of all time!! Look season 4 has its problems.. but it also has ALOT of banger episodes.... This is just the start of some craziness 🤪
Bryan J Brown
2025-08-06 13:13:17 +0000 UTCI love that they give you enough to just have this underlying feeling of "something isn't right here" like you were saying with it feeling rushed. Then at the last second they pull back the curtain and it all makes total sense.
Captain Hammer
2025-08-06 00:50:22 +0000 UTCI mentioned in a comment towards the end of season three, when you were wondering why Wesley was acting so hostile towards the rest of the gang after their split, that he still thought he did the right thing. That he was continuing down the same path because if he deviated, then it would mean admitting he was wrong, so he was still waiting for THEM to apologize to HIM. I love how that's followed up here in Angel's fantasy, because Wesley STILL hasn't apologized for kidnapping Connor in the first place. Even after everything else -- learning he was manipulated by both Holtz and Sahjhan, seeing the trauma Connor went through, seeing the fallout now -- he's still waiting for everybody else to get around to admitting he did the right thing. That's so absolutely heartbreaking for his character.
JBK405
2025-08-06 00:07:15 +0000 UTCWhat's most revealing about the dream is that it shows how much more connected to the world Angel is now. When he lost his soul the first time, it took only his contentment with knowing Buffy's love. Now he must repair his friendship with Wes, have his relationship with Connor be everything he wanted it to be, make everything perfect with Cordelia, plus defeat The Beast and save the world before he can be ideally happy.
DanielOrme
2025-08-05 23:53:00 +0000 UTCI'm surprised you didn't like the "She's too old for me" comment, that's basically what you were saying about Cordelia being sort of Connor's mother, making the Connor/Cordy relationship so weird :D . Joking aside, this is from Angel's perfect happiness vision, so his perfect world being that Connor thinks Cordy is too old for him (by a few years), while Angel, being way older than Cordy (by a few decades/centuries), thinks she is perfect for himself is kind of peak hypocrisy from Angel's part :D .
Arronax06
2025-08-05 23:38:04 +0000 UTCThe episode is a great rewatch because you can pay attention to all the things he really wants to happen. Especially how he and Wesley have their reconciliation, but Wesley still gets a spike through his hand. Angel wants his friendship back, but still wants to see him in just a bit of pain.
Henry McFadyen
2025-08-05 23:06:28 +0000 UTCYour reaction Cass was very similar to mine when I first watched it. I remember fining it rushed and getting annoyed that Angel wasn’t considering the consequences of his interaction with Cordy then was even more annoyed when I found out it was a dream. However I also got over that unite quickly
Martin Gardner
2025-08-05 22:13:03 +0000 UTCI know you have mixed feelings on this season, but your reactions are peak ⛰️
MaggieStormborn
2025-08-05 19:10:04 +0000 UTCIt was so fun watching you being annoyed by this perfect dream knowing it is all BS just to release his soul.
Fenhorn
2025-08-05 18:05:55 +0000 UTCI don’t usually like the ‘it was all just a dream’ plots, because as fun as they can be; these types of episodes tend to be used in a way that a series can have a one off, that can then be ignored moving forward, but this one is a lot of fun, there is insight into Angel’s character, and the dream affects the character outside of the dream. Also ending on that laugh is great.
James Smith
2025-08-05 16:47:33 +0000 UTCThe way a farce is normally played on Angel it starts out subtle but ramps up to a point where you know its not real. This one has a much more gradual build up so you dont notice how its gotten quite ridiculous until the reveal. Its quite well done if not a little frustrating that we can be played so easily with all the relationships being mended. I have always thought the scenario we see if Angel's mind contending with the fact that his soul is being removed, like a dream being constructed in moments but feeling like a much longer time.
The Testimony of Mushroom
2025-08-05 16:37:30 +0000 UTCIt was all a work 🫨
Preaching to the Horse's Mouth
2025-08-05 15:31:31 +0000 UTC
