S03. E12: Provider

[Joe Hellandback]

PROVIDER

The Good; Some great comedy and some excellent action, great payoff in the end (literally)

The Bad; Not bad, just lightweight. Don't like the way they can't just come out and say 'gay lover' for Sam Ryan's friend. Wes and Gunn seem to take an awful lot of trouble defeating Brian.

Best line: Justine (about the ice-pick through her hand) "Feeling something is better than feeling nothing" That girl has some SERIOUS damage deep inside and I'm not talking tissue.

Jeez, how did they get away with that? See above

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Clichés Inverting the Hollywood cliché; the hero who is out for money

In disguise; 8

DB get's his shirt off; 12

Cordy's tatt; 10

Cheap Angel; the whole thing 8. Ironically CC who'd always been so mercenary now doesn't care about the money. Although she thinks that $50,000 is way up there on the list of cool things in the world.

Fang Gang in bondage: Lorne and Fred tied up Cordy: 5 Angel: 11 Wes: 6 Gunn; 3 Lorne; 3 Fred; 1

Fang gang knocked out: Lorne Cordy: 11 Angel: 14 Wes: 5 Doyle; 1 Gunn; 1 Lorne; 3

Kills: Angel kills 7 vamps whilst Gunn and Wes take a demon each Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons Angel; 39 vamps, 52 and 1/2 demons, 7 humans Doyle; 1 vamp Wes; 11 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans Kate; 3 vamps Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans. Gunn; 8 vamps+ 8 demons.

Fang Gang go evil: Cordy: 2 Angel: 2 Gunn; 1 Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang: Cordy: 2 Angel: 8

Characters killed: 45

Recurring characters killed; 8;

Total number of Angel Investigations: 5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 11 Wes; 1

Packing heat; Wes; 5 Doyle; 1 Angel; 1 Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky: Allie misses the sex from her dead boyfriend and seems to be open to necrophilia. In a dark scene in an otherwise lightweight ep Justine and Holtz play some serious S&M games. Tying your hair in pigtails and having your boyfriend play the stern headmaster is one thing, sticking icepicks through the hand and consenting not to take it out as a trust exercise quite another! Brian seems to think that Allie is dating both Gunn and Wes at the same time. Fred thinks they want her to marry the Prince

Captain Subtext; The Wes/Gunn/Fred love triangle becomes apparent. Obvious gay subtext between Sam Ryan and his 'friend'. He also notices that Angel is quaffed. Lorne says he never knew the demons intimately. CC and Angel lying on the bed with Connor together at the end, a perfect little family (what would Buffy think?).

Know the face, different character; 3

Parking garages; 5,

Buffy characters on Angel; 16 Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony

Questions and observations; Obvious Monty Python gag. Angel comments that 'We may have to incorporate' which is what they do in season 5. Eric Bruskotter who plays Brian was in one of my favourite shows Tour of Duty, you can also see him in Starship Troopers, Hamburger Hill and Crimson Tide. Jeffery Dean Morgan as well as appearing in Supernatural and Watchmen was in my favourite erotic thriller ever, Undercover Heat (which I'm sure he's taken off his CV). He's also another Buffy/Angel alumni who turns up in Eliza Dushku's series Tru Calling in the gambling ep.

Angel's arrival is very Batman.

Marks out of 10; 7/10, fun comedy ep