S5.E07: Lineage

[Joe Hellandback]

LINEAGE

The Good; Hard boiled Wes in both terms of his negotiations and gunplay. All the scenes with Wes and his dad are excellent as is the assault on WR&H

The Bad; We tolerate a lot of dramatic licence in terms of what AI can endure but Gunn being chucked against the staircase should kill him. If WR&H have this staff that controls Angel why not use it before?

Best line; Wes (after Emil prattles on); "If I'd know this was a seminar I'd have worn a name-tag"

Jeez, how did they get away with that? Hooks through the throat! Also Wes gropes around the cyborg's guts with his bare hands?

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Clichés In disguise; 8

DB/JM get's his shirt off; 17,

Cheap Angel; 7

Fang Gang in bondage: Gunn chained Cordy: 5 Angel: 14 Wes: 7 Gunn; 6 Lorne; 5 Fred; 3

Fang gang knocked out: Fred passes out, Wes knocked out by his 'dad' Cordy: 15 Angel: 19 Wes: 8 Doyle; 1 Gunn; 2 Lorne; 7 Groo; 1 Connor; 1 Faith; 1 Fred; 4

Kills; Wes kills one of Emil's goons and 2 cyborgs. Angel kills a cyborg. Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons Angel; 45 vamps, 61 and 1/2 demons, 5 zombies, 12 humans, one werewolf and one cyborg Doyle; 1 vamp Wes; 14 demons+5 vamps, 5 zombies, 3 humans, 2 cyborgs Kate; 3 vamps Faith; 18 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans. Gunn; 11 vamps+ 13 demons, 5 zombies, 1 human. Groo; 1 demon Fred; 3 vamps+ 2 demon, 5 zombies Connor; 16 vamps, 5 zombies, 2 demons, Jasmine

Fang Gang go evil: Cordy: 3 Angel: 3 Gunn; 1 Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang; Cordy: 4 Angel: 11 Fred; 2 Wes; 1 Gunn; 1 Connor; 1 Lorne; 1

Characters killed: 2261

Recurring characters killed; 10

Total number of Angel Investigations; 5, here Spike saves Gunn Angel, Gunn, Fred, Lorne, Wes,

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 14 Wes; 2

Packing heat; Wes with his 45s, Fred with the sniper rifle. Presumably Wes uses the 13-shot model of the 45 as he fires 9 bullets when he shoots his 'father'. Wes; 11 Doyle; 1 Angel; 4 Gunn; 3 Fred; 3

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Cordy: 5 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis+Groo+Connor plus possibly the Beast Angel: 6; Buffy, Darla, The Transcending Furies, Eve Wes; 3 definite; Virginia, the bleached blonde and Lilah, 1 possible, Justine Gunn; 2 Fred and Gwen. Fred; 1 Gunn Groo; 1Cordy

Kinky dinky: Emil is turned on by the sight of a woman handling a powerful weapon. Well who isn't? Worked for Ripley/Sarah Connor! Wes' dad describes his mum as 'sturdy'? Spike refers to him having sex with the Buffybot and his mum trying to 'shag' him. I know the Buffybot is true but is that really true about his mum? Not from my recollection.

Captain Subtext; Lorne hints that Churchill and Richard Harris had a love child? Spike thinks Wes was grown in a school for dandies. Angel says he's not comfortable with hugging. Like CC in Spin the Bottle Spike makes great fun of Wesley being 'Head boy' (good thing he never let's on about his own relationship with his mother). Whereas the prophecy stated that the father will kill the son here we have the son killing the father (although neither turns out to be true). Angel wears a lot more grey than black this season perhaps illustrating his moral ambiguity?

Know the face, different character; 5

Parking garages; 8,

Guantanamo Bay Wes ruthlessly tortures the cyborg.

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

Questions and observations; Emil is the guy who sold Wes his James Bond style weapons in Spin the Bottle. The ninjas are reminiscent of both the old Disney Star Wars clone The Black Hole and Snake-Eyes from Action Force/GI JOE. Note as soon as his dad shows up Wes returns to his klutzy season 1 self (just like Tara get's her stutter back in Family). Does Lorne say that Louis Gossett Jnr wants a phone party or foam party? Are the cyborgs Twilight? The Initiative? Or are they really from the Watcher's Council? Wes' dad and co stopped pre-soul Spike slaughtering an orphanage, you have to remember that the Watcher's Council were good guys who wanted to protect people. Nice ref to Lilah. Spike still fears Pavayne. Is it really Wes' dad? The impostor seems to know an awful lot about him, more so than any Watcher's files could say. Fathers as always poorly portrayed in the Buffyverse. Wes' 45. fires nine shots so presumably it's the 13 shot version rather than the standard? Angel and Spike recount the stories of killing their own parents. The story of little Wes trying to resurrect a dead bird speaks much of his humanity. Roy Dotrice holds the dubious distinction of being one of only three people ever killed on screen in The A-Team (anyone name me the other 2? Or can you name all 7 members of the A-Team?). His daughter also married the late Edward Woodward.

Marks out of 10; 8/10, nice to have a Wesley centric ep

[illdoc]

10 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

I know the Buffybot is true but is that really true about his mum?

Well, I think she says "all you've ever wanted to do was crawl back up inside me", which might count.

[Joe Hellandback]

14 hours ago, illdoc said:

Well, I think she says "all you've ever wanted to do was crawl back up inside me", which might count.

That's what she said although I think she was just trying to hurt him?

[illdoc]

8 hours ago, Joe Hellandback said:

That's what she said although I think she was just trying to hurt him?

Probably, but did Spike think of it that way? Also, it's been...a hundred years or so...he might have misremembered the circumstances.