S5,E09: Harm's Way

[Joe Hellandback]

The Good; All things Harmony, love the demon summit stuff and Fred and Harm bonding. Great bitchfight between Harmony and her rival. The WR&H corporate video is also great they should have got Troy McClure to do the voice-over.

The Bad; It's lightweight and inconsequential but it's meant to be.

Best line; Fred; "I'm sure Angel can help you" Harmony; "Angel's not a helper, he's a chopper" (as her friend Eli found out)

Jeez, how did they get away with that? You feel so sorry for poor lonely Harm, just because she's evil doesn't means she doesn't have feelings.

Apocalypses: 5

Angel Clichés In disguise; 8

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

Cheap Angel; 8 he refuses to give Spike any travelling cash but will lend him a car if it gets him out of town "Typical, you cheap sod".

Fang Gang in bondage: Lorne and Fred tied up Cordy: 5 Angel: 14 Wes: 7 Gunn; 7 Lorne; 6 Fred; 4

Fang gang knocked out: Fred and Lorne knocked out by Harmony Cordy: 15 Angel: 19 Wes: 8 Doyle; 1 Gunn; 3 Lorne; 8 Groo; 1 Connor; 1 Faith; 1 Fred; 5

Kills; one demon for Angel Cordy: 5 vamps, 3 demons Angel; 45 vamps, 62 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: poor Toby 2261

Recurring characters killed; 10

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

Angel Investigations shot: Angel: 14 Wes; 2

Packing heat; 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 Spike; 3-Buffy, Anya, Harmony

Kinky dinky: Harmony 'sluts it up' and beds a guy she picks up in a bar. She comments that Fred doesn't have 'a lot up front', sad but true and something she's a little self-conscious about to judge by Spin the Bottle. Fred actually knows that Wes and Knox are after her, you think back to her remark at the end of Waiting in the Wings. She thinks both are hot. Harmony offers to show Angel her abs. The demons refer to Angel as a 'filthy man whore'.

Captain Subtext; The girls doubt Wesley could be interested in Fred because 'Everyone knows he's...muffins'. Vamps consider live people to be 'straight'. Despite implying that a male vamp would have to be gay to bite another man Harmony eyes up the necks of the office girls and has bitten Willow in the past. Fred and Harmony's night out resembles a date

Know the face, different character; 5

Parking garages; yep, where Harm dumps the body 9,

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; Always thought that Harmony's rival looked familiar, finally recognised her as Karen, one of John Lithgow's students from 3rd Rock from the Sun. Angel and Spike are still bashed up from Destiny. We knew Spike and Fred were chummy but he seems to be on good terms with Lorne too. Was Harm ever really popular or did she just ride on CC's coatails? WR&H 'own' the LAPD which must have been news to Kate. It strikes me that if you really are an astronaut it must be a useless pickup line as no one actually believes you. Spike comes back to Harm in the end, shows his sensitive side and appears to finally give up any hope of ever being with Buffy

Marks out of 10;7/10 a lot of folks loathe this ep but I rather like it