Peace Out, A COP Out?

Maybe. I can't decide. I really thought there were some great moments in the episode. Acting kudos all around. The scene with Connor and Cordy in the church was absolutely amazing. It was the first time that we were really able to get inside Connor's head. He became a TRULY sympathetic character, which is something that I have been waiting a long time for. Gina Torres kept up her wonderful performance by turning Jasmine into a tragic character after she had been de-powered. It was an amazing thing. She wasn't some meglomaniacal villain who wanted to rule the world for her own purposes. She seemed to believe that she wast trying to help. Hell, she almost had ME convinced. So kudos to Gina and to the writers for crafting such a great character, and a wonderful big bad for the season.

Of course, the fight scene with the "keeper of the word" was great too.

But after that love-fest (ha, ha) I now have to address what I feel were the shortcomings of this episode. Now. Finally. After all this time, we can evaluate the Jasmine/Reign of Fire storyline as a whole, and bring full critical facilities to bear. To that end, I find this episode seriously lacking. Perhaps I have been "spoiled" (?) by BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, but I thought that the whole resolution just came too easily. I call this the "T-1000 Syndrome." Terminator 2 was a fine action movie for it's time, but it epitomized what is wrong with more modern action films. You spend almost two hours (or in television time, a few weeks) setting up how big and bad and powerful the enemy is. How he/she can't be killed, and how no one has ever beaten it before. You set up this great character that can do so much, without actually being omnipotent, and then you have to set about the task of defeating the undefeatable. There is almost no real way to do that without it coming off as lame, and I feel this one had the same problem. Angel crossed over, kicked a little butt, came back and had the lopped-off head spout the word.

Then, after we spent the whole episode hearing about how Cordelia can harm Jasmine, CONNOR shows up and ends the whole thing with one punch. ONE PUNCH!!!! A bit of a letdown, no?

And, finally, the cruellest cut of all. We are told that Connor was never really affected by Jasmine's powers. HOW IN THE HELL CAN THAT BE JUSTIFIED? I know that there is a scientific reason for it (he's her father and everything,) but that's not what I mean. Connor was hit with the happy pill just like everyone else. Remember? He came back to the hotel with Angel, calling him "Dad" and palling around. Someone who is as bitter as he was, wouldn't be able to just turn that off like a light bulb. If you want to argue that he was in the thrall until the blood hit him, that could work but seems just as weak to me. Anyone, and I would like to give Connor enough credit for this, having seen BOTH faces of Jasmine would have realized that something was up and gotten out of there. Even if she wasn't hideous to him, he must have realized that something was up. I figure it was all or nothing at all, and that doesn't make me any happier.

Look. I enjoyed it. I loved the ending of the episode. I just feel that we were cheated out of a grander ending to the arc.

  posted by J @ 09:00