Angel

ETERNITY

The Good;
Nice central concept, lovely to see Oliver again and the scens with him and Rebecca and Angel and Rebecca are also good. Tamara Gorski is very good as she also was in Hercules although her Irish accent is just as bad as DBs.

The Bad;
The explanation that the drugs effects are only temporary is stupid, it's not like the 'happy' Buffy gave Angel lasted for weeks (or if it did I'm doing it wrong?) In season 4 when they need to bring Angelus out why not just give him some of this? Why does Angelus cut the phones, who are they going to call?

Best line:
Rebecca (after Angel tells her he doesn't kill any more) "There's a support group for everything in this town"

Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Angel(us)? spraying the blood over Rebecca

Apocalypses: 4 Cordy tells Rebecca that Angel saved the world but he also points out he tried to destroy it

Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; 15,

Inverting the Hollywood cliche; Angel tries to act casual about saving Rebecca but you can see he's miffed when the papers don't mention him.

In disguise; 3

DB get's his shirt off; yep, after Rebecca spills her drink on it
5

Cordy's tattoo;3

Cheap Angel; 2

Fang Gang in bondage: Cordy chains the boss to the bed again
Cordy: 5
Angel: 7
Wes: 1

Fang gang knocked out: Wes and Angel(us)
Cordy: 8
Angel: 10
Wes: 3
Doyle; 1

Kills:
Cordy: 3 vamps, 1 demons
Angel: 11 vamps, 6 and 1/2 demons, 2 humans.
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 1/2 a demon

Fang Gang go evil: Angel and how!
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang: Angelus
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
25

Recurring characters killed;
2;

Total number of Angel Investigations:
3, Angel and Cordy and Wes

Angel Investigations shot: just blanks this week
Angel: 7,

Packing heat;
Wes; 2
Doyle; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 1;Buffy

Kinky dinky:
Cordy calls Rebecca a ***. How long did she know Wilson for before jumping into bed with him and his Hackslaw beast?

Captain Subtext;
Cordy says she'd have picketed the studio but lacked 'sensible shoes' (interesting considering the furore surrounding Angel's cancellation). Angel says that Ernest Borgnine is a 'skilled lover'?

Know the face, different character; 2

Parking garages;
4,

Guantanamo Bay;

Buffy characters on Angel;
6; Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes

Questions and observations;
Can't quite imagine Doyle and Angel at an Ibsen play? Wes and Angel seem much more at home. Wes' remark of ET meaning Emma Thompson is SOOO him. Angel thinks Frank Langella is the best Dracula (did he ever meet the real deal? Langella doesn't physically resemble him). Wonder what he'd have made of his Oscar nominated turn in Frost vs Nixon? Angelus says he never killed a famous person which is reassuring.
Marks out of 10; 8/10 good ep, nice character development and a little to say about Hollywood
Stay tuned, hurricane Faith is on her way!

This episode, like the previous installment, hinges on how well the writers sell the central conceit: a fading young star, seeking immortality, temporarily unleashes her worst nightmare. And it just happens to be locked within Angel in the form of Angelus. That’s all well and good, but the process of getting there is not the most interesting journey in the world. There are also some issues of character development that don’t quite work in the overall scheme of things.



The writers remember that Cordelia has been seeking an acting career, and so the story is somewhat grounded in Cordy’s wistful yearnings for fame. It must be rather hard to act when the character is supposed to be a bad actor, but Charisma does a good job of it. Unfortunately, the script forces her into territory that is not unlike bad acting in and of itself, when she has to go ga-ga for a supposed star that was never important to her before this episode.



Underneath the first act of the episode is an interesting concept that remains in the background of the entire series. Angel seems to detect the fact that his actions and choices are transparent to the rest of the world, and even the hint of possible fame and public adulation has its allure. Of course, what makes Angel a Champion is the fact that he’s fighting for a world that doesn’t even know he exists.



There’s some commentary on how fame is ephemeral, especially in a town where there’s always someone new and younger waiting in the wings, but it gets old fast. Especially since there’s nothing all that attractive about the actress. But the premise demands that Angel feel an attraction, so that he can be concerned about the desire to get too close. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be an issue for Rebecca to show interest in Angel, since Angel would be on his guard.



Some external pressure must still be applied, however, and so someone is stalking Rebecca, requiring someone with the right skill to keep her safe. This sets the stage for Rebecca’s discovery that Angel is a vampire, something that a person with such a desire for endless youth would find rather fortuitous. And that quickly, Cordy gets rather worried over the possibility of Angelus’ return.



That doesn’t quite track, because it’s not like Rebecca is incredibly gorgeous or seductive. She’s actually a bit desperate and pathetic. There’s no reason to think that Angel would suddenly forget all about the curse, and before he knew about the curse itself, it took him forever to get close enough to Buffy for that kind of action.



Rather quickly, the plot against Rebecca turns out to be a bid by her agent to generate buzz, because Rebecca’s career has hit the skids completely. This just serves to put a very stupid plan into Rebecca’s head, which makes her seem even more pathetic. (It also feels like a retread, to a certain extent, of a second season “Buffy” episode “.)



Returning to one of the weaknesses of the story, Rebecca somehow gets Cordy to spill everything about Angel’s history. Cordy is so blinded by her star worship that she completely misses how obvious Rebecca is being. For one thing, Cordy is smarter than this; she should have quickly seen that Rebecca is not the best person in terms of mentoring a career. And Cordy usually picks up on the undercurrent of a conversation (at least eventually). It’s far too convenient that it takes her hours to figure it out.



That brings the story to a place that is rather questionable: the synthetic re-awakening of Angelus. There are a number of levels on which this doesn’t work. The most obvious problem is that the curse was broken by a moment of perfect happiness; it didn’t revert once the happiness faded. The state of bliss was also not tied to a physiological cause, as the second season would directly address. The nature of the curse was such that Angel’s psychological state needed to be free of any guilt or desire for redemption, so that when Angel finally felt free of his burdens, darkness would consume him.



The ingestion of a drug would result in euphoria, but then again, so would so many other things (the exhilaration of victory being the best first season example). Future seasons are filled with moments that would clearly result in euphoria and extreme happiness. But that’s not the same thing as what he felt with Buffy, which was a freedom from his inner demons, brought about through love and the prospect of a future filled with contentment.



One might argue that a drug could bring those feelings about, but then there’s still the question of how the curse suddenly reverts without another trigger event. Angelus should remain in control, even after the drug wears off. A far more logical reaction to the drug might have been a loosening of his morals, since Angelus’ personality is essentially an extreme reflection of Angel’s darkest obsessions. A drug might allow him to act on those desires as Angel, but it doesn’t make sense for a drug to unleash Angelus on a temporary basis.



Perhaps the worst part, however, is that Angelus only comes out long enough to be brutally honest with Rebecca, Wesley, and Cordelia, and then it’s all over. He’s easily beaten, and he disappears without unleashing much of a consequence on anyone. There’s not even a follow-up to see if Rebecca learned anything from her experience. Everything is fine and dandy in the final scene, and then it’s barely mentioned again.



The problem is, of course, that Wesley and Cordelia should be very worried if Angelus can be unleashed by something so simple as a drug dropped in Angel’s drink. Surely the writers understood the problem: why wouldn’t an enemy just lace Angel’s blood supply with some of the drug when a little distraction was needed? It’s too quick and easy this way; the writers simply didn’t earn Angelus’ return.



Thankfully, this would turn out to be the last episode of the first season to tread water. After this, the writers would resume setting the stage for the second season and introducing the concepts that would drive that season’s character arcs. Episodes like “Eternity” would become an aberration…something easily set aside in favor of the episodes that followed.

As season one starts getting into the last stretch of original episodes, the series really got a lot stronger. The episodes were better, and the overall shape of the show was coming together. Not that there weren't classics in the beginning of the season(eps like "In The Dark" and "I Will Remember You" chief among them). But this latter half was stronger overall. It still had some episodes that were not the best, but none of them were that bad to me at all. Some would claim that this episode is nothing but filler and mostly forgettable. Filler?. In some ways. Forgettable?. Maybe. But it was a decent enough hour to forget afterwards!. There are some issues in this episode that are pretty important(at the time anyways)to our core three characters. The scene where Angelus lets it all out to Cordelia and Wesley was an uncomfortable scene, but when Angel comes too, Cordelia tells him that Angelus was honest with her. Angel has to be honest with her and tell her what he really thinks of her acting. It's a message about being truthful and honest with each other. Even if it stings. But the moral of this story being about Hollywood and it's treatment of stars whose light has faded and are getting older, is quite good and well done. "Eternity" may not be the best episode, but it's premise was really good and it's always a plus whenever Angelus rears his ugly head. So, what happened you ask?...



Angel and his team meet famous TV actress Rebecca Lowell. Cordy thinks this is the best thing for her to get into the biz, but she comes to the team for help. She hires Angel as her personal bodyguard as she is being stalked by some crazed fan. Later on, Rebecca finds out that Angel is a vampire and she wants him to turn her into one so she can stay young forever and continue to have a career in Hollywood. Big mistake.



The premise of this episode, and dealing with everything Rebecca is, is great. The problems that she is going through with her career are things that a lot of actors and actresses have to deal with in Hollywood. The showbiz capitol of the world can put you up on a pedestal one second, and completely throw you off of it the next. Hollywood can sometimes be downright cruel to the people they once helped climb to the top. Being an actor or actress can be hard, and there are things that you just have to abide by in order to make it and stay there. A lot of it is mostly directed at the women more than the men I think. You have to be thin, and you have to be young. You just have to be and look a certain way, and god forbid that changes. Rebecca is getting into her late 20's and it's already starting. Late 20's!. Look at how hard it is for actresses in their 40's and 50's to get the top of the line roles. Tracey Stern, who wrote this, wonderfully weaves the vampire youthfulness with Hollywood's obsession with it perfectly. And Rebecca has it pretty bad. She is worried because she feels typecast as her old TV character, and she isn't getting the work she wants. People are using her and her name, and now all the press she gets are in the tabloids. It must also sting when she finds out that the "stalker" was all a con put on by her agent to bring the press and attention to Rebecca. But Rebecca realizes that she can stay young forever when she learns of Angel's vampiric nature, and goes about plotting to get him to turn her into one. Easier said than done folks!. Rebecca drugs Angel's drink with a happy pill, and she has no idea what she has just done and what she is in for. This sets off Angel's unfortunate curse. A moment's happiness and it's off to Angelus Land. We haven't seen Angelus in a while, and it's a startling return. Even though it's brief and it's easier to bring Angel back this time, it doesn't soften the scary blow of Angelus' return. He's back and just as vicious as ever. It's also a scary thought to know that Angel can be Angelus so easily. That that crazed killing monster is just right there. So close. The whole moment with Angelus and Rebecca was quite intense. She was in a bad situation, and it was made all the worse that they were in Angel's small and cramped abode. This is the Angelus we all knew from season 2 of "Buffy". Scaring, taunting, and ridiculing. Rebecca was not the only target on his list. Wesley and Cordelia got some of Angelus' verbal blows as well. The lights go out just like he did with Willow in the halls of Sunnydale High, and he sets about preying on the people. Angelus has always(and will again in future seasons)preyed upon people's thoughts, secrets, and their own insecurities. But in the end, when Angel comes back, he and the other two have to deal with what just happened and what Angelus said. I talked about this earlier, and although Angelus' words might've shocked and hurt the ones that Angel loves, it was also pushing along their characters and their relationship with one another. It made it stronger. They know who they are, and they make sure that they are truthful and honest with one another. If Cordelia's acting sucks, she wants to know about it. She doesn't want anyone to lie and say she is great and go out thinking that and make a fool out of herself. It can improve her skills, when lies would only hamper them. Wesley was hurt as well, but tells Angel that it's okay because he knew that it wasn't him talking. Or was it?.



There was one flaw here that I had noticed after repeated viewings that I didn't catch before. Anybody else notice that Angel got inside Rebecca's house without being invited in?. How did you pull that one off Angel?. But there wasn't anything much major besides that.



"Eternity" was a strongly written episode with a strong premise and a clever way of putting together the "forever young" nature of vampires, with Hollywood wanting just the young. The Angelus scenes were scary and well done, and the story between Angel, Cordy, and Wes was important to their characters development as well. In the end, this episode may not be remembered a whole lot, but it was a good episode that I have always liked.

‘Eternity’ is a brilliant episode and possibly one of the best written yet.



The episode had definitely it’s comedy bits like at the beginning of the episode where Angel and Wesley have to get through watching Cordelia performing, which is a torture for them. Then they save an actress named Rebecca who seems to be getting attacked all the time. Cordelia was hilarious the way she forced herself on Rebecca and small moments are what make this episode good, like Rebecca wanting to say thanks but then realising Angel is already across the street and Cordy responding ‘Yeah, he does that’.



Rebecca comes back at the office and wants Angel to be her protector but he doesn’t want to take her case, he likes her to much and she likes him back which could lean to unfun-Angelus.



But when Angel decides to rescue Rebecca after all she finds out that he is a vampire after she looks in the mirror and he doesn’t cast a reflection. He tells her about his past but that he’s a good vampire now. After the third attack, she learns that her stalker was put in scene by Oliver who just wanted to give her publicity but didn’t work to make her get a new part. He tells her that nobody stays young forever, but then Rebecca sees Angel and begs to differ.



The last scene is what makes this episode so powerful, after Rebecca sucked Cordy for information she steps over to Angel and puts something in his drink that relaxes him and feels bliss. Soon he turns into the fiend Angelus and starts poking her around and putting his blood in her mouth. Rebecca was able to escape through the elevator and Wes and Cordy were waiting downstairs for her, trouble is that they are locked in and the lights are out.



The acting in this episode was fantastic, especially from David Boreanaz which gave his best performance the first season. The way he haunted Rebecca was down-right creepy and it was awesome how he threatened Wesley and Cordy but they both overcome their fears, Cordy uses her acting skills by making him believe her water is holy and how Wesley is the one who makes the move and knocked out Angelus.



The end featured the three together with a chained Angel on the bed…again. Both Wesley and Cordy forgave what he said but they still leave him locked on his bed.

‘Eternity’ is a brilliant episode that is very underrated, the acting and dialog is impressive but the actress-failing storyline is what keeps this episode from being even better.

This episode was one of those shows that brought out David's great acting ability, and range.

The writer of this episode created some of the most interesting dialogs that made this episode shine for things to come in future episodes and what to expect of the character. One of my favorite parts was when the Actress Angel was with said,"You're Crazy!"

and then Angel said "Crazy, Bitch. I aint crazy, I'm a vampire."

One thing I love about this series, is how not every episode is about demons. The story/plot is fairly decent, and I love the way they brought out Angelus, and also how they got rid of him. This is the episode where I really started to LOVE the series. David\\\'s range in acting is amazing, and his last scene as Angelus really blew me away. Some catchy quotes that i\\\'ll never forget:



Cordy: Great, he spent the night with the fantasy of millions. All alone. \\\"Protecting\\\" her.

Wes: You\\\'re worried about the curse? I wouldnt be.

Cordy: Hey! You werent around the last time Angel went \\\"Mental\\\". I, on the other hand was first wave of the cleanup crew. He knows perfect happinness, he goes evil. So dont tell me not to worry.



Angelus: But I am happy...perfectly happy. What\\\'s the matter? Look a little nervous.

Rebecca: You...you are..

Angelus: Free! You freed me. Mmm. God I love this stuff! Wow! Remind me to get the name of your dealer before I kill you.

see. that is why drugs are not good for you! especially when you are a vampire with a soule as a cruse.



the episode is a well written piece! great characters and great acting. especially when angel turns angelus now THAT was amazing. my favorite part of the episode was angelus trying to put wesley and cordelia down while they are the ones who fight back and defeat the mean old vampire.

the episode is all around class. i only did not like the actress, she should have died!

I really enjoyed this episode. It begins with Angel and Wes seeing a play Cordy is (cough) acting in. After the play is over, Angel steps in front of a moving vehicle to save a well known actress; Rebecca Lowell. Angel has no idea who she is, of course. Cordy, on the other hand, is swooning and fumbling to give Ms Lowell a business card. Seems Ms Lowell is being stalked and sure enough she shows up at Angel Investigations. After some mishaps, Angel takes the case. We find out Rebeccas agent is the one who is having her "stalked" just to drum up publicity. Also, Rebecca finds out Angel is a vamp and she wants to join the club. Hilarity ensues (kidding!) as Ms Lowell drugs Angel to get him to turn her. Well....it brings the worst out in Angel; Angelus. Thankfully he doesnt kill anyone thanks to Wes and Cordy (hilarious scene of Angelus making fun of Cordys acting) Awesome ep!

When Angel meets an actress who wishes to become like him things take a dark turn and the creature within him, Angelus, is released once again. Fortunately, this time he claims no lives and manages to be imprisoned back within Angel but no before stirring up some pretty scary and cruel moments in true Angelus style.



Angel: I know. We'll do it like we did back in the day. I'll put your head on a stick as proof.

Rebecca: Stick?

Angel: All right...pike.

Eternity-Angel takes a job protecting a well-known actress from a crazed stalker. When a mirror happens to be in just the wrong place, however, she begins to suspect what he really is.



An episode that's pretty average until the brilliant ending that saves it. The whole stalker storyline really seems pointless and only used to get Angel to meet Rebecca Lowell whose is a famous actress. I have to say it'a interesting with Rebecca's reaction to Angel when she knows his a vampire, she's very calm and understanding. It's also kinda interesting how she just wants to be young and uses Angel to make her a vampire. This episode has some funny moments, with Cordelia's play sequence which is cleverly mistaken for a dangerous situation by Angel and Wesley. Also the way Cordelia can't seem to stop acting like a huge fanatic everytime she sees Rebecca. But like I said it's all in bits and pieces and never gets good until the last 15 mintues where the drug brings out Angelues for a few mintues. David is just amazing as he turns from sweet lovable Angel to the evil psycopathic Angelus. I just love the remarks he makes at Wesley and Cordelia especially when he mimicks her voice and tells her how much her acting sucks. It's harsh, but was so hilarious the way David played it. Also, loved how Cordelia stood up to him and showed how smart she has become in the face of danger. All and All, great episode because the last 15 minutes just completely own!

This is a really cool episode. An actress (Rebecca Lowell) is saved by Angel and she wants more than he is willing to offer. The morning after Angel saves the actress, she visits him and has to send her away because he is afraid he my find happiness in her, breaking the curse and bringing out Angelus. Well he continues to stay on her trail in case someone tries to kill her again and saves the day again when someone breaks into her house. She finds out that Angel is a Vampire when he has no reflection in her mirror. At this point Angel becomes her bodyguard. It is later revealed that her manager is the one who is behind the attempts on her life, trying to put the spotlight on her and revive her acting career. Rebecca decides that she needs eternal youth to revive her career and tries to use Angel to do it. She drugs him, awakening Angelus. Angelus tries to kill her, but she is saved by Cordelia and Wesley.



It is revealed how easy it is to awaken Angelus. He is given a drug which temporarily induces true happiness, causing the transformation to Angelus. He is later tied up by Cordy and Wesley until the drug wears off.

Eternity is an absolutely standout episode of Angel and one of the better episodes of the series. It really is an edge of your seat episode, especially with the Angelus scenes, which were handled excellently. The plot was brilliant, as was the dialogue and as usual, the performances were top notch all round. Tamara Gorski was fantastic as Rebecca Lowell, a previously famous actress who's fame is slipping away due to her age and watching her become so desperate to stay young is great. David Boreanaz was also incredible as Angelus in this episode. I think he is better when playing Angelus in all honesty but this could stem from the fact Angelus is a more interesting character than Angel. Cordelia was hilarious in this episode also, adding some humour to a darker episode.



The episode is brilliant until the Angelus scenes, which really do steal the show. Angelus is such a rich character who's absolutely pure evil but somehow hilarious in the process. He adds genuine terror to the scenes and we truly fear for Rebecca's life as she's a guest star and could be killed. We know Cordy and Wesley are pretty much safe. The part where he pours blood down Rebecca's throat is sickening and chilling, as are the chase scenes where he jumps out at every point.



Cordelia adds so much humour to this episode, even in scenes with Angelus. Her trying to push Angel into taking Rebecca's case is funny and Charisma Carpenter gives such good delivery of the lines.



Eternity has it all: humour, drama, terror. It's an excellent episode and a huge improvement over last week "The Ring". An amazing episode you shouldn't miss.

One word that can turn a seemingly ordinary Angel episode into something fantastic: Angelus!

He is totally the main appeal of this episode, even with only about 5 minutes screen time. As much as i love Angel, his evil ego alter ego is a character i would love to see more of. He is superb in this episode, he totally had me glued to the screen the whole time he was on it. His evil snide remarks were great by the writers and his interaction with a very scard Rebecca was priceless, especially with the blood.

This episode also shows the truth of what is wrong with the entertainment industry. Stalking as publicity? Ridiculous! Needing cosmetic surgery at 24, also ridiculous. These kinds if realities are sad and pathetic, what ever happened to aging gracefully?

Overall, a great episode, one not to be missed.

Watch out for anything to do with Angelus.

Eternity was a really great episode of Amgel. I really enjoyed watching this episode as it had some character development for a few characters and really set the tone for the end of the season of Angel. I think this episode definitely explored more of Angel's depths and his fighting skills. I think this was a great episode that tied in character's from the past and really made them relevant to what was going on here. This was a fun episode to watch and see the mystery unrael before our eyes. I can't wait to see what will happen in the next episode!!!!!