Angel: Season Two

Where the first season essentially followed the monster-of-the-week plus occasional storyline episode formula that has been tried and true on Buffy, Season 2 started to move away from that into the darker, emotionally churning state of being that we viewers have grown so used to in the third and fourth seasons.

The second season of Angel also points at the show's tendency to serve an overarching plot rather than a seasonal "Big Bad", when it ends with a trip to a different dimension instead of concluding the Darla storyline (which is completed in the third season).

But though this season has a darker, more plot-arc oriented spine, it still contains some excellent character and monster-of-the-week episodes. One of these is "Are You Now or Were You Ever?", thought by fans everywhere as being one of the best episodes of the show. Other greats include "Darla", "Guise will Beguise", and "The Shroud of Rahmon".

There are also portents of the futures of the different characters interspersed throughout the season. This is where Wesley really matured, becoming a hard-bitten leader rather than a comical sidekick. You can see his character being prepared to make the harder choices that cause him to be so dark later on in the series.

Angel himself has a hard time of it throughout this season, but then, when does he not? He grows dark, deep-set despair keeping him from both his mission and his friends. But his redemption is both funny and touching when he returns towards the end of the season.

Cordelia grows immensely during this season, primarily because of her visions. She's still "tell it like it is" Cordy, but her caring for others grows by leaps and bounds, setting the stage for the Cordelia we know later on in the third season.

Charles Gunn also joins the Fang Gang, forsaking his old 'crew' to help Angel Investigations in a slow process that is (fortunately) very believable.

Also in this season we are introduced to two new characters that will later become regulars: Fred and Lorne (the Host). The first is a slightly cooky, very intelligent woman who was stuck in Pylea for five years before returning with the Angel Investigations gang. The second, Lorne, is a truly unique character - a demon that sings, and can read a person's destiny when that person sings. Both are excellent additions to the group, and help to flesh out the dynamic between the characters.

In conclusion, Angel: Season 2 serves as a stage-setter for the third and fourth seasons' storylines and characters, and contains some truly memorable episodes as well.

In particular, the story involving Angel losing his faith in humanity and himself could have been so much more resonant than it is here and, although comparisons with Buffy seem unfair, her breakdown in series 6 was a lot better than Angel's here. In addition, after Darla is 'vamped' again, her character becomes little more than a conventional villain, which is an insult to the history her and Angel have. Yet to be fair, their history is treated with a remarkable amount of detail and respect in the earlier episodes. By far the most infuriating aspect of this season though is the long-awaited return of fan favourite Drusilla. Gone are the Victorian outfits and poetic language and in come pink polo necks and often silly turns of phrase. These come off as somebody writing Drusilla who doesn't know her character very well, which is a shame considering just how good she was in season 2 of Buffy. For me though, the most aggravating part of the season was its end, where the gang travel to Lorne's homeland of Pylea to rescue lost librarian (and future cast member) Fred. Though there are a few laughs to be had here - notable Angel's response to the sunlight that doesn't burn, and Joss Whedon's cameo as a dancing demon - it's just too hokey for the most part.

Don't get me wrong though, I didn't hate the series, all I'm saying is that it had its faults. There were some great points to it, and if the story arcs didn't work together quite as well as they might have done you are at least safe in the knowledge that they were essential to the later series and retrospectively were crucial to the overall story. In particular, the character development of Wesley and Cordelia here proved big stepping stones for what they'd have to face in series 3. There was also the addition of a few new faces, namely Fred and karaoke bar owner Lorne. Whilst both were yet to find their feet on the show, it was nice to see them branching out with an ensemble cast. A few stand-alone episodes are also good, in particularly Darla (companion piece to Buffy's Fool For Love), which tells a good dose of backstory on everyone's favourite vamp-turned-human. Drawing a strong performance from Julie Benz, it stands as one of the best Angel episodes even now. Other instant classics include the opener Heartthrob, 20's pastiche Are You Now Or Have You Ever Been?, Wesley stand-out Guise Will Be Guise and social commentary The Thin Dead Line. It's these that lift the series above nearly everything else on TV. Unfortunately, that's not always enough to feed a fan with already high expectations of a series that delivered last time around and, after this shaky second season, really delivered some of the best entertainment around in its next 3 seasons.

To sum up, Angel is a fantastic, classic piece of programming, of which season 2 isn't a very good example. To complete anyone's collection it's a must, but for any first time viewers, any of the other series of the show are a better introduction to why this is so critically acclaimed. The extras are also much better than those on most TV boxsets, and the commentaries and documentaries are genuinely insightful. All in all, better than most you'll find out there, but compared to what Joss Whedon can normally pull off, it doesn't quite cut it.