Angel: Season 3

The season opens with Heartthrob, an episode that has Angel dealing with the death of Buffy, as well as facing an old friend from his demonic past, who returns as an enemy out for vengeance against Angel for killing his lover. The episode finally allows Angel to put Buffy behind him and move on. The season's main arcs are introduced in the next few episodes, dealing with the worsening of Cordelia's visions, the deepening feelings of Cordelia and Angel for one another, Darla's pregnancy with Angel's son (a birth by two vampires, an unprecedented event), the Wesley-Fred-Gunn love triangle, and the reappearance of the 18th century vampire hunter Daniel Holtz, who makes a pact with the demon Sahjhan to return in the 21st century to avenge his family, who Angel brutally murdered before being re-ensouled.

The season is incredibly well-written, showing Angel coming to terms with fatherhood and growing to deeply love his son. It shows Wesley sinking slowly into darkness as he is forced to betray Angel in an effort to do the right thing. It shows Lilah Morgan of Wolfram and Hart finally begin to show glimpses of inner conflict. And it shows Holtz, a potrait of a man consumed by hatred, with nothing left but a thirst for vengeance which he will do anything to satisfy.

Although the best part of this season is the main story arc, there are several excellent stand-alone episodes, including That Old Gang of Mine, where Gunn must finally choose between Angel Investigations and his old gang; Billy, where, infected by a demon who Angel freed from hell to save Cordelia, Wesley stalks Fred through the hotel with an axe; and Waiting in the Wings, where Cordelia and Angel fall under a spell and are possessed by the spirits of dead lovers and eventually save a ballerina who has been pulled out of time.

Season Three of Angel showed that the show could survive on its own, and since the show has surpassed the show that spawned it with the stellar fourth and fifth seasons. It's a shame this show got cancelled. But this is what the miracle of the digital video disc is for.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews   Was this review helpful to you?

Report this

However, Season 3 is ultimately about Angel's son, Connor, and the responses he inspires in the main characters. From the moment Darla (Angel's former vampire lover) shows up, impossibly pregnant, the reality of Angel's offspring is treated with skepticism, horror, joy, and fear. Will his son be a vampire? Or some other sort of abomination? Well, he turns out to be just a normal baby, who unfortunately inspires all of Angel's friends and enemies to imagine many sorts of outcomes for little Connor which lead to betrayal and heartbreak.

S3 is uneven (there a few episodes I can cheerfully never see again), but taken as a whole, it fits together nicely. Many people were annoyed by the addition of baby Connor (myself included) but by the time I realized that Angel's son was on the fast track to becoming the most screwed-up character in the Buffyverse (and that's saying something) I quickly started to like him. (Casting the wonderful Vincent Kartheiser to play the teenage version of Connor also helped.) In the end, I view S3 as a great prologue to S4 (AtS's best season) which beautifully sets up the show's defining themes of selfless love, free will, compromise, and loss. I'm excited to watch these episodes again, knowing what will come after.

(One addtional note: Unlike the other Angel DVD sets, I'm hoping that the S3 DVDs will have the "previously on Angel" montages. The show doesn't feel complete without them.)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews   Was this review helpful to you?

Report this