Just finished my second viewing of season five after originally watching about two years ago. And I'm still a little blubbery. I recently got into Buffy, which was harder for me to break into because of a few factors. Whedon shows tend to be a little thin first seasons and then dense later, and I am not a fan of high school shows and movies. I'm no sexist and not afraid of girls, but I don't know. I feared the aspects of pining over boys and I worried the horror aspects would be light weight. Long story short, I got over it. And loved it (at least from season 3 on...I skipped seasons 1 and 2 of Buffy).
And anyway, I think Angel season five is Whedon's real gem in TV. It has everything he does well and a person could even start there without having to look back.
Only thing about Angel being canceled here is that I wonder if SUCH A GOOD ending could have buttoned such a strong and consistent season otherwise. I mourned the ending of the series the closer the finale came. And frankly in my own fantasy I struggle whether I would choose Angel to have a sixth season or to have Lost season one to have been as good as it was because of the writers it inherited from Angel (David Fury and Drew Goddard probably only wrote for Lost because of Angel's premature end...David Fury is the guy who wrote the most amazing episodes in Lost's first season and Goddard became a big deal on that show).
Obviously the height of Angel season five is Wes' and Fred's, then Illyrina's love story, which is so genuine and sweet turned tragic. Wes is such a good character and so finely developed over the years it's hard to put into words how much I admire what the actor and the writers crafted. Itself a shame Wesley isn't more recognized. Amy Acker's work probably would have itself been more appreciated had she been allowed to develop Illyrina in another season. She is herself a stellar actor and quite frankly breathlessly beautiful. And she uses it like an instrument, never flaunting it or overselling it, in fact usually tastefully doing the opposite, until when she wants you to notice you're like, oh, yes, Fred is gorgeous.
And anyway, I think Angel season five is Whedon's real gem in TV. It has everything he does well and a person could even start there without having to look back.
Only thing about Angel being canceled here is that I wonder if SUCH A GOOD ending could have buttoned such a strong and consistent season otherwise. I mourned the ending of the series the closer the finale came. And frankly in my own fantasy I struggle whether I would choose Angel to have a sixth season or to have Lost season one to have been as good as it was because of the writers it inherited from Angel (David Fury and Drew Goddard probably only wrote for Lost because of Angel's premature end...David Fury is the guy who wrote the most amazing episodes in Lost's first season and Goddard became a big deal on that show).
Obviously the height of Angel season five is Wes' and Fred's, then Illyrina's love story, which is so genuine and sweet turned tragic. Wes is such a good character and so finely developed over the years it's hard to put into words how much I admire what the actor and the writers crafted. Itself a shame Wesley isn't more recognized. Amy Acker's work probably would have itself been more appreciated had she been allowed to develop Illyrina in another season. She is herself a stellar actor and quite frankly breathlessly beautiful. And she uses it like an instrument, never flaunting it or overselling it, in fact usually tastefully doing the opposite, until when she wants you to notice you're like, oh, yes, Fred is gorgeous.