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EPISODE 1.22 TO SHANSHU IN LA Written by: David Greenwalt Directed by: David Greenwalt
Setting up Season 2 When I first read some of the descriptions of "To Shanshu in LA" I was puzzled. The story seemed to involve the raising of some new evil power. We have, over the past three years, been used to this scenario in BtVS. The finale for the first season was about freeing the Master. The last two episodes of the second season concerned Angelus' attempt to awaken Acathla. The third season concluded with the Mayor's Ascension. In the first and third seasons the "raising" was the culmination of an arc that had developed over a long period. Even in the second season, when Acathla was sort of pulled out of the hat late on, it still took a two-parter to do justice to the story. In contrast a single episode didn't seem to me to be nearly enough time to devote to Wolfram and Hart's decision to raise a new evil and Angel’s prevention of it. The whole thing seemed in prospect far too rushed. It was only after watching it that I realized that "To Shanshu in LA" was not really about a defining battle against a great evil as the culmination of the past season. Rather it served as the set up for the next one. And I have to say that, for me, structuring things in this way worked very well. It need hardly be repeated here that ANGEL in season 1 has had no story arc as such. Instead we got a sense of continuity from the characters involved: their growth and development, how they relate to one another and how they deal with the crises they face. It has been one of the great strengths of the series and this episode epitomizes it. Each individual is carefully defined both in terms of his or her own character development and in terms of his or her relationship with others in a way that faithfully reflects their recent histories but which also intriguingly anticipates the role they will play in season 2. "To Shanshu in LA" thus acts as a bridge to season 2, endowing the series both with a sense of unity and, more importantly, direction.
Angel and his Future The central role in all of this obviously belongs to our eponymous hero. I have already wasted a lot of cyber ink on the development of a sense of mission that Angel showed in "Sanctuary". In many ways it seems to me that this sense of mission rather than Faith's journey was the really significant part of the episode. The series, after all, tells the story of Angel's redemption, not Faith's or anyone else's. This was what, I think, Joss Whedon was referring to when he said that there would be fewer stories in ANGEL that were peripheral to Angel himself. And it is in relation to Angel’s sense of his mission that I see the great advantage of introducing the prophecies of Aberjian. Remember in “Sanctuary” when Angel said to Faith: “The truth is, no matter how much you suffer, no matter how many good deeds you do to try to make up for the past - you may never balance out the cosmic scale. The only thing I can promise you is that you'll probably be haunted - and may be for the rest of your life." As I said in my review of that episode, here he was referring to himself and in those words we do get a sense of the bleak hopelessness he must feel. He is describing a struggle without an end. In the same episode redemption is defined as a process or a journey. But any journey must have an ultimate goal, otherwise it is pointless. Equally the significance of redemption cannot be just the process. In the final analysis, although others may benefit from his efforts, Angel must seek redemption for his own sake. Otherwise he becomes entirely detached from the process and it becomes meaningless to him. And as the series cannot really be about a succession of anonymous victims of the weeks, the danger therefore is that the process would become meaningless to us. Ultimately therefore Angel needs a stake (if you forgive the pun) in his actions. The effectiveness of the prophecy about Angel becoming human as a device for giving him that stake seems to me to be quite clear. Essentially redemption for Angel means that he must attain forgiveness or make peace with himself. This is an internal development but his turning human as part of this is very significant. First of all the dangers of a cursed vampire attaining peace of mind are too obvious to need restating here. From that point of view any redemption for Angel must involve a fundamental change to his status or the whole point of redemption is defeated. Secondly, how and when a person does achieve redemption in this internal sense is almost indefinable. Symbolically, therefore, it seems entirely right to set a particular external event to define Angel's redemption - the moment he becomes human. But there is another issue here. There is more to being human than taking the physical form. It means being part of the world. There are a few significant passages in “To Shanshu in LA” dealing with this very issue.
Angel cannot change and he cannot grow because he is not part of life. He needs nothing. He hopes for nothing. This has been a theme that has been integral to the character from the beginning of the series. Certainly his isolation from humanity was something stressed both in “City of..” and “Lonely Hearts”. But here the writers have taken this concept to the next level. It becomes not a character quirk or a consequence of too long an isolation from others. It is presented as an inherent aspect of his nature. In addressing the issue in this way they are, therefore, preparing the ground for some sort of change. The expectation of Angel becoming human has the potential to alter the way he sees himself. It creates a connection with life and thereby creates the possibility for change and growth, even as an ensouled vampire. An Angel who can gradually become more of a part of human society is indeed an interesting idea. We will see if the writers intend to follow this through.
The Uses of Prophecy But even apart from the immediate consequences for Angel himself the intrusion of Prophecy into the series has another very important effect. Since IWRY it has been clear that ANGEL is intended to have a series-long arc that will over the years build towards some form of Armageddon. Here there are further hints that suggest the wider context within which Angel’s particular role is carried out. Vocah tells the Oracles “The old Order passes away and the new Order is come”. Later the ghost of the female Oracle tells Angel: “Things are unravelling. The Dark Ones broach our temples now.” These are intriguing enough in themselves. But using Prophecy in connection with this phenomenon is classic. Yes it is an old idea in the sense that every mythology going back to the days of pre-literature has had prophecies about the future of its heroes. But it is not I think "old" in the sense of being "stale" . In a fantasy series prophecy is just as interesting and powerful a tool in the hands of a good storyteller now as it ever was. It helps to define and reinforce the whole mythology of the series. In particular it helps form an overall structure within which the writers can fit the different elements which form the arc, at least in retrospect, they make sense. For example Vocah referred to the relationship between Angel and the scrolls in the following terms: “He is in possession of the prophecies. His connection to the Powers that Be is complete.” It is of course from the scroll that Angel learns of his destiny while later Wesley recounts the challenges Angel will have to undertake in order to fulfill that destiny. Clearly, therefore, the prophecies of Aberjian are intended to be a guide for later battles as well as his personal destiny. Moreover, in this context, Prophecy raises one of the most viscerally important questions of all - to what extent do we decide our own destiny and to what extent is that destiny decided for us by the dead hand of what we call fate? Buffy's experience in "Prophecy Girl" was a very good example of this. By acting on the prophecy and going to face the Master she inadvertently caused to happen the very thing she wanted to prevent. There is really no parallel use of the prophecies of Aberjian here. Nevertheless the fact that these, and presumably other prophecies as well, have now been brought into the story, especially in the context of the coming Armageddon, opens up the possibility of the next series exploring this territory. Here I will toss in one idea at random. A vampire with a soul was foretold by ancient prophecy. Does that mean that Liam was fated to become Angelus and fated to have his soul restored? If so how does that affect Angel’s own sense of responsibility for Angelus’ crimes?
Cordelia and Wesley Angel is not the only one to benefit from careful characterization. Next let us turn to Wesley and Cordelia. Here we see their different complementary strengths. Cordelia put it in her usual diplomatic fashion: Cordelia: “We've gotta do something. We've gotta help him.” Wesley: “I'm not sure we can.” Cordelia: “What is your deal. You go around boring everyone with your musty scrolls and then you say there's nothing we can do." Wesley: “He is what he is.” Cordelia: “He's Angel. And he's good. And he helps the helpless. And now he's one of them. He's gonna have to start wanting thing in life whether he wants to or not." Wesley provides the intellect, the linguistic skills and the grasp of ancient cultures necessary for the understanding of the problems they face. And not for the first time (I’m thinking in particular of “Eternity”) he provides insights into human and not so human nature. This is not only good and consistent character development, it also allows him to communicate to the viewer, in an easy and natural way, some of the ideas the writers have. Cordelia, on the other hand, is the hard headed, one. She doesn’t go in for Wesley’s more cerebral analysis. But she has enough instinctive grasp of human behavior to recognize the truth of what he is saying. What she brings is first of all the commitment to doing something about it. She is still the closest person Angel has to a friend and her practical approach to life means that she is going to do something to help, not just sit around and worry. Of course, as the nature of Angel’s problem is not really susceptible to a practical solution, this does lead to a very humorous mismatch between intention and execution as we can see from the following exchange:
But once again what we find is that the writers have both encapsulated and reinforced the strengths of Angel’s little group – strengths that certainly do not begin and end with Angel himself. In this context the attack on Cordelia and Wesley was significant. It further strengthens the idea of the close bond between Angel, Wesley and Cordelia. And this bond is both a strength and a weakness. We saw here how it can be used to attack Angel. But it is a vulnerability only because of its importance. And the importance is demonstrated both by the way in which the talents of Wesley and Cordelia complement Angel and in the evident trust and support they have for him. In summary, therefore, we can see that in this episode the writers have pulled together they key strands in the characters of the members of the Fang Gang so that we have a clear and highly sympathetic view of them as this close knit, coherent and mutually complementary unity. I thought that this was very well done. Most of this, as I have said, was restatement. But there was one significant development of here in the increased sense of purpose that Cordelia found. She had a very personal connection to Angel and less so to Wesley. She was certainly always willing to pitch in and do what she could to help. But there was never the same sense of individual commitment to the task there was with the others, as we saw for example when she left Angel to his own devices with Faith in "Sanctuary". It was still primarily a job for her. Her vision coma changed all that. I am always a little suspicious of epiphanies but Cordelia’s new outlook seems to me just right. She was, I think, moving in the right direction anyway but then she had one of the worst personal experiences imaginable – a first person view of the sort of harm inflicted by demons. I can readily accept that as a life-changing experience that gave the character a strong push in the direction she was already going. But I also like the fact that it wasn’t overplayed by being too melodramatic. I very much liked the scene in her apartment at the end when she said to Angel: "I know what’s out there now. We have a lot of evil to fight, a lot of people to help. I just hope skin and bone her can figure out what those lawyers raised some time before that prophecy kicks in and you croak….That was the old me wasn’t it. It gave the essential message but with a very light touch. There was a little humor and it showed that Cordelia has changed but she hasn’t.
Kate Which brings us to Kate. The most interesting thing here is that she did not need to be in the piece at all. She was entirely surplus to the requirements of the story. Still, she is in not one but two significant scenes. The reason for this seems to me to be again to set up a major element of the season 2 storylines. Whether Kate really meant Angel any harm in "Sanctuary" is perhaps open to debate. But there can be no doubting her attitude here. In this I don't see Kate as a "bitca". Rather her evolving attitude to Angel seems to me to be a logical progression for her character. First of all, we are talking about a hard headed, practical woman who has difficulty controlling her temper. Remember her attitude to Little Tony in "Sense and Sensitivity"? Her personal courage and determination is not in doubt and she seems to have been something of a maverick anyway. This woman first of all suddenly discovers that there is an entirely new world right under her nose and is having a very difficult time adjusting to it. Not only do the creatures of that world (for example Penn) constitute a threat to the people of LA in general but they first corrupted and then killed her own father. So I find it entirely believable that she would embark on a crusade to destroy the evil things she now finds around her. As far as Angel himself is concerned, having previously built up a relationship of trust with this mysterious figure and even been attracted to him, she suddenly finds out he is a vampire with a particularly brutal past. In spite of this, she was prepared to extend to Angel the benefit of the doubt in "Somnambulist." But any such leeway disappeared with the death of her father in "the Prodigal". In "the Ring" she is entirely indifferent to his disappearance and in both "Sanctuary" and this episode she entirely fails to distinguish between him and any other "evil thing". In this regard she has a perfectly respectable point of view. Angel is not part of society and he does operate as a vigilante, outside the law. But it is the law that keeps society together and that restrains arbitrary and unreasonable violence. Angel may himself be acting against evil evil things. But to Kate he may well constitute a significant threat to the rule of law. Sometimes the best drama is to be found in a conflict between two sympathetic characters. We can see one of them may be in the wrong, may even be unfair but because we can understand what is driving him or her we can still sympathize with their point of view. In many ways it seems to me we have here the nearest thing we are likely to get to the Xander /Angel confrontation we never had on BtVS. The really interesting thing in this context is Angel's reaction to Kate's attacks on him when he said "This isn't about the law. This is about a little thing called life. Now I'm sorry about your father. But I didn't kill your father and I'm sick and tiredof you blaming me for everything you can't handle. You want to be enemies - try me.” This was very different to the way he reacted to Xander or indeed anyone else attacking him on BtVS. He accepted the criticism, perhaps because deep down he believed it was true. Even in "Somnambulist" his defense to Kate's charges was weak. The best he could manage was: “I can’t make up for the past, Kate, I know that.” But here he is angry and defiant. This is not the same man who slunk away under Xander's scornful glare in GD2. This is a man who now believes in his essential worth and is not going to keep on apologizing for his existence. Already we therefore see how this confrontation is illustrating the change to Angel's view of himself that has been slowly taking place throughout the second half of the season and which the revelations of the prophecy serve to crystallize. It would never have been possible to explore this change in his conflict with a real "black hat". It could only have been explored through conflict with someone who was herself a "white hat" because it was to such people that Angel always felt inferior. But even apart from this there are so many interesting places the confrontations could go. It could be a journey of discovery in which Kate learns to cope with the existence of demons through her conflict with Angel. It could be a tragedy in the classic mould with her paying dearly for her failure to trust him. Anything is possible and that must be the essence of good and interesting drama.
Lindsey And finally in terms of character there is Lindsey. The first thing to say about him was that, notwithstanding his help for Angel in "Blind Date" he has never been a "white hat". Even in that episode he showed not a moment's remorse or even doubt about what he had done for Russell from "City of..". He had in fact vigorously defended his activities. The same Lindsey had tried to kill both Angel and Faith in "Five by Five" and "Sanctuary". What turned him into a human being in "Blind Date” was his potential for redemption. He had limits that he would not cross and more importantly he had the moral fibre not to turn a blind eye to what he could not stomach but to go and do something about it. But there is nothing here to suggest that the old Lindsey has gone away. Why would he have any qualms about raising another means to strike at Angel or Cordelia for that matter? Nothing about either event created a conflict between his selfish desire to advance his own interests and some latent sense that there are certain things he will not do. In this context I thought that it was very interesting that Holland said to Lindsey just before the raising: “I know you’ve covered all the bases here…the senior partners are watching us. We don’t want to let them down.” Then Lilah’s warned him about the fate of Robert Price (who probably didn’t have the benefit of a bottle of Chianti). When Angel interrupted the ritual and Holland said the word “Lindsey” in that slightly singsong way the meaning seemed clear. It was his show and his responsibility. He had to do something or else. So he did, from a sense of self-preservation. There was no comic book villain here. Let's face it. Lindsey has no real future as a "white hat". Equally as a mere servant of the policies of his employers he could only be a minor figure. But there is another much more interesting role for him is as a loose cannon who may equally help or hinder both sides according to how it suits him. Certainly, as we have seen from "Blind Date" in particular Lindsey is perfectly capable of following his own agenda regardless of what the Senior Partners wanted. Given Joss Whedon's penchant for "paying homage" to films or other television I would not reject as far fetched the idea that his loss of a hand was an explicit identification of him as The "Angel" series' Krychek. There is, however, another interpretation. The loss of his hand could well give Lindsey a personal grudge against Angel. That would hardly matter much if he were reverting to straightforward minor villain. There is really no need to sharpen the conflict from his point of view by introducing such a grudge. But if his relationship with Angel were to be more ambiguous, then the personal animus between them would add bite to that relationship. Of course this is just so much speculation at the moment but the elements are there is the writers want to use them.
The Plot As I have already said, on the face of it the plot in “To Shanshu in LA” was set up for Angel to prevent the raising of some great evil. But the first indication that there was something different about this episode when compared to say “Prophecy Girl” was when Vocah said: “I am summoned for the raising - the very thing that was to bring this creature down to us, tear him from The Powers That Be – and he has the scroll.” This made it clear that Angel himself was somehow the target of the raising and this in turn suggested that it was not going to be prevented. That would after all have been much the least interesting scenario: the evil would be defeated without actually giving it a chance to fulfill its purpose. On the other hand the season finale couldn't really leave us with a sense of unmitigated failure. I wouldn’t actually object to that latter scenario myself. In fact I would find it refreshing. But this seems a big no-no in TV today. So, if the raising was to be successful, it therefore made a great deal of sense to shift the focus to something else - a threat that could be defeated. And so, Vocah instead of being merely the agent of the raising became in effect the surrogate MOW. Once he had attacked Cordelia and Wesley Angel had an identifiable villain to actually defeat and a purpose to achieve rather than facing a complete failure. Of course the actual plot of Vocah’s attempt to strike at Angel through his friends was pretty conventional. Sending Cordelia into her vision coma instead of trying to kill her was an imaginative touch. It displayed a real cruelty. That might sound an odd thing to say but it is sometimes difficult to communicate on TV these days a real sense of evil and Cordelia’s very real suffering did that in a way which nothing else in the episode did or could. Those scenes in the hospital bed were terrifically well done. It all made Vocah a genuinely menacing creature. Otherwise there was no great attempt to surprise us and the bomb in Angel’s headquarters was something of a cliché. Nevertheless Vocah’s actions, and especially the attack on Cordelia, did not just emerge from nowhere. They actually did make a lot of sense in terms of his stated motivation to cut Angel off from TPTB. One element only in all of this spoiled things for me a little. This was the apparent ease with which Vocah defeated and killed the Oracles (who were powerful enough to turn back time on a whole planet). This did strike me as a poor contrivance, and not only because I am probably the only creature in civilization actually to want to see more of the creeps. But all of this was only set up for the final Act scenes in the Mausoleum. Here the two main plotlines – the raising and Vocah’s attacks on Angel – were brought together in a spectacular confrontation that served as a fitting climax to the episode. There was just so much going on at the same time – the scythe fight, Lindsey’s completion of the ritual (with its superb visual effect of the vampires being dusted in a mini-whirlwind), the lawyers’ hurried exit and the final tense confrontation over the scroll. The pay-off for the escape of Holland and Lilah with “the box” was obviously the very last scene in which we discovered of the identity of the creature that was raised. That was the real twist and frankly I would never have guessed. But it makes huge sense. Darla isn’t going to try to kill Angel. She is going to try to complete the task she set herself in the BtVS episode “Angel” more than two seasons ago – using the demon within him to bring him back to the dark side. Only now that we have so much more of the back story between them told and so much more time to tell more, the possibilities are literally almost endless. If anyone can mess with Angel’s mind, its Darla and for me that is so much more intriguing than any number of battle demons trying to kill him. And this makes sense in retrospect of the hints that Vocah delivered about needing to tear Angel away from TPTB. It shows us how Angel himself is the target for the raising rather than Vocah's mission simply about creating another monster for him to fight. Yes sir, this was an ending that was guaranteed to get me excited about Season 2.
Overview (B) First of all let me say that I like the fact that the writers have gone to so much trouble in this episode to set up Season 2. They didn’t need to but I am sure that it will bring its own rewards. But the real trick was to make this set up so well thought out, logical, interesting and consistent. With Angel in particular I now feel that the writers have a very strong handle on the character. They understand him and they are drawing more and more interesting things about him out into the open. We have a clearer view now of the importance of the fact that he is so cut off from the world; it is no longer an interesting and humanizing quirk. It is central to his mission of saving souls that he overcomes it. And this promises us that the writers will concentrate attention on Angel's character flaws as the key problem in his mission - not a collection of MOW's. Aside from this we also saw Wesley, Cordelia, Kate and even Lindsey set up for the roles they will play in season 2. There are rich possibilities for each. And in particular we saw the surprise reappearance of Darla with all the promise she brings of trying times ahead for Angel. If I were to make any criticism of the piece I would say that too much of the really interesting stuff in this episode was set up. Set up is of course very necessary but for the present can only create expectations which won't be satisfied just yet. On the other hand those elements of the story that are resolved now (saving Cordelia) were pretty conventional. So, while "To Shanshu in LA" gives us something to look forward to it also leaves us with a slightly frustrated feeling for the present. |
