Angel, "Quickening" Review (3x08)

Brief Synopsis: “Angel must do everything in his power to protect Darla and their unborn child when Wolfram & Hart launches a full-scale attack to take mother and baby, as vampire births should be impossible. To make matters worse, the gang is also threatened by a vampire cult who believes that the baby is ‘The Miracle Child’, while Holtz has arrived in present day Los Angeles, seeking vengeance against Angel and Darla.”


"Offspring" (3x07) quick link here                                                                                                                                 "Lullaby" (3x09) quick link here

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Wesley: “The tro-clan isn’t a person or persons. It’s a confluence of events.”
Cordy: “Which means it not only involves you, Darla, and the child, but other horrible things we don’t know about.”
Angel: “That...that’s good, right? I mean, doesn’t that mean that the kid isn’t this evil, apocalyptic thing that we feared?”
Wesley: “Not necessarily. There are a few Nyazian phrases related specifically to the thing being born that I haven’t been able to complete.”

You might find that my review of “Quickening” isn’t as long as the usual (why are you whooping?!). The reason for this is simple. “Quickening”, like “Offspring”, is a lot of setup and very little execution. However, because “Offspring” was the origin of the season arc, it had a lot of interesting titbits to get through, such as Holtz’s arrival, Darla’s return, and the discovery that Angel and Darla’s child has a soul. “Quickening” lacks such exciting and shocking moments for the most part. This isn’t to say that it’s a bad episode. It’s not. At the very worst it’s an average episode of the show, but two setup episodes in a row does sometimes leave you wanting more and feeling a little underwhelmed. In relation to the above exchange, the ‘confluence of events’ takes almost two seasons to get through, and from beginning to end it’s almost three seasons. Darla’s pregnancy is possible because of Angel successfully completing the trials in the aptly named season two episode, “The Trial”. Angel earned Darla a second chance at life, but Darla was unable to take it because she was already living her second chance. When Angel and Darla made sweet undead love, Connor became Darla’s second chance. The ‘confluence of events’ refers to Connor’s existence and his purpose. Connor was created to bring Jasmine forth into the world. Eventually this turned out to be through Cordelia because she was possessed by Jasmine...I’m gonna skip over how gross it is that Jasmine (while possessing Cordelia) slept with someone to give birth to herself. Try explaining that one to the therapist. Skip mentions that Gunn’s sister’s death, Lorne leaving Pylea, Fred opening the wrong book and being sent to Pylea, and Wesley sleeping with Lilah were also all parts of the ‘confluence of events’, but as he was evil and trapped at the time, I’m not so sure that I believe him. Connor being an instrument to bring Jasmine forth also explains why the baby cannot be harmed while in Darla’s decayed belly. He’s being protected by a Power That...Is? Depending on how you view it, Connor is a warrior of light and goodness. Jasmine brings about world peace and stops millions of people from suffering...there’s just that little snag of no free will and the fact she eats people every now and then, but what’s a few ribs amongst friends?

As I mentioned already, “Quickening” is neither a start nor a finish. It’s neither a great episode nor a bad one. It’s simply a means to continue the season arc and build upon what the last episode gave us by revealing that Angel and Darla’s baby is a human boy, and a plethora of random organisations have crawled out of the woodwork to try to kill, steal, experiment on, or eat Angel’s son. This is all important information. The plethora of gangs is relevant as this will be very important in a couple of episodes, the fact that the baby is a human boy is very relevant, and Darla acting more human and emotional through Connor’s soul is also important. The problem is that this episode gives us nothing from these revelations. All of that comes in the next episode and the one after that. I feel the episode needed something important to happen in order to give it a higher mark and more relevance other than advancing the plot. Perhaps a little more of Holtz and Angel interacting with each other would have been beneficial as that was easily the highlight of the episode. The richness of the Angel-Holtz dynamic is something new and fascinating in the Buffyverse. We’ve never had a ‘Big Bad’ before that you could deem a good, righteous man. In many ways Holtz is the hero of the piece. Also, as I mentioned in my review of “Offspring”, we’ve been told for two episodes now that cataclysmic events and horrible times are coming, but we’re not given any reason to fear them! We’re being told to be scared rather than being given a reason to be scared. We know Holtz is deadly, but he’s done nothing bad or dramatic yet. We know that Darla’s child is going to bring complications, but we’ve been given no reason to fear them yet. When you compare this to, say, seasons two and five, it feels lacking. Season two had a slow, steady build towards Angel turning dark, which was subtly displayed from the premiere of the season. Right from the first episode of season five the theme of the season was obvious: can Angel Investigations do good inside Wolfram & Hart without being corrupted? This was explored and built upon throughout the season. The wildcard in all of this is Sahjhan, who we know absolutely nothing about. Why did he offer to bring Holtz forward in time 200 years? Why is he so determined to see Angel and Darla staked? Why is he so against this impossible birth? By the time we discover this, it’s way too late into the season for my liking. It is, of course, because of the prophecy he read that stated that the child of two vampires would kill him. This actually comes true in season five’s “Origin”. “Quickening” does have one very, very good thing going for it. The budding, dysfunctional bromance between Holtz and Sahjhan...

Holtz: “What of England? Has it survived the years and destruction?”
Sahjhan: “Yes. It went through a rough patch about sixty years ago, but it’s mostly unchanged. Warm beer, boiled meat, bad teeth. That’s why I moved to L.A. - have you followed this part of the history? American Revolution, manifest destiny, westward expansion, the Beach Boys?”

On behalf of my country, hey! Where did this stereotype come from that all English people have bad teeth? Sure, some people look like Shane MacGowan, but most of us are doing okay. Perhaps I’m just not very stereotypically English. Warm beer? Gross. Boiled meat? I’d much rather it was cooked in the oven. Barbecue that mo’ fucka...can you say ‘tangent’?

Ah, yes, the growing bromance between Holtz and Sahjhan is glorious. Holtz hates all things supernatural, but he spends this entire episode bantering and bickering with Sahjhan. Sahjhan is hundreds of years old and has the ability to jump through time and realities, yet he’s spending all his time chilling with an 18th century Englishman. Love it. Best bromance since Wesley and Gunn. I also love that Sahjhan is such a contemporary creature. He’s ancient and powerful, yet he’s had work done around his eyes to ensure that he stays looking young. I cannot believe that we didn’t get the scene where Sahjhan was getting Botox. This is beyond a travesty. Speaking of Sahjhan, if he’s non-corporeal, how could he receive Botox in the first place? How could he smoke a cigarette while waiting for Holtz to break out of his stone tomb? I’m sensing shifty continuity! Like when The First Evil stroked Angel’s hair in Buffy’s “Amends”. Sahjhan is hilarious, Holtz is crabby and impatient, and it makes for great TV. Especially when Holtz poisons all of Sahjhan’s hired demon minions. Note that in the opening flashback of the episode, Holtz was hunting Angel and Darla before they butchered his family. Holtz was a vampire hunter before the vampires made it personal. This means that Holtz had a dislike and vendetta against vampires before they gave him a reason to as far as we’re aware. There is one very important question to ask now that Holtz is in present day Los Angeles...will Holtz care now that Angel has a soul and Darla is pregnant? Will it change his plans and intentions? Holtz is a family man. Holtz is a righteous man. Would he destroy a creature possessing a soul? Would he be capable of killing an innocent human child?

Wolfram & Hart have been of little relevance so far this season. This episode gives us Holland Manner’s inept replacement, Linwood Murrow. John Rubinstein is a very competent actor (and I adore his appearance in “Supernatural”), but the character of Linwood pales in comparison to Holland Manners. Linwood comes across as scared, weak, and disorganised. In comparison, Holland Manners was a great leader. He inspired confidence, led by example, and was a company man through and through. He was ruthless, yet he believed in people. He was oddly humanised, yet evil. Linwood lacks all of these interesting character traits...much like Gavin, to be honest. Lindsay was way more complex and compelling. I never view Linwood or Gavin as a threat to anyone (except when Gavin was under Billy’s influence in “Billy”), whereas Lindsey and Holland were men to be feared. It’s pretty cool to watch Lilah grow into the face and most powerful person at Wolfram & Hart now though. She’s easily the most competent, interesting, evil, scary person left at the company right now. When you decide that your villain will be a recurring one that continues through every season, you better keep them interesting. Lilah is the only thing keeping that statement true at the moment. In this episode, Gavin’s bugging of the Hyperion in “That Vision Thing” comes in handy as he’s able to spy on Angel Investigations and discover that Darla, a vampire, is impossibly pregnant. This leads to other groups finding out through spies at Wolfram & Hart and everything quickly snowballs into irrelevance. I hope that Gavin bugging everywhere in the hotel but the janitor’s closet doesn’t come back to bite him in the ass at some point in the near future.

Dr. Fetvanovich: “It is I who feel fortunate. A vampire birth is, ah, unprecedented. I look forward to dissecting both the mother and the child.”

...How sweet. Truly heart-warming sentiments. I wish we had more backstory on this goat-man-doctor-person thingy. He’s an interesting sociopath at the very least. Also, having a cage ready for mama and baby alike...beyond creepy. Dr. Fetvanovich represents my least favourite part of the episode. That is the sheer volume of unimportant, uninteresting people that are interested in the baby. This doctor serves no purpose as he’s killed quickly after his introduction, the vampire cult serve no purpose, the ninja dude serves no purpose...it’s just a waste of valuable air time that could be used more productively, such as Holtz-Sahjhan bromance scenes.

Shifting the focus back to Angel Investigations and the core of the episode, nobody really does anything. It’s mostly the characters finding out that the baby is a boy and reacting to the danger around them. No real character development (except Angel discovering he has a son), no real ‘oh my God!’ moments, nothing meaty to get my teeth in to. I do appreciate Cordy, Wesley, and Gunn’s behaviour in this episode, however. They’re helping Darla for Angel, but they don’t like her and they’re doing it against their better judgement. Before agreeing to help Darla, Cordy punches her in the face to let out some frustration...then she agrees. Wesley, Gunn, and Cordy are somewhat distant and resentful towards Darla, which is to be expected and realistic after all the drama that she caused in the last season. Fred, however, knows very little of Darla and is her usual cheery, friendly, adorable self. Whenever I think of Fred and try to define her character, I think of her offering Darla a beverage in “Offspring”. Sheldon Cooper would be proud. She’s the gentle scientist who just wants to make the world a better place and learn stuff along the way...unless you’re the professor that sent her to Pylea. Wesley also resents Darla, but he’s more English about the whole thing. Meaning he’ll help, say nothing against her, be badass, but tut about her behind her back. Good work, my man. Trying to discover just what is inside of Darla, the team head to a medical hospital so that Wesley can give Darla an ultrasound. When did he learn how to do this? Was this part of his Watcher’s Council training in case he came across a pregnant demon and had to perform an emergency c-section?

Wesley: “It’s...it’s human.”
Gunn: “Human as in humanoid? As in cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers?”
Wesley: “No. Human as in...a boy.”
Angel: “Boy?”
Wesley: “A boy. A boy. You’re carrying a boy.”
Darla: “...Great.”
Angel: “I’m gonna have a son...I’m gonna have a son.”

Angel is getting the one thing he thought he’d never have in his eternal life...apart from a tan. Angel accepted hundreds of years ago that he’d never be a father. His little soldiers aren’t supposed to work anymore because he’s dead. Therefore, if this is the one thing Angel can never have, it only stands to reason that Joss will find a way to give him it. Just watch Angel’s face when he’s told that his offspring is a human boy. He’s overwhelmed with joy. His scowl was slightly less scowly. Since Darla showed up in Los Angeles pregnant, Angel has just assumed that the offspring is going to be evil or a vampire. I don’t think he ever considered the possibility that his offspring would be a healthy human baby. This a wonderful moment for Angel and a huge part of his character journey as the next three years are covered in moments where Angel acts a certain way because he has a son. It’s a real turning point for his character and the single most important thing to happen to him alongside the Shanshu Prophecy. Since Angel’s introduction in Buffy’s pilot episode, “Welcome To The Hellmouth”, we’ve seen him struggle to try to find a place in the world. He often feels cut off from humanity and distances himself from the people around him. The Shanshu Prophecy gave him a purpose and another reason to fight the good fight, but it didn’t give him something to love and fight for. Angel has a son now. A reason to live. A person to fight for. A child that depends on him. One that he has to raise and show the world to. He can’t do that if he’s cut off from humanity or nonchalant about whether or not he continues to exist. This is Angel’s reward, not the Shanshu. Angel has always been disheartened by his lack of humanity, yet now he’s been gifted something that is incredibly human. I do find it highly amusing that the mother is the person who he committed all these terrible crimes with and the reason why he’s seeking amends in the first place.

Darla: “It’s nothing.”
Angel: “It’s the kid, isn’t it? Seeing him on the monitor.”
Darla: “No, I’m just disappointed that the vamp cult didn’t kill all of you guys.”

A soon to be mother, ladies and gentlemen.

Angel has a future now. A real future, not just an immortal existence. Remember, James told Angel in the season’s premiere, “Heartthrob”, that he lived while Angel merely existed. This stung Angel as he knew that it was true, at least in some part. That’s no longer the case now that Connor has been conceived. You know how I said in my review of “Offspring” that the parallels between Angel and Holtz are captivating because the hero and villain mantels are so complicated? Here’s another example of Angel and Holtz being so similar, yet so opposite. While Angel is looking to the future and trying to build one for his imminent child, Holtz can’t escape the past. His bitterness and hatred over Angel and Darla murdering his family is palpable. It’s the whole reason why he accepted Sahjhan’s proposal in the first place. He doesn’t care about Sahjhan’s demon minions or what’s happened to the world since he entered the stone tomb, he just wants to kill Angel and Darla so that he can die happy, having avenged his family. Angel had his humanity stolen from him by Darla, who sired him. Even after being re-ensoulled, he’s still distant from humanity. He’s purposely avoiding humanity a lot of the time because he doesn’t want to be tempted and he doesn’t feel he deserves a normal, happy life. In comparison, Holtz has had a section of his humanity stripped away by Angel and Darla. He can’t experience joy outside of the hunt, he can’t appreciate the world around him, he’s simply been consumed by the thirst for revenge. It’s understandable, but not exactly healthy.

 
While the Wolfram & Hart commandos are waiting for Darla and Angel to return to the Hyperion so they can capture Darla and the baby to experiment on them, Holtz arrives. Holtz, wielding only a sword, somehow manages to defeat an entire S.W.A.T. team of commandos who’re armed with machine guns. He’s secretly a ninja assassin or a Faceless Man, isn’t he? You know how you get movies on airplanes to stop you getting bored? I like to think that Sahjhan gave Holtz 200 years worth of fighting tutorials, which he hosted himself, demonstrated on a little television panel at the front of the stone tomb. That’s now canon. Tell your friends. The episode draws to a close on Angel returning to the hotel seeking the Nyazian Scrolls, but he comes face to face with Holtz. Meanwhile, the rest of Angel Investigations are parked a few blocks away waiting for him, while Darla goes into labour. Great cliffhanger ending! It leaves so many questions unanswered for the next episode. What is Holtz going to do once he discovers that Angel has a soul and Darla is pregnant? Will Darla return to her evil ways after giving birth? Will she successfully give birth? All of these questions will be answered in the next episode, which is arguably the best of the season, “Lullaby”.


Quote Of The Episode

Fred: “You freaks make one move and I’ll slice the miracle kid into triplets.”

Cordy: “...It’s always the quiet ones...”


FINAL SCORE: 7/10

What are your thoughts on "Quickening"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!

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