Wow. This was awesome. It had all the stuff I love, and also some of the stuff I’m not really that keen on, but can appreciate if it’s not too much of it.

First of all, this was an impressively tightly executed episode. None of the scenes felt redundant, none of them were ones I wished would end, and most of them were also scary. Which is relatively rare for an Angel episode; compared to Buffy, this is a much less scary show, with less sneaking down dark hallways with a sense of imminent death hanging over the characters’ heads, less panicked running through graveyards, and generally speaking much more equal fighting between the hero’s group and the evils.

But this one, it had an atmosphere which was even more creepy than the one in “Habeas Corpses”. The lighting, the score (which I rarely notices, but it really does deserve praise, because it undoubtedly helps to create emotions in me when I’m watching, even when I’m not aware of it), the acting, the effects (the sound of carrots being cut as the ghostly fellow chops his own fingers into tiny pieces, for example), and of course Spike, who tries to put a brave face on things by making his wisecracking remarks, while you at the same time can read the fear on his face. Brilliant stuff, I think, and I normally try to stay away from all things horror-movie-ish.

But there’s more, gentile reader! (Oh God, I like Andrew. I just can’t help it.)

Because the dialogue… oh Gods, it’s so good. Just look these two (paraphrased — I was too busy watching the episode to actually rewind to get exact quotes) examples from the big Angel/Spike scene:

Angel: “Just face it: We’re both going to Hell.”
Spike: “But if nothing matters, why do it?”
Angel: “What else are we going to do?”

This is basically what Kate and Angel talked about after he’d saved her from killing herself back in season two, and if I’ve understood something Loki said to someone somewhere, the conclusion they draw at the end of this season: If nothing matters, all that matters is what we do. The next one comes after a rather hectic piece of dialogue where Angel and Spike lists has a rather childish argument about who dislikes the other the most, and have come to the phase where they just stare emptily into the air:

Angel: There was this one thing about you…
Spike: Yeah?
Angel: I never told anyone this before, but… I kinda liked your poems.
Spike: You liked Barry Manilow.

All in all, a bloody awesome episode, where Spike also comes to peace with his ghost self, or something. And where they thankfully move away from the “Angel and Spike are each others’ comic sidekicks” formula. Which is funny, but doesn’t necessarily progress the plot overly much.

This first season 5 DVD also had a “Smile Time” featurette, which was hilarious, despite David Boreanaz seeming a little uninspired. Made me look forward to watching that episode again.