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Angel Reviews

Season 4, Episode 5, "Supersymmetry"

Fred is overjoyed to have her physics article (about super-symmetry) published in a scientific journal. Gunn attempts to read it which really gets Fred excited. Angel and Lorne are discussing the coming nastiness gleamed from Cordy's reading. Angel wants Lorne to read her again which Lorne steadfastly rejects. They are interrupted by a strange noise. Angel investigates and finds Connor picking up some items Cordy left behind. They share some awkward words before Connor fires a parting shot implying he's sleeping with Cordy.

Fred is asked to present her article at a physics symposium. She's excited that she's being recognized for her work by her peers, but nervous of presenting in front of them. She informs Angel & Gunn that everything will work itself out and that everything will be fine. Whenever someone says this in fiction or in real life, disaster is always close behind.

Lilah arrives at Wesley's apartment attempting to close the rift between them from last episode. She's bearing a gift. Wesley is suspicious of her motives, yet opens the gift which is a medieval knight's helmet. Wesley is impressed with the gift, but refuses Lilah's advances and informs her he has to leave. Lilah spots a magazine opened to Fred's super-symmetry article. The first of many reminders this episode of Wesley's unrequited feelings for Fred. I'm glad they're showing this, as that plot line seemed all but forgotten.

Connor & Cordy are at their museum loft. Cordy has redecorated and posted pictures of the Fang Gang in the hopes of jogging her memory. She observes that Connor did not bring any photos of Angel back from the Hotel. Cordy muses that even amidst all her stuff, she still feels empty. Connor suggests she's missing the action in her life. He offers to train her in combat.

Fred is nervous about her upcoming presentation. She meets an old professor of hers, Professor Seidel. They start discussing the finer minutia of quantum mechanics leaving Angel & Gunn scratching their heads. Angel grabs a seat and spots Wesley in the crowd. Fred begins talking about how super string theory allows for multi-dimensions to exist. Angel spots Lilah arriving. Lilah takes a call on her cell and quickly leaves. Above Fred, a portal appears and giant tentacles emerge. The tentacles grab Fred, but she is saved by Angel & Gunn. The fight is over before Wesley can join. Seeing that Fred is safe and the portal has closed, he walks away. During the fight, a student is busy snapping pictures of it. We'll see more of him later.

Lilah is confronted by Angel. They have yet another boring & tedious Lilah-Angel scene where Angel threatens and Lilah doesn't take him seriously. I'm sure David Boreanaz & Stephanie Romanov can do scenes like this in their sleep by now. I don't know why, but this scene reminded me that David Boreanaz is the weakest of all the Buffy-Angel actors. Well...maybe Mark Blucas (Riley) may have something to say about that. But I digress. Angel ascertains from Lilah that she had nothing to do with the portal, and that she was just stalking Wesley.

Later that night, Gunn is awakened by Fred writing physics equations on the walls. She's acting like she was when Angel found her in Pylea. That is to say, mad as a hatter. She seriously wigs out on Gunn who's trying to comfort her. The portal attack reminding her too much of her imprisonment in Pylea. The next morning Angel & Gunn reconstruct the hotel lobby into the conference room to try find some clues as to who or what opened the portal. Now the way they shot this scene, the hotel lobby morphs into the conference room. I thought this was a neat way to show the mental image in Angel's head, but then Gunn makes a remark indicating that he can see what Angel is seeing...huh? I hope I misinterpreted Gunn's remark, otherwise Angel now has the power to project illusions. I'm going to assume that this is not the case, and that Angel is very observant and Gunn is reacting to Angel's verbal observations and nothing else. Angel remembers the photo shooting student, and Gunn (who I'm assuming also saw the student at the conference, and not in Angel's 'illusion') knows that this student works at a comic book store. Angel & Gunn visit the student, I think his name was Jared, and question him. Jared claims that Fred was not the only physics student to have vanished, only the first to come back, thus his interest in her. Jared also reveals the existence of an entire sub-culture devoted to the demonic underworld of Los Angeles and to Angel in particular. This was a nice added touch.

Professor Seidel and Fred are discussing the events of the previous day. Seidel finds Fred's stories of Pylea a bit hard to swallow. However, he does offer Fred a teaching job with him. Fred turns him down explaining that she has a new life now. Seidel briefly leaves his office allowing Fred to browse through his bookcase. She spots a book that shouldn't belong in a physics prof's office. She flips through it and discovers a picture of a portal with the tentacles. Uh-oh. That can't be good, and it's not.

Angel & Gunn are at the hotel investigating the other physics students who've vanished. Due to the ALL-MIGHTY ALL KNOWING INTERNET that exists in the Buffy-verse, even a Luddite like Angel can find out that all the missing students had Professor Seidel as a professor. They realize that Fred is with Seidel that moment. But she's not as she walks in with a pained look on her face. She's made the realization about Seidel herself, and she's not too happy about it. She wants Seidel dead, and she wants to do the deed.

Fred starts to freak out again, and Gunn again tries to comfort her. This is the second time this episode and third time this season Fred has had a breakdown. Her mental stability is a potential plot line which I hope is explored. Fred covertly visits Wesley for advice on vengeance. Wesley tries to talk her out of it, but sees that Fred is committed. This scene also suggests Wesley's feelings for Fred, but Fred is oblivious to them in her anger. Seidel then calls Fred's cell phone and inexplicably causes a bizarre alphabet to appear in the display. These weird letters & characters calls forth a sucking portal in Wesley's apartment which Wesley & Fred barely escape.

Connor and Cordy are battling vampires, and Cordy successfully stakes one. It appears Connor is a better trainer than Buffy was to Dawn in Lessons. In the excitement Connor kisses Cordy who has a weird look on her face afterwards. Connor doesn't know it yet but he's just effectively killed this romance. And I fear, effectively killed any potential interest his character might have had this season.

Wesley & Fred are driving to Seidel's office. Wesley again tries to reason with Fred but it's no use. He questions why Gunn's not there. Fred replies that Gunn doesn't have the heart for vengeance. And that's why she loves him. Obviously Wesley's presence there implies that Fred thinks that Wesley does have a heart for vengeance, and is one of the reasons she doesn't love him. Nothing Fred could say could have hurt Wesley as much. The look on Wesley's face speaks volumes.

Angel beats everyone to the Seidel's office. He confronts Seidel who responds by opening a portal containing a nasty demon.  Angel repeatedly kills the demon, who repeatedly keeps coming back to life. Seidel runs off and is stopped by a cross-bow wielding Fred. She gets off a line about payback being a bitch, and she's the bitch.

Connor continues to make Cordy feel uncomfortable, prompting Cordy to have a talk with him. She gently pushes him away but Connor's jealousy rears its head. He knows her true feelings for Angel.

Professor Seidel is begging Fred for his life. Fred doesn't seem that receptive as she starts chanting to open her own portal. Seidel clings to his desk as the portal starts sucking him in. Gunn arrives and pleads with Fred to spare Seidel. He sees (where Wesley does not) how this act will destroy and consume Fred. Seeing that Fred is too far gone to be reasoned with, he snaps Seidel's neck and tosses him into the portal. Fred looks at Gunn in shocked silence as she closes off the portal. Angel arrives after finally killing the demon (it had 9 lives as it turns out.) Fred & Gunn say that Seidel fell into his own portal.

At the hotel, a subdued Fred & Gunn go to bed. Cordy arrives and talks to Angel. The episode closes with her question..."We're we in love?"

What I liked:  Finally a Fred-Gunn episode. We see just how deeply Gunn's feelings for her are. Best Gunn episode in quite some time. Wesley's silent feelings for Fred. His scene with her in the car was painful to watch. This scene also sets up a potential storyline of Lilah using Wesley's feelings for Fred against him. The awkward origins of Fred falling into Pylea are finally made clear. The Angel chat rooms and websites mentioned by Jared rang true. As a fan of Art Bell, I know all too well the need of people to discuss and analyze the abnormal and the bizarre.

What I didn't like:  The Cordy-Connor relationship fell apart way too quickly. They could have made this a major plot line, but they threw it out the window. And with it, any chance of Connor being of interest this season. The entire conference room re-enactment was baffling, as was Seidel's cell phone call to Fred. Seidel's motivation for banishing the students...fear of them overshadowing him? How likely is that? Most profs I know would have loved to have students of equal or greater intellect. Angel and Cordy have no spark, no charisma, no nothing.

Rating: (out of six) 3 The characterizations and dialogue were great, but the plot was poorly constructed. This is typical of the series. Great characters, weak plot. 

Comments, questions, answers? Happily agree, or violently disagree? Email me and let me know.

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