Friday 21 February 2014

Angel, "Lonely Hearts" Review (1x02)

Brief Synopsis: “Doyle receives a new vision that sends Angel Investigations to a club called D'Oblique. While searching the crowd, Angel meets a woman called Kate, who seems to be the type that the killer has been targeting. The next night, Angel manages to find a clue to the killer’s location. However, someone else is heading to the same place at the same time and comes to the conclusion that Angel himself is the murderer.”


"City Of" (1x01) quick link here                                                                                                                                             "In The Dark" (1x03) quick link here



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With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?



The episode title, “Lonely Hearts”, works perfectly in summarising what this episode is about. I mentioned in my review of “City Of” that “Angel” is able to tell stories that “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” simply can’t during its fourth season. While “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” is dealing with high school and college problems, “Angel” is dealing with adult problems. Both shows compliment each other very well. Much like “City Of”, “Lonely Hearts” is one of those stories that “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” couldn’t tell. It deals with the loneliness, fear, and isolation of adult life if you’re not in a relationship. I love drawing parallels between this episode and Buffy season one’s “Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight”. In that episode, Marcie Ross felt so invisible at Sunnydale High that she disappeared. Literally. That was the perfect metaphor for how lonely and disassociated from the world your school years can leave you feeling. This episode continues in that same vein, but adds ten years to your life. To quote Angel himself from Buffy season two’s “Ted”, “loneliness is about the scariest thing there is.” At an adult level a lot of people still feel lost and alone, except you inherit additional fears as well. The fear of dying alone. The fear of never finding the right person for you. “Lonely Hearts” does a fantastic job of exposing just how desperate and intense people can become in their adult years when they’re trying to find ‘a connection’ with someone, anyone! These people are heartbreakingly lonely.

If you’ve read my “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” reviews, you’re probably aware of the fact that loneliness and isolation are two things that are very close to my heart. During my years battling depression, I constantly felt disassociated from the world. Even though I had friends and people around me, I couldn’t feel them there. I was empty inside and was craving for someone to come along and help me not to feel numb anymore. That is what this episode encompasses, so on a personal level I can relate to it a lot. With that being said, I’m not the biggest fan of this episode. I’m not sure why, but this episode doesn’t do a lot for me. I really appreciate and enjoy the loneliness aspect of this episode, but the rest leaves a lot to be desired. I appreciate the Burrower Demon, but I don’t find it memorable. Perhaps part of the problem is that this episode has very little Doyle or Cordelia in it. Everything in “Lonely Hearts” is interesting and works on paper, but when you piece the episode together I’m left thinking “well, that was underwhelming”. Even so, this episode still has a lot going for it...

Fittingly, the episode starts with Angel brooding. Ah, childhood memories. This soon descends into discussing the new Angel Investigations business cards. The running joke of what the picture on the business cards is of starts in this episode. Over the next 40 minutes, it’s referred to as a butterfly, a bird, an owl, a lobster, and an angel. One out of five isn’t bad.



Doyle receives a vision of a bar...that’s pretty much it. The Powers That Be are assholes really, aren’t they? Why do they send such obscure visions?! Why not just send a vision of the actual person in trouble? Obviously, for television show purposes they can’t do that as half of the plot of some episodes is trying to figure out who’s in danger, but as far as the Buffyverse itself is concerned, why don’t the P.T.B. do something useful? Also, WHAT ARE THE POWERS THAT BE?! We’ve been told nothing about them yet! I can only deduce that they’re the show’s equivalent of God, but they haven’t been explained at all yet.

Cordelia: “If that was my gift, I’d return it.”

I feel that this is foreshadowing that Cordelia will inherit the visions later on in the season. Ironically, eventually Cordelia learns to treasure her visions and even goes so far as to refuse to give them over to the Groosalugg in Pylea. In this particular episode, is the lack of an identifiable person in Doyle’s vision showing that multiple people are in danger? Is it showing that the parasite can jump between bodies? Is it that everyone in the bar needs help to a certain extent? A lot of people in that bar are lonely and are seeking solace in a connection with someone. Is Angel supposed to be trying to help them all? I think that’s part of the problem that I have with this episode...what’s its ultimate message? What’s it trying to tell me except that loneliness sucks?

The highlight of this episode is the introduction of Kate Lockley. Kate goes on to become one of the most interesting recurring characters in the show. She’s strong, yet flawed. She’s attracted to Angel, yet despises him (after discovering he’s a vampire). She pushes people away, yet deep down she’s an insecure person looking for the love that she never received from her parents. The parallels between Angel and Kate in this episode are apparent. Both of them are at the bar for work purposes, but they are both legitimately lonely and want to find a connection. They’re pretending to be certain people, but they actually are these people that they’re pretending to be! So many layers! In Angel’s case, he’s lonely, but he won’t let people get too close to him due to his vampire side. It’s not just because he could lose his soul either. I’m sure that it’s a part of the reason why his walls are up, but I think it goes deeper than that. With the exception of his time with Buffy, Angel has been alone for a hundred years. He doesn’t know how to connect to people anymore. He’s lost that part of his identity. As we saw with Tina in the last episode, Angel can barely talk to other humans, let alone try to ‘make a connection’. In this episode, Angel has to try to do just that in order to figure out what’s going on at the bar. He is terrible at hitting on Kate...

Angel: “Are you maybe in need of some rescuing?”

Kill me now. Luckily, due to Doyle and Cordelia’s humanising influence on him, he quickly learns how to communicate with other people. Very soon, not only is he talking to other people, but he’s giving them inspirational speeches about life.

The Burrower Demon itself works as a great metaphor for some adults. We all know the type. The people who sleep with anything that moves; jumping from person to person trying to find something different. Sometimes they want to settle down, but they’re unable to due to their nature, so they end up leaving a trail of destruction behind them and betray everyone that they come across. It’s not lost on me that this demon comes about right at the same time that Buffy meets Parker. Parker pretends to like Buffy, sleeps with her, then moves on from her, labelling the whole thing as a ‘fun experience’, and leaving Buffy devastated. Parker is the human equivalent of the Burrower Demon...I just wish he had a weird worm thing with teeth burying its way through his chest. One of the best things about the Burrower Demon is that it leads to a great array of red herrings. You think that Kevin is the killer. Nope, it’s Sharon? Or is it the bartender? Or is it Kate? Or is Kate going to be the next victim because she’s seeking a connection? Is Kate going to be another damsel that Angel isn’t in time to save? There are so many questions in this episode that it’s impossible to pin down what’s going on until it’s revealed that the Burrower Demon jumps from body to body.

After Angel and Kate both track the Burrower Demon to the same address, Kate discovers that Angel is an investigator and Angel discovers that Kate is a police officer...

Katy: “Are you telling me you’re an investigator?”
Angel: “More or less.”
Katy: “Where’s your license?”
Angel: “That’s the less part.”

Oops. Kate instantly becomes more interesting with this reveal. She’s not the next ‘damsel in distress’, but is instead another person hunting the killer. It’s another example of Joss Whedon and the team of writers taking the trope of the endangered blonde girl and flipping it on its head.

The video montage that plays during Vast's “Touched” is really well done. Give that video editor a cookie! The song is also fantastic. It’s my favourite song from any “Angel” episode without a doubt. The lyrics are also perfectly in context for an episode revolving around loneliness, sex, and wanting to feel a connection...



“Touched.
You say that I am too.
So much of what you say is true.

I'll never find someone quite like you again,
I'll never find someone quite like you, like you.

The razors and the dying roses,
Plead I don't leave you alone.
The demi-Gods and hungry ghosts,
God, god knows I'm not at home.

I'll never find someone quite like you again,
I'll never find someone quite like you again.

I, I looked into your eyes and saw,
A world that does not exist.
I looked into your eyes and saw,
A world I wish I was in.

I'll never find someone quite as touched as you.
I'll never love someone quite the way that I loved you.”

I was sad to see that the Burrower Demon got to the bartender. I liked him. He did provide the perfect last victim though, as he was a character that had already been established earlier in the episode. That’s also two episodes in a row that Angel has tried to be suave and failed. In “City Of”, he jumped into the wrong car. In this episode, he tried to use his rope claw to get out of the room he’s been locked in and the wooden beam breaks. In front of Kate too! I think you lost some major man points there, Angel, He’s usually so smooth and strong that it’s nice to see him uncoordinated and clumsy. In comparison to Angel’s clumsiness, Kate saves him from a good dusting-by-fire when she shoots the Burrower Demon. The small blonde girl saved the burly vampire. It’s like having Buffy back!

Angel’s look of pure joy at Doyle and Cordelia wanting to stay in, allowing Angel to brood in the dark, is absolutely priceless. What this makes clear is that Angel doesn’t just brood, he enjoys brooding! He likes sitting in the dark with nothing but his thoughts as company. Cordy should buy him a dog...or a karaoke player with Barry Manilow’s songs on it.

Even though Doyle and Cordelia don’t have a great deal of screen time during this episode, what they do have is very memorable. Doyle’s crush on Cordelia becomes more and more apparent as this episode rolls along. So much so that Doyle gets into a fight in the bar after a couple of guys were being rude to Cordy...

Doyle: “Violence is not going to solve a thing, alright? *headbutts someone*...on the other hand it’s kind of festive.”

If Spike and Angel had a love child (I recently discovered that ‘Spangel’ is actually something that people ship...ooookay...), I think it would be Doyle. He has the Irish roots and dark mysterious past of Angel, and the gambling and drinking bad boy side of Spike. He’s such an interesting character to have on the show! He’s probably a little too interesting, as he seems to be stealing focus from our lead male. Doyle’s backstory gets impressively well fleshed out for a character that only appears in nine episodes.


Some other thoughts on “Lonely Hearts”...

Since when is Friday night the most social night of the week? What happened to Saturday?
Cordelia: “Hey, you look troubled…or is that just your lazy eye? Anyway, call us. We’re very discrete.”

I think it’s safe to say that this episode takes place before Cordelia starts to develop empathy.

The Irish accent is the best accent in the world. I could happily listen to Doyle talk all day.
Elisabeth Rohm is only 26 in this episode. She looks a few years older for sure. Much like Robia LaMorte (Jenny Calendar), Elisabeth looks more mature than her actual age. Again, like Robia, Elisabeth hasn’t aged a day since this episode aired in 1999!
Thank God Cordelia’s typing speed and computer skills get better than they are in this episode. Otherwise it would take her months to find anything. I must admit, research scenes are far less interesting without Giles or Wesley at the helm. Perhaps an English accent is needed...


Quote Of The Episode

Doyle: “Tell her what a great guy I am.”

Angel: “I barely know you.”

Doyle: “Perfect, that should make it easier for you then.”


FINAL SCORE: 4/10


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

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10 comments:

  1. I saw Lonely Hearts to be a sad commentary on SOME ppl in their 20s. Confusing sex for love and basically jumping in bed with anyone who gives them a tired line or compliments them. The demon not only represents a penis but the urge to connect emotionally as well. The end scene when the demon had infected a man who has been beat up but is STILL trying to compliment and sleep with women is a metaphor for the player that all the women know to stay away from. The demon at this point is so desperate he tries to force a woman into sleeping with him. I also saw the subtlty of Cordelia, Doyle and Angel trying to connect with each other in business and friendship in order to get the business off the ground. In sum, IMHO this ep is about finding your place in a new environment (no coincidence that Buffy was going through the same thing in college) and choosing your friends and sexual partners carefully. All in all a good ep and it was nice to see that Angel hadn't found his bearings after just one ep (City Of...)

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  2. I don't know if the original idea was pairing Kate with Angel, but Elisabeth Rohm and Boreanaz have like 0 chemestry because after the first episodes she was a freaking pain. I don't know you or other people but I dislike her character a lot. Anyway, I like Angel's lack of social skills in this episode, and this episode is canon...Angel loves brooding in the dark, lol.

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  3. "Very soon, not only is he talking to other people, but he’s giving them inspirational speeches about life." haha that made me laugh :D

    "Parker is the human equivalent of the Burrower Demon" Very interesting point, I've never thought of that.

    Ha, I've always thought of Friday night as the most social night of the week :P

    Good review Shangel :) I understand what you dislike about the episode, but you seem to enjoy or find memorable quite a few things so I don't really get why you gave it a 4 since you praise it quite a bit :)

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  4. I dislike Kate, when she just faded away from the show, I did not care one iota. The thing that always bugged me about this episode is this...how did Cordelia get in? Were they not carding at the door? She is only 18, 19 max, in this episode! Great review, as always, Shane!

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  5. I loved this episode myself and the metaphor of people in their 20's (my age bracket btw) sleeping with people to make a connection is dealt with very well.

    A lot of people have said over the years that David Boreanaz and Elizabeth Rohm have zero chemistry, I think they do on the contrary. They're meant to act "wooden" around each other as she is attracted to him (and once she finds out Angel's "secret") she is fearful and resentful of him at the same time for that reason. Angel is awkward around Kate as she is the first REAL WOMAN after Buffy that he could honestly develop feelings for but he knows the limitations of his curse and the "monster" within himself so obviously he is EXTREMELY RELUCTANT to make a genuine connection with anyone on a romantic level.
    This is just my opinion however :)

    Overall I rate this episode 6/10

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    Replies
    1. I agree I was sad to know that Rohm left the show.

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  6. Well, this will be a short comment. I quite liked this episode the burrower demon jumping from person to person was quite interesting.

    I always laugh at Cordy’s line about returning the gift as I know where she goes to in just a few short episodes and throughout the rest of her unpossessed time on Angel.

    I love these first few episodes of Angel because of Doyle, he got me invested in the series and I was hooked from there. Seeing a few Pylea episodes helped too.

    QOTE :)

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  7. I like Kate. She is interesting and I can hardly wait to see what you think about her mini arc. :)
    Angel is fun in a dark and sometimes sarcastic way, which I enjoyed. And Angel the character is much better than in BtVS. Spike is my fav, but Angel is 2nd best :)
    And this ep is very good.

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  8. I have watched Buffy so many times since 1997 that each episode feels like an old friend (even the crappier ones), but this is my first re-watch of Angel in 6 years, and I'm enjoying it much more than I thought I would. I had forgotten how good the first episodes were, and how funny the series was. But I am scared of what's to come though, both in terms of feels and cheesiness.

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  9. I really liked this episode because it captured how HORRIBLE it is to be 20-something and CREATE a social life in the big city. So I think "Angel" captures that loneliness in a sea of people feeling really well. And how scary it is.

    I also like how much darker Angel is. Although let us just take a moment to rant about Joss Whedon continuing the trend that casual sex will result in your evisceration (verbal/physical/whatever) or future strangulation by a psycho slayer.

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