"Parting Gifts" (1x10) quick link here "Expecting" (1x12) quick link here
Three quick notes before we get started...
1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
2) If you enjoy my reviews, please subscribe to the blog! Over on the right-hand side there's a little box that says "Follow Shangel's Reviews by Email!". If you put your Email address in there and click "Submit", then confirm your subscription, you will get each review sent straight to your inbox! I can promise you that I won't send you junk mail or any of that rubbish! It will literally just be my reviews as they're uploaded here. You'll never miss a single one! Also, please bookmark the blog and check back every couple of days! I update every 1-3 days without fail!
3) If you're going to be using Amazon (UK/USA) or eBay (pretty much anywhere) soon, please do so through my blog. It'll take you just a couple of extra mouse clicks, but they will pay me a small percentage of the money you spend, helping me find more time to write these reviews. Most importantly, it costs you nothing at all extra. Details of how to do this are located here (it'll take less than a minute to read!). Thank you very, very much!
With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
Welcome to my 78th episode review of the Buffyverse! 176 left to go! God, that feels like so many episodes left to review!
“Somnambulist” means ‘sleepwalker’, which is a very fitting title for this episode as it involves Angel believing that he’s committing murders from his past in the present while he’s sleeping. This episode is a lot better than it seems to get credit for. For the first time on “Angel”, the audience get to truly appreciate Angelus and see the type of vampire that he was through the eyes of Penn. While Angelus himself only makes appearances through flashbacks, we do get to see what Angelus was like. Penn is a soulless vampire that was sired by Angelus. Not only did Angelus sire Penn, but he treated him like a protégé. He shaped Penn, trained Penn, and was a sadistic father-figure to Penn. The similarities between Penn and Angelus’ backgrounds are apparent. Both had daddy issues and were viewed as a disappointment to their father during their mortal life. After being sired, Angelus became a surrogate father to Penn...
Penn: “You approved of me in ways my mortal father never did! You’re my real father, Angelus.”
Angel: “Fine, you’re grounded.”
This means that Penn has developed Angelus’ stalkerish tendencies and Angelus’ manipulative way of using people and killing people. All of the murders that Penn commits in this episode are Angel’s fault as he was the one who made Penn what he is. Not just a vampire, but a vampire that takes pride in mentally as well as physically breaking people. Penn going after Cordelia, Wesley, and Kate is a very Angelus-like thing to do. Much like the theme of the last episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, “Doomed”, this episode enforces the notion that you can never escape from your past. This is a truly fantastic way to introduce Angelus to “Angel”, as we get to see first-hand what Angelus was like. There’s only so many times you can hear Angel (and other people) talk about how Angelus was the most notorious, vicious vampire in history before you need visual proof of that. We finally get to see why Angel is so broody and so motivated to seek redemption. I’m of the opinion that Angelus is the Buffyverse’s most successful villain of all time. What makes him so interesting is that he takes such pride in his kills. He loves to stalk people for ages, he loves to display their bodies artistically afterwards, and he loves to play mind games. He’s unique in that respect...almost. Until he sired Penn. Penn is a mirror image of Angelus. This becomes particularly apparent during the scene where Kate is explaining Penn’s personality to the police department. She describes Penn as a handsome loner that has recently had a bad breakup...does this sound familiar for another character as well?
Penn arrives in Los Angeles and starts to re-enact some of Angelus’ more brutal murders. Due to Angel’s sire connection with Penn, Angel is dreaming about these murders and thinks that he’s committing them while he’s sleeping. I wish that the episode had done a better job in explaining what a sire connection actually means. So, Angelus is dreaming what Penn is doing because Penn is physically close to him (“I’ve had a connection with those I’ve sired before. It just means he’s close.”). How deep is this connection? Does it work for all sirings or just for vampires that developed a close relationship? The closest we come to finding answers to these questions is season five’s “Why We Fight”, as we discover that Lawson (who Angel sired after having his soul returned) has developed something of a conscience. Even then, Angel doesn’t sense Lawson in the building!
As I mentioned earlier, this episode is very good. However, it does take a long time to get going. Perhaps that’s why it’s not more universally loved by the fandom?
Angel is interesting in this episode, Penn is interesting, Cordy is interesting, Wesley is interesting, but let’s be honest, Kate is the M.V.P. of this episode by some margin. Kate hasn’t been seen since “Sense & Sensitivity” and I was starting to wonder if perhaps her character had finished her run on the show. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kate return in this episode. Kate brings something unique to the show and almost every episode that she appears in is emotionally fantastic. In “Somnambulist”, Kate represents the “Angel” fans that haven’t seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. Both Cordelia and Wesley are familiar with Angelus’ history. After discovering that Angel might be committing the murders, Cordelia rushes to Angel’s defence, which is so wonderful to see. Remember when Angel returned from Hell in Sunnydale and Cordelia seemed to be leaning towards killing him? It’s apparent that Cordelia and Angel are best friends by this point. After the loss of Doyle they seem to have grown closer still. Cordelia refuses to accept the possibility that Angel is killing again until Angel himself raises the possibility that he could be doing it in his sleep...at which point Cordelia reverts back to self-preservation and offers to cut off Angel’s head. That’s true friendship, right there. In all seriousness, that is true friendship to Angel! Angel would rather be killed than let Angelus loose again. Cordelia has witnessed Angelus first-hand in Sunnydale and I think that if she had to she would kill Angelus. I’m such a huge fan of Angel and Cordelia’s ever-evolving relationship over the years. Their friendship feels natural and refreshing.
Angel: “If the day ever comes...”
Cordelia: “Oh, I’ll kill you dead.”
Angel: “Thanks.”
Cordelia: “What are friends for.”
On the other hand, everything that Wesley knows about Angelus has come from books and stories at the Watcher’s Council. Therefore, when some murders take place in Los Angeles that mimic some from Angel’s past, Wesley is more than prepared to believe the possibility that Angel is killing again. Angel and Wesley aren’t really friends by this point so Wesley doesn’t have a great deal of loyalty towards Angel yet. In comparison, Kate knows nothing about Angelus or the fact that Angel is a vampire. She has no history on him and she’s never met Angelus. Everything she knows, she discovers in this episode along with the audience that haven’t seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. The way this episode was structured made it obvious that Kate was going to discover that Angel is a vampire during this episode.
In addition to my joy at Kate being brought back into the fold, I cannot contain my happiness at Wesley deciding to remain in Los Angeles indefinitely. Wesley adds so much to the show. Angel and Doyle were similar in a lot of ways, whereas Angel and Wesley couldn’t be more different. Wesley is the moral voice of reason and goes on to have arguably the most character development out of anyone in the Buffyverse. Plus, in a show that has a high standard of acting in general, Alexis is the greatest actor of the bunch.
Jeremy Renner (Penn) will go on to work with Joss Whedon again 12 years later as Hawkeye in “The Avengers” movie. He does a terrific job in this episode, but it’s so weird to listen to him with an English accent. His voice is so much higher than it is these days, so it’s sometimes hard to take him seriously after you’ve seen his more recent work. “C’mon, little vampire, you can do it! Let those balls drop!” kept repeating in my head while I was rewatching this episode.
The fight between Angel and Penn in the abandoned building was spectacular. It’s easily the most impressive fight of “Angel” thus far. The time dedicated to Angelus and Penn’s history together was worth the effort as it makes the fight that much more interesting and memorable. Angel is not just fighting Penn, he’s fighting Angelus too. He’s fighting the monster that’s responsible for his worst crimes. How can you defeat someone who’s a clone of yourself and in a lot of ways your child? Penn was almost like a trial run for Spike. Angelus taught Penn how to fight, how to take pride in your kills, how to be a monster...just like he does with Spike a hundred years later. Spike tells Angel in season five’s “Destiny” that Angelus taught him everything he knows and that Angelus made him a monster. This is very similar to Penn telling Angel in this episode that Angelus approved of him in ways that his own father never would. When you think about it, there’s a lot of blood on Angel’s hands. Not only the crimes that he committed as the most notorious vampire in history, but he also sired Penn, Spike, and Drusilla. Their crimes are his. No wonder he broods so much.
Kate discovers that Angel is a vampire. This, along with Kate’s father’s murder in four episodes, is the primary reason why Kate starts to hate Angel and why she ends up being a thorn in his side for the next two seasons. Their friendship is never the same again after “Somnambulist” due to Kate researching Angelus after hearing Penn speak the name. It’s not until Kate’s last appearance in “Epiphany” that they find some common ground again. Angel holding the cross as his hand starts smoking and telling Kate that there are some things in the world that she’s not ready to face is another great visual for this episode. Thus far, Kate has helped keep Angel grounded and tied to the human world. Kate and Angel’s potential romantic interest in each other has helped Angel realise that he doesn’t have to distance himself from humans. While it’s disappointing that Angel and Kate’s relationship never goes any further (as they have great chemistry together), I absolutely adore the way their relationship plays out over the next two years so I’m not complaining. It’s so captivating and interesting to see a recurring human character loathe Angel so much.
I also discovered in this episode that Cordelia is far more intelligent than she gets credit for. She realises quickly that the blonde man trying to charm her is actually Penn and she opens the blind to let the sunlight in. Good for Cordy! Growing up in Sunnydale clearly wasn’t lost on her. She also realised that Russell Winters was a vampire in “City Of” due to his lack of mirrors and manages to convince the drug-induced Angelus that she was holding holy water and not regular water (it was regular water). I’m surprised her acting career isn’t going better...
Cordelia opening the blind invites my favourite scene of the episode. Penn and Angel trash-talking from opposite ends of the sunlit office was another example of a visually captivating scene that adds so much more to the dialogue. Who directed this episode?! It’s bloody perfect! To Google! Winrich Kolbe, you are a genius! Google tells me that this is the only Buffyverse episode that he directed. It also informs me that he passed away in September of 2012 at age 72. R.I.P., you extremely talented man.
Wesley: “Oh, I invite you in.”
Angel: “Relax, that’s only for humans. Breaking and entering another vampire’s lair is no problem.”
...I would have thought that would be the type of thing the Watcher’s Council taught Wesley.
Ultimately, Kate stakes Penn, while stabbing a massive piece of wood through Angel’s torso at the same time. It was a good choice to have Kate kill Penn and a good way to close out the episode. Kate proved that she’s a force to be reckoned with and also sent a very clear message to Angel – stay away from me or next time I won’t miss the heart.
Quote Of The Episode
Cordelia: “I don’t care how many files you have on all the horrible things he did back in the powdered wig days. He’s good now and he’s my friend and nothing you or anyone else can say will make me turn on a friend!”
Angel: “Cordelia, he’s right.”
Cordelia: “You stake him and I’ll cut his head off.”
FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10
With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
Welcome to my 78th episode review of the Buffyverse! 176 left to go! God, that feels like so many episodes left to review!
“Somnambulist” means ‘sleepwalker’, which is a very fitting title for this episode as it involves Angel believing that he’s committing murders from his past in the present while he’s sleeping. This episode is a lot better than it seems to get credit for. For the first time on “Angel”, the audience get to truly appreciate Angelus and see the type of vampire that he was through the eyes of Penn. While Angelus himself only makes appearances through flashbacks, we do get to see what Angelus was like. Penn is a soulless vampire that was sired by Angelus. Not only did Angelus sire Penn, but he treated him like a protégé. He shaped Penn, trained Penn, and was a sadistic father-figure to Penn. The similarities between Penn and Angelus’ backgrounds are apparent. Both had daddy issues and were viewed as a disappointment to their father during their mortal life. After being sired, Angelus became a surrogate father to Penn...
Penn: “You approved of me in ways my mortal father never did! You’re my real father, Angelus.”
Angel: “Fine, you’re grounded.”
This means that Penn has developed Angelus’ stalkerish tendencies and Angelus’ manipulative way of using people and killing people. All of the murders that Penn commits in this episode are Angel’s fault as he was the one who made Penn what he is. Not just a vampire, but a vampire that takes pride in mentally as well as physically breaking people. Penn going after Cordelia, Wesley, and Kate is a very Angelus-like thing to do. Much like the theme of the last episode of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, “Doomed”, this episode enforces the notion that you can never escape from your past. This is a truly fantastic way to introduce Angelus to “Angel”, as we get to see first-hand what Angelus was like. There’s only so many times you can hear Angel (and other people) talk about how Angelus was the most notorious, vicious vampire in history before you need visual proof of that. We finally get to see why Angel is so broody and so motivated to seek redemption. I’m of the opinion that Angelus is the Buffyverse’s most successful villain of all time. What makes him so interesting is that he takes such pride in his kills. He loves to stalk people for ages, he loves to display their bodies artistically afterwards, and he loves to play mind games. He’s unique in that respect...almost. Until he sired Penn. Penn is a mirror image of Angelus. This becomes particularly apparent during the scene where Kate is explaining Penn’s personality to the police department. She describes Penn as a handsome loner that has recently had a bad breakup...does this sound familiar for another character as well?
Penn arrives in Los Angeles and starts to re-enact some of Angelus’ more brutal murders. Due to Angel’s sire connection with Penn, Angel is dreaming about these murders and thinks that he’s committing them while he’s sleeping. I wish that the episode had done a better job in explaining what a sire connection actually means. So, Angelus is dreaming what Penn is doing because Penn is physically close to him (“I’ve had a connection with those I’ve sired before. It just means he’s close.”). How deep is this connection? Does it work for all sirings or just for vampires that developed a close relationship? The closest we come to finding answers to these questions is season five’s “Why We Fight”, as we discover that Lawson (who Angel sired after having his soul returned) has developed something of a conscience. Even then, Angel doesn’t sense Lawson in the building!
As I mentioned earlier, this episode is very good. However, it does take a long time to get going. Perhaps that’s why it’s not more universally loved by the fandom?
Angel is interesting in this episode, Penn is interesting, Cordy is interesting, Wesley is interesting, but let’s be honest, Kate is the M.V.P. of this episode by some margin. Kate hasn’t been seen since “Sense & Sensitivity” and I was starting to wonder if perhaps her character had finished her run on the show. Therefore, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kate return in this episode. Kate brings something unique to the show and almost every episode that she appears in is emotionally fantastic. In “Somnambulist”, Kate represents the “Angel” fans that haven’t seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. Both Cordelia and Wesley are familiar with Angelus’ history. After discovering that Angel might be committing the murders, Cordelia rushes to Angel’s defence, which is so wonderful to see. Remember when Angel returned from Hell in Sunnydale and Cordelia seemed to be leaning towards killing him? It’s apparent that Cordelia and Angel are best friends by this point. After the loss of Doyle they seem to have grown closer still. Cordelia refuses to accept the possibility that Angel is killing again until Angel himself raises the possibility that he could be doing it in his sleep...at which point Cordelia reverts back to self-preservation and offers to cut off Angel’s head. That’s true friendship, right there. In all seriousness, that is true friendship to Angel! Angel would rather be killed than let Angelus loose again. Cordelia has witnessed Angelus first-hand in Sunnydale and I think that if she had to she would kill Angelus. I’m such a huge fan of Angel and Cordelia’s ever-evolving relationship over the years. Their friendship feels natural and refreshing.
Angel: “If the day ever comes...”
Cordelia: “Oh, I’ll kill you dead.”
Angel: “Thanks.”
Cordelia: “What are friends for.”
On the other hand, everything that Wesley knows about Angelus has come from books and stories at the Watcher’s Council. Therefore, when some murders take place in Los Angeles that mimic some from Angel’s past, Wesley is more than prepared to believe the possibility that Angel is killing again. Angel and Wesley aren’t really friends by this point so Wesley doesn’t have a great deal of loyalty towards Angel yet. In comparison, Kate knows nothing about Angelus or the fact that Angel is a vampire. She has no history on him and she’s never met Angelus. Everything she knows, she discovers in this episode along with the audience that haven’t seen “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”. The way this episode was structured made it obvious that Kate was going to discover that Angel is a vampire during this episode.
In addition to my joy at Kate being brought back into the fold, I cannot contain my happiness at Wesley deciding to remain in Los Angeles indefinitely. Wesley adds so much to the show. Angel and Doyle were similar in a lot of ways, whereas Angel and Wesley couldn’t be more different. Wesley is the moral voice of reason and goes on to have arguably the most character development out of anyone in the Buffyverse. Plus, in a show that has a high standard of acting in general, Alexis is the greatest actor of the bunch.
Jeremy Renner (Penn) will go on to work with Joss Whedon again 12 years later as Hawkeye in “The Avengers” movie. He does a terrific job in this episode, but it’s so weird to listen to him with an English accent. His voice is so much higher than it is these days, so it’s sometimes hard to take him seriously after you’ve seen his more recent work. “C’mon, little vampire, you can do it! Let those balls drop!” kept repeating in my head while I was rewatching this episode.
The fight between Angel and Penn in the abandoned building was spectacular. It’s easily the most impressive fight of “Angel” thus far. The time dedicated to Angelus and Penn’s history together was worth the effort as it makes the fight that much more interesting and memorable. Angel is not just fighting Penn, he’s fighting Angelus too. He’s fighting the monster that’s responsible for his worst crimes. How can you defeat someone who’s a clone of yourself and in a lot of ways your child? Penn was almost like a trial run for Spike. Angelus taught Penn how to fight, how to take pride in your kills, how to be a monster...just like he does with Spike a hundred years later. Spike tells Angel in season five’s “Destiny” that Angelus taught him everything he knows and that Angelus made him a monster. This is very similar to Penn telling Angel in this episode that Angelus approved of him in ways that his own father never would. When you think about it, there’s a lot of blood on Angel’s hands. Not only the crimes that he committed as the most notorious vampire in history, but he also sired Penn, Spike, and Drusilla. Their crimes are his. No wonder he broods so much.
Kate discovers that Angel is a vampire. This, along with Kate’s father’s murder in four episodes, is the primary reason why Kate starts to hate Angel and why she ends up being a thorn in his side for the next two seasons. Their friendship is never the same again after “Somnambulist” due to Kate researching Angelus after hearing Penn speak the name. It’s not until Kate’s last appearance in “Epiphany” that they find some common ground again. Angel holding the cross as his hand starts smoking and telling Kate that there are some things in the world that she’s not ready to face is another great visual for this episode. Thus far, Kate has helped keep Angel grounded and tied to the human world. Kate and Angel’s potential romantic interest in each other has helped Angel realise that he doesn’t have to distance himself from humans. While it’s disappointing that Angel and Kate’s relationship never goes any further (as they have great chemistry together), I absolutely adore the way their relationship plays out over the next two years so I’m not complaining. It’s so captivating and interesting to see a recurring human character loathe Angel so much.
I also discovered in this episode that Cordelia is far more intelligent than she gets credit for. She realises quickly that the blonde man trying to charm her is actually Penn and she opens the blind to let the sunlight in. Good for Cordy! Growing up in Sunnydale clearly wasn’t lost on her. She also realised that Russell Winters was a vampire in “City Of” due to his lack of mirrors and manages to convince the drug-induced Angelus that she was holding holy water and not regular water (it was regular water). I’m surprised her acting career isn’t going better...
Cordelia opening the blind invites my favourite scene of the episode. Penn and Angel trash-talking from opposite ends of the sunlit office was another example of a visually captivating scene that adds so much more to the dialogue. Who directed this episode?! It’s bloody perfect! To Google! Winrich Kolbe, you are a genius! Google tells me that this is the only Buffyverse episode that he directed. It also informs me that he passed away in September of 2012 at age 72. R.I.P., you extremely talented man.
Wesley: “Oh, I invite you in.”
Angel: “Relax, that’s only for humans. Breaking and entering another vampire’s lair is no problem.”
...I would have thought that would be the type of thing the Watcher’s Council taught Wesley.
Ultimately, Kate stakes Penn, while stabbing a massive piece of wood through Angel’s torso at the same time. It was a good choice to have Kate kill Penn and a good way to close out the episode. Kate proved that she’s a force to be reckoned with and also sent a very clear message to Angel – stay away from me or next time I won’t miss the heart.
Quote Of The Episode
Cordelia: “I don’t care how many files you have on all the horrible things he did back in the powdered wig days. He’s good now and he’s my friend and nothing you or anyone else can say will make me turn on a friend!”
Angel: “Cordelia, he’s right.”
Cordelia: “You stake him and I’ll cut his head off.”
FINAL SCORE: 7.5/10
What are your thoughts on "Somnambulist"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
If you've enjoyed this review, please use the conveniently placed buttons just below to share it on Blogger, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, or email it to a friend! It is greatly appreciated!
Kate is awesome in this episode, I love how she's NOT cool with the vampire thing. Characters tends to be a little "oh, demon exist ? Well, i'll help you kill 'em then! No worries!"
ReplyDeleteI so did not recognized Jeremy Renner the two times I watched this episode, I actually learned it was him by random wikipedia browsing, and I was SHOCKED. I also took way too long to understand that "give me a stake" joke.
This is one of my favorite S1 episodes, mostly because Kate's awesome here. It's nice that Kate gets clued in about the fact that vampires exist pretty early in the show. For whatever reason, I find it incredibly annoying when significant characters are kept ignorant of some big secret for long periods of time.
ReplyDeleteI still wasn't a fan of Wesley at this point. Even though he does get much more interesting and likable over time, I wish Doyle had been around longer.
Cordelia, as usual, is great in this episode. "You stake him, I'll cut his head off," is the best.
Ok, this episode, it was nice, I actually really enjoyed it. I like Kate, I didn't know anything about her, she tends to be ignored by the fandom I think, but I'm liking her so far. I have a soft spot for police women, and also I love that she is not romanticizing the whole 'Angel is a vampire' thing. She is visibly shocked but in the end, knows her job and does what she has to do.
ReplyDeleteInteresting villain of the week, could have loved to know more about him, but I'm not really a fan of the whole 'you made me a monster' thing. Maybe because it's already been done a lot?
I like Cordelia in this episode too, she is not an action girl but that doesn't mean she has to be a damsel in distress, so great!