Unleashed: Angel 5x03 Reaction

[@xorsyst1]

14:58 Great that even in your Angel reactions, we get to hear you say "buffy" ;)

[@itsreeeshaaa7560]

Andy Hallett, the actor that portrayed Lorne, was such a fantastic actor and was so charming and endearing as Lorne. He sadly passed away years ago at a very young age. He was quite cute without the makeup!

[@adamcashin4021]

Angel was cancelled just after episode 13 of the season aired. Joss had dinner with the WB network head and asked for an early renewal. Angel had been on the Bubble (slang for 50/50 chance of cancellation) ratings wise for at least two years by that point and only renewed at the last possible minute; when the other pilots didn't pan out. S4 renewal was exceptionally difficult and pretty much only occurred because they agreed to switch to a more episodic format (S4 was impossible to pick up again if you missed an episode, great for binging, terrible for picking up casual viewers), set the series in a Law firm (Law shows do well in ratings), have Whedon work on the show a lot more (he was never significantly involved in Angel up to this point), cutting the budget and adding James Masters to the cast. The ratings in S5 were up significantly on the previous season. So Whedon felt confident in asking for an early renewal. He had call to ask for it as well. Every year when the show was on the bubble they'd lose production staff as people needed jobs. Angel had a high attrition rate of writers, only one Angel S5 writer was actually a full time writer of Angel in S3 (Jeff Bell, who joined in S3). (Whedon was EP for the entire run but he was never full time on Angel, whilst David Fury wrote an episode a year for the first three seasons as a freelance writer whilst working on Buffy.). Retaining people on a show that is facing cancellation is difficult, and if there is an offer from another show that has a firmer commitment for next year they will look to move. Unfortunately for Joss his timing was bad. Whilst S5's ratings had improved, 5x13 had seen a slight slump; and he was asking for renewal or cancellation. He got the latter. David Fury believes that had he waited Angel would have been renewed. I'll go one further and state that had he waited a week he might have got an early renewal. 5x14 is one of the best episodes of Angel; its ratings were up significantly and pretty much recovered from this point. Its a shame.

[@adamcashin4021]

And just to add to this; All of the S5 Angel writers were productively employed the following season, something that may not have happened on a late cancelation. Jeff Bell and Drew Goddard went to Alias. David Fury and Brent Fletcher went to Lost Steven DeKnight went to Smallville Ben Edlund joined Marti Noxon's Point Pleasant. Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain joined the Shield. and Whedon of course did Serenity

[@apparition13]

Firefly was during the first half of Buffy7 and Angel4, but only 11 episodes aired, and out of order. If you had been watching live you would have seen Mal and Zoe before Nathan and Gina showed up on Buffy and Angel.

[@KennethBenson-hx3ek]

Whenever I see Dakara react to Angel, it is always a smile time for me 😉

[@adoreandu-reactions-b5h]

A lot of people miss the little bit at the end where Gunn says they've put the "restaurant" out of business, so the guy who got bitten will not be eaten alive a month later. Angel just said what he said so the owner would let him walk out with Nina safely.

[@gungho1284]

I never noticed that before. They could have reported them for kidnapping since they'd have that guy locked in a cage or something.

[@adoreandu-reactions-b5h]

@@gungho1284 yeah!

[@TheNoybusiness]

Your comment "What in the rookery was that?" made me think of Gargoyles (which was a brilliant show everyone should watch, and there's an ongoing canonical comic continuation from Dynamite written by the showrunner).

[@austinseven4720]

If I remember correctly, it was the TV company that pulled the plug. There was an entire plan for season 6 in place which would eventually become the content for the first post-series Angel comic/graphic novel. After a certain couple of episodes later in the series, it was said that the some of the execs regretted the cancellation decision. Not enough to reverse it, but that's how it goes. Particularly with US TV. Shows don't always get the time they need. Tru Calling, an Eliza Dushku vehicle, was just getting its footing with the writing, stories, etc after a slightly hit and miss start. It was cancelled mid-season so nothing was ever finished. Likewise with Star Trek:Enterprise. Another show that had worked out the kinks and was finally beginning to deliver on its promise. Then got axed.

[@Frank-Voight-Kampff]

Jenny Mollen as Nina the werewolf girl... god, i was so smitten with her. 😅

[@Davidscomix]

She was hot

[@lachlan1980]

If you're looking for something new to watch when you've finished Angel, I highly recommend 'The Magicians.' Ran on the Syfy network from 2015 to 2020. Based on the books by Lev Grossman.

[@Buffy8Fan]

Interesting episode. I love seeing more moments from a new werewolf's perspective that we never saw Oz go through.

[@gungho1284]

So many missed opportunities with Oz.

[@user-knightoftherealms]

The scientist has also been on several other shows, also as a scientist or doctor. In fact, he had a steady roll on "Enterprise" as Dr Phloxx. Didn't think about Oz, he would have been able to help with the situation. But Seth Greene was probably unavailable. Angel is behaving very differently. He does seem to be getting darker.

[@doug3691]

Yes, we all still love Cordelia and think about her. Take care sweet lady.

[@plothole181]

My understanding was that they didn't know for sure that season 5 was the last season until they were filming the middle to late middle of the season and there are stories about how they kept getting re-upped last minute season after season and it left them scrambling to get stuff put together for the new seasons, so for season 5 they asked to get a confirmation one way or another earlier and the network was like "Fine, you aren't getting re-upped." However, because of that they did know they were ending before they filmed the end of the season. So...that is a plus.

[@adamcashin4021]

They got the news as they were shooting 5x17; iirc its from that episode that various members of the crew were promoted to aid them in getting jobs in the future. But by this stage the next few episodes were already wrote or nearly wrote. I think its only the last two episodes that they had the opportunity to wrap up the show. 5x21 is slightly jarring as a result

[@davidterhune8277]

You make an interesting point that perhaps the doctor that wanted to make Nina the main course could've been a sympathetic character. But I believe if we were meant to feel that way we would've been given a proper scene to erase any doubt and make it obvious. James Marsters was on Michael Rosenbaum's podcast and said he was asked about playing Spike on season 5 of "Angel". He said he'd be willing but only for a higher price than he'd been getting already. It's his speculation that perhaps because of his raise the show couldn't afford both him AND Charisma Carpenter

[@zemoxian]

It’s interesting that they’re close enough to the same restaurant to still get food delivered. I’m wondering how close was the hotel to the WR&H office?

[@LoriasGS]

The hotel was pretty fancy and high class, if a bit run down, so I imagine it was in a nice part of town.

[@DudeLongcouch]

I like how they came up with the "different species of Werewolf" idea to explain why the costume was so much better than the one from Buffy :p

[@jalusbrian]

thanks for the reaction, dakara. firefly was 2002-2003 and angel ran 1999-2004

[@jayjordan9582]

Oh, also, I think I may have mentioned this before but Wolfram & Hart was shown in Avengers Age of Ultron and in Alien...can't remember which one. No, they weren't shown in Alien but they were connected. Makes sense as Joss Whedon worked on both & as has been established previously in Angel, Wolfram & Hart, exist in many dimensions. There's apparently even been shows or movies that Joss hasn't been involved in where they were alluded to but I don't know which ones if any. And of course Jonathan Nolan and apparently Chris Nolan are huge Whedon fans. I know Johnathan Nolan has been quoted saying he thinks Joss Whedon is a god & I saw another comment in one of your previous Angel videos where someone said Chris Nolan was a huge Angel fan. Regardless, it's a fun piece of trivia. I missed Cordy as well, but not like you did, as we knew where she was. Plus, I love season five so I got pulled in despite any worries.

[@JoshuaMartian-go3tm]

The scientist dude was willing to allow the innocent woman to be eaten, die, so not really feeling sympathy for karma smacking him in his face. lol

[@luckyrobinshomestead]

It is really hard seeing Spike go through this. He did not deserve this as a character. I agree with Lorne being underrated. Plus, he always seemed like a character that got taken advantage of and pushed to the back burner. It's been so long since I've watched Angel, I'd forgotten about Nina. I always really liked her. She's a sweet girl. Not Fred sweet, but sweet. Cordelia's absence is strongly felt. I think Charisma had had her baby at this point, but it hadn't been very long ago.

[@ace360]

God I love Dark Wesley 🤘 Also 😂 Ghost Spike👏

[@killianlpc]

A very atmospheric episode at the start here, where it's really the first time that the gang now are able to use the power of W&H in tracking down the Werewolf using car registration data. We can see here too the vast improvement in special effects regarding the werewolf transition and look of the creature fully turned, as opposed to the almost pantomime suit that Oz changed into in BTVS S2, when we first see the werewolf. Great conversation with Angel and Nina telling her she can control it. Spike floating around being as cynical as ever, and funny scene when Angel says 'finally' when Spike disappears. When Spike walks through the wall in Royce's office nice unexpected twist when Fred smacks him over the head with the lamp. Great scene too when Royce says to Angel 'he's scarier than you', and Angel says 'wanna bet'. With the covert team capturing Nina we now realise it was to eat her! as Angel finds the menu. I have to say they definitely seem to have got the idea for this from the 1990 movie The Freshman starring Matthew Broderick and Marlon Brando where the elite rich people pay millions to dine on endangered species. Nice conversation with Nina and Angel again in the car at the end when we see her family on the lawn giving the impression everything will be OK for her. However, this I think was one of the weaker episodes of S5.

[@ThePowerDrome]

The scene where Angel kills the werewolf with a pen is blacked out. It shouldn't be like that, the viewer should constantly see what's happening on the screen. So either they skimped on the sets or lighting, or on quality cameramen or editors. We perceive films and TV series mainly with our eyes, so if we lose the picture, we lose interest.

[@ThePharaz]

I love beans on buttered toast. Oz is a different kind of werewolf.

[@russellward4624]

4:09 yea, his pitch is definitely different. Maybe he had a cold or a sore throat?

[@MrSupertallblackman]

Angel barely talks to Buffy. Why would he be on speaking terms with Oz? Off the top of my head I can remember two interactions between Angel and Oz and both were on this show. The show wasn't cancelled because of low ratings or because they had finished the story as it were. The WB was going through some changes at the time and after Joss after an early renewal the studio head just decided to end it.

[@haroldcruz8550]

Angel & blondes

[@Belnick6666]

the werewolf expert is in Stargate SG.1, where I assume you the name Dakara from? He plays the nerd scientist Dr Coombs who help Dr Felger "rescue" SG 1

[@cianog]

Spikes accent sounds off to me too.

[@axxwound1205]

I think there are some weird audio issues with this season of Angel. I have always thought a lot of the voices sound weird. It sounds like they had to go back and re-record a lot of the dialogue.

[@samanthas8340]

I dont think it's black and white when it comes to Spikes redemption or atonement. I don't think he necessarily believes he's free from all atonement either. At times, he does talk about things he is guilty of. He's mentioned them to Dawn. They appear later in this season, and then there's the obvious Seeing Red episode. Which I do believe is entirely on Spike not the demon. I think Spike did what he did because he was trying to force Buffy to love him because he loved her. It was a very desperate and human, albeit, brokenly human thing to do. Not everyone who does things like that are narcissistic or psychopathic, most are just human. For decades, before divorce was legal, we had men committing these kind of acts upon their wives frequently. It's just a product of the patriarchy and the misogyny bread from it. Thankfully, Spike did seem to be remorseful for that. Clearly, he doesn't perceive things the same way Angel does but he does also take ownership when it counts. Spike's speech to Buffy: I've seen things you couldn't imagine and done things I'd prefer you didn't. I don't exactly have a reputation for being a thinker; I follow my blood, which doesn't exactly rush in the direction of my brain. So I make a lot of mistakes. A lot of wrong bloody calls. So with Spike I think things are a bit more grey

[@michelleicome5542]

commenting for the algorithm

[@ninipookie]

Binge watched the entire season 5 reactions of Angel on your patreon. And I’m very impatient so im gonna ask already here . Did you catch that David directed episode 10 of the season?

[@DakaraJayne]

@@ninipookie I did. Very cool! Thanks for checking out my patreon btw, appreciate that

[@Talisguy]

She's American. Healthcare is a privilege in America, not a right, and it's not uncommon for Americans to just ignore health problems in the hopes that they'll go away on their own. A 2022 Gallup poll found that _38%_ of Americans surveyed had skipped or delayed medical treatment because they couldn't afford it. She should still have said she wasn't up to taking care of Nina, but there's an extra layer that we (also British) have to keep in mind when health stuff comes up in US media that might go over our heads. It shows up several times in the Buffyverse - Buffy doesn't go to the hospital after being stabbed in Fool for Love, for instance, because she's trying to keep it from Joyce and she wouldn't be able to afford the treatment alone.

[@highlander31527]

Free healthcare is not really something that the government in the US can afford. We spend too much money trying to keep you europeans from annihilating each other. Having 3/4 of the world depend on your money and military to keep you guys from destroying each other is expensive. And, you don't even pay us for it. On the same note, with the mass invasions your country is experiencing, free government funded healthcare is going away soon too. You guys could barely have taxpayer funded healthcare before your population doubled in size, and your visitors get a free ride for everything, while you get arrested for having grocery bag with candy wrappers in it, or because you said a naughty word on Facebook. I mean, you are subjects, not citizens. Be sure to renew your tv license for your computer monitor so you don't go to jail!

[@davidmeadows5627]

Speaking as an American, you don't know what you're talking about. You're legally allowed here to be on your parents' health insurance plan until age 26. So yes, in all likelihood, Buffy could afford to go to the hospital after being stabbed, with only a small co-pay. But she didn't feel the need to because of her accelerated slayer healing abilities. As for Nina (who is the warewolf girl, not the child she was taking care of like you surmised), she probably genuinely thought she was fine and things didn't get bad until that night. You have zero evidence that she was severely suffering and only the prospect of medical debt prevented her from saying so. Instead of finding every opportunity to bash America, maybe just stay in your lane and leave our political problems to us.

[@highlander31527]

@@davidmeadows5627 The funny part of all of this is that the british police would be knocking on his door tomorrow with an arrest warrant if they saw him post what he did.

[@Talisguy]

​@@davidmeadows5627 She clearly felt unwell. She obviously didn't know she'd been bitten by a werewolf but she was aware that she was spacing out, experiencing some level of altered sensation, she was hallucinating and experiencing intrusive thoughts, she looked ill. She could not have reasonably suspected "werewolf", but she later confirms that she remembered being attacked by some kind of wild animal and she was aware of the symptoms she showed. She could reasonably have suspected "I lost more blood than I thought," "the bite became infected," or "I hit my head during the scuffle and have a concussion," all of which are good reasons to see a doctor. The fact that she didn't makes me suspect that she couldn't afford it and was hoping it would go away on its own.

[@Talisguy]

​@@davidmeadows5627Regarding Buffy and Joyce's health insurance plan, my point is that she may not have been able to pay for it _without Joyce knowing._ Even if a trip to the hospital would have been easily affordable with insurance, she may not have been able to afford it independently as an unemployed student and in that case, a trip to the hospital would have alerted Joyce, which Buffy mentioned not wanting to do. And I'm not bashing America, I'm bashing your healthcare system on the grounds that it's grotesque and inhumane. Medical treatment should never be a luxury.

[@jasonsumner3386]

23:10 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@VeroniWatch]

My gosh.. I was wondering what was so funny about what she talked about.. But then I saw it 😂😂

[@menachemsalomon]

You've never seen it? You FAQ says that your "name" comes from _Stargate,_ so I assumed you were a fan. Considering where in the show that name appears, I'd be really curious how you came to pick it as a nickname for your online persona. Although the Jayne part is from another show that you hadn't watched (and now you have, thanks!), so maybe I shouldn't be shocked. (Unless it's your real name, and that is indeed how you spell it.)

[@jcarterla]

How do rate Spike and Wesley's accents? I'm American so they just sound British to me.

[@DakaraJayne]

@@jcarterla thought they were questionable at first but they improved, that or my ears adjusted haha

[@jcarterla]

@@DakaraJayne The actress who plays Detective Kate was in a movie where she was supposed to have a southern accent and it was really bad. Like when someone does a really bad cockney. LOL

[@Talisguy]

If you want my take as someone also British (thought not English,)...they're pretty good attempts at their respective accents, but they're still obviously _attempts_ (Wesley's is better than Spike's - James Marsters' accent improves significantly after his first few episodes but there are certain words he never quite gets right.)

[@caitlin329]

Wesley's is decent (I know he did live here for a bit), and I like how it softens a bit over time. Spike's has got better, but it's more obvious to me that he's putting it on. The use of slang is sometimes a bit off, too.

[@JoshuaMartian-go3tm]

Alexis Denisof aka Wesley isn't British? News to me. Never really delved into the actors backgrounds but I thought he was English. His accent sounded as authentic to me as Giles' accent. 😁As for Spike's, y don't have to be a Brit to know his was the generic English accent many American actors attempt. His was easy to spot. Thanks for new information after all these years being a Buffy fan.😜

[@pixy-onewing]

❤🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤🤍

[@jhschmidMD4]

It sounds sped up. I've just watched my copy to compare. Yours is definitely sped up for some reason

[@jayjordan9582]

I disagree with the fact that Spike helped save the world and so everything is balanced, he's good now. The last five years on Angel, the one thing Angel has stressed is that redemption isn't a one & done thing, it's every day & it's a struggle. Spike wore an amulet that Angel provided, which is something that both amused & greatly bothered me that in the end of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the big blow against the First Evil was done by Spike using a weapon provide by Angel. Regardless, Spike being pulled to hell makes sense to a degree, everything vampire Spike did shouldn't be counted as his soul wasn't there, but the Whedonverse likes to send ensouled vampires to hell, as happened in season 2 of Buffy. At least Spike is just going to a normal hell, instead of the demonic god hell Angel went to. Still, the main issues I've had with soul Spike is how much of an echo the character is to Angel. Luckily, to me at least, he's already starting to show more development as a character here than he ever did in Buffy season 7. Vampire Spike was obsessed with Buffy to the point of trying to rape her when she wanted to stop the deeply disturbing relationship they had, he also decided to get his soul back for the same reason, obsession with Buffy leading him to the belief that that's how he could get back with her. Even after getting his soul, once he recovered enough, most of the good things Spike did seemed to be about Buffy. Again, I know you're a massive Spike fan, so bear in mind that my views are mines & need not affect yours. I didn't like Spike in Buffy season 7, I wasn't thrilled with him showing up in Angel season 5, but I quickly changed my mind because without Buffy around both Spike & Angel developed as more nuanced & rounded characters & I was very interested to see Spike's development. As for why this is the last season of Angel, it's because it was canceled. A massive shame in my book, it deserved far more seasons.

[@Talisguy]

There's also no indication in this universe that you get to heaven by being a good person and hell by being bad. Angel went to hell through a portal, Buffy went to heaven after being killed jumping into a portal, and Dakara is ahead on Patreon so it's not a spoiler to say that Spike being dragged to hell also had nothing to do with him deserving punishment. The only character who gives any solid insight into how Buffy's afterlife actually works is Darla, and she remembers "nothing." A void. The absence of sensation. It's entirely possible that Spike's just going to stop existing if he dies whether he redeems himself or not, at least from his perspective.

[@jayjordan9582]

@@Talisguy There's truth to that but the reason it's assumed that heaven & hell exists there is because Buffy died closing the portal to a hell dimension. That's why the Scooby Gang assumed she was in hell. However, she died & ended up in heaven or a heaven which suggests some sort of guidance.

[@jayjordan9582]

Actually, I can't remember if it was a hell dimension or a convergence...Hmm, I'll have to revisit it when I can but it's a really interesting thing I never truly considered, whether heaven & hell as understood today exists in the Whedonverse. Thanks for sharing something that I'm sure will be randomly popping up in my mind from now on.

[@matthewlangley5794]

Spike is a popular character is why lot of people love angel season 5 I think you need to re-watch buffy the vampire slayer season 7 finale because spike did save the world because of spike the world is not gone looks like your the only one that doesn't give spike the credit he deserves

[@ThePowerDrome]

Spike didn't ask for atonement. Actually, he doesn't think he sinned, because he believes that all his evil actions were dictated by a demon that took the place of his soul. He says this in the Buffy season 7 episode about his parents' lies. Although this is not entirely true, since his mother's words in the person of a demon had some basis, he believes that it was not his mother who said it, but a demon. Therefore, technically, Spike has nothing to blame himself for, since everything can be attributed to a demon. True, there is a problem here, because Spike without a soul and Spike with a soul are not that different, but this is his point of view and it has the right to exist. As for Angel, I will remind you that he deliberately refused to remain human and be near Buffy, not fearing the curse, because he could not "protect" her. But it doesn't work that way, with LA it's hard to protect someone who is in Sunnydale. Besides, the Victorious is always in danger, with or without Angel. Therefore, the whole story of redemption has lost all meaning and is purely an appearance. Angel dreams of redemption, but on his own terms.

[@12chapin]

Don’t trust Knox

[@Benefacez]

Aw, where is the new Frings episode?😂😅

[@DakaraJayne]

@@Benefacez had two videos up for serenity movie reaction this week but I'll post as soon as I can :)

[@Benefacez]

@DakaraJayne ❤️