Angel (Season 3)

While it struggles to reach the heights of Season 2, Angel's third season is probably its most consistent season yet, with a great balance between a solid main storyline and some of the best standalone episodes in the whole show.

Season 3 of Angel is based around the return of Holtz, a vampire hunter who wants revenge for Angel killing his entire family, along with Darla learning she's pregnant with Angel's son after they had sex back in Season 2. Holtz is probably my favorite villain of the whole show. His intensity and desperation to get revenge is compelling, and the best part about him is that he actually wins. By the end of the season, Darla's dead and he stole Angel's son Connor and raised him in another dimension, convincing him that Angel is bad and that he should die. Unlike Season 2, the side characters also get some great subplots, from Cordelia dealing with her visions eating away at her health, Wesley hitting rock bottom after being unable to save Connor, and Fred struggling to find her place in Angel's team. Even the standalone episodes are some of the best in the show, from Cordelia's bizarre journey in Birthday, to Summer Glau's stunning debut in Waiting In The Wings, and one of the scariest villains of the whole show in Billy. None of these episodes reach the heights of, say, Reunion, but it leads what's generally a very consistently strong and confident third season for the show.

While all of this stuff sounds awesome on paper, Season 3 also has one glaring problem, that being Connor himself. The first arc up to Darla's death and Connor's birth is pretty solid, with some strong standalones focused on Fred, Gunn, and Lilah. However, once Connor is born, the cracks start to show. Connor as a baby is fine, albeit annoying having to watch Angel and his team drop everything to take care of a kid. However, once Connor returns from the dimension as a teenager/young adult, he becomes insufferable. His refusal to listen to Angel, constant complaining, and inability to develop as a character is annoying as hell, and he gets even worse next season. He has some compelling moments in his three-episode arc at the end of the season, but generally, he absolutely drags down pretty much every episode he's in. I complain a lot about how characters having kids can negatively impact a story, but Connor is probably the worst example of that.

There are a lot of high points in Season 3, however, with some of the best standalone and plot-heavy episodes in the show:

Fredless: This episode draws a lot of comparison to Buffy's "Family", both of which focus on a relatively new side character (Fred/Tara) trying to figure out their place among their respective teams, resulting in one of the most heartwarming episodes of their respective shows. The group dynamic in the first half of Angel's third season is incredibly fun to watch, and it's great to see Fred having fully recovered from her time in Pylea.

Billy: I haven't brought up Lilah much since she's not the most important character, but she's a fun anti-villain who slowly develops a strong affiliation with Angel and his team, and absolutely kicks ass in this episode. The storyline is about a guy who can infect other men with misogyny which, despite a fairly obvious message, is genuinely terrifying and feels like it's straight out of the X-Files. Not to mention that the acting is pretty amazing all around, especially from Carpenter and Denisof.

Lullaby: The initial story arc of Season 3 is resolved here with an intense chase from Holtz, who's absolute determination is terrifying (that Caritas explosion!). Darla sacrificing herself to save Connor is a devastating scene, and Angel being forced to take care of a baby while still in pursuit by Holtz is an interesting cliffhanger to end off on.

Waiting In The Wings: I think the general storyline and focus on romantic subplots is just okay, for the most part. However, this episode is very noteworthy for being Summer Glau's first role, and she absolutely kills it with her amazing dancing and compelling acting. If it wasn't for this episode, we wouldn't get River Tam, so it deserves all the praise it can get.

Sleep Tight/Forgiving: In case Reunion wasn't enough of a drama bomb, Sleep Tight has Wesley steal Connor only to get his throat slit and lose the baby to Holtz, who flees to another dimension. It's shocking just far and brutal this episode ends up. And then there's Forgiving, which shows the devastating fallout of these events and culminates with the shocking smothering attempt that irrevocably changes Wesley's character (probably for the better).

The Price: I'm a big fan of episodes that start out simple and light only to become really plot relevant. The main storyline about a light bug infestation is cute and fun enough, but then Cordelia reveals a secret demon power she never knew she had... and Wesley's disillusioned nature really makes itself apparent... and Connor returns from the dimension all grown up and turned against Angel. My jaw was dropped by the end of the episode. Also props for the cheesy CGI slow-motion fight with Connor at the start of the next episode.

Tomorrow: I'm split on this finale, for the most part. I love how much changed, from Lorne and Groo leaving, to Wesley sleeping with Lilah, to Cordelia's ascension to a higher plane. I also really like the Shakespearean nature of this episode, and a general sense of dread that it was going to end on a tragedy. However, this finale also introduced many of the storylines that would result in the absolute disaster that was Season 4 (more on that next review), and is just plain uncomfortable to watch now.

Overall, Season 3 of Angel has some amazing standalones, a fairly consistent level of quality, and a compelling villain, but it doesn't reach the heights of Season 2 and suffers from the introduction of a character that proceeds to drag down the whole show. 

4/5 Stars