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Angel: 2x2 Full Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2024-06-12 17:57:50
Imported:
2026-06
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Angel: 2x2 Full Reaction

"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been"

Comments

Spencer Gray

I'd forgotten how good this episode is! All the forgiveness talk near the end of your video just made me think of the Giles quote from the Buffy episode "I Only Have Eyes For You" "To forgive is an act of compassion Buffy. It's not done because people deserve it. It's done because they need it"

Bernhard

I don’t know if you caught what the title of the episode refers to. During that time in the 50s there was a political witch hunt for (alleged) communists with a special focus on the film industry in Hollywood. A prominent question in formal interviews was: “Are you now or have you ever been a member of the Communist party?” This question can be heard from the TV in the hotel lobby at some point early in the episode.

Bernhard
>>140670771

I can’t recall that scene so this might actually be what was meant, depending on who’s the one “needing” it, but to me it always rang true that forgiveness is something the one giving it does for themselves—letting go of resentment and hate. Obviously it’s also beneficial to receive forgiveness but that might not be the primary intention.

James Smith

This is one of my favorite episodes. I really like the flashback stories and this one has a lot of fun with the transitions between the modern day and the 50s. I really enjoyed your reaction. The Hyperion Hotel lobby is the room that Angel and the pregnant woman visited briefly in S2E1. This was the room where Jo (the pregnant woman) told Angel; "You've been here before" and you stated you didn't recognize the location.

James Smith

Judy functions as a kind of proto-Buffy They both befriend Angel and he tries to save humans to help them. Judy invites Angel to see the end of the world at the Griffith Observatory show, whereas Buffy has Angel join her in 'Prophecy Girl' when Buffy saves the world. They both 'kill' Angel and end up trapped in hell (Buffy in the Buffy S3 premiere goes to that hell dimension work camp and Judy stated that being trapped would be a fate worse than death ends up trapped in her hotel room by a demon for almost 50 years) Angel even visit both of them in the room 214 (Buffy at UC Sunnydale and Judy at the Hyperion Hotel)

Jon D Arthur

I really love the Thessulac actor. He's having an absolute blast doing it.

Ross Nolan

Having just watched your 'La La Land' reaction (which I loved) I was a little surprised you didn't say anything when the episode went to Griffith Observatory.

outdoorcats

I love all the classic movie + historical references in this one; you can tell this episode was a labor of love from the whole cast and crew. First you have the central theme / monster being a metaphor for the paranoia/prejudice of the '50s (the title referring to Joseph McCarthy's communist witch hunts) and the subtle way it uses visual storytelling at the beginning to show the racism, sexism and homophobia of the era. Then you have Angel made out to look like James Dean where he and Judy recreate the scene from "Rebel Without a Cause" outside the Griffith Observatory, or Judy's backstory being similar to Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." (I mean, Angel as James Dean is just...perfect)

Stephen Knueppel

In the moment when Judy accused Angel she didn't know that the mob was going to lynch him. She was just desperately trying to get their attention off of her. That is a lot of guilt to carry for 50 years in addition to the fear and paranoia that the demon fostered in her. It's just a very sad episode and I can see Angel beginning the spiral that had him eating rats and living in sewers by the time Whistler found him.

spikeysnack
>>140694219

Ah but that is what a witch hunt is ... a way to get others to take the blame and run away and hide. The whole idea of "people getting what they deserve" never really achieves any good -- because people always lose perspective as to what it is that they deserve. "you gonna stay here and soak up the guilt?" was Gunn's great line in the last episode, and now here we are with the past and the present all crashing together with guilt and paranoia and fear expressed as outsized moral outrage -- and a good old-fashioned lynching to boot. Everything about this episode is epic and important and hard and sad, and tugs at our humanity. It elevates the show to "important art" and brings the social commentary to the front, to show both how far we've come, and how much some of us haven't learned from the past. Right now the lynch mobs are practicing their hype-up rituals, getting ready for the time when they get the OK to be unleashed like in olden times. That is why this episode hits so deep -- its not about the past as much as the present.

tsm

Love the reactions! I would loveeee to see you react to Little mix! They’re literally England royalty swear down every British person knows their songs and I would love a reaction! For context little mix consists of 4 members (jade,perrie,Leigh Anne,jest) and they are the only group to ever win xfactor! And at the 2021 Brit Awards they made history by becoming the first girl group in 43 years to win the best British group award. They bring bop after bop.

Raymond Simon

Your comment about forgiveness at the end was really well said! A huge part of what I love about Angel the series is what it has to say about redemption and forgiveness: Angel was at one point the worst person in the world, and this show (more so than Buffy, even) really digs into what it means for him to try to do good.

DanielOrme
>>140694184

It's the red jacket that's the just right finishing touch. And the Natalie Wood character in "Rebel Without A Cause" is also named Judy. There's also the nasty private eye giving his name as C. Mulvihill, a reference to the movie "Chinatown" (also set in an earlier L.A. filled with fear and corruption) where one of the corrupt cops is named Clyde Mulvihill. And for a really obscure reference, the beatnik shop owner who Angel goes to for supplies is named Denver, a salute to Bob Denver who played the beatnik Maynard G. Krebs in the 1950's TV series "Dobie Gillis." (Sorry, this show brings out the pop culture geek in me.) 🙂

Ernesto Viana

This is one of my faves in the whole series, the directing, production design and everything makes it special, and the themes of paranoia while in the background there's the whole red scare (which the title references) is just so well done.

Melissa

I really do love this episode. The themes are so rich and layered. There's a lot to unpack and it's definitely one that you can revisit time and time again. The details in it are really excellent, and the hotel actors really threw themselves into their roles. I wanted to spend more time with everybody. The demon was interesting to me, I loved his accent. So on the topic of cool or novelty hotels, one of the most fascinating ones I stayed at was in Helsinki on an overnight layover on our way back home to the US from Italy. The building used to serve as a county prison but was renovated into a modern high end hotel that opened in 2016. I was there in 2017 with my then boyfriend, now husband. They gave tours of the old historical section and we went on one that was mildly spooky on Halloween! I have to say their hotel restaurant was incredible, best wine I've ever had in my life.

The Testimony of Mushroom

It is interesting that Angel is 'passing' for human when he encounters the woman who is passing for white.

Rebecca

I don't think it's a coincidence that Angel chose to seek his solo redemption in LA after departing from Buffy. A place where ensouled Angel walked away from saving all those people in the hotel ('take 'em all'). I think the theme of forgiveness in this episode also extends to Angel himself. Can he forgive himself for walking away from those people? For his crimes as Angelus? It's incredibly telling that when old!Judy sees Angel she says, 'You look the same' and Angel responds, 'I'm not'. Back in season one of Angel, when he was being tortured because of Spike. We hear Angel admit that the one thing he truly wants is forgiveness. This episode really is a powerful nod to some of the themes of the series. Can bad things be forgiven? Is redemption possible?

Belle GC

this has been the best episode so far! finally at Buffy-level amazing in my opinion. wow, this episode was just really really good. i love your thoughts on forgiveness. “to forgive is an act of compassion. it’s not done because people deserve it. it’s done because they need it.”

Carol Gonçalves

there won't ever be a moment when i'm gonna watch this episode and not cry at the end, i just love angel and his growth and faith in humanity SO MUCH. great reaction as always, cass!

JBK405

Hey Cass, new Patron! A lot of people point to this episode as where this series really "got it", including some of the crew (Who called it the first great episode of the show). I happen to think they managed to find their feet in the first season, but there's no denying this episode was Something Special. It managed to somehow do a proper period-piece about the manic paranoia of 1950s America -- Red Scare and Homophobia and Racism and Sexism -- while fully incorporating the fantasy aspects of the Buffyverse. That's dang impressive. Somebody already pointed it out above, but Angel actually walked through the lobby of this hotel in the previous episode when he was escorting the pregnant woman. He recognized it and remembers what had happened, which is why he decided to start looking into things in this episode. You might even say that the Powers That Be wanted him to redeem himself, because him stumbling on the hotel was a result of Cordelia's vision of the Prio Motu demon. I have a lot more sympathy for Judy. Not 100% (It's still a horrible betrayal that she did), but they weren't going to 'take her to jail', that was an angry mob that was already physically hurting her. She probably thought they were going to beat her to death right then and there (Which did happen to a lot of white-passing people when they were discovered, not even throwing a paranoia demon into the mix). It still doesn't justify throwing Angel to the wolves to save herself, but it makes it a lot more understandable. FYI, to answer your question "Liam" was 26 when he was killed by Darla and sired as a vampire (1727-1753). The dates are visible on his tombstone in the flashbacks, and you can do the math that other characters give. BTW that's also one reason I've never been a big Buffy + Angel shipper myself. Even ignoring the whole "ageless Vampire" thing, even when he was still human he was too old to be dating a high schooler. But that's a conversation for a different day that we don't need to dig up again here.

Gung Ho

The filming crew wanted a bigger set because the old office building set was too small and difficult to set up scenes it, so they blew it up and got themselves a huge one. The exterior shots are of the Los Altos Apartments building, which is I think a historical building on Wilshire Blvd.

Nathan Conarroe

One of my favorite things about this episode is how it really drives home that Angel really did not have his shit together long after the curse. Sure a lot of this has to do with the demon playing into people's fears but Angel no doubt feels bad about his involvement. We are treated to a moment in time where its clear Angel has more to make up for than just want Angelus did. Also I love how we learn what went on in there as Cordy and Wesley learn about it. Also Judy was being influenced by the demon just as anyone else. Easy to forgive her when it was really the demon that made all this happen. Hell aside from the bellhop who clearly was enjoying it and may not have even been influenced by the demon I don't blame anyone here. That's how paranoia works it feeds your deepest fears and makes you jump to the worst conclusions. The entire hotel was attacking Judy when she pointed at Angel and called him a monster. It wasn't just fear of going to jail they were probably going to kill her if she didn't refocus their fear to someone else. So yea its messy but I mostly just feel bad for her. Sadly in the real world people don't need a demon influencing them to turn into mob rule and lynchings. Judy being part black in the 50s made it even harder.

Monica

I think the real creep was the bellhop

assCrackBandit

one of my fav season 2 episodes