"djsosonut" <djsosonut@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote in message
news:16848327-965a-4e1f-abab-78b3e0b18e40@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
>
>> > Ah, after all the time I spent trying to figure out why everyone was
>> > so fascinated, it's something as simple as being impressed by the
>> > performance. It figures.
>>
>> Heh-heh. Hey, I can only speak for myself. I don't know why others
like
>> Wesley this epsisode.
>>
>> > I just think that the Wesley who'll go cold
>> > when he thinks he's doing the right thing (and especially if he's
>> > actually a little uncertain) is infinately more interesting than an
>> > evil Wesley.
>>
>> Sure. You're talking about the culmination of the character, while
this
>> is
>> merely part of the setup. This goes a long way towards establi****ng
>> what's
>> possible within Wesley while keeping the real break down at bay. Pylea
>> was
>> a fairy tale. This was Billy's magic. It's not true Wesley. But when
a
>> free thinking Wesley starts believing the unthinkable, it's stuff like
>> this
>> that make us readily accept that he could take it all the way.
>>
> For me the appeal of this episode, for Wes at least, is that this is
> the ep that woke me up to all the wonderful possiblities for his
> character. I liked him before this, i loved him after. Cause it was
> Wes. Its not that angel's wrong when he says that it was something
> inside of him, or that fred was wrong that it was something that was
> done to him. There just both only half right. The fact that it was
> geared towards fred and women was all Billy's doing, but the way he
> went about it was pure Wes. Cold, still, methodical, and belittling;
> its a part of himself that existed before, but has only really been
> geared towards others outside his group to accomplish a goal, or when
> someone hurts/threatens the people he cares about. This episode
> brought that to the fore so that there is no way you can miss it that
> this is an part of this character. And how utterly frightening it
> could be if it was ever focused it on the people he cares about. This
> is what undermines his self image as a good person and all his hard
> earned confidence in himself, and opens the way for his dramatic ****ft
> later in the season. Some people say that Wes feared at this moment
> that he could be exactly like his father, and from the way his arch
> plays out, its a valid fear.
>
> A pure evil wes doesn't really do it for me; i would never want him to
> be a vampire it would rob him of his complexities, he's intriguing
> because he's so finely balanced between the darkness and the light.
> But i do think this episode was needed to be as a clear sighpost to
> all the aspects of his character. Sweet, shy, loving, loyal, clever
> near the beginning. Cold, ruthless, arrogant, focused, condecending
> in the middle. Broken, self doubting, introspective, guilt ridden, at
> the end. All things that have been part of his character before this,
> but all highlighted in one episode with Alexis's fantastic
> performance. By the end i just wanted to hold him and lie and say
> everything would be alright.
Superb summary. And remembering that when I first saw this I didn't know
about what was to come with Wesley's character, there was a consequent
shock
value to his behavior here. The realization of what this man is capable
of
when brought low is intensely disturbing. (Reminds me of the old saying,
"It's always the quiet ones.")
Your remark, "he's so finely balanced between the darkness and the light,"
also reminds me that Wesley has frequently been at least somewhat
constructed to be one of Angel's shadows - as in a reflection of Angel's
nature. The divide in Wesley you speak of corresponds to the
Angel/Angelus
divide. And to the larger series theme that we all carry a demon within.
Soon enough this will be wedded to another of Wesley's characteristics -
deciding alone to make the hard decision. That too is an Angel trait.
While Wesley's in story psychology is centered on the influence of his
controlling and abusive father, it could be argued that Angel is every bit
as much his role model.
> As for the Gunn/Fred/Wes thing. I always viewed fred's arch to be
> about power and perception, the same as illyria's. So while wes under
> billy's influence tried to undermind her strength in herself, gunn put
> the power to live or die in her own hands. So for me..yeah this is
> when Gunn pulled ahead of Wes in Fred's affections. And he would only
> fall behind wes in season four with Sidel when he denies her the power
> to make her own decisions, right or wrong.
Power and perception? You're way ahead of me there. I'll have to give
that
some thought. I think I see what you're pointing at with the power. But
what's the perception part about?
OBS
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