Angel #11 review

[moscow_watcher]

"That isn't someone masquerading as Gunn. That *is* Gunn." This is the assertion the current issue dissects.

Human Angel and vampire Gunn finally come face to face. Angel discovers that Gunn plans to save Los-Angeles. Interestingly, Gunn doesn't react to Fred at all. (I wonder if it was a writer's blunder or a sign that Gunn is totally focused on his salvation mission). According to Gunn Powers-That-Used-To-Be gave him many gifts, including visions not unlike the ones Doyle and Cordy had. He has several slayers in his basement and, judging by his obscure remarks, he plans to sire them. He asks Angel to help him save LA - as a sidekick. Gunn is sure that he is tested and is a real hero of this story. Angel argues that Gunn is not in command here; it's his inner demon who is the real winner.

I wonder if Lynch uses Joss' original ideas for Gunn development. Because Gunn's current situation plays around the biggest controversy of the show - the soul issue.

As you may remember, in season 1 on BtVS Joss introduces the idea of a "demon soul". Then he scrapped it and created "souled\soulless" concept to service Angelus arc - which, being brilliant per ce, paradoxically had an overall crippling effect on the show, defying its complexity, pushing it towards a simplified "us good them bad" moral attitude. Sometimes I wonder if Joss would have made Angel and Angelus such different persons if he had known that he had 5 seasons of BtVs and 5 seasons on AtS ahead of him. I suspect that in that case Joss would have depicted Angelus more controversially, showed him struggling with his emotions, his confusion and desperation at the face of love.

Anyway, here we are, back to the basics, soulless vampires can't fight on the side of good, even if they think so. And, surely, it will turn out that Gunn is just a puppet in somebody's hands (the prime suspects are Senior Partners of course). Gunn is "a big ugly problem who's fooled himself into thinking he's the solution," according to Angel.

Yet it's not so easy, isn't it? The first thing that struck me is that Gunn journey in s6 reflects Angel's overall journey (in a distorted mirror, of course). He became the leader of bad guys after outwitting their leader(s). He wants to save the world and sacrifices his nearest to reach the goal (to be fair, Angel did give his gang a choice, and tried to send Nina away, but they all ended up in Hell). Gunn, like Angel and the rest of the gang, is most likely played by some puppeteer.

Is it an intentional parallel Gunn = Angel? Is Gunn following Angel's path in a twisted, freaky way? Ironically they trade places: a human turned into a vampire and vice versa. But Gunn is just at the beginning of his (anti-) champion journey and he's going to get a lot of nasty surprises from the puppetmasters no matter how they call themselves - Senior Partners, Powers that Be (or simply showrunners :). Obviously, Gunn is obsessed about Angel. He can't stop boasting. He almost babbles. And he's utterly shocked when he discovers that Angel is human. Oh, and he stabs him with a sword a minute earlier.

Obviously Gunn doesn't think that sword may kill Angel the moment he does it (remember how Spike ran his sword through Angel in AHITW "to stop the bug" and Angel was just grumbling at him). But few moments later Gunn discovers Angel's humanity and is stunned. That's when the cavalry arrives - Spike, Connor and Gwen get there on the dragon's back. But the catch is that Gwen now works for Gunn and she zaps the dragon.

Or maybe it's a part of Angel's another diabolically clever and twisted plan, and everything does according to Angel's plan, as it happened during his war against the Lords of Hell-A. Damn, we have to wait another month to find out!

The art by Runge is uneven. He captures Gunn brilliantly, he draws good Angel and Spike (I particularly love the panel where Spike smokes, putting his feet on Angel's table and enjoying himself) and his dragon is pretty impressive. But his Gwen is either grotesque (the last panel) or just ugly. And what's with the two absolutely identical panels on the next-to-last page?

Yet it's a minor quibble. Overall a great issue.

Comments

[simonf.livejournal.com]

The art by Runge is uneveN

I admire your understatement. I thought it was appalling and really distracted from the story (which was really good btw).

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I like Runge's Gunn. There are very good panels whether photoshopped or drawed, where Gunn looks exactly as I imagine him in this situation. The rest of the panels look rushed and uninspired.

[shapinglight]

Great review, though have to say, whatever Joss's intention was at the time, I don't think Angel and Angelus are so different - or at least, one is recognisably the other (and not just looks-wise).

I was pleased that Brian Lynch eschewed the whole Gunn with and without a soul is two entirely different people. It's obvious they're the same, but that Gunn without a soul is horribly, horribly warped.

And the art was at times quite horrible, but Runge draws a great Gunn.

[moscow-watcher.livejournal.com]

I was pleased that Brian Lynch eschewed the whole Gunn with and without a soul is two entirely different people.

I agree. Lynch writes perfect vampire!Gunn. There are moments when I can't help but sympathize with him.

[shapinglight]

Oh, me too. Also, that he thinks they aren't different people is very clear in the way Angel reacts to him. He is appalled, obviously, but his impulse is to help him, not kill him. If he just thought this wasn't Gunn at all but a demon wearing Gunn's body, why would he want to do that?