Angel: Through the Looking Glass (2.21)

Can I ask the TV gods why the hell Charisma Carpenter doesn't have her own sitcom? I seriously think her performance here ranks up there among her best, with her desperate attempts to flee the royal castle and avoid mating with the Groosalugg ("Say, don't you think it would add an air of feminine mystery if I were to, you know, not be here?") She's ridiculously funny throughout, and channels both a delightful air of self-importance as well as a frantic fear of having to com-shuk a giant beast monster. The Groosalugg, in the end, turns out to be a hunky slice of man-itude. A little pea-brained, sure -- but Cordy likes what she sees.

As the Pylea arc continues, it seems like the major concept at work is the idea of physical image and how others see you. Lorne, to us, appears fun and intelligent, but is treated like a disappointing outcast on his home turf. Cordelia is distrusted for looking the way she does, the high priests questioning why she of all people would be blessed with 'the sight'. At the same time, she remembers her commercial outfit with horror, yet is self-aware enough to notice that she's not exactly wearing a whole lot more as queen.

The most important angle that folds into this idea occurs with Angel. Because the metaphysical laws are so wonky on Pylea, his vampire state is visually a horrifying monster, the real beast within. It also seems to affect his entire persona, too, since he becomes wild and animalistic. Angel had appeared intrigued by the idea of a world in which good and evil are entirely separate entities with no cross-over, but his demonic appearance when in vamp-face suggests a total loss of self-control. Pylea is likely the way it is because willpower isn't possible. You can't blur the lines when physics won't let you.

Fred, or "that strange, wild girl" as Wesley melodramatically dubs her, makes a stronger impression here than in her previous appearances. She's still being written as crazy and irrational, but that one scene where she expresses latent jealousy that Cordelia got to be queen while she's been whipped and abused ever since she arrived was hilarious. It's a flicker of Buffyverse personality that immediately makes her likable.

The strongest Pylea episode so far, purely because it features so many genius one-liners and bits of physical comedy (Numfar!), as well as exploring character-driven ideas. This show remains on fire. A

Credits
Guest stars Andy Hallett (Lorne); Amy Acker (Winifred 'Fred' Burkle); Brody Hutzler (Landok); Tom McCleister (Elder); Mark Lutz (The Groosalugg); Michael Phenicie (Silas)
Writer Tim Minear Director Tim Minear