Angel: Offspring (3.7)

Last season I mentioned that I kind of support the idea of an Angel/Cordelia romance, due to their natural chemistry and their obvious affection for one another. Plus, it's pretty common for sexual attraction to grow out of long-lasting friendship and mutual respect. But one thing that's jarring with me this year is, in fact, the Angel/Cordelia romance. This may sound crazy, but I'm actually finding all their flirtatious banter sort of 'icky'. I don't know if it's the writing or that the relationship just doesn't work when its depicted so transparently, but there's something mildly contrived about them acting this way right now, and for the first time in the history of the Buffyverse, Cordelia actually annoyed me here.

Her anger over Angel and Darla's night together came across as way too soapy and melodramatic, adding a strange jealous angle to a relationship that isn't even a 'thing' yet. Actually, not even a 'pre-cursor to a thing' just yet. I like Angel and Cordy together, but I wish the show had pursued their romantic feelings in a less overt way than via double entendres and sitcom-ish 'I love you too, we all love you too' moments.

Gah. Away from that, Darla's pregnancy maintains its sense of urgency and general weirdness, especially once it kicks into gear at the arcade. It's such a unusual scene, with Angel pummeling this pregnant woman, but it's beautifully staged; and that wonderful coda where Angel hears the baby's heart beating is a sucker punch like never before. There's something intrinsically dark and haunting about this storyline, and a sense that we're descending into unknown territory just like the characters involved.

Offspring takes a while to go anywhere, and there's a lot of scenes where people are standing around looking concerned, but I'm at least eager to see where the season is headed. It's just unfortunate that the Angel/Cordy thing isn't working out as well as I had anticipated. C+

Credits
Guest stars Julie Benz (Darla); Andy Hallett (Lorne); Jack Conley (Sahjhan); Steve Tom (Stephen Mills); Keith Szarabajka (Daniel Holtz)
Writer David Greenwalt Director Turi Meyer