Well it was what I expected: the last episode was the slow-burn start of a three part story, and while I had suspected it, I was still frustrated with the way it played out.  The issue was the lack of communication despite Angel’s pleas that he and Connor actually talk.  Don’t misconstrue my understanding of the plot: I get that he was distracted because his son would high-tail it, but it’s the weak dialogue that really kills me.  In Benediction, we get a different path.  This is where Angel and Buffy excel as TV shows: they use allegory to share a meaningful message and this one was very much the burden of all parents.  That is, their children grow up and outgrow them and they have no way to connect anymore.  Eventually all kids grow up and eventually branch off on their own and if the relationship isn’t strong, the connection can often be very strained. 

Angel’s relationship is further complicated by the fact that his son was raised by a step-father, of sorts.  It wasn’t by choice, but often in a divorce, things like that happen.  Angel, being a very unconventional father anyway, has to deal with the fact that this “break up” was with his son and our dimension.  Now, Connor is back but he uses the name his stepfather gave him and he is deeply conflicted.  All of that is very meaningful stuff and hits home.  I was like that with my family when I was in my upper teens and early 20’s and I see the same with my own kids.  “Everything’s temporary.”  Ain’t that the truth!  That’s a very hard thing to accept on a good day and Angel’s days have been far from good.  (In good family situations, things come back later!)

I thought the way they handled this episode was very strong indeed, with the possible exception of still trying to sell us Wesley as a defector, but I am not prepared to make a statement on that until the final episode.  I think the way Angel attempts to connect to his son is even more powerful because he doesn’t know how to get through to him but he knows the kid can fight and when he brings Connor/Stephen to a bar full of vampires, he’s proud as a peacock that his son is a chip off the old block.  Bravo to some really strong writing and to a cast that is so incredibly likeable.  This will make the final episode have greater punch regardless of how it all plays out.  

The next big win for the episode is the whole message Holtz shares with Angel that  he realized Angel is a changed man and he regrets the horrible path vengeance has sent him down.  I was applauding the writing here because, once again, this show is sharing a very wholesome message that isn’t making the rounds like it should.  Vengeance is a bad thing.  There be dragons there.  It breaks you down and sours life.  Cordy’s glow might say it all: let it go!  It’s what we as a people need to do with our anger and our rage: let it go.  Except, the final moment of the episode pulled the rug out from under me.  It was all a ruse.  Holtz, even in death, choses the path of vengeance.  I was so let down that the important message was undermined, while simultaneously being so excited to see where it would go from here.

There are things that undermined my enjoyment of the episode.  In the previous story, Angel takes a shotgun blast to the back, yet when his gang escort him into the office and a few of them stand behind him.  No one says anything about the hole?  (Did it seal up?)  Also, why would Fred and Gunn talk about what Angel was going to do?  I mean, there was no reason to even bring it up even if they did think he couldn’t hear them but did they forget that vampires have excellent hearing?  (And both of Connor’s parents were vampires, at that!)  But the dialogue failed on a few levels here: beyond being overheard, why not engage with the kid?  The point was to make him want what they have, so standing back a dozen yards wasn’t the solution.  They needed to let him understand what it was to have connections.  And that’s not the only weak dialogue moment.  Connor may not understand that time works differently in both worlds, but Holtz says it!  In the motel, he looks at a newspaper and makes a comment that they’ve only been gone a few days.  Does Connor just think his desiccated dad is just a little bit ’round the bend?

Well, Cordy continues to develop at least, but I can’t say how much of that is me just loving Charisma Carpenter and how much is actually liking her new demon-within thing.  I do admit, I loved her interaction with Connor that helped him let go of some of his pain.  Shame two random wounds are going to cause it all to flood back in.  Meanwhile I’ve wanted to get rid of Groo so that Cordy could be with Angel, and yet, I’m feeling really bad for Groo.  Maybe they’ll reconnect in the final episode.

And then there’s Justine.  For me, that’s a questionably sore point.  I say “questionably” because the final episode could go either way with it, but her love of Holtz, regardless of her equal feelings of betrayal along with her willingness to help Angel survive against the Emperor… sorry, Sahjhan… all combine to create a very confused individual.  That, in turn, creates a very confused me.  I don’t know if this will play out the way I hope and it’s all down to if the writers decide to have a clean slate for season 4 or continue the story started in season 3.  The question really is: will she realize that Holtz was a rage-filled, evil dude who was just out for revenge all along?  Or since that’s largely her motive too, maybe that’s just going to fuel her fire.

It’s all too hard to assess knowing that there’s one more part to this story to be told.  I’ve steadfastly avoided looking up the cast list for season 4 because that could potentially give something away, namely if Connor is going to be in the next season or not.  The only thing I know is with one episode to go, I am dying to see how it all wraps up. ML