After all the build-up, Billy turns out to be a bit of a lame villain. Which is something of a trademark of both BTVS and Angel. Granted, Billy does look like he could potentially gain the upper hand in an all-out brawl with Angel, but at the end it turns out Billy can be killed with a few shots from a handgun. Makes you wonder how much time and energy Angel could save if he gave up all the hand-to-hand combat and just pulled an Indiana Jones on susceptible enemies.
Anyway. "Billy" isn't a perfect episode, but the last act is so great I'm inclined to forgive the heavy-handed parable about misogyny. There's a really well-done sequence in the climax involving Wesley, who's been infected with Billy's violent hatred of women, stalking Fred through the hotel with an ax. It's incredibly suspenseful in the manner of a really good slasher movie, and Alexis Denisof is superb as the darker manifestation of Wesley--primal but restrained, and all the creepier for it.
Fred, a character I've not cared much about either way up to this point, also proves her worth by utilizing her resourcefulness to defend herself against Wesley, ultimately knocking him unconscious with a fire extinguisher to the face (ow). Angel (the series) has too often fallen into the uncharacteristic-of-Whedon cliché of the damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, so I was pleased to see Fred taking care of herself.
Even Cordelia is being proactive here, taking self-defense lessons from Angel. It almost feels like an apology for all the times she wound up in peril with no other recourse but to wait for the boys to show up and save her. Her speech to Lilah about the debilitating effects of helplessness is sort of a good mission statement for the Buffyverse in general.
Gunn doesn't get a lot to do this episode, but it was pretty noble of him to urge Fred to bash his head in with a table leg so he wouldn't hurt her. The fact that he is able to stave off Billy's madness, even for a crucial few seconds, when nobody else has been able to achieve the same, says something about his strength and willpower.
And of course the scene at the end, where Fred tries to comfort a guilt-ridden Wesley by telling him she doesn't blame him for what happened, is perfectly executed. Wes is so hard on himself you feel awful for him, and I have to admit I suddenly saw why Wes was falling for Fred all this time.
There's also a nice exchange between Angel and Billy's cousin, who tells him a brunette who visited earlier asking after Billy warned him a "melodramatic" guy would follow up with the same question. Angel, assuming it was Cordelia (as do we, but it might have been Lilah actually), seems a bit miffed she described him as melodramatic. Just as Billy's cousin tries to define the terms, Angel refocuses on the task at hand and grabs him threateningly by the collar. The guy seemed quite reasonable and willing to help, so I don't think it was necessary to shake him down; I guess Angel was just getting impatient with the conversational cul-de-sac.
Anyway. "Billy" isn't a perfect episode, but the last act is so great I'm inclined to forgive the heavy-handed parable about misogyny. There's a really well-done sequence in the climax involving Wesley, who's been infected with Billy's violent hatred of women, stalking Fred through the hotel with an ax. It's incredibly suspenseful in the manner of a really good slasher movie, and Alexis Denisof is superb as the darker manifestation of Wesley--primal but restrained, and all the creepier for it.
Fred, a character I've not cared much about either way up to this point, also proves her worth by utilizing her resourcefulness to defend herself against Wesley, ultimately knocking him unconscious with a fire extinguisher to the face (ow). Angel (the series) has too often fallen into the uncharacteristic-of-Whedon cliché of the damsel in distress waiting to be rescued, so I was pleased to see Fred taking care of herself.
Even Cordelia is being proactive here, taking self-defense lessons from Angel. It almost feels like an apology for all the times she wound up in peril with no other recourse but to wait for the boys to show up and save her. Her speech to Lilah about the debilitating effects of helplessness is sort of a good mission statement for the Buffyverse in general.
Gunn doesn't get a lot to do this episode, but it was pretty noble of him to urge Fred to bash his head in with a table leg so he wouldn't hurt her. The fact that he is able to stave off Billy's madness, even for a crucial few seconds, when nobody else has been able to achieve the same, says something about his strength and willpower.
And of course the scene at the end, where Fred tries to comfort a guilt-ridden Wesley by telling him she doesn't blame him for what happened, is perfectly executed. Wes is so hard on himself you feel awful for him, and I have to admit I suddenly saw why Wes was falling for Fred all this time.
There's also a nice exchange between Angel and Billy's cousin, who tells him a brunette who visited earlier asking after Billy warned him a "melodramatic" guy would follow up with the same question. Angel, assuming it was Cordelia (as do we, but it might have been Lilah actually), seems a bit miffed she described him as melodramatic. Just as Billy's cousin tries to define the terms, Angel refocuses on the task at hand and grabs him threateningly by the collar. The guy seemed quite reasonable and willing to help, so I don't think it was necessary to shake him down; I guess Angel was just getting impatient with the conversational cul-de-sac.