Angel 5x01 Conviction

I find this to be an outstanding episode. It really does a great job introducing us to the W&H offices as well as the dilemma facing the team. The camaraderie between Wes and Gunn is back (due to the Connor spell), Harmony is here, the set is brighter, and we get that cool one-shot when we first arrive at the office. Plus Spike of course.

Looking forward to your journey through this season, Jules! Did you end up getting spoiled about Spike's return, either from glancing at the intro (it's just full of him), or maybe a spoilery comment at some point? I guess I thought you'd be more surprised at the end of the episode, but maybe it's just my imagination.

Hey, I'm back! We finally had the finances to put Disney back on temporarily, so now I can watch you react to my favourite season of Angel. :D I'll also catch up on your season 7 reactions, really interested to see what you think of one of my most hated characters on the show. :D

Jules, you should be happy that Spike is back! :-) Happy tears! It was a mystical death, so of course this happens... Unfortunately, back in the day, we all knew that Spike was going over to Angel even BEFORE the Buffy finale. What happened was that Angel was cancelled after S4 (the network WB had huge economical problems), but Joss pitched the idea to bring on James Marsters, and the WB renewed the show, and immediately started advertising that Spike was going to join Angel!

There is a DVD commentary by Joss Whedon for this episode. First-time DVD watchers, beware. It is spoilery for the entire season. Don't know if you caught the reference to 'Our Gang' mentioned by Spanky. It is a series of live action, silent and talky, short films made from 1922 - 1944 that were shown as extras with regular full-length films in theaters. It was later aired on TV (sometimes as 'The Little Rascals') and can still be seen on some old-timey cable stations. As it mainly focused on young (5-10 year old) children, the cast changed quite often to maintain the age range with over 40 child actors starring on the show over time. But, one character, Spanky, was one of the longer lasting roles who became a kind of teenage mentor to the younger kids. There was one feature film made called 'Spanky, The General'. There was also a character named Darla, coincidence, I don't think so (well, maybe). A number of well known actors of the 1950's and 60's got their start as members of the cast, most notably Robert Blake and Jackie Cooper. It also featured a number of black child actors in non-stereotypical roles with equal billing as the other actors, which was unusual for the time. Jules, this season has a lot of surprises to offer, so please, don't force your expectations on it here at the beginning. Take it as it comes and enjoy.

This season is the first one I watched and it was good enough that it made me go back and watch Angel and then Buffy, which I understand is a really weird order to do it. I just caught it on TV one evening and it interested me. It is such an interesting season with so many unexpected turns and SO different from what came before. I really hope you enjoy it. It's what got me hooked!

YAY! Although I am very glad you’re doing The Good Place, I’m so so happy we’re not done with the Buffyverse yet 😢. And SPIKE IS BACK! I love season 5

Yay! Been waiting what feels like forever -but was really only a few days - for you to watch this episode 😁 Now it gets fun hehehee

Spiiiiiike!!!! That is all.

Hey Juliette, I really enjoyed being a member of your patreon community for the last year, but unfortunately I have to cut back my expenses. I waited until the final of Buffy and the reappearance of Spike, and I would love to be around for the 50th Doctor Who and the whole run of the 12th Doctor (and beyond), but I'll have to go back to YouTube now. Thank you for your work, enjoy your community!