Angel 5x8 Destiny

Just a little footnote. Alexis Denisof wasn't in this episode as he was busy getting married to Alyson Hannigan! :-)

This episode has an excellent DVD commentary with Juliet Landau (Drusila), Skip Schoolnik (director), David Fury & Steven DeKnight (writers). Back during the filming of the episode, the writers quipped that they might have to change the name of show from 'Angel' to 'Spike'. One of the big decisions they had to make was 'What is in the cup?'. The original thought was Fresca because of the controversy over the sugar substitutes it was using caused it to be banned in a number of countries at the time (It has since been reformulated.). But, after much discussion, they settled on Mountain Dew instead of a more generic 'cola'. The production staff tried very hard to keep Lindsay's appearance a secret. They had even left off the final scene when they sent the print to the network for review. However, word leaked out and was posted as a rumor on several Buffy-verse web sites several days before it aired. They also received a bunch of notes from the network (and comments from fans after airing) about the more risque scenes and Spike's rather brusque 'wooing' of Harmony. But they kept them all in regardless. The fans were particularly upset at Spike's unfaithfulness to Buffy.

Everyone argues Bangel vs. Spuffy. And I’m just over here loving the Angel and Spike dynamic in all it’s forms. They had so much rich backstory to explore. The fight in the second half was one of the best they ever choreographed. This is where this season really kicks into another gear for me. Great reaction as always!

Great one Jules! I was laughing out loud when you felt guilty about Eve. Well, that changed at the end, didn't it? :-) David Boreanaz and James Marsters have such great chemistry together. Love all their shared scenes.

Ooh hoo hoo punch sky for that ending. This episode ages really well. I imagine the writers thinking about the re-corporealisation and quickly its to the sex and violence. They handled the inevitable so well exploring the structure around it in the first instance, and giving full into the fight scene. If memory serves that's about 8-12 minutes long (and centuries in the making!) Btw I wanted to clear up what you might have guessed, in that the issues causing me mad stress all got resolved. I'm coming down from alert status and making every effort to work easy and touch the grass. Sending you well wishes on your health journey and to all of you.

I would have loved to see more of Angel & Spike's backstory. Maybe even a limited series set predominantly in the past. There was so much untapped story potential there! As always thanks for another excellent reaction Juliette. Hope you have a most lovely day 💜