Angel Investigated - 1.14 I've Got You Under My Skin
Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 07.14.2009
What's more evil... a demon or a man? That's the question this week on Angel!
1.14 I've Got You Under My Skin
Writer: Jeannine Renshaw
Director: R.D. Price
Whedon Speak
Angel: I'm not unflappable. Cordelia: Great! So flap.
Angel: Wesley, you don't even have sales resistance. How many Thigh Masters do you own? Wesley: The second one was a free gift with my buns of steel.
Ethros Demon: Do you know what the most frightening thing in the world is? Nothing. That's what I found in the boy. No conscience, no fear, no humanity. Just a black void. I couldn't control him. I couldn't get out. I never even manifested him until you brought me forth. I just sat there and watched as he destroyed everything around him. Not from a belief in evil, not for any reason at all...That boy's mind was the blackest hell I've ever known.
Wesley: Angel. Before we go any further, I just want to assure you, in as much as we will be fighting side-by-side...What that demon said before-- Angel: I know you're not planning to kill me, Wesley. But you're willing to, and that's good.
Case Files
In this episode, Wesley drops the first clue of his traumatic childhood... It was Joss Whedon's idea that the kid himself be more evil than the demon inside him. The man is a genius! He even had Harry Potter-esque living accomodations!... Doyle will always be a sore spot for Angel, as is evidenced in season five when Lindsay takes his name.
Shawn S. Lealos has the full review!
The first thing I want to mention is how heavy handed I found parts of this episode. When Angel mentioned Doyle’s name at the start of the episode, I really didn’t believe it. When Wesley lets slip that not every abusive father must be possessed to hurt his family, it also seemed forced. The music also did not help the proceedings. Angel is a great show when it comes to dealing with the pathos of damaged individuals but it was just too unrealistic here.
However, what made this episode work so well is the twists and turns the story takes. It is just as much a big mystery as it is a horror exorcism story. There are so many great moments in the show, one of the highlights being when they go to the church to find a priest and a nun immediately recognized Angel as a demon. It is second only to Rick’s Magick ‘n’ Stuff, where the proprietor comes across as more of a used car salesman than a magic shop proprietor. Probably why the box Cordelia bought was worthless.
I also enjoy the aspects of the episode where Angel doubts Wesley’s worth in the exorcism of the demons and he must prove himself to his new comrades. It is a good stepping stone for him to earn their trust. As a Wesley centric episode, this is great development of his character. For people who hate the fact that Wesley took over the spot originally held by the loved Doyle, this was the perfect chance to bring him fan’s approval. I also like the fact that the demon taunted Wesley based on his past, and taking the voice of Doyle was masterful.
This is also the episode where Angel tells Wesley it is okay for him to be willing to kill him.
The best part of the episode is the fact that the demon is not the most evil character in the episode, but instead it is the psychopath that he possessed. It has been done numerous times, whether in movies (The Good Son) and television (Law & Order). Here, in Angel, it was done masterfully.
Ronny Sarnecky
Well, this should make for one short review. While watching this episode, about 26 minutes into the show, the DVD froze. Each time I tried to fast forward a little to get rid of the “freeze,” the episode advanced to the final line of the episode. So, from what I saw of the show, it looked pretty good. I like who the writers through us off in the beginning. I thought that there was sommething “off” with the father. After all, the mean looks, the locks on the bedroom doors. Something just didn’t seem right. Needless to say, I was surprised when the “baddie” turned out to be a demon that was possessing the son. Things started getting good when Angel/Wesley went to the church, only to find out that the priest was killed by one of these demons. Once the demon tried to kill the mom, that’s when the DVD froze. Just when I was really getting into it.
n/a
Jeremy Thomas
This one is just chilling. Angel was a show that set out to prove early on that they weren't afraid to go to the dark side, and between episodes like "I Fall to Pieces," "Somnabulist" and this they certainly did so. This is a fantastic little riff on the exorcist scene, and I challenge anyone who has seen this episode to tell me they weren't utterly stunned when they realized that the demon wasn't the true evil. This hearkens back to one of my favorite themes in terms of supernatural horror/fantasy: no matter what terrible things demons can do, or the horrors that vampires might commit, nothing has the capacity for evil quite like man. A vampire may prey on what...hundreds of thousands of people during centuries of existance? It may even kill them all. Guess what...the Nazis killed millions, in a matter of years. That thought is scary to think about, but imagining a world in which demons and vampires and all sorts of monsters existed, it wouldn't make it any less true. This episode of Angel rams that home with a vengeance, and does it in a way that hits hard and effectively. It's no surprise then that, considering my propensity for darker episodes of the show, I loved this one.
9
Jason Chamberlain
This is a truly haunting episode. It also contains some of the best twists and turns in the grand Whedon tradition. First you think the father is posessed, but then it turns out it's the son. And then we find out that the DEMON is trying to escape from the BOY, because of how evil the boy is! That is freaky stuff. And it's executed perfectly, especially the demon's confession scene to Angel. "That boys mind is the blackest hell I've ever known."
I have to go change my pants...
8
GRR!!! ARGH!!!
The 411: I’ve Got You Under My Skin is a great episode that helps develop Wesley’s role in the Angel universe and sets up the long running plot where Angel knows Wesley might one day be forced to kill him. It is full of twists and turns and has an ending that just knocks you on your butt. True evil has never been scarier.
I also enjoy the aspects of the episode where Angel doubts Wesley’s worth in the exorcism of the demons and he must prove himself to his new comrades. It is a good stepping stone for him to earn their trust. As a Wesley centric episode, this is great development of his character. For people who hate the fact that Wesley took over the spot originally held by the loved Doyle, this was the perfect chance to bring him fan’s approval. I also like the fact that the demon taunted Wesley based on his past, and taking the voice of Doyle was masterful.
