1x14: Sweet Boy (Airdate: May 25th, 2005)

[Emcee]

Salome and Connor have consummated their relationship. Now Connor believes he's still the Destroyer of Quortoth-- With his new lover as his prey.

[Deacon]

HOLY SHIT! Azriel's Salome's fucking dad!

[Wind Fish]

Let me get something out of the way first.

*Punches ProBoards*

There. I feel better now. Albeit my hand is a little sore.

Best episode so far. Easily. And that's saying something since there were some pretty good ones before this.

And I thought that before Act Four. Then the final act blew the previous three away.

Man that last scene was fierce. I'm thinkin' that if they're going to fix their rift, Salome's going to be doing most/all of the work. I can't see Connor changing his mind unless she beats him back to his senses. Possibly literally.

With the Nyazians, I just get more confused after every episode. While I'm sure it's been obvious for quite a while, I don't know what the hell is going on.

I know what I said last week, and I know I can be dense at times, but if we're supposed to think now that Azriel is Salome's father, he can't be, right? I mean... it's too soon to reveal stuff like that, isn't it?

But if he isn't, then it's either Cyvus or there has to be another important player. And based on things she said, Salome's father is still alive. Though she didn't actually say that so that's probably a poor assumption to make if it isn't one of the two male Vails.

I know there's something, probably right in front of my face, that I'm missing.

That brings me back to my "I don't know what the hell is going on" quote.

Then there's all the new stuff with the prophecies and what not.

Let's just say I'm intrigued with everything Nyazian related and leave it at that.

I'm pretty sure I had more to say Wednesday night, but I can't remember it right now. I don't know why I didn't think to type it up in notepad at the time. Oh well.

[Emcee]

I know. ProBoards sucks for being down for so long. I was so pissed at it. It was like HOURS after I posted the new ep.

This is pretty much my favourite episode so far. Pablo really loved it too. Just everything worked so well. I was really worried about it, seeing as how this was called the "Innocence" of TNP. I was worried I wasn't going to live up to the hype.

I wanted the last scene to be a real punch in the gut. Really, everything that Connor did to her through Act 1 up until the first half of act four... NONE of that hurt her as much as what he did at the end.

But she's a stubborn bitch. So keep hope alive.

You're totally supposed to stay confused about the Nyazians, up until I do the reveal. Which will happen. With flashbacks and everything.

[Wind Fish]

When I saw that the board was still down on Thursday night at like 3AM (I guess that's Friday morning) I went to the proboards site to see what was up. This server, #26, was taking a lot longer than the other ones to upgrade for whatever reason. Just bad luck all around I guess. I'm pretty sure I read that this ad-free time we're getting is because of that. Yay.

The impression I got from the last scene was that Connor knew he was hurting her badly, she said as much, but he thinks he's doing what's best for her long-term. Which is bullshit from my point of view, but I can see why he's thinking that way. Like father like son, right?

And I know Salome won't give up that easily. If she does, she doesn't feel as strongly about him as she thinks she does. I'm just not about to underestimate Connor's stubbornness. I'm convinced they'll reconcile, I just don't know how long it'll take. One episode, two, eight, next season, anything's possible.

I remember a couple things I wanted to say before. Going into this episode I knew this whole thing would effect Connor's feelings on the memory situation. The reaction was 180 degrees different than I thought it'd be though. Of course, as the episode unfolded I understood why he felt the way he did.

Obligatory mention of curiosity about what happens when the mind wipe goes kablooey. My biggest wonder at the moment is how Connor's relationships are effected once it happens, rather than how much Connor will change. Though that's still high on the list.

[And it is going, right? (Don't answer that) I can't see you finding a way to keep it around knowing the things you've said about the wipe in the past.]

[Emcee]

Which is bullshit from my point of view, but I can see why he's thinking that way. Like father like son, right?

I think Connor REALLY believes he's doing this to protect Salome. But, like his father, I also think he's doing this to punish himself. He doesn't feel he deserves to have someone who loves him the way Sal does. Those Angel boys really love the self-punishment.

Going into this episode I knew this whole thing would effect Connor's feelings on the memory situation. The reaction was 180 degrees different than I thought it'd be though.

I was talking to my friend Vamps about this episode when I came up with that idea. We were saying that Connor's life is so based on pain that it COULDN'T be becoming a warrior and learning how important the mission was that made Connor accept Angel as his father... It had to be something dark and sinister. I've never really seen it done before, so I'm happy with it.

Obligatory mention of curiosity about what happens when the mind wipe goes kablooey. My biggest wonder at the moment is how Connor's relationships are effected once it happens, rather than how much Connor will change.

Now that IS a question, isn't it? A very good one. Keep in mind, at the moment, Connor is Connor Angel AND Connor Riley at the same time. It's been that way since "Origin".

[Wind Fish]

But, like his father, I also think he's doing this to punish himself.

Oh, I knew he'd be punishing himself after the end of the episode. I just didn't think he'd go to the extreme he did. I also don't think he would knowingly hurt someone he cares about just for the sake of his self-loathing. But since he also thinks he's protecting Salome, he's free to cut ties because hey, she'll be better off in the end, right?.

Well, no, but I'll let someone else tell him that.

If he wants to punish himself, he should become a Milwaukee Brewers fan. That's an exercise of self-punishment I can attest to.

Keep in mind, at the moment, Connor is Connor Angel AND Connor Riley at the same time.

While he still has the Angel part now, the way I'm thinking is that he'll react to things differently without the Riley background there. But the wildcard is that his two or so years of really living the Riley life will still be there (that's how it worked briefly in...uh... episode 10 I think, right?). And the important thing is that a lot of his current relationships came about in that two year frame.

But I really don't know how you're going to handle this. That's why I want to see it so bad.

[spasticvisions]

Wow. What an episode. Although I've never been a real Connor/Salome fan (what can I say, I liked Jules). This still blew me away. The last scene was nothing short of brilliant and the huge fight scenes were fantastically done. I can't wait for the next episode.

[Emcee]

I'm glad you liked the episode, despite not being a huge fan of Con/Sal. But hey, the fact that I've got people who like different couplings makes it a bit more like a real TV series. I mean, what would Buffy be without the Bangel/Spuffy arguements?

[Buffy8Fan]

I am sorry that I haven't updated sooner. I actually read this minutes after it came out, but I am still having computer problems and between that and studying for finals and no school on Monday, this was my first chance to update. I honestly have no idea what I'm going to do when school is over. I guess there will be one less person on the forum until the fall. The episode was heart wrenching. Just as I expected it to be. I just hope that Connor doesn't follow in his father's footsteps and leave Salome for good. They are a great couple and need to work through this. I also personally hope that you only leave the swearing to a very low minimum. It shocked me to see it and I'm not sure how much I liked it.

[Emcee]

I also personally hope that you only leave the swearing to a very low minimum. It shocked me to see it and I'm not sure how much I liked it.

I normally don't like to swear in TNP. However, in this instance, I couldn't think of a better way for Salome to say it. It was MEANT to completely shock you and leave you a little uneasy because you're not used to it. It was a very dramatic moment for them and I thought softening it by using another phrasing would have taken away the effectiveness.

[Amy Jade]

Awesome ep! Very powerful and emotional, especially the last scene. About the cursing thing, I'm not a huge fan of cursing in stories either, but sometimes it's needed to get the feelings across, and it worked very well I think.