beer_good_foamy | More on s8: Missing "Damage" scene just discovered!

OK, so while everyone is discussing the latest plot developments of the "season 8" comic and whether they have sufficient basis in TV canon,

jgracio reminded me to check the original, uncut shooting script for the Angel episode “Damage” (5.11). And imagine my surprise when I found that it contains some dialogue which was eventually cut, but which addresses a very important plot point of "Buffy season 8" (specifically, one from #10). Man, there really is no end to the sneaky foreshadowing Joss puts into his shows.

For your convenience, I’ve highlighted the dialogue that was cut from the broadcast version.

EXT. DOCKS – NIGHT

Angel watches as the more or less unconscious Dana, heavily restrained, is wheeled towards the ambulance.

ANGEL
Chain her into the van. I want armed guards riding with her in the back.
Andrew steps out from the shadows, surprising everyone, but seeming his usual clueless self.

ANDREW
That's all right, boys. I'll take it from here.

ANGEL
What?

ANDREW
Totally appreciate your help on this one, big guy. Never could've found her without
you, but you got enough problems of your own to worry about.

Angel isn’t really in the mood to argue right now.

ANGEL
Get outta the way, Andrew.

ANDREW
(Suddenly more insistant, almost... adult)
She's a slayer. That means she's ours.

ANGEL
Yeah. Sorry. Not how it works. (to the guards) Load her up. Don't hesitate to tranq
her if she so much as –

ANDREW
No. I don't think you heard me, Angel.
And out from behind the various containers and vehicles on the docks step about a dozen women – young, but confident and giving off a distinctly not-fuckable-with vibe. Slayers. (If we could get one or two of the potentials from season 7 of Buffy, that’d be great.) They flank Andrew, backing him up without a word.

ANDREW
Think we're just gonna let you take her back to *your* evil stronghold? Well, as they
say in Mexico... No. We're not... gonna... let you.

ANGEL
She's psychotic, and I'm not turning her over to you!

ANDREW
(triumphant)
You don't have a choice. Check the view screen, Uhura. I got 12 Vampyre Slayers
behind me, and not one of them has ever dated you. She's coming with us one way or
another. (beat) Unless, of course... we can reach some sort of agreement.

ANGEL
A deal? Over the life of a young girl? Not really what I do.

ANDREW
I thought that as CEO of Wolfram & Hart, evil attorneys at law, that’s exactly what
you do. Our proposal, should you choose to accept it, is as follows. We will leave this
young lady to you, on the condition of course that you won’t kill her... or use her
in any experiments to create a super race of genetically altered soldiers, since that
would infringe upon our patent.

ANGEL
Patent...?

ANDREW
Alright, pending, OK? In return... (lowers voice conspiratorially, puts fingers together
Monty Burns-style) Let’s say that I have this friend who has recently started a career
liberating certain valuable objects from certain high-security Swiss institutions
and could use both legal guidance and... other assistance.

ANGEL
OK, let me get this straight. You want me to represent a *bankrobber*?

ANDREW
If it ever went to court, yes. But mostly you’d help out with legal advice, find out
which vaults hold the most loot, grease the right palms, contact reliable fencers,
and so on and so forth. All pro bono, of course.

ANGEL
You're way outta your league. I'll just clear this with Buffy.

ANDREW
Where do you think my orders came from?
This takes Angel a second or two to process.

ANGEL
Wait... what? You’re saying... Buffy’s... robbing banks?

ANDREW
(dreamy)
Uh-huh. Just like Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz in Bandidas.

ANGEL
But that movie won't be out for two years!

ANDREW
So do we have a deal?

ANGEL
(in utter disbelief)
No. We don't. I get enough moral gray zones as it is, the last thing I need is to drag
Buffy down with me. If she wants to rob banks, that’s her problem and I’ll be damned
all over again if I’m going to help her do it.

ANDREW
(upset)
Oh YEAH? Well... uh... News flash! Nobody in our camp trusts you anymore! Nobody!
*You* work for Wolfram & Hart? Don't fool yourself. We're not on the same side.
(calms down)
Thank you for your help... but, uh... we got it.

Andrew and the girls walk away with Dana's gurney. Wesley walks up to Angel.

WESLEY
So that's it? You're just gonna let him take her?

ANGEL
She's one of theirs. They can handle it. Besides... you heard the man.
We got enough problems of our own to worry about.

There. Now I think we can all see how the comics are in perfect continuity with the TV shows.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

LOL It's good practise for the comics as a whole. Trying to understand how characters got from point A to point B means you have to make it up.

I'm coming more and more to the conclusion that while I like the "why" of s8, I've more or less given up on its "how" - it's a great idea but far too poorly done. So far. Whereas with AtF, I like the "how" (the story is well-told, everyone's in character etc - though I don't care for the art) but as an avowed fan of NFA who's spent years defending Joss' original stance that it's not a cliffhanger but a statement, I don't get the "why". Yet. We'll see how the next issue impresses me...

I liked NFA too, which is why I don't like AtF. It seems to counter the message of NFA. I like the distinction you make between the two comic series.

Thanks for the laugh.