Angel and the Alien Refugee Women

I'm still watching Buffy and Angel but haven't felt like blogging about them. I feel like my entries so far are mostly repeating things I said last time I watched through the shows ten years ago. But last night I watched "She", a first season episode of Angel guest starring Bai Ling, and I don't think I'd ever appreciated this episode so much before. Mainly I think it's that I never understood what Bai Ling was saying before, now I find her perfectly intelligible. I think living in Japan and teaching English has sharpened my ear.

And Bai Ling is so good in this episode. She's really sexy and she delivers a truly good performance despite the fact that I suspect she learned her lines phonetically. I particularly like the scene where she's explaining her past to Angel (David Boreanaz) and there's a questioning tone in her voice as she gives him the name of her family.

The episode's plot reminds me of Mad Max: Fury Road quite a bit. Bai Ling is a skilled fighter leading a group of women away from a patriarchal culture that would enslave them. Jheira, Bai Ling's character, definitely reminds me of Furiosa.

Of course, Fury Road didn't have a female circumcision allegory, though the chastity belts functioned in somewhat the same way. I'm not a big fan of allegory but watching Bai Ling breathily explain to Angel that she basically has a big clitoris on the back of her neck that glows when she's aroused is pretty hot.

She seems like a character who was destined to return to the show but she never did. I wonder why. It's kind of a shame this is the only thing I've seen with Bai Ling in which she has a substantial role. I remember hearing her on Howard Stern years ago, she seems to be a little kooky but a lot of fun. Looking at her filmography, I don't see any movies or shows I especially long to see. Maybe Dumplings.

Twitter Sonnet #1452

The busy yak declined the evening meal.
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Distinctive beards reveal the row of men.
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