"You're Welcome" - love it or hate it?

[Will]

How does everyone feel about "You're Welcome". Do you feel Cordy got the exit episode she deserved?

Personally I loved it maybe cause when I saw it I knew AtS would be ending in 10 episodes so it didnt all that matter that this was Charisma's last episode.

To say that this is episode is heartbreaking would be an understatement, its desperately sad – in the most beautiful way. After 11 very poor episodes the show I loved to watch for 3 Seasons is back on form for what to me is simple the best episode ever.

Charisma returns looking amazing and steps back into the show like she has never been away. The start of this episode is like being reunited with a sorely missed friend. She’s back to whip Angel into shape and gives him a dose of reality – to wake up and see that he really is the champion. So many amazing scenes getting Angel The Series back on track to what it was for 4 Seasons. Character interaction that is heartfelt like Cordy’s apology to Wes for killing Lilah (I love Wes in this episode) and Angel, Cordy & Wes all together again like it should be. But the most important interaction she has is with Angel, they’re together again for the first time since they were suppose to meet that fateful night – and though the love sequence is not over done you simply know its there.

All her dialogue, scenes and her trips down memory lane, like the wonderful cameo from Doyle, are there to show us and Angel that the self centred cheerleader from Sunnydale has come along way and we then truly realise the impact she has had on the show. In the heart wrenching moment when Angel realises that Cordy is gone forever her importance and legacy within the Buffyverse is forever sealed.

Cordelia: (turns to face Angel) I can't stay. This isn't me anymore. You can say good-bye to the gang for me, explain everything once you understand.
Angel: That's gonna be never. (walks toward her) I need you here.
Cordelia: (with tears in her eyes) Don't make it hard, Angel. I'm just on a different road...and this is my off-ramp. The Powers That Be owed me one, and I didn't waste it. I got my guy back on track.
Angel: Cordy, there's just—
Cordelia: (touches his face) We take what we can get, champ, and we do our best with it. I'll be seeing you. (smiles through her tears, turns to walk out of the office, stops, turns around, walks quickly up to Angel) Oh, what the hell. One for the road?
(kisses Angel, but moments later, the telephone rings)
Angel: You know, um...I don't...I don't need to get that.
Cordelia: (tenderly straightens his tie) That you have to get. (Angel walks toward the phone) Oh...and you're welcome.

This is the perfect Angel episode and without Cordy it was the last.

Of course the fact that she gets no funeral and there is little reflection of her death afterwards (none of the gang acknowledge that she is dead except for Angel) is a prime example of the otherwise mostly atrocious storytelling in Season 5.

[MissWera]

I love it!! It really made me cry...best episode of Angel!

[psychofilly]

While on an emotional level, because it was seeing Cordy again, I thought it satisfying. However, once you get past that base emotion, the episode itself was pretty weak. There was absolutely no fallout over Concorde, and especially Jasmine's body-jacking and rape of Cordy via Connor. Her reaction to Angel working for W&H was glossed over. Lindsey's return was just lame and out of left feild. There were so many holes and leaps of logic... and yet the love is there, because you could feel the weight of years of friendship and love behind the characters. In this episode. After that, it was business as usual.

[youpin]

I like so many would have loved if Cordy could have stayed but I thought her exit was a bittersweet one just like the love story between Angel and Cordy. When I saw this episode you knew that something was missing before with the previous episodes and you realize that not only the character of Cordy but Charisma leaving the show deeply impacted the show in a not so good way.When she returned you found all the reasons you fell in love with the show like the all the character interaction and family like bonding which was sorely missing in this season.I admit that some of the issues were glossed over but if there was time these issues would have been dealt with but one must remember it was just episode. I also hate the fact that there was not a funeral since she was basically the lead actress she should have had a funeral even if Charisma did not appear like in Charmed where there was a funeral for Prue but there was no new footage of her.

[brownsbros3]

It is my all time favorite episode. It sucked that she died at the end, but the rest of the episode was fantastic. The first 11 episodes of season five, the show really didn't feel like Angel. There wasn't that sense of family that had been built up. The show was almost completely centered around Angel and Spike fighting over Buffy, and everyone else wanting to score with Fred. With the actors, it looked like they were just going through the motions. It came across like they didn't really want to be there anymore. Cordelia coming back was the kick in the ass the show needed. "You're Welcome" had everything in it that I loved about the show; Cordelia's humor, the gang working together to beat the bad guys, an Angel-Lindsey brawl, and of course that very touching scene with Angel and Cordelia at the end. Charisma also seemed to give her former castmates a recharge, because the overall quality of episodes in the second half of season five was so much better than the first.

[tojoson]

good episode, lousy ending

whenever i rewatch it, i always cut it off just before the end, after she kisses Angel

some of the best lines of the whole series

Cordy: I thouight he had a soul
Spike: I thought she didn't
Cordy: well I do
Spike: so do I
Cordy: well clearly mines better

Angel, torture her
then the look on her face when he refusesd

I know my rights, and I want to see a lawyer

[Livvie]

Originally Posted by psychofilly

While on an emotional level, because it was seeing Cordy again, I thought it satisfying. However, once you get past that base emotion, the episode itself was pretty weak. There was absolutely no fallout over Concorde, and especially Jasmine's body-jacking and rape of Cordy via Connor. Her reaction to Angel working for W&H was glossed over. Lindsey's return was just lame and out of left feild. There were so many holes and leaps of logic... and yet the love is there, because you could feel the weight of years of friendship and love behind the characters. In this episode. After that, it was business as usual.

Pretty much how I felt about it. Like you are in my lobe, man! MY LOBE. LOL

I had been tuning off and on to S5 before that because yeah, it was The Pissing Contest Show. If I want that, I can go to a bar on Friday night. But I did tune in for that. On the first watching I was like awww, great episode. Then I actually turned my brain on and thought about it.

That whole season is about glossing over things and not addressing others. Even that one episode didn't redeem anything for me. Sure, Angel says that he needs her but he is still as wishy-washy as ever. It would have been nice for a flat out "Cordelia, I love you. Don't go" instead of forcing all the dialogue onto Cordy and making her seem like Miss Unrequited Love.

[ontheedge]

I have mixed emotions about this episode. While it was great seeing Charisma back on my TV, and seeing the return of Cordy--my favorite character from AtS and BtVS--I'm not really sure if, in the end, I'm really a fan of the episode. There were some wonderful moments with Cordy and Angel and Cordy and Wes, but the writers sure glossed over an awful lot. Cordy never got to deal with what happened in season 4, never got to express any emotion about it, other than apologizing to Wes about Lilah (which wasn't even her fault). Instead of focusing on the inane plot with Lindsey, this would have been the perfect opportunity to address and wrap up everything that happened in season four, not just to Cordy, but to Angel and Wes, and everybody else as well. In the end, I feel like Your Welcome was, on one hand, a gift to the all the Cordy fans so we could see her again and say goodbye; on the other hand, the episode and plot (or lack there of) was a bunch of missed opportunites.

Or what psychofilly said.

[HPAngelFan]

I thought it was a fantastic episode - minus the whole Cordy dying part.

[califi]

Originally Posted by ontheedge

I have mixed emotions about this episode. While it was great seeing Charisma back on my TV, and seeing the return of Cordy--my favorite character from AtS and BtVS--I'm not really sure if, in the end, I'm really a fan of the episode. There were some wonderful moments with Cordy and Angel and Cordy and Wes, but the writers sure glossed over an awful lot. Cordy never got to deal with what happened in season 4, never got to express any emotion about it, other than apologizing to Wes about Lilah (which wasn't even her fault). Instead of focusing on the inane plot with Lindsey, this would have been the perfect opportunity to address and wrap up everything that happened in season four, not just to Cordy, but to Angel and Wes, and everybody else as well. In the end, I feel like Your Welcome was, on one hand, a gift to the all the Cordy fans so we could see her again and say goodbye; on the other hand, the episode and plot (or lack there of) was a bunch of missed opportunites.

Or what psychofilly said.

Yupyup.

...apologizing to Wes about Lilah (which wasn't even her fault).

I didn't watch it (or any of S5) but I heard about this, and yes, it pissed me off a lot. Occasionally I come across fic where Cordy apologises for all the things Jasmine did- as if it was herself, and that always guts me too.

As PF said, Cordy was raped; in more ways than one (remember the smocchy with the Beast? they cut it off there, but GUH!.) Why the hell should she apologise -for the C/Con especially? (in fic, or in the show)

It just showed the sheer ambiguity of that entire S4 arc.

Anyhoo, as much as I adore CC/Cordelia, I couldn't bring myself to even watch that single ep after finding out they were killing her off at the end.
The following eps with their lack of even a decent funeral- and then the big difference when Fred died, killed any minisucle remnants of love for the show itself.

[QueenSeer21]

You're Welcome was my favorite episode of the season or the last two seasons period. Although yes I agree it didn't cover as many "holes" as it could, the Jasmine saga, the disgusting bit with Conner.. eww by the way. I didn't bother watching much of the rest, occasionally I tune in to watch what was going on with the gang or see Spike doing something Spikey??

It wasn't the same without Cordelia and when they killed Fred and that Creepy-Blue-Xena chick came along, I honestly believe the writers just lost it.. their insanity or their writing ability, you decide. Maybe both. The whole Spike and Angel fighting over Buffy was pathetic. Angel character in the mid of the show obviously showed signs of getting over Buffy, that he no longer needed her as he thought he did. They were acting like two love sick puppies.

Ugh! What's with writers and the last seasons of their shows? Look at Charmed, it was bad too. The only thing I liked about the last seasons of Charmed was the fact that Charismas Carpenter was on them, she was a seer, yay! Too bad she got killed on that.

But its strange that Charisma is getting roles as seers. Besides Charmed, she was on some movie I seen on Sci-Fi, she was a "seer". Her brother was all hero guy. It came on after the movie with David Boreanaz as a Satan Worshipper or something... he wore a lot of black, leather, and red. I had Angelus flashblacks, hehe.. .. I'm getting off track again, ~looks at time~, no wonder. My brain isn't functioning right.

[Jaime Bee]

I love this episode. It's So bittersweet and They Kiss! Finally! The chemistry between Charisma and David is wonderful too. They made the episode work for me.

[sometimes tactless]

Psychofilly and others have already said it better, but I'll throw in my own two cents about the episode. I watched S5 because I'm pathetic (well, except for Harm's Way - even I'm not that pathetic) and I just kept thinking that the writers would redeem themselves, but hey, Angel seemed to have forgotten that part of the mission and I guess the writers jumped on the same train. Oh, and that's another reason that I watched. You just can't take your eyes off of a train barreling out of control and the resulting wreck.

The episode had good points and bad. Loved Charisma, loved the brief moment in time that the gang really felt like the gang again, and loved the love that was there. Just because it wasn't spoken, that doesn't mean it didn't exist. It just means that the writers were too busy doing damage control with all the Buffy fans they were hoping to attract. It also means that CC and DB are incredible with subtext and body language. Hated the fact that Cordy died, that she was mentioned only briefly afterward while Fred was mourned deeply by everyone. Yes, Fred was lovable and deserved to be mourned, but so did Cordelia. She gave up more for the gang than Fred did, she sacrificed more, suffered more, and was mostly forgotten. She didn't even rate a mention during the final episode. That is shameful.

Looking at the episode by itself, You're Welcome had a lot of positives thanks to Charisma and the energy she instilled into her character and into the characters around her. If you look at the episode in context to the final season, you realize just how much Cordelia's character was disrespected and this takes away much of the enjoyment for me. All I can say is thank goodness for fanfiction.