Oh, I agree. I use "Joss" as a shorthand for Joss or people hired by Joss who (big caveat) are able to write with the same polysemia. (Is polysemia a word? with the same multiplicity in meanings). That said, I also think AtS was more uneven that BtVS. Bottom line, though: enough layers in AtS to generate controversy about how to understaned the show or the characters; and I don't see what there is to chew on with AtF. So either Joss just made a poor hiring decision, or there was less oversight, or Joss has just accidentally created complex works all those other times and this time wasn't so lucky -- but however it happened, this just doesn't feel "Jossian" to me. Of course if we suddenly get buckets of meta showing how all this really is a rich and interesting stew, then yay. Mrs. Underhill is the best reader of Angel I know. And she does have interesting things to say about the comics. But not the same meticulous, detailed, rich stuff she can come up with for random episodes of AtS.
no subject