Discussion of 5.09 "Harm's Way" - Aired 1/14/2004 (WB-US)

The Wolfram & Hart commercial was great sort of makes me want to dust off my CV and apply to the work there😛

Enjoyable comedy episode nothing more nothing less. The closing scene with Harm and Spike was nice though.
 
It kills me when Fred says that the victim was bitten by a female vampire and Harmony tries to correct her with "or gay!", and then Fred's look, when explaining that "it doesn't really work that way". Priceless. This is a really fun playful episode and Mercedes McNab looked smoking hot.
 
I loved the ad for W&H, with Angel's stilted acting. It made me think of the ad Cordelia shot with Doyle.

Angel's a jerk to Harmony. It's not a good look on Angel, because it seems less about her being ditzy or unsouled, and more that she's someone who can't talk back; it makes him seem like a bully. Yet she seems fairly proficient as an assistant, much more than you'd think a ditz like her would be. Even the camel was the result of her doing some serious research, even if it didn't come off right.

I liked Fred and Harmony doing some female bonding. This show doesn't have enough of that. Even when Cordy was still on, she and Fred didn't have that many scenes together.

Harmony claims to be a "right-biter," but she left-bit Spike just last episode. And even if W&H do own the police, it's hard to believe they'd contact Angel every time there's a body found with bite marks. It's LA, there must be hundreds of vampires there!

I see that Harmony has learned to fight, even with some martial arts. This is a big improvement over her slap-fight with Xander in "The Initiative", though not nearly as funny.

Now I get why Spike treats Harmony so badly. Despite his disdain, she continues to be devoted to him. In this way, she holds a mirror up to him for his feelings for Buffy. He's forced to see that it's rather pathetic to be devoted to someone so indifferent or even hostile to you. Even after his grand gesture at the Hellmouth, he has to admit to himself that Buffy might not want to see him again, that perhaps it is he who matters to no one. And yet, Spike being the fool for love that he is, I still don't believe this explanation for why he doesn't go to Europe.

So, kind of a philosophical ending for a light, fun episode. I loved Harmony getting the spotlight for a bit!
 
Stake fodder said:
Angel's a jerk to Harmony. It's not a good look on Angel, because it seems less about her being ditzy or unsouled, and more that she's someone who can't talk back; it makes him seem like a bully.
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Probably because she betrayed them big time in Disharmony. 😅 Plus, he never wanted her as an administrative assistant...Wesley hired her. But Angel KNEW she could never be trusted.

For the record, I LOVE Harmony after she became a vampire. (This episode is hilarious, as is Disharmony) She always makes me laugh.
 
I randomly re watched this episode tonight for the first time in a while and really enjoyed it! Beyond the fact that this is just a really funny and entertaining episode, it's cool to see Harmony's character finally explored more. She's an OG character, and has been here since the begining. She is the only character to appear in the pilot of Buffy and the finale of Angel. She definitely deserved her own standalone episode.

I especially love the last scene with Spike and Harmony in the bar. There was closure there. I do wish Spike had apologized to her for how badly he treated her but it is what it is.
 
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