** The following review while careful not to reveal any actual spoilers from this issue, it does tease the reader with hints as well as spoilers from issues past. Please feel free to purchase this issue on 04/25/2012 **
The Daddy Issues arc comes to a head this issue as Faith gives into Drucilla’s own path and strives to end all pain in a shocking display that dismays Angel. Pain has always been a very important issue and theme of Angel’s life. The pain, the guilt, the constant torture of one’s dirty soul reminding you to redeem yourself with every chance you get. Forcing you to own it.
As Faith attempts to forfeit this pain in Issue #9 it is up to Angel to try and help her remember this, and more importantly to try and help her remember herself.
This issue has an almost all around family type feel to it. Obviously there are the issues of both “daughters” and the influences of their “fathers”, but with Angel and Faith there also seems to be an almost older brother and younger sister type relationship displayed. Particularly so towards the end of the issue as they chat with one another. Like with siblings this thus makes the potential for each of them to go on learning from each other endlessly promising. Which is good, because after this current encounter with each of their own tragic pasts, looking to the future is the only way to go.
Good thing they have a plan.
On a final note I really enjoyed Drucilla’s happy, lofty little speech to Angel at the end of all of this. Obviously this arc is very much about humanity and psychology and Gage handled these sentiments perfectly, right through Issue #9’s perfect final line. – N
