I’d already been spoiled by the Angel puppet and yet I still loved it.

Well, I loved the puppet stuff. I thought the episode was brilliantly directed in a very fun, very smart way. It could have been insanely hokey and it worked. Angel puppet is awesome.

But besides that, there was way too much crammed into this episode.

Gunn dealing with his knowledge fading is awesome. I like Gunn’s new knowledge and I think him being confronted with losing it - and having to go against his conscience to get it back - works. And it works for Gunn too. In spite of the fact that he works with some kind of internal code of honor, he’s never really been an upstanding guy. At least not for the last few seasons. He’s definitely capable of the shady. He’s made deals with devils in the past.

Wesley and Fred and their relationship…I wish I loved it. I wish I could get shipper-excited but I’ve never had much love for this pairing.

And Angel and Nina? Totally unnecessary at this point in the series. They should have done it sooner but at this point, I don’t care about seeing Angel date and I don’t want to introduce that baggage so near the end of the show.

Those three things felt disjointed with the Smile Time part of the episode. It definitely felt like cramming.