Rating: 
Summary: Eliza steals the show
Review: Season 4 of Angel IMO is one of the best if not the best season of the entire show, with maybe only season 2 over it. As noted the highlight of the season though would have to be the return of Eliza Dushku as Faith. This is why I wish FOX would include the show trailers on the DVD because before it aired TheWB tagged this kick butt "Faith Returns," promo to the end of the previous episode. Then who can forget Alyson Hannigan's return as Willow? These three episodes were superb and the first reason I love season 4.Next we have the early stories of season 4, the very funny "Spin the Bottle," which will have a commentary by Joss and Alexis on the set falls in this season. "Deep Down," Angel's return from the Deep Blue, and the first appearance of Gwen Raiden, a huge fan favorite. I wasn't a particular fan of the Jasmine arc of late season 4 the first time I watched it but I watched it recently again on TNT and it works a lot better when you don't have to wait to see these episodes. I loved pretty much everything I watched. The one EWWW part of the season is of course the Conner and Cordy sex, but it's only for one episode and I didn't even mind evil Cordy, although I thought the return of Angelus should have meant something, he didn't even kill an essential character! Ah well.... overall I still highly recommend this season and if you're an Angel fan it's definitely worth owning on DVD.
Rating: 
Summary: Not it's best, but still good
Review: Season 4 was my least favorite of Angel's 5-season run. That being said, this season was not bad TV by any means. Any episode of Angel is better than almost anything else that can be seen on TV nowadays. Though not as good as seasons 2 or 3, the fourth season is still brilliant. It's shocking, it's twisted and it had me on the edge of my seat at several points during the season, wondering what was going to happen next. As usual, the season is comprised of excellent 'funny' episodes (though not as many as in other seasons) as well as dramatic ones and displays just how talented the actors are. I definitely recommend the DVD set and am looking forward to the release of the fifth season set as season 5 was possibly the most brilliant of the entire series.
Rating:
Summary: No need to ask where the feeling is in this season...
Review: This season is probably tied with Season Five as my favorite season. Some people couldn't stand this season, however I loved it beyond words. Whereas Season Seven of Buffy was putting me to sleep with the long speeches and massive amounts of whiney teenagers with random plotlines spinning off into thin air, Angel Season Four was much different. It actually got my blood flowing. I laughed, I screamed, I yelled, I felt SOMETHING! The point is, this season is supposed to make you angry, it's supposed to make you gag over the relations between Cordy and Connor! That's TV at it's finest! When you are so emotionally attached to the characters that it can effect you in such a strong way.
Anyone who is a fan of Wesley will love this season because he blossoms. Gunn fans will be hurt his relationship with Fred dissolves, and those like me who are a fan of both Gunn/Fred and Wesley/Fred will be torn the entire season. And of course come Season Five, you'll be heartbroken that they gave up on this love triangle...
Speaking of love triangles never neglect the Angel/Cordy/Connor dilemma. But even through all the romantic problems, this season is far from romantic, and the big bad Jasmine will make sure you feel queasy at least 1/4 of the season. Also we must note the splendid acting from all the characters.
The point is, this is the season where you as a person come to realize what exactly it is you love about each and every character. In Wes, some will miss the geek, others will love the dark side. Most will realize that as they miss Buffy season 1-3 Cordy, even more they miss the beautiful woman she has turned into on Angel. The love for Lorne's humor continues, the weakness in Lilah, the brave girl looking for her hero in Fred, and the man looking for redemption in Gunn.
And as always, the hero will always be our beloved Angel. His sacrifice will move everyone. And it is only in Season Four that you'll begin to understand that any man with muscle can save the world, but it takes a true hero like Angel to save a heart.
Rating:
Summary: strange and flawed but ultimately interesting and enjoyable
Review: This was the best of seasons and the worst of seasons in Angel-land. It was exciting with the constant plot twists, beautifully shot, and operatic in tone. It also missed the presence of the real Cordelia, and at times overwhelmed itself with plots. The ickiness and plain annoyance of the little cordelia connor tandem has been oft mentioned, but it would have been tolerable if it had only not lasted so long. The Angel-Cordelia romance which i wished desperately for ultimately fell apart, but many episodes make you feel the loss quite poignantly. These in a way solidified in the history of the show something that never really was. At times the Connor and Angel relationship was repetitive and boring, while at others it was very well done, as in "Home." Wesley and lilah-definitely hot and sexy and showed a lot of layers in both of them. Fred really came into her own in the Jasmine arc and early in the season, when we had a new angel 3 person gang to add to angel/cordy/doyle and angel/cordy/wesley of yore - now it was angel/gunn/fred. faith shone in her appearance as faith and had a great chemistry with a delightfully snarky but not quite scary angelus. The season finished w/ the interesting but odd Jasmine, and then left us with the equally odd but strangely plausible wolfram and hart cliffhanger. Ultimately, the season was an odd one. Many of the plot twists, such as evil cordelia and angelus are exciting but not satsifying in the character development department. really, this was the season for the auxillary characters-wesley, lilah, faith, fred, and sometimes, connor. and to top it all off, david boreanaz looks as absolutely lovely as always. all in all, an strange but enjoyable ride.
Rating: 
Summary: Just Awful
Review: This was the worst season of Angel and wrecked the series for me. Why did Cordelia have to go evil? They also made Fred go strange in Season five. I think this is misogyny on the part of the creators. There's lots of misogyny in the Sci-fi/fantasy universe and this is more of the same. Notice that the dumb blonde Harmony is the only female character to come out unscathed? This show doesn't work without Cordelia, and having her become posessed and sleep with Angel's son (gross) to cover for the actrice getting pregnant was just an awful idea.
Rating: 
Summary: As close to a comic book epic as television gets
Review: When creative teams change on a comic book, it's usually preceded by a world-shattering, mega-story arc where loose plot points are tied up clearing the way for a new status quo. Seeing that Joss Whedon, the creator of "Angel", is now the writer of Marvel's "X-Men", it's impossible not to view "Angel" as a superhero story, with Season Four-- the second worst season after the very uneven Season One-- as both the culmination of the overall plot of the previous two seasons and a clearing of the slate. And it works quite well... if you'd been watching the show since Season Two. You see, by Season Four "Angel" had become mired down by its own continuity, completely inaccessable to new fans. Don't even think about watching it unless you've watched the brilliant Season Three at the very least.
Moreover, it loses a great deal of its playfulness and sense of humor, playing it far more straight than its sister show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Nowhere is this more evident than the character of Wesley, who after serving as the comic relief for the first two seasons, essentially evolves into Batman. (It does work, though. Wes IS Season Four!) Season Four is so dark by the end there's nothing left to do but push the restart button, setting up the new status quo for the excellent Season Five as well as sowing the seeds for the series' finale.
Overall, three out of five.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding stuff.
Review: With how things were left at the end of Season 3 all fans had to wonder what was really going on. Angel is at the bottom of the ocean. Wesley is out of the group and with Lilah. Connor is on the loose and possibly capable of killing. Cordy is gone.
So how does Season 4 handle this? With the confident swagger of a show sure of itself and the audience. With that much happening most shows would collapse under the weight of it all. They tie up the loose ends nicely and then start to get down to the nitty gritty of the new season.
Connor is dealt with and integrated expertly. He is much needed as the voice of dissent and anger at Angel.
My favorite arc of season 4 is the Angelus arc that culminated with Orpheus where we get the long awaited Angel vs. Angelus showdown. DB really shows his acting range and makes us all recall his brilliant turn as Angelus in Buffy Season 2. The reappearance of Faith and Willow give the show a much needed injection of Buffyness just to keep the show fresh.
The Beast is a great villian and the invasion of W&H by him is one of the most chilling and yet satisfying slaughters on any show ever. The bad guys killing the bad guys is really a moral dilemma. Can we cheer The Beast feasting on the lawyers? I know I did.
My only beef with Season 4 is the Jasmine arc. I thought it was hokey and a little boring. It was however a means to an end and worked well to move the plot along so I don't begrudge it that much. No show is perfect so a flaw here and there must be expected and tolerated.
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