Angel : Season One, Episode Six : Sense and Sensitivity

Grade: A

When Kate Lockley comes to Angel for help in capturing a dangerous gangster by the name of Tony, Angel obliges, helping her put the man behind bars; however, the two quarrel over Angel's tendency to put himself in what she believes to be danger in her behalf, drawing attention to their clandestine cooperation. Hiring a Wolfram and Hart lawyer to handle his case, Tony manages to misrepresent the police officers into appearing abusive, forcing the entire department to take a class in sensitivity training. The next day, Kate comes to Angel with an abject apology for her treatment of him and an invitation to accompany her to her father's retirement party, which he accepts, along with a warning that she may be in personal danger from Tony. At the party, Kate is asked to say a few words; she acquiesces, beginning with a traditional congratulatory speech, but quickly devolving into an emotional wreck, weeping and publicly accusing her father of abandoning her. The rest of the police department follows suit, becoming emotionally invested in the situation and hotly debating the psychological merits of Kate's attack on her father. Taking Kate back to headquarters, Angel leaves her with Doyle and Cordelia while himself determining to track down the psychologist in charge of the sensitivity course, whom he suspects as having had a hand in the sudden upheaval at the police department. Now entirely unhinged, Kate pulls a gun on Cordy and Doyle and declares her intention to find her father; Angel finds and confronts the Wolfram and Hart-hired psychologist, only to be attacked by the man, who strikes him with a small staff previously used as a classroom gimmick with the group of police officers. Following Kate to the station, now a place of utter mayhem, Cordelia and Doyle encounter Angel, who greets them effusively; realizing in dismay that Angel has fallen under the same spell as the police force as an effect of the enchanted staff, their plans come to a standstill. Inside the prison, sympathetic police officers initiate a wholesale release of prisoners, including Tony, who bands together a group of criminals and sets out to murder Kate. Hearing gunfire, Doyle and Cordelia bring an overly scrupulous and polite Angel into the station, where he is able to break out of the haze of the spell long enough to take Tony down. Later, Angel and Kate meet awkwardly, both claiming to have forgotten most of the night's events, while a Wolfram and Hart lawyer, formerly of Tony's employ, examines prison security camera footage of Angel. 

Observations:

• First of all, I'd just like to point out that Angel can be really engaging when he breaks out of the mold; unfortunately, he simply doesn't do it very often. His brief stint as a ditzy boater in this episode is hilarious, and every word he says under the influence of the sensitivity spell is comic gold. "He admitted it to me after I... threatened him with physical violence."
• Kate's difficult relationship with her father adds a nice touch of pathos to the episode without swamping it in melodrama. Certainly the best installment of the season so far.