Angel : Season One, Episode Ten : Parting Gifts

Grade: B+

As both Angel and Cordelia grieve over Doyle's death, they are approached by a demon by the name of Barney, a seemingly harmless creature who begs sanctuary from an unidentified pursuer who has chased him across the country. At an audition, Cordelia botches her reading as she suffers the same type of vision formerly experienced by Doyle, and realizes that when he kissed her just before his death, he passed the gift on to her. Angry and confused, she desperately attempts to rid herself of the ability, but is unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Angel heads to Barney's apartment, believing that the pursuer might be lying in wait there. His suspicion proves correct, but the mysterious character turns out to be none other than Wesley, incompetent as ever, sporting a great deal of leather and styling himself a "rouge demon hunter", while unconvincingly denying Angel's accusations of having been fired from the Watcher's council. He explains that the demon he has been tracking is not, in fact, Barney, but a large, brutal killer who tracks down those with special powers and attempts to steal their abilities. At that moment, they are attacked by the demon itself, but it escapes before they are able to kill it. Back at headquarters, Cordelia confides in Barney regarding Doyle and her newfound power, and is astonished to see Angel bring Wesley home with him. The three deduce that the killer demon has been tracking Barney with the intention of acquiring his low-level empathic ability, and that Wesley has been tracking the demon in turn. Remembering that he followed the demon through a part of Koreatown earlier that day, Wesley accompanies Angel to a seedy haunt in the neighborhood in the hope of finding the demon there. They do indeed discover the demon, only to learn that it is on the verge of death, a life-draining horn which is an essential part of its physiology having been snapped off. The two realize too late that Barney has played them, as the empathic demon, now aware of Cordelia's unique gift, kidnaps her. Returning to headquarters to find Cordy gone, Angel uses the vague details she was able to give him about her earlier vision to track her location to a hotel, while Wesley attempts to translate the few words he was able to catch from the dying demon. Realizing that Barney is the powers-collecting demon and that Cordelia, now a seer, is going to be sold at auction, the two rush to the hotel and crash the demonic auction just before Cordelia's eyes are about to be removed and sold to a representative of Wolfram and Hart. In the ensuing battle, Cordelia kills Barney, while the lawyer reports to a superior that Angel has interrupted their plans once again. Returning to headquarters, Cordelia accepts that her possession of the seer powers was Doyle's last and only gift to her, and resigns herself to keeping them, while Wesley accepts an invitation to eat breakfast with Cordelia and Angel.


Observations:

• The revelation of Cordelia's inheritance of Doyle's powers is necessary, plot-wise, but also an interesting developmental step for her character, as we see her accept inconvenient and unpleasant personal circumstances out of love and respect for someone's memory as well as a feeling of responsibility to her friends.
• Just a question, and rather a gross one... how could a seer's eyes be of any use if they are unattached to the seer? It seems that it would be necessary to keep the seer alive in order for the visions to occur, but what do I know? And yes, Wolfram and Hart have shown their too-perfect faces once again.
• Wesley was out of his element dealing with two slightly unconventional Slayers; increase that incompetence tenfold, and you have Wesley the leather-clad rogue demon hunter. I assume that he must make some progress toward coming into his own; as it is, Angel Investigations has pretty much the worst crimefighting team ever.

Angel : Season One, Episode Nine : Hero

Grade: A+

Lacking any official business, Doyle agrees to help Cordelia shoot a commercial for Angel Investigations, a step both he and Angel disagree with but which she hopes will raise clientele. With Angel still depressed after Buffy's visit to Los Angeles, Doyle determines to speak to him, explaining that he understands why seeing Buffy would throw Angel off his game, but that a five-minute visit isn't worth pining over. Deciding to confide in his friend, Angel tells Doyle the truth about Buffy's visit, leading Doyle wonder at Angel's selfless in contrast to his own self-absorbed nature. Soon afterward, Doyle experiences a disturbing vision which leads him and Angel to a dingy apartment complex, where they discover a terrified family of half-demons, similar to Doyle, possessing minor demon characteristics but otherwise ordinary people. They explain that they are being pursued by the Scourge, a group with which Doyle has himself had past encounters; pure-bred demon, they despise all those who possess human blood and are committed to annihilating them. In the past, Doyle was given a chance to aid a group of demons like himself who were being pursued by the Scourge, but refused to endanger himself, and the family died as a result. Hoping to redeem his past failure, he determines to save this group from the Scourge whatever the cost. Enlisting Cordelia's aid, Angel is able to transport the entire group to a freighter leaving Los Angeles, but the process is held up by the departure of the family's half-grown son, who has become too cynical to believe that his people can be successful in escaping the Scourge. Doyle goes after the boy and talks to him on a personal level, empathizing with his inability to fit into either the human or demon world. At that point, however, the Scourge makes an appearance; an army of brutal, militarized pure-blooded demons, they come close to capturing Doyle and the boy before Angel intervenes, pretending to offer his services to the Scourge in exchange for acceptance into their ranks. Though distrustful of vampires, they accept, buying Doyle time to get the boy to the freighter. Doyle arrives to find that Cordelia has learned of his demon heritage, and fails to understand why he would have kept it a secret from her, declaring that it doesn't matter to her what he is. Thrilled by her acceptance of him, Doyle is about to formally ask her on a date, when Angel arrives, fresh from the Scourge headquarters and bearing grim news; the demons have designed a new kind of anti-half-breed weapon, a massive light which will vaporize anyone of "impure" blood. Directly on his heels, the Scourge arrive with their weapon, a treacherous mate of the ship having sold out the family's whereabouts. They begin loading their weapon onto the freighter while Angel attempts to fight them off; however, he is unable to stop them from lowering it into the cargo hold where the family is stowed away. Going below decks, he determines to disable the weapon, despite the fact that it is already bright enough to kill him if he goes near it. Finally seeing an opportunity to prove his own merit, Doyle shares an affectionate moment with Angel before shoving him into the belly of the ship, rendering him incapable of disabling the weapon; turning to Cordelia, he kisses her and then deliberately shows her his demon face for the first time, before approaching the weapon and beginning to disable the controls. Despite Angel and Cordelia's cries, he persists, while his skin begins to melt away, revealing muscle and then bone as he finally neutralizes the device and melts into nothingness. Later, Cordelia and Angel sit forlornly in their office, watching the tape of Doyle awkwardly promoting Angel Investigations.


Observations:

• Okay, I'll admit it; Doyle's death is wrenching. The first of Whedon's trademark tragedies, he dies only nine episodes into the show's run and his billing as a main cast member. The knowledge that the actor also died shortly afterward only enhances the sadness of the episode, assuring us that Doyle, in contrast to the assortment of sci-fi characters for whom death tends not to be permanent, is actually gone for good.
• On a more lighthearted note, Cordelia's vision for a Angel Investigations advertisement, reproduced so lovingly onscreen at the start is the episode, is one of the humorous high points of the show so far. "...'Cause I'm the Dark Avenger."
• Definitely a downer episode, but nevertheless, the best and most emotionally resonant of the series so far. The story is understated and visually well-designed, nicely done but not eclipsing the tragedy at the end. Best of the season to date.
  

Angel : Season One, Episode Eight : I Will Remember You

Grade: A

Angel returns from Sunnyday following the events of "Pangs", depressed after having seen Buffy from a distance without interacting with her. As Cordelia and Doyle attempt to convince him to move on with his life, Buffy herself shows up at Angel Investigations headquarters, confronting Angel over his decision to become involved in her life without consulting her. Doyle and Cordelia withdraw while Angel and Buffy become embroiled in a long argument. Just as Buffy makes up her mind to leave as soon as possible, a demon crashes through the window of Angel's office, leaving before either Buffy or Angel can kill it. Deciding that she might as well neutralize the demon before leaving LA, Buffy agrees to accompany Angel into the sewers to track it. Given more opportunity to talk, their resolve to stay away from one another only grows stronger, and they split up to hunt the demon. Angel finds it in another sewer tunnel, gaining a deep cut on his hand before killing the demon, spilling its blood into his own wound. Back at headquarters, Doyle and Cordelia attempt to clean up the aftermath of the demon's attack when Angel walks in, making no attempt to avoid the sunlight. Despite Cordelia's confusion, Doyle at once detects signs of life on Angel, who has been returned to a mortal body. The three determine to say nothing to Buffy until Angel has found out what the change means; asking Doyle to help him, Angel makes contact with the Oracles, an immortal pair who exist in a small, separate pocket of reality. They inform him that his vampirism has indeed been canceled by the demon's blood, leaving him a mortal man. Assured of the condition's permanence, Angel seeks Buffy out, revealing his ability to withstand sunlight and bringing her back to headquarters. The two attempt a detached, logical assessment of the situation, but end up spending the night together, determined to stay in a relationship whatever the cost. However, Doyle has a vision of the demon, itself brought back to life by the regenerative properties which cured Angel. Unwilling to trouble Buffy with the matter, Angel takes Doyle and attempts to fight the demon himself, but, robbed of his vampire powers, is unable to harm it in any way. Buffy, learning of the situation from Cordelia, arrives at the scene in time to save Angel's life and to kill the demon once and for all by crushing its skull. However, unsettled by the experience and realizing that his life as a human with Buffy might not be nearly as idyllic as they both imagine, Angel returns to the Oracles and begs them to restore him to his former state; despite their hesitancy to do so, the Oracles eventually consent to turn back time twenty-four hours, returning Angel to the moment before the demon first attacked him. Agreeing to their terms, Angel returns to Buffy; explaining the situation to her, he insists that they have no future together, and that both of them had been successfully rebuilding their lives before this ill-advised interlude. She panics when he tells her that they have less than a minutes left before their day together will be erased, and he attempts to comfort her by assuring her that she will not be forced to live with the memory. The two of them fade into oblivion and start again the previous day, just as Buffy decides to leave Los Angeles; the demon attacks them, but Angel, the only person with any memory of the erased day, kills it before its blood can make him human, and Buffy leaves for Sunnydale none the wiser.


Observations: 

• Certainly an interesting look at the possibilities (and, ultimately, impossibilities) of Buffy and Angel's relationship. Their dynamic and attraction are based solely upon the drama and pathos of the type of forbidden love they've always shared, and, when that element is removed, however much they both might claim to long for a normal relationship, it would never succeed between them. Sharing an ordinary, healthy romance would, at best, neutralize them both, something Angel realized within hours of becoming human.
• This episode definitely adds a bitter touch to Buffy's casual mention in Sunnydale of the five minutes she spent with Angel in Los Angeles.

Angel : Season One, Episode Seven : Bachelor Party

Grade: B-

When Doyle's estranged wife appears without warning at Angel Investigations, introducing a new fiance and asking Doyle for a formal divorce, no one is entirely sure how to respond. Speaking to Angel privately, Doyle explains that he and his wife were married at a very young age, and that their already unstable relationship collapsed when she found out about his demon propensities. Wishing to learn more about her new relationship before signing the divorce papers, Doyle asks Angel to follow Richard, his wife's prospective second husband. Angel agrees, following Richard as he enters a restaurant owned by his family; looking in a window, Angel witnesses the man morph into a demon and apparently prepare to kill Harry, his fiance. Breaking into the place, Angel attempts to take the demon out of commission, only to be stopped by Harry, who is well aware of her boyfriend's demonic nature. Confused by this direct contradiction to Doyle's story, Angel demands to know Harry's motivations; she explains that she is, in fact, an avid scholar of demon lore and culture, and that she left Doyle as a response what she viewed as his self-loathing and refusal to accept his demon side. Richard belongs to a group of civilized and harmless demons who operate a chain of restaurants, and has no ill intentions toward her. Returning to headquarters, Angel confronts Doyle with Harry's version of their breakup, which Doyle sadly confirms. Richard and Harry visit the next day, attempting to smooth over the entire affair buy asking Doyle and Angel to Richard's bachelor party, while Cordelia visits with Harry and her future in-laws. Meanwhile, a glimpse of Richard's home life reveals that the family's intentions are not quite benevolent; their cultural traditions demand that before marrying Harry, Richard must first obtain her prior husband's blessing - and then eat his brains. Unaware of this twist in the proceedings, Angel and Doyle arrive at the bachelor party, where Richard accosts Doyle in an attempt to obtain his blessing on the marriage, while Angel's suspicions are raised by members of the demon family quietly exiting the room. Following them, he witnesses the beginning of a demon ceremony, but is unable to translate the meaning; calling Cordelia and getting Harry on the line, he asks her to translate the phrase for him. Consulting her books, Harry's suspicious are raised by the sinister import of the words, and she and Cordelia depart for the bachelor party. Angel is discovered by the demons performing the ceremony and is ganged up upon and thrown out of a window, while Doyle, unsuspecting, gives his blessing to Richard and Harry's marriage. As soon as he does so, he is entrapped in a box which allows only his head to protrude from the top, while the family prepares to kill him; however, they are held up by disagreement over petty details of the ceremony, allowing time for Angel to come to himself and crash the party before Doyle is hurt. As the fight commences, Harry and Cordelia arrive, and Harry confronts Richard over his murderous intentions, returning her engagement ring and leaving with Angel's team in tow. Later, Angel and Cordelia surreptitiously observe Doyle, depressed and unhappy after Harry's departure. Talking to him, they manage to lift his mood slightly; however, just then, he receives a vision of Buffy in danger, and struggles to inform Angel of what he just witnessed.


Observations:

• So, we get our obligatory Doyle-centric episode; interesting character-wise, but nothing special.
• "Two beautiful words: sports bar." Doyle, I like you, but you are not the Mayor. Don't steal his lines.
• Yay, Xander gets a shout-out!

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.

Angel : Season One, Episode Five : Rm w/a Vu

Grade: B

After losing patience with the condition of her dingy motel room and returning from yet another failed audition, Cordelia invites herself into Angel's home for an indefinite period, inconveniencing everyone concerned. Meanwhile, Doyle finds himself at the mercy of a demon sent to collect various debts he's racked up in his dealings with the underworld; after begging Angel for help in the matter, Doyle is forced to go house-hunting with Cordelia in return for Angel's intervention with the demon. After viewing a number of uninviting apartments, Doyle turns to his underworld contacts in order to find an affordable home which will live up to Cordelia's standards; eventually, he finds just such a place, a large, cheap apartment with which Cordelia expresses satisfaction. However, despite the real-estate agents claims that there is nothing unsavory about the bargain-priced home, Cordelia experiences unmistakably supernatural phenomenon during her first night at the apartment. The next morning, receiving a housewarming visit from Doyle and Angel, Cordelia tries in a panic to conceal the goings-on, but is unable to do so after the invisible presence targets both Angel and Doyle in unpleasant ways. Returning to headquarters, the three make plans to perform an exorcism on the apartment, while Angel enlists Kate to find any record of mysterious deaths in the apartment in an attempt to identify the poltergeist. She is unable to discover any murders connected to the place, but does uncover a string of suicides which all took place in the apartment. Angel, however, settles on an old woman from the 50's who died of a heart attack on the same night her son ran away from home with a girl she disapproved of. Suspecting that the son may have murdered her, thus creating a tormented ghost, Angel attempts to call Cordelia; however, to their horror, and and Doyle learn that the poltergeist has already lured her to the apartment by imitating Angel's voice on the telephone. Arriving there, Cordelia is subjected to psychological torture by the old woman, who obviously believes her to be the girl her son ran off with. Angel and Doyle arrive with ingredients for an exorcism; however, Cordelia is traumatized by the poltergeist's treatment and is unable to play her part in the ritual. At that moment, several demons sent to collect Doyle's debt in blood make an appearance, and Angel is forced to fight them off while the poltergeist reacts in rage to their attempted spell; bringing Cordelia into the bedroom, it attempts to convince her to commit suicide like the previous tenets. Finding the strength to defy it, Cordelia returns to the living room as the last demons are neutralized. However, just as everything appears calm, another entity takes possession of her, using her body to knock down an out-of-place wall she expressed dislike of earlier. The old bricks crumble down, and the possession ends as a skeleton is revealed behind the wall. Caught up in the mystical forces at work in the apartment, Cordelia, Doyle and Angel realize that the old woman's son never left her... in fact, when she began to fear that she would, she bricked him into a wall alive, herself suffering a heart attack shortly afterward. As the ghost of Dennis, the murdered son, clashes with that of his mother, her possession of the place is ended. Later, Cordelia sits in the refurbished apartment, talking on the phone and acknowledging to a friend that unfortunately, she does have a roommate in her new home, while the ghost of Dennis benevolently makes his presence known.


Observations:

• This Cordelia-centric installment is solid and engaging, but nothing out of the ordinary. It's interesting to see her attempting to strike a balance between her bitchy Sunnydale persona and the maturity she's slowly gaining under Angel's employment.
• The Doyle-and-Cordelia-apartment-hunting montage is definitely the highlight of the episode. "The chanting starts at four!"
• Nice, disturbing twist at the end there. I assume "Phantom Dennis" is going to make a cameo appearance every now and then.
• All right, show, I get that Doyle has a Mysterious History; just out with it already. This is getting annoying.

Angel : Season One, Episode Four : I Fall To Pieces

Grade: B

When Doyle has a vision of an apparently endangered young woman named Melissa, Angel goes to her workplace and offers to help her in any way necessary; she initially refuses his aid, but changes her mind after a frightening encounter with an apparently mild mannered middle-aged doctor. Explaining her situation to Angel, Cordelia, and Doyle, Melissa recounts the story of Ronald Meltzer, the doctor who performed a near-miraculous surgery on her eye; subsequently forming a frightening obsession with her, the man apparently knows the details of what does inside her own home. Angel investigates the matter, paying a visit to the doctor's office and inquiring for any criminal records on the man, eventually coming up with the name of another surgeon, since retired, who is known to have been a strong proponent of the use of mysticism in the practice of medicine. Gaining an audience with the man, Angel learns that Meltzer took the study, dubbed "physic surgery", to a level which frightened even its most ardent advocates. Beginning to understand the situation, Angel arrives at Melissa's house to find her traumatized after being assaulted by Meltzer's detached hands, which he is able to control at will, along with any other individual body part he chooses to remove. Taking Melissa back to headquarters, Angel leaves her with Doyle and Cordelia while he attempts to neutralize Meltzer. Seeing through Angel's cover story, Meltzer injects him with a paralytic and sets out to find Melissa; Cordelia and Doyle attempt to secure their headquarters with locks and duct tape, but their measures are no match for Meltzer, who makes his way in and takes them both down in his search for Melissa. Confronting her with a knife, Meltzer prepares to kill her, but is put off when she unexpectedly defies him, buying time for Angel to return and destroy Meltzer for good. Freed of her deranged stalker, Melissa goes on with her life and becomes Angel Investigations' first paying customer.


Observations:

• The disagreement over Angel Investigations' financial matters is actually a fascinating bit of drama; everyone has to make a living, but how doing you go about playing the mysterious, caped vigilante if you're forced to trot back to the person you just saved and ask for a fee? Angel's romanticized idea of how he wishes to be perceived clashes head-on with Doyle and Cordelia's more practical concept of a maintaining a functioning demon-slaying business; somehow I suspect that they'll never quite reconcile the two.