"Angel" Episode-by-Episode: Season 5, Episode 22: Not Fade Away

501: Conviction

- So, final season. When I sit down to watch the final season of a television show I expect and want a certain amount of callbacks to the show?s beginning. I think it?s important to look back to where one started when one nears the end, and this episode doesn?t disappoint. The first season started with Angel saving a girl from a vampire in an alley, so I love that this final one does too. I also love the twist of the Wolfram & Hart team arriving and immediately showing us how different this season will be from what we?ve had before. So; great teaser.
- By the way, where did Angel?s spiky hair go!?
- We lose Charisma Carpenter and Vincent Kartheiser from the credits, but get James Marsters. Yay! I?d miss Cordelia, but I haven?t really enjoyed that character since season 3 so it?s not a huge loss.
- An episode directed by Joss means long uninterrupted takes. I love it. The big one here that involves all our main characters in the Wolfram & Hart area is awesome. It?s a little unfortunate that I?m unable to not notice Alexis Denisof and the Bell?s palsy.
- First appearance of Sarah Thompson?s Eve. I don?t have any especially strong feelings of her, but I mostly like her.
- Harmony! This might just be my favorite new element of this season. The fact that we get regular appearances by Harmony is just awesome.
- ?The extra ingredient is otter.? ? hee; and that?s one of the reasons why Harmony is awesome.
- Love Fred putting up a Dixie Chicks poster in her office.
- Nice touch on actually establishing here that Knox is not read by Lorne. We?ll remember that for later on?
- Love the Spanky scene.
- The plot in this one might not spectacular, but it?s serviceable for establishing the somewhat new format of the show.
- The big fight in this one is pretty good.
- Gunn being all lawyery is pretty cool as well.
- Spike! ?Blondie bear?? ? hee; more on Spike in the next review.
- Excellent season opener. I already love this season more than the previous one.

A -

 

Season 5, Episode 2: Just Rewards
Writer: David Fury, Ben Edlund
Director: James A. Contner

Team Angel is shocked when Spike appears out of an amulet that someone sent to Angel. Spike was suppose to have died back in Sunnydale, but now he's returned as a ghost. And he's really unhappy about it. Angel has to deal with an evil necromancer and with Spike, who might just be willing to turn on Team Angel if it'll make him corporeal again.

Spike dying in Sunnydale was a perfect ending to his story. He didn't need to come back. But I'm so glad he did because as I've said before he and Angel are one of my absolute favorite team ups. With Cordelia gone, Spike brings some much needed snarkiness and humor back to the show and he's just so much fun right from the get go. Angel around Spike is so different from Angel around everyone else (except maybe Lindsey.) As for Spike coming back as a ghost, I'm indifferent towards it. It does lead to some Fred and Spike bonding which becomes more important once Illyra comes on the scene I guess. On the negative side, this is really Angel's show and I think Spike overshadows him pretty much for the rest of the season. Also why was Angel so bitter when he told Spike he didn't ask for a soul? That seems ooc for him. And I always wondered why Angel didn't copy Spike and go fight for his soul now that he knows it can be done. Remove the worry of Angelus and everything becomes a bit better. Another nitpick of mine is when they showed the scene from Chosen. I guess it was necessary if you didn't follow BtVS, but it felt sort of out of place. Plus the fact that it was edited to remove Buffy telling Spike she loved him bothered me. Oh, and Angel kills another two humans which brings the running tally to 25.

Random Episode Fact: If Spike cannot touch anything at all -- this is a big point throughout the season - - how on earth can he sit in Angel's chair? And why doesn't anybody call him on it?

My Rating: B+

Spike: And this, bloody hell, wasn't mine. I'm not you. I don't give a piss about atonement or destiny. Just because I've got me a soul doesn't mean I'm gonna let myself be lead around by...
Fred: Excuse me?
Wes: Did - Did you just say - Spike has a soul? You never said.
Angel: Didn't seem worth mentioning, you know.
Gunn: Seems to be a lot of that.
Spike: Or maybe Captain Forehead was feeling a little less special. Didn't like me crashing his exclusive club. Another vampire with a soul in the world.
Angel: You're not *in* the world, Casper.

Harmony: [to Spike] Oh, my God! You and the Slayer actually - I mean, I know you had that twisted obsession with her, but - Ugh! That's just - Ugh!

Angel: We're - I'm from Wolfram and Hart.
Spike: I'm his date.

Angel: [concerning Spike's soul] Fair? You asked for a soul. I didn't. It almost killed me. I spend a hundred years tryin' to come to terms with infinite remorse. You spent three weeks moaning in a basement, and then you were fine. What's fair about that?

 

502: Just Rewards

- I like how the episode starts with a flashback to Spike dying over on Buffy. The scene after that is nice too, so a good teaser here.
- Love Harmony?s attitude and reaction towards Spike: Mercedes Mcnab is awesome.
- So now we?ve got Spike on this show: I really love this addition to the cast. Spike and Angel always worked great together and the character works the best when he?s not a love interest for Buffy. Spike starting out his tenure here in a non corporeal form is a nice twist as well.
- Love that Angel didn?t bother telling the gang about Spike?s role in the Sunnydale Hellmouth debacle or that he got a soul now. A petty Angel is a hilarious Angel.
- How is Spike able to sit down? Did I miss something or is this as stupid as I think it is?
- Plot wise, this episode doesn?t do much for me, but I love the process of integrating Spike into the cast so I don?t really care.
- Why are so many of James Marsters? lines looped in this one? He sounds really off a lot of the time.
- Solid episode.

B +

 

Moving the gang to Wolfram and Hart, then adding Spike to the cast, is the best thing to happen to the show since Darla came back. Really allows them to make an interesting plot for the year.

 

Side question: has it ever been explained (either in-show or behind-the-scenes, even if tongue-in-cheek) how Angel was able to afford such nice apartments in Sunnydale and L.A. before he started the detective agency?

 

No idea how Angel got the money to rent his places. I assume Whistler set him up with his first apartment on Buffy since he was the one who sent Angel after the Slayer, but that's just my guess. The logical answer would be that he's over 200 years old so any money he's made would've gotten a ton of interest and he doesn't really need to spend a lot of money on food or anything so it's add up over the years. However, in a Season 1 episode I think, Cordelia makes some comments about how you'd think a 200 year old guy would have some sort of investment plan, so apparently Angel didn't do any of that.

Season 5, Episode 3: Unleashed
Writer: Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft
Director: Marita Grabiak

Angel saves a woman from a werewolf attack, but not before the woman was bitten. Now she will become a werewolf. As Team Angel tries to help her cope with her new situation, someone else would like to have Werewolf for dinner.

Nothing to exciting in this episode but nothing bad either. Lots of Spike angst which I'm not a fan of. I much prefer the devil-may-care, making fun of Angel's hair Spike. But other than that, nothing I really dislike. We're introduced Nina and I have to say I like having a werewolf running around again. I miss Oz. And I think the new werewolves, though not perfect, look a lot better than the ones on BtVS. I like the more canine looking head. The plot with people wanting to eat Nina is pretty creepy too. I also like how the Fang Gang is slightly suspicious of Gunn. He did gain the most by working with W&H, so it's natural for people to suspect there's something else going on. And once again I see that Wes gained nothing by the deal with the devil. Sad considering out of all of them he probably loses the most by the end of the season. I also liked the little reference to the Initiative. Little throwaway references to Buffy are always fun for me. Angel kills another two humans which brings the running tally to 27. After a season and a half of no human kills he's killed at least two people every episode so far, though this time it was a werewolf and indirectly by refusing to save the traitorous W&H guy.

Random Episode Fact: The werewolves were designed by Robert Hall, of special effects agency Almost Human, and were an intentional departure from the werewolf costume worn by Oz's character on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. "They were saying Oz looked like a gay possum," Hall says. He decided to design the werewolf with sparse hair so that the muscles underneath were clearly visible. "The script wanted a big, bad wolf," he explains. "I think it literally said, 'Don't make it look like a gay possum.'"[2]

My Rating: B

Nina: How would you--you're not a monster, too, are you?
Fred: Nope. Standard-issue science nerd. I did spend 5 years in a demon dimension...till Angel saved me.
Nina: Guess he saves a lot of girls, huh?
Fred: Girls, guys...puppies. He's pretty much an equal-opportunity saver.

Fred: (about Nina's abduction) The scariest thing was how organized they were. Almost military.
Wesley: An underground monster-hunting military organization. It's happened before.

 

503: Unleashed

- Wesley/Fred awkwardness! Glad to see the writers are keeping Wesley?s feelings for Fred as a part of the show. Good teaser here.
- First appearance of Jenny Mollen as Nina the hot werewolf chick. I like that character.
- Not much of Spike in this one, but I like how it continues to deal with the ghost thing. The angst angle could get tiring pretty quick though.
- I really like the scene with Nina first experiencing her heightened senses and other werewolf relates side effects.
- The scenes with Angel and Nina are pretty good. Nina being a supernaturally affected blond girl means she?s definitely Angel?s type.
- Jenny Mollen shows quite a bit of skin in this one. I like it! yup, I?m superficial like that?
- ?An underground monster hunting military organization. It?s happened before.? - hee
- The werewolf suit in this one is pretty good actually.
- Nice final scene with our favorite demon hunting, helping the helpless family just hanging out together.
- Another solid one.

B +

 

Season 5, Episode 4: Hell Bound
Writer: Steven S. DeKnight
Director: Steven S. DeKnight

Team Angel is shocked when Spike appears out of an amulet that someone sent to Angel. Spike was suppose to have died back in Sunnydale, but now he's returned as a ghost. And he's really unhappy about it. Angel has to deal with an evil necromancer and with Spike, who might just be willing to turn on Team Angel if it'll make him corporeal again.

This is definitely one of the creepier episodes. From the maimed ghosts to the end fate of the killer, it's all very spooky. I liked Fred completely believing in Spike's worth and working so hard to save him and Spike now being able to touch objects is good. I'm also glad that even though he's still a ghost at least he's no longer slipping into hell. And Spike's conversation with Angel in his office is hilarious. My biggest issue with this episode is that I just don't buy the fact that Spike and Angel would go to hell when they die. Vampires don't have souls just demons inside them, so how can Angel and Spike be blamed for what they did before they got theirs back? It's not like in the Buffyverse entrance into heaven is only granted if you picked the right religion, as is evidenced by the fact that Buffy was in heaven, it seems to be based on being good which our dynamic duo of souled vamps definitely are. A smaller issue is that Spike sits down again. I'm gonna theorize that he can sit on objects for the same reason that he can walk on the floor without going through it.

Random Episode Fact: The advertisements for this episode had a warning about "graphic and disturbing violent images and partial nudity."

My Rating: B

Spike: Then why even bother? Try to do the right thing, make a difference...
Angel: What else are we gonna do?
Spike: So that's it, then. I really am going to burn.
Angel: Welcome to the club.
Spike: Well, least I got company, eh? You and me, together again. Hope and Crosby. Stills and Nash. Chico and the ...
Angel: Yeah, are we done?
Spike: Never much for small talk, were you? Always too busy trying to perfect that brooding block of wood mystique. God, I love that.
Angel: Not as much as I loved your nonstop yammering.
Spike: The way you always had to be the big swingy, swaggerin' around, barkin' orders.
Angel: Never listening.
Spike: Always interrupting.
Angel: And your hair. What color do they call that? Radioactive?
Spike: Never much cared for you, Liam, even when we were evil.
Angel: Cared for you less.
Spike: Fine.
Angel: Good.
[long pause]
Angel: There was one thing about you.
Spike: Really?
Angel: Yeah, I never told anybody about this, but I-I liked your poems.
Spike: You like Barry Manilow.

Spike: No. I'm not gonna end up like Pavayne--cheating Hell any way he could, no matter who it hurt.
Fred: Just proves what I've been telling everybody.
Spike: That I'm a handsome devil who brightens the place up?
Fred: That you're worth saving.

 

504: Hell Bound

- Beyond being all Fred, the teaser doesn?t have much going for it.
- That pretty much goes for most of the early parts of this episode. I enjoy Amy Acker, but the episode itself is a little slow and not engaging enough.
- Decent Angel/Spike scene. I do love how Angel liked Spike?s poems.
- The bitchy blonde medium isn?t nearly as fun as the writers think she is.
- Naked showering Fred!
- Did not need the naked Spike?
- I think my main problem with this one is that there isn?t enough going on. The entire episode revolves around the Spike story and it just isn?t enough to sustain my interest.
- Decent episode, but nothing special.

B -

 

If anyone's interested, Amazon has the box set for $56.99 as their deal of the day. That's the cheapest I've seen it.

Season 5, Episode 5: Life of the Party
Writer: Ben Edlund
Director: Bill L. Norton

When Lorne gets his sleep removed to prepare for the firm's Halloween Party, he doesn't realize the consequences. At the party, everyone has do what he tells them to do, but mystically. In the end, Spike is thinking positively, Gunn is "marking his territory", Angel and Eve get a room, and Wes and Fred are drunk. They all have to get Lorne to sleep before...

A campy and almost thoroughly unnecessary episode, I do enjoy getting our biyearly Halloween episode even if the premise is rather similar to Something Blue just not as funny. The first half of the episode is completely skippable but I like it once Lorne starts influencing Team Angel. Wes and Fred bonding drunkenly, Spike being wildly enthusiastic, Angel having sex with Eve, and Gunn pissing all over everything is all excellent. We've had too much vampire broodiness lately so it's nice that Angel and Spike let loose a little even if it's only because they're both under a spell. And not related to Lorne, but I also love Harmony's dancing and the human costume. The plot doesn't really interest me and when he's not reading people singing Lorne's never really held my attention all that well, but it's kinda cool to see that even as easy going as he is, the pressure of W&H is really getting to him. I also was disappointed with the Archduke's slave's childish one word comments. Didn't find them funny.

Random Episode Fact: The movie that Lorne is describing at the beginning of the episode seems to be Firefly, Joss Whedon's space-western on FOX for which episode writer Ben Edlund worked on.

My Rating: C+

Wesley: Everything he's told us to do, we're doing. Spike's thinking positive. Gunn is peeing all over the office.
Fred: [slurring] And we're a little bit drunk.
Wesley: Yes! But not because we drank. Because Lorne told us to be drunk!
Angel: [to Gunn] Lorne told you to pee all over the office?
Gunn: Lord, I hope so.

Angel: Wes, Fred, go find Lorne's sleep and figure out a way to put it back in his head.
Wesley: Yes, sir.
Fred: (salutes)Done and doner.
Angel: Lorne, you just stay tight and try not to, you know, talk.
Lorne: Angel, we still got a party going on. Someone has to make sure there's ice in the drinks.
Angel: Oh, right.
Spike: Ooh, ooh! Me! Me! I'm your people person.
Angel: Gunn, go on the floor, see if anyone else is under the Lorne effect.
Gunn: Check.
Angel: And stop with the...
Gunn: Do my best.
Angel: And, Eve, you stay here with me, and we'll have more sex.
Eve: I'm on it.
Spike: Brilliant plan. Excellent.

Spike: You pissed in the big man's chair? That's fantastic!
Gunn: Spike, could you turn off the warm fuzzy?
Spike: What? The Lorne thing? Wore off. I just think that's bloody marvelous.

Angel: Eve. So I guess we should, I don't know, talk?
Eve: About what?
Angel: About what happened, you know, back there with us.
Eve: Angel, it's not like this is the first time I've had sex under a mystical influence. I went to U.C. Santa Cruz.

 

505: Life Of The Party

- After getting way too little of Lorne in the first four episodes this season this one is all about Lorne. Yay! Good teaser here.
- Not sure how I feel about Spike?s disgust about creatures of the night going on Halloween considering he did it himself 6 years ago?
- Not a lot to say about the first half of this one, but it?s all moving nicely along and is quite enjoyable.
- Drunk Wesley! Drunk Fred! Awesome!!!
- Speaking of awesome: I love Gunn peeing on Wesley?s shoes.
- ?Hey! Angel?s getting some! Good on you, mate!? ? hee
- ?Presumelly! ? hee
- This episode really got an excellent second half.
- Spike?s growing enthusiasm for everything is great: ?What a fantastic entrance!?
- So one half good and one half great.

B +

 

Season 5, Episode 6: The Cautionary Tale of Numero Cinco
Writer: Jeffrey Bell
Director: Jeffrey Bell

It turns out that the Wolfram & Hart mail guy is more than he seems. He and his brothers were once demon fighters. But, when he lost his family in battle, he gave up on being a Champion. When one of his old foes comes to town, though, he has to help Team Angel defeat it.

This is probably my least favorite episode of Season 5. The whole premise of masked wrestlers being champions was just a little too cheesy and campy for me. The flashbacks all consisted of people we'd never met before (minus the Holland Manners cameo which was cool) so I couldn't get into them and we get a double dose of angsty vampires which I'm never fond of. The whole episode just seems really slow and doesn't have much to keep my interested. Spike's the best part. I like his reaction to Angel getting thrown by Number 5 and that he twists it around in his retelling. Also him getting to sit in the front of Angel's car is funny and I think it's understandable that Spike would be the one to see the "poetry" of the demon and guess that his weak spot was his heart. Wes trying to make Angel feel better about his heart being rejected reminds me of Willow trying to make Spike feel better about not being able to bite her, and it's nice to see Wes start to ponder the affect on the prophecy that Spike having a soul might make. Wes obviously wants Angel to get his reward but has to deal with the fact that it just might be referring to Spike. For some reason I also enjoy the ending fight in the cemetery (makes me feel like we're back on Buffy) at least until the four brothers show up. There's just something about Number 5 saying there's no heroes here while he and Angel fight so hard to take down this demon that I like.

Random Episode Fact: Writer/director Jeffrey Bell explains that he always wanted to work Mexican wrestling into one of his The X-Files scripts, but it wasn't until he pitched the idea to creator Joss Whedon that he was able to realize his "lifelong dream - to tell a story about Mexican wrestlers

My Rating: C-

Lorne: Hey,professional opinion. Sexy soccer mama or brainy beauty? You're an aging sexpot celebrating a decade of turning twenty nine. You got two little rugrats who aren't that little, a husband who thinks the extras trailer is a buffet table and gravity ain't doing you any favors. So "Happy Birthday, sexy mama" or ...Fred! Fred, sweetie, you're sort of like a woman.
Fred: That's not a compliment
Lorne: Well more so than El Cid here.I need some insight.You're an aging...
Fred: I heard.Don't mention her birthday,Don't send a card,just send a big bunch of flowers because she's special and perfect and eternally bladi bla
Lorne: Staring me right in the face.Genius
Fred: And I'm a lot like a woman
Lorne: You're all woman.You're every woman.You're Wonder Woman!
Fred: Damn straight

Angel: Ow!
Wes: What happened?
Angel: The mail guy threw me.
Gunn: What?!
Spike: Number 5?! [smiling] He did this? Isn't he like 100 years old?
Spike: Hey Fred, did ya hear? Angel attacked the old mail guy!
Angel: What?
Fred: Not number five! You didn't hurt him?
Angel: No! I - He attacked me!
Wesley: We should find him.
Spike: Absolutely. Wanna buy him a pint. Bloody made my day.
Lorne: Holy tornado, it's true!
Spike: Yeah, it was amazing! Angel went right off on the mail guy.
Lorne: Oh this must've been one major smackdown!
Angel: There was no smacking!
Lorne: That's not the hubbub I'm hearing, honey buns. Word on the web has you sucker punching Grandpa Moses.
Angel: The web?
Lorne: Don't sweat it, sweetie pie. I've got my flack-catcher spinnin' this into PR gold. And once the word spreads that you beat up an innocent old man, well the truly terrible will think twice before goin' toe to toe with our Avenging Angel.
Spike: Yes. The geriatric community will be soilin' their nappies when they hear you're on the case. Bravo!

 

506: The Cautionary Tale Of Numero Cinco

- Fred is all woman! Beyond that the teaser doesn?t do much for me.
- Spike is great here, but couldn?t care less about whatever the plot is in this one.
- I like how we?re starting to explore whether Spike might be the vampire mentioned in the Shanshu prophecy.
- For some reason I?ve always had a problem really connecting with this episode. The wrestling mask gimmick never worked for me either.
- Don?t like the flashback. Only part of it I enjoy is the Holland Manners appearance.
- I think my main problem with this episode is how it brings on a character for just this one episode that completely sidelines the other main characters for forty minutes.
- ?El Diablo robotico? ? hee
- Good continuity on Wesley not knowing about the ?father will kill the son? prophecy.
- I wish I enjoyed the big ending here more. There are just too many character?s I couldn?t care less about.
- Not a fan of this episode.

C

 

eason 5, Episode 7: Lineage
Writer: Drew Goddard
Director: Jefferson Kibbee

Wesley's father comes for a visit. With his father overseeing and critiquing everything he does, his old feelings of insecurity arise. Also, Wolfram and Hart is besieged by robot ninjas.

I think Wes has one of the strongest character arcs out of everyone in the Buffyverse and he does a solid job of carrying this episode. I don't actually have a lot to say, it's all pretty good. The opening scene has a nice little callback to Wes' nifty sword and the Wes/Fred interaction is great throughout. I love how Wes doesn't even hesitate to shoot his "dad" to save Fred and the story of him trying to resurrect a bird is so sweet. And Wes once again sides with Angel over the supposed good guys (very similar to Season 1 when the Watchers come to take Faith.) I also like that Spike's calling out Eve on his ghostiness and trying to figure out what's up. On the down side, I think that having Wes' dad be a robot is kind of a cop out. Like the episode didn't want to take things to that extreme. So they added a "Hey, it's not really your father" ending that let Wes be sad... But not TOO sad. Also, we never find out who sent the cyborgs which is a bummer. That makes this episode a bit weaker when the season as whole is looked at.

My Rating: A-

Fred: [about the cyborg] This thing really blurs the line between human and robot.
Spike: Aha. So you're not ruling out that a human being could have boffed a robot.
[everyone stares at him]
Spike: Sex with robots is more common than most people think.

Spike: Daddy, eh? I always though Wesley was grown in some sort of greenhouse for dandies.
Roger Wyndham-Pryce: Spike.
Spike: You've heard of me?
Roger Wyndham-Pryce: No, we've met. 1963, my colleagues and I fell upon you slaughtering an orphanage in Vienna. Killed 2 of my men before you escaped.
Spike: Oh...how've you been?

Fred: Part of you knew. Even if you can't admit it to yourself, part of you knew it wasn't him.
Wesley: No. I was sure it was him. You were there. I killed my father.
Fred: He was threatening your friends.
Wesley: He was threatening you. He pointed a gun at you, Fred... so I shot him.

Angel: You know, I killed my actual father. It was one of the first things I did when I became a vampire.
Wesley: I hardly see how that's the same situation.
Angel: Yeah, I really didn't think that one through.

Spike: Don't know if you know this, but, uh, I killed my mum. Actually, I'd already killed her, and then she tried to shag me, so I had to, uh...

 

507: Lineage

- Okay teaser here.
- So there have been several hints and allusions to Wesley?s awful father during the course of this show and now we finally get to see him. Well, sort of at least? I love that we finally get to deal with this aspect of Wesley.
- Wesley immediately becoming clumsier around his father is an excellent comment about his character.
- ?Sex with robots are more common than people think.? ? hee
- ?I can explain. Apparently when Percy here was younger he used to be known as Head Boy!? ? So Awesome!
- The actor playing Wesley?s dad is perfect for the role. So easy to dislike.
- I can?t even describe how much I love Alexis Denisof in the rooftop scene.
- So Wesley ends up shooting and killing the person he truly believes to be his father. The fact that it turns out not being his father after all is the touch that makes this episode truly fascinating. Wesley must now live with the knowledge that he has within him the capacity to kill his own father. I can?t even imagine how his own feelings towards his real father are affected by the events in this episode. the show could have dealt more with that in later episodes, but that complaint is not really relevant for this specific episode.
- Love Angel and Spike trying to relate with Wesley regarding the parental killings. The Fred stuff afterwards is good too.
- It?s really an amazing episode all around and my favorite yet this season.

A

 

Season 5, Episode 8: Destiny
Writer: David Fury, Steven S. DeKnight
Director: Skip Schoolnik

Spike receives a mysterious box of "flashy" in the mail and is shocked when it somehow recorporealizes him. He's thrilled to be solid again, but when odd things start happening at Wolfram & Hart, Eve says that they now have a problem. With Spike an un-ghosted Vampire Champion, the Shanshu Prophesy could also apply to him. Spike & Angel have to try and figure out which one of them is destined to become human again.

Another really solid episode, though of course I'm a sucker for anything that explores the love/hate relationship Angel and Spike have. And I'm glad that Spike is back in the flesh. The reveal of Lindsey is not something I saw coming and although I miss Wes in this episode, I'll forgive him for taking time off to attend his wedding. After watching this episode again, I think our boys' dynamic parallels that of Buffy and Faith in a few key ways. Spike and Faith always seem to come in second to Angel and Buffy. Spike is probably the second nastiest vamp after Angelus, he's the second souled vamp champion, and he's the second vampire Buffy sleeps with. Faith is of course, the second string Slayer. And for their part, Angel and Buffy are on some level jealous of Spike and Faith. Buffy admits as much in Season 3, when she thinks Faith's coming in and stealing her friends, watcher, mom, etc. and Angel's obviously worried that Spike's stealing his prophecy. My only gripe about this episode is that I was really rooting for Angel to win the fight for the cup. I just think he's more deserving of it. Yeah Spike saved the world (twice actually, since without him helping Buffy in Season Two Angelus probably would've succeeded) but he kinda just seems to be in it for himself. Angel's not totally wrong when he says Spike just got his soul so he could be with Buffy.

Random Episode Fact: While writing this episode, the co-writers fought with each other over who would actually drink from the cup, even if it was just a trick. David Fury was pulling for Spike to win and Stephen S. DeKnight wanted Angel to win.
My Rating: A

Spike: Try staking your mother when she's coming on to you!
Harmony: Well, that explains a lot.

[Spike and Angel are fighting to reach the Cup of Perpetual Torment.]
Spike: Come on, hero. Tell me more. Teach me what it means. And I'll tell you why you can't stand the bloody sight of me.
Angel: Tell it to your therapist.
Spike: 'Cause every time you look at me, you see all the dirty little things I've done, all the lives I've taken... because of you! Drusilla sired me, but you... you made me a monster.
Angel: I didn't make you, Spike. I just opened up the door, and let the real you out.
Spike: You never knew the real me. Too busy trying to see your own reflection, praying there was someone as disgusting as you in the world, so you could stand to live with yourself. Take a long look, hero. I'm nothing like you!
Angel: No. you're less. That's why Buffy never loved you, 'cause you weren't me.
Spike: I guess she was thinking of you all those times I was putting it to her.

Spike: Look at you. Fighting for truth, justice, and soccer moms. But you still can't lay flesh on a cross without smelling like bacon.
Angel: Like you're any different.
Spike: That's just it. I am. You had a soul forced on you as a curse, make you suffer for all the horrible things you've done. But me, I fought for my soul, went throught the demon trials. Almost did me in a dozen times over but I kept fighting. 'Cause I knew it was the right thing to do. It was my destiny
Angel: Really? I thought it was just to get inside a girl's pants.

[Spike is poised to drink from the Cup.]
Spike: Probably should've dusted you. But honestly... I don't want to hear her bitch about it.
Angel: Spike, wait. Wait. That's not a prize you're holding. It's not a trophy. It's a burden. It's a cross. One you're gonna have to bear till it burns you to ashes. Believe me. I know. So ask yourself: Is this really the destiny that was meant

 

508: Destiny

- Flashbacks! Getting to see Spike?s first meeting with Angelus is pretty cool. The gay subtext is interesting to say the least? Pretty good teaser, Harmony looks fantastic in it and the reveal to the audience that Spike is corporeal again happening by him smashing into a door is great.
- About Spike regaining corporeal form: Very happy it finally happened, because it was starting to become a little stale.
- Decent plot here, I like how the Shanshu prophecy is completely back into play.
- No Wesley in this one. He was off getting married to Willow.
- I quite enjoy the mention of the cup having been in Petra. Gotta love a clever Indy reference.
- I love the show for acknowledging the fundamental difference between Spike and Angel; one of them wanted the soul while the other had it forced on him.
- A pretty good extended fight scene in this one. It might go on for a little too long though.
- Lindsey! An important character in the early seasons now returns? Sounds like we?re in the final season. And I love it.
- Really solid episode.

A -

 

Season 5, Episode 9: Harm's Way
Writer: Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft
Director: Vern Gillum

Harmony is having trouble adjusting to working for Angel. The other employees of Wolfram & Hart ignore her and she's feeling depressed about her life. After a night out with Fred, though, Harm's troubles are about to get a lot more serious.

We've had Angel angst and Spike angst, so now it's time for Harmony angst. I really wanted to like this episode since I thoroughly enjoyed the other Harmony centric one, but I just don't like it. I dunno, I just couldn't find Harmony's depression funny. I actually felt really bad for her. Angel was being a complete jerk and everyone else was ignoring her and when she finally loses it and breaks down saying how hard it is to be good because she doesn't have a soul, I was actually kinda moved. How many shows out there can make me sympathize with the soulless bloodsucking demon? I did like the W&H advertising bit (If you don't kill, we won't kill you), Fred and Harmony bonding (Fred's just awesome like that) and the little "Harmony touches"--like she brushes her fangs with an electric toothbrush or has unicorn stickers on her thermos, but the plot didn't really interest me. And anyone notice how W&H has completely changed it's image? In the previous seasons it was always a real law firm--a really sleazy law firm that handled suspicious cases, but to an outside observer there was nothing supernatural. Now all of a sudden, it's freakin Diagon Alley with demons running around left and right. Also, since when do W&H own the police? Kate made it clear that the police hated them...

Random Episode Fact: Harmony is the only Buffyverse character, other than Buffy herself, to have two episodes named after her.
My Rating: B-

Spike: Anything you want me to tell Buffy?
Angel: Yeah...Tell her you're a moron.

Harmony: Ok, that's it! I gotta get out of here. Leave the country. Maybe Mexico. I like Mexico. Or Cancun. I hear that's... Anyway I'll... I'll start over. Change my name... Harmonita...

Angel: You should've just come to me.
Fred: Gee, I wish I'd have thought of telling her that.
Harmony: I'm really, really sorry, you guys. I totally wouldn't have hit you over he head and put you in the closet if I didn't have a really good reason. It's just... I was scared, and... (to Angel) I know you never wanted me as your assistant, and... OK, I've made some bad choices. I mean, it's not like I have a soul. I have to try a lot harder.

 

509: Harms Way

- Nifty opening with the Wolfram & Hart video; I especially loved the cheesy music.
- Harmony episode! Have I said yet how much I love that someone who essentially started as a glorified extra in the second episode of BtVS now is a recurring, soon to be regular cast member on this show. Because it really is awesome as Mercedes McNab was consistently hilarious (and even somewhat poignant at times) as the character for many years and truly deserved the increased airtime she got this season. Oh, and she looks great in the teaser here of course.
- I enjoy Fred and Harmony together. Lots of cuteness. I like Fred basically admitting that she knows Wesley is interested after her and that she finds him attractive. Too bad she?s simultaneously talking about Knox?
- Angel is really grumpy and unlikable in this one. I get that the justification for that is that that?s how he is around Harmony and this is an episode completely from her point of view, but still?
- ?Ha! The smoking thermos!? - hee
- I?m glad the show acknowledges that Spike would want to find Buffy rather than hang out in LA, not sure how happy I am with how they actually deal with it though. His decision happens completely off screen and sort of loses its impact because of it.
- A good, but not spectacular episode. It does what it wants to do pretty well, but nothing more than that.

B

 

Season 5, Episode 10: Soul Purpose
Writer: Brent Fletcher
Director: David Boreanaz

Lindsey and Eve continue to plot against Team Angel. Lindsey approaches Spike, telling him that the Powers That Be have selected Spike to be the new Champion now that Angel is working for Wolfram & Hart. Meanwhile, Angel is caught in a series of hallucinations and can't wake up.

I can't really pick out anything I strongly dislike with this episode but the whole thing just feels sorta flat to me. Maybe it's because Spike has so much screen time compared to established characters. Or maybe because I don't get Lindsey's plan: Let Eve be seen placing the parasite on Angel but then send Spike into save him? Seems like a very unnecessary risk. Then there are the dream sequences. The first batch does nothing for me--and the Spike having sex one bugs me since it's so obviously not SMG and the recycled sound clips just sound out of place--but I like the second half. The fairytale one is simultaneously hilarious with Spike becoming a real boy and heartbreaking as Angel is reduced to Number 5 status. My favorite part of the one with Lorne playing the piano is Gunn growling. I like to think of it as foreshadowing for Gunn becoming a vampire since Whedon said he planned for that to happen in Season 6. The last one with Angel sitting in the sun is also pretty good just for it's simplicity. There are also some nice references to the very first episode and it is sorta funny to see how Spike's "helping the helpless" style is so different from Angel's.

Random Episode Fact: The reason why Angel doesn't do a whole lot in this episode is because David Boreanaz underwent knee surgery shortly before the episode was shot, making it impossible to act naturally. So, the episode revolves around Angel's dreams and his staggering makes sense in this context.
My Rating: B-

Woman in alley: Thank you! Thank you! That thing was going to kill me!
Spike: Well, what did you expect? Out alone in this neighborhood - I've got half a mind to kill you myself, you half-wit.
Woman in alley: What?
Spike: I mean honestly, what kind of retard wears heels like that in a dark alley? Take two steps and break your bloody ankle.
Woman in alley: [annoyed] I was just trying to get home.
Spike: Well, get a cab, you moron, and on the way, if a stranger offers you candy, don't get in the van!

[Angel is dreaming that the team are celebrating for Spike]
Spike: Well, this is... Thank you, everyone. I don't know what to say. I'm just a working-class bloke fulfilling his destiny. It was nothing, really.
Fred: Nothing? Spike, you single handedly ended Armageddon and turned the turned the world into a Beautiful-Happily-Ever-After-Candy-Mountain-Place where all our dreams come true.
Spike: Beautiful, isn't it?
Gunn: And now its time for your reward.
Wesley: Yes, your reward!
Spike: I didn't do this for a reward.
Gunn: That's why you're getting one.
[The Blue Fairy enters the room]
Wesley: After all, anyone who saves the universe from eternal bloodshed, horror,and misery deserves to get what they've always wanted.
Fred: Deserves to become a real boy.
Fairy: And so you shall. [waves her wand over Spike]
Spike: My heart! Its beating again!
Fred: You're human, Spike.
Gunn: Ooh, I want to listen!
Wesley: Let's hear it for Spike!

 

510: Soul Purpose

- Good teaser. The dream is nice and the Lindsey/Spike scene is intriguing.
- This one is directed by David Boreanaz. I think he does a good job.
- Love that Lindsey poses as Doyle here. It?s a genius callback to the original few episodes of the show and the character of Doyle.
- My favorite of Angel?s hallucinatory dreams: the Fred/surgery one.
- Despite the obvious body double, I do think the DreamBuffy appearance here works pretty well. All of Buffy?s lines are lifted from Season 3?s The Prom; the episode where Angel broke up with Buffy.
- The ?Spike becoming a Real Live Boy? dream is pretty nifty too.
- ?Act like we care? Good plan!? ? hee
- Good episode, but nothing really exceptional.

B

 

Season 5, Episode 11: Damage
Writer: Steven S. DeKnight, Drew Goddard
Director: Jefferson Kibbee

A psychotic vampire slayer has escaped from her asylum, and is now on the loose in Los Angeles. Angel and Spike are on the hunt for her, before she does more damage. Once she is found, looking for pieces of her past, she believes that Spike was the man who drove her towards insanity, and wants to seek revenge.

I love the concept of this episode, but think the execution could've been just a bit better. Angel's always occupied a murkier area than Buffy and we really get that here as we see there are consequences to Buffy's decision to activate the potentials. I just love the concept of a psycho slayer and am glad they went this route instead of just a rogue slayer as that would've come off as Faith 2.0. Faith was never psychotic. Damaged, yeah. Twisted? Sure. But never completely insane. The double cross at the end is also shocking and saddening and I love that Spike refers to Andrew as double crossing "us." Even if he won't admit it, Spike's chosen to align himself with Angel over the Scoobies. Actually, that whole last scene with Spike and Angel is just awesome (as is Spike's "Sorry love, I don't speak Chinese.) As to what I don't like, I'm not a fan of Andrew in this episode. He doesn't fit the tone of the series. And I wanted to strangle him when he was talking down to Angel at the end. I would've preferred a different character to crossover. Willow maybe. Buffy wouldn't have worked in this context and Faith never would betray Angel but I think Willow would've worked. Also didn't like Spike getting his arms cut off as it seemed unnecessary. And I don't like Dana's age being 25. I kinda assumed once you got out of your teenage years, you lost the potential to become a slayer so Willow's spell wouldn't have affected you. But if Dana was 25 when the spell occurred and she became a slayer, then what's to stop any onetime potential from being affected? Do we have 75 year old slayers running around now? Also I would've liked the Scoobies to stay together after Sunnydale. None of this splitting up into various continents.

My Rating: B+

Angel: What happened?
Spike: Oh, I just thought I'd see what it was like to bounce off the pavement. Pretty much what I expected.

Spike: Come to tap dance on the patient have we, doc? I'd give you the finger, but apparently I won't have the motor skills until the drugs wear off.
Angel: A lot of pain?
Spike: More than I'd like. But not as much as you would. Just what I deserve.
Angel: I didn't say that.
Spike: No, I did. The lass thought I killed her family. And I'm supposed to, what, complain cuz her's wasn't one of the hundreds of families I did kill? I'm not sayin' you're right, cuz, uh, I'm physically incapable of saying that. But, uh, for a demon I never did think that much about the nature of evil. No. Just threw myself in. Thought it was a party. I liked the rush, I liked the crunch. Never did look back at the victims.
Angel: I couldn't take my eyes off them. I was only in it for the evil. That was everything to me. It was art... the destruction of a human being. Jeez, I would've considered Dana a masterpiece.
Spike: The tingling in my forearms tells me she's too far gone to help. She's one of us now. She's a monster.
Angel: She's an innocent victim.
Spike: So were we, once upon a time.
Angel: Once upon a time.

 

511: Damage

- A decent teaser here. It got some great horror-movie-like atmosphere.
- Love Harmony reporting to our team about the escaped patient.
- The slayer chick: Hot! But she doesn?t just look good, she got a great presence here as well.
- I laughed at Spike getting thrown out of a window. We don?t see Spike getting his ass kicked by slayers enough these days.
- Mention of Giles! Yay!
- Appearance of Andrew! Yay? I guess that?s better than nothing at least. I love his reaction to seeing Spike as well as his lesson in Slayer Mythology.
- ?Yes, attractive slender woman.? - hee
- I love how this episode deals with some of the fallout of Willow?s spell from the Buffy finale.
- ?I see Mr. Giles may have been wrong about you.? ? hee
- Mention of Xander! Yay! I miss Xander. Not as much as I miss Willow, but still?
- Lots of good Spike related continuity here.
- I love Andrew and the slayers taking Dana from Angel. It both says something about how the Scoobies feel about what?s going on in LA right now and it shows Buffy taking responsibility for the consequences of making all potentials into slayers.
- And then we end the episode with a solid scene with Angel and Spike.
- Great episode.

A -

 

Season 5, Episode 12: You're Welcome
Writer: David Fury
Director: David Fury

In the 100th episode, Cordelia awakens from her magically induced coma and returns to help Angel fight an old enemy who has reappeared even more powerful than ever.

Oh man I've missed Cordelia. I never realized quite how much until she comes back--with good hair this time! I mean we haven't seen her really since Season 3 and her absence left a huge hole in the humor department that even Spike can't fill. I love how she calls out Angel on his stupidity of joining up with W&H and that she holds back no punches--calling his decision to erase memories a "mind rape" comes to mind. Then of course there's the great humor, the return of Doyle's commercial, the closure to the Angel/Cordelia romance, the reveal of Lindsey to our heroes, and a sword fight. Then just when I'm adjusting to what an awesome presence Cordelia is on the show again, I get Jossed and it turns out that body in the beginning was in fact hers and she is in fact dead. What the heck Joss. What the heck. I guess it makes sense as I can't see Cordelia willing to make the deal with the devil that everyone else made (Gunn said everyone got something out of the deal but Cordelia wouldn't have gotten anything. She has no extra motivation. And I reiterate my opinion that Gunn's wrong because Wes didn't get anything and Fred didn't really either.) I heard a rumor that Cordelia's role in this episode was originally supposed to be Buffy, but SMG was filming The Grudge at the time. As much as I would've loved to see Buffy again, I think Cordelia works better. And that ending scene is definitely in my top five most heart wrenching scenes of the series.

Random Episode Fact: Charisma Carpenter, who played Cordelia Chase, revealed in numerous interviews that she did not know her character was being killed off. The final scene where Angel finds out that Cordelia was dead all along was not made privy to Carpenter until Boreanaz called her and told her about the scene.

Stephen S. DeKnight helped write a great deal of the fight between Angel and Lindsey. Joss Whedon wrote the final scene with Angel and Cordelia. Incidentally, in several takes of the scene, both actors were really crying and not just acting.

My Rating: A+

Cordelia: Spike's a hero and you're CEO of Hell, Incorporated. What frickin' bizzaro world did I wake up in?

Cordelia: Remember how I said, "Lets not have your department looking for those symbols I saw in my vision. Let's do this like we used to - You and me, crackin' the books"?
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce: Yes.
Cordelia: Well that was dumb. What'd you ever listen to me for?

[After Angel stops Spike from biting Cordelia]
Spike: She's evil, you gormless tit!
Cordelia: Excuse me? Who bit whom?
Angel: Did you call me a tit?
Cordelia: I thought he had a soul.
Spike: I thought she didn't.
Cordelia: I do.
Spike: So do I.
Cordelia: Well, clearly mine's better!

Cordelia: (grabs Eve) Come on Lilah Jr.

Cordelia: Okay, this is getting us nowhere. Angel, torture her.
Angel: What?
Eve: What?
Cordelia: You heard me. Building's clearing out means we don't have a lot of time. Have at it.
Angel: I can't just... torture her.
Cordelia: Like, wha...
Fred: He's right, Cordy. If we sink to their level, then...
[Harmony grabs Eve throws her on the desk]
Angel: Harmony!
Harmony: Is this okay? I mean. I am evil, technically. I don't mind torturing her for the team.
Angel: Yeah. Okay.

Angel: All those tattoos, all those new tricks you've learned just don't matter. Doesn't matter what you try. Doesn't matter where I am or how badass you think you've become. 'Cause you know what? I'm Angel. I beat the bad guys.

Cordelia: So, you feel good?
Angel: Yeah, I do. I just...I kinda feel bad about it.
Cordelia: My God, you are a piece of work.
Angel: I just [laughs]...I just don't feel I deserve... I mean all I did was beat up a tiny Texan. Not like I helped anyone.
Cordelia: Sure you did.
Angel: Who?
Cordelia: Boy, I really do fall for dumb ones. You know how you're always t

 

512: You?re Welcome

- Teaser doesn?t do much for me. Angel?s decision to quit really seems to come out of nowhere.
- Cordelia! While I like that we take the time to spend an entire episode saying goodbye to a classic Whedonverse character, what I really love about this episode is that this is totally not the somewhat sucky version of the character that made me happy she fell into a coma, but instead something more like the awesome original version. I mean, just look at her hair. It?s awesome and she?s looking as hot as ever.
- Love that Cordelia remembers Connor.
- ?Who?s Colin Farrell?? - hee
- What?s up with the massive amount of cleavage from Cordelia in this one? Not complaining, just observing?
- Love the ?deal with the devil? gag.
- Donkey Kong! I can?t believe they actually got the right sound effects for the right game here.
- The Doyle video! Love that we revisit that here. ?First soldier down.?
- While I like Cordy being here for the ?reveal? of Lindsey, I do think they could have done more with Lindsey posing as Doyle for Spike before moving on.
- Cordelia referring to Eve as Lila Jr. is very apt.
- Love Harmony?s willingness to torture Eve.
- Pretty good fight here. Gotta love a swordfight.
- ?I?m Angel!? ? Yeah he is! ?I beat the bad guys!? ? Yeah, he does!
- Oh, check out that love struck look Fred gives Wesley during the spell casting.
- And then a really nice and sweet final scene with Cordelia and Angel before we have to say goodbye to Cordelia Chase forever. She truly was a great character and I love that the show had the time to finish her properly before the show ended its run. Another soldier is now down.
- Another great one.

A