“Reunion”

​

Episode 10 of Season 2

​

“You're all fired.”

​

Original US airdate: December 19th, 2000 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Into the Woods")

Rewatched: December 11th, 2022

​

• Writer: Tim Minear & Shawn Ryan

• Director: James A. Contner

• Guests: Elisabth Rohm, Christian Kane, Stephanie Romanov, Sam Anderson, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau

 

And Angel becomes Dark Angel, not fully Angelus, but not fully Angel, either. After Drusilla arrived and turned Darla in the last episode, Angel Investigations is working hard to find Darla and stake her before she rises. With the help of Lindsay’s landlady, the gang finds Drusilla and Darla, but Angel fails to stop Darla. While fighting with Drusilla, Darla escapes. Angel later decides to go to Wolfram & Hart to find answers, but the Powers That Be send Cordy a vision to get Angel on a different track. He at first wants to ignore it, but then does avert the doom the vision portents in quickest, least tactful way. He leaves the gang to pick up the pieces of his clumsy effort to save a soul and is off after Darla.

​

All the vampires end up at Wolfram & Hart. First Dru arrives to talk to Lindsay, then Darla arrives to take Dru away. Darla is angry with Dru and the two fight, but then Darla feeds and becomes her old self again, her anger at Dru is gone and instead the two decide to paint the town red. It is Angel’s turn to arrive at Wolfram & Hart. He gets no answers, really, just Holland Manners telling Angel he can’t seem to care about the lives lost due to his schemes. But Angel does learn that Wolfram & Hart don’t want him dead, and that he is the special project. They do, however, arrest Angel, but Kate lets Angel go, a sign that while she has not fully come to terms with Angel, she may not be as hostile as she once was. Kate reveals that Dru and Darla have been out killing and that she needs his help to stop them.

​

And then all three end up at Holland Manner’s wine tasting in his wine cellar. It should be noted that Holland has been talking to Dru and Darla throughout in a very patronizing way, almost as if they were children. It seems Holland doesn’t realize who he’s dealing with, or does, but thinks this is the way to win them over to Wolfram & Hart, or thinks they are like animals. Either way, it doesn’t help save him. Darla and Dru toy with the lawyers, a bit with Lilah and Lindsay, although Darla notes that Lindsay is the only one not afraid, but mostly with Holland. They are playing their vampire games to the fullest when Angel arrives, having been invited in by Holland’s dying wife. Dru first notes that Daddy’s home, only to say it’s not Daddy, but the Angel-beast and Darla asks if he’s there to punish them. Angel apologizes to Darla for not saving her, and she asks for a good-bye kiss, and Angel tells her she’ll get it, but not that night. Lilah and Holland ask Angel to save them, but Angel says he just can’t seem to care, echoing Holland’s earlier words, and locks them in. Dru says “Daddy”, noting that Angel has returned to something of his old self, even if he still has a soul.

​

Later, the Angel Investigations gang is quite upset to hear what Angel has done. Wesley says that “Right now the three of us are all that is standing between you and real darkness.” And Angel fires them, allowing himself to walk into darkness. Angel, despite having a soul, is no longer on the path to redemption. Wolfram & Hart bringing back Darla was successful, at least for a time, in achieving their goal. It just cost them their lives (although Lilah and Lindsay will survive the wine cellar blood bath).

​

Finally, two thoughts on Drusilla. First, she repeats a rhyme in this episode that was heard in the Buffy season 2 episode “Lie to Me”:  "Run and catch, run and catch, the lamb is caught in the blackberry patch." She said the rhyme in that episode to a young boy before Angel appeared and scared him off (to save him from Dru feeding on him). In both episodes, her use of the rhyme seems to foreshadow Angel appearing to ruin her plans (both in the short and long term), and perhaps also Drusilla’s unwillingness to accept that the Angel she knew, who killed her family, drove her insane, sired her and then loved her vampire self, is no longer there.

​

Also, while one motivation to sire Darla may have been revenge on Angel, as noted in the last episode, this episode hints that Dru may also have been lonely. Angel is gone. Spike, the vampire she sired and loved, is gone and Darla was dead. As Dru says to Darla, “For you, all for you. I thought it was what you wanted. To be saved. All alone. All alone in the dirt. We’ve lost our way.” Which seems to underline that Dru herself is all alone and lost.

​

At the end of the episode, Dru is no longer alone, a massacre has happened, and Angel is not all right.

​

​

“Redefinition”

​

Episode 11 of Season 2

​

“Where do we go from here?”

​

Original US airdate: January 16th, 2001 

Rewatched: December 16th, 2022

​

• Writer: Mere Smith

• Director: Michael Grossman

• Guests: Christian Kane, Stephanie Romanov, Andy Hallett, Brigid Brannagh, Nicolas Surovy, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau

​

In an episode in which Angel only speaks in voice over and never to anyone in person, everyone is working to find their place amid changed circumstances.

​

First, Lindsay and Lilah have survived the carnage in the wine cellar and are looking to survive the aftermath at Wolfram & Hart. Lindsay is relatively sanguine about the whole thing, accepting that he might still die if Wolfram & Hart clean shop, but is also overall optimistic he’ll survive. Lilah does her best to come out on top. In the end, they are both promoted to jointly lead the Special Projects Division.

​

Then there are Cordy, Wes and Gunn. They start the episode outside of the hotel, with Cordy and Wes carrying their office belongings in boxes and wondering what to do. Gunn is empty handed, indicating he never really moved in and perhaps took the concept of freelancing too much to heart. Gunn is also less worried about the future, it seems, claiming it was only a side gig and he can go back to his previous life. However, all three end up at Caritas, drinking, fighting over who’s to blame for Angel firing them and then singing their hearts out. Finally, without Lorne needing to set them on their path, Cordelia gets a vision which leads to the decision that while Angel may have abandoned his duty, Cordelia, Wes and Gunn don’t have to. They respond to the vision, slay the demon and save the day, even though the demon nearly got the upper hand. But it’s enough. They know what they need to do, even without Angel.

​

Angel has only one thing on his mind. He’s going after Dru and Darla. At the start of the episode, he’s very sure he’s not ready to face them, that living so long in the human world has left him soft. So, he trains and hardens his heart. He gathers intel and tracks them down at a demon bar, where they’re recruiting a demon army. Dru feels Angel there, and then Darla does, too. It knocks her off her game, reminding her of their ensouled relationship, and reinforcing to Angel that he’s not ready to kill them yet, especially not Darla, since he’s still too close to her human self. But Angel does arrive at the spot Darla and Dru planned to meet their new army. Angel takes out the whole group of demons before Darla and Dru arrive, and then lays a trap for the two vampires. He lights them on fire and lets them burn. They are able to save themselves but are badly hurt. Darla notes that the Angel who set them on fire is neither Angel nor Angelus, but something new.

​

The episode ends with Wesley telling Angel that the three plan to keep the agency going without Angel. Angel, in voice over, then says “Let them fight the good fight. Someone has to fight the war.” But Angel is wrong. Dru and Darla aren’t a war. Yes, they are evil vampires who probably need to be stopped, but perhaps not by Angel, as he is too emotionally involved in them to think clearly. So entangled, in fact, that he can’t recognize that this is a distraction to fighting the good fight and staying on the path to redemption. But it’s hard to blame Angel. It’s hard to stay strong sometimes and Wolfram & Hart really knew what they were doing when they brought Darla back.

​

On a final note, Dru’s premotions are in fine form in this episode. She is able to foretell her and Darla's burning, as well as Angel’s presence and what it means for Darla. It’s too bad that Dru is so insane she speaks in riddles, since her premotions would otherwise be really helpful to Darla.

​

​

“Blood Money”

​

Episode 12 of Season 2

​

“Have you become that yet?”

​

Original US airdate: January 23rd, 2001 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Check Point")

Rewatched: January 7th, 2023

​

• Writer: Shawn Ryan & Mere Smith

• Director: R.D. Price

• Guests: Christian Kane, Stephanie Romanov, Sam Anderson, Julie Lee, Gerry Becker, Mark Rolston

​

The main plot is a fairly typical episode. Angel foils a plot of Wolfram & Hart’s to help a charity with fundraising while planning to pocket most of the money themselves. There are several side plots as well. Gunn, Cordelia and Wes are continuing to try to make it on their own, although it’s not going so smoothly. We learn that Angel was in Juarez in the 1920s, where he fought with a demon named Boone over a woman, but the two were forced to call a truce when the sun rose (so many questions, since this doesn’t quite jive with Angel’s lack of contact with the world after getting his soul). Boone has honor and he helps Angel steal with charity money from Wolfram & Hart before they fight it out, finishing their unfinished business from the 1920s. Angel wins and gives the money to the charity.

​

On more interesting notes, we (but not Angel) learn that Wolfram & Hart don’t want him dead because he’s a major player in the apocalypse, it’s just not certain yet on which side he’ll be. This makes the Shanshu prophecy less clear cut, but also gives credence to the theory that both good and evil chose to bring Angel back after Buffy sent him to hell.

​

Secondly, Angel is still evil Angel, a being between Angel and Angelus. He waits in Lilah’s car for her, just to mess with her. He tells her that he finally understands the game. That there aren’t any rules. Wolfram & Hart kept screwing with him and now he’s going to screw with them. When Lilah says “Angel, please” and he answers with “No, no, no, no begging. That comes later”, he is nearly in full Angelus mode.

​

Finally, the woman running the charity is Chanterelle, also known as Lilly, and now known as Anne Steele, showing she kept the name Buffy gave her. Anne is no longer lost and clearly the power she claimed when held in a demon dimension has not left her. She now runs a teen home for homeless kids or kids who don’t know where to go. Angel stalks her and confronts her about working with Wolfram & Hart, who Anne first thinks can do no wrong. Anne soon discovers that Wolfram & Hart are planning on leaving her with a very small percentage of the charity ball takings. However, she feels the small amount is still more than she could ever earn on her own and is willing to make the deal. Surprisingly, Angel convinces her otherwise, telling her that he doesn’t think she’s the kind of person who can look the other way and in the end, Anne agrees to help Angel trick Wolfram & Hart, and when Angel beats Boone, he gives her the whole charity ball take. So while Angel’s interaction with Lilah shows his evil side, his interaction with Anne shows he still cares. Angel is not fully lost.

​

​

“Happy Anniversary”

​

Episode 13 of Season 2

​

“It's like a song. Now, I can hold a note for a long time. Actually, I can hold a note forever... But eventually, that's just noise. It's the change we're listening for... the note coming after and the one after that. That's what makes it music.”

​

Original US airdate: February 6th, 2001 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Blood Ties")

Rewatched: January 13th, 2023

​

• Writer: David Greenwalt

• Director: Bill L. Norton

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Brigid Brannagh, Matt Champagne, Darby Stanchfield, Mike Hagerty

​

This episode has two storylines. The first centers on Angel and Lorne saving the world and the second on Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn getting their business running. The three finally have an office, although it smells funky, and have started advertising, although they end up having no power and no phones, but they do end up with their first client, thanks to Wes’s girlfriend Virginia. The three are able to save the day and close the case, and celebrate by throwing a party in their new office. A new client comes in during the party and the gang is ready to fight the good fight again. When the client asks which of them is Angel (they are keeping the name, sort of) they say it’s just a name. While they know the future is not certain, the gang is optimistic they can keep going without Angel.

​

In the other story line, Lorne comes to see Angel because the world is going to end. Lorne figured out that a guy who came to sing in his club was going to do something that would cause the end of the world and he wants Angel to stop it. It is interesting to note (and Angel alludes to this in the episode as well) that when Angel lost his soul in season 2 of Buffy, he did try to end the world himself. It is clear, therefore, that his ability to care and help Lorne save the world means he’s not Angelus. He is still Angel, just not really following his destiny. Lorne coming to Angel (rather than to Cordy, Gunn and Wes) indicates that he is willing to take a more active role in getting Angel back on the track of redemption, and foreshadows the more active role he’ll play in the group in coming episodes and seasons.

​

So, the two track down Gene, a physicist who is trying to freeze time and who, unknowingly, has been given the math he needs to make his machine work by Lubber demons. The Lubber demons want to end the world, and Gene wants to freeze time so his girlfriend won’t leave him. He is the classic guy who thinks he’s a good guy but is really just toxic – if he can’t have his girlfriend forever, he’ll freeze time to get his wishes. But Gene and the demons are stopped. The world does not stop. Everything’s good. And while Angel is working to save the world, Lorne has a chance to help Angel reconnect with the champion inside him.

​

Lorne starts by questioning whether Angel would actually be sad if the world ended, saying he pushed his friends away, “you went from helping the helpless to hunting down the guilty. Blood vengeance is a luxury of the lesser being. You’re a champion, Angel, I mean, you were, at least.” It’s interesting here that Lorne uses “lesser being”, which the oracles called Angel in season 1, before revising their view of Angel. This clearly positions Lorne as a new version of the oracles, someone who may actually want Angel to succeed, rather than a fully neutral advisor. He’s also willing to call Angel on his BS. Angel rants a bit about his lot in life, that he can’t win or atone for all the evil he did. He has Wolfram & Hart against him and “why the hell is everyone so surprised it’s working?” He claims his crew couldn’t handle that, but Lorne calls him on it, telling Angel he left his crew in the cold.

​

So in the end, Angel perhaps ends this episode regretting firing his friends, but he’s not quite ready to admit it or to give up his obsession with Darla, Drusilla and Wolfram & Hart. Also, he’s not quite ready to admit that the Angel Investigations is not okay without him. So, a step in the right direction, but not quite enough to get Angel and the others back together.

​

​