“Dear Boy”

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Episode 5 of Season 2

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“You're at a crucial junction, big guy.”

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Original US airdate: October 24th, 2000 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "No Place Like Home")

Rewatched: November 5th, 2022

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• Writer: David Greenwalt

• Director: David Greenwalt

• Guests: Elisabth Rohm, Christian Kane, Andy Hallett, Juliet Landau, Julie Benz

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The action of season 2 picks up. Angel is still off his game (although Gunn does point out it’s not actually a game) and still dreaming of Darla. But now he’s also seeing her in real life. First, in the street. Then in a hotel. And it’s driving Angel crazy. When Angel confronts Darla at the hotel, she claims to be someone else. Angel tracks her down and watches her, but Darla turns it in to a set-up for Angel. She has the actor hired to play her husband killed by a vampire, frames Angel and sends Kate off with the SWAT team to find him. Angel, however, manages to kidnap Darla.  Darla and Angel rehash old times and no one is happy in the end.

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Those closest to Angel (and Lorne, who is a guide of sorts) are all concerned about how Angel is acting. Cordelia and Wesley are concerned Angel may turn evil again, something Gunn didn’t know was possible but is now rightly concerned about. Although Angel will not lose his soul this season, we will learn that Angel can lose his path without being evil (more like Angel pre-Buffy than Angel pre-curse). Lorne explicitly tells Angel that he is not on the right track and even refuses to tell Angel what he wants to know, since it will not set Angel on the right path. According to Lorne, Angel’s search for Darla is way off his path. But ultimately, that’s the whole point of Darla being there.

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Darla was brought back by Wolfram & Hart since they knew she could get to Angel. They shared an amazing reign of evil together and this episode shows part of that. We revisit Angel turning Drusilla, learning for the first time that Darla found her for Angel. We see that Drusilla, thanks to her sight, knew what was coming. She was driven insane and found refuge in a convent, but Angel tracked her down, killed the nuns and decided to turn Drusilla. In fact, Angel was so ruthless it made Darla uncomfortable. But now Angel has a soul and Darla is human. They end up hashing out their issues a bit, with Darla first quipping “you’re hurting me… I like it”, a line we heard previously in the Buffy episode “Angel”. Then the two delve into Darla’s jealousy of Buffy, Angel’s feelings about Darla (that she never made him happy because he didn’t have a soul to love her with) and Angel’s innate darkness that was in him before Darla sired him and his amazing capacity for evil that surpassed her own.  Angel also tells Darla that she will soon start feeling her soul even if she doesn’t yet. Darla tells Angel that she still wants him, even if God doesn’t.

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Overall, this episode underlines the conflict Angel has with the blonde women in his life. Kate is back and still angry at him. She’s newly transferred to a different department, and still ready to believe Angel is evil. Darla, a powerful force in his life as she made him a vampire and helped shaped him, will always have sway over him, even if it’s not the sway Darla wishes for. Angel has a lot of feelings about Darla, among them lust, shared (evil) experiences, guilt at killing her, and responsibility to a newly human version. And finally, Cordy mentions Buffy at one point, reminding viewers of the love of his life and the one thing he can’t have if he wants to keep his soul. So Angel has some issues with the women in his life, and it’s getting him distracted from the endgame and the chance to get what he's always wanted: his humanity.

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In fun facts, we learn Angel is 247 years old. Angel smells Cordy’s hair, possibly foreshadowing feelings he will later develop for her, and Darla says Angel told her he helped the helpless.

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“Guise will be Guise”

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Episode 6 of Season 2

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“You’re reflected in the people around you. The way they see you.”

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Original US airdate: November 7th, 2000 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Family")

Rewatched: November 13th, 2022

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• Writer: Jane Espenson

• Director: Krishna Rao

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Art LaFleur, Brigid Brannagh, Patrick Kilpatrick, Todd Susman

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In this episode, Angel and Wesley learn a little bit more about themselves but through deceitful means.
 

First, Lorne sends Angel to see a swami, but it turns out the real swami was killed and fake one is there to keep Angel out of the way for a few days (this time, not by Wolfram & Hart). Although the swami isn’t real, he does get Angel to consider certain aspects of his life, most notably the question of how others see him and that perhaps the demon inside of him is a part of him, as the fake swami points out: “But the demon is you… You don’t think it controls you.” Which does underline that Angel with a soul is not the same person as human Liam, he does indeed have the demon in him, and it is a part of him, even if the soul keeps it in check. Finally, the fake swami gets Angel to contemplate his ambivalent feelings for vampire Darla, that he both hates what she did to him and is thankful. Her turning him made it possible for him to be a hero. These insights, however, will not keep Angel from turning dark this season.

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Wesley, on the other hand, impersonates Angel to save Cordelia. Armed men were supposed to kidnap Angel in order for him to protect the heiress Virginia. Her father is big into magic and plans to sacrifice his daughter on his 50th birthday to gain immense power. His rival plans on kidnapping Virginia to prevent this (and sent Angel to the fake swami). When the armed men can’t find Angel, they threaten to kill Cordelia. Wesley takes Angel’s place and pretends to be Angel to protect Virginia. He does quite well and even becomes romantic with her, but then his cover is blown and he is kicked out. Once Angel returns and the team piece together what is going to happen at the birthday party, Wesley takes control and plans to save Virginia. Although Angel is slightly surprised by this, he lets Wesley take the lead and the team does save Virginia, who can forgive Wesley’s initial lie and the two are a couple of sorts by the end of the episode. Although Wesley tells Virginia earlier in the episode that “We all want to escape our lives sometimes”, by playing Angel Wesley was able to tap into his strength, which had been hiding under his uncertainty. Although Wesley had grown a lot in the last year, this episode really marks the change well. Wesley is not a failed Watcher anymore.

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“Darla”

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Episode 7 of Season 2

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“What am I?”

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Original US airdate: November 14th, 2000 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Fool for Love")

Rewatched: November 19th, 2022

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• Writer: Tim Minear

• Director: Tim Minear

• Guests: Mark Metcalf, Christian Kane, Sam Anderson, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau, James Marsters

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In a nutshell, Darla begins to feel her soul and Angel frees her from Wolfram & Hart (although technically, Wolfram & Hart wanted her freed) in hopes of helping her come to terms with her soul and humanness, but also perhaps to reduce his own guilt. He did kill her, after all.  But in an interesting turn, Darla is not interested in being human or having a soul, but would rather have Angel turn her again. Darla calls her soul a cancer, and says she gave Angel eternal life and it’s time for him to return the favor. Angel, despite probing his ambivalent feelings about his turning in the last episode, says that it wasn’t a favor, but rather “You damned me.”

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In the long version, Darla has a walk down memory lane (sharing some scenes with the previous Buffy episode in a cross-over of vampire history). We find out Darla, a prostitute dying of syphilis, was sired in 1609 in the Virginia Colony by the Master. A surprisingly early date considering the first permanent colony was Jamestown in 1607. In 1760, Darla introduces Angel to the Master (who claims to be the leader of the Order of Aurelius, although in Never Kill a Boy on the First Date, this seems to be a separate order, only meant to bring the Anointed to the  Master). However, Angel is not keen on the Master’s set up of living in the sewers and decides to leave, taking Darla with him (Darla will, however, return to the Master before 1996/7, and is much meeker, perhaps because she did abandon the Master once).

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In London in 1880, Drusilla has joined the gang, but is feeling a bit like a third wheel, so she decides to sire Spike. Then in 1898, the whole gang is in Romania, but Angel has been cursed with his soul. Darla tries to get it reversed, but Spike ruins her plans. We also learn that Angel returned to Darla in 1900, in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Even with a soul, he sought her out and tried to make it work, but she noticed that he wouldn’t kill innocents and challenged him to kill a baby, which he couldn’t do, forcing him to leave Darla until they met again in Sunnydale.

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On a side note, in 1898, it is clear Spike and Drusilla don’t yet know Angel has a soul. However, they must have known by 1900? Or felt it, like Darla did? However, when Spike says he killed a Slayer, it seems clear he takes Angel’s look of distain as jealousy rather than Angel’s dislike of killing.

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Although Darla was a vampire for about 150 years before she sired Angel, he becomes the center of her world and they created beautiful violence together. Angel was taken from her, and then he killed her, and now Darla is back and confused. Angel and Darla’s lives are entwined and they both hold power over each other, something that Wolfram & Hart knew they could use to their own ends. This episode lays poweful groundwork for how Darla will eventually get Angel to turn to darkness this season.

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In fun facts, we learn that Darla was not her original name, but she doesn’t remember what her human name was. Also, the Angel Investigations slogan is now “We help the helpless.”

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Vampire Timeline:

1609 Virginia Colony - Master turns Darla

1753 Galway - Darla turns Angel

1760 London - Angel meets Master, but decides not to join him and takes Darla with him (does not fit  with Buffy episode Angel- where Master claims Angel was to sit at right hand)

Late 1700s - Angel sired Penn (where was Darla?)

1838 Dublin - Angel is there killing

1860 London - Angel sees Drusilla

1880 London - Drusilla turns Spike

1880 Yorkshire - Spike learns about Slayers

1898 Romania  - Angel cursed. Darla tries to get it reversed

Turn of century Budapest - Darla and Angel were there during an earthquake (doesn’t quite fit timeline, but perhaps also happened in 1898, before Romania).

1900 China Spike kills his first Slayer/ Angel tries to rejoin Darla (finally makes “last time it was kimonos” commnet in Buffy episode Angel make sense)

1937 - Master becomes trapped under Sunnydale in Earthquake

1952 LA - Angel stayed at Hyperion Hotel

1977 NYC - Spike kills 2nd Slayer (Although Spike claimed in School Hard she begged for her life, she didn’t here)

1996 NY & LA - Whistler approaches Angel; Angel sees Buffy called

1997 - Angel in Sunnydale; Spike and Dru in Sunnydale. It is unclear when Darla arrived.

1998 South America - Drusilla leaves Spike; Spike returns to Sunnydale

1999 - Angel leaves Sunnydale for LA

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“The Shroud of Rahmon”

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Episode 8 of Season 2

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“This is all about dominance, buddy. ”

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Original US airdate: November 21st, 2000 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Shadow")

Rewatched: November 26th, 2022

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• Writer: Jim Kouf

• Director: Daviod Grossman

• Guests: Elisabeth Rohm, W. Earl Brown, Dwayne L. Barnes, R. Emery Bright, Tom Kiesche, Tony Todd

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This episode is a break from the Darla-whirlwind and a more typical monster-of-the-week episode, but one that showcases Kate and Angel’s tensions, and the rivalry between Angel and Gunn.

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Kate is still trying to pin something on Angel. In this episode, she searches his room for Darla or information about her, then follows a lead that he may be involved in a museum heist. She goes in alone and is in over her head when confronted by Angel and two demons. Angel drinks from Kate to realistically fake killing her, telling her to stay down if she wants to live. At the end of the episode, she frees Wesley, who has been arrested for murder and her assault and it seems the bite makes Kate re-think her relationship with Angel. Perhaps Kate is slowly willing to see shades of gray.

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The main action involves Gunn wanting to help his cousin, who was supposed to be the driver for a museum heist. Gunn asks Angel for help, but bristles when Angel tries to take over. Gunn clearly thought he would be the leader on this mission. In the end, Angel sends Gunn home. One of the crew members for the heist was supposed to be the vampire Jay-Don. Angel finds Jay-Don at the bus station and kills him, and then impersonates him. Gunn pulls a similar trick, taking over for his cousin. Angel tries to get Gunn to leave, but the other members of the crew get suspicious, and both end up staying.

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The crew is stealing the Shroud of Rahmon, which makes people crazy. So, unfortunately, the heist goes a bit wrong. Angel and Gunn bicker and come to blows. One demon beheads the human security guard who was their inside man (instead of just hitting him to make the robbery look real), and Wesley, Cordelia and Kate get a little loopy. Wesley, Cordelia and Kate can’t keep the Shroud from leaving the museum, and once at the hideout, Angel and Gunn can’t keep the peace. The two other remaining crew members fight it out over the Shroud until they kill each other and Angel and Gunn fight over the Shroud, until Angel realizes what’s happening and asks Gunn to trust him. Angel is able to burn the shroud and every goes back to normal.

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Gunn’s role with Angel Investigations will always remain a bit shaky. He is an outsider in many ways (notably in terms of race and class), and he gave up his own crew to work for Angel. While he isn’t as strong as Angel, he also has a similar role in the group. He is a warrior. Like Angel, it’s not just about the muscle. Gunn can lead and strategize, but he is weaker and younger than Angel. Gunn is finding it hard to play 2nd fiddle and this episode really shows this dynamic. But ultimately, Gunn also trusts Angel and knows he is fighting the good fight.

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In fun facts, Cordelia has a new, shorter haircut in this episode. And Wesley claims that Angel hasn’t drunk from a human in a very long time, but it isn’t that long ago that he drank from Buffy (about a year and a half before this episode, at the end of Buffy season 3). So that worry seems a little unfounded, although with Darla back, perhaps not. 

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“The Trial”

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Episode 9 of Season 2

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“Did I ever have a choice? ”

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Original US airdate: November 28th, 2000 (aired directly after the Buffy episode "Listening to Fear")

Rewatched: December 3rd, 2022

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• Writer: Douglas Petrie, Tim Minear

• Director: Bruce Seth Green

• Guests: Christian Kane, Andy Hallett, Sam Anderson, Jim Piddock, Julie Benz, Juliet Landau

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Darla is living in a seedy motel when Lindsay, acting for Wolfram & Hart, “invites” her in for a conversation with Holland. Darla is not happy. She is angry she was brought back, angry at being used, and once she is told she is dying (of syphilis that is beyond treatment), she is angry and on a mission to get sired.

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Angel, however, is still set on saving Darla. He stakes the vampire trying to sire her in an ally and takes her to see Lorne. Lorne is not fully happy to see Angel still trying to help Darla, reminding Angel that “Things fall apart. Not everything can be put back together no matter how much you want it.” But Angel feels Darla never had a chance and he wants to give it to her.

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Lorne sends him on a quest with three trials (the valet leading the trials first claims no one has ever made it past the first, but later claims no one has gone so far in the 3rd… so a bit confusing). The first challenge is a fight, which Angel masters. The second involves crosses and holy water. And in the third, Angel is asked to give his life for Darla’s, as “death is the final challenge”. As the valet asks, “Are you still ready to give your life when she can promise you nothing?” And Angel is. But Angel doesn't end up dying. Being willing is enough and Angel has won Darla her life. However, the valet cannot give her a new life, as she is already living a second life. Darla is doomed to die anyway. (As a side note, it seems that Connor, Angel’s miracle son, may be the life he won here).

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It is interesting to note that Angel, in season 1, was not willing to give up his role as a hero for Buffy, but yet seems to be willing to give up everything for Darla. This isn't necessarily a contradiction. Giving up his role as a champion for Buffy would not have fulfilled his destiny. He would have given up his hero role merely to satisfy his own needs. Giving his life so Darla can have the chance to lead the life she always should have would actually be fulling the role of champion.

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And even though Darla can’t be granted life, the trials did have one success. They showed Darla what it means to have someone care for you. “I felt how you care, the way no one’s ever cared before. Not for me. It’s all I need from you.” And Darla takes her second chance. Not to live, but to “die the way I was supposed to die in the first place.” Darla is redeemed at last.

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This episode also has a flashback to France in 1765 where Darla and Angel are being chased by Holtz, a human vampire hunter. The two are riding one horse and it is nearing morning. They take refuge in a barn, thinking they have lost their pursuers. Unfortunately, they are surrounded and the barn is set on fire. Darla leaves Angel in the burning barn and rides off on horseback, telling him to join her in Vienna if he survives. This flashback emphasizes that Angel was right before. He claims he never loved Darla while he had no soul, something Darla scoffed at, but she didn’t love him either. It is only now, with her soul, that Darla can fully understand Angel and his actions to save her.

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But Darla is not going to be given the chance to die. Wolfram & Hart have found Drusilla and the episode ends with her siring Darla. Darla’s redemption is put on hold and Drusilla will finally be reunited with her grandmother. It isn’t really clear why Drusilla would want to sire Darla. It never seemed like they were particularly close (as they were rivals for Angel), and Dru and Spike seemed to have left Darla some time after Angel had his soul. But one motivation could be revenge. Drusilla is unusually perceptive and she may not want Angel to save Darla, as a form of revenge for what Angel did to her.

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Overall, a bittersweet episode, with Darla’s ability to drive Angel crazy seemingly coming to a end with her decision to accept her humanity and fate, only for her will to once again be circumvented. Darla really never had a chance.

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