Season Four

 

Regular cast: David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, J. August Richards, Amy Acker, Vincent Kartheiser, Andy Hallett (from episode 14) Alexis Denisof

​

Season 4 starts with Angel Investigations apart, except for Fred and Gunn, and while some members will find their way back, not all will, marking a big change to the show for this and the final season. This season also raises the question of what good and evil are, or rather what the value of free will is. Season 4 is a roller coaster. The first time I watched it, I screamed through the episodes in two days on DVD and even managed to break my player.

​

​

“Deep Down”

​

Episode 1 of Season 4

​

“What I deserve is open to debate.”

​

Original US airdate: October 6th, 2002

Rewatched: September 28th, 2023

​

• Writer: Steven S. DeKnight

• Director: Terrence O'Hara

• Guests: Andy Hallett, John Rubinstein, Laurel Holloman, Stephanie Romanov, Daniel Dae Kim

​

Gunn and Fred are looking for Angel, but Connor is doing his best to stop them making progress. While they are keeping the business running, it is not looking great. Meanwhile, it is Wesley who is making the most progress. He is still sleeping with Lilah, but still has not gone over to Wolfram & Hart, and he has managed to keep his work a secret from her. His work involves keeping Justine a prisoner in his closet and going out at night on a boat looking for Angel’s coffin. It is a sign of Wesley coming close to darkness – he’s doing things that are bad, but his chance for redemption is that he hasn’t given up on his family and is doing these dark things to keep the family together. He is successful in finding Angel this episode, and Wesley helps Angel regain his strength with animal blood, and then his own blood, before returning Angel to the hotel.

​

Angel, while under water, has visions of an idealized version of his friends, but also his fears of killing and being left out. Being underwater for so long does not help his relationship to Connor. While Connor was sinking him, he told Connor not to blame himself, but in this episode, Angel does blame him. Once he’s returned to the hotel, he confronts Connor, telling him:

What I deserve is open to debate. But understand there’s a difference between wishing vengeance on someone and taking it. So now the question becomes, what do you deserve? … What you did to me, it was unbelievable, Connor, and I’ve been stuck in a hell-dimension by my girlfriend one time for a hundred years, so a few months under the ocean actually gave me perspective. Kind of an M.C. Escher perspective. But I did get time to think. About us, about the world. Nothing in this world is what it ought to be. It’s harsh and cruel, that’s why there’s us. Champions. It doesn’t matter where we come from, what we’ve done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world were as it should be, to show it what it can be. You’re not a part of that yet. I hope you will be. I love you, Connor. Now get out of my house.

This speech is reminiscent of what Angel’s father said to him, but perhaps shows more love. It also encapsulates a key Angel philosophy, that it doesn’t matter what we really achieve, only that we do good. It is also something to revisit later in the season, when Angel is confronted with another way of making the world a better place.

​

Some final points to mention. First, Lilah beheads Lindwood and grabs the reigns at Wolfram & Hart. Then, Fred is often underestimated, but in this episode she shows again how capable she is, taking on Connor with an electro shocker when Wesley calls to tell them the news about Angel and Connor’s role in his disappearance. Lorne is in Vegas, with little time for his LA friends, and being a bit strange in his interactions, mentioning to Fred that he hopes Fluffy is getting enough love. Finally, no one at Angel Investigations knows what happened to Cordy, with Fred and Gunn assuming she disappeared with Angel until Angel is found sans Cordy. Angel, once back at the hotel, says he needs Cordy. But she is now a higher being, bored out of her mind.

​

Adulthood is full of choices and consequences, and Angel Investigations is still dealing with the aftermath of various decisions they have made.

​

​

“Ground State”

​

Episode 2 of Season 4

​

“It's just you count on stuff, you know, things being where you left them.”

​

Original US airdate: October 13th, 2002

Rewatched: October 12th, 2023

​

• Writer: Mere Smith

• Director: Michael Grossman

• Guests: Stephanie Romanov, Alexa Davalos, Rena Owen, Tom Irwin

​

This episode introduces Gwen, a cat burglar with the power to control electricity (and who dresses like Elektra). She had a hard life and became a thief but isn’t without a heart. When she makes Gunn’s heart stop with her power, she comes back and brings him back. When she finds out Angel can’ be killed by her power (and in fact her power manages to make his heart beat again), they share a kiss, perhaps her first chance at intimacy (she is disappointed Angel loves another). When she realizes why Angel is really after the artifact she is trying to steal (and when her buyer double-crosses her and Angel helps her out of that), she gives it to him so he can find Cordy. Gwen has power. She kicks ass. But she really seems to just be looking for a place to belong.

​

This mirrors Angel Investigations a bit. Each member is just looking to find their way. Angel wants to find Cordy. He tracks down Wesley, who is now running his own gang, and Wesley gives him everything he has, telling him he needs to talk to a being called Dinza, who in turns tells Angel to use the Axis of Pythia to locate Cordy. This is what both Gwen and Angel attempt to steal. At the end of the episode, it will help Angel locate Cordy. Two things are important. Angel tries to apologize to Wesley and invite him back into the fold, but Angel may not fully mean it (he’s angling for intel) and too much has happened in between for Wesley to want to come back right now. Angel does say thank you for rescuing him. But neither can turn back time. However, it is a first indication that perhaps Wesley may be able to come back in the future. Then, at the end of the episode, Angel assumes Cordy is happy as a higher being (she’s still not) and chooses not to try to bring her back.

​

Also in this episode, the gang move Cordy’s stuff out of her apartment and into the hotel, saying goodbye to Phantom Dennis and the apartment she should never have been able to afford. This is very emotional for everyone, perhaps especially for Fred. Fred expresses the view that you expect everything to be there when you get back and what happens when you get back and everything’s not there? Angel says you go find everything, but Fred knows it’s not so simple. She lost a lot in Pylea and couldn’t go back to her old life; she rather made a new life. Wesley is gone and the relationship cannot be easily repaired, and Cordy is gone. While some things may come back together, others may never. These feelings are things Fred has been working to keep in check all summer. Seeing Gunn die (and be revived) finally drives her over the edge, allowing her to let out all her pent-up fears and angers. She’s been trying to be the adult all summer and it hasn’t been easy.

​

Finally, Angel is keeping an eye on Connor, but so is Lilah (who hopes to win him for Wolfram & Hart). Angel threatens her, forcing her to back off, additionally noting that he knows she’s sleeping with Wesley.

​

Thus, everyone is really looking at where they belong in this episode. Cordy wants to come home. Angel and Fred are trying to put Angel Investigations back together in their own ways, Wesley is forging a new path, and Lilah is continuing to cement her place at Wolfram & Hart through Wesley and Connor. Finally, Connor is trying to find his place in the world as well. No one is really successful, as these things take time and can’t happen overnight.

​

​

“The House Always Wins”

​

Episode 3 of Season 4

​

“Or maybe Lady Luck was smiling down on you.”

​

Original US airdate: October 20th, 2002

Rewatched: October 19th, 2023

​

• Writer: David Fury

• Director: Marita Grabiak

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Clayton Rohner

​

The gang goes to Vegas to see Lorne and realize it’s not his new life of fame that has kept him from them, but his boss holding him captive and using his talent to find destinies he can steal and sell on the black market. In fact, Lorne says he kept mentioning Fluffy to try to let them know he was in trouble. While rescuing Lorne, Angel’s destiny is stolen, leaving Angel addicted to slot machines and very dazed and confused. Although Gunn and Fred get Lorne out of his prison, without Angel’s help, they are captured, and the evil casino mastermind is about to kill them. Cordy, still looking on from above and helpless to help, manages to make a small change. She makes Angel win the big jackpot on his slot machine, something that shouldn’t have been possible. When casino security brings him into the room with his friends, he fights for their lives. They win the day, everyone gets their destiny back, and the gang returns to the hotel, to find Cordy waiting, with no memory.

​

The theme is friendship. As Lorne says to Angel, “… even without a flight plan, bucko, you’re still a stealth bomber. You were fighting for friends’ futures. The people you love are part of your destiny. Nobody can take that aways, not even you.” It’s a good message, and Angel does show again and again that he cares. Even though he’s on the outs with Connor, he is still watching him (even in this episode) to make sure he’s okay. He’s on the verge of figuring out Cordy might still be watching, as he and Gunn discuss how he managed to win at the slots, they get close to realizing it must have been Cordy (only cut short by her appearance at the hotel). He’s again and again risked a lot for all of them. Only Wes remains on the outs, not counted as a friend worth fighting for. Wesley is still with Lilah, and still building his own demon-fighting crew, seemingly better equipped than Angel Investigations, as he seems to be ordering special weapons from someone named Emile. But no one is close to bringing everyone back together.

​

On a final note, we learn Angel spent time in Vegas. It’s unclear when. He references various aspects from the 1940s-1960s, which may mean he returned to the city several times during this time.

​

​

“Slouching Toward Bethlehem”

​

Episode 4 of Season 4

​

“We were afraid the truth would scare you.”

​

Original US airdate: October 27th, 2002

Rewatched: October 26th, 2023

​

• Writer: Jeffrey Bell

• Director: Skip Schoolnik

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Stephanie Romanov

​

Cordy is back, but things are not great.

​

First, let’s talk about Connor. At the beginning of the episode, he arrives to help a family whose car has broken down. He creeps them out, and they are happy to see the tow truck arrive, but when the tow truck turns out to be driven by vampires, Connor saves them. It is clear that deep down, he longs to be part of a family like that and it’s clear he thinks he’ll never have that. Then, it turns out Connor has been coming to the hotel to spy on Angel. He sees Cordy’s return and continues to watch over her at the hotel. He saves her from a demon, and then the two leave together, going to his place, where he is also able to protect her (with some help from Angel Investigations) from Wolfram & Hart. Cordy decides to stay with Connor rather than return, something Connor seems quite happy with. Is he finally getting the family he wants?

​

Now, let’s turn to Cordy. She is back, but the big question is why, and why can’t she remember anything? The rest of the gang is not quite ready to tell Cordy to full truth, trying to hide that Angel is a vampire, that they kill demons, and that Lorne exists. It doesn’t go well. Cordy is confused and mistrustful. She can’t figure herself out, thinking she’s a spy, then a mom, and then a nun. When she finally gets a short version of the truth, she doesn’t believe it. She is, however, willing to sing for Lorne (and sings the same song she sang in the talent show on Buffy).This, however, ends with Lorne fleeing, claiming that evil is coming (and Wolfram & Hart steal his memories at the end of the episode, showing that whatever Cordy has inside that she can’t remember, and that Lorne was able to read, is big). The gang is all set to solve the mystery of Cordelia, but Cordelia can’t bring herself to trust them and flees with Connor, who hasn’t deceived her yet.

​

Finally, Wesley and Lilah are still sleeping together. Wes calls it a relationship in this episode, losing a bet he had made with Lilah and forcing him to pay her a dollar. She asks him to sign it, which he does, and she also writes on it. When she leaves, she leaves it behind. However, she also uses Wesley for her own gain. She lets him overhear a telephone conversation, which sends Wesley to Angel Investigations to tell them that Wolfram & Hart are after Cordy. When they try to take her from Connor’s place, Connor and the team prevent it. But, this was just a ruse for Wolfram & Hart to get the team out of the hotel so others could steal Lorne’s memories.

​

This episode raises a lot of questions about Cordy’s return, but it also shows that Wesley may be ready to return (and the gang to have him return), as both don’t hesitate to work together. One part of the team may be returning while another part is drifting away.

​

​