"Awakening"

 

Episode 10 of Season 4

"All of us. Together.”

 

Original US airdate: January 29th, 2003

Rewatched: February 4th, 2024

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• Writer: David Fury & Steven S. DeKnight

• Director: James A. Contner

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Vladimir Kulich, Roger Yuan

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Tensions remain high. The sun is gone. Gwen has skipped town. Wesley is out looking for answers, and Fred is trying to hit the books, but is getting nowhere without Wesley, which makes Gunn jealous.

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The group is also feeling uncertain about Angel and his role. Connor is convinced Angel is lying, that he remembers the Beast but just isn’t saying anything. Angel can’t remember anything but doesn’t want to bring Angelus back. Wesley finds a shaman who can bring Angelus back and brings him to the hotel without Angel’s consent. Emotions are running high.

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It is Cordy who convinces Angel to go through with it. She is the only one who really knows Angelus, and if she's pushing Angel to do it, then he has to listen to her. Not just because he loves her (even with the strange Connor love triangle), but because she knows.

 

So, they build a cage and the shaman does his work.

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Except is seems at first like they might not need to bring back Angelus. The shaman is in league with the Beast and tries to kill Angel. The shaman dies, but gives them clues how to beat the Beast. Wesley apologizes to Angel, and Angel claims it’s the first time Wes has ever apologized for anything (although I am not sure this is right, it may only be the first heartfelt apology Wesley has given since stealing Connor). The apology allows Wesley to re-join the group. There is a fun adventure with Cordy, Wes, Angel and Connor to find a mysterious sword to slay the Beast. Cordy makes up with Angel and tells him she loves him, and they kiss. Then Angel has it out with Connor. They fight, but it seems to do them good. Angel also tells him that “what you want isn’t always what other people need”, a key quote that will become important at the end of this season and in season 5.

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Additionally, Gunn is no longer angry at Wes and Fred. He is playful Gunn again. Full of good spirits. Angel gets to have lots of near-death heroics, too, which is good for a champion. When Angel learns killing the Beast may kill him, everyone is dismayed. Cordy says she can’t lose him, not now, mirroring what Angel said about her in the first episode of this season. Angel gives a big speech, justifying facing the Beast despite the risk:

I have to do this. You made a difference, each of you. Not just to me but to the world. We’ve been pushed to the edge so many times. Done things we were sure could never be forgiven but we’re always there for each other when it counts. We’ve never let the darkness win… because we believe in each other. Not just as friends or lovers, but as champions. All of us. Together.

It’s great and inspiring. Angel faces the Beast. Connor joins him in the fight, accepting Angel for who he is and as different from Angelus. Angel wins, doesn’t die, the sun returns. Everyone is happy. The group is good. Angel and Cordy are good. They end the day together in bed, and Angel finally has another moment of true happiness. He says “Buffy?”, like he did in Sunnydale when he lost his soul. Angel has lost his soul again. The whole day was just an elaborate vision.

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The easy fix should have been a tip that everything was a lie. But also, Angel’s big speech didn’t really reflect reality either. Right now, Angel Investigations doesn’t believe in each other and that is their biggest problem, and perhaps the reason why they can’t see the answer among them. The whole episode was Angel’s vision of his perfect day, created to allow the shaman to remove Angel’s soul and store it in a fun vase. Angelus is back. It’s unclear if this will really be helpful, as nothing is right as Angel Investigations. They are busy reacting to the apocalypse and mistrusting each other, which means they aren't really investigating like they should. It's unclear whether they will every really get back on track.

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"Soulless"

 

Episode 11 of Season 4

 

"The truth is, Angel’s just something that you’re forced to wear. You’re my real father.”

 

Original US airdate: February 5th, 2003

Rewatched: February 18th, 2024

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• Writer: Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft

• Director: Sean Astin

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Vladimir Kulich

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LA still has no sun, and Connor is relentlessly slaying out-of-town vampires while everyone at the hotel is trying to figure out how to get information about the Beast out of Angelus.

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With Angel’s soul stored safely in the hotel safe, Angelus is wreaking havoc with the remaining Angel Investigations team, who are taking turns trying to get Angelus to talk. Much like during the exorcism in season one, Angelus brings up Wesley’s issues with his father and he stirs up the Gunn-Fred-Wes love triangle. Angelus tells everyone that Cordy and Connor slept together; he says horrible things about Cordy and Connor in general. As Cordy says, Angelus lies with the truth. It's a continuation of watching Angel Investigations slowly fall apart.

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One interesting conversation is the one between Connor and Angelus. Connor sneaks in without the others knowing he has gone into the basement. Angelus brings up Darla, claiming she staked herself because she couldn’t stand him. It’s interesting to note that I don’t think anyone ever tells Connor why Darla staked herself and what her last words to her son were. It's kind of sad to think that Connor may only ever believe what Angelus told him. Angelus also brings up Holtz killing himself. Connor stands up surprisingly well to Angelus’s taunts (a childhood in a hell dimension is bound to leave you thick skinned). Finally, he taunts Angelus back, saying he knows that Angelus is his real dad, and that Angel is just a mask he’s forced to wear. What’s interesting is that this is in some ways true. Angelus has never chosen to have a soul (unlike Spike on Buffy). He is happy to be evil and without a soul. Angel, on the other hand, does like having his soul (at least after meeting Buffy) and being part of the good fight. I think the fundamental difference between Spike and Angel is that Angel is both evil and good. He is Angelus and Angel together. Spike, however, lacks this duality. He is Spike. He has fully embraced his identity as a vampire longing for humanity. But that is something to explore later this season and in the next season.

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With Angelus stirring up issues, tensions are high (still or again), especially between Gunn and Wes. Wesley decides that this episode is the best episode to kiss Fred, leading to a fight between Wes and Gunn. When Fred tries to break them up, Gunn accidentally hits Fred. Things are not looking bright in their relationship.

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Finally, Cordelia manages to make a deal with Angelus and gets the information she needs from him. He tells them about a group of priestesses who can banish the Beast. He saw this happen in 1789 in Prussia while he was on his way to Vienna. Some of these priestesses now live quite close to LA and the gang goes out to find them. However, the Beast made it there first and they are all dead. They return to the hotel to ensoul Angel again, as Angelus cannot help them any more, only to find out his soul is missing from the safe. Things are still dark in LA, with no solutions to the Beast, the missing the sun, or Angelus in sight.

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"Calvary"

 

Episode 12 of Season 4

"Why do you think I let him out, you stupid bitch?”

 

Original US airdate: February 12th, 2003

Rewatched: February 25th, 2024

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• Writer: Mere Smith, Steven S. DeKnight, Jeffrey Bell

• Director: Bill L. Norton

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Stephanie Romanov, Vladimir Kulich, Roger Yuan

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Angelus is still in the basement, showing that he is actually much better at communicating than the rest of Angel Investigations. It’s just too bad he uses his skills to try to break people apart. His words put the final wedge in Gunn and Fred’s relationship, causing them to finally break up this episode. Angelus also lets them know he knows what they did to Professor Seidel. Angelus also taunts Gunn about his lack of prospects and his inability to change himself (which may not be true but does play in to Gunn’s greatest fears). Angelus finally ruins Wesley’s current chances with Fred by telling her about his relationship with Lilah.

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Lilah shows up at the hotel. She meets Angelus for the first time and confirms that the Beast took out Wolfram & Hart. She’s willing to work with Angel Investigations against the Beast, giving Wesley a copy of a book with information about the Beast. She got it from another dimension. In Earth’s dimension, all memories and records of the Beast have been magically removed (except Angelus’s). Angelus also tells everyone that the Beast has a boss. The Beast is incapable of having a master plan without one.

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With Angel still out of commission, Cordy steps up to lead, seeming to be the Cordy of old in this episode. She has a vision that reveals a spell to give Angel his soul back. Angelus is skeptical, saying it’s black magic, but it’s uncertain in the moment whether he’s just saying it to prevent getting his soul back. The spell seems to work, with Angel returning to his old self. He’s concerned about whether he can trust it and wants to stay in the cage for a bit. Cordy convinces him to come out.

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It turns out the spell didn’t work. It is Angelus who is out, hunting Lilah and Cordy through the hotel. Things take a turn when Cordy corners Lilah and kills her, stabbing her in the neck to frame Angelus. Earlier in the episode, the Beast presented his boss with a knife made out of his bones. This is the knife Cordy uses to kill Lilah. Things are not okay. Cordy is the Beast Master. Everything is unclear. Things are really falling apart.

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"Salvage"

 

Episode 13 of Season 4

"So, Vampire Slayers. I was told about them. How come you're always girls?”

 

Original US airdate: March 5th, 2003

Rewatched: March 17th, 2024

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• Writer: David Fury

• Director: Jefferson Kibbee

• Guests: Andy Hallett, Stephanie Romanov, Vladimir Kulich, Eliza Dushku

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This episode marks the return of Faith to first Angel and then Buffy. I truly love Faith and Angel's dynamic together.

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The episode starts where the last left off, with the gang discovering Lilah, dead in Angelus’s arms. Angelus flees and everyone is left thinking he killed her. In general, things are not looking good for everyone. Gunn is angry at the Powers That Be for their problems. Lorne suggests a sanctuary spell, like he used to have at Caritas, to help keep them safe, but Connor is deeply mistrustful of magic.

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A first important theme is Wesley’s relationship with Lilah. Or rather, his dealing with the aftermath of their relationship and her death. He takes her down to the basement to ensure she can’t return as a vampire, and he imagines a conversation with her. In the end, Wes will never know if he loved Lilah (although Lilah cites the signed dollar bill as proof they had something). Also, he will never be able to save her from herself. There was a brief, fleeting moment with Wolfram & Hart gone and Lilah helping Angel Investigations fight the Beast. If Cordy hadn’t killed her, might she have found a new path in life?

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The conversation is enough for Wesley to decide that, actually, killing Angel is a bad idea. He wants to save Angel and he knows how to do it. He goes and visits Faith in prison, who has recently been attacked by a fellow inmate who had been given a Bringer’s knife, a sign that the events in Buffy season 7, where the First is trying to kill off the slayer line have reached Faith. Of course, Faith survives and breaks out of prison to help Wesley save Angel. This scene is proof that Faith’s time in prison has always been somewhat voluntary.

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Angelus is at a bar filled with vampires, one of whom, Rosario, claims to have met him outside Tuscany in 1845. He has no time for past women, as Angelus is on a mission trying to track the Beast. He does find the Beast, and they talk, but Angelus refuses to join with him. Once Angelus leaves, Cordy is then revealed to be present. She kisses the Beast and any doubt that Cordy is the Beast Master is gone. Something is horribly wrong with Cordy.

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When Faith gets to LA, she organizes Angel Investigations into a rescue mission for Angel. Connor is not 100% on board, but surprisingly, Faith is able to deal with him. It leaves him a little bit in love with her. In truth, they are very similar. Connor is human, but having vampire parents left with capabilities much like a Slayer. Viewers recently learned on Buffy that the first Slayer was imbued with demon essence. Perhaps Connor sees a bit of himself in Faith.

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Angelus hears a Slayer is in town and calls Sunnydale to see if it is Buffy. He then makes a trap for Faith. Faith ends up fighting not just Angelus, but also the Beast and she is nearly killed. But in an interesting turn of events, Angelus decides to kill the Beast, assuming that the Beast's own knife made of his own bones will work. It does. The Beast is gone and the sun is back. The sun is what saves Faith from being Angelus’s next victim.

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It's interesting to note how much Faith has grown as a person. In jail, she only fights to defend herself. She takes control at Angel Investigations to save Angel, and she manages to bring Connor under control. She is not the same person we first met in season 3 of Buffy.

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Finally, viewers know that something is not right with Cordy. She has been controlling the Beast, she let Angelus out and is trying to bring him to her side through the Beast, and she is trying (at least in this episode) to keep Connor close. She has a fainting spell so he’ll stay with her, and then at the end of the episode, in light of his admiration for Faith, she tells him she’s pregnant. It is strange times.

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