"Release"

 

Episode 14 of Season 4

"Is that what the scraggly little ponce armed you with to fight the big bad bogeyman?”

 

Original US airdate: March 12th, 2003

Rewatched: March 26th, 2024

​

• Writer: Sarah Fain, Elizabeth Craft & Steven S. DeKnight

• Director: James A. Contner

• Guests: Christopher Neiman, Eliza Dushku

​

The episode starts with Wesley bringing Faith to his apartment to patch her up after her fight with the Beast and Angelus. Despite Faith having a moment of rage in Wesley’s shower and punching a hole in his wall, it’s surprisingly good between the two, considering everything that has happened in their past. What’s clear to Wesley is that Faith may not have what it takes to save Angel. She’s worried about the violence turning her dark again and she’s holding back. Wesley works throughout the episode to try to get her to realize what she’ll need to do to bring Angel back. In fact, for the first time, Wesley is truly being Faith’s Watcher. He brings up her past, telling her she’ll need her old self to beat Angelus; that she has to be willing to take it all the way. He also shows Faith he’s not who he used to be when he stabs (but doesn’t kill) a junkie to get information they need (information Faith was unable to get). Overall, what’s interesting is how good a team they make. It’s too bad they won’t get to explore this more.

​

The next relationship is Angelus and the Beast Master. With the Beast dead, Cordelia is using magic to speak directly in Angelus’s head, attempting to convince him to work with her. She even taunts him with his soul, showing that it must have been Cordelia who stole it. Cordelia says that Angelus is forced to live inside Angel. That he’s the voice inside, just beneath the surface, trapped. It’s an interesting image that will be explored further in the next episode. Angelus, however, is not interested in joining the Beast Master, and instead steals everything Angel Investigations has in order to track them down and make it all stop. Angelus still doesn’t know the answer by the end of the episode.

​

Then, there’s Cordy and Connor. Cordy is trying to sell their baby as Connor’s 2nd chance at family. It’s tempting for him. He never had his childhood, really, but he can have a real family with Cordy. Maybe. Since the audience knows that Cordy is not okay, it’s hard to know what her motives are with Connor and the baby. It’s also confusing for Connor that when Angelus comes to steal everything and Connor attacks him, Lorne’s spell engages. This may indicate Connor is not fully human (it’s interesting to note that despite the demon essence, Slayers are fully human and likely would not be affected by the spell. Evidence is Spike’s chip in season 4 of Buffy, which only stopped working on Buffy when she returned from the dead, but not before). In any case, Connor is left wondering whether he is, in fact, a vampire. I would argue that it’s fairly clear he’s not (sunlight doesn’t hurt him), but it’s understandable he's worried. Just as he never had a childhood, he never had clarity on who and what he is.

​

Then, there’s Gunn and Fred. They still maybe have feelings for each other. When Angelus is able to trick Fred into giving him the intel on the Beast, and Fred is unable to shoot him with a tranquilizer (only Lorne instead), she is feeling useless. Gunn is able to comfort her, telling her if she thinks she did something wrong, just don’t do it again. Fred questions whether things can be that simple and Gunn admits that it may only be true sometimes, clearly a reference to their relationship not being able to be saved by just deciding not to make the same mistakes. They do share a final kiss this episode, and are able to part on good terms. This is their true end as a couple.

​

The final relationship is Angelus and Faith. They have their showdown at the end of the episode. They fight, they banter. Faith’s heart doesn’t seem to be truly in it and Angelus gains the upper hand. In the final scene, he bites her neck and drinks her blood. It’s a cliffhanger ending, leaving a lot of open questions.

​

This episode really showcases the tangled mess of relationships that Angel Investigations has become. This tangled mess will continue to drive much of the action of this season.

​

​

"Orpheus"

 

Episode 15 of Season 4

"It leads you down to hell.”

 

Original US airdate: March 19th, 2003

Rewatched: April 1st, 2024

​

• Writer: Mere Smith

• Director: Terrence O'Hara

• Guests: Alyson Hannigan, Eliza Dushku

​

It turns out, Wes and Faith had the brilliant idea to let Angelus bite Faith after she had shot herself up with Orpheus, a mystical drug. Both Faith and Angel start the episode in a coma and share a series of Angel’s memories together. This is not the first time Faith has shared coma visions with someone, and like the Buffy season 3 finale, this series of visions is very important for Angel's understanding of himself.

​

We see Angel arrive in New York in 1902, keeping to himself at the docks. Later, we see him in 1920s Chicago. There, he is also keeping to himself, but he does rescue a dog from getting run over. When he returns it to its owner, a young woman who is very thankful, he’s rude to her. This very much fits the Angel we got to know in “Are You Now or Have You Ever Been”. Then, we see him in the 70s. He’s at a diner. He plays “Mandy” on the Juke Box. Then, there’s a robbery. It goes badly and the clerk gets shot. Angel tries to help him, but the clerk dies. Then Angel feeds on his blood. After this memory, Angelus and Faith are in an alley, watching Angel feed on rats and looking like he did when Whistler met him. This answers the open question of why Angel was living in the streets and eating rats before coming to Sunnydale. The guilt he felt over feeding from the dead man made him cut all ties. Living in the world but apart didn’t work. Living on the streets wasn’t really a solution either. He needed to find his destiny.

​

In the alley, Angel begins  not just to be a memory, but to respond to Faith and Angelus. Angel is not just fighting Angelus, he’s also fighting to save Faith, who is convinced she’s dying, and seems to be willing to die. He convinces her to live, telling her that their time is never up and they’ll never be done paying, and that Faith needs to keep fighting. She can’t take the easy way out and die. Angel needs to fight, too. Angelus claims he’s always in Angel, and this may be right. It seems as if the soul only works like a conscience, meaning whoever you are without your soul is still inside you with it. However, Angel wins the fight. Angelus might always be there, but Angel knows who he is.

​

While all this is going on in Angel's head, Willow arrives in LA, having been called there by Fred. Fred assumed there would be no better person to re-ensoul Angel than the last person alive to do it. The gang is pretty excited about her arrival, except Connor, who remains skeptical of magic, and Cordy. Since it seems Cordy wants an evil Angelus on her side, having Willow there is a threat. It is also possible she thinks Willow might be able to tell there is something not right with her. They do have a brief conversation. But then Cordy stays in her room, using her magic against Willow’s magic, until Connor, fearing for her safety, barges in, allowing Willow’s magic to free Angel’s soul from the jar it was in. Willow never does figure out anything is wrong (except for Angel's missing soul).

​

With no hope to prevent Willow's magic, Cordy tries to convince Connor to kill Angel. She is very manipulative and Connor is very open to being manipulated, so of course he goes down to kill his father while Willow is still working on putting Angel’s soul back in his body. Faith wakes up from her coma at the right moment, knowing exactly what to do. She runs down to the basement to save Angel from Connor. The spell works and Angel is back. Cordy's plans have been thwarted. All is well.

​

Willow takes Faith back to Sunnydale with her, to help with the First. Fred, very excited to have another woman she can relate to, wants to keep in touch with Willow. She’s very enthusiastic… and Willow assumes Fred is trying to date her, turning down her offer of friendship by telling her she’s in a relationship. Poor Fred.

​

Of course, things are not really all right. Cordy finally comes downstairs and drops the bombshell that she’s pregnant to the whole team.

​

​

"Players"

 

Episode 16 of Season 4

"So why do you stay if that's all they see in you?”

 

Original US airdate: March 26th, 2003

Rewatched: April 7th, 2024

​

• Writer: Jeffrey Bell, Sarah Fain & Elizabeth Craft

• Director: Michael Grossman

• Guests: Alexa Davalos

​

Although this episode does deal with Cordy’s pregnancy, a main focus is Gunn and his role with Angel Investigations.

​

First, on the more general front, Angel tells everyone Angelus didn’t kill Lilah and overall acknowledges the price that was paid for bringing Angelus back. Lorne is upset with himself, calling himself as reliable as a cheap fortune cookie, for missing so much (Angelus still being Angelus, Cordy being pregnant). Connor thinks no one is happy about Cordy’s pregnancy because they hate him, but not realizing that it’s good to be weirded out by strange and mystical babies. He is, however, beginning to doubt some of what Cordy is trying to convince him of. Just not enough to make him trust his father. Basically, the team is still at work trying to figure out what everything means and it’s not going well. When Gwen shows up to borrow Gunn, he tells her the last year has been a turgid, supernatural soap opera and he is not wrong.

​

The main story revolves around Gwen, who needs Gunn. She tells him it's to help rescue a girl, but it turns out Gwen is stealing new tech that will turn off her electro girl powers, letting her be touched by humans. It’s a fun heist… and it ends with Gunn sleeping with Gwen. But in the middle, Gwen is able to get Gunn to think about who he really is. Gunn has always been a fighter. Angel calls him muscle at the beginning of the episode, and he tells Gwen that he’s a fighter, born and raised. But Gwen calls Gunn’s self-assessment into question. And the episode proves her right. Although Gunn will never be as strong as Angel, he is very much like him. He has skills and can think on his feet, even if he can’t do the hard-core research that Fred and Wes can do. He has smarts and he is more than just a side kick. This episode is a good showcase of that.

​

Back to Cordy. Angel has, perhaps, managed to piece everything together. He’s figured out that something is not right with Cordy. At one point in the episode, he speaks very disparagingly about the Beast Master, raising the question whether he knows then it’s Cordy. By the end of the episode, it’s clear. Lorne does a fake ritual that should help him be able to read people again. Cordy tries to end it (and end Lorne), but Angel, Wes, Lorne and Fred confront her. Lorne asks his magic 8 ball (conveniently there for the ritual) whether Cordy’s been bad. The answer is clear. However, it’s still not really clear why.

​

The turgid soap opera still has a few more episodes.

​

​

"Inside Out"

 

Episode 17 of Season 4

"It's her, she just ain't driving.”

 

Original US airdate: April 2nd, 2003

Rewatched: April 14th, 2024

​

• Writer: Steven S. DeKnight

• Director: Steven S. DeKnight

• Guests: Gina Torres, David Denman, Stephi Lineburg, Julie Benz

​

Angel Investigations is faced with the question of what’s up with Cordy. Is Cordy evil? Is Cordy not Cordy? How do all the events of this season fit together? For example, was her amnesia after returning from the higher plane fake, a side effect of returning, or the real Cordy trying to keep the evil within her at bay? Some questions will never really be answered.

​

Wesley and Angel feel that the Powers have been useless so far. As Angel says, “They didn’t stop it because they didn’t want to get their hands dirty.” Angel, however, is out of answers so decides to turn to the Powers anyway, tracking down Skip. Skip tells Angel, under duress, that “That thing which has turned your life into a burning ring of fire, she is the real Cordelia. Or at least she’s in there somewhere … it’s her, she just ain’t driving.” Skip also claims that Cordelia’s ascension was planned as a way to get whatever’s in her onto Earth, and that everything that has ever happened, really, was orchestrated to make this possible. But how can all of Cordy’s life be a lie? While it may a bit far fetched that Cordy matured enough to become a higher being, it’s hard to say that her growth was planned, that everything was planned to get her where she needed to be. She had free will, and she choose to fully accept her mission and become who she is. Skip can’t take that away from her. As Gunn later says, when Fred is wondering if anything is worth fighting for if everything’s rigged, “the final score can’t be rigged … that last shot always comes up a question mark. But here’s the thing, you’ll never know when you take it… so you just treat it all like it was up to you, the world in a balance, ‘cause you never know when it is.” This very much reminds me of Angel’s words in season 2 episode 16.

​

However, the situation is a bit dire. Whatever hitched a ride down to Earth using Cordy is planning to give birth to itself (thus the pregnancy) and Cordy won’t survive it. The only way to stop this thing is to kill Cordy before she gives birth. Angel makes the hard choice to kill Cordy, but goes to do it alone, not willing to let his team carry the burden of killing her with him. Angel doesn't make it on time, though. Cordy gives birth and Angel, instead of taking a swing, becomes enchanted by the beauty he sees before him. Cordy has given birht to a fully grown woman who casts a spell on everyone who sees her.

​

Another important theme is Cordy’s continued manipulation of Connor. In this episode, she tells him Angel hates him. She then convinces Connor to help her birth her baby now rather than wait. She even convinces Connor to kidnap a young woman so her blood can be used in the ritual. Connor seems to not fully believe Cordy. The kidnapping is a bit too far for him to go. But he also can’t trust himself or anyone else, so he continues to follow her. While trying to get the courage to carry out a sacrifice for Cordy, Connor is visited by Darla. She tells him everything she ever wanted to tell him about her love for him.

But I’ll always be a part of you. You shared your soul with me once, when you were growing inside of me and I’d lost my own. You brought light to my shadow. Filled my heart with joy and love. I’d never felt so close to any living thing as I did to my beautiful boy … I did what I had to. My life for yours. I did so many terrible things, Connor, so much destruction, so much pain. You were the one good thing I ever did. The only good thing.

​

Angelus told Connor his version of this story a few episodes ago. Finally, Connor gets to hear the truth, but since he doubts he’s really seeing his mother, it’s unclear whether he knows what she says here is true, raising the question of whether Connor will ever really understand what happened when he was a baby.

​

But in this moment, Darla tells him he has a choice, to kill or not. It seems she might be able to sway him, but Cordy returns and Connor decides. He tells Darla she’s not her mother and fully aligns himself with Cordy and their baby. The birth causes an earthquake (which back at Angel Investigations, leads to Skip getting free. He nearly takes out the team, but Wesley kills him) and Cordy calls the birth the beginning of a new world. The next episodes will show the new world Cordy promised.

​

​