Angel returns to a hotel where he once stayed to confront an evil that has resided there for decades.

This episode is, sadly, a simultaneously great and dreadful idea. Providing a flashback to the now souled Angel back in the Fifties is a nice break from the traditional approach (last season’s flashbacks were mainly to his early days as a vampire), but the problem lies in the character of Angel then. It’s not David Boreanaz’s fault, who portrays an Angel, as he himself has pointed out, ‘honing his brooding skills’. Therefore, he’s an apathetic character, someone who has no desire to help others or get involved in what’s happening around him, making him a difficult character to build a story around without another catalyst.

The scenes set in the present day are too short to provide a b-plot, with a few comments from Wesley being the only saving grace as Angel merely turns up with his team, destroys the demon and decides to set up shop in the abandoned hotel. All that fuss just for a new house seems a little over the top.

Back in the past, there’s some good material. The characters populating the hotel (the actress and director are very funny) are an eclectic assortment, and the way Angel is almost forced into helping is a clever way of giving him a reason to go back in the future, with the coda to the story being fairly obvious, yet still touching.

It’s a good episode, it just suffers from having too many main characters that the viewer is only able to loathe for their stupidity and ill-advised actions. With no heroic heart, it all falls somewhat flat.

***

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