Cordelia gets a vision of a young woman being attacked, realizing Angel will be too late but not that the girl has telekinetic powers. Can Angel help her regain control of her life and her abilities?

This is an episode that really doesn’t go where you expect it to. When things kick off at Wolfram & Hart with Lilah checking through Lindsey’s files, only to be interrupted by Darla, it seems the episode is going to build on these elements. This is true, but it’s the way the characters are involved that really makes this special. As Darla continues her night time seduction of Angel (although I’m still not clear on how she’s affecting him so she can be in the same room without him realizing), our heroic vampire assists the new woman in his life.

This is where all the real surprises happen. The first is the confrontation between Angel and Bethany, when she rams a metal girder through him. His steadfast refusal to collapse is made more human and heroic when he does so after she’s left. It shows that he can be hurt, even if he does heal again quickly. When Bethany then returns to her lodgings and to Lilah, it’s merely the icing on the cake, and a superb twist in the tale. It’s interesting first to see Lilah in action solo rather than just being a Wolfram & Hart employee, but also to see the lengths to which she’ll go to bring this powerful woman into her sphere of influence.

However, this still isn’t the whole story, and finding the secret of Bethany’s power and her attitude towards the world is not only carefully and tastefully handled, but also expertly brought out by Wesley with astonishing results. You can see what he’s doing and why, and it really shows his strength of character, especially considering the hints dropped about his own past.

And then there’s the finale. When the ‘trigger’ is sent to Bethany, it leads to an extremely strong and powerful image and a brilliantly-played ending, with Angel encouraging her to do what she feels she has to to reclaim her life. If there’s any problem here, it’s that the Darla subplot isn’t really required, but that’s hardly a disaster in such a perfectly-written and well-acted episode that provides insights into several recurring characters. It’s this kind of human drama played out on a fairly intimate stage that sets Angel apart from its progenitor.

*****

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