While Angel attempts to find the physical and mental strength to do what must be done to Darla and Drusilla, the sacked Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn try to work out where their lives are heading.

It was going to be tough to top the events of last episode, but the fallout of Darla and Dru's massacre shows signs of being every bit as interesting as the lead-up to it. In answer to the obvious question, only two of the Wolfram & Hart party guests have survived: Lindsey and Lilah, spared by the girls so they can watch as one of them is killed and the other promoted to the position held by the now-deceased Holland.

As they wait, Darla and Dru go in search of some large demon henchmen and Angel trains for a fight before beginning to track them. Meanwhile, the remaining Angel Investigations team head for the demon karaoke bar for some hints on what to do now.

With all these plots unfolding, it's impressive that we get to see how each of these characters handles their situation. Darla is clearly very much in control, Dru is her wonderfully wobbly self as ever, and Lindsey and Lilah are left to play off against each other as they try to be the one who'll survive. With Lindsey the one who's had more screen time, it's him the viewer thinks will survive, but the end result is a little more subtle than that and should lead to some interesting future stories.

Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn pretty much make up the comic relief in the episode, but we still get a look at what makes them who they are. Gunn acquires a more vulnerable edge, Wesley shows he's not the pushover he's made out to be once again, and Cordelia, well she's still Cordelia, but she's got more get-up-and-go than previously. Their sudden karaoke moment is wonderfully entertaining, as is their drunken discussion about what to do. Their final decision is also good to see and reminds you why Angel would choose to keep these people around in the first place, and provides a scarily violent fight sequence.

And then there's Angel. Not speaking outside voiceover for the duration, he's moved to a darker place once again, but he's not Angelus. Then again, as Dru and Darla notice, he's not Angel either. What is he now? Who knows. But his superbly understated confrontation with the vampire girls is classy and effective and will certainly keep things interesting for a while. There are only a couple of problems with this: doing standalone episodes now may become difficult, but second (and most importantly), I have a nasty feeling that having acquired some superb villains to play him against, Angel's enemies will eventually have to die. And it's going to be a terrible loss if that happens.

****

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