After a night of non-passion with Darla, Angel realizes what a terrible mistake he's made and sets out to try to set things right.

It was the episode that had to come, and you can sympathize with The Host when he says that if Angel had taken any longer to find the bottom, he'd have kicked it. The Dark Angel (ho ho) plotline had pretty much run its course, and this episode sets things back to near-rights. The only thing is lacks really is Angel offering Kate a job at Angel Investigations. After a story that seemed to be taking chances once more (the possible return of Angelus, Kate's apparent suicide, Angel being brought further down rather than up), this is something of a disappointment.

The plotline about the three-eyed girl was unlikely to hold the attention for a whole episode, and this one gives it more space than it's reasonably entitled to. The demons trying to repeat the process on Cordelia aren't fairly easily dealt with, it just requires a larger number of people than one to take them down.

The way everyone reacts to Angel and the way they gradually forgive him is nicely drawn and welcome, and his desire to join the company rather than return as boss is a nice touch as he comes to terms with his place in the world. The way he manages to catch Cordelia before she falls is a clever way of communicating how each of the team relies on one another and how close a unit they've been. It's going to be great to see them back in action.

The disappointment is that it's all too easy. Kate is saved quite quickly, the demons are scared off, the eye is removed from Cordelia; the really interesting part is Lindsay's reaction to Darla spending the night in Angel's bed. Once more he's lost to the vampire, and he is heading for a serious breakdown. His fight with Angel is painful to watch, and when Angel shatters his hand, the power is amazing. It puts out the message that Angel's back and he's bad (well, kind of), and hopefully we'll see some really good team efforts from now on.

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