Determined to find Cordelia, Angel sets out to acquire the Axis, a device that enables communication between dimensions. Unfortunately, there's someone else after it: a girl with deadly electrical powers.

Another hit for Angel, showing a consistency that's working well for it. There's a lot more going on in this story than first appears to be the case. We've had something of a similar nature in the last two seasons: young people with control over emotions (Billy) or psychokinetic abilities (Untouched); it just seems to be getting earlier in the season. Indeed, it was the same writer that put together Untouched who is responsible for this episode, and she very effectively blends the search for Cordelia into the story of the week. It's a second showing of the fact that even without Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt and Tim Minear, this show has a strong staff who can cope in their absence more than adequately.

Electrical girl Gwen is fantastic; she's sassy, incredibly sexy, and provides at least two big shocks (pardon the pun) in the shape of killing Gunn and making Angel's heart beat again. Both of these seemingly minor points seem likely to have more of an impact in the season, especially as Gwen escapes, almost certainly because a return appearance is on the cards. Fred's reaction to Gunn's death, even though it is brief before he is revived by an electrical shock, not only shows the depth of her feelings for him better than at any point in the past, but also enables the cracks to appear in her toughened up veneer.

Meanwhile, there's still room for the other usual suspects. Wesley is increasingly becoming the most interesting character on the show, now with his own 'crew' to do a spot of demon killing, yet still giving Lilah a damn good seeing to on a regular basis and helping Angel when he comes by for information. His transformation isn't yet complete, and there's a real sense of shake-up going on here as it's not clear why he's doing what he's doing and what he hopes to gain. It may simply be him keeping a foot in all camps for the purposes of information gathering; he keeps tabs on Angel, Lilah provides him with Wolfram & Hart plans and through his new team he can still do some good. What side he will eventually land on, however, is anyone's guess.

The humour isn't lost either, with some great scenes between Angel, Gunn and Fred, who are helped significantly by the absence of the rest of the Angel Investigations staff. The best of these is the briefing where Angel, to his embarrassment, manages to outshine Fred, whose best artistic effort is a little ghost going 'Woo'. It all ends with another superb Cordelia scene, although after this one you do start to wonder exactly what she's doing in her new role apart from sitting about. No one has yet said.

With a greater emphasis on character and building the team from the ground up once again, this is shaping up to be the most cohesive season yet of the show.

****

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