Wolfram & Hart are making plans for a Raising, and Angel must stop them, even though the scroll he recently obtained says he will die in the attempt, according to Wesley’s translation.
Now this is a season finale, as each character is put in dire jeopardy at some point, even though the episode itself finishes on no more than a minor cliffhanger. Once again, there are a lot of elements to this dark storyline, which sees Angel going all out to stop Wolfram & Hart, facing off against recent ally Lindsey, who has come to the conclusion that he belongs with the firm.
But it’s the first creature Wolfram & Hart bring into the fray that impresses, at least at the beginning. His ability to make Cordelia hear everyone’s cries for help is once is a brutal ‘gift’ and one that leaves her screaming in agony, unable to shut the world out. Some fantastic acting from Charisma Carpenter really convinces in her hospital scenes.
The demon’s next move, bombing Angel Investigations with Wesley inside left me temporarily worried that Wesley was still inside and the creators had decided to wipe out another main character. Thankfully, he’s still around, but again it’s a powerful moment in an episode that pulls a new surprise out of the hat every few minutes.
Cordelia and Wesley’s efforts to give Angel something to look towards at the start of the episode show a great depth of friendship, as does Angel’s desire to make someone pay for what has happened to his friends. At the moment, this cast convince as closer friends than the Buffy cast.
Although Gunn’s involvement is downplayed and Angel’s final defeat of the demon is anticlimactic, there’s still more going on, as Angel and Lindsey face each other with surprising and shocking results. Then of course, there’s the end of the episode which bodes well for some exciting new developments in season two, which I’m glad to see will be retaining the services of Wolfram & Hart. It would have been a shame to see them go after only one season à la Buffy. With only a couple of minor points marring the episode, this is an otherwise flawless episode of Angel that shows what the series can achieve when it tries, and provides a happy ending to come when the series finishes. Admittedly, it’ll be no surprise when it happens, but still…
Roll on next season, as after a bumpy start, I’m now more keen to see this than new episodes of Buffy.
*****
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