Angel protects a young woman from a man stalking her using supernatural abilities.

Considering the teleplay for this story was written by one of the series' creators, it seems to have real trouble being anything other than predictable. The format seems to have settled down now: Doyle gets a vision, Angel finds a young woman who needs help, he helps her fight back some kind of demon, then leaves and Cordelia throws in some catty one-liners.

This story contains the lot, and it's not improved by having a laughable villain. Despite various different demons appearing throughout Buffy so far, most of the sillier ones have been intended for comic effect. The doctor in this episode is supposed to be exceedingly creepy, because he has the ability to send parts of his body off on their own. Now, all credit to the special effects department for making the concept believable, but after a creepy and unpleasant-looking disembodied eye, two hands are incredibly funny. They may have bits of flesh hanging off them, but the way they go around choking people to death is so B-movie it's just ridiculous. It's a shame, as the inability to take the villain seriously completely kills any creepy atmosphere.

Yes, there are some pretty good lines, but the whole thing is verging on X-Files territory, and Chris Carter has done similar things with much better results. There's also a lack of thought going into this, as Angel seems to be down for the count and somehow survives. Now, we know he's not human, but there is no explanation of how he recovered, and the whole thing seems merely an excuse to provide a cliffhanger end to act four.

Overall, the story has its moments, but we've come to expect more from Greenwalt and Whedon.

**

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