Connor is back thanks to a spot of dimensional trickery, but he's certainly not keen on having Angel around, preferring to kill him than have a happy reunion...

As Fredless before it, this is an episode that had to be done rather than being one the viewers might wish to see. This series has had its fair share of people trapped in dimensions and being unable to interact properly with the rest of the world (hell, at the start of this story the hotel lobby contains three, at least), so Connor getting used to the world around him is very much a retread of familiar ground. The way he learns about right and wrong and something of the truth about his real father is a simplistic but effective affair which doesn't surprise or shock but merely is there to serve a purpose. Connor's sudden acquisition and then loss of his first friend seems a trifle unnecessary; similar points could have been made without having to kill off the character of Sonny or for the whole thing to degenerate into a gunfight.

There's similar middling entertainment back at the hotel. The discovery that a portal is still present there is a key plot point that could have been explored much more than it is here; even a creature slipping through every time there's a brief flux in its field would have been good fun. Instead it's just a matter of getting Lorne to find someone who can shut the gateway again, something apparently accomplished with ease after too much discussion about whether to call in Wesley.

Speaking of whom, Lilah's 'pep' talk to him with her job offer is hardly out of the blue, but surely Wes can't believe what she is telling him? He may have kidnapped Connor, but if anything he was more loyal to his beliefs and his friends than ever when he did so. Playing the 'close to evil' card seems a little futile even for Lilah, and you get the impression that Wesley isn't really going to suit life at Wolfram & Hart, even if it might take his character to a new stage of development for a while. As Angel tries to gain forgiveness from his son, maybe he will learn how to deal with Wes.

Groo is fast becoming an irrelevant addition, and Cordy has set his mind at rest about his worth now, and Gunn and Fred get little to do here. In fact Cordelia doesn't do a lot either. The only thing that helps this story on through is the effects work, with some beautiful bullet-time style direction and many moving shots. It looks good, but it's a bit of a case of style over substance.

***

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