Props to Johanna, for providing help with the blurb.
Previously on Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer...man, they had a lot of details to summarize. Basically, Wolfram & Hart behaved suspiciously, Wesley came to Sunnydale as the new Watcher, Faith murdered a guy, Angel tried to turn her away from the dark path, Wesley burst in with the Watcher's Council Special Ops Squad and tried to take her away for some intensive rehab, and then Faith escaped a couple of times. They kinda left out that coma thing, though. But they did mange to go through about a year's worth of Buffy plot points.
The littlest gang member is out for his evening constitutional stroll through Los Angeles. He approaches a few bums who are camped out around a blazing trash-can. First he thinks they're people he knows, but then realizes they aren't, and tells them "you're hangin' in the wrong place." One of the bums is holding a gun. But then he stands, and we realize he's actually holding a severed arm, which is holding a gun. Someone was taking the idea of being "fully armed" a little too literally, I think. Anyway, he dumps the untidy package in the fire as he stands up, and the wee gangster realizes he's dealing with a bunch of demons. He runs, and the demons give chase. The kid pulls out a gun and starts shooting back at them as he runs, which is bound to have a detrimental effect on his aim. Then Angel's car comes around a corner with Wesley behind the wheel. Angel, riding shotgun, has decided that rather than muss any of his shiny weapons, he'll just use his trusty baseball bat to whack off one demon's head. The other demons vanish promptly, and Wesley pulls the car around in front of the kid. Angel hops out and asks if the kid is Marquez. He is. Angel says, "Good. I hate saving the wrong guy." We hear another demon running up behind Angel, which is odd, since the car passed them and turned around, but maybe they knew a shortcut. Angel turns and swings, and goo splatters both the car and Wesley. A black-and-white negative blipvert alerts us that the director is feeling experimental.
A bus parks. Someone in platform boots steps out. We see the boot owner from behind. It's a brunette. Who could it be? A scuzzy guy lights a cigarette, which is the international sign that he's evil. Back to a close-up of the boots, as they amble along the road. The soundtrack reaches a crescendo as the mysterious boot-wearing girl steps out of the shadows and we finally discover that -- it's Faith! What an incredible surprise! I almost didn't recognize her with those black circles around her eyes. She's wearing a blue shirt with "62" on it, and carrying a duffel-bag full of sexual innuendo. Scuzzball starts to make his move as she walks along, telling Faith that she looks like she's new in town, it's dangerous around here, he could help her, blah blah blah pimp-cakes. Faith finally stops and says she's cold. Scuzzball starts to take off his jacket, whereupon Faith punches and kicks until he crumples to the ground. She takes his wallet, keys, and jacket, and then turns to leave without bothering to pick up her bag. Maybe she'll come back for it during the credits.
Back in 1898, Darla and Angelus are sharing a charming little house in downtown Romania. Angelus is blindfolded, and Darla leads him across the room before removing his blindfold to reveal a girl lying, bound and gagged, near the fireplace. Darla wishes him a happy birthday -- is it the anniversary of his human, or vampiric, birth, do you think? Angel can tell that the girl is a gypsy, possibly because of her peasant skirt. Darla says, "I looked everywhere." Why did he want a gypsy in particular? Maybe Angelus liked to celebrate special occasions with ethnic food. Smooches are exchanged, and Darla tells him, "I get to watch." Angelus kneels by the girl and begins sliding his hand under her skirt, vamping out as the girl screams. You'd think Darla would know how to do a better job gagging someone. Angelus bites into the girl's thigh while Darla looks on. Another reversed blipvert as we cut to the present.
Angel is yelling at that Marquez kid about doing the right thing. Cordy, wearing a blue top with sheer long sleeves, is talking to Wesley, who is curled up on the couch trying to sleep. Cordy whines that it's a "waste of a good vision," because "someone with that much body art is going to have a different definition of civic duty." Wesley realizes he was foolish to think he could sleep around Cordelia, and says he has faith that Angel can get Marquez to testify. Cordy says it's impossible to change people, adding, "Scratch the surface and what do you find? More surface." I'm not sure when the conversational topic turned to superficiality. Or what the point of that comment was. Apparently Wesley understands it, though, because he says, "You could have said that about Angel." Cordy points out that Angel was cursed by gypsies. All right, the conversation kept jumping the tracks because they want to remind us that Angel was bad, and is now good. Just in case the flashbacks aren't driving that point home for us. Cordy asks if Angel will drag some more gypsies in to "shove a soul down this guy's throat." As he pours some coffee, Wesley insists that Marquez already has a soul, "and therefore somewhere, deep down inside, an urge to do what's right." Suddenly Marquez bursts out of Angel's office, saying, "No way! I'm gone!" before Angel drags him back inside by his shirt collar. Cordy comments that "he's just like the Dalai Lama." Marquez is sitting as Angel leans over him, saying, "You're gonna have to face your demons sometime." Marquez wonders what will happen if he doesn't want to do that. Angel answers, "Then you'll have to face mine."
At the Limelight...oh, wait, that was in New York. Well, at some techno disco club, which is much tinier than it appears to be from outside, Faith is enjoying her skanky self, bouncing around in one of Jhiera's spare vinyl halter tops. She boogies in between a couple and begins pawing the guy, who doesn't seem to mind. The girl does, though. She grabs Faith by the arm and snarls, "That's my boyfriend." Faith doesn't seem particularly interested in that fact, and the guy isn't raising any protest either. The girl whines, "Billy, do something!" Faith says, "Yeah Billy, do something! Like this!" and elbows the girl in the face. The guy apparently feels that's going to far, and reaches back to punch Faith, which just ain't cool. Or, for that matter, smart. Faith pushes Billy's fist away and tosses him into some other dancers. More people get involved in various fights, and Faith dances about, working in some good punches and kicks as she gyrates. At least she's having a good time, though.
In a courtroom, a lawyer named Lindsey, who I feel obligated to identify as male, is telling the judge that the district attorney has not been able to produce any witnesses. The DA responds by accusing Wolfram & Hart of tampering with the witnesses. Lindsey gets huffy, and then moves for a dismissal. Angel and Marquez enter just as Lindsey is pointing out that his client is a great guy. Angel interjects, "Except for that pesky drug dealing and murder stuff." The DA calls Marquez to the stand while Angel and Lindsey glare at each other. Later, of course the case is overturned on appeal because Angel's prejudicial remarks were heard by the jury.
Back at the Wolfram & Hart building, Lindsey, still male, is on the phone, explaining that he hadn't foreseen Angel's "intervention," as another (male) shyster enters. Once Lindsey is off the phone, the shyster hands him a file and says, "I think I found the solution to our problem." Cut to the shyster, hereafter referred to as Lee, having a chat with Lilah, the lawyer we met in "The Ring." Who is female, just to remain completely clear about everyone's gender. She congratulates Lee on coming up with a solution to their Angel problem. She asks, "How did you find out there was a rogue slayer in town?" Lee says he's been reading the police reports, and that Faith's been "a busy little beaver." Yeah, I know; I giggled, too. Lee is forced to admit that he doesn't know where Faith is, and Lilah smugly announces that she does. They wrangle over who'll get to go talk to Faith, and Lilah declares that Lee doesn't have any people skills, but that "if [he] behave[s] [she]'ll let [him] ride in the limo." Blipvert.
Cordy's on the phone, explaining that Angel doesn't handle divorce cases. But she's quickly swayed by the great big wads of money being offered. Someone with a ton of money wants help with a divorce case, so he's desperate to get Angel's help rather than any well-known private detective agency because...? Oh, I can't bother trying to figure it out. As she finishes making plans to meet this eccentric rich person with marital difficulties, Wesley and Angel come out of the elevator. They tell Cordy that Marquez's testimony helped convict the nameless drug dealer. Yay team. Cordy announces that they're meeting a new client tomorrow, and manages to avoid telling them the nature of the case. She asks Angel if he's happy about the court victory. Angel stares into space. Cordy tells Wesley in a stage-whisper, "You can always tell when he's happy. His scowl is slightly less scowly." Wesley tells Angel that Marquez "is very lucky he ran into" Angel. Although it's not as if it was chance meeting, since Angel was trying to find him, so it doesn't seem like much luck was really involved. Then Wesley wonders how Wolfram & Hart will react to their defeat.
As if on cue, Faith strolls through an alley with Lilah, telling her, "I'm not much of a talker. I'm more of a doer." Faith admires Lilah's watch in a threatening way. Lilah makes her pitch: "We're well aware of who you are, and what you do. We're aware you've been experiencing some difficulties. We think we can help bring some order back to your life." Faith seems rather happy with her chaos, though, and demands to know who this "we" is. Or are. A limo pulls up, the door opens, and Lee asks Faith if they can talk. Apparently the mere sight of a limo wins Little Miss Rough-It over, because she and Lilah get right in.
Darla comes home with her bustle-enhanced bosom and calls to Angelus. She finds him crouched by a wall, whispering, "Not everyone screams." That old gypsy magic's got him in its spin...Darla wonders, "Are we playing a game?" Angel stammers stuff about how the children usually scream. Darla grins and asks, "Have you brought me some? What, you don't think I'll share? I can't believe you think I'm that insensitive." Angel turns, so we can see that his hair is all mussed up. Never a good sign. He snivels about how the two of them have been feeding and killing for over one hundred and forty years. Darla begins to be concerned, and finally asks, "Have you met someone else?" She may not have a soul, but she's still got one hell of an ego. Angel hugs her, crying like the big soul-having sap he is now, until Darla shoves him away and asks what happened. Angel explains that the gypsies took revenge upon him somehow. He says, "Funny, you'd think that with all the people I've maimed and killed, I wouldn't be able to remember every single one." During this line, his accent fades in and out, and his voice squeaks as he cries, and the net effect rather takes away from any possible emotional impact the words are meant to have. Darla puts the pieces together and says, "They gave you a soul...a filthy soul!" She scratches his face with her nails and shoves him away, telling him that he's disgusting. Not to mention unkempt. Angel says that Darla brought the girl to him, which I think is a good point to raise with the gypsy clan, but Darla responds by smashing a chair and picking up one of the legs to use as a stake. Angel insists that he's like Darla, Darla says he isn't like anything, and yells at him to leave. And so Angel was cast out into the streets of Romania to wander alone among the carriages and blipverts.
Faith is up in the Wolfram & Hart office building while chatting with Lindsey, Lilah, and Lee. Gee, I wonder if their boss' name starts with "L" too. Like, maybe...Lucifer? Sigh. Lindsey explains that there's a murder warrant out against her in Sunnydale. He explains that they have a problem they need help with, adding, "If a service is rendered, we can get you off." If you know what he means, and I think you do (™ Joe Bob). I think Faith has a magical ability to cause everyone around her to speak in double entendres. Predictably enough, Faith responds, "You don't know how many men have offered me that." Lilah, perhaps obliviously, insists that Faith "won't be disappointed in [sic] our performance." Faith asks who they want her to kill, and Lindsey hedges a bit before saying, "His name's Angel." Before they can fill her in (see, now I'm doing it!), Faith interrupts by saying, "No problem." The lawyers are surprised by her eager agreement, but then she demands to know how much she'll get paid. Lee uses some big words to make Faith feel stupid, which is not an especially bright move on his part, and then tells her, "I don't want you to make me look bad." We all know what's going to happen, and it does. Faith begins pounding Lee's face into a table, asking, "How do you look now?" Lilah, watching from the sidelines, tells Lindsey that Faith has initiative. Lindsey uses an intercom and instructs someone named Jesse (once again, male) to change their reservations to three, not four, for dinner.
Cordelia, Wesley, and Angel step out of an elevator into some kind of office building lobby. Cordy is wearing a dress with a certain gypsy flair to it. And Angel is wearing a black shirt, black pants, and -- brace yourself, gentle reader -- a brown duster. If you want to know what Wesley's wearing, you're going to get someone who cares to tell you about it. Angel wants to know what kind of demons are bothering their new client. Cordy reluctantly confesses that isn't exactly a demon: "It's a husband and wife break-up thing." Wesley and Angel berate her. Cordy makes a valiant effort, saying, "According to the husband, the wife's a real witch." Wesley thinks it sounds "seedy," but Cordelia insists, "It's not seedy, he's in government." She enunciates "government" very carefully, so that we all know that she knows that there's an "N" in there. She goes on to insist that they should pay for the lunch, adding, "While we're on the subject, I think one of us should apply for a small-business loan." But why, when Angel's got piles and piles of money? While the conversation drags itself to a weary conclusion, Faith strolls into our view behind Angel and levels a crossbow at his back. Just as she shoots the arrow, Angel suddenly spins and catches it. He probably knew Faith was there because he felt a sudden urge to say something suggestive. Faith laughs, "That was so cool! This is gonna be fun," and scampers away. Businessmen continue traipsing back and forth behind them, unfazed by the strange girl who just fired a crossbow in their midst. I guess it takes a drive-by shooting to get their attention.
After stopping to cancel their lunch date, the team confers back at the office. Angel gets off the phone and announces, "Giles said she left Sunnydale about a week ago." Wesley begins whining that Giles should have let him know, since he was Faith's Watcher. Uh, does Giles know you're even in Los Angeles, much less working for Angel, Wesley? How often are all of you staying in touch? ["They need ICQ!" -- Wing Chun] Angel explains that Giles was worried about Buffy, if you want to call that an explanation. He tells them both to go through police reports for any violent outbreaks in the past week, "possibly near bus stations and bars." After all, how many fights could there possibly be in a city the size of Los Angeles? Particularly in havens of good behavior like bars and bus stations? Excellent idea! Once they've done that, Angel orders them to stay out of the way. Wesley protests. Angel insists, saying, "We're not a team; I'm your boss. You go where I tell you, and I tell you to lay low." ["I tell Toenail Assassin that kind of thing all the time." -- Wing Chun] Cordy quietly gets out of the argument's path while Wesley suggests that Angel is taking this personally. Angel points out, "She tried to shoot my own personal back, so, yeah." Wesley asks if Faith did something to Buffy, and Angel hesitates before admitting, "Giles just said it was rough." Wesley reminds Angel that Faith is sick, and that they should try to help her if there's any way they can do so. Angel says, "There was. Last year I had a shot at saving her. I was pulling her back from the brink when some British guy kidnapped her and made damn sure she'd never trust another living soul." Good point, although it would have been nice if Angel had actually sounded angry about that instead of, well, catty. Cordy jumps in to say, "It's not Wesley's fault that some British guy ruined your..." Then she catches up with the rest of us, realizes that Wesley was the Brit in question, and tells Angel, "Go on." Instead, Angel proposes that they all get busy. No, not like that. Ew.
Angel surveys his cabinet of sharp pointy things, then hears a noise from upstairs. Without picking out any weapons, he closes the cabinet and begins taking his own sweet time strolling up the stairs. The director's foot fetish returns. Angel finally makes it to the office and flinches when a blind is snapped up so that sunlight spills into the other room. The sunlight is in the room, and he's flinching, but he didn't have a problem in that office building with all the light streaming in through the windows. Argh. Faith greets Angel by asking for a hug. He says it's good to see old friends. She pulls out a revolver and explains, "This is for you. You know I'm gonna kill you slowly and inventively, so I'm going to give you one chance to --" She tosses the revolver to Angel, who immediately aims at her and fires. She laughs, and Angel observes, "Blanks," before tossing it back. Faith says, "We'll have to get you in the game," leading Angel to ask what the game is. She explains that she's been hired to kill him. He asks, "Did it ever occur to you this might be more fun for me?" Faith responds, "What if you kill me and experience that one true moment of pleasure? Oops! I'd get off on that. Go ahead, do me. Let's take that hell ride together." She yammers on for like that for a while and suddenly shoots Angel in the shoulder. "That one wasn't a blank," she explains for the benefit of those of us who might have been confused. Then, instead of taking the door, she dives out through the window. Someday I want to see a shot of the sidewalk outside their office, which should be covered with piles of broken glass. Not to mention blipverts.
Lindsey and some other lawyer whose name probably starts with "L" (Larry? Laertes? Lynn?) chat about some stupid lawyer things. The camera pans to show a man walking through the building, swinging a briefcase, while cleverly cutting his face out of the frame. Well, it's not Faith, so who on earth could it be? Gasp -- it's Angel! A random lawyer points at Angel, saying, "You!" causing us all to panic and think that perhaps Angel will get caught. Phew, the new lawyer has simply confused Angel with someone else, and begins jabbering away about the "Gruber meeting" to much non-comedic non-effect. It may be worth mentioning that now Angel is wearing a deep blue shirt and tie. Probably not, but it's a pretty color at least, and I think it might be the hot new trendy fashion color because I've been seeing it a lot lately. I have plenty of time to admire this shade right now because there's absolutely nothing happening in this scene. Finally, Angel gets away from the confused lawyer and makes his way into Lindsey's office, where he begins poking around.
If I were a high-powered attorney whose clients tended to be evil, not to mention demonic, I think I might invest in a nice deadbolt for my office door. But that's just me. Lindsey strolls in, possibly looking for a comb so that he can get that stringy hair out of his face. A man with an office like this one can afford to go to the barber more often. Angel asks where Faith is, Lindsey won't tell. Lindsey makes a reference to Angel sending Russell crashing through an office window to a fiery death back in "City of." After they chat about the good old days for a few minutes, Angel asks where Faith is. Lindsey won't tell. Maybe they could have used this time more productively by showing us a flashback or something. Yeah, I know I'll regret saying that. Lindsey says that he knew Angel was in his office because the building has "a highly sophisticated security system; [they] spent a fortune on mystical barriers and such. Nice to know our investment paid off." A security guard suddenly appears behind Angel with a gun raised. Angel knocks the guard unconscious. Lindsey, sweetie, your security system is just lovely, honest, even if it doesn't keep anyone out, but maybe you should tell your guards that guns aren't really an effective weapon against vampires. Just a thought. Love, Strega. Lindsey is unfazed, and says that more guards are on the way, the police have been called, and their conversation is being recorded. P.S. Lindsey, again, I think you missed the part where he's a vampire. So, what exactly is it that you think more gun-wielding people will be able to accomplish here? And what is the recording going to do? If he was a human, yeah, you could blackmail him with some details of that conversation, or give it to the cops, and get him in trouble, but, one more time: He's. A. Vampire. I don't think he's all that concerned about his reputation at this point. You dolt. Love, Strega. Despite all my efforts to explain the situation to him, Lindsey says that while he'd love to watch Angel fight for his life, "not to mention the fortune I could make off the video," he's got a dinner date. And then he's off to his Mensa meeting, no doubt. Angel leaves. Finally.
Wesley reads the details of a bar fight to Cordy from a file as they walk down the hall to her apartment door. Must be one of those police reports, which they got...from Kate? Or possibly off the internet. Cordy opens the door, and it promptly slams shut again in her face. She tries a few times, but the door just doesn't want to open. Finally Cordy calls, "Phantom Dennis, let us in! It's all right, it's only Wesley." She opens the door without difficulty this time, and they enter. Cordy assures Dennis that "hell will freeze over before I have sex with [Wesley]." Cordy goes to pack up some things while Wesley tries to phone Angel. But then Faith pops out of a doorway and begins complaining about Angel not being "in the game" some more, because we haven't been beaten over the head with that phrase enough yet. Wesley audibly hangs up the phone instead of maybe completing the call so that Angel would know what was happening, or calling the police, or doing almost anything that might have demonstrated a passing moment of intelligence. And by the way, Dennis, I guess you were doing your best in trying to keep Cordy out of the place, but maybe you should have tried to keep Faith out and prevented the whole problem. Anyway, Faith speculates that Angel might get really mad if she hurt Cordy and Wesley. Well, maybe only if she hurt Cordy. Wesley says, "It's not too late for me to help you." Cordy unconvincingly agrees, "We want to help you," while grimacing with fear. Wesley tries to speechify, and Faith interrupts by using her patented elbow-in-the-face move to knock out Cordy. Wesley slugs Faith. After complaining about the guy in the bar trying to punch her, I feel I must explain that I think that was okay, because Wesley knows that Faith is a Slayer. Faith doesn't feel the same way, though, because she kicks him across the room. And then a blipvert takes us to some commercials.
Angel roams the street of what I assume is still Romania. His hair is worse than it's ever, ever been. I know it's hard to believe, but it's the truth. He approaches a couple who have just come out of a bar, and suddenly everyone begins speaking in subtitles. Angel says he's hungry; the man tells him to go away. The woman says Angel is a beggar, so the man gives him some money. Angel throws the money back as he vamps out and growls, "I want her." Cries of "He's a monster!" ensue. Angel agrees, "I'm a monster!" The man and some other guys who were nearby drag Angel back into an alley. Sounds of punching, and Angel rather calmly repeating, "I'm a monster." Bodies fly through the air. The girl asks, "Rudolph? Are you all right?" Angel stumbles out of the alley and grabs her, pulls her back against a wall, and sinks his teeth into her throat. Well, that's kind of cool. I mean, that's what free will is all about.
Remember that cliff-hanger before the commercials, when Faith had Cordelia and Wesley at her mercy? Well apparently the writers really want to avoid dealing with that, so they've sidestepped the entire thing. Angel enters the apartment and picks a moaning Cordy up off the floor. Cordy tells Angel what happened, repeating the "not in the game" thing again. She asks if Wesley's okay, and Angel notes that Wesley isn't there. Cordy reacts with horror, but Angel looks rather unconcerned about the whole thing. Maybe he's getting used to having his sidekicks die horrible agonizing deaths. I must say, when it comes to Wesley, I'm not that concerned either.
But in case anyone is, let's cut to, yes, his feet, which are tied to a chair. As is the rest of him, in fact. He's also gagged (and Faith knows how to do that a lot more effectively than Darla did), and he's looks like someone's punched his face a few dozen times. Faith eyes him contemplatively and suddenly jumps into his lap, causing him to issue a muffled scream for some reason. She tells him, "Don't poop out on me, damn it! Otherwise this is all just gonna be over too fast! And you'll be dead, and I'll be...bored." I do wish she'd run into Spike while she was in Sunnydale, they seem to have a lot in common. Ennui. Contempt for the czars of fashion. They'd be cute together. Faith offers a short lecture on "the five basic torture groups. We've done blunt, but that still leaves sharp, cold, hot, and loud." Wesley's seen Cordelia's everyday wardrobe, so I think he's built up some immunity to "loud." She pulls out the gag and asks what Wesley would prefer. Wesley says, "I was your Watcher, Faith. I know the real you. And even if you kill me, there's just one thing I want you to remember." Faith asks what that might be, and Wesley whispers, "You are a piece of sh--" before Faith shoves the gag back in. She finds a framed photo and smashes it, then picks up one of the broken pieces of glass and suggests, "We'll switch to sharp for a while." Props to Eliza, because she comes off as scary and bonkers and all those good things in this scene.
Cordy points to various locations on a map as she tells Angel where all the recent suspicious beatings have occurred. Angel asks about the first incident, where a man's wallet and keys were taken. Cordy says that the guy (the Scuzzball, if you remember) is still in the hospital. Angel asks where he lives. Cordy points to the map, because she just happens to know, which is pretty damned convenient.
We pan up from an alley to see Faith sitting in a window, holding that same piece of glass. Only it's got a coating of blood now. She drops it to the ground, and something about a dark-haired girl sitting in a dreary building near a fire escape makes me want to start singing, "Maria! I just met a girl named Maria!" She steps back inside, and suggests to Wesley that they "warm the place up." Wesley's shirt has a lot of nasty dark red stains on it now. She picks up a lighter and an aerosol can as she speculates on predestination and free will. No, really, she did. Then Faith demonstrates how anyone can make a handy flame-thrower with common, everyday household objects. Kids, don't try this at home. She says, "Since this may be the last chance we have to unload on each other, I feel it's kind of my duty to tell you that if you'd been a better Watcher, I might have been a more positive role model." She removes his gag again, saying that she wants to hear him scream. Wesley says, "You never will," but my money's on Faith here. The door suddenly crashes to the floor as Angel enters. And unless he stopped off to chat with the scuzzball at the hospital, it seems to me that he's very, very uninvited. Faith quickly drops her other equipment and pulls out a knife, which she holds to Wesley's throat as she asks if Angel's ready to play. Angel says that he will be, right after these important messages from the sponsors. And another flashback.
Angel staggers out of the alley muttering, "I can't, oh God, I can't." A moment later the girl appears, looking a little dazed. So Angel's new conscience wouldn't allow him to kill someone, even when he was starving. Gee, will this event parallel anything happening the modern day? Only time will tell.
Faith wonders if Angel is "really in this. I mean, if I kill [Wesley] would that help? Or would it just be really funny?" Angel says it's about him and Faith, not Wesley. Faith says it's payback. "For what?" Angel asks, "I thought you were happy with the way you are." He asks how much Faith will earn by killing him, and Faith tells him she's only getting fifteen thousand dollars, but she's young and willing to work her way up. Angel notes the same thing the rest of us have: "You feel young? You're looking pretty worn out to me." Wesley suddenly pushes back in his chair, crashing to the floor, and Angel kicks the knife out of Faith's hand. Punching, kicking, and so on and so forth. Wesley keeps eyeing the knife, which has fallen so that its point is embedded in the floor near his head. Faith tells Angel to "get in the game" for the one thousandth time. It's a pretty cool fight, but I think it was directed by Tim Burton, because the camera always seems to cut to things just after the action has happened. We see Faith's arm move, then we see Angel react to a punch, but we don't actually see the punch. It's very disorienting.
In one of those "Geddit? Geddit?" moments, Faith shouts, "Come on Angel, I thought you were bad!" Angel is too busy to ask her to clarify if she means he's bad as in cool, or bad as in evil, or just bad as in his hair. Using a lamp, Faith hits Angel with enough force to knock him over a couch and across the room, which is either silly or cool, depending on how you feel about stunt work. My own feeling is that anything that distracts me from the gaping plot holes is a plus. Bash-, smash-, and Tae-Bo-fu. Eventually Faith finds a bit of broken something that's reasonably stake-like, and Angel tries to wrestle it away from her, and finally they both crash through the window and down into the alley. Faith's always falling from high places. She should stick to the ground floor.
Wesley begins sawing the ropes around his hand against the embedded knife. Down in the alley, Faith's still kicking up a storm (literally, in fact, as you'll soon see) and shouting significant things like, "You don't know what evil is!" Wesley saws vigorously. Faith declares, "I'm bad," as the healing rain of resolution beings to pour down on them. Wesley's hands are free, and he begins untying the ropes on his feet. Angel tells Faith, "I know what you want. And I'm not gonna do it." Wesley peers out the window at them, then grabs a knife from the kitchen. Angel insists, "I'm not gonna make it easy for you." Faith begins howling, "I'm evil! Do you hear me, I'm bad! Angel, I'm bad!" and so on and so forth, hitting him spastically while he just stands there. Finally she sobs, "Please, just do it." Wesley hurries into the alley and stops suddenly, watching as Faith sobs her poor little misunderstood heart out, begging Angel to kill her. Angel hugs her as she crumples to the ground. He looks completely out of his depth, and frankly, for all the yes-we-get-it parallels they've been trying to draw between his redemption quest and Faith's situation, I suspect he is. So maybe it's good that he looks that way. There's a pretty nice shot of the two of them silhouetted against the rain, while in the foreground we see Wesley drop the knife. And the rain, it raineth every day.
I was underwhelmed by this episode the first time, but then I watched "Who Are You?" before doing this recap, and Faith's breakdown makes more sense if that episode and this one aren't separated by a month's worth of reruns. So, it still wasn't great, but now I'm just whelmed. week, Buffy comes to town to prove that Angel's not the only one with bad hair.