The House Always Wins

Previously on Angel, Cary saidarrivederci, Cordy got light-headed and stood Angel up, Angel got advice from a gargoyle, and the MoG acquired a nightlight.

Return with me now to the thrilling days of yesteryear, when we all gathered around the radio to listen to the adventures of mysterious do-gooders like The Shadow. Remember what it was like to pull chairs close to the giant mono speakers and wonder what Terry and the Pirates would be up to this week? No? Okay, me neither. But I had a little problem with my VCR this week. I think using the TV remote confuses it, and it turns out that I was recording sound, but no picture, during the teaser. I swear there was a picture on my TV, so I didn't notice anything was wrong until the first commercial break. Then I sorted everything out. While panicking, because I can multi-task. So bear with me; there might be a few small inaccuracies here at the start.

It's night, and a clown is running down one of L.A.'s many deserted streets. It's amazing how fast he can run with those big floppy shoes. Suddenly Connor pops up in front of him. The clown pulls out a balloon and says, "Nothing human can move that fast. What are you?" Connor pops the balloon with a pin and smirks, "Don't know yet, but I know what you are, and what to do with you." The clown vamps out, causing his red nose to pop off, and he and Connor start to play hopscotch together.

Hovering above them with a jet-pack, Angel is watching the fun and offering color commentary. He says, "You're talking too much; [that] gives him time to --" He's interrupted when the vamp-clown unexpectedly pulls a trout out of his pants and begins thumping Connor about the head with it. Connor retaliates by doing cartwheels as Angel goes on kibitzing. From her glowy dimension, Cordy offers her own opinion: "Of course he can do it; he's his father's son. Same dark good looks, same lost-boy sweetness..." She holds up a sign that says, "They're making me say these things, folks. Send help!" She tells Angel not to worry about Connor, and adds, "Maybe there is something you could be worrying a little more about. Like, for instance, me!" She begs Angel to get her out of "Misty-Magic Land." Angel, of course, hears none of this.

Back on the street, Connor has pulled out a cart full of cream pies and is hurling them at the clown with deadly accuracy. The clown dodges and whips out a seltzer bottle, waiting for an opening. Just when all seems lost, Angel whistles for of his trained unicorn, which runs down the street and distracts the clown so that Connor can finally stake him. Afterwards, Connor looks around curiously, and then runs away.

Angel lands on a convenient rooftop and says, "I know you're there. Watching me." Cordy excitedly gibbers, "Angel, you can hear me? I so love you! You don't know what it's been like --" She's cut off as Fred and Gunn appear behind Angel. Fred says, "We weren't spying," and Cordy sniffs, "Oh, for crap's sake!" I know, Cordy. A lot of us feel that way about Fred. Fred and Gunn talk about how Angel's been practicing his lurking abilities on Connor. Gunn suggests that Angel try talking to Connor, and Fred asks Angel what he wants to do. After some pondering, Angel decides that it's time for them to go on "a little retreat." Gunn asks if it'll be like "that monastery [Angel] went to in Tibet." Angel says yes, ignoring the fact that the monastery was actually in Sri Lanka. Oops!

Cut to Fred, Gunn, and Angel driving into Vegas. Credits. Or so I assume.

After the commercials, I have visuals again. Phew. Vegas-vert of the Angelmobile tooling along the strip. Angel mentions that he hasn't had a break lately, "not counting [his] recent ocean cruise." Fred asks if they're going to see Cary, and if Angel is going to sing so that Cary can rediscover Angel's purpose. Angel unenthusiastically says, "Yeah, whatever." Angel talks about how Vegas has changed since he was there last. He points to one side and boggles, "There used to be dunes over there." Cue the lame joke. Angel name-drops Bugsy Siegel, and mentions that Bugsy "had a mean backhand on the tennis court." Er. My turn to say, "Yeah, whatever." Fred checks her notes and says that Cary is performing at a place called the Tropicana, causing Gunn to boggle. Angel notes that the Tropicana is bit high-profile, and insists that Cary would be somewhere a little more discrete. As they pull up at a light, Fred asks, "How discrete, exactly?" They turn to gaze at a Tropicana billboard with a big picture of Cary and a LED display describing him as "the green velvet fog." Wow, a Mel Torme joke. The sign also says that this is Cary's "17th straight week." Oddly, that part is painted. Wouldn't you put the number of weeks on the LED display, since that'll change every week? Wondering about that distracted me from the questionable use of "straight" with regard to Cary.

Fade up on applause and a band as showgirls start performing a family-friendly fan-dance. The showgirls are painted green, and have red horns fastened in their hair to distinguish them from Orion slave girls. They're wearing an awful lot of clothing for Vegas. The fans are finally whisked away to reveal Cary, all sequin-y, as the crowd cheers. Angel, Fred, and Gunn sit in the front of the audience, boggled. Cary smiles and begins to sing "It's Not Easy Being Green," which makes me ridiculously happy. Gunn wonders why nobody's startled at Cary's appearance. Fred suggests, "They must think it's all makeup, like the Blue Man Group." Wait -- Fred hasn't heard of the Tropicana, but she has heard of the Blue Man Group? So she was a devotee of performance art before her visit to Pylea? Anyway, after a moment Fred turns to Angel and frets, "You don't think [that] the Blue Man Group --" "Only two of 'em," Angel replies, and sips his drink. Hey, he's drinking! That's unusual.

Cary's still singing. About this time, I start thinking that I should be impatient now. I mean, they don't have a plot yet, and they're already pausing the show so that we can listen to Cary. But I like listening to Cary, so I don't mind. I want an Angel soundtrack album with this on it. The song finishes, and everyone but Angel applauds enthusiastically. I don't think Cary should wear pink. It washes out his complexion. Oh my goodness, and he's got Angel-hair. It's all spiked. I wonder if Hallett and Boreanaz traded hair care secrets. If so, poor Hallett. Anyway, Cary does some patter, undoes his bow-tie, and offers to "crank things up a notch." He cues the band and asks for "a little help from [his] Lornettes." The curtains re-open to reveal the showgirls. Lornettes. That's funny. I suppose I should call them "Cary-ettes" for consistency, but I wanted to preserve the joke. They strut out into the audience as Cary starts in on "Lady Marmalade." Cary shoves the mike in front of various audience members and makes them sing the chorus. That goes on for a while, and I think about how they should have worked in some cameos here. Gunn and Fred bop in their seats while Angel continues to look puzzled. As Cary approaches their seats, Fred gets even more excited, and Gunn grumps, "He'd better not stick that mike in my face." Further proof that Gunn and I are soulmates, because that's exactly what I'd be thinking in his position. While Fred encourages Gunn to join the fun, Angel points out that Cary has passed them by. Gunn takes that in and sadly says, "Oh. Well...good."

A girl in a blue dress sings for Cary, and he pauses to schmooze with her a bit. She introduces herself as Vivian, and explains that she's celebrating her acceptance into culinary school in Paris. Angel continues to look thoughtful as he watches Cary work the crowd. At this point, I understood that Cary was reading people in the audience, and I assumed that Angel knew the same thing because it's pretty obvious. Turns out I was giving him too much credit.

Another flashy blipvert transports us backstage after the show. The MoG wait with a crowd of fans for Cary to appear. Fred enthuses about the show, and Gunn gripes, "But he dissed us during the sing-along!" Angel and Fred look at him, and Gunn adds, "It's just nice to be asked, is all." Angel critiques the show as "over-produced," adding, "It's like I told Sammy Davis at the Sands: 'When you, Frank, and Dean are the meal, you don't need the trimmings.'" Angel's trying very hard to impress Gunn and Fred with the name-dropping, isn't he? But maybe he should be more careful about referring to people as meals. Gunn asks, "You knew the Rat Pack?" Angel answers, "Know 'em!...No." Heh. He explains that he met them once or twice, "for drinks." Again, I think he should be more careful with his phrasing. Unless he means he bit them. That would be amusing. Fred changes the subject because she realizes that Angel's trying too hard, and asks what Angel will sing for Cary. Angel says they don't have to rush into that and turns to leave, asking, "Who's up for some blackjack?" The crowd around him goes wild, not at the thought of blackjack, but because Cary has finally appeared. Fred shouts for Cary's attention as Cary signs autographs and tosses out "love ya"s. Then Cary starts to leave, and Angel tries to press through the crowd after him. Some security goons refuse to let him through.

Cary walks down the hall with someone who I briefly think might be Principal Blackman from Strangers With Candy. Turns out it's not the same guy; it's an actor named Morocco Omari. Isn't that a great name? Say it out loud: Morocco Omari. Ah. Morocco Omari asks who Cary's friends were, and Cary sniffs, "They're just some old fans of mine." Oh, Cary's suit is actually gold. It was the stage lighting that made it pink. Such magic. The enter a room at the end of the hall which has two more security goons outside.

Inside, Cary brushes his hair and gratefully accepts a drink from one of the showgirls. There's a knock at the door; a man enters and immediately begins enthusing about how Cary's performance was "Mwa!" It doesn't make much sense in text, but that's what he said. Cary interrupts to mention that he's awfully tired, and we establish that the guy's name is Lee. Lee apologizes, but keeps on blathering about Cary's fabulousness. Morocco Omari holds up a paper of some kind, and Cary sighs, "Can't we just do this later?" Lee apologetically insists. Cary tries to brush Lee off again, and Morocco Omari quickly punches Cary in the stomach. Lee whispers, "I think now's a good time. Or should we pink-slip another girl from your act?" Cary turns his attention to the paper, which turns out to be a seating chart for the theater. He points at different seats and describes the audience members' futures. There's a future Nevada senator, a Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer, and it turns out that Vivian will have "three five-star restaurants in the decade." Lee cheerfully thanks Cary for his help and tells him, "Have a terrific second show." Lee exits the room, and a barred gate slams across the entrance to Cary's dressing room.

Johanna says, "When I stayed at the Tropicana, they only had a celebrity impersonator. I don't think that he was being held prisoner, though." I point out that he probably should have been, and she agrees.

After the commercials, it's time for our weekly dose of "Wesley's Gone Squirrelly." One of his spear-carriers is sitting on the couch while Wesley chats with Lilah on the phone. Apparently, she needs to reschedule their chess game. Wesley says he'll be working late too, and assures her, "I'm not waiting at the door with a scowl and burned pot roast." Now that's kinky. He chuckles and admits, "If your lot can have the world destroyed by midnight, we could still --" His call waiting beeps, and Wesley answers it with a stern "Pryce here." Whatever, Wesley. He listens for a minute, then asks if the spear-carrier can put together "that package." The spear-carrier says it won't be cheap, but apparently money is no object. Wesley returns to the phone and says, "Yes. We'll bloody well take Angel's clients if he's out of town." He winds up the business and returns to Lilah. She tells him something, and Wesley concedes, "That is my favorite pair." Of earrings. They're discussing jewelry. I'm sure of it. Wesley asks if Lilah's at her desk, and then orders her to remove the...uh, earrings. Wesley turns and asks the spear-carrier, "Why are you still here?" The spear-carrier exits, making a note to think twice before answering an ad for temps in Fortean Times. Wesley lazes back on the couch and praises Lilah for her quick way with a jewelry catch. We finally cut away before he can start instructing her on how to polish the silver to a brilliant shine. I wonder where I can buy some lye, and how I can use it to scrub my brain.

A swoopy Vegas-vert takes us into the Tropicana. Or a reasonable facsimile thereof. Gunn and Fred are playing blackjack while Angel frets that Cary ignored them. Gunn is quick to assume that fame has gone to Cary's head. Angel spots one of the Lornettes walking across the room, and begins to scribble something on a napkin. I'm not entirely convinced that the showgirls also have to perform waitressing duties in the casino, but I guess it could be a theme and the waitresses just dress up the same way. The Lornette approaches Vivian (the culinary-school chick) and gives her a green chip that shimmers briefly. The Lornette says that Vivian won a chance to play their "million-dollar spin-to-win." She points out a curtained area with a goon outside, and says that Vivian just has to show her chip for a chance to win big bucks. Near the curtain, there's also a big cardboard stand-up Cary with a dialogue balloon that reads, "Have to play to win, pussycats!" I bet Andy Hallett's got that in his apartment right now. Vivian thanks the Lornette and heads over to the game room.

As Vivian leaves, Angel approaches the Lornette and asks if she could give Cary a note for him. She's reluctant, but Angel tries to manipulate her with his sincere look. It's not very convincing, which is funny considering that he really is sincere, but the Lornette falls for it and accepts the note. She leaves, and Angel looks around at all the slot monkeys. Creepy music plays to alert Angel that something ain't right. If it weren't for the music, the sight of people feeding slot machines with blank expressions wouldn't really cause much concern, you see. Suddenly, Cordelia voice-overs, "You're picking up on it too, aren't you, Angel?" She says that there's something wrong in the casino, and that the monkeys probably need help. "So that's got me wondering -- where's that keen sense of perception as far as I'm concerned, huh?" She goes on that way as we cut back to the casino, where Angel looks distracted.

Fred adds some more chips to her impressive pile, and says that she feels bad. Gunn leans over to say quietly, "If I had your head for numbers, I'd be countin' cards, too." Fred clarifies that she's worried about Cary, and also about Angel. Angel appears in the background behind them as Fred says, "I know he was right to send Connor away, but with Cordelia gone, the loneliness must be unbearable for him." I think he's had a lot of time to get used to loneliness, Fred. Which is more or less what Gunn points out. As he insists that "this trip idea is gonna do Angel a world of good," we see some goons in the background quickly move in and sweep Angel across the room and out toward the door. Heh. Gunn and Fred are oblivious. Although if Angel wanted their help, he could have shouted or something. Fred goes back to wondering what's up with Cary, and Gunn abruptly goes from running down Cary to insisting that they go investigate right this second "if it'll make [his] honey feel better." Fred looks at him and asks, "It's because you're out of chips, isn't it?" Gunn admits that might have been a factor, and they finally notice that Angel has vanished.

The goons have tossed Angel out of the casino and are now beating him up. One of them says, "We don't cotton to stalkers around here, freak!" I refuse to believe that any real person would say that. Angel waits an awfully long time before finally vamping out and beating up the goons, which makes me wonder if this episode ran short, just like David Fury's last effort did. It's also odd that he vamps out for his battle-quip, and then de-vamps for the actual fighting. After knocking out the guards, Angel mutters, "This place was so much friendlier when the mob ran it."

Angel heads back toward the Tropicana and bumps into Vivian. She's in a daze, wandering out across the street. A taxi cab is about to hit her when Angel runs in from the other side of the street -- the side he wasn't on a second ago -- and swings Vivian out of the way. It's about this time that Las Vegas begins to experience some geographic instability. Angel asks where Vivian was going, and she explains, "I ran out of quarters. I need more quarters. Have to play to win."

Gunn and Fred peer around a corner at the goons guarding Cary's doorway. Gunn admits, "Something's starting to feel a lot not right about this." Fred nags, "That's what I've been saying. Only with better grammar." Fred suggests that they find Angel, since they won't be able to get past the goons. Then a Lornette walks out of a room and past them. Uh oh. I sense wackiness.

Fred walks out of the dressing room dressed as a Lornette. What's weird is that the green skin totally offsets the fact that she's showing so much skin. She's carrying a tray with a drink on it as she approaches Cary's door. The goons ask what she's doing, Fred stammers and giggles, and eventually the goons decide that she's "a little pre-show diddle for the green guy." It would be funny if we eventually discover that this episode's villain had done a spell so that his employees all spoke in G-rated euphemisms. I realize that the language can't exactly be realistic, but it seems like there's got to be some middle ground between that and having Vegas tough guys use words like "cotton" and "diddle." The first goon reassures a startled Fred that "the demon doesn't bite. Not with his mouth, anyway." Eeek. The goons laugh, and Fred starts to push past them. The second goon stops her for the obligatory "Oh no, she's been caught!" scare, but it turns out he just wants her to know that she missed a few spots with the green body paint. Sigh.

Fred finally enters the dressing room. And is immediately attacked by Cary, who just avoids clubbing her with a bottle. He immediately apologizes and then recognizes her. He says, "You don't know the hell I've been through," while Fred eyes the lavish accoutrements. He enthuses that they've come to rescue him, and then intervenes to keep Fred from sitting on that blue fur coat we saw him wearing in the premiere. Heh. It's nice to get rescued and all, but there's no sense in getting green makeup all over a coat! Fred says that they didn't know he needed to be rescued. Cary complains, "Every time you called me, I kept asking about Fluffy!" Fred says that she thought that was a show business catchphrase. Cary sighs, "Fluffy! Fluffy the dog. The dog you don't have. The universally recognized code for 'I'm being held prisoner, send help!'" Cary explains that the casino's owner, Lee DeMarko, is behind it all. Oh good, another "L.M." Technically, "L. DM.," I suppose. "There's this game..." Cary segues, as we cut away.

Angel enters the curtained "spin-to-win" room. Is "roulette" so strange a term that they had to come up with a new name for it? A guard tries to push him back out, and Angel calmly twists the guard's arm. We hear a snap, and the guard wails off-camera for a second. The croupier tells Angel that this is a private game, but then Lee enters and says it's okay. He tosses Angel one of the green chips. Angel catches it and tosses it out onto the table dismissively while insisting, "I'm not here to play games." While Angel demands to know what's going on, we see the chip magically slide from its resting place to one of the circles on the table. Lee insists that he doesn't know what Angel's talking about. Angel steps forward and says, "Maybe I can jog your memory with a little --" The croupier interrupts: "House wins!" Angel stops as the croupier rakes in the winnings. He stares blankly while Lee distributes souvenir plastic tubs of quarters to all of the players, including Angel. Lee encourages everyone to try the slots. Angel takes the cup, thanks Lee, and wanders out.

After the ads, Gunn peers around the corner to check out the goons outside Cary's room. Those are some nearsighted goons. That's why I make my goons take a complete eye exam. You'd be surprised how much some of them whine about the glaucoma test. They're such babies. Anyway. Fred screams and rushes out into the hall. Actually, she sort of hobbles. I don't think she's used to wearing heels. She stammers out a story about how Cary attacked her "with these laser beams that shot out of his horns" and escaped. The skeptical goons point out that there's only one door out of the room. Fred squeaks that Cary "spit out his entire skeleton" and mimes vomiting. Thanks for clarifying, Fred. She concludes, "And then he slithered away! Down a drain! In the bathroom! Hurry!" The goons finally head into the room while one calls for backup on his walkie-talkie. As soon as they're inside, Cary rushes out and quickly shuts the door. Gunn rushes over and helps tie a convenient curtain-pull around the doorknobs as he asks what's going on. Cary says there'll be time to explain later, and as they run away he calls, "We need the big guns. Where's Angel?" Cary's in disguise, which means he's wearing his trenchcoat and a hat. I love it when he wears hats.

Cut to a large office area in the casino. In addition to the TV screens monitoring casino activity, there are some scrolling LED displays on the walls. They read things like "Grammy winner -- 2005... NBA MVP -- 2006... Deal with Disney to run new ABC series." Aw, they didn't forget Greenwalt. Principal Morocco Omari gives Lee a printout about Angel's vampiritude. Morocco Omari adds, "Among other things, he's positioned to be a major player in the apocalypse." Lee grins and suggests that Morocco Omari "put in a call to that weirdo law firm in L.A." A phone rings, and Morocco Omari answers it, presumably to get the news about Cary's escape.

Gunn, Cary, and Fred stride through the casino. Fred's done a remarkable job of wiping the green makeup off with just a few tissues. They find Angel diligently playing a slot machine, and Gunn asks where he's been. Without looking up, Angel mutters, "I was there before. Now I'm here." Gunn says that they're in trouble, and asks if Angel can slow down the pursuit. Angel says "Okay," and keeps playing. Gunn says he'll get the Angelmobile and they'll all meet up "at the end of the block," in front of the Golden Nugget. Except that the Tropicana is already at one end of a block, and the Golden Nugget is at the end of a block in a completely different part of town. Angel agrees anyway, and, as they run off, calls, "Good luck." Then he stands up, moves to the machine, and sits down again. The MoG head for the door, and on the way Gunn knocks out an approaching goon.

Gunn and the others exit the hotel and somehow end up in the middle of the Fremont Street Experience, where the obligatory Elvis song is playing. Well, now they are close to the Golden Nugget, at least. I guess Gunn is already familiar with the teleporters they've recently installed throughout Las Vegas. Wait, apparently not, because Gunn asks where they are, and Cary says "Glitter Gulch." They dodge through the crowd to avoid more goons, and Gunn decides that now is a good time for Cary to explain what's going on.

We're treated to a little montage of scenes as Cary says, "He's been using me to read members of my audience. Finds those with what he calls 'valuable destinies.'" Promising victims get to play the spin-to-win game: "Then their destinies are imprinted on the chips, and that old black magic wheel is tricked out to never [sic] pay off." Cary gets to work the title into his speech, too. It's getting less exciting when they say the title in every episode. Cary goes on to say that when the players lose, DeMarko gets their destinies, which he offers up "to an extremely black global market, sold to anyone willing to pay big money to change his or her life." Fred quips, "Futures trading." She asks what happens to the people who lose their destinies, and Cary answers, "They've got no purpose, direction -- unable to succeed or accomplish anything ever again." Zoom in on Angel, still playing the slots. When Cary gets around to describing the victims as zombies, Gunn realizes that Angel's destiny has been acquired. Fred draws their attention to the large number of goons surrounding them. Gunn figures it's time for "that fightin'-for-[their]-lives thing," but Cary has another idea. He rushes over to a microphone placed by some street performers and launches into a wailing high note. Is he confusing Vegas with Pylea? People cover their ears, and marquee lightbulbs start exploding. I hum the theme to The Natural. As everyone scrambles to avoid the falling glass, the MoG scurry away in the confusion.

The MoG escape from The Fremont Street Experience and down to the Red Barn. Since there haven't been any attacks on people's necks this week, it looks like we're switching to the other theme for the season, which is "People Flipping Out With Little Provocation." It's Gunn's turn this time, so he suddenly goes on a tirade about how Cary "sold Angel out" and was "living so large, blarin' Tony Bennett so loud in that sweet suite" that he didn't listen to his conscience. Ooo, homonyms. Gunn asks why Cary didn't refuse to help Lee, and Cary insists that he did: "The first time he asked me to, of course I refused! So he blew a girl's brains out right in front of me." Gunn digests that for a second and, to his credit, apologizes. They all stare at each other uncomfortably, until I start to wonder if this is a microcosm of things that will happen later this season. Boy, I hope not.

Vegas-vert. The Angelmobile drives past the Excalibur. Aiieeee! If they wanted to do a really scary episode, they should have gone there. Gunn pulls the car up across from New York New York, and tells them to wait while he goes in search of Angel. As he runs inside, Fred wonders how they'll get Angel's destiny back. Y'know, he might be happier without a destiny. Think of all the free time he'd have.

Gunn strides through the casino and finds Angel, still playing the slots. Angel turns to look at Gunn, and Gunn asks, "You know who I am, right?" Angel does. Gunn explains, "I'm your friend." Angel looks a teeny bit exasperated as he says, "I know. I'm not stupid." Gunn tries to explain what's going on, but Angel insists, "Have to play to win," and turns back to the machine. Gunn starts to pull Angel away, but then turns to see Morocco Omari approaching, along with several goons escorting Fred and Cary. Gunn is swept up with the others and escorted away as Angel keeps playing.

During the ads, Johanna asks, "What do you think David Boreanaz thinks about when he's trying to look as if he's not thinking about anything?" I suggest, "The same thing he usually thinks about."

The MoG are escorted into Lee's office. Lee makes with the menacing speech, and an unimpressed Cary says, "You got me. Grind your organ; I'll be your monkey." Wow, did he just say that? "But you get nothing from me if you hurt anyone else." Lee agrees, adding, "You will be the only one hurting. Your friends will be dead so quick [sic], they won't feel a thing."

Off in a fabulous opportunity for some General Electric product-placement, Cordy frets. "What's the point of being an all-seeing, powerful whatchamawhozit if I'm not allowed to intervene?" She looks down on Angel and wishes she could somehow get him into Lee's office. Cordy tells herself, "Think, bubble-head. How do I --?" Hee.

Back down in the casino, Angel is diligently feeding the slots. Two jackpot symbols come up, but the last dial is just a hair off. Angel looks down at his empty cup. Cordy looks thoughtful, and the last dial slips down as bells ring. People gather to congratulate Angel.

In the office, Lee tells his goons to take the MoG out to the desert and shoot Fred and Gunn while Cary watches. They head out, and then Morocco Omari tells Lee, "We have a winner." Everyone stops dead to look up at the monitors, where Angel is prominently featured. Ha. See, because his features? Are prominent. Snicker. Lee complains, "That's impossible!" Boy, Lee's not satisfied with stealing people's destinies -- he's got to rig the machines, too? It's one thing to screw around with TPTB, but I wouldn't try to pull a fast one with the Nevada Gaming Commission. Those people are serious. Morocco Omari assures Lee that Angel won $300,000 and a car. Lee orders his staff to get back to work, and tells Morocco Omari to bring Angel to him.

Moments later, Angel is hauled in. He greets the MoG with a dazed "Hi." Lee demands answers, but Angel is busy looking around and muttering that the room looks familiar. Morocco Omari punches Angel, and Lee asks again how Angel won. Angel sincerely explains, "I put a quarter in the slot and I pulled the lever." Lee asks if Angel's playing games, and Angel repeats, "I have to play to win." And then there's a shot where Angel looks like he's back to himself again. It's hard to explain. He looks blank in the usual way, instead of looking like he's trying to look blank. Lee isn't used to making these subtle decisions, though, so he decides it was just "a glitch in the machine." A ghost in the machine would be a whole different show. Or possibly, a whole different philosophy. Lee tells Morocco Omari to pay Angel "in quarters," and gets back to business. A goon shoves Gunn, then punches him, and when Fred tries to intervene, another goon shoves a pistol in her face. Angel wobbles for no readily apparent reason, and then vamps out. He and Gunn make with the fisticuffs, and Fred improbably punches a goon without immediately snapping several bones in her wrist. Lee complains at his staff's incompetence while another goon accidentally shoots Morocco Omari. Oh no! Goodbye, Morocco Omari. Cary picks up a mysterious object that I think might be a walking stick, although I'm not sure what it's doing there, but the point is it's a long heavy bar of some kind. He approaches the mystical glowing orb of stolen destinies and raises the stick. Lee races over and begs Cary not to do it: "What's it gonna take? A bigger suite? Fewer shows?" Lee's kind of confused, isn't he? Cary smashes the orb, and then there's an explosion which I think kills Lee. Pretty colored lights swirl through the room as the monitors and LED tickers go black.

Out in the casino, we see the colored swirls zip into various people, including Vivian. In the office, another swirl vanishes into Angel, and he turns around to face the MoG. He says, "This room. Something familiar." Gunn walks over and says, "Angel?" Angel looks at him and sniffs, "You're my friend. I know. I'm not stupid." That's an odd line to make into a catchphrase. Although it'd be funny if Angel kept saying "I'm not stupid!" more and more defensively in future episodes.

We pass a fully restored Vivian and zoom in on the MoG, heading for the door. Angel suddenly remembers why the office seemed familiar and exclaims, "Elvis and Priscilla's wedding reception, 1967!" He adds that he wasn't officially invited, saying, "They just put me near the dais. I think somebody thought I was in the band -- probably because I was all drunk and surly." Angel chuckles to himself while the rest of the MoG walk a little faster to get away from his crazy lying ass.

We now resume normal L.A.-style blipverts. The MoG walk through the Hyperion's courtyard, chatting. Gunn puts a ban on any more road trips for six months. Fred looks forward to a bath. Angel's trying to figure out why he won on the slot machine. Cary suggests that "Lady Luck was smiling down on [him]." Angel insists, "I don't get why or how I was able to fight when I had no reason to, no destiny." Cary says that Angel was fighting for his friends' futures, adding, "The people you love are part of your destiny." Cary offers to continue with the "insightful bon mots" after he's had a chance to visit the little demons' room. He hurries inside, and unfortunately we're forced to observe some innuendo-ing between Fred and Gunn before everyone follows Cary into the hotel.

They walk inside, and stop dead. No, not because Willow's there with some glad tidings. It's Cordelia. Still in that dumb all-white outfit. She turns to look at them, and asks, "Who are you people?"

week: I guess it's a secret. The ad consisted almost entirely of clips from episodes that have already aired. Maybe it's a clip show? I'd love that. The narrator says that "the mystery will begin." Golly.