Previously on Angel, there were these same previouslys last week, plus Wesley and Faith came upon a weird vampire-druggie lounge; Cordy learned ventriloquism; and Angel played hacky sack with Wesley and quenched his thirst with Faith.
It's hard to tell when the new episode actually begins, because we start with the final scene from "Release." Angelus sucks on Faith's neck and then suddenly pulls away from her. He and Faith pant at each other. Not like that. Angelus gasps, "What did you do?" Faith clutches her neck and looks at him.
Flashback to the fight from last week. Faith is knocked out of the way, Wesley opens fire. While Angelus is distracted, Faith pulls a syringe out of her boot and injects herself, and then gets up to rejoin the battle. What a lame trick. I don't mean Faith doping herself up; that's fine. I mean keeping something from the audience solely to generate suspense, and then using a flashback to "reveal" it later. It's cheap, and it's not playing fair with the audience. I can let it slide a little, since on the other occasions when Mutant Enemy did exactly the same thing, the "surprise" was a lot more critical to the story, whereas this time it was just a cliffhanger ending. But it's still lazy, blatantly manipulative writing. Anyway. Angelus glares at Faith, then grunts, "You spiked --" and collapses, unconscious. Behind Faith, there's some rattling as Wesley finally crawls out of the broken scaffolding and falls onto the floor. He asks Faith if she's okay. Faith struggles to turn around, looks at Angelus, and smirks, "Kicked his ass." And then she, too, collapses.
Credits. This week's Boreanaz quote: "The gamut of my career will run in all facets as I progress."
Fred's all alone in the Hyperion's lobby, reading a book. Gunn bursts through the door, shouting for Connor as he drags a bound and unconscious Angelus inside. Gunn tells Fred to get her tranq gun and bellows for Connor again. Fred asks what happened, and Gunn says, "Wes called; I went." Really? Huh. I'd like to have heard that call. "Gunn? Wesley here. Things went really well, thanks to my brilliant plan, but now we're all having a bit of trouble remaining upright. Don't suppose you could come by, lend a hand?" Fred asks where Faith and Wesley are. Cary wanders out sleepily, wondering what the ruckus is about. Then he spots Angelus and screams, "Aaa! It's Angelus! He's in the hotel!" As Gunn asks Fred to get some shackles, Cary adds, "...But maybe we're already aware of that." Gunn explains that the rope was all he had in his truck, and then Connor finally arrives in the lobby in time to repeats Fred's question about Faith and Wesley. Having received his cue, Wesley enters, carrying an unconscious Faith. He orders them to take Angelus back to the basement and adds, "She captured Angelus." Faith and Connor stare at Faith, while Cary hurries to play nursemaid. Gunn reminds Connor that they've got a vampire to deal with.
Stupid-ass slow-motion shot of Wesley carrying Faith down the hall, escorted by Cary and Fred. Shut up, Wesley. And walk at a normal speed.
We cut back and forth between the basement (where Connor and Gunn are settling Angelus into the cage) and upstairs (where Cary and Fred are tending Faith). Cary spots the needle mark on Faith's arm, and gives Wesley a shocked look. Fred stares at the fang punctures in Faith's neck. As is traditional, Fred proceeds to bathe Faith's wound with a white towel and water in one of those bowls that you only see when someone is bathing someone else's wounds. Which I'm pretty sure you shouldn't do anyway, because the blood's sure not going to clot if you keep pouring water on the wound. And who has white towels? People who don't do their own laundry, I guess. Maybe Fred's just cleaning off the bloodstains, not the wound itself, and I don't want to fault her for tidiness, but that doesn't seem like the most important task. Right, so the montage finally winds down.
In the basement, Connor says, "He fed from her. There's blood on his breath." Oh, not again: what breath? Try "I can smell the blood." See? Same effect, sounds less dumb. Angelus suddenly stirs, and Gunn and Connor jump back. Gunn aims the tranq gun as Angelus mutters, "I'll kill you."
Faith whispers, "Scratch you out." Fred thoughtfully says, "She's not making any sense," like, yeah, oddly enough the doped-up, anemic Slayer who's talking in her sleep isn't quite Descartes's equal at the moment. And even at her best, I'm not sure "making sense" was ever Faith's strong point. Cary pulls Wesley aside to note that Wesley's a crazy psycho. Well, technically he says, "Tell me [that] you did not shoot that girl full of junk and then feed her to Angelus!" Wesley says that Faith knew the risks. Cary snaps, "She couldn't!" and says that he knows what the drug does to people, and so does Wesley. I like the fact that Cary's angrier on Faith's behalf than he ever has been for the things he's endured.
"A coma," Cordelia sniffs, up in her bedroom. Connor is there, too, and has presumably caught her up on all the gossip. Cordy skeptically says, "Like she hasn't pulled that one before." Hey, it's daylight outside! Finally. After some Angelus-related exposition, Connor assures Cordelia that he'll protect her and the baby. Cordy brushes that off with a quick "That's sweet -- is he guarded?" Connor smirks that Faith "did a number on him." Cordy suddenly shoves Connor and shouts, "What the hell is it with you and Faith? As if I didn't see the way you looked at her!" Connor denies whatever it is that he's being accused of, and then asks how Cordelia could hit him when the sanctuary spell is in effect. Cordy's explanation: "I told you, Connor: we're different!" She keeps complaining about Connor's disloyalty, adding, "I thought you were gonna be a better father than Angel was to you." Connor insists that he'd do anything for Cordy. Them's the magic words. Cordy turns back cheerfully and chuckles, "Are my hormones out of whack or what? Hello! Crazy pregnant lady, Aisle Nine!" She laughs at herself, which is refreshing since they don't get a lot to chuckle over on this show. One of things I liked about this episode was that almost everyone got to be amused by something at least once. Although not Connor, of course. Cordy finally suggests that he go check on Faith. She says, "I'm concerned. I want to know --"
"What's gonna happen to her?" Connor asks. He and the others are gathered around whatever bedroom they've dumped Faith into. Fred's still trying to find out what already happened. Wesley chooses to remain silent, so Cary gets the title again as he answers, "Orpheus." Which turns out to be a mystical drug. Cary says, "Humans inject it, vampires feed off the humans. Folks tried to deal it at Caritas -- only folks I ever banned from my club." Connor can't help pointing out that this is yet another item on the list of magic's drawbacks. Cary explains that between the drug and getting bit by Angelus, Faith is in for "some serious psychic psychedelia." Alliteration! Wesley finally opens his mouth to add, "It leads you down to hell." Thanks, that was very informative, Wesley.
Gunn locks up the cage. We pan down to Angelus, on the floor. Wesley finishes his insightful remarks in a voice-over: "And leaves you there." I can see why this drug would be really popular. Originally I thought, "Maybe it shows you the worst things you've ever done, so if you're a demon, you enjoy that, and that's why demons use it." But that doesn't mesh with what's about to happen to Angelus, so I'm afraid I still don't get it.
Boat-vert. Shots of a castle, and the Statue of Liberty, and then we're at Ellis Island. The caption reads, "New York, 1902." Cue the huddled masses. A long-haired Angel wanders through the crowd. Get a job, you damn hippie! Whoops, sorry. Angelus, in leather jacket, steps into the frame. Angel walks toward him, and then through him. Angelus whirls and growls, "Hey, what is that about?" "You tell me, it's your flashback," says Faith, who appears behind Angelus. Angelus immediately rushes to attack her, and dives through her instead. Faith giggles and tells Angelus that insanity is "performing the same task over and over and expecting different results." She adds that she learned that in "murder rehab." Angelus tells her to quit bugging him: "This is my flashback!" Hee. Faith guesses that she's there to enjoy the effects of her "incredibly simple ruse" and that Angelus is in for the This is Your life treatment. She eyes scruffy Angel, and asks Angelus if he missed the invention of the bath. Angelus grumbles, "All the way over here he crouched in the filth of animals just to avoid temptation! This isn't my life, it's his!" He complains that it was bad the first time and snaps, "This sucks! Why do you get to be Marley's ghost?" Faith answers, "Because I'm dying, dumb-ass." Angelus says she isn't doing it fast enough, and Faith guesses that her last job is to babysit "till they shove a soul up your --" Angelus interrupts to say that won't happen. Faith says, "Then I'm...whatever, dust in the wind. A candle in the wind. There'll be a general wind theme." I guess her time in Buffy's body had a permanent effect on her intelligence. How sad. Angelus wonders if Faith's still suicidal, but she says, "I rolled the dice. Paid even odds."
Which provides a handy segue to dice rolling in a street, and we're suddenly in the Roaring '20s. Outside a club called "The Blue Mood Lounge," some men are engaging in background color. Angelus and Faith look around, and Angelus guesses that they're in Chicago. He spots Angel sitting at a bus stop across the street. Angel got a haircut, thank heaven, and for some reason he looks like a chartered accountant in his three-piece-suit. Angelus moans that he remembers this, and he has to leave. A car squeals around a corner down the street. "I can't do it again, I won't!" Angelus groans as Faith watches curiously. The car races toward them, and Angel suddenly dashes out in front of the car. Faith shouts a warning, and the car misses Angel. We hear a high-pitched yipping, and Angelus looks furious as Angel turns to reveal that he just saved a puppy from getting run over. And it looks like a Pomeranian puppy, which somehow makes it that much funnier for me. Angelus, enraged, shouts, "No!" Ha! Faith snickers, "Dude, you just rescued a puppy!" A flapper outside the club coos over Angel for saving the dog. Angelus complains, "I'm in hell. This is hell, and I'm in it." If that were really true, he'd be watching the Oscars. While the flapper attempts to flirt with Angel, Angelus tells himself, "We haven't fed on a human in decades. She's begging for it, you moron!" I love how irritated he is. Angel tells the flapper to get lost, and she, offended, does so. With the puppy. Faith expositions for the benefit of slow viewers: "We're reliving Angel's good deeds! You are in hell! Wicked!" She chuckles.
Cut to unconscious Faith, lying in bed as Cary looks at her. Wesley voice-overs that all they can do now is finish what Faith started.
Cut to the lobby, where Wesley is speechifying. Fred guesses that they need to re-soul Angel. Connor says it's impossible: "No jar, no soul. No soul, no Angel." No horse, no wife, no moustache. Fred starts arguing, but Connor tells them, "You're lying to yourselves. You all think that I'm taking this personally so [that] you don't have to." I hope Connor gets to be right someday. I mean, I think he usually is right, but the story keeps proving him wrong. I'd like it if the story backed him up someday. Also, he and Gunn should hang out more. Connor adds that they need to kill Angelus, but then Willow says, "I don't think so." "Wuh?" everyone fails to say, as they turn to the door. Willow declares, "I think you need a witch." Shut up, Willow.
Willow approaches as Wesley greets her. Connor approaches her skeptically, and Willow guesses that he's "Angel's handsome yet androgynous son." Connor grumpily mentions his name, and Willow notes, "The sneer's genetic. Who knew?" Wow, Willow's short. Fred introduces herself, and then Willow looks at Wesley and says, "It's the Marlboro Man. Or, at least, his extra stubble-y, mentally unstable, insomniac first cousin, oh, for the love of Hecate, somebody stop me," because it seems to be literally true that she cannot stop running her mouth for a single second. Because she's an idiot. "For the love of Hecate" indeed. Wesley asks if Willow was drawn to the Hyperion by magic forces, and Willow explains that, actually, Fred called and gave her the scoop. Wesley acts like, ah, yes, it's so obvious that Willow was the person to call, nicely skipping over the question of why he didn't think to do that. ["Too bad the Buffy episode in which the phone call occurred didn't air until after this one. Oops!" -- Wing Chun] Fred and Willow burble about research, and I start looking for sharp objects. Willow asks where Cordelia is, and Connor interjects, "The guy you're all trying to magically reensoul shot her with a crossbow. She's not up for visitors." Wesley insists that Cordy would want to see Willow because of their long and loving history of close friendship. The hell? Okay, Cordy called her a couple of times. But I'm not sure even non-evil Cordy would feel too bad if she missed a chance to hang out with good ol' stupid blithering nonsensical Willow.
Cordy's in bed, with the covers pulled up to camouflage her tummy. Presumably Connor came up to tell her to expect a visitor. Connor knocks, and he and Willow enter. Willow and Cordy are perky. Connor is taciturn, and is quickly dismissed. Cordy and Willow share some backstory, and then Cordy asks, "You heard about Faith?" Willow doesn't quite roll her eyes as she says, "Coma again." Heh. They sound so bored by it. Again with the comas! Willow moves on to a discussion of her plan to re-soul Angel. Cordy feigns interest, and reaches under the blanket to grab a knife. So, Connor came up and said, "Some geek you knew in high school is here, and she wants to say hi. Name of Willow." And then Cordy said, "Great! Just let me get into bed, and you can bring her up. Oh, but first could you go get me a big knife? I need to, um, do my nails. Thanks!" Cordy asks about the magic jar o' soul. Willow admits that it's a problem, and blithers that a locator spell didn't help find the jar. Cordy agrees: "Tough nut to crack." For no readily apparent reason, that gives Willow an idea. She asks, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Cordy grips the knife under the blanket and says, "I doubt it." I bet I'm thinking what Cordy's thinking. Willow exclaims that they can break the jar. Cordy suddenly asks Willow to hand her a glass of water from the nightstand, since that would put her conveniently within reach. Willow ignores Cordy and goes on about how they can use magic to break the jar, and then the soul will be free and they can put it back in Angelus. Well, what the hell was the point of putting it in a jar to begin with? Cordy whines, "Good idea -- I'm really thirsty!" But Willow continues to be totally self-absorbed, which is at least consistent. She exclaims that they'll get Angel back, and hurries through the door. As Willow closes the door behind her, the knife lands in it. So close. Damn. Try again, Cordy!
Faith's room. Cary says, "Don't you worry, princess, it'll all be over soon." He says he's seen other go through this, and holds her hand. Aw. I start muttering, "Sing to her, sing to her," because I like it when Cary sings. He starts singing "MacArthur Park." I blame myself.
Cut to...oh, there just aren't words. "MacArthur Park" plays on a jukebox as Angel enters what I thought was a diner, but turns out to be a donut shop. Angel's wearing striped pants, an incompletely buttoned shirt, a gold necklace, and a mid-length leather jacket with gratuitously wide collars. And then there's the hair. There just aren't words, but I think the wispy bangs are my favorite part. Maybe not being able to see your own reflection is a good thing sometimes. Angelus glares from a corner as Angel strides over to the jukebox, and then winces as "Mandy" starts up. Angel doesn't sing along with the song, but he's grooving to it with a wistful expression. So funny. Angelus stomps over to a table where Faith is giggling, "It must kill you [that] he's got a jones for the power ballads." There's a staticky noise, and Angelus swats at the air like a bee flew past him as he says that the concerts were even worse. A couple comes out of the back of the diner, and it takes me a while to figure out why they'd both be back in the bathroom together, but then the guy wipes his nose, and all becomes clear. As the couple passes Angel and exits, Angelus grumbles about the constant hunger for blood. When Faith taunts him, he asks whether she figures her mission is accomplished if she "put[s] the monster back in his cage." He suddenly pops across to her side of the table as he explains, "I'm always here, Faithy. Deep in." They're distracted when a new customer turns out to actually be a new robber, and not a customer at all. He pulls a gun out and tells the guy behind the counter to empty the register. Angel looks befuddled, and Angelus looks smug. The donut guy is so scared that he stammers nervously instead of opening the register, and eventually the gunman shoots him, then runs out. Angel hurries over to the bleeding donut guy and tries to help him. Or if not help, then at least reassure him. Unconvincingly. Over at the table, Angelus snickers, "Doc, I think we're losing him! God, I love this episode!" It's a mystery to me why they didn't put that clip in the commercials. There's more buzzing, and Angelus swats the air some more.
Cut to Cordelia, who is talking to her glowing voice-disguising marble. She orders Angelus to wake up. "Or just lay there and let that redheaded meddler put your soul back. Whichever." If this episode has a moral, it's that frustrated evildoers are funny.
In the lobby, Willow is preparing magical stuff for the "Denothrian's Arrow" spell that will break the jar o' soul. Wesley questions Willow about the mechanics of how the spell works, which allows her to provide some exposition I don't care about. And to babble, which I also don't care about. Shut up, Willow. I'll translate: she found a spell that will break the jar. Got it. Wesley fails to giggle appreciatively at something Willow says, and excuses himself by saying, "I think my sense of humor's trapped in a jar somewhere," instead of just pointing out that her stream-of-consciousness "whimsy" stopped being funny sometime during "Welcome to the Hellmouth." Great: Wesley finally decides to be polite to someone, and it's Willow. Willow admits that Wesley seems gloomier. He sighs, "I've been -- I've changed. I've seen a darkness in myself... I'm not sure you could even begin to understand." Willow chirps, "I flayed a guy alive and tried to destroy the world." Well, that exchange certainly highlights the differences between Angel and Buffy. Here are two characters (or, technically, one character and one collection of quirky mannerisms) who had season-long descents last year, who made bad decisions for selfish reasons, and whose behavior had significant consequences for the other characters. But one of them has been dealing with the personal and interpersonal fallout of his decisions in virtually every episode for a year now. The other one occasionally makes jokes about that time she tortured and murdered someone. I mean, I hate Wesley, but at this point he is at least a developed character that resembles actual human beings. Willow is more like a Real Doll. In a number of ways. Fine, so Wesley mentions, "I had a woman chained in a closet..." but admits that he can't compete with the flaying, and Willow tries to comfort him, and see my rant. Wesley changes the subject because he clearly won't win the "who's a bigger sociopath" contest, and tellingly observes that Willow seems exactly the same as she was when he left Sunnydale. My point exactly. "Any major changes I'm not up on?" he asks, and Willow mugs, "Little things." Because she's gay now, you know. Like Cordelia wouldn't have shared that tidbit? Whatever. Then Willow asks what Fred's deal is, and Wesley gives her a confused look. We cut away before he digs out the DSM IV.
Back in the dream-world flashback thingy, Angel is holding the dying donut guy. "Mandy" seems to have finally stopped, so at least that won't be the donut guy's last memory. Angel says he's sorry as the donut guy dies; Angel then gets up and stares at the body. Angelus asks Faith, "Who's your big hero now?" Faith defends Angel, noting that the shooting wasn't his fault. Angel starts for the door and then, as Angelus "uh oh"s, locks it instead of leaving. Faith, worried, says, "He won't..." Angel goes back to the body as Angelus says, "Deep in, Faith. Soul or no soul." Angel hauls the body up, vamps out, and drinks. Cool. Faith looks disgusted, and then grabs her neck, which is suddenly bleeding. As she wipes at the blood, she insists that Angel was going to save the counterman. "Or did he choose to be a little slow on the draw?" Angelus asks. He tells her, "You're a murderer; you know just how good that blurry line tastes. You didn't think my hell was private, did you?" Angel suddenly looks up from the body he's feeding on and screams.
Faith is unconscious in bed. In his cage, Angelus twitches a little and smiles in his sleep.
After the ads, Cary is tending to a whimpering Faith. He says, "She's in the barrens now. They cry for a while, quiet, mostly. Like they're letting go of everything that meant something." Turns out he's talking to Connor, who asks how long it'll last. Or how long Faith will last. It's all ambiguous and stuff. Cary says it won't be long, and offers to let Connor hold Faith's hand. Aw. Connor stands up, but then Wesley enters because I guess it's his turn to stare at Faith uselessly. Connor declares that Wesley did the right thing. Connor says, "She was brave, and she died in battle." Well, not really. Dying in battle means dying in battle, not being mortally wounded in battle and dying in a hotel a few hours later, y'know? Wesley stares a little more and says, "It's time." For dinner? Or at least snacks? He exits with Connor. Cary either isn't welcome, or he chooses to stay with Faith instead. Cary's so nice. I've mentioned my thing about sick people before, right? Poor Faith. I'm just glad someone's finally being nice to her without an ulterior motive.
Fred walks around the lobby holding a candle and ringing a bell. Willow takes an opportunity to invade Fred's personal space in the guise of correcting her posture. Wesley makes a note to try that one later. Willow tells Gunn about the magic she's doing, and I still don't care, except for the part where she claims that she'll restore the jar's "entropic equilibrium." Are all of Willow's lines written by monkeys? Gunn heads downstairs to keep an eye on Angelus. Wesley approaches and asks if everything's ready. "Should be a snap," Willow says, and is promptly knocked down by a ball of glowiness. The spooky (but not that spooky) voice says, "Stay your hand, witch!"
Upstairs, Cordy tells her marble, "You will not interfere with what must come to pass." She should be more specific in her dire warnings. With Cordelia and Willow's many hairstyles, maybe Cordy should offer some "dyer" warnings. Oh wow, I'm sorry about that; it slipped out.
Willow gets up, clutching her head, and chants some Latin. "You think to banish me?" asks the voice. Willow moans to a baffled Wesley, "There's somebody in my head." I'll let that go, to make up for the "dyer" joke. I'm still sorry, by the way.
Cordy sits with the jar o' soul on her bed and tells her marble that the soul is under her protection. Willow tries more Latin, and there's a kerpow as the marble in Cordy's hand stops glowing. Cordy is jolted back, and then announces, "I bith my thung." Hee.
Wesley tells Willow that it must be Satan's boss. Willow picks up her own marble and recites one of Dr. Seuss's magic incantations. The marble glows, because it's not magic if something doesn't glow, and levitates out of her hand.
Cordy says, "You wanna go, Glinda? We'll go!" and gestures.
A flash downstairs makes Willow double over. Connor suddenly appears with the gang downstairs, but not via magic; apparently, he was just a little late joining the fun. Maybe he was in the bathroom. He asks if Willow can handle this, and Willow stands up with the black eyes of shut up, Willow. Wesley guesses that Willow's up to it as the lights flicker and the ground shakes.
Cary tells a still-moaning Faith that it'll all be okay. He says, "They'll get Angel back, and it'll all be worth it." He doesn't sound convinced. Aw. Suddenly Faith opens her eyes and sits up, gasping. I wish they hadn't done that. It sorta lessens the surprise later, when she does nearly the same thing.
In dream-land, Faith finds herself in a pile of garbage in an alley. She stands up as an unseen Angelus taunts, "'It'll all be worth it.' Is that what you try to tell yourself, Faithy? Is that the nasty little lie that kept those thighs nice and warm in your prison bunk?" Faith asks, "You kiss your mama with that mouth?" which is an inexcusably lame comeback to give Faith just so that Angelus can say, "No, but I ate her with it." Faith turns to find Angelus lying in the rubble behind her. We go to an overhead shot of the alley as he's tilted upright as if by magic, or perhaps a cable. On the one hand, it's a standard bit of vampiric business that I always enjoy, and I guess the overhead shot was to impress us with the fact that we can't see what's pulling him upright, but if you're doing a shot differently just to say "Look! A special effect!" maybe you should reconsider. Anyway, Angelus says he's going to recite a poem, and Faith runs away screaming. Okay, she doesn't, so maybe she does still have a death wish. It's not much of a poem, actually; he just says that she's fading fast. Faith backs away, and says that she hears "this holler in the distance."
Willow chants. You'd think that would put Faith deeper into a coma. Or maybe that's just me.
Faith says that Angelus is going to be re-souled, but Angelus gloats, "I've got friends in high places." There's a clatter behind them, and we see Angel with a shaggy bowl cut scrambling through the trash after a rat. Faith icks, "When is this?" "When isn't it?" Angelus grumps. "Twenty years after that stupid donut shop and his fingers never smelled of anything but rat!" Faith says that Angel's paying for what he did, and Angelus growls, "He's hiding from what he is!" Angelus whirls on Faith and complains that while this may be a revelation for her, he already knows all of this: "So why do I have to go through it again?" Behind him, Angel finishes with the rat and says, "Maybe 'cause it's not about you. Jackass." Faith and Angelus look startled.
As the Hyperion shakes, the lights flicker, and a wind blows around Willow, Wesley wins the "Dumbest Line of the Episode" award as he asks, "Do you feel that?" Apparently Connor knows which particular odd sensation Wesley is asking about, because he says, "There's something evil rising in the hotel." There's a distant bellow.
Upstairs, Cordy has milky eyes as she changes. I think she's actually wearing contacts this time, instead of having the whiteness added in post. I wonder why.
Bits of the ceiling crumble in the basement. Gunn looks tense.
In the lobby, a big ghostly demon head materializes and roars at the gang. Pretty! Willow orders everyone to ignore it. Willow finally sends her marble off to its target. About time. The demon head fades away.
Cordelia, her eyes restored, sniffs, "Okay, then." She starts to try something else, but Willow's marble suddenly whizzes toward the jar o' soul. Cordy blocks it by holding her hand up before it hits the jar. She grumbles that Willow is on her last nerve, and I root for Cordelia as she tries to move the marble away. She gasps, "If only this were a few weeks later."
Fred looks around the lobby and wonders where Connor went.
Connor is dashing up to Cordy's room. He tries to open her door, asking if she's okay. Cordy is startled, and turns toward the door, which is blocked by a dresser. While she's distracted, the marble hits the jar, shattering it, and the soul fades away. Cordy turns back to the bed and says, "Oh, sh --"
Cut to Angelus, who says, "I don't believe this!" He asks Angel, "You're the one behind this whole True Hollywood sob story?" Faith greets Angel by saying, "It's good to see you. Hate the hair." Angel wonders why Faith is "still here." Faith says she's just waiting to see Angelus lose. Angelus responds by kicking her in the chest, knocking her down. Angelus says, "I had a feeling the rules had changed." Angel and Angelus face each other, and they both say, "I've been waiting a long time for this." Angel throws a punch, but Angelus blocks it and then socks Angel in the jaw. Angel swats at Angelus's arm, which is pretty silly-looking. Fade out as the punches continue. They actually did pretty well at getting two Boreanazes in one shot, but the punches do look odd.
When we return, Angelus has been knocked down. Angel asks Faith if she's listening, and she replies, "I'm dying." That doesn't really answer his question, though. He says, "It's a lot easier than redemption, huh?" Angelus comes at him again, tosses him down the alley, and kicks Faith again for good measure. A new cut is opened on her cheek.
At the hotel, Faith jerks around and Cary sees the fresh wound on her face.
Angelus pontificates about the human condition: "They suffer, they die. That's what they're there for!" Who knew he was a Buddhist? Angel hi-yahs as he leaps twenty feet and tackles Angelus. As Angelus picks himself up, Angel says, "I'm not perfect, Faith. Even with a soul, I've done things I've wished a thousand times I could take back." Angelus pummels Angel and suggests, "Like those Manilow concerts! You son of a bitch!" He's really bitter about that. Angel is tossed down the alley again. It'd be funny if Whistler peeked down the alley and said, "Oh, sorry. I'll try again later."
Connor shoves the door open, knocking the dresser out of the way. Cordy rushes in and smashes a vase over Connor's head. She immediately apologizes, but Connor still looks grumpy as she tearfully explains, "I thought it came back! That horrible, floaty head!" I hate to break it to her, but Willow's still downstairs. Connor forgets about the vase and asks if she and the baby are okay. "We nearly got killed!" Cordy sniffles, without answering the question. Connor blames Willow, and see what I mean about how he's got good instincts? Cordy agrees: "If she keeps at it, there's no telling what will happen. She's already let hell itself into this hotel." Hee. If the evil thing doesn't pan out, Cordelia has a great future writing movie trailers. Connor says he'll go make Willow stop. Cordy promptly protests that Willow's too powerful, but says that he can stop "the reason for all of this." She whispers, "You have to kill Angelus."
Back in the lobby, Wesley's making with the stinky herbs while Fred takes exposition duties for anyone unclear on the soul-restoring process. She asks again about Connor, and Wesley guesses that Connor's checking on Cordy. Fred says, "D'ya ever think their relationship is maybe a little bit icky?" Perhaps Wesley is the wrong person to ask.
Cordy repeats, "You have to kill your father. You have to, now, before anything else goes wrong." Connor looks pensive. I'd expect him to be grabbing a stake and running out the door before she finished the sentence.
Fred and Willow chant. This is a chant-heavy episode.
Cordy tutors Connor on cost-benefit analysis. She explains, "As much as I love Angel -- as a friend! -- killing Angelus now is the only way to guarantee our family's safety." She goes on about that while Gunn paces outside Angelus's cage, and Faith keeps on being in a coma.
In the alley, Angelus is knocking Angel around. Angel shouts for Faith to wake up. Faith opens her eyes and mutters, "Rolled the bones. You for me." Angel punches Angelus a little before he gets distracted by the urge to lecture again. He tells Faith that he used to believe that, at some point, he'd have paid his dues. Then Angelus knocks him down and harrumphs, "Anybody notice a battle with your alter ego going on here?"
Connor walks down the hallway in slow damned motion. And he's not holding a stake. Idiot. In voice-over, he asks what he'll tell the rest of the MoG. Cordy says, "They can't stop you if they don't know." Again, not quite answering the question. He asks about the sanctuary spell, but Cordy says she'll take care of it. He looks down into the lobby, where black-eyed Willow is -- can you guess? -- chanting.
Angel slams Angelus into a wall and then hurries over to Faith. He tells her that he thought he could make up for feeding on the donut guy by disappearing. Faith groans, "I did my time." Except for breaking out of prison. I'm just saying. Angel says, "Our time is never up, Faith. We pay for everything." Except for hotels and cars and leather wardrobes. Again, just saying. Faith says it hurts. The injuries or the moralizing? You decide.
Chant, chant, chant. The orb of Theusulah glows.
Connor enters the basement and tells Gunn, "I thought you should know, they haven't finished the spell yet." Then he clobbers Gunn, knocking him out.
"Get. Up," Angel tells Faith. He says that he needs her to fight. Then Angelus conks him on the head with a metal pipe. He tells Angel, "Your soul's already in the ether, boyo. I can smell it." Angel has to twitch his head to get some hair out of his eyes, which entertains me. Maybe that's why it used to be a solid mass of gel -- to keep it out of his face during fights. Angelus offers to send the soul "to that big puppy-rescue in the sky." "Arf arf, psycho," Faith says. Angelus turns to see her standing behind him, and chuckles. He tries to club her with the pipe, but she pops out of existence. "Hey!" Angelus shouts, annoyed. Angel stands up behind him.
Cary is startled as Faith again opens her eyes. This time she immediately hops out of the bed and runs out.
Chant-o-Rama. The orb of Thesulah glows and then disappears. It didn't vanish last time, did it? Maybe this is a cheap knock-off that's only good for one use.
Angelus and Angel are suddenly jolted, and light streams out of their faces, which looks neater than it sounds. They both wail as Angelus is drawn back inside Angel, and the light fades away.
"I need you to fight," Angel says in the cage. "I'm pretty clear about what you need," Connor says, as he raises a stake. Oh, he did have one after all. Faith grabs Connor's arm and says, "Break me off a switch, son. There's about to be a whuppin'." She and Connor trade punches and she throws him out of the cage. She does a neat swinging kick on the cage door as he runs at her again. Cary and the others rush into the basement from upstairs. Cary stops to declare, "She's alive! It's a miracle!" Connor and Faith keep fighting. Luckily, the MoG have taken the precaution of lining the walls with empty barrels, so that there's stuff to toss Connor into. Maybe they put the barrels there in case Satan came by. Faith gives Connor a spinning kick, knocking him against the cage. Angel suddenly pops up and grabs Connor's shoulders through the bars. He says, "Connor, it's over. It's me. Really." I'd complain that just saying "Really" shouldn't convince them that the spell worked, but with Willow and the orb and all, I suppose they could confirm that he's really resouled this time.
Angel is standing in the courtyard. It's nighttime again. Faith comes outside, and Angel asks how she feels. She says, "Like I did mushrooms and got eaten by a bear." Angel observes that she's headed for Sunnydale now, because she's got to help restore some kind of sense to the inter-show timeline. Good luck with that. Angel says, "We never stop fighting," and Faith says she was going to, "but someone got all pep-talky on me." Angel apologizes for not getting to see her, "[their] little brain-tour not withstanding." Faith says, "Another time," and aw, they seem like they actually enjoy hanging out together. Aw. I like that they're friends. I like that Faith has an actual friend, particularly. Angel says he has a lot to thank Faith for, and Faith says "that vice is plenty versa" but notes that this will lead to hugging if they don't stop. "We can't have that," Angel says, and Faith agrees, so they head back inside.
Connor is admitting to a frowny Gunn that he messed up. As Faith enters, she says, "That just makes you one of us," which is nice of her. She and Gunn trade a last longing look as they imagine what might have been, or maybe it's me who did that. Gunn wishes he could have seen her beat up Connor, and Faith admits, "It was pretty funny." She walks over to Wesley, and Angel watches in the background like he's a little nervous about how this will go. She says, "Wes." Wesley says, "Faith." Beat. Faith says, "See, Brits know how to say goodbye. Angel here wanted a hug." Wesley looks at Angel, who insists, "No, I didn't!" Faith tells Wesley that he "ran a good show," and Gunn interjects, "Yeah, sit back and let the girl do all the heavy liftin'." From his expression, I think Gunn's teasing instead of snarking. I guess. Although Wesley admits that there's some truth to the summary.
Willow and Fred emerge from the office, and apparently Fred has given Willow a couple of books that mention the Hellmouth. Hey, are they Fred's books to give away? Fred babbles about translations and we cut over to Faith and Angel, who share the cutest look. I can't stop saying, "Aw." You can read your own meaning into their glance, although I suspect it's something like, "Part of atoning for our sins means not killing either of these girls. Dammit." Fred finishes her babblefest and Willow awkwardly says, "I'm seeing someone." See, she thought Fred was hitting on her! Because Willow's gay! This seems like a good time to mention that in order for there to be homoeroticism, there must be eroticism, period. What just happened here is a Three's Company joke. Faith decides that we've all atoned for all of the sins the human race has committed since the dawn of time, so it's time to get out of Dodge. Willow makes goodbye noises, and Angel says, "Willow..." Faith explains that Angel wants to thank her. Willow says, "I got a Slayer out of the deal, so we're even Steven." She gives Angel a hug, and my prayers that Angel will suddenly lose his soul yet again and kill her go unmet. Willow offers to tell Buffy he said hi, and Angel moves his eyebrows in a "Wha, who, Buffy? Oh, the ex. Right, whatever." He thanks Willow, and she heads out with a final request that time they want to visit with Angelus, they should call her first. And off she goes, finally.
After Faith and Willow have exited, Angel clears his throat and turns to face the others. "So we're back?" he asks. Wesley says, "It would seem," and this had better not mean that Wesley thinks all is forgiven because he made up for everything else he's done by nearly getting Faith killed, too. Gunn stares at Wesley without answering, which seems like a good sign. Angel says, "I know things have been --" He's interrupted by Cordelia, who says, "Sorry Angel." Everyone turns to look at the staircase, where's she's posing for maximum effect. As she descends the stairs, she says, "If this is the speech about how the worst is behind us, you may want to save it for later." Cordy is wearing the Most Amazing Outfit Ever. And this is Cordelia, so that's saying something. There's straps and off-the-shoulder sleeves and a cut-off top with fringe and a beaded choker and wowee. And it's all black, of course. But if it were more colorful, I'd believe it was something she pulled out of the closet from an earlier season. Oh yeah, and she's showing off her pregnant belly. Angel stares. We fade out before he can shout for Willow to come back and take the soul out again.