Angel

Includes detailed (think wildfeed) spoilers for Conviction and Just Rewards. Don’t scroll down unless you want to be spoiled blah blah disclaimercakes.

5.1 — Conviction

Teaser: A blonde girl is being approached by a bad guy, clearly a vamp (Though not in vampface). She screams, "Somebody help me!" and we cut to ANGEL! Leaping from rooftop to rooftop, he swings, Tarzan-style, into the alley, and knocks the vamp on his ass. They trade a few blows, the vamp is dust. The blonde is confused, what just happened? Angel is manly and consoling, tells her solemnly to go home, and stay out of dark alleys. She asks, "But…who are you?" "Doesn’t matter," he answers.

Suddenly, several cars pull up, and men with suits step out of them. Men with suits introduce themselves as Hauser, head of Angel’s ops team, and several lawyerly types. One runs up to the blonde and has her "Sign here, this is to confirm that you have been rescued by Angel, president and CEO of Wolfram and Hart." One of the other lawyers tells Angel that the vamp did actually work for a client, but hey, first week on the job, it’s an easy mistake.

The blonde is now even more confused - her rescuer runs a LAW FIRM?? Did he do this for publicity? ("Initial here, concerning your immortal soul.") Angel is flummoxed, explains, no, he, he helps the helpless…as lawerly types swarm around, offering to bring his car around and get him a latte, if he wants…

CREDITS (last season’s)

INT, school, day

Two boys talk about comics, one (Matthew) says that his dad won’t let him read Punisher.

INT, W&H, day

Phones ringing, generic office noise. Fred is carrying a box of generic office things, having gotten lost on the way to her office. Wes approaches from behind, offers to help. Fred babbles about how big her lab is, and how she doesn’t understand half of what the machines in it do, and Wes intererupts her with "I’m still stuck on..why are we here?" Fred exposits from Home, we learn that they don’t seem to remember agreeing to take the W&H deal, but their assumptions are pretty accurate (W&H obviously wants to co-opt or currupt them, and they all agreed to the deal for some reason). Wes tells Fred that her run-on sentences have gotten a lot less pointless. Fred beams, "That’s sweet! And a tad condescending!" Awwwwww. Wes offers to carry the box, when up comes Knox, "Miss Burkle! There you are!" She giggles, tells him to call her Fred. Wes, miffed, asks "So…Knox…how long have you been evil?" He gives his standard, oh, not evil, just a scientist, and hey, now that Fred’s in charge, I’ll probably be saving the world on weekly basis! Wes is not what you’d call impressed. "Knoxy" takes the box, and shows Fred back to her lab.

"Think fast!" says Gunn from off-screen, and a basketball hits Wes in the stomach. "Faster than that," and Gunn is now onscreen! Wes says cricket is more his game. There’s some quipping about adding y’s to the end of people’s names, but the sound quality in this scene is really crappy so I’m not sure if it was funny or not. Wes and Gunn then approach their offices. Gunn says that he’s chosen the one on the left, as it makes him feel "about 17% less out of place." Mumble something, "the kung pao, or whatever." "Feng shui" corrects Wes. "What’s that mean again?" "That people will believe anything….although in this place, feng shui will probably have enourmous significance. I’ll align my furniture the wrong way, and suddenly catch fire, or turn into a pudding." They discuss second thoughts about the whole working-for-an-evil-law-firm thing, saying even if they can turn W&H around into a force for good, it’s going to be a long time before anyone of the will feel comfortable in this place…

Pan to Lorne, walking down the street, wheeling and dealing with some actress, while at the same time picking out his office furnishings, obviously right at home.

Angel walks out of his office (this may be all one long take, which, it being Joss, wouldn’t surprise me), and talks to Wes and Gunn about the whole feeling weird thing. I think. DB wasn’t micced properly in this scene, and he’s the only one talking, so I really have no idea what was being said. I’m fairly sure it was more "isn’t this odd, us in W&H, I wonder what they want from us" expository talking.

Inside Angel’s office is EVE, their new liason w/ the senior partners. Before she can introduce herself, however, Angel goes into "I thought this was supposed to be my office" mode, and asks "Do you always need to make an entrance?" She comes back with "Do you always open both doors when you enter a room?" Hee. She then introduces herself as the liason w/ the senior partners, says her name is Eve, and to get any irony out of the way, tosses Angel an apple. She warns them not to try to use her to get to the SP’s, because she just answers to them, she doesn’t lunch with them. Wes comments that she’s still in a position of some considerable power for a young woman, and Eve asks how he can be sure that she’s either of those things? She goes on to explain that W&H is a corporation, and makes the point that if they just start going down the client list and starts hacking away, the evil clients will go next door (to the, um, other multidimensional evil law firm, which apparently exists). Gunn asks if this means letting some of them get away with stuff, and Eve says, well, they were already getting away with it, you just didn’t know about it. Taunt taunt taunt blah blah taunt. "What, isn’t anyone else excited about all this? You’re not scared, are you?" Angel bites emphatically into his apple. Eve points out the client files (in the filing cabinet), and leaves.

INT, Angel’s office, NIGHT

Everyone is soooooo tired! They’ve been working aallllll day, and my goodness, there are an awful lot of clients! Where EVER are they to begin??? Fred’s lost her appetite reading this stuff, and that NEVER happens! Gunn finds a file on Corbin Frieze, who is reeeeeeeally evil, and he’s one of their human clients. Gunn then realizes he has no idea which file goes where anymore, and Angel says he’ll have his secretary clean it up in the morning…assuming he has one. Wes says there must be someone who can stomach working for W&H, and Gunn says, you know, most people here are probably more opportunistic that actually evil. Fred points out that they’ll have to check the entire staff to make sure there aren’t any hard-core evildoers amongst them. Oy, and Wes was worried about the clients…. Okay, everyone’s really tired, so Angel sends them home.

On his way out, Gunn talks again to Eve, who offers him a business card and asks if he’s ready for the next step. He says if she knew him, she wouldn’t ask that question, and she says she can see why the SP’s chose him. "Have fun…you’ll feel like a new man." Wes, who has overheard, wants to know what’s what. Gunn (obviously lying) says, that the business card is for a tailor, since he isn’t dressed for success.

INT, Angel’s office, MORNING

CU on an envelope that won’t become important until later in the ep. Angel presses a button on his phone, and asks if he can get a cup of coffee, or something. The automated menu he’s dialed says "You have reached, Ritual Sacrifice! For goats, press 1, or say, "goats!" (90% sure this is Joss’ voice, btw, though it might be a scratch track). Angel presses another button, and hears "Angel’s office, how can I help you?" After some momentary confusion, he asks for a cup of coffee, or, if there’s blood? She says sure, right away. Hangs up, and is back to the automated menu, "…to sacrifice a loved one, or pet, press the pound key…"

Wes calls, and says he’s stopping by, there’s a situation. Angel is handed his mug of blood, looks up to say thanks, and…Harmony? "You’re my secretary?" "Hel-LO? Assistant!" "Explain to me why I shouldn’t kill you." "Secretary’s fine." More talk, she’s been working at W&H because they’re evil, they don’t judge. [Okay, so here, whoever made this dub for me must have hit the record button, because there’s about 90 seconds of what is either a TV movie or a medical show I can’t identify. When we come back, it’s still just Harm and Angel, so I don’t think I missed much.] "…and I type like a superhero…if there was a superhero whose power was…typing…" She asks how he likes the blood, assures him that it’s pig’s blood. He tastes, it’s surprisingly good! Conspiratorily, she informs him that the secret ingredient is otter.

Wes arrives, greets Harmony. It turns out that Wes picked her out of the steno pool to be Angel’s assistant because he thought a familiar face would be just the thing in a place like this. Angel says "You turned evil a lot faster than I thought you would." Oh, nonsense. Harm says it’s not a problem, we’re all gonna get along great, Cordy is gonna FLIP when she - oh. She doesn’t know. Angel says, Cordy’s sick, she’s in a coma. We don’t know if she’s gonna be okay. Harm starts a teary speech about how Cordy was her best friend, her whole life…anyway, I think you should not fire me, and Wes does too. Wes asks Harmony to bring the men in his office in here.

The men are Corbin Frieze (remember him from the exposition scene?), who is a rat bastard who deserves to get eaten by weasels, but who is also a major client and making threats if they don’t help him. When Holland Manners was running things, this never would have gotten to trial. He knows who Angel is, and doesn’t care, he’s his lawyer, and it’s his job to keep him out of jail, Says that if the jury comes back with a conviction, he’ll "drop the bomb." He "says the magic word," and the only people left standing are gonna be the ones that are already dead. Harmony breathes a sigh of relief, which she quickly turns into a scold off Angel’s look.

INT, W&H, day.

Lorne is screening staff members by having them sing.

Fred explains about Lorne to Knox as she sets her office up. She babbles about how insecure she is while pinning up a Dixie Chicks poster. The phone rings, and she answers "Hi this is Fred! I mean, this is the Practical Science Department…Fred."

Cut to Angel, explaining about the whole "drop the bomb" thing, then cut to Angel and Wes in Angel’s office, Wes warning Angel that they very nearly found out what it means. "I’m not allowed to hit people?" asks Angel. "Not people capable of genocide," says Wes. "Those are EXACTLY the types of people I should be allowed to hit!" Anyway, given the nature of the firm, it’s entirely likely that the "magic word" was a literal magic word, and the "bomb" is probably a biological weapon with mystical elements. Everyone skitters off to their departments, Harmony walks in saying she couldn’t get ahold of Gunn, but here’s Spanky’s address. Spanky? Oh, Spanky, mystic-for-hire, showed up in Frieze’s files a few times, so Angel’s going to check him out. Fred asks, can he get there by sewer? Angel grins…not this time…

INT, ANGEL’s CAR POOL!

A long row of vintage cars, which Angel paces in front of, saying…oh god, they’re all so beautiful! Hauser is there, saying traditionally his unit handles the wetwork, and does Mr. Angel want him to bring his guy in? Angel says no, you annoy me, I’m going myself.

INT, SPANKY’s APARTMENT

Angel says he’s w/ W&H, gets invited in and offered a daquiri. Angel notices the wall of whips and paddles, and asks "So…why do they call you Spanky?" Spanky explains that he has no problem with people doing their thing, and many men have fine, firm asses, if Angel’s been to the website, he’s seen the photos, but…he doesn’t spank men. Angel explains that he’s here about a mystical job, the one he did for Corbin Frieze. With very little pressing, Spanky explains that he built Frieze a mystical container to hold anything. Angel asks where the vessel is, and Spanky sneaks around behind him and grabs him by the throat, trying to strangle him. Angel explains that he doesn’t use his windpipe, ’cause, vampire. Throws Spanky off him, grabs a paddle off the wall and whacks him across the room, saying "And there’s something else you should know about me…I have no problem spanking men."

INT, WAITING ROOM.

It looks like Rack’s, and may in fact be the same set. Gunn’s been waiting for hours, but he finally gets shown in to a scary room full of scary equipment. One last "do you really want to go through with this?" conversation about the White Room.

INT, FRED’S LAB

Knox may have found something - one of the technicians who worked on an illegal pesticide project for Frieze is a name he doesn’t recognize. He looks it up in the computer and say "Oh, he was fired. No wait, he was set on fire" His name links to an occult site called The Black Tomorrow, which specializes in designer diseases. Angel calls up, Fred says it definitely looks like "the bomb" is a biological weapon of some kind…does Angel know where he put it yet? Angel’s face is pure bitter anger as he says "Yes…I know where he put it…" Cut to young Matthew Frieze, sitting in class. Duuuuuuuude

INT, GUNN’s operation thingy. He’s strapped to a head-thingy and several electrodes. It looks painful, but Gunn doesn’t want to stop. It was at this point that I grew bored with typing all the INT, PLACE, TIME slugs, and started leaving them out.

Fred and Wes aren’t getting very far, there doesn’t seem to be an antidote, and Wes can’t find the magic word. Angel’s brooding angrily in his office, and Wes comments that he seems to be taking it very personally.

Eve walks into Angel’s office. Angel exposits angrily "His son…he took a lethal virus…and he stuck it inside his son…" Eve exposits the events of Home, saying that Connor’s happy and well-adjusted now that he has no memory of Angel. So far, Angel’s plan is to isolate the boy and stop the virus from spreading, if it comes to that. Eve says, you know, if every case hits you this hard, you won’t last a week.

More research, it’s definitely a retrovirus, spread by touch. Fred is frustrated, people don’t seem to be working hard enough to solve this problem.

The trial is not going well. Lorne phones Angel from the hall and says, you know what, better isolate the boy before the trial’s over. Angel says okay, he’ll go to the school. But Hauser’s ops team is listening in, and wants to show the boss how a level 1 threat is contained. Their plan is to go to the school and kill everyone - no witnesses.

Angel is about to leave, when Harmony bursts in, saying that the ops team already left, and there’s no way Angel can beat them there on the street. Eep!

Wes enters the courtroom, sitting behind Lorne. His last-ditch plan is to shoot Frieze before the trial’s over.

At the school, the ops team moves in. Kicks open the classroom door, tosses a gas bomb in, enters to see…Angel, sitting there all alone. Angel says, you know what I just found out? I own a helicopter! He and Hauser argue a bit, and Angel says, you know what? You’re all fired. Hauser says, no, that’s not how things are done, and orders the team to take Angel out. Fight fight fight.

Back in the courtroom, it’s down to the wire. The judge is calling for final summations. In walks Gunn! He requests a minute to confer, gets the floor ceded him, and moves for a mistrial. The grounds are that the judge has stock holdings in a company that’s owned by a company that’s owned by Frieze, and the judge can’t judge the case because, technically, he’s a business associate of hers. Brilliant Gunn saves the day!

Back to the fighting. Eventually, it’s just Angel, Hauser, and one other guy. Hauser starts talking about how Angel can never win because he’s so conflicted about good and evil, and Hauser is pure evil, and that makes his strong. Angel says, no, there’s one thing stronger than pure evil…mercy. And then he rips Hauser’s head off.

Back at the office, Eve is explaining about Gunn’s enhancements, which have included everything about law, and Gilbert & Sullivan (for elocution). Everyone’s kind of suspicious, but Gunn is certain that the White Room didn’t lie to him, and that he’s not evil, just smarter. Eve explains that Gunn was chosen because he had the most unused potential.

Everyone’s kind of depressed about the fact that they’re now defending scumbags in court for the greater good, wondering if they’ll ever get to do any REAL good, but Angel says, of course they will! W&H is a powerful weapon, and eventually we’ll learn how to use it. We’ll change things around here, and in the meantime, we just have to be prepared for whatever comes next…he says, opening an envelope that’s been sitting on his desk all day. (Remember how I said the envelope was important?)

Out of the envelope falls a familiarly gaudy amulet, and out of the amulet pops….Spike!

5.2 — Just Rewards

The rough previouslys are REALLY rough. Scenes from last week and Spike’s death scene from Chosen (minus Buffy’s "I love you," curiously).

Spike is confused, has no idea where he is. Wes, Angel, and Gunn are all kind of angry, Fred has no idea who Spike is, so Wes sums up "William the Bloody, a vampire. Second only to-" "Me," finishes Angel. But, Spike is dead! How can he be here? Spike vamps out and dives for Angel, only to discover that he’s incorporeal.

Credits.

Spike, standing in the middle of Angel’s desk, wonders what’s happening. Harmony says she thinks he’s a ghost, and Wes picks up the amulet. Angel says it’s something he brought to Buffy, which snaps Spike to attention, and he starts panicking, asking where Buffy is, he wants to talk to her, Angel says she made it out fine, the world got saved, Buffy’s in Europe last he heard, and Spike can’t talk to her. Spike says Angel can’t keep her from him, and Angel says Buffy’s not his to keep, or Spike’s. Harmony, realizing what she’s listening to, throws a minor hissy fit and stomps out.

Angel apparently told Wes very little, and only knows that Spike was an ally of Buffy’s for a while. Fred says, oh, so he’s a good vampire, like Angel, which prompts a knee-jerk "He’s nothing like me" from Angel. Spike starts to panic again, asking what have you done to me, who are you people, what is this place, etc etc.

Cut to Fred’s lab, where she’s examining him with a doodad. Lorne is exclaiming over the story - the Vampire Slayer both men loved! He could sell that to any studio! "I see Depp…and Bloom…" Hee. Anyway, Fred’s doodad says that Spike’s not reading like a ghost. One, he shouldn’t be visible, and two, Spike’s radiating heat whereas normal ghosts absorb heat. Wes says it’s definitely tied to the amulet. Spike is pissy and uncooperative. Fred says maybe he was sent by the PTB for some higher purpose, and Spike throws a bit of a hissy fit, saying what gave them the right to do that, here he saved the bloody world, that wasn’t enough to earn him eternal rest…? During this, he’s fading from view until he disappears entirely. Fred is befuddled, and asks Angel, what did he mean, saving the world? Angel says, oh that…well. Buffy did most of the work. Spike helped, but…and Spike pops back into view, on the other side of the room.

Spike starts to scold Angel for being cowardly and leaving Sunnydale when it should have been Angel using the amulet in the Hellmouth. Angel says it was Buffy’s call, and she made it. Spike says, look, I’m not like you, I don’t give a piss about atonement, just because I got myself a soul doesn’t mean - and everyone interrupts, huh? You’ve got a soul? Angel didn’t mention…well, Angel didn’t think it was worth mentioning. Spike says oooh, looks like Captain Forehead didn’t want another vampire crashing his exclusive little club.

Angel’s office. Spike is still stalking him, blaming Angel for his current state, and also saying that Angel’s taking W&H’s deal was really stupid, since there’s no way W&H isn’t going to win. Oops, and there’s a Crackslaw (Crackslar? Grakslaw?) beast right behind them. Fight fight fight. Oh…oops, that was Angel’s three o’clock. What the hell, Harm, why am I taking meetings with Crackslar demons? They eat babies! "Just their heads!" says Harm. Angel was supposed to open negotiations with his clan….to get them to STOP eating babies’ heads, finishes Gunn. Fortunately, the demon’s not dead, and Crackslars respect strong opening positions. Angel and Gunn walk off. Harm tries to talk to Spike, who stomps off pissily.

Angel and Gunn talk some more, and in storms a man from the Internment Acquisitions department (grave-robbing), who is unhappy about his department being shut down. See, the thing is, IAD is under contract to provide bodies to Mangus Hainsley, one of the biggest clients, and if they stop delivering, he’ll be really unhappy... Angel says, well, you just got the job of telling Mr. Hainsley that W&H is under new management, and he’s no longer a client. Spike snarks that Buffy would be oh so proud of Angel, the mighty bureaucrat, so he’s leaving. He leaves.

Blipvert.

Angel, alone in his office. Wes enters. Angel is musing about the fact that it could have been him buried under the Hellmouth, since W&H gave him the amulet…it’s a complicated situation. Wes says that maybe W&H wanted Spike, who pops up in Angel’s office, saying that every time he tried to leave the city, he pops back into the office. Wes says yes, he suspected as much. Spike’s connected to the amulet, the amulet is W&H’s property, ergo - oh hey, Harm says the lawyer they sent to Hainsley is back. Oh…he’s in three buckets. That’s not good.

Gunn’s pulled Hainsley’s file, turns out he’s a big time necromancer who W&H has been supplying with bodies. For what purpose, they do not know. Angel decides to deal with the problem personally. Wes thinks maybe that’s not a good idea, but Gunn, ah, Gunn. Gunn has a plan. To hurt him…bad.

Angel’s car pool, he sits in a black Viper. Spike is in the passenger seat, saying that he’s decided since he can’t leave LA, haunting Angel sounds like fun after all. Angel gets out and sits in the next car, which Spike, being ghosty, has already moved to. Sigh. Will this torment never cease? Off they go.

Angel walks right through the door for some reason without being invited in, but then maybe this is just Hainsley’s office. Anyway, Spike snarks about Angel’s methods, and then they see the showroom. Lots of corpses, posed in various ways. Ick.

Down in the dungeon, Hainsley is moving a demon into a young dead girl’s body. He reaches into the girl’s chest, then sucks the demon’s spirit from the demon’s body and transfers it, through himself, to the girl. The butler comes in and says there are two more W&H people here, what to do? Kill them, says Hainsley.

Angel and Spike are browsing the showroom, musing on life and death, when the butler comes in wielding two cleavers. Angel picks a spoon off the table and whips it into the guy’s head. Spike offers snarky commentary until the guy falls over dead. Angel is mad, but Spike won’t stop ranting about how unfair life is, how he saved the bloody world and what thanks did he get? Being a ghost sucks and is no fun, and nothing is fair - Angel cuts in with "Fair? Fair? You asked for a soul, I didn’t. IT almost killed me. I spent a hundred terms trying to come to terms with infinite remorse. You spent three weeks moaning in a basement!" As he’s yelling, Spike vanishes again. Angel bursts into Hainsley’s dungeon. The "girl" gets off the table and tries to slip out, but Angel knocks "her" out. Angel says he’s cutting off his supply of bodies, but Hainsley points and lifts Angel up, obviously causing him pain. He says "I eat the dead for breakfast, son…" Spike pops back into existence, and Hainsley comments on the futility of bringing a ghost as backup when fighting a necromancer. Hainsley reluctantly drops Angel, saying that the SP’s wouldn’t like it if he were to die. Angel calls Gunn on his cell, says "Do it," and then informs Hainsley that his bank accounts have all just been frozen, and in half an hour, his house will be foreclosed on. Ooooooooh, scary! Hainsley says no, you can’t! I’ll sue! Angel says, um, we’re your lawyers.

Angel lets himself out, followed by Spike’s running commentary, which runs out when Spike pops out of existence in the middle of a sentence. Spike reforms in Hainsley’s dungeon, where he is persuaded to let Hainsley help him get a body in exchange for hurting Angel a little. Spike likes this plan.

Angel is back in the office. Doesn’t want to talk about Hainsley, wants to talk about his "spiritual crisis." Fred says there’s no way to get Spike out of W&H. Their only option seems to be —

Spike is also back in the office, and is stopped by Harmony, who berates him for not being able to open up and then stomps off. Spike walks up to Angel’s office just in time to hear them plotting to exorcise him. Wes is arguing from a "letting him cross over seems to be the most merciful course of action." Perspective - Angel just wants Spike gone. The plan is, destroy the amulet on hallowed ground, and Spike will be released to his eternal rest. Angel wants to sleep on it.

Angel apparently now has an apartment in the W&H building. Spike is waiting for him in his bedroom. Angel begs Spike to please only haunt him during working hours. Spike rambles about how much money and comfort Angel seems to have now, and then gets to the point. He tells Angel that Hainsley offered him a deal, but he turned it down because "Even if Mr. Death could do what he promised, I trust him about as much as you trust me." Angel asks what he wants, and Spike says he wants to be released. He wants Angel to destroy the amulet.

They go to a graveyard, and exchange pleasantries about how appropriate it is, what with Angel being Spike’s grandsire and all (nice retcon, Joss). Angel places the amulet on a gravestone, says goodbye, and raises a stone, and proceeds to hit himself over the head with it. Hainsley! What are you doing here?! Spike says, about bloody time you showed up.

Back in Hainsley’s dungeon, Angel is on the table, not strapped down, but unable to move just the same (Hainsley’s magic). Hainsley is gloating, saying hahaha, I’m so powerful over the dead! The plan is to move Spike into Angel’s body, where Spike will reverse the IAD removal department and reinstate Hainsley’s assets. Then, Hainsley will get Spike his own body back. Spike gloats as well. Angel tells him to shut up, and Spike says yes, good idea, let’s get started. Hainsley reaches into Angel’s chest, and starts to pull Spike into him. But wait! Halfway through the procedure, Hainsley seems to have lost control of his body! Spike has stopped halfway, and is inhabiting Hainsley’s body now. Hainsley is spouting off the usual "you can’t stop me, I control the dead!" crap as Angel kills him. He and Spike leave.

Back in the office, Angel is telling Wes that Spike came to him with the plan, once they learned that Hainsley used himself as a conduit…it all fell into place.

Spike approaches Fred in her office, flatters her and begs her for help. Fred is charmed, and can’t help feeling sorry for his pathetic shiny blondeness. Spike explains that he doesn’t know how much longer he can keep semi-living like this, and that every time he vanishes, he’s getting pulled into Hell, and it’s really bad, and Fred should help him because he’s terrified. Blackout. text