Angel

The episode starts in the offices of Wolfram and Hart and we see Lorne, doing business over various phones. Angel comes back from his last mission, disheveled and slimed because the new gadget that Wesley and Fred had cooked up didn’t work and heads for the shower. We follow Lorne to his office, where he tries to rest for a moment because, as we can see, he’s completely swamped in work. We see that he is reflected in a mirror and his reflection tries to encourage the exhausted Lorne. He breaks the mirror, but mirror-Lorne continues to try to encourage him to get back to it. Which works because Lorne leaves the office singing and dancing.

As Angel leaves the shower, he is surprised to see Eve waiting for him. They were supposed to meet about the Halloween party. When they meet Lorne in the lobby, we find out that most of the A-list guests are not going to show which Angel, unlike Lorne, takes very well, as they are evil and he hates parties. They arrange a meeting in 25 minutes in Angel’s office to discuss this a little further. Lorne also tries to get Fred and Wesley to help them, but they are working on the problem with the gadget. When Lorne says that surely someone else can figure out the problem, Knox volunteers to work on in it and Lorne asks Wes and Fred to meet him in Angel’s office. When Lorne finds Gunn, he’s busy going over legal documents and seems somewhat distracted, but also agrees to meet with the others. Lorne mentions that Gunn needs to take the reins a bit more, to stake out his ’territory’.

Finally, everyone is there for the meeting- even Spike, although he thinks it’s ridiculous that they are going to be celebrating Halloween. Gunn and Lorne argue that it’s good for the firm to maintain its ties with the demon community and it will improve the employee morale. Lorne says that’s not enough — Angel has to be out there actively making the party a success, so the two of them go off to see the Demon Lord Sebassis to eventually manage to convince him to come to the party. Thanks to Lorne’s people (demon) skills, he gets him to reconsider. As Angel and Lorne leave, Sebassis’s lieutenant Artode expresses doubts but Sebassis reassures him that they will be prepared for any unforeseen problems.

Finally, it’s the night of the party. Lore goes around the lobby, encouraging people to have a good time, dance, relax a little because nobody is having fun. Was an Fred don’t seem to be enjoying the party either, so he orders them to get drunk and moves off in search of other non-partying prey. He bumps into one demon, Devlin, who is dressed up as a human (with an all-too realistic face). Looking around, Lorne realizes that Angel is nowhere to be found so he goes off to find him, watching hockey in his office, and orders him to the party. Meanwhile, at the party, Harmony is trying — unsuccessfully — to convince Spike to join her on the dance floor. When Lorne approaches with Angel, Spike makes a snarky comment about the party, and Lorne chides Spike about not being ’positive’ enough.

When Sebassis arrives with his entourage, Lorne begs Angel to "be nice" - which Angel does, though it seems as if he’s going a bit overboard. Lorne has to force himself to ’be nice’, especially when Artode shows off his new green leather jacket. A "Pylean" leather jacket.

In the meantime, Wes and Fred got more than a bit drunk and Harmony warns them as they weave through the crowd that someone has peed on the floor. Gunn is congratulating Lorne on the party working out after all, and wonders how Lorne maintains his amazing energy. Lorne confides that he had his sleep removed, a procedure they can do at W&H.

Over at the bar, Spike is showing one of Sebassis’ people the latest ghost trick he learned, that he can pick up and move a swizzle stick. The demon is less than enthralled, and leaves as soon as his drink arrives, but Spike is unfazed and having a great time.

Sebassis and his crew are enjoying themselves, but also waiting for the nasty surprise that they expect is soon to come. Artode goes off in search of the men’s/demon’s room. Eve goes over to Angel, and expresses her surprise at how well Angel handled Sebassis. They get into a "he said/she said" argument, and Lorne (now the happy host of the party) comes over and tells them to ’get a room’. Which turns out to be Angel’s office, as the two of them start getting hot and heavy. In the bathroom, Artode hears something big and angry in there with him. He’s about to pull out a weapon when suddenly a large shape appears and kills him, quite messily.

As the party continues, a drunk Fred and Weslay are trying to figure our how how they got in this condition because they barely had anything to drink, when Gunn comes over and urinates on Wesley’s shoes. A ’bouncing off the walls’ Spike comes over and talks about how this is the best party ever. Suddenly, they all realize that something isn’t quite right and that Lorne is causing it: his ’suggestions’ are becoming reality to the Nth degree.

Wes, Fred and Gunn drag Lorne off to Angel’s office, a bouncy Spike tagging along. When they arrive, they are shocked to discover that Angel got lucky. They figure he and Eve must also be under Lorne’s influence. Gunn tells the others what Lorne told him about having his sleep removed, and they figure that must be the reason. Angel sends Wes and Fred off to try and figure out a way to reverse the effects and get Lorne’s sleep back. He tells Lorne to stay where he is in the office and not say anything to anyone. He sends Gunn off to keep an eye on the party. And he tells Eve to stay right there so they can have some more sex.

All of this is happening while Sebassis discovers what has happened to Artode. He and his people gather their weapons to attack Angel and his crew.

Wesley and Fred are searching the vaults for Lorne’s sleep, which has been extracted and stored. Wesley is doing some quick research, and he explains to Fred. The first symptoms of problems with an empath who has been without sleep are what they’ve already seen. As time goes on, eventually the empath’s subconscious will become reality.

Meanwhile, Sebassis and his posse show up at Angel’s office, looking for blood. Angel denies killing Artode. They hear a scream from the lobby, and Sebassis orders Angel and the others out to see what’s going on.

Sebassis and Angel are facing off in the lobby, while Lorne tries to explain that it’s all a mistake. Sebassis understands, he’ll kill Lorne first. Then, from the balcony, Lorne’s subconscious leaps down. It hulk-sized and itching for a fight. The Lorne-Hulk begins to take apart Sebassis’s posse piece by piece. Lorne can’t control it, and just as it’s going to kill Sebassis, Angel manages to save him. Angel and Gunn try to keep the Lorne-Hulk under control. They are having little luck, when Fred arrives on the scene with another gadget, which she shoots Lorne with. Lorne goes to sleep and the Lorne-Hulk fades away.

At the office the next morning, everyone is talking about what a success the Halloween party was. Fred’s assistant Knox is sorry that he missed it. Fred tells him she missed him there, and he suggests maybe they could go out for coffee. Fred tells him she needs something a bit stronger.

Lorne, meanwhile, has crashed on Angel’s couch. Angel and Wesley are still trying to figure out everything that happened. There is an awkward moment with Eve, who doesn’t seem too fazed about what happened between her and Angel. Gunn arrives to let Angel know that things are fine with Sebassis. He also suggests that Angel doesn’t sit at his desk, Gunn has arranged to have his chair cleaned. Spike is still having a great time, but it has nothing to do with Lorne, he’s just amused at the events. Angel and the others leave the office to let Lorne sleep.

We end on a peacefully sleeping Lorne.

---

From Angelsacolyte.com :

Lorne is walking down the hallway at Wolfram & Hart with his assistant, Van, chatting on his cell phone with a client. He finishes up that call, tosses the phone to Van and begins chatting with another client on another cell as Van takes notes.

Lorne tells the client he thinks Henry Fonda is dead, then in response to the client’s comment, suggests he could have the science department look into it but no promises. He snaps the cell phone shut and hands it off to his assistant.

Lorne steps up to Harmony’s desk and cheerfully greets her, "Harmonica!"

She smiles and happily greets him in return, "Lorney-Tunes!"

Lorne compliments her, "Ohhh, the eyes, the hair, the dress. No wonder the fourth floor is in love with you!" He asks where he can find Angel.

Harm says he just called, he’s on his way back in from a "field mission." She notes he seemed to be in a bad mood.

Lorne isn’t concerned about it, "I’ve pulled the big boy out of many a brood-fest, should be —"

Harm’s eyes shift across the lobby, Lorne follows her gaze. Angel has entered, bruised and covered head to foot in green slime, not looking at all happy.

Wes approaches and asks how the "new neural-interceptor grenade" worked.

As Angel continues walking toward his office, he hands the grenade to Wes, answering the question, "It didn’t."

Wes offers to take it to Fred so she can check it out. As he leaves, Lorne asks him to have Fred save some time for him later, he has to talk to her about "Henry Fonda’s big comeback."

Lorne joins Angel as he continues walking to his office. He says it’s important, they need to talk about the party. He’s done all he can but there are still some things to work out.

Angel walks in to his office and starts to close the door on Lorne, who’s standing in the hall, just outside the door.

Lorne presses the issue a bit.

Angel tells him impatiently, he’s been out all night; he’s beaten, tired and covered in "Thraxis blood, which kinda burns", so he figures Lorne is going to have to wait until he’s had a chance to shower.

Lorne asks if he killed the Thraxis.

Angel repeats firmly, "Shower", and closes the office door.

Lorne turns to Van and tells him to take the Thraxis off the invitation list. He asks for a copy of the print ad they plan to run that week. Van hands him a sheet of paper. Lorne looks it over, not impressed with it, "What’s this? Wolfram & Hart wants to be up your alley?" He thinks it sounds like a pickup line and orders Van to change it or "burn it."

Lorne approaches his office door, the upper part of which is covered in sticky notes. He removes a couple of the messages and suggests Van get something to eat as he goes inside and closes the door, leaving Van out in the hall.

---

Lorne lays the messages on his desk as he passes it and takes a seat at his mirrored, lighted vanity table. He puts his hand to his head, suffering a headache.

His mirror reflection notices the headache. He attempts to get Lorne’s attention.

Lorne doesn’t look toward the mirror.

Mirror Lorne doesn’t think he can be ignored forever. He suggests Lorne get over the headache, put on a smile and get back to work, "On the count of ten."

When he gets to three, Lorne finally looks at his reflection. Mirror Lorne continues counting, interspersing the count with comments, telling Lorne to get out there, he’s needed, everyone is depending on him, they’re going to love him.

Lorne becomes increasingly agitated as Mirror Lorne babbles on. Lorne picks something up from the vanity table and smashes the mirror with it, yelling for his reflection to "Shut up!" He looks at the shattered mirror a moment, collects himself and gets up. He turns back when he hears singing. He pauses briefly to look at Mirror Lorne singing in the remnants of the mirror.

Lorne bursts out of his office and puts his cell phone to his ear, carrying on singing the song Mirror Lorne started, exuberant and re-engergized as he strides down the hallway.

---

Angel steps out of the shower in his apartment and grabs a towel. He pauses when he hears Eve greet him, "Hi!" He turns to see her walk into his apartment and take a seat on his bed. He turns to face her, naked, holding the towel in his hand.

She says the door was open. Off his look, she claims it was unlocked. His expression says he’s not buying that either. She admits she has a key.

He walks out of the bathroom and stands in front of her, extending his hand.

She pulls the key from her pocket and hands it to him.

He tosses it aside then moves to dry his face with the towel.

Eve notes he takes a long shower, "for a guy." As he casually wraps the towel around his waist, she smiles a smarmy kind of smile and asks if he was having some "gentleman’s time".

Angel doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

Eve continues, "I mean, I understand. You’re running the whole circus now, a lot of pressure, especially with your hands-on policy. No pun intended."

Angel shoots her an impatient look.

Eve figured Angel could "use a release."

Angel informs her, "No releasing, just bathing. That’s what one does after bashing open a demonic piñata full of rancid Tabasco." He pointedly asks what she wants.

Eve says he stood her up, they had an appointment at 7:30, he didn’t show.

Angel remembers now and heads for the bathroom to get dressed.

---

Angel and Eve step onto the elevator. She asks him how things are going.

He doesn’t know how to answer the question. Maybe things are going well, maybe not. He spent years trying to bring W&H down and now he’s the CEO, having to watch every move he makes because any one of them could be exactly what the Senior Partners want. No, he has no clue how things are going.

Eve notes he at least gets to continue getting his "nocturnal jollies" saving the helpless from "things that go bump in the night."

Angel says Eve said it earlier, "Everyone needs a release."

She says she was talking about him specifically, not everybody "bottles things up like you do."

Angel denies that.

Eve isn’t convinced.

The elevator doors open. There’s a large papier-mâché skull on the other side of the door, big enough to obscure the employee carrying it.

Angel reaches out and punches it, knocking the skull and the employee, to the floor.

The employee groans.

Eve smiles as she and Angel exit the elevator into the lobby.

Angel looks around the bustle of employees putting up decorations and wonders why it appears they’re having a party.

Lorne comes down the stairs, carrying a large mirror ball. He answers Angel’s question, they are having a party, the annual W&H Halloween party. As he sets the mirror ball down, he reminds Angel he sent him numerous memos about it.

Angel asks if they’re having it there.

A frustrated Lorne looks to Eve, noting she can see now what he deals with.

Eve tells Angel the party was the topic of the 7:30 appointment they had, the one Angel missed.

Lorne tells Angel the problem is that nobody is coming to the party. He pauses a moment, then concedes some people are coming, but not the A-list people. If they don’t show, the party will be a flop.

Angel doesn’t see the downside in that. He wasn’t happy about it anyway, it’s for their evil clients, right? They’re not the type he’s really into showing a good time.

Lorne puts his hand to his head as Angel continues explaining why he doesn’t mind if the party doesn’t happen. An edgy Lorne forces a laugh and asks Angel if he can’t just see the big picture. It’s not about good or evil, it’s about the party. He raises his voice, telling Angel he’s killing him.

Angel looks blankly in response.

Lorne calms himself a bit, he knows Angel is in a mood and suggests they discuss this when Angel has calmed down.

Angel looks at Eve, then back at Lorne, not sure what’s going on. He agrees.

Lorne walks off.

---

In the lab, Wes sets the grenade that Angel handed him in the lobby onto the table. Fred asks if Angel was angry.

Wes figures he was justifiably so, pointing out "we" gave him a defective weapon to take into a fight.

Fred wonders what "we" Wes is referring to.

Wes explains the "techno-mystical hybrids" are complex.

Knox comes down the steps into the lab and says it seems simple to him as he picks the grenade up from the table and examines it. Knox figures since it’s basically a "handheld, spellcasting robot", the problem has to be either with the technology or the spell.

Wes says the weapon’s "core enchantment" seems functional so the problem is likely the trigger mechanism.

Fred isn’t convinced of that, pointing out she designed the mechanism herself.

Knox adds he machined it, "It was beautiful work, on both counts, if I may say." He looks at Fred who smiles and tells him he may. As they both smile at each other, Wes rolls his eyes and tells them he agrees it is, as "a sculptural piece" but it wasn’t refined enough to actually work.

Lorne comes in and cheerfully greets everyone.

Knox and Wes ignore Lorne and continue their arguing over the grenade. Knox wonders how Wes can be so sure his spellcasters didn’t mess up.

Wes answers curtly, "Because I went over the work and I got that gnawing feeling you get when you know something."

Lorne wonders if they could put the "sci-fi toys" away for awhile and talk about the party. Things aren’t going so well with the planning, he could use some help.

Fred admits she wasn’t really planning to attend.

Lorne looks to Wes for some backup but doesn’t get much support when Wes concedes he hadn’t really considered attending either.

Lorne wonders why it’s so difficult to get people to have some fun.

Knox suggests they go to the party, it’s a big deal. He recalls fondly the previous year, "They took a bunch of cows and put them in this giant wicker effigy of Krishna, doused it with Sambuca and it —"

Lorne stands behind Fred shaking his head ’no’, indicating Knox shouldn’t continue with that story.

Fred just looks at Knox, clearly not liking what she’s hearing.

Knox notices Fred’s expression and ends his story with, "Uh .. well. Anyway .. it’s a hell of a good time."

Fred sits at the table and says she really wants to get the grenade working properly before Angel goes out again.

Wes agrees, offering to assist her with that. He moves next to Fred, certain they can work it out together.

Lorne starts shouting "No!" then tells Wes and Fred they’re coming to the party. He asks if there isn’t someone else who could fix the problem with the grenade.

Knox steps up, smiling, and offers to work on it, conceding the problem is likely the trigger mechanism.

Lorne is happy, things seem to be on track. He tells Wes and Fred he’ll see them in Angel’s office in 15 minutes. He departs.

---

Gunn is in his office, seated behind his desk, looking over some documents. Lorne knocks on the door and enters without waiting for an invitation. He apologizes for being a pest, but says he just wanted to go over something.

Gunn asks what.

Lorne is looking to enlist Gunn’s help in changing Angel’s attitude about the party.

Gunn doesn’t see why it matters.

Lorne says, "Look, I know he’s the boss and everything, but you’re up and coming here and it’s time for you to spread, legal eagle."

Gunn flips through the papers he’s holding as Lorne continues, "From now on, I want you to stake out your territory and I want you to keep it staked."

Gunn isn’t sure what Lorne is talking about but agrees in an attempt to brush Lorne off. He notes he’s busy but he’ll get to that later.

Lorne is happy to hear it. As he leaves he tells Gunn to meet in Angel’s office in 10 minutes.

---

Angel is sitting behind his desk. Wes, Fred, Gunn, Eve and Spike are also in the office, waiting on Lorne. Spike looks out the window into the hall, noting the papier-mâché head being carried past it. He mocks the idea of celebrating Halloween, opining it’s for posers, those who like to dress up and pretend to be scary.

Angel presses a button that screens the windows, no longer providing a clear view into the hall.

Spike snarks on the "magic windows", wondering what other perks will be revealed.

Lorne walks in, chatting on his cell phone. He hangs up and asks Angel what he missed.

Angel answers, "Us, waiting."

Lorne apologizes for that then tells Angel "we" wanted to take a moment to emphasize how important the party is to "us".

Gunn agrees, telling Angel they need to show everyone the new management is there to stay and that comes down to image. If the party isn’t a success, they’ll lose face.

Lorne adds, "And believe me, Milk Dud, speaking as the head of your P.R. department? We need all the face we can get."

Angel asks, "Milk Dud?"

Lorne mutters he said it with affection.

Angel understands the need to keep up appearances, "But everyone coming to this thing is unrepentant, dyed-in-the-wool evil."

Lorne reminds him a good host wouldn’t make judgments.

Angel points out they don’t know how many of the guests harbor grudges against them or each other. It could be the perfect setup for a massacre.

Lorne assures Angel he doesn’t have to worry, Lorne knows what he’s doing. He reminds Angel he ran Caritas for years with a mixture of demonic clientele, all co-existing peacefully at his club.

Eve notes Angel has to deal with these ethical dilemmas now which brings up another issue, the employees.

As Harmony brings in a mug of blood, Angel notes they’re "also evil."

Harm hands him the mug, "Here’s your blood, bossy." Off Angel’s look, she clears her throat, "Boss."

Eve continues her thought, yes some of the employees are evil but they all work hard for the firm and the Halloween party is a big deal to them, it’s their equivalent of Christmas. She says it’s about boosting morale.

Harmony scoffs, wishing them luck on that, morale "stinks".

Angel asks, "What?"

Harmony explains everybody is working hard while worrying whether Angel is going to "ax them or, you know, ax them."

Angel starts to deny they have any reason for concern, then admits he "may have ... killed a couple of them ..."

Lorne adds there were also some clients and potential clients who met that fate. He wonders why Angel thinks the guest list is only 1/5 of what it was the previous year.

Angel wonders if the potential party attendees think he’s having the party just so he can kill them. Everyone just looks at him in response.

Angel finally gives in, telling Lorne to put on the party, he’ll stay out of the way.

Lorne doesn’t want Angel sitting back watching things happen, he wants him to get out and make things happen.

Angel asks what that means.

---

Lorne and Angel are in a limo, traveling somewhere. Lorne gets himself a drink from the bar and explains about the "Archduke Sebassis." He’s demonic royalty "from the fiery down under", who "commands over 40 legions".

Angel is suitably unimpressed.

Lorne goes on, saying Sebassis is the top of the A-list, the pinnacle of the demonic jet set. He’s sure if they can convince him to attend, everyone else will follow.

Angel realizes this is important to Lorne.

Lorne tries to shrug it off, saying it’s about Wolfram & Hart.

Angel presses, he knows it’s important to Lorne, personally.

Lorne admits that, saying he doesn’t have superstrength, he’s no fighter, science makes him nauseous, and he’s not too good at the mystical stuff either but he’s a part of the team and this is something he can contribute. He believes it has a purpose that can help Angel, even if Angel doesn’t think so.

Angel notes he’s there, he agreed to do this.

Lorne promises he won’t regret that but suggests Angel let him do most of the talking, "You just smile and try not to rip anybody apart." He downs a swig of his drink.

---

Angel and Lorne are seated before Sebassis who is sitting on a throne-like chair, placed on a landing that rises well above his guests so he can look down on them. Sebassis is human-like in form, with pointed ears, yellow eyes and a pair of mid-length, gazelle-like horns extending from his forehead. He is flanked by minions and a scrawny, pale slave who is wearing black speedos and a broad collar with a chain extending from a loop in front.

Sebassis addresses his guests in a smug, condescending tone. He’s heard a lot about Angel, "A bit of a restless frog, making lots of waves in your little swamp."

Angel answers he’s just "trying to keep the fly population down."

Lorne laughs nervously.

Sebassis prefers the tales of Angelus, "Ah, you had flair back then, child."

Angel supposes everyone mellows as they age.

Lorne looks a bit nauseous.

Sebassis notes Angel’s contemptuous tone then finishes the remains of a blue liquid in his wine glass. He motions subtly with his hand.

The slave steps forward, extends his arm over the glass and pulls a cork from the inner part of his wrist, draining the blue liquid, his blood, into the glass. Angel’s eyes seem riveted on the scene playing out in front of him.

Lorne looks a bit sickened by the display, then notes Sebassis had declined their invitation to the Halloween party, he hopes he might reconsider. He seeks support from Angel on that. When Angel doesn’t say anything, Lorne looks over at him, noting Angel is still staring at the bloodletting. Lorne slaps him on the arm and asks, "Right?"

Angel’s focus is broken as he agrees with Lorne. He adds, unconvincingly, it just wouldn’t be a party without Sebassis there.

Sebassis reaches toward the wine glass and asks Angel if he’s sure he wouldn’t like some.

Angel assures him he’s fine.

Lorne shoots him a disapproving look.

Angel adds, "Thanks."

Sebassis says they’re all blood drinkers, then notes with disdain he remembers now, Angel prefers "the blood of swine."

Angel forces a smile as Lorne looks on nervously.

Sebassis adds, "Filthy beasts."

An edgy Angel starts to explain that’s a misconception.

Lorne interrupts, trying to avoid conflict, anxiously agreeing with Sebassis. He takes a drink from the glass of slave’s blood that’s been passed to him. He manages to drink some, then tells the slave awkwardly, "You taste great", not sure what to say.

Sebassis announces he’s willing to reconsider and attend the party after all, thanks to the "amusing chat" and his "long-standing acquaintance" with Lorne.

Lorne is thrilled to hear it, and anxious to get out of there. He stands and sets his glass down, telling Sebassis they don’t want to waste any more of his valuable time. He nudges Angel who gets up and clumsily backs out of the room.

After Angel and Lorne depart, one of Sebassis’ minions, Artode, expresses his belief it’s a trap.

Sebassis agrees it could be, but he’s in the mood for "intrigue" so they will attend, they’ll just be prepared. He moves his hand, a wall panel slides aside, revealing a selection of medieval weaponry.

---

At W&H, the large mirror ball is rotating above the lobby floor, disco music is playing. Harmony is the only one dancing as the other guests stand around, some grousing about the lousy party.

One of the lawyers laments the lack of ritual sacrifice, wondering how they can get things moving without one.

Lorne approaches and reminds the complainers they’re representing the firm.

The lawyer tells him it’s their night off.

Lorne snaps, "This is your night on!" Now mingle! Mingle, mingle, mingle, mingle, mingle!" He walks off as the lawyers move to do as they’re told.

A demon wearing a ’human mask’ enters the party and greets Lorne.

Lorne greets "Devlin" in return, asking what he’s supposed to be.

Devlin points out he’s a "human bean." He offers to demonstrate.

Lorne laughs.

Wes and Fred stand at the hors d’oeuvre table, eating. Fred notes Lorne is really good at the socializing thing, "He fits in with everybody."

Lorne asks Devlin about the mask, "It is rubber, right?"

Devlin’s response implies it’s not.

Lorne uncomfortably tells Devlin to be good and walks away.

Fred continues her conversation with Wes, saying she never liked parties much, she doesn’t know what to do so she ends up at the hors d’oeuvre table, trying to look like she’s doing something.

Lorne walks up to Wes and Fred, greeting the "wallflowers." He wants their help in getting things going. He points out the dance floor, still empty except for Harmony dancing by herself.

Wes admits they really aren’t comfortable at parties.

Fred agrees, they’re "wallflowers."

Lorne notes the problem, they’re sober! It’s Halloween, they should be drunk by now. He suggests they make an effort to get into the spirit of things and walks away.

---

Lorne enters Angel’s office, where he finds Angel, sitting behind his desk in the dark. Lorne says the party is kind of dead and the guests want to meet the new boss.

Angel declines, claiming he has things to do.

Lorne looks over the empty desk.

Angel says he’s busy.

Lorne doesn’t say anything.

Angel adds, he’s brooding.

Lorne turns to see the television is on. Annoyed, he notes Angel is watching hockey.

Angel says his team is losing.

Lorne loudly tells him to get off his butt and get out where the party is, he can’t do it all by himself. He grabs his head in apparent pain and groans.

Angel stands, concerned.

Lorne shakes it off and suddenly seems fine, "Let’s boogie sweet tart!" He leaves the office as a perplexed Angel looks on.

---

Lorne escorts Angel into the party, pointing out various guests. They move off to greet someone.

The dance floor is now crowded. Harmony continues dancing by herself. She stops when she notices Spike’s arrival and eagerly invites him to dance with her.

Spike isn’t interested, he’ll go to hell before he’ll dance.

Harmony wonders where his Halloween spirit is.

Spike is disdainful of all of it.

Harmony asks why he’s there then if that’s how he feels. She dances off.

Spike walks on in the opposite direction, moving over to where Angel and Lorne are standing, wondering himself what he’s doing there.

Angel says he thought Spike hated this sort of thing.

Spike thought the same about Angel.

Lorne adds Angel is doing great, "He’s already not killed, like, 100 guests!"

Spike complains the party is already dead.

Lorne wonders if it would kill Spike to be a bit more positive.

Someone announces the arrival of "Archduke Sebassis." Guests turn to watch as he enters.

Lorne asks Angel to try to be nice to him, just the once, for Lorne. They move over to greet Sebassis, Lorne’s assistant in close pursuit.

Sebassis disdainfully accepts the supplicatory greetings of several of the guests, muttering, "Yes. Fine. Sycophants, worms. Don’t writhe all at once. It’s sickening."

Angel approaches. Sebassis extends his hand to be kissed. Angel slaps it as he grabs it enthusiastically and starts shaking it vigorously. He tells Sebassis he’s really, really happy to have him there as he continues pumping his hand.

Lorne greets Artode, complimenting him on his jacket.

Artode says, "It’s Pylean."

Lorne notes it’s made in Pylea, his home dimension.

Artode corrects him, not made in, made from. He skinned it himself. He wonders if it’s anyone Lorne knows.

Lorne forces a smile and thanks Artode for stopping by. He leaves.

Angel is still pumping Sebassis’ hand, telling him over and over how awesome he looks as he grins like an idiot.

Lorne steps up and tells Angel they don’t want to monopolize Sebassis’ time. He thanks Sebassis and directs Angel away from him. Lorne tells him that’s good enough.

Angel is thankful to have it over with.

Artode steps up to Sebassis and whispers something to him.

Wes and Fred walk through the lobby, apparently drunk. Fred is slurring her words, telling Wes she went out as "Raggedy Ann" for eight years.

Wes bumps into one of Sebassis’ bodyguards, apologizes and walks on with Fred. He supposes that sounds like fun, they didn’t really celebrate Halloween in England.

Fred thinks that’s very sad. Her mood shifts abruptly as some food gets her attention. As she drags Wes toward the table, Harmony passes, warning them to watch where they step, "Someone peed all over there."

Fred thinks that’s disgusting.

Wes casually agrees.

Lorne passes through the crowd, greeting various guests by name. He walks up to Gunn who’s having a drink at the bar. Gunn thinks it looks like the party is working out great. He wonders where Lorne finds all the energy.

Lorne admits he had his sleep removed. It’s a procedure offered at W&H, he hasn’t slept in about a month.

Gunn seems concerned about that a moment, then admits he likes the idea.

Lorne says it was easy, in and out in 20 minutes. He thinks it would make a great addition to Gunn’s legal upgrade.

Gunn considers looking into it as Lorne leaves.

Artode and Sebassis watch the crowd. Artode thinks Angel has set a trap.

Sebassis notes the "anti-detection spell" worked well, they won’t be expected to be armed. He orders Artode to kill everyone if Angel tries anything.

Artode excuses himself and walks away. Another minion holds Sebassis’ slave’s leash as the slave reaches out and feels the leaves of a potted plant. He rubs his fingers together, sniffs them, and notes excitedly, it’s urine.

Eve approaches Angel and admits she was impressed with the way he dealt with Sebassis. She didn’t expect that from him.

Angel tells her it was an act, "I think."

Eve figured as much, "I picked up on that from 100 yards away. Yep, you were bangin’ it out to the cheap seats."

Angel notes her attire, "Funny, I was going to say the same thing about that dress."

Lorne walks up, says one could cut the "sexual tension" with a knife and suggests they "get a room." He walks away as Angel watches him leave.

Angel and Eve move into Angel’s office, kissing. As they urgently kiss, he wonders if this isn’t a little sudden. He asks if she even has a last name. She asks if he does as things get more intense.

Artode is in a bathroom stall, sitting on the porcelain throne. He hears the stall door rattle as someone tries to open it. The door suddenly shakes and is torn off its hinges.

Artode shouts as his blood splatters the wall of the stall.

---

The party continues in full swing, everyone seems to be having a good time. Lorne dances with Harmony. Fred and Wes drunkenly dance with each other. Sebassis stands off to the side with his slave and his minions, watching the crowd. He strokes the back of the slave’s head as he directs one of the minions to find Artode.

Fred runs into Sebassis’ minion and challenges him. He ignores her and walks off.

Wes pulls an inebriated Fred away.

She puts her arms around his neck, realizing she’s "totally drunk-faced." She giggles.

Wes asks her what she had to drink.

She answers, nothing. She asks how much he’s had.

Wes ponders the bottle of beer in his hand, "Including this, I’ve had ... about a third of a half of this beer."

Fred chuckles and asks if that’s weird.

Yes, Wes thinks so.

Fred sees Gunn and tells Wes they should go ask Gunn if that’s weird.

Wes and Fred walk up to Gunn who has his back to them. Wes puts his hand on Gunn’s shoulder and asks drunkenly if something weird is happening. Gunn turns to face Wes. Wes looks down, noting casually, "Charles, you just peed on my shoes."

A surprised Gunn zips himself up, "I’ll be damned. That’s weird."

Spike walks up to them, smiling, and asks jovially if this isn’t the best party.

Fred knows now there’s something wrong as she notices Spike is happy and grooving to the tunes.

Spike thinks it’s the greatest song ever written.

Wes also realizes now they’re under the influence of something, maybe a spell.

Gunn asks Spike how long he’s been this way.

Spike says it happened shortly after he spoke with Angel and Lorne. Lorne told him to think positively.

Wes figures this has something to do with Lorne.

Lorne walks up to them, laughing. They all just stare at him. His smile fades as he asks, "What?"

---

Wes, Fred, Gunn and Lorne enter Angel’s office. Fred calls out for Angel.

A naked Angel pops up from behind the couch and asks, "What?" An equally naked Eve pops up next to him.

Nobody knows quite what to think of that scene, except Spike, "Hey! Angel’s getting some! Good on you, mate!" as he gives a thumbs up.

Angel asks what’s wrong with Spike as Eve pulls some clothes on.

Gunn wants to know what’s wrong with Angel, "What are you doing with that —"

Eve suggests he tread carefully.

Wes figures Angel is under the effect of Lorne, "And Eve too .. presum .. presumally." Wes announces Lorne is doing something to all of them.

Lorne denies that.

Wes continues, pointing out everything Lorne has told them to do, they’re doing; Spike is thinking positively, Gunn is peeing all over the office —

Fred adds, she and Wes are a little drunk.

Wes admits that’s true but not because they drank, because Lorne told them to get drunk.

Angel looks at Gunn, "Lorne told you to pee all over the office?"

Gunn answers quietly, "Lord, I hope so."

Lorne is sure he’d know if he was responsible for whatever is happening, he doesn’t even know what’s happening.

Spike says he really likes Angel’s desk.

Angel looks at him, confused.

Eve doesn’t understand, she thought Lorne was just an empath demon.

Gunn remembers now, Lorne told him to stake out his territory.

Wes points out that’s territorial marking. "taken a little too literally."

Angel and Eve start kissing again.

Lorne notes he didn’t tell Gunn to water the plants, he didn’t do anything.

Gunn reminds him he had his sleep removed. He tells the others Lorne hasn’t slept in a month.

Wes knows an empath demon short on sleep is not a good thing.

Lorne wonders what that has to do with anything.

Fred is sure it has something to do with it.

Angel asks why Lorne let W&H do that as Eve paws at him.

Lorne explains, telling Angel he has no idea what Lorne has had to deal with, a lot of insecure people. All the hand-holding and ego stroking, the meetings and clients, he couldn’t keep up with it, even without sleeping.

Eve slaps Angel on the ass. He asks Lorne why he didn’t say anything.

Lorne figures he would have fired him.

Angel removes Eve’s arm from around his neck and tells Lorne he would have helped him and that’s what he’s going to do now.

He stands up, realizes he’s buck naked, quickly grabs a large sofa cushion and places it strategically. He directs Wes and Fred to find Lorne’s sleep and figure out how to put it back. He tells Lorne to wait it out, try not to talk to anybody.

Lorne points out they have a party going on, things need to be attended to.

Spike raises his hand, eagerly volunteering for the job, since he’s such a "people person."

Angel tells Gunn to check out the party, see if anyone else has been affected and "Stop with the —"

Gunn says he’ll do his best and leaves.

Angel tells Eve to stay in his office, they’ll have more sex. She agrees with that and drops back to the floor, behind the couch. Angel joins her.

Spike thinks it’s a brilliant plan.

Sebassis and some of his minions survey the scene of carnage in the bathroom.

---

Fred and Wes enter a storage room, still acting drunk. Wes figures Lorne’s sleep should be in there somewhere.

Fred pulls opens a glass door and checks the contents of the shelves. She closes the door and tells Wes she thinks they lead interesting lives.

Wes agrees with that, considering the average life.

Fred smiles, she thinks they should hang out more often. She reminds him they used to do "friend stuff".

Wes agrees, admitting he thought they’d be better friends than they are.

Fred stops looking for Lorne’s sleep and tells Wes, "Let’s be better friends than we are, right now." She throws her arms around his neck and hugs him.

Wes thinks this is pretty good.

Fred suggests they can share things, talk to each other, tell each other what they’re thinking. She thinks that would be nice, they could be confidantes.

Wes whispers into her ear, "I’ve been wanting to do that for some time now." They both laugh.

Fred asks him what he thinks of Knox.

That kills Wesley’s happy in a hurry.

---

Sebassis and his minions burst into Angel’s office, all armed. Spike admires the grand entrance. Lorne is also in the office. Angel and Eve pop up from the floor behind the couch.

Sebassis has a small crossbow type weapon. He’s angry Angel had the nerve to attack one of his people.

Angel pulls his trousers up, not sure what Sebassis is talking about. He tells them to lower their weapons.

Sebassis notes the dart in the bow is poisoned, enough to put a vampire in a coma for a week, enough to quickly kill any human. He thinks Angel murdered Artode, and reckons he and the rest of his entourage were next on the list.

Angel denies killing anyone.

Sebassis tells him to finish dressing, "You have a public execution to attend."

A woman screams out in the lobby.

Sebassis orders everyone to get out there.

Sebassis and his minions, along with the other occupants of Angel’s office, join the crowd in the lobby where they find Devlin laying on one of the tables, dead.

Lorne figures this isn’t good.

Sebassis turns and aims the dart at Angel as Angel assures him they didn’t have anything to do with what’s happened.

Sebassis is tired of the lies.

Lorne tries to calm things but Sebassis isn’t interested.

---

Fred continues checking storage for Lorne’s sleep as Wes sits at a table, reading from a book, looking for information on the situation.

Fred pulls one of the cylinders from a shelf and hugs it, noting they don’t just remove sleep, "Madeline Chu in accounting had her ennui removed." She puts that cylinder back and finds Lorne’s sleep, saying they just need to figure out how to put it back.

Wes finds something in the book, "This isn’t good. The effects of long-term sleeplessness on the subconscious mind of an empath demon can be catastrophic."

Fred agrees, that doesn’t sound good.

Wes notes that normally, Lorne has the ability to "read people’s destinies". He thinks now he’s actually writing them.

Fred figures he’s saying Lorne has gone from being a receiver to being a transmitter.

Wes tells her that’s just the beginning. If Lorne is severed from his subconscious for too long, that subconscious can "manifest."

Fred wonders what that means.

---

At the party, Sebassis prepares to shoot Angel with the dart.

Lorne intervenes, admitting he’s the one responsible. Somehow he’s making people do things, controlling them.

Sebassis notes that admission is making him kill Lorne, he wonders, "Is that consistent with your theory?"

Things are interrupted by a loud growl. Everyone looks up to see the manifestation of Lorne’s subconscious which looks like an Incredible Hulk(tm) version of Lorne standing on the balcony railing overlooking the lobby.

Hulk Lorne jumps off the rail, down onto the lobby floor and does the Hulk flex thing.

Lorne realizes, it’s him.

Spike is still in happy mode, "That’s one bitchin’ big suit!"

Hulk Lorne punches one of Sebassis’ minions aside as he approaches the Archduke.

Sebassis fires the dart.

Hulk Lorne pulls it out of his chest, unaffected by it. He stalks toward Sebassis as the slave pulls his chain loose and runs off.

Angel asks Lorne what’s going on.

Lorne tries to talk to Hulk Lorne, but he’s not a talker. He hits Lorne, knocking him to the floor. Lorne figures he must have a lot of self-loathing.

Wes and Fred stand outside of an elevator, waiting for the doors to open. Wes impatiently urges that to happen.

Fred wonders if he —

Wes realizes something, pushes the elevator button, then again urges the doors to open.

In the lobby, Angel puts himself between Hulk Lorne and Sebassis as he urges Sebassis to escape. Hulk Lorne backhands Angel, sending him flying across the room, into the wall. He turns his attention back to the Archduke.

Gunn rushes Hulk Lorne from behind and hits him in the head with a large vase but it has no effect. Hulk Lorne punches Gunn and tosses him to the floor.

He lands next to Lorne, who apologizes for that.

Angel goes after Hulk Lorne again. Fight ensues with Angel getting his ass kicked.

Wes and Fred come off the elevator. Fred is armed with a device that resembles a handgun but larger, with a wider barrel.

Wes sees Hulk Lorne and realizes, even in his drunken state, it’s the manifestation.

As Hulk Lorne attacks Angel, Gunn urges Fred to shoot it.

Lorne gets to his feet, standing next to her. She aims the gun at Hulk Lorne, then turns, aiming it at Lorne’s head and fires.

Lorne drops to the floor.

Harmony is distraught, "Oh my God! They shot Lorney-Tunes!"

Lorne mumbles he’s okay, he’s just going to rest his eyes.

As Hulk Lorne prepares to smash Angel, Lorne falls asleep. Hulk Lorne disappears.

---

As the cleanup progresses in the lobby, one of the lawyers who had earlier been complaining about the dull party, admits this was better than last year’s.

The elevator opens, Knox steps out. He walks up to Fred who’s collecting some glasses. Knox notes they have cleanup people who do that sort of thing.

Fred puts the glasses down and smiles.

Knox tells her he fixed "our baby."

Fred is confused.

Knox clarifies, he figured out the problem with the grenade but says he can’t figure out why he volunteered to work on it that night.

Fred admits a lot of them are having a similar problem. She wishes he’d have been there.

Knox asks if she’d like to get a cup of coffee.

Fred reckons she could use a drink.

---

In Angel’s office, Lorne is asleep on the couch. Wes draws Lorne’s jacket over him, telling Angel he thinks the monster was a manifestation of Lorne’s subconscious. It separated from his mind using Lorne’s supernatural powers to enter their world.

Angel notices Eve leaving the office and rushes to catch her. He supposes they need to talk about what happened behind the couch.

Eve doesn’t seem to figure it’s worth discussing, "Angel, this isn’t the first time I’ve had sex under a mystical influence. I went to U.C. Santa Cruz." She walks out of the office.

Wes walks up to Angel and asks how he’s doing.

Angel answers, "I don’t know."

Wes walks out into the lobby, takes a moment to notice Fred and Knox, sitting at one of the tables laughing, then walks on.

Gunn comes into Angel’s office, saying he spoke to Sebassis’ people, explained things as best he could.

Angel wonders what they’re dealing with; a lawsuit, demon war?

Gunn says it turns out they like a bit of social bloodsport so it appears "we’re okay."

Angel tells him they’re not, "We’ve been so focused on the dangers outside that we didn’t see the ones within. This place is trying to change us, Gunn. We can’t ever forget that."

Gunn admits it was a good party though. He puts on his jacket and tells Angel he’ll see him later. He adds Angel shouldn’t sit in his chair, he’s called janitorial.

Angel wonders why he can’t sit in the chair. He gets it the same time a smiling Spike does, "You pissed in the big man’s chair? That’s fantastic!"

Gunn would prefer Spike turn off the Lorne influenced positivity.

Spike admits that wore off awhile ago, he just thought it was funny.

Angel tells them to let Lorne get some sleep as he orders Spike out.

Spike is willing to comply, this once.

Lorne mumbles in his sleep, he’s sorry.

Angel kneels on one knee next to the couch, tugs the jacket over a Lorne and assures him it’s okay. He tells him to get some sleep.

Lorne mutters, "It’s hard being the host of the party."

Angel whispers, "Then stop trying to be", gets up and walks across the office, toward his desk.