Angel

(S01E07) Cordelia: I was thinking that maybe I haven’t been entirely fair to you. Maybe you don’t actually have zero potential.

Doyle: Wow, Cordelia. Thanks.

It was a shame that Allen Francis Doyle, played by the late Glenn Quinn, was only a temporary character on Angel. Viewers barely got to know the man before his departure in episode nine. Yet, his charming roughness was beginning to grow on us.

So, it was nice to see Doyle have a shot in the spotlight, just like Charisma Carpenter’s character Cordelia Chase had in the episode ’Rm w/a Vu’. With the title of this weeks episode, and Doyle being involved, you would think that it would be an uproarious hour of comedic hijinks. Well, while there was a good bit of levity, ’Bachelor Party’ was actually a pretty deep character study of our half man/half demon friend.

Since the series began we had seen Doyle as a rough-and-tumble kind of bloke who dealt with the seedier side of Los Angeles. However, as we heard from his wife Harry (Kristin Datillo) Doyle had a softer side, including stints as a third grade teacher and volunteer at a soup kitchen. Oh, by the way, I meant that Harry was still his wife; they hadn’t gotten to signing any divorce papers yet.

But, she needed those divorce papers signed for, you see, she had found another man to marry. Doyle was shocked. Even though he knew there was no chance to get back together with Harry, and he was really pining away for Cordelia, he didn’t want to sign the papers for that would mean that it was really over. It’s here that we saw Doyle’s rough hide be stripped away, revealing the man he was in the past.

He eventually does sign the papers, and gives the groom-to-be (Carlos Jacott) his blessing. Unbeknownst to him, the blessing also gives the groom and his family, who are all demons, permission to eat Doyle’s brain. Of course, Doyle doesn’t allow this, since he is currently using it right now. Luckily, Angel and ex-wife Harry come to his rescue. However, the marriage is off since Richard never told Harry about the brain eating. I mean, would you want to start a marriage with that much deception right from the start?

Even though Doyle was the main focal point it was a nice well-rounded show. Cordelia’s opinion of Doyle turned right around after he saved her from a rampaging demon. Angel worked the investigative side of the new husband and was able to solve the case with minimal vamping. Glenn Quinn really opened up his Doyle character, showing him as a multi-layered individual who would rather not have spikes shoot out of his face everytime he sneezed. All together, a very satisfying episode.

Next week: Buffy’s back, baby!