Damage (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"Damage" is episode 11 of season 5 in the television show Angel
, originally broadcast on the WB network
. In this episode, Angel calls on the Watchers' Council for help in tracking down a psychotic vampire slayer named Dana, who was tortured by a serial killer as a child.
, Harmony
tells Angel that there was a mix-up with a girl named Dana's medication at a psychiatric hospital, and no longer sedated, she broke down her door, killed several people, and escaped. At the hospital, Dr. Rabinaw tells Angel and Spike that Dana had been kidnapped and tortured for months when she was ten, by the man who killed her family. Recently, she gained incredible strength. Angel realizes Dana - like Buffy
- is a vampire Slayer, activated by the events in the Buffy series finale
.
Wesley asks Giles
to send “his top guy” to take care of Dana, which turns out to be Andrew Wells
. He updates the group on how Willow
activated every potential "Slayer of the Vampyrs"; when Wesley wonders how the Slayers will be trained now that the Watcher’s Council is gone, Andrew explains that Giles and some “Sunnydale alum” have been taking care of it.
As Spike heads off to look for Dana, Angel follows Lorne's suggestion to visit Dana's childhood home with a psychic. The psychic flashes back to Dana’s abduction and her family’s murder; the smell of molasses and a basement is "where her pain lives,” he says. Meanwhile, Dana goes to the basement of the building where she was held captive, flashing back to her torturer injecting her with various drugs. When she looks up at his face, it’s Spike.
Andrew catches up with Spike, and updates him on the Scoobies’ activities - Xander’s in Africa, Willow and Kennedy are in Brazil, Buffy and Dawn are in Rome, and everyone else is in England. Andrew guesses that Buffy doesn’t know Spike is alive and wonders why he didn’t tell her. When Spike follows the scent of blood into Dana's trap, Andrew tries unsuccessfully to shoot Dana with a tranquilizer gun. Spike chases Dana to the basement, where she starts repeating what her torturer once said to her. Dana, channeling Nikki, recognizes Spike as William the Bloody. Before he can explain that she’s dreaming of other Slayers, she injects him with a sedative. At Wolfram & Hart, Fred and the team realize the smell of molasses indicates Dana was held in a distillery, and send a tactical team to search abandoned distilleries.
Back in the basement, Spike awakens to discover that Dana has cut off his hands. She tells Spike he can’t hurt her anymore, but when he insists she’s thinking of someone else she finally remembers who her torturer really was. Angel arrives, tells Dana her real torturer is dead, and knocks her out with a tranquilizer dart. Spike is taken to the hospital to have his hands reattached. Later, Andrew tells Angel because Dana is a Slayer, she belongs in the care of the new Council. This goes against Angel's intentions to have her treated in his own W&H facilities. Andrew says none of the Scoobies -- implicitly emphasizing Buffy, who, he points out, gives him his orders—trust Angel now that he works at Wolfram & Hart. “Don’t fool yourself… we’re not on the same side,” When Angel presses the issue, a group of slayers come out of hiding and Andrew makes it clear that they will take Dana by force if necessary. In the end Dana is taken away with Andrew.
Angel visits Spike at the hospital, where Spike admits he’s never thought much about what being evil means, he only ever killed for the rush and enjoyment of the act, he then states that he never once looked his victims in the eye. At which Angel replies that Angelus could never stop staring into his victims, for him it was always about the evil of the act. He and Angel note that they were innocent victims once, too. Spike says Dana is like them - someone turned her into a monster.
Angel (TV series)
Angel is an American television series, a spin-off of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The series was created by Buffys creator, Joss Whedon, in collaboration with David Greenwalt, and first aired on October 5, 1999...
, originally broadcast on the WB network
Television network
A television network is a telecommunications network for distribution of television program content, whereby a central operation provides programming to many television stations or pay TV providers. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small...
. In this episode, Angel calls on the Watchers' Council for help in tracking down a psychotic vampire slayer named Dana, who was tortured by a serial killer as a child.
Plot
At Wolfram & HartWolfram & Hart
Wolfram & Hart − Attorneys at Law is a fictional international, and interdimensional law firm featured in the television series Angel, as well as other extended materials in Joss Whedon's Buffyverse.-Fictional history:...
, Harmony
Harmony Kendall
Harmony Kendall is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel. The character is portrayed by Mercedes McNab...
tells Angel that there was a mix-up with a girl named Dana's medication at a psychiatric hospital, and no longer sedated, she broke down her door, killed several people, and escaped. At the hospital, Dr. Rabinaw tells Angel and Spike that Dana had been kidnapped and tortured for months when she was ten, by the man who killed her family. Recently, she gained incredible strength. Angel realizes Dana - like Buffy
Buffy Summers
Buffy Summers is a fictional character from Joss Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer franchise. She first appeared in the 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer before going on to appear in the television series and subsequent comic book of the same name...
- is a vampire Slayer, activated by the events in the Buffy series finale
Chosen (Buffy episode)
"Chosen" is the series finale of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It serves as the 22nd episode of the seventh season, and the 144th episode overall. The episode was written and directed by series creator Joss Whedon and originally aired on UPN on May 20, 2003...
.
Wesley asks Giles
Rupert Giles
Rupert Giles is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The character is portrayed by Anthony Stewart Head. He serves as Buffy Summers' mentor and surrogate father figure...
to send “his top guy” to take care of Dana, which turns out to be Andrew Wells
Andrew Wells
Andrew Wells is a fictional character in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, played by Tom Lenk. The character also appears in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight, the canonical continuation of the series....
. He updates the group on how Willow
Willow Rosenberg
Willow Rosenberg is a fictional character created for the fantasy television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer . She was developed by Joss Whedon and portrayed throughout the TV series by Alyson Hannigan...
activated every potential "Slayer of the Vampyrs"; when Wesley wonders how the Slayers will be trained now that the Watcher’s Council is gone, Andrew explains that Giles and some “Sunnydale alum” have been taking care of it.
As Spike heads off to look for Dana, Angel follows Lorne's suggestion to visit Dana's childhood home with a psychic. The psychic flashes back to Dana’s abduction and her family’s murder; the smell of molasses and a basement is "where her pain lives,” he says. Meanwhile, Dana goes to the basement of the building where she was held captive, flashing back to her torturer injecting her with various drugs. When she looks up at his face, it’s Spike.
Andrew catches up with Spike, and updates him on the Scoobies’ activities - Xander’s in Africa, Willow and Kennedy are in Brazil, Buffy and Dawn are in Rome, and everyone else is in England. Andrew guesses that Buffy doesn’t know Spike is alive and wonders why he didn’t tell her. When Spike follows the scent of blood into Dana's trap, Andrew tries unsuccessfully to shoot Dana with a tranquilizer gun. Spike chases Dana to the basement, where she starts repeating what her torturer once said to her. Dana, channeling Nikki, recognizes Spike as William the Bloody. Before he can explain that she’s dreaming of other Slayers, she injects him with a sedative. At Wolfram & Hart, Fred and the team realize the smell of molasses indicates Dana was held in a distillery, and send a tactical team to search abandoned distilleries.
Back in the basement, Spike awakens to discover that Dana has cut off his hands. She tells Spike he can’t hurt her anymore, but when he insists she’s thinking of someone else she finally remembers who her torturer really was. Angel arrives, tells Dana her real torturer is dead, and knocks her out with a tranquilizer dart. Spike is taken to the hospital to have his hands reattached. Later, Andrew tells Angel because Dana is a Slayer, she belongs in the care of the new Council. This goes against Angel's intentions to have her treated in his own W&H facilities. Andrew says none of the Scoobies -- implicitly emphasizing Buffy, who, he points out, gives him his orders—trust Angel now that he works at Wolfram & Hart. “Don’t fool yourself… we’re not on the same side,” When Angel presses the issue, a group of slayers come out of hiding and Andrew makes it clear that they will take Dana by force if necessary. In the end Dana is taken away with Andrew.
Angel visits Spike at the hospital, where Spike admits he’s never thought much about what being evil means, he only ever killed for the rush and enjoyment of the act, he then states that he never once looked his victims in the eye. At which Angel replies that Angelus could never stop staring into his victims, for him it was always about the evil of the act. He and Angel note that they were innocent victims once, too. Spike says Dana is like them - someone turned her into a monster.
Continuity
- It has been six months since the events of the Buffy episode "Chosen".
- The events of this episode are a result of the actions in the Buffy series finale, in which Willow turned every Potential on Earth into a Slayer.
- When Dana and Spike fight, she channels the Chinese Slayer; his line "Sorry love, I don't speak Chinese," is a repeat of the line he said just before killing the Chinese Slayer during the flashbacks to the Boxer RebellionBoxer RebellionThe Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in "Fool for Love". Dana's memories of Nikki Wood and Spike's killing of her were also first seen in "Fool for Love", though further memories of Nikki's death were explored in the Buffy season seven episode "Lies My Parents Told Me".
- Andrew's storytelling persona resurfaces in this episode. It was previously seen in "Storyteller", including his pronunciation of the word "vampyre".
- When Andrew is describing the effects of Willow's spell, it appears that Angel, Wesley, Gunn, Lorne, and Fred were all unaware of the spell's vast effects, and even of its existence in the first place; none of them knew that all of the Potentials were activated as Slayers.
- It is revealed in the canonical Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8, comic books that the effects of Willow's spell caused some Potentials-turned-Slayers other than Dana to use their newfound powers in violent and illegal ways.
- Spike's comment that Angel is looking "old" is an in-joke reference to David Boreanaz's inevitable visible signs of aging, despite the fact that Angel, as a vampire, is immortal.
- It is known that Willow and Kennedy are still a couple, and Buffy is in Rome, with Dawn in 'Italian School'.
Cultural references
- Parasite Eve: Lorne invokes this novel/movie/video game franchise when speaking about Eve.
- The Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the RingsThe Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...
: Andrew is shocked to see Spike alive, and draws parallels between what happened to GandalfGandalfGandalf is a character in J. R. R. Tolkien's novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In these stories, Gandalf appears as a wizard, member and later the head of the order known as the Istari, as well as leader of the Fellowship of the Ring and the army of the West...
. - Star Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek: The Original SeriesStar Trek is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry, produced by Desilu Productions . Star Trek was telecast on NBC from September 8, 1966, through June 3, 1969...
: Andrew calls Angel "Uhura" and tells him to "check the viewscreen," in reference to the communications officer on the Enterprise. - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's NestOne Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (film)One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey....
: In describing Dana's escape, Harmony says "A girl over in the nuthouse went all cuckoo's nest." - Terminator 2: Judgment DayTerminator 2: Judgment DayTerminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
: The scene where Dana breaks out from a mental hospital resembles the scene where Sarah Connor breaks out. - Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
: In one scene Andrew says "Yoda knows who" instead of "God knows who." - X-MenX-MenThe X-Men are a superhero team in the . They were created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and first appeared in The X-Men #1...
: In one scene Andrew mentions that Buffy is in Europe training Slayers and giving them "...the full X-Men minus the crappy third act." - White ZombieWhite ZombieWhite Zombie was a Grammy Award-nominated American heavy metal band. Based in New York City, White Zombie was originally a noise rock band. White Zombie are better-known for their later heavy metal-oriented sound...
: The scene where Dana steps out of the convenience store after the security guard pulls a gun on her the music of White Zombie is playing in the background. The song is called "Blood, Milk, and Sky".