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Orpheus (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"Orpheus" is episode 15 of season 4 in the television show Angel
. Written by Mere Smith
and directed by Terrence O'Hara
, it was originally broadcast on March 19, 2003 on the WB network
. "Orpheus" concludes the three-episode arc involving guest star Eliza Dushku
reprising her role as the Slayer Faith, beginning immediately where the previous episode ended: Angelus starts to feed on Faith. However, she had deliberately poisoned her blood with a psychedelic
drug, and the two pass out. In his coma, Angelus is forced to relive his alter ego
Angel's good deeds with Faith at his side, as Cordelia
attempts to stop Willow Rosenberg
from re-ensouling Angel.
drags Angelus's body to the Hyperion Hotel
, where he and Connor shackle Angelus securely in the basement cage. Wesley
brings a barely alive Faith to one of the hotel bedrooms. Knowing Faith injected herself with Orpheus, an enchanted psychedelic
drug that poses a serious threat to her life, Lorne yells at Wesley for allowing Faith to purposely get bit by Angelus. Connor updates Cordelia
on Faith and Angelus' conditions. Suddenly, Cordelia brutally shoves Connor into a wall in response to his constant talk about Faith. He's shocked and she tries to cover her behavior by blaming it on the pregnancy and crazy hormones.
Downstairs, Connor shouts at Fred
and Wesley about the need for killing Angelus, when Willow Rosenberg
appears at the door suggesting that she's a better alternative. Fred called Willow for help since she's the only one alive to successfully restore Angel's soul. Willow wants to see Cordelia again and Connor reluctantly takes her upstairs. As Willow talks about the difficulties associated with ensouling Angelus, Cordelia secretly reaches for a large knife under her pillow and tries to get Willow close enough to strike. Willow realizes if they break the jar, they can avoid all the complications and free the soul. Willow rushes out of the room in time to unknowingly avoid the knife thrown at her, which hits the door instead.
In their shared coma, Angelus and Faith witness the 1920s-version of Angel rescue a small puppy from an oncoming car. Angelus is infuriated at being subjected to the memory again, and Faith realizes with glee that they're experiencing Angel's good deeds of the past. Next, a hippie Angel walks into a diner and selects "Mandy" on the jukebox, as Angelus complains to Faith about watching Angel's self-induced misery. A man barges into the diner and asks for money, but shoots the cashier when he doesn't react quickly enough. The shooter runs away, and Angel struggles with his desire to feed on the cashier, which wins out. The bite marks on dream-Faith's neck begins to bleed and she realizes Angel could have saved the cashier. Angelus watches on as Angel suffers with the guilt of feeding, enjoying Faith's pain as well.
Before Willow can begin her spell to locate the jar holding Angel's soul, the Beast Master's deep voice screams a warning to stop. Willow's magic overpowers the Master's, and Willow begins her spell as Cordelia works counter-magic from the bedroom. When Connor breaks Cordelia's concentration by trying to enter the bedroom, Willow is able to magically shatter the jar. Using the Orb of Thesulah
, Willow and Fred begin the ritual that will give Angel back his soul. Dream-Faith finds herself in a dirty alley with Angelus again, watching past-Angel, having forsaken all human ties, feed on a rat (shortly prior to the events of the 1996 flashback in Becoming, Part One, wherein the demon Whistler almost literally dragged Angel from the gutter -- commenting on his rat-feeding habits in the process -- and set him on the path to his supposed destiny as Buffy
's ally and a champion of the Powers That Be). In a twist, past-Angel turns and addresses the twosome. Angelus and Angel face-off and begin to exchange blows, as Angel convinces Faith that life is worth living and she has to wake up. Faith disappears.
When Connor finally breaks into her barricaded bedroom, Cordy smashes a lamp over his head, then pretends not to have known it was him. Cordy deceives Connor into thinking Willow's magic is evil and threatens their unborn child. She tells him he has to kill Angelus to protect their family. Willow completes the restoration spell, pulling Angelus and Angel into one body, while Faith wakes up and rushes downstairs to the basement in time to stop Connor from staking Angel. She begins to beat up Connor until Angel wakes up and stops the fight. Later, Faith tells Angel that she is going back to Sunnydale
with Willow to aid Buffy and her allies
. After they leave, a very pregnant Cordelia comes downstairs and shocks the gang with the serious trouble they still have to deal with.
cut short the final moments of the first airing of "Orpheus" for an emergency broadcast announcing that the United States had invaded Iraq
. The episode was rerun the following Saturday.
Director Terrence O'Hara
says the fight scene at the end of the previous episode and the beginning of this episode is "probably my favorite just because of the content of the show and the difficulty." The scene was shot in an abandoned bank in downtown Los Angeles
and employed scaffolding to make the fight "more vertical" according to producer Jeffrey Bell. O'Hara explains that due to Alexis Denisof
's bad back, the show-motion shot of Wesley carrying Faith was a difficult one. The fight scene between Angel and Angelus, which took two days to film, was something that Bell had "waited to do for four years." It was made possible by a split screen and a camera lock-off, explains O'Hara. "We played back to match shot for shot. He was hitting space."
The scenes of Chicago
in the 1920s were filmed on Universal Studios
' back lot. O'Hara enjoyed the look of the classic cars, although many of the moving cars were actually being pushed by the grips "because they were very noisy," O'Hara says. Additional scenes showing Angel and Faith reliving portions of the episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" had to be cut due to length.
Jeffrey Bell says, "we apologize for the big, stupid floaty head" that appeared during the magical battle between Willow and Cordelia. He explains, "We had really great hopes for it and it just became something you'd see on It's a Small World in Disneyland. Just not quite as scary as we had hoped." During the final shot of Faith and Angel on the terrace, which Bell describes as "a hallmark of a Joss Whedon
show - all the good-byes and the sentiments without anyone ever getting sentimental" - Eliza Dushku came to the set with laryngitis
and could not speak. "This scene was supposed to be first up," says O'Hara. "I begged (show runner) Kelly Manners to keep it to the end of the day and let her recover, and she did."
had the idea to bring back actress Alyson Hannigan
as Willow Rosenberg
to re-ensoul Angel. This episode is Hannigan's third crossover into Angel; she previously appeared on the phone to Cordelia in "Disharmony
", and delivered the news of Buffy's
death at the end of "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb". Hannigan, involved in both American Pie
and Buffy while this episode filmed, was excited to work with her fiance, Alexis Denisof
, whom she met while the two were on Buffy. Denisof was also excited. "I feel like it's a play day. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm at work," he said. "My girl is here... really all I want to do is run over and give her a hug."
Terrence points out in the donut shop scene with Angel and Faith that, "The gunman here is actually Eliza's brother Nate."
Charisma Carpenter
is genuinely pregnant in this episode, and has been since Cordelia's return from the "higher plane".
myth of Orpheus
. A legendary musician, Orpheus followed his dead wife into the Underworld
to beg for her return.
Asked how prison has changed the angry, aggressive Faith, Eliza Dushku says, "How would prison change anyone? There was something about the fact that she's a Slayer, so she wouldn't really be there unless she wanted to be, because she's got superhuman strength. She could have busted out of that joint if she really wanted to. But she and Angel developed this relationship. He was leading her down the road to redemption, kind of facing the things she's done and recovering from that, and hopefully being a better her. She's been in there, doing the time, thinking. She's still a tough girl, but she really has to suppress her demons a little more. In these past few shows, that's what we're seeing—her teetering on the line between the old her and the new her."
"It's a big arc for us," says David Boreanaz. He explains that Faith and Angel "really get along well together. They owe each other... That's why, when she hears Angelus is out, she automatically breaks out of prison. She doesn't even think it, she's out. Because of what he's done for her. And they share that common bond." He adds, "It's going to be interesting to see how Angelus relates to Faith, because he's never met her before and this is going to be fun for him."
Willow and (evil) Cordelia's conversation about what they've been up to since they last communicated, is similar to a conversation Buffy Summers
and Amy Madison
have in the 6th season of Buffy.
Willow: (sits on the bed beside Cordy) How've you been?
Cordelia: Higher power. You?
Willow: Ultimate evil. But I got better.
Buffy: Hi. (awkwardly) How've you been?
Amy: Rat. You?
Buffy: Dead.
Amy: Oh.
complained about the rapid resolution of seemingly unsolvable problems in the last quarter of this episode. "We're left thinking none of them is so terrible as they seemed," the reviewer wrote. "'Apocalypse' can only be uttered so many times before it starts to lose its urgency."
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...
. Written by Mere Smith
Mere Smith
Mere Smith is a American television script-writer who wrote a number of episodes of the series Angel. She was also the executive story editor and script coordinator for 66 episodes from 1999 to 2003....
and directed by Terrence O'Hara
Terrence O'Hara
Terrence O'Hara is an American director and actor. He has worked on Smallville, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Voyagers! as well as many other programs.-Director:* Dollhouse ** The Unit * Sons Of Anarchy...
, it was originally broadcast on March 19, 2003 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...
. "Orpheus" concludes the three-episode arc involving guest star Eliza Dushku
Eliza Dushku
Eliza Patricia Dushku is an American actress known for her television roles, including recurring appearances as Faith on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spinoff series Angel. She starred in two Fox series, Tru Calling and Dollhouse...
reprising her role as the Slayer Faith, beginning immediately where the previous episode ended: Angelus starts to feed on Faith. However, she had deliberately poisoned her blood with a psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
drug, and the two pass out. In his coma, Angelus is forced to relive his alter ego
Alter ego
An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...
Angel's good deeds with Faith at his side, as Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
attempts to stop Willow Rosenberg
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...
from re-ensouling Angel.
Plot
After drinking from Faith, Angelus pulls away in shock as she flashes back to earlier, when she injected herself with a drug stolen from a vampire junkie at the demon bar. Angelus and Faith both collapse, unconscious. GunnCharles Gunn
Charles Gunn is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series, Angel. The character is portrayed by J. August Richards, and was named by Whedon after filmmaker James Gunn and actor Sean Gunn, both of whom had worked with Whedon...
drags Angelus's body to the Hyperion Hotel
Hyperion Hotel
The Hyperion Hotel is a fictional home base for Angel in the television series Angel during the middle seasons of the show. The gang move into the Hyperion at the beginning of the second season, following the destruction of their offices in the finale of season one, "To Shanshu in L.A.".-History:In...
, where he and Connor shackle Angelus securely in the basement cage. Wesley
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel...
brings a barely alive Faith to one of the hotel bedrooms. Knowing Faith injected herself with Orpheus, an enchanted psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
drug that poses a serious threat to her life, Lorne yells at Wesley for allowing Faith to purposely get bit by Angelus. Connor updates Cordelia
Cordelia Chase
Cordelia Chase is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer; she also appeared on Buffy's spin-off series Angel...
on Faith and Angelus' conditions. Suddenly, Cordelia brutally shoves Connor into a wall in response to his constant talk about Faith. He's shocked and she tries to cover her behavior by blaming it on the pregnancy and crazy hormones.
Downstairs, Connor shouts at Fred
Winifred Burkle
Winifred "Fred" Burkle is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Shawn Ryan and Mere Smith on the television series Angel. The character is portrayed by Amy Acker.-Character history:...
and Wesley about the need for killing Angelus, when Willow Rosenberg
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...
appears at the door suggesting that she's a better alternative. Fred called Willow for help since she's the only one alive to successfully restore Angel's soul. Willow wants to see Cordelia again and Connor reluctantly takes her upstairs. As Willow talks about the difficulties associated with ensouling Angelus, Cordelia secretly reaches for a large knife under her pillow and tries to get Willow close enough to strike. Willow realizes if they break the jar, they can avoid all the complications and free the soul. Willow rushes out of the room in time to unknowingly avoid the knife thrown at her, which hits the door instead.
In their shared coma, Angelus and Faith witness the 1920s-version of Angel rescue a small puppy from an oncoming car. Angelus is infuriated at being subjected to the memory again, and Faith realizes with glee that they're experiencing Angel's good deeds of the past. Next, a hippie Angel walks into a diner and selects "Mandy" on the jukebox, as Angelus complains to Faith about watching Angel's self-induced misery. A man barges into the diner and asks for money, but shoots the cashier when he doesn't react quickly enough. The shooter runs away, and Angel struggles with his desire to feed on the cashier, which wins out. The bite marks on dream-Faith's neck begins to bleed and she realizes Angel could have saved the cashier. Angelus watches on as Angel suffers with the guilt of feeding, enjoying Faith's pain as well.
Before Willow can begin her spell to locate the jar holding Angel's soul, the Beast Master's deep voice screams a warning to stop. Willow's magic overpowers the Master's, and Willow begins her spell as Cordelia works counter-magic from the bedroom. When Connor breaks Cordelia's concentration by trying to enter the bedroom, Willow is able to magically shatter the jar. Using the Orb of Thesulah
Orb of Thesulah
In both Buffy and Angel series, the Orb of Thesulah is used in a Gypsy ritual by the Kalderash clan to restore a vampire's soul, most notably Angel.-Appearances and description:...
, Willow and Fred begin the ritual that will give Angel back his soul. Dream-Faith finds herself in a dirty alley with Angelus again, watching past-Angel, having forsaken all human ties, feed on a rat (shortly prior to the events of the 1996 flashback in Becoming, Part One, wherein the demon Whistler almost literally dragged Angel from the gutter -- commenting on his rat-feeding habits in the process -- and set him on the path to his supposed destiny as 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...
's ally and a champion of the Powers That Be). In a twist, past-Angel turns and addresses the twosome. Angelus and Angel face-off and begin to exchange blows, as Angel convinces Faith that life is worth living and she has to wake up. Faith disappears.
When Connor finally breaks into her barricaded bedroom, Cordy smashes a lamp over his head, then pretends not to have known it was him. Cordy deceives Connor into thinking Willow's magic is evil and threatens their unborn child. She tells him he has to kill Angelus to protect their family. Willow completes the restoration spell, pulling Angelus and Angel into one body, while Faith wakes up and rushes downstairs to the basement in time to stop Connor from staking Angel. She begins to beat up Connor until Angel wakes up and stops the fight. Later, Faith tells Angel that she is going back to Sunnydale
Sunnydale
Sunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
with Willow to aid Buffy and her allies
Dirty Girls (Buffy episode)
"Dirty Girls" is the 18th episode of season 7 of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.-Plot synopsis:A young Potential, Shannon, is chased through the woods by Bringers. She accepts the assistance of a stranger wearing a priest's collar and driving a truck and is horrified to discover...
. After they leave, a very pregnant Cordelia comes downstairs and shocks the gang with the serious trouble they still have to deal with.
Production
The WB networkTelevision 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...
cut short the final moments of the first airing of "Orpheus" for an emergency broadcast announcing that the United States had invaded Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
. The episode was rerun the following Saturday.
Director Terrence O'Hara
Terrence O'Hara
Terrence O'Hara is an American director and actor. He has worked on Smallville, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and Voyagers! as well as many other programs.-Director:* Dollhouse ** The Unit * Sons Of Anarchy...
says the fight scene at the end of the previous episode and the beginning of this episode is "probably my favorite just because of the content of the show and the difficulty." The scene was shot in an abandoned bank in downtown Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and employed scaffolding to make the fight "more vertical" according to producer Jeffrey Bell. O'Hara explains that due to Alexis Denisof
Alexis Denisof
Alexis Denisof is an American actor who is known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.-Early life:...
's bad back, the show-motion shot of Wesley carrying Faith was a difficult one. The fight scene between Angel and Angelus, which took two days to film, was something that Bell had "waited to do for four years." It was made possible by a split screen and a camera lock-off, explains O'Hara. "We played back to match shot for shot. He was hitting space."
The scenes of Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in the 1920s were filmed on Universal Studios
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
' back lot. O'Hara enjoyed the look of the classic cars, although many of the moving cars were actually being pushed by the grips "because they were very noisy," O'Hara says. Additional scenes showing Angel and Faith reliving portions of the episode "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" had to be cut due to length.
Jeffrey Bell says, "we apologize for the big, stupid floaty head" that appeared during the magical battle between Willow and Cordelia. He explains, "We had really great hopes for it and it just became something you'd see on It's a Small World in Disneyland. Just not quite as scary as we had hoped." During the final shot of Faith and Angel on the terrace, which Bell describes as "a hallmark of a Joss Whedon
Joss Whedon
Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...
show - all the good-byes and the sentiments without anyone ever getting sentimental" - Eliza Dushku came to the set with laryngitis
Laryngitis
Laryngitis is an inflammation of the larynx. It causes hoarse voice or the complete loss of the voice because of irritation to the vocal folds . Dysphonia is the medical term for a vocal disorder, of which laryngitis is one cause....
and could not speak. "This scene was supposed to be first up," says O'Hara. "I begged (show runner) Kelly Manners to keep it to the end of the day and let her recover, and she did."
Acting
Producer Tim MinearTim Minear
Tim Minear is an American screenwriter and director. He was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach....
had the idea to bring back actress Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Lee Hannigan is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Willow Rosenberg in the cult classic television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Michelle Flaherty in three American Pie films, and Lily Aldrin on the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother.-Early life:Hannigan was born in...
as Willow Rosenberg
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...
to re-ensoul Angel. This episode is Hannigan's third crossover into Angel; she previously appeared on the phone to Cordelia in "Disharmony
Disharmony (Angel episode)
"Disharmony" is episode 17 of season 2 in the television show Angel.-Plot synopsis:Angel has a difficult time adjusting to the new situation at the hotel where Wesley has taken over his old office and Angel is taking orders from his new employers. A young couple making out in a car is attacked by...
", and delivered the news of Buffy's
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...
death at the end of "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb". Hannigan, involved in both American Pie
American Pie (film)
American Pie is a 1999 teen comedy film written by Adam Herz. American Pie was the directorial film debut of brothers Paul and Chris Weitz, and the first film in the American Pie film series...
and Buffy while this episode filmed, was excited to work with her fiance, Alexis Denisof
Alexis Denisof
Alexis Denisof is an American actor who is known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.-Early life:...
, whom she met while the two were on Buffy. Denisof was also excited. "I feel like it's a play day. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm at work," he said. "My girl is here... really all I want to do is run over and give her a hug."
Terrence points out in the donut shop scene with Angel and Faith that, "The gunman here is actually Eliza's brother Nate."
Charisma Carpenter
Charisma Carpenter
Charisma Lee Carpenter is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Cordelia Chase in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel, for which she was nominated for four Saturn Awards. In her most recent film she starred opposite Sylvester Stallone and Jason...
is genuinely pregnant in this episode, and has been since Cordelia's return from the "higher plane".
Writing
The title refers to the GreekGreek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
myth of Orpheus
Orpheus
Orpheus was a legendary musician, poet, and prophet in ancient Greek religion and myth. The major stories about him are centered on his ability to charm all living things and even stones with his music; his attempt to retrieve his wife from the underworld; and his death at the hands of those who...
. A legendary musician, Orpheus followed his dead wife into the Underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
to beg for her return.
Asked how prison has changed the angry, aggressive Faith, Eliza Dushku says, "How would prison change anyone? There was something about the fact that she's a Slayer, so she wouldn't really be there unless she wanted to be, because she's got superhuman strength. She could have busted out of that joint if she really wanted to. But she and Angel developed this relationship. He was leading her down the road to redemption, kind of facing the things she's done and recovering from that, and hopefully being a better her. She's been in there, doing the time, thinking. She's still a tough girl, but she really has to suppress her demons a little more. In these past few shows, that's what we're seeing—her teetering on the line between the old her and the new her."
"It's a big arc for us," says David Boreanaz. He explains that Faith and Angel "really get along well together. They owe each other... That's why, when she hears Angelus is out, she automatically breaks out of prison. She doesn't even think it, she's out. Because of what he's done for her. And they share that common bond." He adds, "It's going to be interesting to see how Angelus relates to Faith, because he's never met her before and this is going to be fun for him."
Willow and (evil) Cordelia's conversation about what they've been up to since they last communicated, is similar to a conversation Buffy Summers
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...
and Amy Madison
Amy Madison
Amy Madison is a fictional character, a witch played by Elizabeth Anne Allen in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and by Shay Astar in the Season 8 motion comics. She made appearances in every season of Buffy except Seasons Five .Amy is a witch...
have in the 6th season of Buffy.
Willow: (sits on the bed beside Cordy) How've you been?
Cordelia: Higher power. You?
Willow: Ultimate evil. But I got better.
Buffy: Hi. (awkwardly) How've you been?
Amy: Rat. You?
Buffy: Dead.
Amy: Oh.
Arc significance
- Faith accompanies Willow back to SunnydaleSunnydaleSunnydale, California is the fictional setting for the U.S. television drama Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Series creator Joss Whedon conceived the town as a representation of a generic California city, as well as a narrative parody of the all-too-serene towns typical in traditional horror...
in "Dirty Girls" to aid in the battle against The First Evil. - Willow restores Angel's soul for the second time, and magically battles Jasmine (in Cordelia's body).
Continuity
- In Angelus' flashback, Angel chooses "MandyMandy (song)"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...
" by Barry ManilowBarry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
, the same song he sings the first time he sings at Caritas in "JudgmentJudgment (Angel episode)"Judgment" is episode 1 of season 2 of the television show Angel, broadcast on September 26, 2000 on the WB network. The episode was written by David Greenwalt, with a story from Greenwalt and series creator Joss Whedon, and directed by Michael Lange. In this episode, when Angel accidentally kills...
," another pivotal moment in his fall and rise to eventual hero status. "Mandy" was first released in 1974, meaning the flashback must occur at some point after that; later in the episode, Angelus remarks that Angel spent twenty years feeding on rats after this incident, placing it in 1976, since a flashback in the Buffy episode "Becoming" depicts Angel as being lifted from his rat-feeding days by Whistler in 1996 (see above). Angelus also mentions that Angel sometimes attended Manilow concerts, much to Angelus' disgust.- Whether coincidentally or not, the lyrics to "Mandy" are unusually relevant to Angel's life; the singer/narrator first describes himself as "a shadow of a man... crying in the night," reminiscent of Angel's post-ensoulment despair and isolation. The lyrics also describe how the man "walked away when love was" his to have, similar to Angel's departure from Sunnydale years before, at the end of "Graduation Day," leaving BuffyBuffy SummersBuffy 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...
despite their love for each other.
- Whether coincidentally or not, the lyrics to "Mandy" are unusually relevant to Angel's life; the singer/narrator first describes himself as "a shadow of a man... crying in the night," reminiscent of Angel's post-ensoulment despair and isolation. The lyrics also describe how the man "walked away when love was" his to have, similar to Angel's departure from Sunnydale years before, at the end of "Graduation Day," leaving Buffy
- Crossover with Buffy: Willow received Fred's phone call in "Lies My Parents Told Me". Several references to past events in Buffy the Vampire Slayer are mentioned by Willow including being gay, dating Kennedy, and Willow's turn to the dark side at the end of Season 6.
- Fred references Sunnydale's Hellmouth.
- This episodes marks Willow's third and final appearance on Angel. It is also the last Angel episode in which Faith is seen.
Reception
The Faith trilogy (beginning with "Salvage" and ending with this episode) was generally well received. UGO Networks called this arc "truly the high point of the entire season," although was disappointed in the frequent silences on the director's commentary. However, webzine PopMattersPopMatters
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complained about the rapid resolution of seemingly unsolvable problems in the last quarter of this episode. "We're left thinking none of them is so terrible as they seemed," the reviewer wrote. "'Apocalypse' can only be uttered so many times before it starts to lose its urgency."