The Girl in Question (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Girl in Question" is episode 20 of season 5 in the television show Angel
. Written by Steven S. DeKnight
and Drew Goddard
and directed by David Greenwalt
, it was originally broadcast on May 5, 2004 on the WB network
. When Angel and Spike go to Italy
after hearing Buffy
is in trouble, they discover she is dating their long-time nemesis The Immortal. While searching for Buffy - and the head of a demon which must be brought back to L.A. to prevent a demon war - they reminisce about their history with The Immortal and finally accept that they can't control who Buffy dates.
Spike and Angel visit Buffy's apartment and find Andrew Wells
. He said that he lives with Buffy and Dawn
, and Buffy went to a club with The Immortal. They go to the club and see Buffy from a distance. They get distracted and leave the demon head in a bag on a table, which is snatched by The Immortal's demon butler. Angel and Spike fight the minions and "accidentally" hit each other a few times, too. The demon butler gets away with the head and mocks the heroes as he leaves. Angel and Spike argue over how "if they had their resources", that they would be able to find the head. Spike points out that there is a Wolfram & Hart office in Rome.
Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart in L.A., Fred's parents show up and Wesley ushers them into his office to tell them she has been consumed. He is about to tell them when Illyria walks in the door looking and acting exactly like Fred. Later, while her parents are being shown Fred's office, Wesley confronts Illyria. She explains because of Fred's past memories she cannot bear to witness their grief in addition to Wesley's, which she experiences as a physical pain. She explains that she can appear in the form that she wishes. After Fred's parents leave, Wesley asks her if she got what she wanted from that experience. Illyria answers "Yes", and Wesley orders her never to do it again.
Angel and Spike go the Rome Wolfram & Hart offices, where they are greeted by the CEO, an ebullient Italian woman. She says the head is being held in a standard ransom situation. Angel and Spike are given money for the drop, which they exchange with the butler for the bag. They open it and in it is actually a bomb, three seconds from detonation. While the explosion isn't shown, Spike and Angel both easily survive, albeit with their clothing heavily damaged and the street destroyed. Spike complains about his ruined jacket that he took from the dead Slayer Nikki Wood. They go back to the Rome Wolfram & Hart - the CEO laughs, saying they always do that (bomb) to first-timers. She replaces their damaged clothing, including Spike's 'irreplaceable' jacket. After being locked out of her office, Spike and Angel declare their intentions to go home, but return to Buffy's apartment and Andrew tells them to let her move on, that "people change," while he leaves the apartment with two sexy women. Frustrated by their inability to contact Buffy and by the demon butler's chicanery on The Immortal's behalf, they decide to go home.
Illyria follows Wesley into his office, still appearing and speaking as Fred. She states that she wishes to explore the relationship further and does not understand why Wesley is angry when he obviously loved Fred. He replies that she is not Fred and that he is sickened by the sight of her. He tells her to be anything as long as it's not Fred. She appears somewhat confused and when he leaves the room changes back into her usual form. "As you wish" she says.
When Angel and Spike return home, they find the head on Angel's desk with a note signed by The Immortal. They are outraged; this is the second time he "distracted" them while he put the moves on "their" girl.
as Amalita Amalfi.
, despite working on the second season of Buffy together. "I was just a guest star, and I had no reason to go up to the writers' offices. I didn't go to the gods at that point," says Marsters. He says that Greenwalt is "exceptional" at inspiring actors to perform their best.
Actress Julie Benz says her last appearance as Darla in the flashback scenes of this episode was "a great way for us to... say goodbye to our characters, to be together and to have some fun." She was relieved to shoot such a "playful" scene, "because anything else I think would have been too hard; too difficult; too painful." She adds the sheet she was wrapped in kept snagging on the camera dolly and falling down. "It was a great way to end; flashing everybody!" she says.
for this episode. Another actress played Buffy Summers in a faraway shot of her dancing with The Immortal in a nightclub. In fact, the intention of this episode was always that neither Buffy nor the Immortal would be clearly seen. Gellar was actually sought for the penultimate episode "Power Play", but proved unavailable because she was busy finishing the filming of The Grudge
. Writer David Fury explains this in an interview with Mike Jozic:
David Greenwalt refers to this episode as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
go to Rome."
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 Steven S. DeKnight
Steven S. DeKnight
Steven S. DeKnight is an American television screenwriter, producer, and director. He is best known for working on Smallville, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel. He has also written "Swell", a story in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer season eight comic series, and served as a consulting producer...
and Drew Goddard
Drew Goddard
Drew Goddard is an American film and television screenwriter and producer best known for his collaborations with Joss Whedon and J.J. Abrams .Goddard joined the crew of Lost as a freelance writer for the first season in 2004...
and directed by David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt
David Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel. He is also co-creator of the short-lived cult television show Profit...
, it was originally broadcast on May 5, 2004 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...
. When Angel and Spike go to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
after hearing 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 in trouble, they discover she is dating their long-time nemesis The Immortal. While searching for Buffy - and the head of a demon which must be brought back to L.A. to prevent a demon war - they reminisce about their history with The Immortal and finally accept that they can't control who Buffy dates.
Plot
Gunn discovers a demon gang war is imminent, unless the head of the leaders is recaptured from Rome, so Angel and Spike travel to Rome to retrieve the head. They find out that Buffy is dating their arch-nemesis "The Immortal". Flashbacks are shown that explain why Angel and Spike hate "The Immortal": he slept with Darla and Drusilla simultaneously while his minions held Angelus and Spike in chains. They discuss the matter and conclude that Buffy must be under some sort of love spell.Spike and Angel visit Buffy's apartment and find 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 said that he lives with Buffy and Dawn
Dawn Summers
Dawn Summers is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and introduced by Marti Noxon and David Fury on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, portrayed by Michelle Trachtenberg. She made her debut in the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, and subsequently appeared in every...
, and Buffy went to a club with The Immortal. They go to the club and see Buffy from a distance. They get distracted and leave the demon head in a bag on a table, which is snatched by The Immortal's demon butler. Angel and Spike fight the minions and "accidentally" hit each other a few times, too. The demon butler gets away with the head and mocks the heroes as he leaves. Angel and Spike argue over how "if they had their resources", that they would be able to find the head. Spike points out that there is a Wolfram & Hart office in Rome.
Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart in L.A., Fred's parents show up and Wesley ushers them into his office to tell them she has been consumed. He is about to tell them when Illyria walks in the door looking and acting exactly like Fred. Later, while her parents are being shown Fred's office, Wesley confronts Illyria. She explains because of Fred's past memories she cannot bear to witness their grief in addition to Wesley's, which she experiences as a physical pain. She explains that she can appear in the form that she wishes. After Fred's parents leave, Wesley asks her if she got what she wanted from that experience. Illyria answers "Yes", and Wesley orders her never to do it again.
Angel and Spike go the Rome Wolfram & Hart offices, where they are greeted by the CEO, an ebullient Italian woman. She says the head is being held in a standard ransom situation. Angel and Spike are given money for the drop, which they exchange with the butler for the bag. They open it and in it is actually a bomb, three seconds from detonation. While the explosion isn't shown, Spike and Angel both easily survive, albeit with their clothing heavily damaged and the street destroyed. Spike complains about his ruined jacket that he took from the dead Slayer Nikki Wood. They go back to the Rome Wolfram & Hart - the CEO laughs, saying they always do that (bomb) to first-timers. She replaces their damaged clothing, including Spike's 'irreplaceable' jacket. After being locked out of her office, Spike and Angel declare their intentions to go home, but return to Buffy's apartment and Andrew tells them to let her move on, that "people change," while he leaves the apartment with two sexy women. Frustrated by their inability to contact Buffy and by the demon butler's chicanery on The Immortal's behalf, they decide to go home.
Illyria follows Wesley into his office, still appearing and speaking as Fred. She states that she wishes to explore the relationship further and does not understand why Wesley is angry when he obviously loved Fred. He replies that she is not Fred and that he is sickened by the sight of her. He tells her to be anything as long as it's not Fred. She appears somewhat confused and when he leaves the room changes back into her usual form. "As you wish" she says.
When Angel and Spike return home, they find the head on Angel's desk with a note signed by The Immortal. They are outraged; this is the second time he "distracted" them while he put the moves on "their" girl.
Acting
Carole Davis, who plays Ilona Costa Bianchi, the CEO of the Roman offices of Wolfram & Hart, plays a similar flamboyant Southern Italian role in Sex and the CitySex and the City
Sex and the City is an American television comedy-drama series created by Darren Star and produced by HBO. Broadcast from 1998 until 2004, the original run of the show had a total of ninety-four episodes...
as Amalita Amalfi.
Production details
This episode was the first time James Marsters met director David GreenwaltDavid Greenwalt
David Greenwalt is an American screenwriter, director and producer.He was the co-executive producer of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and co-creator of its spinoff, Angel. He is also co-creator of the short-lived cult television show Profit...
, despite working on the second season of Buffy together. "I was just a guest star, and I had no reason to go up to the writers' offices. I didn't go to the gods at that point," says Marsters. He says that Greenwalt is "exceptional" at inspiring actors to perform their best.
Actress Julie Benz says her last appearance as Darla in the flashback scenes of this episode was "a great way for us to... say goodbye to our characters, to be together and to have some fun." She was relieved to shoot such a "playful" scene, "because anything else I think would have been too hard; too difficult; too painful." She adds the sheet she was wrapped in kept snagging on the camera dolly and falling down. "It was a great way to end; flashing everybody!" she says.
Writing
It is a commonly held but mistaken belief that the producers sought Sarah Michelle GellarSarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze , known professionally by her birth name of Sarah Michelle Gellar , is an American actress, singer and executive producer...
for this episode. Another actress played Buffy Summers in a faraway shot of her dancing with The Immortal in a nightclub. In fact, the intention of this episode was always that neither Buffy nor the Immortal would be clearly seen. Gellar was actually sought for the penultimate episode "Power Play", but proved unavailable because she was busy finishing the filming of The Grudge
The Grudge
The Grudge is the 2004 American remake of the Japanese film Ju-on: The Grudge, and the first horror film in the Ju-on series, Ju-on 1. The film is the first installment in the American horror film series The Grudge...
. Writer David Fury explains this in an interview with Mike Jozic:
David Greenwalt refers to this episode as "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. They are courtiers who are set by the king to spy on Hamlet, using their claimed friendship with him to gain his confidence. The characters were revived in W. S...
go to Rome."
Continuity
- The canonical eighth seasonBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season EightBuffy the Vampire Slayer Season Eight is a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics. The series serves as a canonical continuation of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and follows the events of that show's final televised season. It is produced by Joss Whedon, who wrote the...
comic retconRetconRetroactive continuity is the alteration of previously established facts in a fictional work. Retcons are done for many reasons, including the accommodation of sequels or further derivative works in a series, wherein newer authors or creators want to revise the in-story history to allow a course...
s the identity of the Immortal's blonde consort; Buffy (as narrator) says: "The guys figured I was a target. Set up two other Slayers to be me. ... One's in Rome, partying very publicly – and supposedly dating some guy called 'The Immortal.' That part was Andrew's idea. He did research on the guy, said it would be hilarious for some reason" — apparently the reason being a prank aimed at Spike and Angel. - This episode makes reference to Buffy's speech to Angel in "Chosen". Of course, this is not explicitly explained, leaving Spike immensely confused by Angel's seemingly random statement.
Angel: But she's not finished baking yet. I gotta wait till she's done baking, you know, till she finds herself, 'cause that's the drill. Fine. I'm waitin' patiently, and meanwhile, The Immortal's eatin' cookie dough!
- Although Angel and Spike have a particularly acrimonious relationship where Buffy is concerned, this adventure (and Buffy having moved on from them both) provides them with somewhat of a bonding experience - they drink together, engage in their most civil dialogue to date, and reminisce about the past. It is also relevant that Andrew, when sending the vampires, mentions that Buffy does love both of them. In the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Buffy had told Spike that she loved him, and he had told her "No you don't, but thanks for saying it."
- Spike complains about the duster he'd 'ripped off a dead slayer' (Nikki Wood, Slayer from the 1970s and mother of Robin Wood, who appears in the final season of Buffy). Clips of the encounter range through the seasons, most notably 'Lies My Parents Told Me' (Season 7)
- This is perhaps the only episode when Angelus is portrayed as anything but a manipulative sociopath, joining Spike as being the target of many comical misfortunes, ranging from their mutual disbelief that Darla and Drusilla had been seduced "concurrently" by the Immortal to suffering the indignity of being denied entrance to one of the Immortal's parties while seeking a 'Blood Vengeance.'
- Along with "Becoming, Part One", "Fool for Love" and "DarlaDarla (Angel episode)"Darla" is episode 7 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written and directed by Tim Minear, it was originally broadcast on November 14, 2000 on the WB television network. In this episode, Angel tries to rescue Darla from the clutches of Wolfram & Hart and Lindsey's affections, as she...
", this is one of only four Buffyverse episodes in which all four members of the Whirlwind (Angel, Spike, Darla and Drusilla) appear.
Cultural references
- The brief scene in black-and-whiteBlack-and-whiteBlack-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
of Spike and Drusilla in an Italian jazz club resembles the style of Italian modernist films from the early 1960s by the likes of Fellini and Antonioni. - Andrew is seen wearing a Strong Bad t-shirt from the popular internet website Homestar RunnerHomestar RunnerHomestar Runner is a Flash animated Internet cartoon. It mixes surreal humor with references to retro pop culture, notably video games, classic television, and popular music.The cartoons are nominally centered on the title character, Homestar Runner...
. - Upon finding out that Buffy is dating The Immortal Spike declares "It's Worse!", in classic 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...
style.