The Price (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Price" is episode 19 of season 3 in the television show Angel
, originally broadcast on the WB
network
. In this episode, the Hyperion Hotel
is infested with silicone slug-like parasites that dry up their human hosts. When Fred
becomes infected, Gunn
turns to the angry and reclusive Wesley
for help. Angel is stunned when his lost infant son reappears, now an adolescent boy calling himself the Destroyer.
client is infected by a transparent slug-like parasite in the hotel
lobby. He goes to the juice bar across the street, where he chugs glass after glass of juice, saying, "We are thirsty." When Lorne informs him of the disturbance at the juice bar, Angel brings the infected man back to the hotel, where he collapses into a pile of human dust. When a slug-creature exits from the dust, the gang realizes the man was actually a parasitic host. The hotel is locked up tight and Angel sends everyone out with weapons to hunt for the slug. As they search, they realize that the hotel is teeming with the parasites, which suck their human hosts dry. Angel suspects that the infestation is a result of "thaumogenesis", a price for the dark magics that Angel conjured to try to find his son.
Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart
, Lilah
and Gavin once again quarrel with each other over their handling of Angel. Lilah and Gavin receive a top-secret e-mail about the consequences of Angel's dark magic at the hotel, which Lilah may also have to deal with since she was involved in the spell. She plans to rid the hotel of the slugs, until Gavin relays the message that Linwood wants Angel and the others to die for the torment he was put through.
After learning the creatures glow in the dark, Angel shuts off all of the lights in the hotel and tracks the slugs by sound to a large ballroom. Researching by the light of a lantern, Fred is attacked by one of the slugs, which slithers into her mouth. Realizing Fred has been infected, Gunn brings her to the rest of the gang in the abandoned ballroom, saying they need to get her to a hospital; Angel stands in the way, determined to keep more innocents from dying. Groosalugg
, hearing the slugs under the floor, breaks through the wood with an ax. Below, there is a hidden swimming pool, filled with the glowing slugs. They begin chasing after the gang. Everyone retreats to a kitchen and barricade themselves there, except for Gunn, who slips out to ask Wesley for help. Wesley is very bitter about his exile from the group and refuses until Gunn reveals that Fred has been infected. He tosses Gunn a bottle of alcohol and tells him he'll help this time, but he never wants to see any of his former friends again.
Angel takes the water away from Fred until the slug confesses that a vicious killer called The Destroyer has chased the slugs into this dimension in search of Angel. They try to press Fred for more information, but her condition worsens. Gunn shows up and directs Groo and Lorne to hold Fred down while they force her to drink alcohol. As it dehydrates her, she coughs up the slug and Groo stabs it with a sword. Meanwhile, the slugs close in on Cordelia
and Angel in the kitchen. Cordelia suddenly begins to glow a bright white, illuminating the entire hotel. This kills all the slugs and leaves everyone stunned by her new power.
Lorne reminds the gang of the coming of "the Destroyer" and, almost immediately, lights flash and a big nasty demon appears, followed shortly by a young man who quickly slays the demon. He smiles and points a weapon at Angel, saying, "Hi Dad."
passed through right before he was shot.
Vincent Kartheiser's name was placed at the end credits to keep his appearance a surprise.
for years in the hell dimension Quor-Toth, Connor has returned as a teenager.
Wesley warns Gunn not to come to him for help again, and the AI team resists calling him accordingly in the following episodes when his expertise would be useful.
The concept of thaumogenesis, a price for the use of magic, is also mentioned in the sixth season episode "After Life" as the Scooby Gang deals with the ramifications of their decision to resurrect Buffy
.
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
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
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, 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...
is infested with silicone slug-like parasites that dry up their human hosts. When 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:...
becomes infected, Gunn
Charles 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...
turns to the angry and reclusive 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...
for help. Angel is stunned when his lost infant son reappears, now an adolescent boy calling himself the Destroyer.
Plot
As Angel tries to deal with the loss of his son while cleaning up the earthquake damage upstairs, a potential Angel InvestigationsAngel Investigations
Angel Investigations is a fictional detective agency run by the title character Angel previously on the WB television series Angel . It is sometimes abbreviated as AI...
client is infected by a transparent slug-like parasite in the 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...
lobby. He goes to the juice bar across the street, where he chugs glass after glass of juice, saying, "We are thirsty." When Lorne informs him of the disturbance at the juice bar, Angel brings the infected man back to the hotel, where he collapses into a pile of human dust. When a slug-creature exits from the dust, the gang realizes the man was actually a parasitic host. The hotel is locked up tight and Angel sends everyone out with weapons to hunt for the slug. As they search, they realize that the hotel is teeming with the parasites, which suck their human hosts dry. Angel suspects that the infestation is a result of "thaumogenesis", a price for the dark magics that Angel conjured to try to find his son.
Meanwhile, at Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram and 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:...
, Lilah
Lilah Morgan
Lilah Morgan is a fictional character from the television series Angel, played by Stephanie Romanov. She is first introduced in the episode "The Ring," and appears in the show's first and second seasons. After Lindsey McDonald leaves Los Angeles, Lilah becomes the primary face of Wolfram & Hart,...
and Gavin once again quarrel with each other over their handling of Angel. Lilah and Gavin receive a top-secret e-mail about the consequences of Angel's dark magic at the hotel, which Lilah may also have to deal with since she was involved in the spell. She plans to rid the hotel of the slugs, until Gavin relays the message that Linwood wants Angel and the others to die for the torment he was put through.
After learning the creatures glow in the dark, Angel shuts off all of the lights in the hotel and tracks the slugs by sound to a large ballroom. Researching by the light of a lantern, Fred is attacked by one of the slugs, which slithers into her mouth. Realizing Fred has been infected, Gunn brings her to the rest of the gang in the abandoned ballroom, saying they need to get her to a hospital; Angel stands in the way, determined to keep more innocents from dying. Groosalugg
Groosalugg
The Groosalugg, nicknamed Groo, is a fictional character on the WB network's series Angel. He appeared in seasons 2 and 3, and is portrayed by Mark Lutz.-History:...
, hearing the slugs under the floor, breaks through the wood with an ax. Below, there is a hidden swimming pool, filled with the glowing slugs. They begin chasing after the gang. Everyone retreats to a kitchen and barricade themselves there, except for Gunn, who slips out to ask Wesley for help. Wesley is very bitter about his exile from the group and refuses until Gunn reveals that Fred has been infected. He tosses Gunn a bottle of alcohol and tells him he'll help this time, but he never wants to see any of his former friends again.
Angel takes the water away from Fred until the slug confesses that a vicious killer called The Destroyer has chased the slugs into this dimension in search of Angel. They try to press Fred for more information, but her condition worsens. Gunn shows up and directs Groo and Lorne to hold Fred down while they force her to drink alcohol. As it dehydrates her, she coughs up the slug and Groo stabs it with a sword. Meanwhile, the slugs close in on 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...
and Angel in the kitchen. Cordelia suddenly begins to glow a bright white, illuminating the entire hotel. This kills all the slugs and leaves everyone stunned by her new power.
Lorne reminds the gang of the coming of "the Destroyer" and, almost immediately, lights flash and a big nasty demon appears, followed shortly by a young man who quickly slays the demon. He smiles and points a weapon at Angel, saying, "Hi Dad."
Production details
According to the DVD commentary, the kitchen scenes in this episode were shot in the Ambassador Hotel in the kitchen area that Robert F. KennedyRobert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
passed through right before he was shot.
Vincent Kartheiser's name was placed at the end credits to keep his appearance a surprise.
Arc significance
After being raised by HoltzDaniel Holtz
Daniel Holtz is a fictional character on the television series Angel. He was played by Keith Szarabajka.-Character history:Holtz was an 18th century English vampire hunter who chased Angelus and Darla through much of Europe and North Africa. He had connections to an elite order of Inquisitors...
for years in the hell dimension Quor-Toth, Connor has returned as a teenager.
Wesley warns Gunn not to come to him for help again, and the AI team resists calling him accordingly in the following episodes when his expertise would be useful.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer references
When Angel says that it never snows in Southern California, Cordelia responds that "it did once", in reference to the third season Buffy episode "Amends". In that episode, the Powers That Be send a snowstorm to Sunnydale on Christmas Eve in order to prevent Angel from committing suicide by exposure to sunlight.The concept of thaumogenesis, a price for the use of magic, is also mentioned in the sixth season episode "After Life" as the Scooby Gang deals with the ramifications of their decision to resurrect 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...
.