You're an Office Manager and I'm Dead

Episode 2.17: Disharmony. Original Airdate: 4.17.01

“Angel and his friends fight a new vampire running a motivational pyramid scheme. And Cordelia helps her old friend Harmony, who’s now a vampire.”
 

So in the season three finale of Buffy, Harmony got bit by a vampire – then the next season revealed she was one and dated Spike, and then had a hissy-fight with Xander. Then this season she had minions, making Buffy laugh a lot, dated Spike some more, broke up with Spike for the third time,  and now you’re all caught up!

 

Daniel’s Thoughts:

• So it’s the end of that Angel avoids his friends Arc.  But not quite since we’re in the apology phase of it. Wesley is laying down the law by giving a speech.
• Angel acts like a sorry puppy and the rest of the gang are overdoing it a bit, giving him coffee orders & treating him like an intern.  
• I know he deserves it, but I hope they’ll get over it soon cause it’s not as fun to watch as they think it is.
• After the credits – random couple making out in a car.  Don’t you know that’s dangerous?  And as if on cue, hooded hooligans smash in their windows.
• To be fair, Wes & Cordelia & Gunn really do seem like they’re really organizing the business.
• Cordelia: “Just so we understand each other – you and I? we’re not friends.”  And, harsh but again fair.  Anyway, you don’t always have to be friends with your co-workers. [I’m confused. – Z, Daniel’s  coworker and friend]
• Cordelia gets a vision of the lovebirds.
• The gang rush off to help the couple.  Cordelia stays.
• And then Harmony sneaks in!  “I haven’t seen you since-“ “The high school blew up!”  Yes – since she vamped out.  Nice to stay in touch, Cordelia.
• Harmony makes a neck comment so we know she’s a vampire.  Eh? Eh?
• They vaguely discuss their lives the past couple of years without revealing anything too intimate or supernatural.
• And the gang kills vamps in green robes!   But Gunn remembers that Cordelia said it was blue robes. I remember black robes?
• Anyway, Gunn runs off and Angel tells Wesley he gave Cordelia the night off.  Wesley reminds him that he can’t buy their friendship or trust. 
• “Where’s my Sorry-I-Got-Shot-In-the-gut bouquets.” Lol.
• Meanwhile Cordelia & Harmony are having a girls night in with robes and wine.  Wait, did they shower together?  Is this what straight girls do? 

Just gals bein' pals

• They reminisce about high school when Cordelia was popular and stuff.  Hey Harmony, remember that time Cordy called you a sheep?
• This is kinda honest tho – You can be an adult with someone you had a weird relationship with in HS.
• Harmony is more vague about her life. She says she’s….hungry and then briefly vamp faces while Cordelia is reaching for the phone to order pizza.  And I guess that’s for the viewers who didn’t watch Buffy. And to create some intrigue I suppose.  
• Later Harmony sneaks into Cordelia’s room.  Phantom Dennis slams the door to warn her. “I have a ghost,” Cordelia tells Harmony nonchalantly. 
• And then Harmony talks vaguely about Cordelia being luscious and haha, gay humor.
• It’s all so awkward and weird.
• Oh hey, it’s Willow!  Cordelia is calling Willow. How does Cordelia have Willow’s dorm phone number?  It’s not as if they were ever really friends.
• And now there’s more awkward gay/vampire misunderstandings and I don’t remember there being that much.
• Finally Willow clears things up about Harmony. And then Cordelia says “Great big lesbo” which holy shit.
• And Willow comes out to her. “That’s great!,” says Cordelia, “Good for you!” “Thanks for the affirmations,” Willow rightfully snarks.  I wonder why Cordelia didn’t follow up with, “Then why did you hook up with my boyfriend, you ho?” 
• Anyway Willow calls Angel to warn him.  He and Wes bust in.
• But apparently Cordelia & Harmony are all ok with everything.  And she’s weirded out that Wes & Angel would think she wouldn’t be.
• I remember this episode being more wacky funny than wacky awkward.  I was wrong.
• Cordy & Wes bring Cordelia back to the office.  Harmony doesn’t want to stay alone with the ghost so she goes too.
• Harmony does what she does best, annoys.
• Angel distracts her with blood but she ends up just enticing him by asking him how he can stand not drinking human blood.
• Gunn comes back with intel. He says a flirty hello to Harmony before Wes reveals she’s a vamp. He takes it in quick and continues with his intel: Vamps are recruiting.
• And then…okay. I really don’t remember this part of episode – but there’s a vampire pyramid scheme going on.  The emcee motivational speaker vampire is explaining the rules to the vamp crowd.  They’re all wearing different robes depending on what part of the pyramid they’re on I guess.  But the ones on the higher tiers seem to be learning the same as the one on the lower tiers.  I dunno. It’s fine. Wacky episode, remember?
• SHENANIGANS.  Harmony spills coffee on the keyboard….and the rest of the computer bugs out.  Only the keyboard would short out.
  
• It’s time for Cordy to distract Harmony.  She brings her to Caritas.
• She sings “The Way We Were” and of course it’s terrible.
• Harmony is eating potato skins with her blood. I forget where we were on the vamps eating regular food thing.  I think they can eat it but they can’t really taste it or….it doesn’t do anything for them nutritionally?  Anyway, it’s in character so I’ll allow it.
• Meanwhile the gang stops by because they need Cordy’s help.  And then Harmony hustles along behind them declaring that she’s one of the good guys now & wants to join them, much to everyone’s chagrin.
• Anyway, Harmony annoys everyone - again – as Cordelia finds the “big red bird” from her vision.
• Angel gives Cordelia a good talking to. “She’s the enemy. Harmony will turn on you.” SPOILERS!
• “You didn’t just hurt me. You gave away my clothes”. HA! Nice continuity there.
• “Imagine if you had gone nuts and slept with Darla.” “I would never do that,” he lies.
• There’s a lot of security in the building against people with souls so Cordy suggests Harmony go in as a spy.
• After some convincing, she does it.
• Harmony comes out, seemingly helping them inside.  But of course…she’s betrayed them.  And now everyone is surrounded by vamps.
• Big fight with multiple vamps. Cordelia gets thrown in the air by Harmony.  Wes fights the leader.  He calls Angel by name and seems to know him.
• And Cordelia double crossbows & it looks badass:

• “It’s nothing personal. I’m evil! We’re still friends, right?” – One thing I love about Harmony is that she’s uniquely and consistently written.
• Cordelia lets Harmony live because she still has her soul at least.
• Ha!  And Angel bought Cordelia a whole bunch of clothes and I guess all is forgiven.

 

Zelda’s Thoughts:

• There was a seven week hiatus between Angel’s big epiphany and this. So that’s a thing.
• Me: “All right, ‘Disharmony.’ Disharmony on you, Disharmony on your cow.” // Daniel: *ignores me*
• Wes is lecturing Angel about how he has to behave like a good little boy and show him proper respect and get out of Dad’s Wes’s boss office.
• *snort* Cordy set up a folding table for Angel’s new working space. And now he’s on a coffee run for the whole group. “Man, atonement’s a bitch.” And that’s how we know that even though we had basically the most important (at least the most quoted) scene in Angel’s run last episode, we’re gonna be a bit sillier this episode.
• Random couple making out in random car, random hooded figures attacking said random car, you know how it goes.
• Ooooh Allyson Hannigan as Willow, special guest star.
• Cordy’s changed so much since early Sunnydale. She’s excited to fight the good fight and help the helpless, she’s wearing muted colors, but to Angel she reminds him, “you and I, we’re not friends.”
• Cordy’s clearly suffering a worse headache than usual after a new vision, which is hey, another arc.
• But as she schmuck baits her way around the hotel lobby, suddenly: Harmony! How did Harmony find her? Oh right, enhanced vampire nostrils.
• “You got a place to stay?” // “You offering?” // “Do I have to say it?” // “Yeah.” *snort*
• Angel and gang to the rescue of random couple!
• But Angel’s still floundering at the whole human interactions, asking Wes if he should send Cordy flowers, and Wes asks for a “sorry you were shot in the gut” bouquet. That’s right, the gang doesn’t know he’s the reason the zombie cops suddenly dropped. I guess props to Angel for not trying to get points back by telling them.
• Meanwhile Cordy’s trying to explain how much happier she is with her new purpose than when she was Queen C, but when Harmony only laughs, Cordy, embarrassed, starts laughing to cover up that moment of vulnerable honesty.  Meanwhile, Harmony’s still not sharing much, but in case anyone watching hasn’t seen Buffy, we do get a quick look at Harmony’s vamp face.
• Come on, Harmony, you’re so lonely and starved for affection, would you really contemplate drinking from Cordelia when you could suck on a stranger?
• But now it’s time for some “funny” ambiguous language about Harmony having urges while looking at Cordy, so hey there #gaymetaphor. Cordy, a great ally, “I don’t care about that, not as long as you’re happy.”
• There’s not really an explanation for why Harmony hasn’t eaten in a while. It’s not like she’s trying blood abstinence. A conscience still hasn’t occurred to her.
• Awwwww baby Willow in baby dorm, brushing her (not-baby) teeth.
• And Willow, cracking me up, “we’re all clear on the fact that Harmony’s a vampire, right?”
• Also Willow comes out to Cordy and Cordy is way less convincing as a gay ally with her forced enthusiasm at that reveal. Also, after being so accepting and loving earlier, to immediately call Harmony a “big ol’ lesbo” behind her back is just … come on, dude.

• Angel’s bouncing off the walls trying to be useful but the truth is Wes, Gunn, and Cordy had already worked out a fairly good balance of their skills without him.
• Wes: “[VampHarmony] is not your friend. That thing may have your friend’s memories and her appearance, but it’s just a filthy demon, an unholy monster. (Off Harmony’s small look of vulnerability) … no offense.” // Harm: “About what?”
• They’re costuming Charisma in a lot of bare midriff outfits this season. I’m not saying she doesn’t look amazing, but I have questions as to the Why of it. (yes, yes I know the reason, I’M JUST POINTING IT OUT)
• Wes is getting annoyed at Harmony popping her gum (she then disposes of said gum by tearing out a page from Wesley’s book, THE MONSTER), and he actually comes at her with a stake, very “so I said to her, I said, you pop that gum one more time” and then there’s a big dance break.
• Gunn, after eye-flirting with Harmony, then finding out she’s a vampire, does some amazing face acting on his recoil, before saying “Don’t we kill ‘em anymore?”

(thanks Lucas for the gif!)

• When we reveal the theater full of robed vampires getting sucked into the pyramid scheme, my stomach just sinks at the idea of trying to manage our body count stats.
• I love the lack of subtlety. All Doug the Cult Leader’s iconography is pyramid shaped. They want to make sure we get it.

• Also I’m cracking up that Doug Sanders was a pyramid scheme life coach as a human, and is doing the same thing now that he’s a vamp. That is … quite the mustache.
• Aww, Cordy brings Harmony to Caritas. That means … MY BEST FRIEND LORNE.
• “I think your friend should reconsider the name Harmony.”
• “I picked up on the ‘betwixt and between,’ ‘gotta find my corner of the sky’ vibe.” and wow, he got two musical theater references into one sentence. I love him.
• Gunn: “Just so we on the same page, when we find this vampire cult, we are gonna kill ‘em right?”
• Harmony’s decided she’s one of the good guys now. The problem is the good guys are all profoundly annoyed by her presence.
• “I am an evil fighter. That’s why I suck at being evil, I was meant to fight evil.”
• Cordelia spots the bird from her vision but it’s not red … but luckily Angel shows he can be useful, turns on a red neon light and suddenly … red bird!
• Angel tries to remind Cordy that it’s in Harmony’s nature to turn on him. Cordelia calls out him claiming his soul as being his true nature and making him de facto good, by pointing out how shitty he was recently while ensouled (she also specifically identifies one of his big betrayals of giving away her clothes). Also Angel reminds us what a bad liar he can be, saying Cordy knows he’d never sleep with Darla. Remember how he was a good liar for one episode, tricking Faith into thinking he was Angelus?
• Anyway, they’re sending Harmony into the cult as their mole, forgetting that she has, as Chip Mulaney would say, the “the moral backbone of a chocolate éclair.”
• Harmony comes to fetch the gang, sneaking them in the back, chattering loudly the whole time, thanking them for helping her find her purpose … which of course is betraying them to the vampire cult, because she’s a scorpion and nature can’t be denied, booboo.
• I mean, Cordy told us years ago: Harmony’s a sheep.
• Fighty fight oh god how do we count. Oh good a bunch of them are running away after Angel stakes exactly one vamp, wow.
• Cordy, being a badass, aiming a crossbow at Harmony’s throat. H: “That won’t kill me.” // C: “No, it’ll just hurt like hell (raising second crossbow aimed at Harmony’s heart) This one will kill you.”
• Harmony, tearful, asks if she and Cordy are still friends. Cordy lets her go, but no, they’re not friends. And to Angel, also not currently her friend, “Don’t say anything. Not a word.”
• And for our comic coda, as Wes talks to Angel about giving Cordy time to forgive him, we see that Angel heard Cordy earlier and bought her many bags of colorful clothes, and she’s so fucking adorably excited, and even Angel’s mirroring happiness and excitement is adorable, and y’all know how rarely I think this man is adorable these days.

 

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: “I think your friend should reconsider the name Harmony” – Lorne, in response to Harmony’s singing
Zelda: “I picked up on the ‘betwixt and between,’ ‘gotta find my corner of the sky’ vibe.” – Lorne
 

Arc/Continuity:

First Appearance: Harmony Kendall, Willow Rosenberg
Recurring: Lorne, Phantom Dennis
Generally Known TV Face: Pat Healy, Rebecca Avery
Buffy Crossover: Harmony Kendall, Willow Rosenberg
Whedonverse Hat Trick: Adam Weiner (Caged Guy on Angel, Simon on Buffy)
Lorne’s Nicknames: My Little Cacophony (Harmony)
 

Caritas Song List

“The Way We Were”

 

Stats:

Cordelia’s Hair – blonde highlights, hair gathered back with clip and headband because it’s super short y’all; later, down, pin-straight, side-part

Dead Humans – 0
Dead Undeads – 6
Dead Flashbacks – 0
Dead Lawyers – 0
Cordelia Has a Vision – 1
Wesley Prat-falls – 0
Angel Prat-falls – 1
Lawyered Ex Machina – 0
Evil Reveal – 0
Unevil Reveal – 0
Duh Reveal – 1 (of course Harmony turned on them. Come on, y’all)
Shenanigans Called – 1
Apocalypse Called – 0
Prophecy Called – 0

All That Matters Is What We Do

 Episode 2.16: Epiphany. Original Airdate: 2.27.01

“Angel has an epiphany which has him questioning his actions over the past few months. Meanwhile, the three eyed demon clan is after Gunn, Wes and Cordy. It’s up to Angel to save them … if they can all start trusting him again.”
 

Zelda’s Thoughts:

All right y’all. Let’s have us an epiphany.
Starting where we left off, with Angel waking post-coital with a gasp. As in Buffy, he runs out into the rain, his shirt half on. Pretty sure this rain only exists at the Hyperion, since Cordy doesn’t seem to encounter it on her money-getting errand/trap.
Darla assumes what we’re all assuming (if we don’t know the future), that his soul is flying the coop and soon he’ll be smoking and wearing eyeliner again.
But Angel looks at her, stricken. “You saved me.”
And he apologizes to her. And somehow that apology makes her realize it didn’t take. “You saved me. I’m sorry I couldn’t do the same thing for you.”
She even asks the same thing poor Buffy asked, “Was it not good?”
Angel agrees it was perfect. “It was perfect despair.”
He says she’s always been the reason, for everything. (um, okay) I don’t quite know why he’s classifying sex with her as saving him from what he was sinking to.
But on the plus, what she’s saying is making him recall echoes of the message Kate left, and he rushes off to save her. And he’s able to enter her home, even though he’s never been invited in. And he couldn’t save Darla. But he can save Kate.
Powers-That-Be intervention? Or was she truly, momentarily dead?
Honestly I have to go with PTB because … if she was dead he would have had to do CPR, and he told us he couldn’t administer it to Buffy in “Prophecy Girl” because he has no breath. If the show doesn’t want me to call shenanigans, it has to be PTB intervention.
Darla’s back at Lindsey’s, where he knows he has to keep her even more of a secret. But she’s got the ring that Angel stole, and Lindsey recognizes it. Apparently after Angel swiped it they disenchanted it, so Darla doesn’t even get her Power Ring. She’s having a rough year.
Caritas in off hours! Lorne’s got an adorable honeycomb-colored robe. 

He thinks Angel’s turned a corner. Heyo we’re done with Beige Angel! Swank.
“It’s called a moment of clarity, my lamb. And you’ve just had one.”
Angel doesn’t know how to get back to what he was. “Well, that’s just the thing. You don’t. You go on to the new place, whatever that is.” I love this.
Wow, Lorne even gives Angel the out that the wine cellar slaughter would have happened with or without Angel’s help. And like. I just. I get not holding Angel accountable for Angelus’s atrocities. But he needs to be held accountable for stuff he does while still in possession of his soul.
Lorne tells Angel he needs to save the rest of his team, and I have so many questions about how Lorne knows any of this. No one’s singing. I thought singing is how he unlocks his thang. But he just seems to be in possession of all necessary knowledge, from Angel’s sexing to his not-beiging, to the team in danger, and you know what, this time I am calling a shenanigan.
Anyway, Cordy arrives at the Sharp home, and no one’s there, the lights are out, but the door is apparently unlocked so she lets herself in and I know she has seen horror movies come on.
Welp, that’s four dead bodies on the floor.
And she has a vision too late to save herself. She shouts to the PTB: “That was helpful!”
Aw man, since this is the same night as last ep, poor Wes is wheeling around his apartment, newly dumped, when he hears what we know is Skilosh demons approaching. And he can’t reach his weapons, though he’s trying.
Oh he got the shotgun down. Good job Wes.
But it’s Angel at the door, demanding to be invited in before the demons can get to him. And soon enough, hey, that’s two demons down.
Wes almost smiles in triumph at Angel, then remembers, and frowns: “What are you doing here?”
*snort* Lindsey, after pouting on the couch, gets his cowboy boots out of the closet. Yee-haw!
Wes is in the car with Angel, off to try to rescue Gunn and Cordy, but he’s still not too fond of broody boy.
And Angel’s doing this fake-cheerful attempt at bonding (over gut-wounds) that I always superhate from him because they’re going for funny awkward but it’s so far away from Angel’s energy that I don’t even buy it as an overcompensation. I’m really gonna hate it when it comes back in S5 with Wes’s father.
Aaaaaaaaand hey it’s time for another Please Why No Stop recurring theme of demons forcibly injecting Cordelia with their spawn and CAN WE PLEASE FUCKING NOT.
Wes reminds Angel that he doesn’t know the team anymore, that Cordelia isn’t the party girl he seems to think she still is. “It’s the visions, you see. The visions that were meant to guide you. You could turn away from them. She doesn’t have that luxury.” I guess they’re implying that she’s continued to have visions we haven’t been seeing?
Meanwhile Gunn and Wes have a secret handshake now. Angel’s feeling all jealous. Good.
“Does it make sense that she would go there in the middle of the night without calling either one of you?” // “They owe us money.” // “Let’s go.”
Aaaaaaaaand Cordy’s got that third eye spawn thing going on.
Wes and Gunn are both pretty dismissive of Angel’s epiphany. “That’s real good that you can have one of those. Ain’t that good, Wes? Cuz, you know, epiphanies, they handy. When do you think you might be having another one? … No, I’m interested, you know, cuz they could strike at any time. Could be the next time you see one of them lawyers, you get all epiphanied off right back at them.”
Welp, that’s five Skilosh here to attack our three in the car. Angel tells the other two to keep driving to Cordelia, while he stays to fight the ones that found them.
But before they can battle, the quintet all scatter—because Lindsey and his cowboy boots and old truck have shown up and he literally crashes his car right into Angel and his epiphany.
I have a hard time believing Lindsey’s been lawyering around in this truck. Did he just keep this as his spare vehicle for when his cowboy self re-emerged? With how difficult parking is in LA?

Lawyer Lindsey now available in Farmhand Lindsey

Hot damn, he’s got a big ol’ mallet to beat Angel up with. This isn’t toxic masculinity at allllllll, beating someone up for having sex with someone who’s not even your actual partner. Nothing gross to see here, moving along.
So since Angel didn’t do battle with the five Skilosh, does that mean they have circled back to the Sharp house and in fact will be there to hurt our trio? Angel, already failing on his redemption mission.
But first let’s have him beat the shit out of Lindsey, including the fairly brutal blow of smashing his prosthetic hand with the mallet. “Could have been the other one. Just be glad I had an epiphany.” Before then, he did get in an apology that hit some valid points, including that he didn’t try harder to save Lindsey when it seemed possible to save him, last season.
Wes has come so close to giving us some pratfalls, but I’m grateful he hasn’t, since he would definitely tear his stitches. But the almost-falls are still amusing. He’s a good physical comedian.
Angel smashes Lindsey’s truck into the house, which is the confirmation we didn’t need that the entire Sharp family is dead. Sorry, Cordy, you’re still not getting paid.
The eye-spawn thing is undone by Wes, Angel fights off the demons, I have about 30 questions about why they didn’t just plant their spawn in Mama Sharp, and why they seem to have just fled now because I don’t think Angel killed them, but whatever, let’s get to the emotional beats.
No, you know what, before we get to that, shenanigans on the whole Skilosh masterplan. They should have implanted in all the Sharps rather than slaughtering them, and they shouldn’t have just fled in disgrace when Cordy was un-implanted. We’ll never see them again so I guess their vengeance vendetta is an only-sometimes situation?
Why is it a recurring issue on this show, that even when their emotional arc stuff is strong, the minutae of the demon-of-the-week is invariably sloppy? It wasn’t this consistently sloppy on Buffy.
Cordy tells Angel he really hurt her feelings, and lets Wes and Gunn help her, Angel returns the  car to Lindsey with a “Thanks” message, Lindsey sees that Darla has moved out, and Angel and Kate finally have their heart to heart.
“In the greater scheme or the big picture, nothing we do matters. There’s no grand plan, no big win … If there is no great glorious end to all this, if nothing we do matters, then all that matters is what we do. Cuz that’s all there is.” This is the line, the line people always quote when they talk about why they love Angel. The notion that even with no final reward to expect, the fight is still worth it. Doing good is still worth it. Being good is still worth it, as end in itself. It’s the most important thing. It doesn’t have to be about one grand gesture that saves the world. It can be one small gesture that makes one part of the world a better place.
It’s also a reiteration of his conversation with Buffy in “Gingerbread.” “We never win … We never will. That’s not why we fight. We do it cuz there’s things worth fighting for.” Wait does that mean his epiphany is something he already knew two years ago? And that another show already covered? Oops.
Ooooooops.
Kate’s had her own little epiphany, having survived her suicide, and she’s ready to keep fighting. “I think maybe we’re not alone in this.” // “Why?” // “Because I never invited you in.” I think she’s siding with the PTB intervention too.
And for our final emotional beat, Angel visits the office where the trio are. “I’m sorry.”
And in another capitulation, he doesn’t want them to work for him anymore. He wants to work for them. “Why?” // “Because I think I can help.” And that’s right. They’re the ones who didn’t abandon the mission, whose commitment has been unshaken. Better to follow their lead, and work on re-earning their trust.
“Let’s go.”
 

Daniel’s Thoughts:

 
Rainy windy evening at the Hyperion. We start where we left off.  Angel wakes.  Is his soul leaving his body like when he slept with Buffy? Let's see.
Darla joins him on the balcony satisfied with herself.  She wanted this.  She expected this.  
She thinks he needs a fresh kill to wipe away the memory of his soul.
She also admits she was planning on killing him.  
Whoops, he still has his soul. The thing is, Angel’s not playing her here. He genuinely feels sorry for her.  What we're seeing is Angel's [insert title of episode here].
I dunno. I think Darla is smarter than this. Especially as an ex-prostitute, she should know that orgasm doesn’t equal perfect happiness.  But maybe she trusted in their centuries old relationship.  Vampires can be idealistic too.
When Darla says “I trusted you,” Angel suddenly remembers Kate.
He runs to her apartment.  He’s able to come in – I’m assuming because she was legally dead on the ground.  I’m not really sure how Angel saves her.  He drags her into the shower but that’s about it.  He has no breath so he can’t do CPR.  Does that mean she wasn’t actually dead when Angel entered?  It’s a bit odd. [Wait. - 40 Minutes Later Daniel]
Meanwhile Darla is back home and Lindsey arrives.  He’s so in love with her and Christian Kane really sells it.
This scene is too long.  Lindsey finds out Darla & Angel are together and he acts like a jealous boyfriend.
Caritas. Angel comes to tell Lorne about what happened; ask for advice.
He feels guilty about the death of the lawyers. And other things he's done.
“I’m not your link with the powers, Angel. I never was.”  Yeah, that was Cordelia.
Lorne: “It depends on whether or not they live through the night. “  How does Lorne know this?
Cut to Cordelia…being dropped off by a taxi to the Sharp residence.  She kinda just walks in?  The door was open but still weird to do.
She finds the entire Sharp family dead.  She has a vision and kinda…too late?  Wish she had the vision in the cab. “That was helpful,” she shouts to the heavens & I laugh.
We don’t see what happens to Cordy but she wakes up after being knocked out.
“Three are responsible. Three must pay.”  The demons have a third eye in the back of their head.  Cordelia realizes the connection now.
Cut to Wesley.  He hears the demons coming but he’s stuck in his wheelchair.  It’s a nice tense and suspenseful moment while he's trying to get his shotgun from the closet.  A shotgun isn't the first weapon I'd associate with Wesley.  He seems more of an axe man, being a demon hunter and all - but I'll allow it.
Angel arrives to the rescue! He begs Wesley to invite him in.  He does. The demons break through the window. They fight.
Wesley shoots  one.  Eww, Yellow gory blood. 

Unintentional Homoerotic Content

Wes does a quick smile but then he remembers that he’s angry with Angel and asks what he’s doing there and it’s very cute and so in character.
And now Angel is being awkward and it’s also sweet. 

We could call it an epiphany as the title suggests or Angel might be bipolar?
“Guess who stabbed me,” “Darla?” Heh.
Wesley fills Angel in on the Skilosh demons.  They’re an interesting species: Asexual, they reproduce by infecting a human host….that explodes out of the human when it’s born.  What a fun existence.
And for the second time this series, Cordelia has been impregnated by a demon.  
Angel and Wesley look for Cordelia at the office but of course she’s not there.  We still haven’t seen Gunn.
Angel thinks she’s out with friends but Wes shows Angel that he doesn’t know Cordy as well as he thinks he does.  He tells Angel that she’s changed partly because of the visions. Angel is shamed and rightfully so.
Gunn’s back. For some reason Wes thought he was leaving for good.  I didn’t get that from the last episode.  I’m not sure why Wes did.
Angel is pretty much in goofy repentance mode and it’s silly but I’m here for it.
Clues! Gunn figures out where Cordelia went. 
Cordelia, who has now passed out for a second time, wakes up.  [One day I'm gonna wake up in a coma - Cordy] This time, with a third eye in the back of her head.
“You just wake up and, ‘bang?’” “Kinda the other way around.” HA.
Holy crap! A demon just jumped into Angel’s moving car!
They fight it off.  But there are more coming.  Angel tells Gunn to take the car and get to Cordelia while he fights them off.
Angel’s about to fight when they run off.  Lindsey, in some weird truck runs him down.  

Farmhand Lindsey now comes with Truck from the 1930s!

Wes & Gunn are outside the house.  They see Cordy with her third eye with all the demons.  Wes says gestation might be almost complete – but the little girl had this eye for way more than just one night. SHENANIGANS.
Lindsey comes out looking like a farmer and hammers Angel. Wait. I mean with a literal hammer.  He’s pissed about Darla but he doesn’t know the whole story.  He thinks Angel did something to Darla.
Lindsey puts the hammer away and gets a stake.
“I’m sorry she’ll never love you.” Ouch.  Angel knocks Lindsey out and takes his truck.
Wes & Gunn have been captured. It’s all up to Angel now.
Oh hey, they want to impregnate Wes & Gunn now. 
Angel smashes though the living room with Lindsey's truck.  How did he know he wouldn’t hit his friends?
Anyway, Angel fights and kills the demons while Wes performs the magic spell to….er….abort the demon spawn.
Lindsey comes home to Darla being gone.
Oh hey, Kate stopped by the Hyperion.  
This is Kate’s last episode and for so long, I’d forgotten she had such a long arc. And I think I forgot that because it was a long arc – but it wasn’t a detailed one.   I’m glad she’s having a happy ending and an epiphany of her own.
Kate brings up a loose end as well and I’m glad she did.  She never invited Angel in, yet he was able to come in anyway.  And she wasn’t dead, as I thought….so something else intervened.  And It doesn’t feel forced.  It doesn’t feel like a plot hole. It feels earned. And it’s a nice moment.
“I don’t want you to come work for me.  I want to work for you.” And shut it, you’re crying.
And Cordy has another vision.  Some generic big scary.  Wesley says “Avengers Assemble” and the all go.  The gang is back together.

Favorite Lines:

Zelda: I was tempted to go with the line that everyone knows, but I really like this one too:  Angel: “I don’t know how to get back.” // Lorne: “Well, that’s just the thing. You don’t. You go on to the new place, whatever that is.”
Daniel: Gunn: “You just wake up and, ‘bang?’” Angel: “Kinda the other way around.” 

 

Arc/Continuity:

Recurring: Detective Kate Lockley (final episode), Lindsey McDonald, Lorne, Darla, Francine Sharp (as a corpse), Skilosh Demon
Lorne’s Nicknames: my lamb, sparky
 

Stats:

Cordelia’s Hair – well there’s this third-eye-egg situation
Dead Humans – 3
Dead Undeads – 2
Dead Flashbacks – 0
Dead Lawyers – 0
Cordelia Has a Vision – 2
Wesley Prat-falls – 0
Lawyered Ex Machina – 0
Evil Reveal – 0
Unevil Reveal – 1 (Angel isn’t Angelus … YET)
Shenanigans Called – 3
Apocalypse Called – 0
Prophecy Called – 0