This episode has Darla, Dru, Angel and Spike in it, which means I'm giving it 10 starts right out of the box. All four of them are together in very few scenes in the larger Buffyverse. (Basically, it's just "Darla," season five's the "Girl in Question" and "Fool for Love" over on BTVS.) It's really unfair, since their history and relationships are so important to BTVS and "Angel." Really, I kind of see Dru, Darla, Spike and Angel as an evil Scoobie gang. The four of them are a darker counterpoint to Buffy, Xander, Willow and Giles over on BTVS. Or Cordy, Angel, Wes and Gunn here on "Angel." They're all "family groups" who work together to survive and prosper, who occasionally fight with and betray each other, but who still love one another at the end of the day. Only I sort of like the vampires best. Spike and Angel are my favorite characters, and I just adore Darla and Dru. So really, "Darla" could be 48 or so minutes of them playing Scrabble and I'd still love it. Luckily, "Darla" is an excellent episode in and of itself. It gives Darla a back story, shows her fear of being human again and highlights her desperation to go back to her former vampire ways. It really moves the Angel and Darla story line forward and you need to see it if you're watching the season.
This episode revolves around "Darla." she's having trouble adjusting to the human world. Lindsey is becoming more and more attracted to her, but Darla is slipping. She destroys mirrors so she won't have to see her reflection and is beginning to see her soul as a "cancer." She's scared to live and scared to die. She calls Angel for help. Angel has been desperate to track Darla down. He wants to help her adjust to her soul, since he knows what she's going through. Wolfram and Hart sets things up so Angel has to "rescue" Darla from them. He takes her back to the Hyperion and tries to talk to her. Darla won't listen to his assurances that things will get better. She doesn't want to be human. She wants to be a vampire. She asks Angel to sire her, but he refuses. Darla runs off.
"Darla" corresponds with the BTVS season five episode "Fool for Love." (Which shows the scenes in London and during the Boxer Rebellion from Spike's point of view.) You really need to see them both to get the full story.
There's a lot to like about this episode. Lindsey's creepy fixation/romance with Darla is really interesting. I just adore Lindsey, so I like watching him betray everyone in an effort to keep her. Within a few episodes, he'll have separately double crossed Darla, Angel, and Wolfram and Hart so he can hold on to her. But, he's so oddly sympathetic that I always sort of vote for him. I also really like Wes and Cordy in this episode. They know that Angels' going down a dangerous path, but they can't take a stand and just walk away from him. They're worried about him and his choices (with good reason) but they won't leave him to battle things out on his own. It's sweet.
Mostly, though, I love the flashbacks in this episode. We have Darla in the Virgina Colony in 1609 as a dying prostitute, which is sad. Then Darla taking Angelus to meet the Master. It's really cool to see him again. And you just have to laugh when Angelus mutters that he'd never live in dirty sewers, isolated from humans, considering Angel will spend several decades doing just that. Then we switch to 1880, where Dru is pouting that she needs a playmate. She decided to sire "the bravest knight in the land." Dru spots William/Spike and Darla says, "Or you could just turn the first blubbering idiot that you come across." Dru has this thoughtful expression on her face as she stares after Spike, which fits in with later assertions in "Fool for Love" that she senses something special in him. Then we switch to Romania where Darla is trying to get Angel's curse lifted by threatening the gypsies. She, Spike and Dru have attacked their camp, but Darla apparently didn't explain her plan very well. Spike kills all their bargaining chips and Angel is stuck with a soul. (I wonder if Angel knows that part of the story and whether or not he'd thank Spike for inadvertently making him a White Hat.) Then, finally, we reach the Boxer Rebellion, where Spike kills a Slayer and Angel tries to rescue missionaries. In "Fool for Love" Spike claims that this was the "best night of his life." I think that maybe it rates so high, not just because of the Slayer's death, but because it was the last time he, Dru, Darla, and Angel would really be together. Angel can't go back to being Angelus, but he wants Darla too much to admit that he's changed. When Darla tries to push him into eating a baby, Angel can't. He rescues the baby and runs off. You're seeing all this playing out along side the "present day" story lines and it all just fits together really well. Angel left Darla because he had a soul and couldn't be evil anymore. Now Darla's leaving Angel because she has a soul, but she doesn't know how to be good. It's just really cool.
On the down side, I think it's sort of sad that we never know Darla's real name. Also, I'm not real clear on how the Master picked her out to sire. How did her get into her house?
My favorite part of the episode: Darla, Angel, Spike and Dru in the Boxer Rebellion. Just watching the four of them walking together, back lit by the fiery destruction, ROCKS. Have I mentioned that I love them?
This episode revolves around "Darla." she's having trouble adjusting to the human world. Lindsey is becoming more and more attracted to her, but Darla is slipping. She destroys mirrors so she won't have to see her reflection and is beginning to see her soul as a "cancer." She's scared to live and scared to die. She calls Angel for help. Angel has been desperate to track Darla down. He wants to help her adjust to her soul, since he knows what she's going through. Wolfram and Hart sets things up so Angel has to "rescue" Darla from them. He takes her back to the Hyperion and tries to talk to her. Darla won't listen to his assurances that things will get better. She doesn't want to be human. She wants to be a vampire. She asks Angel to sire her, but he refuses. Darla runs off.
"Darla" corresponds with the BTVS season five episode "Fool for Love." (Which shows the scenes in London and during the Boxer Rebellion from Spike's point of view.) You really need to see them both to get the full story.
There's a lot to like about this episode. Lindsey's creepy fixation/romance with Darla is really interesting. I just adore Lindsey, so I like watching him betray everyone in an effort to keep her. Within a few episodes, he'll have separately double crossed Darla, Angel, and Wolfram and Hart so he can hold on to her. But, he's so oddly sympathetic that I always sort of vote for him. I also really like Wes and Cordy in this episode. They know that Angels' going down a dangerous path, but they can't take a stand and just walk away from him. They're worried about him and his choices (with good reason) but they won't leave him to battle things out on his own. It's sweet.
Mostly, though, I love the flashbacks in this episode. We have Darla in the Virgina Colony in 1609 as a dying prostitute, which is sad. Then Darla taking Angelus to meet the Master. It's really cool to see him again. And you just have to laugh when Angelus mutters that he'd never live in dirty sewers, isolated from humans, considering Angel will spend several decades doing just that. Then we switch to 1880, where Dru is pouting that she needs a playmate. She decided to sire "the bravest knight in the land." Dru spots William/Spike and Darla says, "Or you could just turn the first blubbering idiot that you come across." Dru has this thoughtful expression on her face as she stares after Spike, which fits in with later assertions in "Fool for Love" that she senses something special in him. Then we switch to Romania where Darla is trying to get Angel's curse lifted by threatening the gypsies. She, Spike and Dru have attacked their camp, but Darla apparently didn't explain her plan very well. Spike kills all their bargaining chips and Angel is stuck with a soul. (I wonder if Angel knows that part of the story and whether or not he'd thank Spike for inadvertently making him a White Hat.) Then, finally, we reach the Boxer Rebellion, where Spike kills a Slayer and Angel tries to rescue missionaries. In "Fool for Love" Spike claims that this was the "best night of his life." I think that maybe it rates so high, not just because of the Slayer's death, but because it was the last time he, Dru, Darla, and Angel would really be together. Angel can't go back to being Angelus, but he wants Darla too much to admit that he's changed. When Darla tries to push him into eating a baby, Angel can't. He rescues the baby and runs off. You're seeing all this playing out along side the "present day" story lines and it all just fits together really well. Angel left Darla because he had a soul and couldn't be evil anymore. Now Darla's leaving Angel because she has a soul, but she doesn't know how to be good. It's just really cool.
On the down side, I think it's sort of sad that we never know Darla's real name. Also, I'm not real clear on how the Master picked her out to sire. How did her get into her house?
My favorite part of the episode: Darla, Angel, Spike and Dru in the Boxer Rebellion. Just watching the four of them walking together, back lit by the fiery destruction, ROCKS. Have I mentioned that I love them?