Okay, seriously, was I the only one completely fooled by this episode the first time through? I'll admit it. I bought into the whole plot line and fell for the all the "quick fixes" it offered. I sat there thinking, "Huh. This is sort of ripping off "Indiana Jones," isn't it? But at least everything's working out. Cordy and Angel are back together. Wes and Angel are friends again. The sun is back. Sure, I'll accept this." Then the show went and threw a curve ball that caught me completely off guard. I love this episode, and I actually appreciate it more every time I see it. It's just fun and it gives me such a nice glimpse into Angel's mind. Plus, it sets up one of my all-time favorite story lines in the entire Buffyverse: The return of Angelus. Love him! Anyway, I highly recommend that you see "Awakening."
This episode revolves around Team Angel trying to awaken Angelus. He's the only one who knows what the Beast is and they need to talk to him. In order to do that, they need to extract Angel's soul. In case there's anyone out there who doesn't know the back story here --which I kinna doubt-- a lot of this plot line goes back to BTVS season two. Angel lost his soul after sleeping with Buffy. (Hence his horrified whisper of her name as he looses his soul in this episode.) After rampaged through Sunnydale for half a season, Willow got Angel's soul back. Just a little bit late, as it turned out, but that's another story... Only Cordy was around back then, so the others don't really understand how bad Angelus can be. Angel resists the idea letting Angelus out, but Cordy talks him into it. Wes gets a mystic to start the ceremony.
Suddenly, the mystic tries to kill Angel and they have to fight him off. It turns out that he works for the Beast and, written in the tattoos all over his body, is the information they need. They discover that they can kill the Beast if they find a magic sword hidden under LA. Angel, Cordy, Wes and Conner go looking for it. Along the way they encounter a lot of Indiana Jones style traps. Spikes in walls, booby trapped floors, etc... (I especially like the bells on strings. If one rings it sets off the trap, so they have to move slowly. If you think of "It's a Wonderful Life" and the line "Everytime a bell rings an angel gets it wings," I think it's especially cool. Angel really doesn't want his soul to "fly" off. His unconscious is trying to keep the bells silent. But it's a losing battle. Just my take on it.)
Anyhow, Angel finally finds the sword. Along the way he reunites with Cordy and mends fences with Wes. He also tells all his friends how much he needs them. Conner helps him in the final fight against the Beast. After killing the Beast, the sun returns. Angel and Cordy sleep together. Angel realizes too late that, in making love, he's lost his soul. The scene switches back to the basement of the Hyperion and it becomes clear that everything was just Angel's dream. He experienced perfect happiness under the mystic guy's spell and has now lost his soul.
There are some great parts of this episode. What I like about it, though, is the insight it gives into Angel's deepest thoughts and desires. All it would take for him to be happy is for his own little world to be --just for a moment-- the beautiful place that he's always wished for. He wants to kill the bad guy, get the girl, bond with his kid and have friends who love him. It's all so sweet and simple. So his fantasy has all these great, almost childlike, elements. There's Indiana Jones, of course. But there's also Wes. All Angel wants is for Wes to say that he's sorry and when he does, Angel finally, totally forgive him. I especially like the fact that when they split up in the cave, Angel sends Conner with Wes. It's like he's healing the wound that Wesley kidnapping Conner caused and is starting over with a clean slate. And, I don't think that Angel knows why Wes and Gunn are fighting, but he even has them making up. Then there's Cordelia. She says that she loves him and she doesn't care about his past as Angelus. While Conner finally calls his father "Angel" and means it. (I also like that Angel and Conner's fight scene ties in with season five's "Not Fade Away.") Angel even has Wes and Fred doing advanced research with fancy sounding names, which sort of tells me that he never thinks their explanations for things are really clear. He just trusts that they know what they're doing and acts on it. Finally, I just love Angel's speech at the end. How he tell all his friends that they're Champions and he needs them to keep fighting. "Angel" is a show about family, team work & redemption and I think that Angel's little talk just summed up everything perfectly.
On the down side, a part of me wishes that Angel HAD gotten his perfect day. I just love him and I want him to be happy. It's a shame he doesn't go to Africa and fight those demon trials like Spike does in BTVS season six. Then Angel could have a soul without the curse and he could be finally have perfect happiness. Just a thought.
My favorite part of the episode: The last three seconds, when Angelus wakes up and starts laughing, just makes me smile every time.
This episode revolves around Team Angel trying to awaken Angelus. He's the only one who knows what the Beast is and they need to talk to him. In order to do that, they need to extract Angel's soul. In case there's anyone out there who doesn't know the back story here --which I kinna doubt-- a lot of this plot line goes back to BTVS season two. Angel lost his soul after sleeping with Buffy. (Hence his horrified whisper of her name as he looses his soul in this episode.) After rampaged through Sunnydale for half a season, Willow got Angel's soul back. Just a little bit late, as it turned out, but that's another story... Only Cordy was around back then, so the others don't really understand how bad Angelus can be. Angel resists the idea letting Angelus out, but Cordy talks him into it. Wes gets a mystic to start the ceremony.
Suddenly, the mystic tries to kill Angel and they have to fight him off. It turns out that he works for the Beast and, written in the tattoos all over his body, is the information they need. They discover that they can kill the Beast if they find a magic sword hidden under LA. Angel, Cordy, Wes and Conner go looking for it. Along the way they encounter a lot of Indiana Jones style traps. Spikes in walls, booby trapped floors, etc... (I especially like the bells on strings. If one rings it sets off the trap, so they have to move slowly. If you think of "It's a Wonderful Life" and the line "Everytime a bell rings an angel gets it wings," I think it's especially cool. Angel really doesn't want his soul to "fly" off. His unconscious is trying to keep the bells silent. But it's a losing battle. Just my take on it.)
Anyhow, Angel finally finds the sword. Along the way he reunites with Cordy and mends fences with Wes. He also tells all his friends how much he needs them. Conner helps him in the final fight against the Beast. After killing the Beast, the sun returns. Angel and Cordy sleep together. Angel realizes too late that, in making love, he's lost his soul. The scene switches back to the basement of the Hyperion and it becomes clear that everything was just Angel's dream. He experienced perfect happiness under the mystic guy's spell and has now lost his soul.
There are some great parts of this episode. What I like about it, though, is the insight it gives into Angel's deepest thoughts and desires. All it would take for him to be happy is for his own little world to be --just for a moment-- the beautiful place that he's always wished for. He wants to kill the bad guy, get the girl, bond with his kid and have friends who love him. It's all so sweet and simple. So his fantasy has all these great, almost childlike, elements. There's Indiana Jones, of course. But there's also Wes. All Angel wants is for Wes to say that he's sorry and when he does, Angel finally, totally forgive him. I especially like the fact that when they split up in the cave, Angel sends Conner with Wes. It's like he's healing the wound that Wesley kidnapping Conner caused and is starting over with a clean slate. And, I don't think that Angel knows why Wes and Gunn are fighting, but he even has them making up. Then there's Cordelia. She says that she loves him and she doesn't care about his past as Angelus. While Conner finally calls his father "Angel" and means it. (I also like that Angel and Conner's fight scene ties in with season five's "Not Fade Away.") Angel even has Wes and Fred doing advanced research with fancy sounding names, which sort of tells me that he never thinks their explanations for things are really clear. He just trusts that they know what they're doing and acts on it. Finally, I just love Angel's speech at the end. How he tell all his friends that they're Champions and he needs them to keep fighting. "Angel" is a show about family, team work & redemption and I think that Angel's little talk just summed up everything perfectly.
On the down side, a part of me wishes that Angel HAD gotten his perfect day. I just love him and I want him to be happy. It's a shame he doesn't go to Africa and fight those demon trials like Spike does in BTVS season six. Then Angel could have a soul without the curse and he could be finally have perfect happiness. Just a thought.
My favorite part of the episode: The last three seconds, when Angelus wakes up and starts laughing, just makes me smile every time.