Reprise (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"Reprise" is episode 15 of season 2 in the television show Angel
. Written by Tim Minear
and directed by James Whitmore, Jr., it was originally broadcast on February 20, 2001 on the WB network
. In this episode, Angel learns that during the impending Wolfram & Hart
75-Year Review, the firm is visited by one of the demonic Senior Partners. The demon wears a ring with the power to transport to the firm’s hellish Home Office, which Angel steals with the aid of a magically protective glove. When Angel travels to the Home Office, he learns it is on Earth, and depressed, seeks solace in Darla's arms. Meanwhile, Kate's
life falls apart when she is fired from the police force.
employees, who are nervous about something called "the Review". He asks Kate for information about the Review, but Kate - under investigation due to her involvement with odd cases - bitterly refuses, showing him crime scene photos from Holland Manners' wine cellar illustrating his involvement in the slaughter. Angel turns to Lorne, who is having a busy night as Caritas is full of Wolfram & Hart lawyers wanting to have their destinies read. Lorne tells Angel that a Wolfram & Hart Senior Partner (manifesting in the form of a lower demon) is coming to earth for the historically deadly Review, and that the sacrifices and rituals are simply the lawyers trying to get brownie points with the Senior Partner before he shows up. Lorne also tells Angel that the as anything that can manifest itself in our dimension can be killed and that something called the Band of Blacknil is important. Angel goes to leave but Lorne stops him and tells him one last thing... that pretty much every lawyer in the club really wants to see him dead, but you don't need to be a psychic to know that, given that everyone in the club is giving Angel hostile stares.
Meanwhile, at Angel Investigations, the team have successfully removed the third eye from the back of Stephanie Sharp's head. However Mrs. Sharp tells the gang that she has no intention of paying the bill and that as far as she is concerned Angel Investigations are running a scam since it is 'impossible' for a third eye to grow out the back of a skull, despite the fact that it was she who approached them with the problem. She and her daughter leave having successfully stiffed the gang for payment and an exasperated Gunn
leaves.
Lindsey
finds Darla waiting for him at home and she weakly tells him that Drusilla
is not returning to L.A.. He gives her a container of human blood; she stops feigning weakness and searches his briefcase while he is in the shower. Meanwhile, at the hotel Angel attempts to look up the Band of Blacknil but doesn't have much research material given that it all left along with Wesley. Angel then shows up at the office of his former employees uninvited and unwelcome, barely acknowledges his former friends and helps himself to a book. Cordelia
refuses to let him take it and grabs it off him, but Angel grows cold and deadly and it is clear he is willing to use force to get the book back. Wesley
rises from his wheelchair and tells Cordy to let Angel have the book so he can remove himself from the premises. She finally gives him the book and Angel leaves without a second thought. Cordelia vents about Angel until Wesley catches her attention: stitches from his healing gunshot wound have torn in the confrontation.
Angel returns to the bookstore he visited fifty years ago in search of information on the Senior Partner. A decades-older Denver tells Angel that it wears a ring that allows passage to Hell. To take the ring, Angel needs a one-of-a-kind magic glove that would allow him to strangle the Senior Partner without being incinerated. Denver gets the glove from the back room, but before he can give it to Angel, Darla stabs him with a sword and takes the glove.
Facing a review board during an Internal Affairs investigation, Kate is unceremoniously fired. She self-destructively deals with her dismissal by drinking and knocking her accolades to the floor, pausing to cry at a picture of her father. Virginia talks with Wesley about how much danger he's always in. With heartbreaking insight, Wesley acknowledges how difficult it must for her - to break up with him. Wesley and Cordelia talk on the phone, both depressed about their lives and lack of work. Wesley tells Cordy that things are going to get better, but it is clear neither believes it. Cordelia gets a call from Mrs. Sharp, claiming to have changed her mind and offering to pay; what Cordelia doesn't know is that Mrs. Sharp was threatened into calling by a demon that kills her after she tells him Cordelia is on her way.
Angel arrives at the Review, and when he spots Darla in the crowd the two fight while the Senior Partner materializes. Security guards attack Darla after Angel exposes her as a vampire by dousing her with holy water. In the confusion, Angel gets the glove away from Darla, dons it and flies at the Senior Partner's throat. The Senior Partner implodes, but the force of Angel's leap carries him crashing out the window. When he hits the ground, Angel puts on the ring, causing elevator doors to open in the foundation of the Wolfram & Hart building. Holland (whose contract extends well beyond death) offers Angel a one-way trip down to the "Home Office," which Angel assumes is Hell. After passing through nether realms of darkness and fire, the elevator comes to a stop and its doors open - right back where they started. The "Home Office" is Earth, the implication being that Angel can never rescue humanity because humanity is its own worst enemy.
Angel walks away, witnessing the despair around him. Returning to the hotel, he hangs up on a message from Kate, who is drunk and overdosing on pills. Angel finds Darla waiting for him and, realizing that he wants to feel something, anything, Angel kisses her. At first, she pushes him away, but he takes her roughly and soon the two are lost in each other. Later, as a storm crashes outside, Angel wakes with a gasp.
lot.
, who later has a larger acting role in the fifth season episode "Smile Time".
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 Tim Minear
Tim Minear
Tim Minear is an American screenwriter and director. He was born in New York, grew up in Whittier, California, and studied film at California State University, Long Beach....
and directed by James Whitmore, Jr., it was originally broadcast on February 20, 2001 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...
. In this episode, Angel learns that during the impending Wolfram & Hart
Wolfram & 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:...
75-Year Review, the firm is visited by one of the demonic Senior Partners. The demon wears a ring with the power to transport to the firm’s hellish Home Office, which Angel steals with the aid of a magically protective glove. When Angel travels to the Home Office, he learns it is on Earth, and depressed, seeks solace in Darla's arms. Meanwhile, Kate's
Kate Lockley
Kate Lockley is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon for the television series Angel, portrayed by Elisabeth Röhm. Kate first appears in the episode "Lonely Hearts." She is a young, skeptical detective for the Los Angeles Police Department....
life falls apart when she is fired from the police force.
Plot
Angel prevents a sacrificial ritual from being performed by two Wolfram & HartWolfram & 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:...
employees, who are nervous about something called "the Review". He asks Kate for information about the Review, but Kate - under investigation due to her involvement with odd cases - bitterly refuses, showing him crime scene photos from Holland Manners' wine cellar illustrating his involvement in the slaughter. Angel turns to Lorne, who is having a busy night as Caritas is full of Wolfram & Hart lawyers wanting to have their destinies read. Lorne tells Angel that a Wolfram & Hart Senior Partner (manifesting in the form of a lower demon) is coming to earth for the historically deadly Review, and that the sacrifices and rituals are simply the lawyers trying to get brownie points with the Senior Partner before he shows up. Lorne also tells Angel that the as anything that can manifest itself in our dimension can be killed and that something called the Band of Blacknil is important. Angel goes to leave but Lorne stops him and tells him one last thing... that pretty much every lawyer in the club really wants to see him dead, but you don't need to be a psychic to know that, given that everyone in the club is giving Angel hostile stares.
Meanwhile, at Angel Investigations, the team have successfully removed the third eye from the back of Stephanie Sharp's head. However Mrs. Sharp tells the gang that she has no intention of paying the bill and that as far as she is concerned Angel Investigations are running a scam since it is 'impossible' for a third eye to grow out the back of a skull, despite the fact that it was she who approached them with the problem. She and her daughter leave having successfully stiffed the gang for payment and an exasperated 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...
leaves.
Lindsey
Lindsey McDonald
Lindsey McDonald is a fictional character from the television series Angel. He first appeared in the series' first episode, "City of," and featured prominently in the story arcs of seasons one, two, and five. Lindsey is the only character besides Angel himself to appear in both the first and last...
finds Darla waiting for him at home and she weakly tells him that Drusilla
Drusilla (Buffyverse)
Drusilla is a fictional character created by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt for the American television series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. The character is portrayed by American actress Juliet Landau...
is not returning to L.A.. He gives her a container of human blood; she stops feigning weakness and searches his briefcase while he is in the shower. Meanwhile, at the hotel Angel attempts to look up the Band of Blacknil but doesn't have much research material given that it all left along with Wesley. Angel then shows up at the office of his former employees uninvited and unwelcome, barely acknowledges his former friends and helps himself to a book. 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...
refuses to let him take it and grabs it off him, but Angel grows cold and deadly and it is clear he is willing to use force to get the book back. 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...
rises from his wheelchair and tells Cordy to let Angel have the book so he can remove himself from the premises. She finally gives him the book and Angel leaves without a second thought. Cordelia vents about Angel until Wesley catches her attention: stitches from his healing gunshot wound have torn in the confrontation.
Angel returns to the bookstore he visited fifty years ago in search of information on the Senior Partner. A decades-older Denver tells Angel that it wears a ring that allows passage to Hell. To take the ring, Angel needs a one-of-a-kind magic glove that would allow him to strangle the Senior Partner without being incinerated. Denver gets the glove from the back room, but before he can give it to Angel, Darla stabs him with a sword and takes the glove.
Facing a review board during an Internal Affairs investigation, Kate is unceremoniously fired. She self-destructively deals with her dismissal by drinking and knocking her accolades to the floor, pausing to cry at a picture of her father. Virginia talks with Wesley about how much danger he's always in. With heartbreaking insight, Wesley acknowledges how difficult it must for her - to break up with him. Wesley and Cordelia talk on the phone, both depressed about their lives and lack of work. Wesley tells Cordy that things are going to get better, but it is clear neither believes it. Cordelia gets a call from Mrs. Sharp, claiming to have changed her mind and offering to pay; what Cordelia doesn't know is that Mrs. Sharp was threatened into calling by a demon that kills her after she tells him Cordelia is on her way.
Angel arrives at the Review, and when he spots Darla in the crowd the two fight while the Senior Partner materializes. Security guards attack Darla after Angel exposes her as a vampire by dousing her with holy water. In the confusion, Angel gets the glove away from Darla, dons it and flies at the Senior Partner's throat. The Senior Partner implodes, but the force of Angel's leap carries him crashing out the window. When he hits the ground, Angel puts on the ring, causing elevator doors to open in the foundation of the Wolfram & Hart building. Holland (whose contract extends well beyond death) offers Angel a one-way trip down to the "Home Office," which Angel assumes is Hell. After passing through nether realms of darkness and fire, the elevator comes to a stop and its doors open - right back where they started. The "Home Office" is Earth, the implication being that Angel can never rescue humanity because humanity is its own worst enemy.
Angel walks away, witnessing the despair around him. Returning to the hotel, he hangs up on a message from Kate, who is drunk and overdosing on pills. Angel finds Darla waiting for him and, realizing that he wants to feel something, anything, Angel kisses her. At first, she pushes him away, but he takes her roughly and soon the two are lost in each other. Later, as a storm crashes outside, Angel wakes with a gasp.
Production
The Wolfram & Hart exterior is an office building in downtown Culver City, located across the street from the main Sony StudiosSony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
lot.
Acting
One of the people sacrificing goats at the beginning of the episode is writer/producer David FuryDavid Fury
David Fury is an American television Screenwriter and Producer, best known for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Lost, 24, and Fringe.Fury was a Co-executive producer and Writer for the first season of Lost...
, who later has a larger acting role in the fifth season episode "Smile Time".
Writing
In her essay entitled "Why We Love Lindsey," M.S. West points out a conversation in this episode that illuminates Lindsey's character. Darla asks Lindsey why he always showers when he comes home from work. "You're never dirty," she says. His reply - "I'm always dirty" - gives "insight into Lindsey, or perhaps a clear nod to the fact he doesn't lie to himself, either," West writes.Arc significance
- Angel's characterization descends into existential angst beginning with "Reunion", when his inability to stop Darla being turned into a vampire causes him to reevaluate the meaningfulness of his existence. Despairing, Angel edges closer to his Angelus side, which is explicitly noted by Cordelia in this episode after Angel threatens her over a book: "I don't even know what you are anymore." He continues to search for meaning by deciding to destroy Wolfram & Hart - he tells Lorne, "Getting to these Senior Partners... that's my destiny" - but once again loses meaning after being shown that hell is on Earth, which causes him to reach the peak of his existential misery. In this episode, Angel's metaphorical descent becomes a literal one, via the elevator to the Home Office.
- Angel kills one of Wolfram & Hart's Senior Partners
- Angel learns that Wolfram & Hart's Home Office, the hell from which the Senior Partners supposedly come, is actually everyday life on Earth.
- Kate is fired from the LAPD
- Wesley and Virginia end their relationship.