The Magic Bullet (Angel episode)
Encyclopedia
"The Magic Bullet" is episode 19 of season 4 in the television show Angel
. Written and directed by Jeffrey Bell, it was originally broadcast on April 16, 2003 on the WB network
. While Jasmine settles in at the hotel with her followers for a mysterious gathering, Fred
is forced to flee Los Angeles
while the rest of the gang hunt her down, with assistance from most of the populace, who are also under Jasmine’s enchantment. Fred learns that Jasmine’s blood is the key to seeing her for what she really is and plots to free Angel and the gang from Jasmine's influence.
’ “Wouldn't It Be Nice
?” playing behind a montage of harmonious street scenes of pedestrians and drivers in the city, until Fred runs into a car at an intersection and the music stops. She’s pursued by Wesley
and Gunn
, but Fred eludes them by hiding out in a sewer under a shopping center. Back at the Hyperion
, Lorne has to turn away people who have come to the hotel to see Jasmine. She makes time to talk to many of them, and Angel asks how Jasmine always knows exactly what to say to people. She tells him that she looks into their hearts, though sometimes what they need is right on their faces. She tells a man in Spanish that his mustache "provides [him] great strength and dignity." Wesley and Gunn return with the news that Fred escaped. Connor wants to kill her and bring her back, but Wesley reminds him that Jasmine wants her alive.
In the lobby, Jasmine invites a couple of people to go upstairs with her. Fred goes to the Magic Bullet Bookstore, which she apparently visited three days earlier to read up on mass hypnosis. Now she’s looking for information on mind control
. The shopkeeper says that he used to be obsessed with mind control, and though he still believes in it, he just doesn’t worry about it anymore because of Jasmine. The shopkeeper pulls out a gun (as well as a yoyo and a book called Making Mind Control Work for You) and says that he thinks Fred is trying to get the government to learn about Jasmine’s love. Connor and Angel try to track Fred through the sewers; Angel learns that Connor has been tracking people since he was a kid. Holtz
would tie him to a tree and then run away, expecting Connor to free himself and find Holtz. Angel is shocked that Holtz abandoned Connor like that, but Connor considers it good, since he learned to track. Angel and Connor both suddenly close their eyes, receiving a message that Jasmine wants them back at the Hyperion.
Jasmine explains that everyone is connected by love, and she wants to test that connection to see if they can find Fred. Everyone holds hands as Jasmine tells them to picture Fred and concentrate on finding her. Fred checks into a motel, where people around her start looking at her. Fred takes off running, passing a man who is fueling his car. Another car hits his car, which sets off a fire. The guy from the car gets out and, in flames, walks to Fred and tells her not to be afraid. Jasmine’s hand starts smoking and burning as she takes the physical damage of the man; she adds that she saw Fred, and now that all of the Jasmaniacs know what she looks like, she can’t hide anywhere. Fred walks by the side of a highway and falls down a hill while trying to run from an SUV. She takes refuge in a cave where a short demon is also holed up. The creature assures Fred that he is vegetarian and won’t hurt her; it doesn’t seem to matter, since Fred makes sure he knows that she can handle herself. Back at the Hyperion, Lorne gives the “hourly Jasmine report,” then announces that he has a surprise - open mic night.
A montage follows of various odes to Jasmine, including Lorne singing "Freddie's Dead
" and Angel and Connor singing a revised version of "Mandy
". The demon in the cave reveals that he’s hiding out because of "those freakin’ Jasminites and their demon jihad", but then he uncovers a bunch of human hands, revealing himself to be carnivorous and attacks Fred, who is injured but fights back with an axe. Fred returns to the Magic Bullet Bookstore, luring a crowd of people outside. The shopkeeper tells Fred that she’s famous now, and that he’s not supposed to hurt her.
Jasmine arrives with Angel and Connor and, in exchange for the shopkeeper’s help, tells him that Lee Harvey Oswald
worked alone in assassinating JFK
. Fred says that she’s sorry, and Jasmine accepts the apology, but it turns out that Fred is talking to Angel. She raises the shopkeeper’s handgun, aims at Jasmine, and fires. The bullet goes through Jasmine and then into Angel’s shoulder. Angel vamps out and attacks Fred, grabbing the gun and pointing it at her jaw. Crying, Fred tells him to look at Jasmine. He does, seeing the same decaying, maggot-infested flesh that Fred saw earlier. Jasmine realizes that it was her blood that released Fred and Angel and tells Connor that Angel is infected. Angel runs out with Fred and Jasmine keeps Connor from following them. Jasmine sees how much blood she’s lost and tells the shopkeeper to burn the store down. In the hotel office, Jasmine explains that they’ve lost Angel to Fred: "by being loving to Fred, I opened the door to her hate. By trying to save Fred, I lost Angel. It won’t happen again. We must eradicate their hate."
Fred explains that Jasmine’s blood breaks the spell - she got it in her system when she washed Jasmine’s shirt, and Angel got it after the bullet passed through Jasmine. Fred decides that they need to get more of Jasmine’s blood so that they can break the spell for the others. They hear people coming, and Fred kisses Angel to throw the people off, but they do have to run. Later they sneak not-so-stealthily into Cordelia
’s room, where she’s still comatose. Angel apologizes to Cordelia, then starts to cut her arm with a knife. She grabs his wrist and he panics, thinking that she’s awake. Fred has to tell him that people in comas sometimes move or do things that don’t mean they’re waking up. Meanwhile, Jasmine tells Connor to keep guard in the hallway as she goes into her room with her chosen guests. She tells them to strip, and as they do, she heals her gunshot wound. Connor stands guard outside Jasmine’s room; inside, green light shines. In the next act, the green light disappears from Jasmine’s room. Connor asks her where the people went, and Jasmine replies, "I ate them." "Cool," Connor says.
Angel and Fred succeed in "infecting" Lorne with Cordelia's blood to break the spell. Lorne lures Wesley and Gunn upstairs, grabs a baseball bat, and knocks them out so that Fred can administer the cure. When they come to, Wesley brings Connor in, and the others hold him down for the cure. After Connor calms down, Angel tells him they had to make him see the truth. "You understand why we’re here?" Angel asks. Connor nods and goes to the door. He throws it open and yells, "They’re here! Come quick!"
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 and directed by Jeffrey Bell, it was originally broadcast on April 16, 2003 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...
. While Jasmine settles in at the hotel with her followers for a mysterious gathering, 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:...
is forced to flee Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
while the rest of the gang hunt her down, with assistance from most of the populace, who are also under Jasmine’s enchantment. Fred learns that Jasmine’s blood is the key to seeing her for what she really is and plots to free Angel and the gang from Jasmine's influence.
Plot
Thanks to the events of "Shiny Happy People," everyone in L.A. is happy and cheerful. The first scene opens with the Beach BoysThe Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
’ “Wouldn't It Be Nice
Wouldn't It Be Nice
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is the opening track on the 1966 album Pet Sounds and one of the most widely recognized songs by the American rock band The Beach Boys...
?” playing behind a montage of harmonious street scenes of pedestrians and drivers in the city, until Fred runs into a car at an intersection and the music stops. She’s pursued by 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...
and 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...
, but Fred eludes them by hiding out in a sewer under a shopping center. Back at the Hyperion
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...
, Lorne has to turn away people who have come to the hotel to see Jasmine. She makes time to talk to many of them, and Angel asks how Jasmine always knows exactly what to say to people. She tells him that she looks into their hearts, though sometimes what they need is right on their faces. She tells a man in Spanish that his mustache "provides [him] great strength and dignity." Wesley and Gunn return with the news that Fred escaped. Connor wants to kill her and bring her back, but Wesley reminds him that Jasmine wants her alive.
In the lobby, Jasmine invites a couple of people to go upstairs with her. Fred goes to the Magic Bullet Bookstore, which she apparently visited three days earlier to read up on mass hypnosis. Now she’s looking for information on mind control
Mind control
Mind control refers to a process in which a group or individual "systematically uses unethically manipulative methods to persuade others to conform to the wishes of the manipulator, often to the detriment of the person being manipulated"...
. The shopkeeper says that he used to be obsessed with mind control, and though he still believes in it, he just doesn’t worry about it anymore because of Jasmine. The shopkeeper pulls out a gun (as well as a yoyo and a book called Making Mind Control Work for You) and says that he thinks Fred is trying to get the government to learn about Jasmine’s love. Connor and Angel try to track Fred through the sewers; Angel learns that Connor has been tracking people since he was a kid. Holtz
Daniel 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...
would tie him to a tree and then run away, expecting Connor to free himself and find Holtz. Angel is shocked that Holtz abandoned Connor like that, but Connor considers it good, since he learned to track. Angel and Connor both suddenly close their eyes, receiving a message that Jasmine wants them back at the Hyperion.
Jasmine explains that everyone is connected by love, and she wants to test that connection to see if they can find Fred. Everyone holds hands as Jasmine tells them to picture Fred and concentrate on finding her. Fred checks into a motel, where people around her start looking at her. Fred takes off running, passing a man who is fueling his car. Another car hits his car, which sets off a fire. The guy from the car gets out and, in flames, walks to Fred and tells her not to be afraid. Jasmine’s hand starts smoking and burning as she takes the physical damage of the man; she adds that she saw Fred, and now that all of the Jasmaniacs know what she looks like, she can’t hide anywhere. Fred walks by the side of a highway and falls down a hill while trying to run from an SUV. She takes refuge in a cave where a short demon is also holed up. The creature assures Fred that he is vegetarian and won’t hurt her; it doesn’t seem to matter, since Fred makes sure he knows that she can handle herself. Back at the Hyperion, Lorne gives the “hourly Jasmine report,” then announces that he has a surprise - open mic night.
A montage follows of various odes to Jasmine, including Lorne singing "Freddie's Dead
Freddie's Dead
"Freddie's Dead" is a song by Curtis Mayfield. It was the first single from his 1972 soundtrack album for the film Super Fly. The single was released before the Super Fly album, and in fact before the film itself was in theaters. The song peaked at #4 on the U.S...
" and Angel and Connor singing a revised version of "Mandy
Mandy (song)
"Mandy", originally titled "Brandy", is a song jointly written and composed by Scott English and Richard Kerr."Brandy" had been a hit in 1971 for Scott English in the UK and in 1972 for Bunny Walters in New Zealand...
". The demon in the cave reveals that he’s hiding out because of "those freakin’ Jasminites and their demon jihad", but then he uncovers a bunch of human hands, revealing himself to be carnivorous and attacks Fred, who is injured but fights back with an axe. Fred returns to the Magic Bullet Bookstore, luring a crowd of people outside. The shopkeeper tells Fred that she’s famous now, and that he’s not supposed to hurt her.
Jasmine arrives with Angel and Connor and, in exchange for the shopkeeper’s help, tells him that Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald was, according to four government investigations,These were investigations by: the Federal Bureau of Investigation , the Warren Commission , the House Select Committee on Assassinations , and the Dallas Police Department. the sniper who assassinated John F...
worked alone in assassinating JFK
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
. Fred says that she’s sorry, and Jasmine accepts the apology, but it turns out that Fred is talking to Angel. She raises the shopkeeper’s handgun, aims at Jasmine, and fires. The bullet goes through Jasmine and then into Angel’s shoulder. Angel vamps out and attacks Fred, grabbing the gun and pointing it at her jaw. Crying, Fred tells him to look at Jasmine. He does, seeing the same decaying, maggot-infested flesh that Fred saw earlier. Jasmine realizes that it was her blood that released Fred and Angel and tells Connor that Angel is infected. Angel runs out with Fred and Jasmine keeps Connor from following them. Jasmine sees how much blood she’s lost and tells the shopkeeper to burn the store down. In the hotel office, Jasmine explains that they’ve lost Angel to Fred: "by being loving to Fred, I opened the door to her hate. By trying to save Fred, I lost Angel. It won’t happen again. We must eradicate their hate."
Fred explains that Jasmine’s blood breaks the spell - she got it in her system when she washed Jasmine’s shirt, and Angel got it after the bullet passed through Jasmine. Fred decides that they need to get more of Jasmine’s blood so that they can break the spell for the others. They hear people coming, and Fred kisses Angel to throw the people off, but they do have to run. Later they sneak not-so-stealthily into 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...
’s room, where she’s still comatose. Angel apologizes to Cordelia, then starts to cut her arm with a knife. She grabs his wrist and he panics, thinking that she’s awake. Fred has to tell him that people in comas sometimes move or do things that don’t mean they’re waking up. Meanwhile, Jasmine tells Connor to keep guard in the hallway as she goes into her room with her chosen guests. She tells them to strip, and as they do, she heals her gunshot wound. Connor stands guard outside Jasmine’s room; inside, green light shines. In the next act, the green light disappears from Jasmine’s room. Connor asks her where the people went, and Jasmine replies, "I ate them." "Cool," Connor says.
Angel and Fred succeed in "infecting" Lorne with Cordelia's blood to break the spell. Lorne lures Wesley and Gunn upstairs, grabs a baseball bat, and knocks them out so that Fred can administer the cure. When they come to, Wesley brings Connor in, and the others hold him down for the cure. After Connor calms down, Angel tells him they had to make him see the truth. "You understand why we’re here?" Angel asks. Connor nods and goes to the door. He throws it open and yells, "They’re here! Come quick!"
Production
This was Jeffrey Bell's first experience as a director. "What's the word?" Bell says when asked how it felt to direct. "Terrifying."Arc significance
- Angel, Lorne, Wes, and Gunn are exposed to Jasmine's true visage.
- It is revealed that Jasmine eats people.
- Connor is revealed to be impervious to Jasmine's blood.
Continuity
- At least a week had passed since Fred was exposed to Jasmine's blood in "Shiny Happy People"