Wolfram & Cast
This is not your grandsire’s podcast! In Wolfram and Cast, long time Angel fan Steven Youngkin host an Angel Podcast geared toward Buffy and Angel fans who have seen the entirety of both shows and want a more in depth discussion than a simple recap and review. Each episode of Wolfram and Cast will focus on one episode of Angel, but we will touch on greater themes and character arcs from the entire series, so a spoiler warning is in effect.
Wolfram & Cast
Crossover Episode -- Buffy & the Art of the Story
Get ready to sharpen your stakes and smudge your eyeliner as we take a deep dive into the shadowy world of Angel. Joined by author and attorney Lisa M Lilly, we're breaking down some of the standout episodes from the first season. Lisa not only brings a unique perspective to the table, she also offers some teasing glimpses into her podcast "Buffy and the Art of the Story," and her books on writing.
First up on our hit list is "Five by Five", a rich tapestry of flashbacks and complex villains that had us on the edge of our seats. We're shining a spotlight on Wolfram and Hart, peeling back the layers to understand the full implications of this ever-present antagonist. Next, we're taking a trip to "Rm w/a Vu" where Cordelia's humorous apartment setting had us laughing out loud. But it's not all laughs as we tackle the thorny issue of Angel's guilt and Wesley's changing views on souls and redemption.
The crescendo of our journey takes us to the final confrontation between Angel and Faith. Hold onto your hats as we unpack the layers of pain, revenge, and empathy on display. We're going all in on the turning points that define Angel's commitment to his quest and the heartrending realization that Faith's redemption lies beyond the grave. So, grab your popcorn and join us for a thrilling discussion that will leave you hankering for more Angel action.
Welcome listeners. This is Stephen Junkin, your host of Wolfram and Cast. As an early Christmas gift, I would like to play for you an episode of a sister podcast, Buffy and the Art of the Story, hosted by author Lisa M Lilly, An author and attorney. L M Lilly's books on writing include the One Year Novelist A Week by Week Guide to Writing your Novel in One Year, creating compelling characters from the inside out and super simple story structure A Quick Guide to Plotting and Writing your Novel. Ready as Lisa M Lilly, she is the author of the QC Davis Mysteries and the bestselling four book awakening supernatural thriller series.
Speaker 1:On the podcast Buffy and the Art of the Story, she dissects the classic series one episode at a time and looks at plot lines, character arcs and other story elements to see what works and very occasionally, doesn't, and why. This special episode will go through episode 18 of season one of Angel Five by Five. Speaking from the point of view of an author as well as a fan of the show, Lisa M Lilly takes a look at creating a sympathetic villain. Flashbacks that might not be necessary but convey theme, using conflict to reveal backstory and an organization war from in heart as antagonist. I hope you enjoy the episode and make sure to check out Lisa M Lilly's podcast, Buffy and the Art of the Story, which is available on all podcast platforms, and be sure to buy her books, including those based on her podcast, on Amazon and wherever books are sold.
Speaker 2:So, without any further ado, Hello and welcome to the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story, season four. If you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you love creating stories or just taking them apart to see how they work, you are in the right place. Today, though, we are talking about Angel season one, episode five. Five by five because it picks up from the events in the Buffy episodes featuring Faith, this Year's Girl, and who Are you In? Five by five, an evil law firm hires Faith to assassinate Angel. This is basically part three in the four part Faith story. I am Lisa M Lilly, novelist and founder of writingasasecantcareercom. As to five by five, in particular, we'll talk about creating a sympathetic villain, flashbacks that might not be necessary, but do have a lot to do with the theme conflict that conveys backstory as well as moves the current plot and using an organization here the law firm Wolfram and Hart, as the antagonist. There will be no spoilers, except at the end to talk about foreshadowing, but I'll give you plenty of warning. Okay, let's dive into the hell mouth.
Speaker 2:Five by five aired the first time on April 25, 2000. It was directed by James A Contner, who we've seen often in Buffy, and written by Jim Koof. The timing of these episodes related to what happened to Buffy isn't completely clear. A number of Buffy episodes seem to happen around the same time as or before five by five. Also, in this episode it's clear that this occurs only a week after Faith left Sunnydale. But it works best to look at these four episodes in a row. The previously on draws from both Angel and Buffy we learn that Wolfram and Hart is an evil law firm and the key lawyer that Angel knows there is Lindsay McDonald. Buffy's previously on includes the Faith backstory ending with the last moments of who are you, where Faith rides in the back of a truck, buffy's voice saying over it that she doesn't think Faith is coming back and Riley saying I guess she's had her fun.
Speaker 2:Five by five begins with an opening conflict. That's the conflict that's there to draw the viewer or reader in, and here it doesn't relate directly to the main conflict, but it definitely relates to the theme and fits with what Angel is trying to do. Once he and Faith cross paths, it's night. Beneath an overpass, demons attack a guy we later learn is a gang member. Angel and Wesley ride up in the black convertible. Angel beheads the demons with a sword and saves a guy and Angel asks is the guy Danny Marquez? Because he hates saving the wrong person? And Angel goes on you never know who you're going to meet in this part of town. This line is a great segue to the next scene.
Speaker 2:At a bus station, faith is one of many people getting off the bus. She's looking down. There's dark circles under her eyes. Rather than her usual black leather jacket, she is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. A guy off to the side who is smoking, who is wearing a black leather jacket spots her. Villains in the Buffyverse always seem to smoke. So the smoking guy comes up to Faith, says the dangerous area for a young lady. People might take advantage, quote especially if you don't have any money or a place to stay. End quote. In a shaky voice, faith says I'm cold and wraps her arms around herself and the guy says oh yeah, warms my middle name. He starts to take off his leather jacket to give it to her. She punches him, kicks him and beats him to the ground. Then goes through his pockets, opens his wallet and says now I got money. And she looks at his keys and says and a place to stay. This is a great introduction to faith. She does look genuinely emotionally vulnerable and this guy is clearly a bad guy. So when she beats him up, there's a part of us that is cheering for her, and this is part of making faith though a villain somewhat sympathetic. This also lets us know that she is super strong. So if we weren't familiar with her already from Buffy, we might guess she was a slayer. At four minutes two seconds in, she grabs the guy's jacket and puts it on and says I think I'm going to like it here and we cut to credits.
Speaker 2:When we come back. We're in a flashback from hundreds of years ago. Darla is leading Angelus, who's blindfolded, into the mansion where they live to give him a present A beautiful young woman and Darla says she's a gypsy. Darla watches as Angelus bends over the young woman, shoves aside her skirt and sinks his fangs into her thigh. At six minutes 33 seconds in, in Angel's office in the present, he's rather strenuously trying to convince Danny Marquez to testify. Angel warns that he won't be there next time. The demons prey on Danny and Danny's friends have all been chopped up and killed by demons, so they won't be there either.
Speaker 2:In the outer office area, cordelia paces and talks to Wesley. She says this is a waste of a good vision. This guy will never testify. And Wesley says after we saved his life. And Cordelia kind of huffs and says when was the last time you wrote a thank you card? But Wesley says he has faith in Angel and if anyone can get someone to change, it's him.
Speaker 2:So we are stating the theme of the episode which comes out through this conflict between Wesley and Cordelia, because Cordelia now says Wesley, you don't change a guy like that. Generally speaking, you don't change a guy. What you see is what you get. Scratch the surface and what do you find? More surface, one of my favorite Cordelia lines. Wesley points out, though one could have said that about Angel, and Cordelia says oh please, he was cursed by Gypsies. What's Angel gonna do? Drag a bunch of them in here to shove the soul down this guy's throat? So my first thought when I considered these lines and the flashbacks was that we don't need the flashbacks, other than it's fun to see Darla, because we just found out what happened to Angel, and it pretty much covers the first and second flashback. However, when I was writing my notes for today, I ended up changing my mind about these flashbacks.
Speaker 2:Let's go back to the present, though. Wesley says of Danny Marquez. He may be a Ruffian, but he's already got a soul and therefore, somewhere deep down inside, an urge to do what's right. But there's some irony here, because the door opens. Danny emerges and says no way, I'm gone. Angel grabs him by the collar, drags him back into the office and tells him to shut up and sit down. Cordelia comments I guess you're right, wesley. It's just like the Dalai Lama. This also is the beginning of a subplot for Wesley that will go through this episode and the next one. Right now, where Wesley stands is no matter what a person has done. A soul equals an urge to do what's right and therefore that person can be persuaded to do the right thing. Also, right now, he has faith in Angel's ability to get someone to do that. Inside Angel's office, angel tells Danny that he'll have to face his demons sometime or, if not, his own Angels.
Speaker 2:We cut to faith. She's dancing in a club. She's the center of a crowd, the music is much louder and has a heavier beat than at the bronze, and who are you? The entire space is also darker in their strobe lighting, which I feel is significant, showing us that difference between when faith was being buffy and dancing and now, as herself, also where she is psychologically. She dances in between a guy and his girlfriend. The girlfriend is not happy and she snipes at faith who doesn't care. And the girl or young woman says, billy, do something. And faith says, yeah, billy, do something like this. And she elbows the young woman hard in the face. Billy then punches faith, she kicks him easily, fights him off, as she does with other guys who try to attack her, and she keeps dancing. This is filmed in a disjointed way. It's fragmented, the way the scene in Riley's bedroom was. And who are you? There are quick cuts and missing moments, and it conveys faith spiraling out of control as she dances, punches, kicks, yet she is still alone and all these other fights start around her. But though she's creating this chaos, many people don't realize she started it. Either because of the dark and the strobe lighting, they don't see it, or they don't take in what they see because she is this sexy, wiry young woman and they don't recognize her strength or power or violence.
Speaker 2:At 9 minutes 30 seconds, we're in a courtroom. Lindsay MacDonald and the prosecutor stand in front of the judge's bench. Lindsay wants the case dismissed. Despite that, they are at trial because there are no witnesses for the prosecution, and the prosecutor says there would be witnesses if Wolfram and Hart didn't keep tampering with them. Just as Lindsay says his client is law-abiding and upstanding. Angel walks in with Danny Marquez and the prosecution calls him as Mr Marquez as a witness.
Speaker 2:We're a little past 10% through the double episode arc. Usually at 10% through any story. We see what I think of as the story spark. It's also known as the inciting incident. That is what gets the main plot rolling and here I see it as Angel bringing this witness in. He creates this huge problem for Lindsay and his co-counsel, which prompts them to seek out Faith and hire her to kill Angel, setting off the entire conflict for both episodes. Looking for a story spark for this single episode story, I think it's probably around four minutes in when Faith beats up that guy and takes his keys and his money. This is what brings her to Wolfram and Hart's attention and probably, if all these other things didn't happen, still would set her on a path for a confrontation with Angel.
Speaker 2:We cut to Lindsay. He's on a headset talking to a senior partner accepting full responsibility, saying he thought he had it under control. He didn't anticipate Angel, his co-counsel, who's named Lee, walks in as Lindsay finishes the call and Lindsay says a classic line I hate failure when there's no one else to blame it on. This is so honest. I also think it is probably a theme at so many companies and so many law firms where it can be less about fixing things or doing the right thing and sometimes more about who gets blamed, at least when it comes to advancement within a company. We're at 10 minutes 57 seconds in. Lee thinks he's found a solution and he hands Lindsay a file. And now we are going to shift to the hallway for a great example of using conflict to get out exposition and move the story.
Speaker 2:Another attorney, lila, calls after Lee. She's been threatening someone else. We hear it, it's very intense and then shifts to an overly kind tone and says to Lee I hear you came up with a good idea. That line just hangs there, suggesting she's surprised. But then she adds how to deal with our friendly neighborhood vampire. Lee counters that it's a great idea, but wants to know how she found out so fast. Lila says it's part of her job and wants to know how he found out a rogue slayers in town. And Lee responds part of my job. Lila points out that he doesn't know where faith is. Lee claims he will soon enough, but Lila says I already do.
Speaker 2:So we quickly get from points A to B, lindsay's struggles to Lila knowing where faith is, and within that minor conflict we find out faith is a rogue vampire slayer. And we understand this competition between the lawyers, what's on the line for them and as well as what Wolfram and Hart is like as an antagonist. Lila starts to show Lee a folder with some information but pulls it away. Show, make contact. Lee demands to know why and Lila responds it's your people skills, you don't have any. Lee says you bitch. And Lila says see, if you behave, I'll let you ride in the limo. So we also learn a lot about both their characters at 12 minutes in.
Speaker 2:Cordelia is on the phone. She says they don't do divorce cases and it's not about the money. And then she says oh, it's about that much money and sets an appointment. So here we have humor plus conflict in just one line. As we find out, angel investigations doesn't do typical PI cases but does really need money.
Speaker 2:When Wesley enter, tell her Danny testified. Cordelia says what did I tell you? And Wesley responds that he never would. Wesley tells Angel Danny's very lucky, he ran into Angel and Angel says Danny just needed a little guidance, a push in the right direction. Wesley wonders how Wolfram and Hart will push back. This is a perfect segue to the next scene.
Speaker 2:It's nighttime outside a club. Lila and Faith exit together and Faith says she guesses they could go somewhere and talk. This is the first major plot turn of this episode, as it should. It comes from outside the protagonist, who is Angel, and it spins the story in a new direction where Faith will now work with Wolfram and Hart. Lila says I think you might have misunderstood my intentions and Faith responds no, I think you misunderstood mine.
Speaker 2:She grabs Lila's wrist, looks at her watch and says diamonds, right. Lila looks a little nervous. She looks down and says Faith. Faith is not happy. She never mentioned her name and Lila says that we are well aware of who you are and what you do. She talks a little about Faith's difficulties and says we think we can help bring some order back to your life. Faith backs Lila against a fence and says we do, do we? And she demands to know who we is and why they know about her quote, when I don't know Jack, about you. Close quote Lila looks intimidated at first but then she flips tone entirely and says Green is my favorite color, I look good in diamonds and I love riding in limousines. A limousine pulls up, lee is in the back. He opens the door and says Faith, can we talk? Faith says I like black and gets in.
Speaker 2:At 14 minutes 33 seconds in we're in another flashback. At the mansion. Darla enters, calls for Angelus. He's in the corner muttering to himself. He says not everyone screams. Goes on about what happens when you torture and kill people. Darla first thinks it's a game. When he says children usually scream, she says yes, they sound just like little pigs. Have you brought me some?
Speaker 2:That gradually sees that he's very distressed and something is really wrong. He starts talking about how long they've drunk and killed together and she asks if he met someone else In desperation. He grabs her. She pushes him away. He tells her the gypsy girl she brought. They did something and he says funny, you'd think with all the people I've maimed and killed I wouldn't be able to remember every single one. It hits Darla that they gave him a soul. She calls him disgusting and says he's not like her. She says you're not like anything and she yells at him to get out and says they'll kill him. So, again, we don't necessarily need the information here for the episode. In terms of Angel's backstory, we already know it. Though seeing Angel's reaction and him going through this memory of everything he did does start to set up why he believes people can be saved. And I remember from first viewing though it felt slow to me, it felt like it stopped our story in the present, which is part of why I generally don't like flashbacks. But let's see as we go on to more of them.
Speaker 2:At 17 minutes 27 seconds in, we cut to faith. She's wandering Lindsay's office and all three attorneys are there. They all have L names Lila, lindsay, lee which can't be a mistake. I don't think. Obviously I like L's Lisa, lilly. Not that I picked my name, but I'm happy my parents did. But I suspect it is partly because it shows this way that they are all acting on behalf of Wolfram and Hart. They all have distinct personalities, but for this episode they are acting in concert. Lila tells Faith they find her appealing because she's a slayer. Lindsay refers to the charges pending against her and says they can get her off, to which Faith quips. You don't know how many men have promised me that. And Lila answers I'm certain you won't be disappointed in our performance. Faith is in the second. They say they want her to kill Angel. All she wants to know is how much they'll pay her. Lee, very condescending, tells Faith it might behoove her to know more about the target quote before we discuss remuneration. End quote Faith says huh and Lee says payment.
Speaker 2:So such a lawyer thing here, using jargon words most people wouldn't use to show we're smarter and we're part of the club and you don't belong in it. Interestingly, in the legal world I teach legal writing and one of the things for the last 20 years, starting when I was in law school, is trying to get lawyers to stop doing that, because it's just harder to understand if you fill either what you say in court or you're written arguments with multi syllable words. It's not just about vocabulary, because the judges who read these things certainly have the vocabulary, but it's just harder. It's why most really popular fiction is written at anywhere from a fourth to sixth or seventh grade reading level. Some things are popular that are at a higher reading level, but it is about making it easier for people to read and understand, and if you want to persuade people of something, you need to make it easy to understand.
Speaker 2:Lee doing this here is clearly trying to put Faith in her place and emphasize how smart he thinks that he is. And he stands and he gets closer to her and claims he wants to be sure she understands that the firm is not connected to anything she does. His ass is on the line and he says I don't want you to make me look bad. Faith grabs him, bangs his head face down on the table and says how do you look now? This too is part of why we have some sympathy for Faith. We're cheering just a little for her because this guy is such a jerk. So that is one way for your villain because Faith certainly is a villain in much of this four episode arc but for us to have a little bit of sympathy for her because we see how the world treats her and not only her how the world prays upon young women, as that guy at the best station did. So Faith bangs Lee's head repeatedly and Lila and Lindsay look on approvingly and Lila says she shows initiative. Lindsay presses the intercom. At first I'm thinking it's to bring someone to stop this before Lee's dead. But Lindsay says I think you better make it three for dinner instead of four.
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Speaker 2:At 19 minutes 18 seconds in, angel Wesley and Cordelia exit the elevator in a nice hotel. They're on their way to that client meeting Cordelia set up and she finally tells them there aren't any demons but it pays well. And she says just talk to him. Oh, and we should pick up the tab for lunch. Nothing says success less than splitting the bill. So again, a little bit of tension here about money. As Cordelia goes on and talks about how they ought to get a small business loan From behind them, faith appears with a crossbow, shoots an arrow at Angel. He turns around and catches it with one hand. That's at 20 minutes 14 seconds in faith smiles, half laughs and says that was so cool, this is going to be fun. She runs out. Angel says he thought she was in a coma and Cordelia comments pretty lively coma. That was the one quarter twist or the first major plot turn of the double episode arc. So it did come from outside.
Speaker 2:Angel takes the story in a new direction and raises the stakes. A little bit of a pun intended here on that, because now the story turns to Angel defending himself and his team from faith, and with a slayer after him you know that that is the one being who poses the most threat to him, so it does up the danger that he is normally in. It will also emotionally raise the stakes. In the next scene. Angel hangs up the phone in his outer office and tells Cordelia and Wesley that Giles said faith left Sunnydale a week ago. In her mental state is borderline psychotic. Wesley's angry Giles didn't give him a heads up and says I was faith's watcher when she came out of her coma. Giles should have contacted me immediately. But Angel says Giles didn't know faith was coming after Angel and Giles was worried about Buffy.
Speaker 2:At 21 minutes 17 seconds, saying Angel tells them track down any beatings, killings in the last week, possibly near bus stations and bars, and then make themselves scarce. He doesn't want to give faith any free targets. Wesley objects he's not going to run and hide when Angel's been targeted by a psychotic. But Cordelia likes the run and hide plan. Wesley comments that Angel seems to be taking it personally and asks if faith did something to Buffy. And Angel responds Giles just said it was rough.
Speaker 2:Wesley's sorry but warns Angel if he lets emotion control him, either Angel or faith will end up dead. And Angel responds that's what the lady wants. Wesley says that's not good enough. She's not a demon, angel, she's a sick, sick girl and if there's even a chance she can be reasoned with Angel, cuts him off and says there was. And goes on to say that last year there was a chance that he was pulling her back from the brink. Quote when some British guy kidnapped her and made damn sure she'd never trust another living soul. Close quote Cordelia tells him not to blame Wesley, just because some British guy.
Speaker 2:And then she pauses and says, oh wait, turns to Wesley. That was you. Go on. Wesley looks ashamed, says you don't need to. An Angel says let's just get to work. So I see this as the episode midpoint commitment. So usually at the midpoint we'll see the protagonist make a major commitment or suffer a major reversal. Pure Angel commits to protecting the team. It's unclear if he's really willing to kill faith. We could also see faith coming after him, that major turn as a reversal. It is a little hard, though, to pinpoint a strong midpoint here, either commitment or reversal, and this is part of why I think there is a complete story here for the episode, but I don't think it is quite as strong or as clear as the other three parts of the four-part faith story. Also because those flashbacks I'll talk more about this in sanctuary really lay the groundwork for what happens later, and and are less so about this episode.
Speaker 2:At 22 minutes 32 seconds in, we cut to Angel opening his weapons cabinet. He hears noise upstairs, goes up and finds faith standing in the sunlight in the outer office. She tosses him a gun to give him one chance. She doesn't get to finish her sentence because he catches the gun and shoots, but he aims low and it doesn't hurt her. An angel says blanks and throws the gun back. Faith scolds him for not shooting to kill and tells him she needs to up the stakes, get him in the game. Angel asks what the game is boredom, revenge. And faith responds dude, I'm getting paid. They hate you almost as much as I do. He suggests it all might be more fun for him than her. But she disagrees because what if he experiences that one true moment of pleasure? She'd get off on that. She says let's take that hell ride together. When he says nothing, she tells him he's pathetic, him and his little tortured soul. And faith goes on we'll think fast, lover, you don't do me, you know I'm gonna do you. She fires the gun at him. He staggers back and faith says gosh, that one wasn't a blank. This tells us so much about where Faith is at. There was only one blank and then a real bullet. Angel could easily have killed her if he had just pulled the trigger twice. So this is foreshadowing of what happens at the end of the episode and maybe part of what tips Angel off to what Faith really wants. Faith says let the games begin. And though there's a door right behind her, she exits by crashing out through the window, very dramatically.
Speaker 2:We cut to Wolferman Hart. Lots of attorneys, mostly male, including Lindsay, stalked through the halls in suits, carrying briefcases, having stressful conversations. Lindsay disappears. Angel strides in, also in a suit with a briefcase One of the lawyer's points and says you, walks toward Angel and says we're in the Uber meeting. Maybe it was Hoover or Groover, I'm not sure. But Angel says right, and the guy says what the hell is going on with those people? Is it a negotiation or a coutillion? Angel bluffs his way through gripes about clients, other lawyers, deals. Partly it works because no matter what he says, the other lawyer jumps in with his own points. And it made me think of something I read about men in conversation how mostly they don't listen to each other. They just wait for their chance to talk.
Speaker 2:Angel goes to Lindsay's office. He looks through his desk. Lindsay walks in, pretends he doesn't know what Angel's talking about. When Angel asks where faith is, angel taunts Lindsay about having it made being able to hire a killer whenever he wants. But Lindsay points out that Angel killed one of his clients through him out a window. Angel says too bad, the guy burned up on the way down, otherwise Angel might have needed a good lawyer. Lindsay says I'm sorry, we only handle a certain class of clientele. Angel responds I'm sure I killed enough people to qualify.
Speaker 2:So this, through conflict, tells us more and more about Wolfram and Hart's client base. It also gets in the backstory about Angel and on first, second, probably through fourth watches, I thought that's another reason we don't need those flashbacks. Lindsay tells him a vampire can't walk in without the firm knowing it. They spend a fortune on mystical barriers. A security guard emerges, gun drawn, but Angel grabs the guy and pangs his head on the table Only once. But it does call back to what faith did to Lee the lawyer, drawing some parallels between Angel and faith or some more parallels. And this is where I start thinking that is more of the point of the flashbacks, to also make the way that Angel identifies with faith more clear. Angel pats Lindsay's shoulder on his way out, tells him it was good to see him again and exits the office. Lindsay calls after him. You know just when. I think I got you figured out. You show up in a suit.
Speaker 2:It's not clear if Angel has learned anything useful here, but the scene has humor and tension. And something to keep in mind if you are writing is that there are going to be scenes where your protagonist pursuing the quest or the goal doesn't get anywhere and one way to handle it is to summarize those. I do that occasionally in my mysteries. I might just run through a couple of things that the protagonist does that get nowhere. But also it's good to show a scene sometimes where the protagonist is trying, and it works best if the scene can have its own tension and conflict. That keeps it compelling and interesting and if it also moves along. Maybe a series arc or season arc, something between the two characters, as we do here with Angel and Lindsay.
Speaker 2:At 28 minutes 44 seconds in, cordelia and Wesley walk down the hall outside her apartment. Wesley's reading from a file about other assaults, so I'm not sure. Maybe that came from Lindsay's office, so maybe Angel did get something or Wesley compiled this. The assaults are possibly by faith. They head for Cordelia's door. When Cordelia unlocks her door and tries to open it, it slams shut against her twice. She tells Phantom Dennis, it's just Wesley. Explaining to Wesley that it's her ghost, Dennis, who gets jealous the third time he lets them enter and Cordelia says don't worry, hell will freeze over before I have sex with him. And Wesley says, thank goodness for small favors.
Speaker 2:Cordelia is there to get a few things so they can go into hiding. But faith comes around the corner. She tells them she has a little problem. Angel's not in the game. Wesley tries to tell her it's not too late and faith responds for Cappuccino because she shrugs it just keeps me up. Wesley tells her they want to help. He knows there have been failures on both sides.
Speaker 2:Quote but I also believe in my heart that you are not a bad person. Close quote faith listens. Elbow's Cordelia is so hard in the face that Cordelia drops to the floor and then quietly says what do you believe in your heart? Now? Wesley punches her, taking her by surprise, but she quickly recovers and kicks him across the room. So minor inconsistency here. Dennis is able to shut the door, slam the door on Cordelia and Wesley, but it doesn't seem like he has done anything to faith. And if you watch previous Angel episodes, dennis is pretty strong. However, I feel like that works because this little break from reality, from the reality of the show doesn't help the characters. So you're not departing from what we've developed of Dennis's character in order to make things easy for our friends and it's also kind of fun to see Dennis to have a nod to that and we know faith could have easily ambushed them somewhere else.
Speaker 2:We now go to another flashback. Angel, looking disheveled and hungry, approaches a group of people. They think he's a beggar. He says he's hungry and one of the men throws a coin in the dirt to Angel. He vamps out, says he doesn't want the money, he wants the woman and he yells I am a monster. As the man starts beating him but Angelus prevails and he attacks and bites the woman. So yet another parallel to faith, because later, when she's fighting Angel, she will scream that she's bad and that she's evil.
Speaker 2:About 32 minutes in, angel enters Cordelia's apartment and finds her on the floor. She looks around for Wesley and asks if he's okay. So now we reach the three quarter term for the episode. That's the last major plot turn and it typically spins the story in yet another new direction and should grow out of the midpoint. Here faith paces in front of Wesley who's tied to a chair and gagged. He screams through the gag when she sits on his lap and grabs his head. He's pretty beat up. So this definitely turns the story that faith has Wesley and is torturing him. Does it come out of the midpoint? Not that clear, since our midpoint wasn't that clear. Maybe because Angel told Wesley and Cordelia to leave and they probably would have been safer with him. Well, definitely would have been safer with him.
Speaker 2:So there is that Faith paces in front of Wesley With an edge in her voice between anger and despair. Faith slaps Wesley's face, tells him not to poop out on her, otherwise it'll be over too fast and quote and you'll be dead and I'll be bored. He grunts again, his head lolls back and she says come on, wesley, where's that stiff upper lip? And she tells him they've only done one of the five basic torture groups blunt, but they're still sharp, cold, hot and loud. And he nods. When she asks if he has a preference, she takes off his gag, says it's always better with audience participation. He spits and whispers I was your watcher, faith. I know the real you. Even if you kill me, there's just one thing I want you to remember. And she says what's that love? And he says you are a piece of shh. And she stuffs the gag in again before he can finish and says you should talk huh. And tells him she'll just have to try a little harder. She grabs a framed photo, breaks the glass over it and, with a sharp shard in her hand, says they'll switch to sharp for a while. So we have some movement, well, obvious action, movement in Wesley's subplot, but also in where he is emotionally and what he believes, because he no longer believes faith is worth saving.
Speaker 2:We cut back to Cordelia's apartment. She and Angel plot on a map where all the different attacks occurred. She says the first victim, the one whose wallet and keys were stolen, is still in the hospital. She and Wesley were just going to go see him. She points out on a map where he lives and we cut to faith. She's sitting alone in an open window this is an old warehouse building converted to apartments and she drops a bloody piece of glass to the ground where it shatters. She's looking depressed. She goes back inside.
Speaker 2:Wesley looks much worse and faith tells him the air was refreshing, but now she feels cold, needs to warm the place up. She grabs a long handled electric lighter and starts talking to Wesley about what if they'd never met. What if Giles had been her watcher? And she says you think we'd still be here right now? Or would Giles be sitting in that chair? Or is it just like fate? No choice, you were going to be sitting in that chair, no matter what. She goes on that she doesn't think about fate or destiny as she sprays an aerosol can and uses the lighter to create a fireball and says not that, any of this is your own fault. She creates another fireball and goes on that if he'd been a better watcher, she might have been a more positive role model, and tells him to face it he was a jerk walking around like he had a steak at this English channel. She pulls the gag off, tells him she wants to hear him scream and he says he never will.
Speaker 2:And throughout this faith, we can see her so on the edge. This is not making her feel like she thought it would to torture Wesley. She is feeling worse and worse, though she is doing and saying horrible Things. So at this point, as the audience, we can understand how much pain she's in and yet not sympathize with her, because her sympathies are with Wesley. As she creates another fireball, angel breaks down the door Side note, I think we're meant to assume that the guy in the hospital died, otherwise Angel couldn't enter and Faith says it's about time, soul boy, ready to play. Now she gets behind Wesley and holds the knife to his neck and Angel says I'm ready. We flash back to Angelus. He staggers out of that alley saying I can't, oh God, I can't. The woman, still alive, is behind him, her hand pressed to her neck, and she watches him leave. Now we are approaching the climax of the episode where we resolve its main plot and tie up subplots, or we should.
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Speaker 2:At 38 minutes 38 seconds in, faith is still not sure Angel's really in the game and says I mean, if I kill him, will that help or just be really funny? Angel says he knows what Faith's after. It's about the two of them, not Wesley. Faith says no, baby, he's payback. And Angel responds for what? I thought you were happy with the way you are. This is such a wonderful conflict between the two. Angel goes right to the heart of the issue, because if Faith really does like being the way she is, why is she so angry at Wesley?
Speaker 2:This is where only on doing the final version of my notes did I start to see that maybe that's the point of the flashbacks, because what we learn in them that we don't get from the dialogue in the episode is that when Angel first had a soul, he didn't want it. He wanted his old life back. As distraught as he was, as much guilt as he felt at all those memories flooding back, he wanted to stay with Darla, or at least he turned to Darla for comfort, and she threw him out. He didn't choose to leave, and then he was still trying to attack this woman. He didn't just become good. So this is why he has such empathy for Faith and believes she is worth saving. So Angel asks her how much he's worth dusted and shakes his head when Faith tells him $15,000.
Speaker 2:Wesley keeps eye contact with Angel as they talk and Wesley tips his chair backwards, out and away from the knife. Angel attacks Faith Wesley on his back while they fight. He's still tied to the chair but he inches toward the knife which is impaled on the floorboards. Great example of how to have a character do the most they possibly can. Wesley is a great fighter, even though he cannot physically fight the same way Angel and Faith can, but he's doing everything he possibly can despite being so injured. The fight between Faith and Angel is very violent, trashes the whole apartment. Faith often seems stronger. She throws Angel across the room but he finally flings himself out the window, taking her with him, and they crash to the ground where they keep fighting.
Speaker 2:Inside. Wesley has gotten to the knife and he starts sawing off the ropes. Rain starts pouring and jealous and Faith are getting soaked as they fight and she is screaming that he doesn't know what evil is and she yells at him when he's doing more dodging than punching. She wants him to fight back. He tells her he knows what she wants and he won't do it, and I wonder if this suggests that in the flashback, when Angel was yelling I'm a monster, he wanted those three men to kill him. Faith keeps punching, he keeps blocking Inside. Wesley has gotten free. He looks down, sees them from the window, goes back to the kitchen and grabs a large knife Outside. Angel tells Faith he won't make it easier for her. She keeps punching him, but she isn't hitting as hard. She starts yelling I'm evil, I'm bad, I'm evil. But she shifts toward pushing Angel's chest more than punching. She's sobbing along with yelling and finally says Angel, please kill me. Wesley has made it outside, he has the knife. He staggers toward them just as she says just kill me. Over and over. Angel holds Faith cradling her head in his hands as they both crouch to the ground in the rain. Wesley drops the knife and we go to credits. So that scene does so much.
Speaker 2:It is the climax of the episode when Angel and Faith end that fight. It's the final confrontation between opposing forces and then we have a very short falling action. So the falling action comes after the climax. It's the part of the story where the writer resolves subplots. So here we don't quite have that, because Wesley's subplot minor spoiler will continue. But him dropping the knife is the closest we have to that. And there is, I guess, a Wesley Faith subplot here. So this ends it Wesley saying she can be safe, faith attacking him, wesley changing his mind, believing she can't, or at least that she has to be killed to stop her, and then dropping that knife, recognizing that that is not going to happen.
Speaker 2:For the double episode arc, this is the midpoint, and here we do see a very strong commitment by the protagonist. Angel commits to this quest. He could have killed Faith. She wanted him to and even before that it's it's pretty clear that he could have done it before she says she wants him to, but he commits to helping her in the face of her, torturing Wesley almost to death. Wesley too. His subplot, which is about does he have faith in Angel? How he feels about redemption for Faith All of that has a major reversal when he sees the two of them together and he drops that knife. So major reversal for Wesley in his subplot.
Speaker 2:One other thing before I go to foreshadowing and spoilers, is who's the protagonist and who's the antagonist here. So Angel is the protagonist, while we do get a number of point of views. We get Angel, wesley, faith and individual lawyers from Wolfram and Hart. The most is from Angel's point of view and he has the most active goal. Throughout it shifts a bit, but first it is to get Danny to testify to do the right thing, then to protect his team from Faith, and then to help Faith, to try to get her to do the right thing. In the big picture and all of this is very related and one flows into the other he also has the most at stake. A slayer poses a particular danger to him. Also, his team is on the line. This is Cordelia is terribly injured, wesley, tortured, almost killed, and yet he still makes this commitment to try to help Faith find redemption.
Speaker 2:Now, why did I say at the start that Wolfram and Hart is the antagonist? The antagonist's one job is to push back against the protagonist and here, throughout the episode, wolfram and Hart is doing that. They are the ones who don't want Danny to testify, who are trying to kill Danny. Angel is trying to save him. They're trying to win this trial. Angel defeats them. They are angry, so they hire Faith to go and kill him. So they are constantly pushing against him, and this is done so well. It's not easy to have a group or an entity as an antagonist because you risk it being too vague, too general, not a serious enough threat. But here Wolfram and Hart works through these different people, the three L's, the lawyers and each of them does specific things against Angel and they mainly work when we come to the action part of the episode through Faith. So it is a strong antagonist. Despite that, it is this monolithic organization, other than for shadowing and spoilers. That is it for this episode. Thank you so much for listening and for your support. I hope you will come back in two weeks for the last of the four parts.
Speaker 2:Angel season one, episode 19, sanctuary, where Angel struggles against everyone, including his own team and Buffy, to help Faith. And we are back for spoilers and for shadowing. When Wesley says he may be a Ruffian but he's already got a soul and therefore somewhere deep down inside and urged to do what's right, this foreshadows a lot of the questions we are going to have in the Buffyverse about what does it mean to have a soul? I'm not even sure if the show really sticks with this statement. It's certainly Wesley's view at that moment, but he questions it throughout the next episode. He's going to argue to Angel that there's evil in faith and no matter what she wants, even if she wants to change, it is just too dangerous to let her continue. He even seems to suggest killing her. Now I suppose we could say he doesn't so much change positions as think that that urge to do right is just not enough in her case. But he does seem to shift his view.
Speaker 2:This too foreshadows Spike's arc and whether, when he chooses in Buffy Season 6 to get a soul, is he motivated by what Wesley is suggesting. You need a soul to do, that urge to do what's right. Does he want the soul for that reason? Because he will say later that he got it so he would be the kind of man who would never hurt Buffy. Now he says he does it for her. So that's always the question with Spike. Pre-soul is, yes, he does start doing things genuinely to help Buffy or protect Buffy, even when he thinks he has no chance with her. But he's out of his feelings for her not solely to do good. How that fits with what Wesley says and what the show thinks of a soul, or both shows think of a soul, will remain an interesting question.
Speaker 2:Wesley's attitude changes about faith. The things he says to her foreshadow more of what we'll explore in the next episode in terms of does he trust Angel anymore and does he believe in faith's redemption? He does, I think, realize I'm not sure he goes through a change. I think when the Watchers Council thugs confront him he is forced to really go in himself and figure out what he believes. And he does discover he still trusts in Angel, no matter what he thinks of faith. But ultimately he changes his mind about faith as well. We'll explore much more about these topics in the next episode with Wesley's subplot, because right now he doesn't trust Angel, as we'll find out in the next episode, and we'll see what it takes for that to change, for his faith to be renewed in Angel, and I think it is really him going into himself to find that trust again. And to be confronted with the Council and their version of what's right makes him explore his own sense of what's right and just and what he can trust. This last one is more a comment than a spoiler, when Lindsay doesn't try to save Lee but Chess says it'll be three not four for dinner.
Speaker 2:Overall, I really enjoy this parody of law firms. I didn't love it so much when Angel Season 5 was on because I was still working a ton of hours at a large law firm. The law firm I worked at was not like this. These parodies are the worst things that there are in terms of lawyers you run into. But like any profession in it, there are people who are extremely difficult to work with, even if you take out the evil aspect. So I do find it much more fun now that I don't live in that world all the time. This does give us such a sense of what this law firm is like and why they are evil enough and powerful enough and why Lindsay alone is as well to be a foe for the entire series of Angel.
Speaker 2:And finally, these flashbacks and Angel's identification with faith and maybe over identification might explain some things about Angel, both what we know about him so far and what we'll learn in the future or see in the future. One of them is why Angel keeps feeling so much guilt. He didn't choose to be turned into a vampire. Yes, with Darla in the alley, he did want to see what she had to show him, but he didn't know she was going to turn him into a vampire. And yet he continues to feel this guilt of all the people that he killed and tortured and these flashbacks suggest perhaps it's because even when he had a soul he kept trying to go back to that life. I'm drawing on not just these flashbacks but the ones that we'll see later.
Speaker 2:In Angel there's one where Darla brings him a baby to kill. Because he has gone back to Darla, he has tried to go back to his old life. She's not convinced he's evil, wants him to kill this baby. He doesn't do it. But in the conversation we find out that he has been killing humans and feeding off them. He's just been choosing ones that maybe the human world would also consider as evil so that he doesn't feel as bad about doing it. But we know that even with a soul Angel did kill and feed off of humans. So that perhaps is part of why the guilt where Spike first, the chip keeps him from killing and feeding off humans. But he does throughout that process ultimately choose to get a soul and the only killing he does after is when he's controlled by the first. It's involuntary on his part, so once he has his soul he never tries to choose that life again. Also, their personalities are just different. I think Spike is not one inclined to brood regardless, but it does raise some interesting points about why perhaps Angel feels a greater guilt about what he did as a vampire, and that will continue to be explored in Angel the Series and, on Buffy, explored through Spike's storyline. So that is it.
Speaker 2:Thank you again for listening. I hope you'll come back in two weeks for Angel, season 1, episode 19, sanctuary, where Angel tries to help Faith and Buffy returns at the worst possible moment. Remember, you can find back episodes of Buffy and the Art of Story at leesalillycom. Slash Buffy Story and Lily is L I W L? Y. You can also find the schedule for this season at leesalillycom slash Buffy Schedule and you can check out the first in each of my fiction series free at leesalillycom. Slash free Music for this episode was written and performed by Robert Newcastle. Buffy and the Art of Story is a production of Spiny Woman LLC. Copyright 2021. All Rights Preserved.
