Epiphany (Angel)

"Epiphany (Angel)"

"Epiphany" is episode 16 of season 2 in the television show Angel. Written by Tim Minear and directed by Thomas J Wright, it was originally broadcast on February 27, 2001 on the WB network. After spending an evening of empty passion with Darla, despite knowing that any moment of true happiness will make him lose his soul, Angel wakes up with his soul intact and realises that being evil to combat evil is not all it’s cracked up to be. Now, Angel needs to regain the trust of Wesley, Cordelia and Gunn who have been taken hostage by a group of murderous, revenge-seeking Skilosh demons who are looking for human hosts to spread their kin. Meanwhile, a jealous Lindsey learns that Darla has had sex with Angel, and goes looking to kill Angel himself. Also, Kate recovers and sees a new light to her life after Angel saves her from a suicide attempt. See List of Angel episodes for a complete list.

Plot

Angel pulls on some clothes and struggles to the balcony, falling to his knees in pain as Darla watches on, waiting for him to become Angelus. Angel apologizes for not being able to save her, revealing that he never lost his soul: instead of experiencing the "perfect happiness" that would relase it, he realizes his surrender to her was instead an act of perfect despair. Darla can't accept that she failed in ridding him of his soul, but the sex has reawakened the good in Angel, making him realize his recent mistakes. Angel advises Darla to leave and then rushes over to Kate's place and revives her from her drug and alcohol induced unconsciousness.

Lindsey returns to his apartment to find Darla who tells him of her night with Angel. Angel shows up at the bar after hours and wakes the Host for advice. He's confused about his future and the Host warns him that his friends may not be around for much longer as their lives are all in danger. Cordelia arrives at the Sharp home, finding all of the family dead. She receives a vision about a demon attacking her, only to have it actually occur moments later.

Cordelia realizes that the demons have an eye on the back of their heads and they want all of her friends destroyed in retaliation for destroying their spawn in Stephanie Sharp. Wesley hears noises in his apartment and just before one of the Skilosh demons attacks, Angel arrives. Wesley eventually invites him inside (after taking the chance to sound off to Angel about his recent behaviour) once the demons start attacking, and the two manage to destroy the demons and both share a brief moment of camaraderie before the walls go up again. Angel tries to explain his return to helping his friends. Wesley tells everything he knows about the demons, their reproduction through human hosts, and the destruction of the demon in Stephanie.

The Skilosh demons are upset about losing two more of their kind so they use Cordelia as bait to bring hosts for more. Wesley lectures Angel about how little he knows about his friends or about helping people. Gunn shows up at the office and after some detective work, the three head for the Sharp's to save Cordelia. After being attacked while driving, Angel leaves the car for Gunn and Wesley and volunteers to take care of the demons. As Angel's about to start fighting with the demons, Lindsey drives a truck full-speed down the street, repeatedly running Angel down.

Angel is beaten with a sledgehammer by Lindsey, who wants to know what happened with Darla. Angel turns the tables on Lindsey, smashing his prosthetic hand and stealing his truck to rescue Cordelia and the others. Gunn and Wesley try to sneak into the Sharp home but are caught. Angel crashes Lindsey's truck through the Sharp house, rescuing his friends, but he's hurt emotionally when they aren't willing to accept his returned presence. After finding his damaged truck returned by Angel, Lindsey finds that Darla has moved out of his apartment.

Angel talks with Kate about his new look on life, and how he's realised that what he does shouldn't be about scoring points off lawyers or to get closer to his own redemption but that he should help people for the sake of helping them. Kate mentions how a higher power must be watching over them because she never invited him into her home. Angel appears at the Angel Investigations office and apologizes to his friends. Wesley tells Angel that the three of them have talked and have decided they're not ready to return working for him, however Angel responds that he doesn't want them to work for him... he wants to work for them, and accepts that he will have to work hard to regain their trust. A vision from Cordelia puts their doubts on the back burner and the reunited team head out... to help the helpless.

Acting

Main cast

• David Boreanaz as Angel
• Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia
• Alexis Denisof as Wesley
• J. August Richards as Gunn

Guest stars

• Elisabeth Röhm as Kate Lockley
• Christian Kane as Lindsey McDonald
• Andy Hallett as The Host
• Julie Benz as Darla

Co-stars

• Marie Chambers as Mother
• Kevin Fry as Skilosh Demon

Production

In an essay examining the use of cinematic effects of time on Angel, Tammy Kinsey points out this episode is set up so that at first, the viewer suspects Angel has lost his soul - the structure of the opening scene strongly references the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Innocence" in which Angelus first emerges. However, as it becomes clear that Angel's soul is intact, he rushes to save Kate in a blur of quickly cut scenes. Kinsey says that, when viewed in slow motion, the last image in the transition is Angel smiling widely. Kinsey argues that "the subliminal image of David Boreanaz grinning" causes the viewer to emotionally move from "fear and concern about Angel to a sense of comfort and trust."

Arc significance

• Angel rejoins Cordelia, Gunn and Wesley, albeit as their employee rather than as their employer.
• Angel and Darla's night of passion has far-reaching consequences, as she becomes pregnant with Connor, her and Angel's son.
• "Epiphany" marks Kate Lockley's final appearance in the series until After The Fall (The canonical continuation of Angel written by Brian Lynch and Joss), issue 7.

Cultural references

• It's a Wonderful Life: Lorne's mention of Zuzu's Petals is a reference to this film.
• Blade Runner: Angel's line "I've done questionable things" is a direct quote from Blade Runner, where the main villain, Roy, attempts to confess his sins to his creator, Dr. Tyrell, immediately before killing him.

Translations

• German title: "Epiphania" ("Epiphany")
• Italian title: "Il grande premio" ("The big prize")
• Spanish title: "Epifanía" ("Epiphany")
• French title: "Retour à l'ordre" ("Back to normalcy")

External links

• "Epiphany" at IMDb