“Angel” Season 1 (1999-2000, The WB) is all over the place creatively, but every place it chooses to go, it treads confidently. The result is 22 episodes that are as thematically rich as they are varied.
In some ways, I prefer the nine Doyle episodes that open the series more than anything that will follow over the next five seasons. There’s a pureness to the structure: Someone needs help, Doyle and Cordelia investigate the demon, and Angel kills the demon. Plus, although I liked Doyle from the beginning, I think we all like him more knowing we only got nine episodes with him. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that.
Also in the early days, there’s a appealing sense of loneliness to the proceedings: It’s just a trio of people who have nowhere else to go (Angel feels it’s his mission to help the hopeless, it literally is Doyle’s mission to be Angel’s connection to the Powers That Be, and Cordy desperately needs a job). But they bond over their shared isolation, and we bond with them. They lead small, focused lives, and there’s nobility in that.
“Angel” Season 1 (1999-2000)
WB, 22 episodes
Creators: Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt
Stars: David Boreanaz, Charisma Carpenter, Glenn Quinn
On my latest rewatching, perhaps because unemployment is a big issue now, it struck me how “Angel’s” first season chronicles the growing pains of a successful small business. Many TV shows cut corners when it comes to the question of how their characters make a living and pay the rent; “Angel” isn’t totally guilt-free on this count, but Cordy regularly deals with money issues and Angel Investigations’ need to have cashing flowing in is often a plot point.
Mostly, though, Season 1 works because Angel, Cordy and Wesley — all side characters in Sunnydale, Buffy’s world — now take center stage in this grittier and meaner, but also more rife with possibilities, world of Los Angeles. So even though the style, theme and even the genre changes from week to week, the trio (whether rounded out with Doyle or Wesley) remains our touchtone for this solid season, which arguably still stands as “Angel’s” best.
Here are my rankings of the 22 episodes:
1. “I Will Remember You” (8, David Greenwalt and Jeannine Renshaw)
Ah, the love letter to Buffy-Angel ‘shippers. I was very much in that camp back in the day, although I now appreciate Angel’s need to move on and define himself by something other than Buffy. This is very much an “Angel heroically puts others before himself” episode (Angel turns back time to erase his recently gained humanity, for crying out loud), but I have to admit that Sarah Michelle Gellar kinda gives the best performance, especially when she cries “I’ll never forget … I’ll never forget.”
2 and 3. “Five By Five” (18, Jim Kouf) and “Sanctuary” (19, Tim Minear and Joss Whedon)
The brilliant “Buffy” body-switch episode “Who Are You?” ends with Faith having learned the value of being good while she’s in Buffy’s body. So why is she evil as heck in “Five By Five?” Poor writing? Not at all; in the brilliant conclusion, the Angel-Faith confrontation gradually devolves from a fight into Faith begging Angel to kill her. And we, as viewers, realize the whole episode was Faith’s cry for help (our epiphany corresponds with Wesley, the audience surrogate at this point, dropping his knife).
Then in “Sanctuary,” Angel’s hard work of saving Faith’s soul begins, and both characters gain tremendous depth in the process. (Intriguingly, Buffy kind of comes off as the villain when this episode is watched outside the context of the preceding “Buffy” episodes; on this rewatching project, I’m watching “Angel” straight-up, even when I come upon a crossover episode.) It’ll be a long wait till Faith returns in Season 4, but worth it.
4. “Lonely Heart” (2, David Fury)
OK, the top three entries happen to be continuations from “Buffy” arcs, but “Angel” is so much more than that. As the title suggests, “Lonely Heart” beautifully illustrates this series’ permeating theme of loneliness, partially through the demon-of-the-week that needs to “make a connection” to transfer to new host bodies, and partly through Angel and Kate genuinely connecting (both as informal detective partners and as friends), albeit tenuously.
5. “City Of” (1, Greenwalt and Whedon)
It’s easy to forget now, but the question going into this spinoff was “Can Angel (and David Boreanaz) carry a whole series?” We get a definitive “yes” in the teaser sequence when Angel fakes being drunk, then stakes a bunch of vampires in an alley with Batman-esque retractable stakes. Doyle is also immediately likable as Angel’s source for visions of people in distress, and Cordelia joins the team in classic Cordelia fashion — pretending she just needs a job till her acting career takes off, but secretly wanting to fight the good fight (at least that’s how I read Cordy).
And I love Angel’s basement apartment, complete with sewer tunnel access, and with an upstairs office (too bad it only lasted one season). We also see that there’s still room “Buffy”-style humor (“… and hey, you’re a vampire!” Cordelia ends her monologue to a vampire who has cornered her in his house), although some episodes later in the season will be less quippy and more broody; I think the addition of new staff writers might be the cause of this.
6. “The Prodigal” (13, Minear)
The Angel-turning-into-a-vampire flashback scenes in “Becoming” were great, so why not expand on them? It turns out to be a great choice, as we learn that the human Angel was named Liam, his dad thought he was worthless, and Angelus made his family his first victims. The A-plot is actually about Kate’s dad getting in too deep with vampires, but the Angelus flashbacks are what stand out in this episode.
7. “Sense & Sensitivity” (6, Minear)
Sort of like “Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered,” this episode is zany, giggly fun as a magic talking stick causes everyone who touches it to share their deepest, truest feelings. Obviously, if you put a tough cop like Kate and a stoic vampire like Angel in this situation, laughs will ensue. A classic moment is Angel gathering in Doyle and Cordy for a hug.
8. “Blind Date” (21, Renshaw)
Although Season 1 doesn’t have a specific Big Bad, the writers actually go one better by developing a series-long Big Bad: Wolfram & Hart. Lindsey’s attempts to break free from the evil law firm nicely illustrate how it operates, and at the same time we see another side of Lindsey that will add color to all his dealings with Angel in the coming years.
9. “Somnambulist” (11, Minear)
Yeah, we know about Angelus running around with Darla, Spike and Dru, but surely he hung with other vamps too, right? Indeed, and Penn is one of them. When he copies some of Angelus’ old crimes, we get a non-subtle example of Angelus’ past coming back to bite him. This episode features the inevitable moment when Kate learns Angel is a vampire; I don’t particularly like the fact that she hates him for it. But I do like the introduction of Angelus flashbacks into “Angel.”
10. “She” (13, Greenwalt and Marti Noxon)
“She” always struck me as the start of a path not taken. Angel has sexual tension with Jhiera, a warrior fleeing from another dimension (then again, Bai Ling has sexual chemistry with everyone acting across from her). As it turns out, this is the only episode with Jhiera, though, and it’s kind of fascinating for that reason.
11. “I Fall to Pieces” (4, Whedon and Greenwalt)
This is just a meat-and-potatoes crime-solving yarn, the type of standalone “Angel” formula that was also embraced in the novels and the early comics. It gets decidedly sci-fi — the villain can remove and reattach his body parts, and have them do his bidding — and I have a feeling this episode is detested by most fans, but I admire its simplicity.
12. “To Shanshu in L.A.” (22, Greenwalt)
An episode that’s more important than it is great, the season finale introduces us to an end game for Angel via the shanshu prophecy: His reward for doing good is that he will become human. Although it’s a fascinating addition to the mythology, it’s interesting to note that this prophecy has not yet been fulfilled, not even in the post-TV comic books. I promise you that Whedon hasn’t forgotten about it, though. In the memorable final scene of “Shanshu,” Wolfram & Hart brings Darla back from the dead; at this point, it’s a “Huh?” moment, but it’ll lead to some great Season 2 episodes.
13. “Hero” (9, Howard Gordon)
Most episodes where a major character dies rank among the best “Buffy”/”Angel” episodes (“Passion,” “Becoming Part 2,” “The Body,” “The Gift,” “A Hole in the World”). This one doesn’t; I still don’t totally understand why the pureblood demons allow Angel into their gang, and Doyle’s sacrifice is sort of like Spock’s in the “Star Trek” movies. The plot details are too confusing to allow for the full emotional experience. Admittedly, I do get a bit teared up over the bookend of Doyle saying “Is that it? Are we done?”
14. “The Ring” (16, Minear)
In this blunt reminder of how ridiculously heroic Angel is, he attempts to rally a bunch of demons caught up in a series of fights to the death with one another. His non-violent resolve eventually (of course) convinces some of his fellow inmates to join him in fighting their true enemies. By this point in the series, the appearance of demons is hardly a novelty anymore, and that allows for the great final joke where the writers kind of admit to a kink in the show’s mythology: “Actually, didn’t we just set a bunch of demons free?”
15. “War Zone” (20, David Straiton)
I have a serious bias against this episode that comes from the fact that the Buffy-Faith fight music is used when Angel is chased by Gunn’s gang. In no other case does “Angel” blatantly reuse old music, and generally composer Robert J. Kral does a great job, so it’s very distracting. On the other hand, “War Zone” is the most visually striking episode of the season, ending with Gunn broodingly looking out over the night skyline (something that Angel does a lot at the end of episodes too; thus, the Angel-Gunn alliance has its roots).
16. “In the Dark” (3, Douglas Petrie)
Yeah, it’s a Spike episode, which is nothing to sneeze at, but there are better Spike episodes. In this very first “Buffy”/”Angel” crossover event, Spike has another vampire torture Angel for what seems like the whole episode. And ultimately, the plot shifts to Cordy, Doyle and Oz (in his only “Angel” appearance) tracking down this new vampire while Spike fades out of the plot. Of course, we’ll get plenty more Spike on “Buffy,” and he’ll finally return to “Angel” for Season 5.
17. “Rm w/a Vu” (5, Jane Espenson)
This ghost story is also a Cordelia character piece, and although Charisma Carpenter is good as always, her reaction to her haunted apartment runs hot and cold. Is she scared, or not scared? In the end, all it takes is the evil ghost calling her a “bitch” for Cordy to stand and fight back.
18. “I’ve Got You Under My Skin” (14, Greenwalt and Renshaw)
The concept is more interesting than the execution: There exists a boy who has no soul. Although no explanation is given for how this villain came about, the episode still works as a metaphor for those people we’ve all encountered at some point (probably in grade school) who seem to be utterly selfish and without remorse. The climax is a straight-up “Exorcist” lift. I do recall laughing a lot on my first viewing when Angel says his last name is Jones.
19. “Eternity” (17, Tracey Stern)
This episode is a thematic sibling to “Lie to Me” in that it’s about an actress who wants to become a vampire. It’s also reminiscent of “Enemies” in that it’s an excuse for Boreanaz to let loose and play Angelus for a while. The actress, Rebecca, isn’t as interesting as she could’ve been, although — as with Jhiera — the concept of Angel with someone other than Buffy makes this a noteworthy hour (cringeworthy on my initial viewing, but I’ve matured).
20. “Parting Gifts” (10, Renshaw)
It’s an important episode, certainly: The PTBs refuse Angel’s request to bring back Doyle, Cordy inherits Doyle’s visions and Wesley joins the team. By the way, Alexis Denisof is a master of physical comedy (note the scene where he attempts to casually rest his foot on a bed, but it’s too soft so his foot awkwardly slides off), and I can see why Whedon wanted to bring him onboard. Oddly, Wesley’s bumbling will only last for a few episodes. “Parting Gifts” as a whole isn’t great, though, as Cordy and her “eyes of a seer” get put up for auction.
21. “Expecting” (12, Gordon)
This is the episode where Wesley shifts from pratfalling buffoon to solid crimefighter. It struck me as way too abrupt on my first viewing, but one could argue that it makes a certain amount of sense. When the former Watcher confronts the gang of thugs, he gains confidence from knowing he’s representing Angel Investigations. When he confronts the giant demon, he knows it’s part of a larger plan, with Angel coming in behind him. Cordelia’s demon pregnancy plot is a bit gross, although — again — Carpenter handles the material well.
22. “Bachelor Party” (7, Stern)
In this clear low point of Season 1, the event of the title seems way too padded, and the fact that the demons are going to eat Doyle’s brain feels telegraphed and inconsequential due to the jokey tone. The fact that Glenn Quinn gets so much screen time certainly makes this episode watchable, but on the other hand I wish Quinn would’ve had more to do beyond being threatened at a party, especially considering how few Doyle-centric episodes there are.
How would you rank the 22 episodes of Season 1? I’ll be back soon with a look at “Angel” Season 2, when Angel deals with a couple blasts from his past by the names of Darla and Drusilla. Also, the home base moves to the Hyperion Hotel and we meet Lorne and (eventually) Fred, thus completing the Angel Investigations gang we know and love.
Click here for an index of all of John’s “Buffy” and “Angel” reviews.