Angel (season 2)

Season synopsis

The Angel Investigations team, now in their new headquarters at the Hyperion Hotel, are trying to decipher what Wolfram & Hart raised at the end of season one with the Scrolls of Aberjan. It turns out that it was Darla – now human, ailing and mentally unstable – who is being used by Wolfram & Hart to unhinge Angel by mystically invading his dreams. Darla has been returned as the human she was before being turned into a vampire, which means that she has a soul but is now dying from the same case of syphilis that she originally had. She begs Angel to turn her into a vampire to save her life. He refuses and instead takes part in a dangerous trial, attempting to buy her a second chance. He succeeds. Unfortunately it can't help Darla, since she had already been rescued from death once before. However, his sacrifice proves to her that humanity has strength within it after all, and she begins to make peace with the idea of dying. However, Wolfram & Hart do not share her view and bring forth Drusilla to sire the uncooperative Darla (their original plan having been that Angel would do so, further darkening his path). With Drusilla and an again-soulless Darla now together and loose on the streets of Los Angeles, Angel decides he has no choice but to sink to their level in order to defeat them. He fires his crew (Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn) and purposefully allows Darla and Drusilla to slaughter the Special Projects division of Wolfram & Hart including Holland Manners. During the massacre the vampires intentionally leave Lindsey McDonald and Lilah Morgan alive to act as their liaisons to Wolfram & Hart. The two lawyers begin competing for the position of head of Special Projects, in fear of losing their jobs as the firm decides to "trim the fat." Meanwhile, Angel trains himself to take on Darla and Drusilla. He finds and eliminates the potential demon army they planned to use to destroy Los Angeles, and then violently sets both of them on fire (although not killing them).

As Angel is off on his own, the other three members of the gang start their own detective agency using what little resources they have. In "Reprise", Angel decides to take down Wolfram & Hart at its core (the Senior Partners) and attempts to find a way to the Home Office, which he believes refers to Hell. Meanwhile, Darla has also been looking for the Senior Partners, intending to join in their power. Angel eventually sneaks onto the Wolfram & Hart property and shares an elevator ride with the deceased Holland Manners, who tells him that the Home Office is not some dark, demonic dimension but is simply Earth. "The world doesn't work in spite of evil, Angel. It works for it. It works because of it." In a fit of blind despair, Angel ends up having sex with Darla in hopes that he can lose his soul with its crushing burden of conscience. Afterwards he has an epiphany and realizes his mistake; he also allows Darla to leave town but he claims that he will have to kill her if he sees her again. He seeks out the team and humbly asks if he can work for them rather than being the boss again. They agree to do so, but not without some hesitation and doubt about trusting him again. They move back into the Hyperion Hotel and Wesley is put in charge of the Agency.

As the season progresses Cordelia goes from a superficial, carefree youth to a strong, humble and worthy helper of the helpless; Wesley evolves from the bumbling fool of the previous season into a semi-assertive leader, whilst Gunn is brought down a notch and bonds further with the team. The character of "The Host" (or Lorne, as he comes to be known by the climax of the season) is introduced at the start of the season as a mystical guide who helps people find their way. He can do this by looking into people's souls when they sing karaoke at his nightclub "Caritas". Lindsey becomes tired of his life at Wolfram & Hart and, after getting a new hand, shoots up the office and leaves Los Angeles and his rivalry with Angel behind. Lilah is subsequently put in charge of Special Projects. Meanwhile, detective Kate Lockley falls deeper into a state of loneliness and despair which compromises her skills as a detective, forcing the department to fire her. She subsequently takes an overdose of medication but is saved by Angel, who barges into her apartment and sobers her up. Kate begins to come to terms with the world that surrounds them and finds solace in the idea that somebody is watching out for her, since Angel was able to enter her apartment to save her despite her never having invited him.

During the last four episodes of the season, Cordelia is accidentally transported to Lorne's home world known as Pylea, and the rest of the team follows. It is a medieval world where the population is ruled by an occult priesthood known as the Covenant, headed by a demon named Silas, and humans are kept as slaves (referred to as "cows"). Lorne discovers that his family still hates him as much as ever. Cordelia, marked as special because of her visions, is made a monarch but is unknowingly just a tool of the priests. Angel (who can both walk in the sun and see his own reflection) saves the life of a slave girl named Fred who had been sucked in through a portal from Los Angeles years earlier. He also has one of his greatest struggles with his demon side, which comes out so completely on this world that it threatens to overwhelm his humanity. Gunn and Wesley, acting somewhat as advisors to Cordelia, learn of a connection between the priests and Wolfram & Hart and decide to flee the castle. They escape but Cordelia cannot. Gunn and Wesley eventually join a group of humans planning to rebel against the Covenant and Wesley is put in charge of the attack, where he begins learning of his true skills as a leader. Silas is eventually cornered, and Cordelia chops his head off before he can use his magical device to slaughter every slave on Pylea. Cordelia then uses her royal power to free the slaves and declare everyone equal. The gang and Fred return home happy, only to find Willow waiting at the hotel to inform them of Buffy's death.

Main cast

Crew

Series creators Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt served as executive producers, while Greenwalt would serve as the series' showrunner as Whedon was running Buffy. Whedon didn't write a script for the season, although he did write the stories to "Judgment" and "Happy Anniversary", directed the fourth episode "Untouched" (the only television episode he's directed that he also didn't write) and even acted in the season's penultimate episode as Lorne's dancing cousin Numfar. Buffy writer/producer Marti Noxon served as consulting producer, with other Buffy writers Jane Espenson, Douglas Petrie and David Fury were asked to write freelance scripts.

Tim Minear (supervising producer, promoted to co-executive producer midseason) and Jim Kouf (consulting producer) were the only writers kept on the staff. Minear ended up writing the most episodes of the season, including important episodes during the Angel/Darla story arc including "Darla", "The Trial", "Reunion", "Reprise" and "Epiphany". "Darla" also counted as Minear's directorial debut. Mere Smith, who was a script coordinator during the first season was promoted to a staff writer, and began writing episodes. Shawn Ryan was hired for the season and also served as a producer.

James A. Contner (also co-producer) directed the highest amount of episodes in the second season, directing three episodes. David Greenwalt directed two, including the season finale.

Crossovers with Buffy the Vampire Slayer

The second season of Angel aired along with the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both shows retained their timeslots on The WB Television Network, airing on Tuesdays at 9:00 PM ET and 8:00 PM ET respectively.

The Buffy episode "Fool for Love" is a companion to the Angel episode "Darla". Both episodes feature multiple flashbacks to the history of Spike (James Marsters) and Darla (Julie Benz), shown from their respective viewpoints. Angel (David Boreanaz) and Drusilla (Juliet Landau) also appear in both episodes. Both episodes feature the same scene – one from the point of view of Spike and the other from Angel, Darla, and Drusilla.

Buffy recurring character Drusilla makes her first present appearance on Angel in the episode "The Trial". She returns to Sunnydale in her final present-tense appearance in the episode "Crush".

Angel visits Buffy in the episode "Forever" to comfort her after he learns her mother died.

Buffy recurring character Harmony Kendall (Mercedes McNab) visits L.A. in the episode "Disharmony". Willow (Alyson Hannigan) also appears in the episode in a conversation with Cordelia (Charisma Carpenter) over the phone.

Willow comes to L.A. in the season two finale, "There's No Place Like Plrtz Glrb" to deliver the news to Angel that Buffy had died.

Reception

The second season won the International Horror Guild Award for Best Television. It was nominated for five Saturn Awards – Best Network Television Series, Best Actor on Television (David Boreanaz), Best Actress on Television (Charisma Carpenter), Best Supporting Actor on Television (Alexis Denisof) and Best Supporting Actress on Television (Juliet Landau).

The Futon Critic named "Reunion" the 20th best episode of 2000.

The second season averaged 4.1 million viewers, slightly lower than the fifth season of Buffy.

DVD release

Angel: The Complete Second Season was released on DVD in region 1 on September 2, 2003 and in region 2 on April 15, 2002. The DVD includes all 22 episodes on 6 discs presented in anamorphic widescreen 1.78:1 aspect ratio. Special features on the DVD include two commentary tracks—"Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" by writer Tim Minear and "Over the Rainbow" by director Fred Keller. Scripts for "Darla" and "Disharmony" are included. Featurettes include, "Making up the Monsters", which details the make-up design; "Inside the Agency" is a set tour of various sets; "Stunts" details the choreography of the stunts; and "Season 2 Overview" is a summary of the season featuring interviews with cast and crew members. A photo stills gallery is also included.