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Angel Reviews

Season 4, Episode 2, "Ground State"

In Wisconsin in 1985, little Gwen (dressed like South Park's Kenny) is dropped off at a special boarding school. Is this school run by a wheel chair bound bald man? Nope. (there's no Wolverine either) Gwen is told to stay away from the other kids. When a boy offers her a toy one day, Gwen's hand touches the boy's and she fatally electrocutes him. Now, at this point I have to ask...if Gwen's condition is openly known, why oh why would she be left in the proximity of other children? Shouldn't the other kids know that Lightning Lass is amongst them? You wouldn't want to be playing tag with Gwen.

Anyway, we get back to the present. Angel, Gunn & Fred are in Cordy's abandoned apartment. Angel the bloodhound is sniffing around trying to pick up a scent. The Fang Gang can no longer afford paying Cordy's rent, so they're moving her stuff to the hotel. Dennis the Ghost doesn't seem to enthused by this. Fred reveals her bitterness over Connor's betrayal.

Wesley is fighting demons with some recruits of his own. Angel shows up as Wesley dispatches the last one. Turns out Wesley has been investigating Cordelia's whereabouts as well. He determines that she must be in another dimension and that Angel should seek out Dinza, a 'Goddess of the Lost' for further instruction. Angel meets Dinza, who looks & acts exactly what you would expect a 'Goddess of the Lost' to look & act. Dinza tells Angel that he must find the Axis of Pythia in order to locate Cordy.

We now see a grown up version of Gwen, and the years have been kind. She's taken advantage of her electrical powers to become a professional thief. We find out that she has been commissioned by a man named Elliot to steal the very item that Angel is after...the Axis of Pythia.

For some reason we're shown a quick shot of Cordy's eye. I have no clue why.

Fred is presenting her research on the Axis of Pythia and in a funny scene, Angel shows off his more esthetically pleasing research. That's what happens when a lovesick vampire has too much time on his hands. Fred has found that the Axis is being kept in storage at an auction house, and that said auction house is heavily secured, so stealing the Axis will not be easy. The Fang Gang prepare for the heist, and this is inter-cut with shots of Gwen preparing.

Wesley all tuckered out from fighting those demons earlier, is 'relaxing with Lilah'. Lilah's found out about Connor's wayward status and reveals she has some 'relaxing' plans for Connor herself. We're shown a montage of shots of Gwen & the Fang Gang separately breaking into the auction house.  Gwen eventually encounters Angel & Gunn who are behind a steel gate and cannot enter the chamber where the Axis is kept. Gwen is inside the chamber, hanging from the ceiling. They dicker back and forth before Fred manages to remotely lift the gate and set off an alarm. Gwen grabs the Axis and tries to escape but Gunn grabs her. He gets electrocuted for his troubles. Gwen flash backs to Wisconsin 1985 and the boy she killed. Her guilt gets the best of her, and she touches Gunn's chest and electrically restarts his heart. She then makes her get away with the Axis.  

Connor is sleeping homeless in the streets. He's being watched by Lilah, no doubt formulating her 'relaxing' plans for him. I hope she's careful. Who knows what kind of critters Connor might have picked up in the hell dimension? Lilah is interrupted by Angel. They have a typical Angel-Lilah encounter. Angel threatens her & Wolfram and Hart in order to find out who commissioned Gwen to steal the Axis. As Angel departs he informs Lilah that he can smell Wesley all over her. Odd that Connor's super smell didn't detect Lilah or Angel. Gunn is recuperating after his 'death'. Fred comes in and breaks down from all the stress she's been under since the summer. Gunn's death being the straw that breaks the camels back.

Using the info garnered from Wolfram & Hart, Angel finally confronts Gwen. This is the encounter the entire episode has been building up to. They fight. Gwen is bewildered that her powers are having little effect. In a last ditch effort to kill him, she places her hands on Angel's chest. As the energy surges through Angel's chest his heart starts beating. Bewildered by this 'return to life' he starts passionately kissing Gwen. They're interrupted by Elliot. He's decided that his deal with Gwen is off. The elevator that Gwen & Angel is on is sealed shut and gas starts pouring in. Gwen has a funny line here about Elliot being like Lex Luthor. I wonder if in the history of the modern world an elevator has been hooked up for poison gas. Angel manages to bash his way out of the elevator and starts beating up Elliot's hired goons. Meanwhile Gwen is about to zap Elliot away into oblivion, but is stopped by Angel.  Gwen gives the Axis to Angel and departs.

Back at the hotel, Angel has used the Axis to locate Cordy, but discovers that she's in a place (her higher plane) where she belongs.  Angel, Gunn & Fred reminisce about Cordy and try to accept the fact that she's gone. We then cut to Cordy who's pleading for Angel to free her from her "higher plane".

What I liked:  Gwen is a great character whom I'm hoping we see more of. Though I think she'd function better as a recurring character rather than a regular. We see that Wesley is moving on with his life with his own group of henchmen. In two weeks Wesley has discovered Angel, and provided the clues to find out where Cordy is. Fred's scene where she breaks down was very well done. We see just how affected Fred is from the events of the last few months. Amy Acker is turning out to be quite the talented actress.

What I didn't like: Gwen's flashback. I mentioned this above, it was clumsily written. Angel spraying his aerosol can which immediately illuminates all laser beams. Shouldn't the aerosol dissipate after awhile? Gunn being killed then brought back was lame. It was obvious that Gwen would be a human heart defibrillator. However this scene was required to push Fred over the edge. Connor's limited use. Cordy's limited use. Her being reduced to one sarcastic line an episode is getting tired. Cordelia is in desperate need of a storyline and hopefully her involvement with Angel will provide it.

Rating: (out of six)     3. Gwen prevents it from a lower rating.

Comments, questions, answers? Happily agree, or violently disagree? Email me and let me know.

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