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Angel Reviews

Season 4, Episode 4, "Slouching Towards Bethlehem"

A car stalls on a lonely deserted road. A wife and child are inside and await the father attempting to make repairs under the hood. Connor appears and offers help. The father is spooked and stammers that he called a tow truck and that everything is fine. The tow truck appears, but unfortunately it's a tow truck full of vampires. I hope that family calls the Better Business Bureau about that. The vampires attack and Connor beats them off.

Connor then sneaks into the Hotel. (Angel Investigations home base.) He witnesses the last scene from, "The House Always Wins," where Cordy makes her triumphant return and informs all of her amnesia. Fred makes the point that amnesia is so "movie of the week" and I totally agree. Amnesia is the shakiest of plot devices. Angel, Fred & Gunn are baffled and awkwardly try to make Cordy feel comfortable and secure. They foolishly withhold any 'demon' information from their explanations, so as not to spook her. But Cordy senses they're not telling her the whole story, and becomes distrustful of the Fang Gang. Lorne attempts to enter at this point, but Gunn hides him away, for fear that a green horned demon is not what Cordy needs right now. Angel & Fred quietly discuss the why & how of Cordy's reappearance. The phone rings and the answering machine takes the call. Cordy hears her voice and is freaked out. The call that follows does nothing to calm her as it mentions demons, before Fred hurriedly picks up the phone.  This scene exists to make the Fang Gang as suspicious as possible before Cordy's eyes. Of course if they had just told her truth in the first place, this episode's plot would fall apart.

Angel takes Cordy up to her room in the hotel. It's filled with all her stuff from her old apartment. Angel awkwardly leaves and Cordy examines her old artifacts trying to jog some memories loose. An old Sunnydale High yearbook catches her eye, and Cordy reads a short history of her days as a Scooby. The demon and paranormal references confuse her and add to her suspicions. Looking at various photographs, we see all the many hair colors and styles Charisma Carpenter has modeled over the years. A picture of her with Angel and a baby (Connor) makes her wonder the true nature of her relationship with Angel.

Cordy walks the empty hallways of the hotel. She's drawn by Lorne's singing to a client and pauses briefly by his room before moving on. Cordy arrives in the lobby. Angel quickly remove jars of blood from the desk, but there's a few drops spilled which Cordy spies. Cordy starts freaking out again and hides as Gunn & Fred arrive, discussing the demons they've just exterminated. Scared witless, Cordy bolts out the door, and runs into hired goons from Wolfram & Hart. She fights them off with an assist from Angel. Cordy demands an explanation for all the strangeness but Angel still resists. Back in her room, Cordy shows Angel the baby picture and asks if she's his wife, and the child's mother. Angel denies both. Cordy then asks if she's a nun, because she has so many rosaries and crucifixes which she dumps on Angel's lap. This causes Angel's flesh to burn and he morphs to vamp mode. Cordy runs away once more, but this time she runs into everyone's favorite horned, green-skinned lounge singer, Lorne. Cordy is fearful and totally distrusts the entire Fang Gang and wants out of the Hotel as soon as possible.

Finally the truth is told to Cordy. She is flabbergasted and does not know what to make of it. Angel proposes that she sing, so Lorne can get a glimpse of her future. Cordy sings Whitney Houston's immortal classic, "The Greatest Love of All." I love Charisma Carpenter and all, but thank god she wasn't on Buffy for Once More With Feeling. Lorne's reaction is more severe as he runs out of the room. Frustrated by everything Cordy takes off, and threatens to turn Gunn into a rat as she storms out. Gunn wonders if she can do this. And it's a good question. Cordy also calls Gunn a sidekick which Gunn protests at. Hey Gunn, if the shoe fits...  

Angel & Lorne discuss Cordy's reading. As it made Lorne vomit we can deduce it's not good. Lorne has no specifics only to say that something big and bad is coming, and it's going to stick around for awhile. Which is similar to the vague 'Big-Bad' clues we've seen on Buffy this season. Now if both shows were still on the WB, an apocalyptic mega-crossover of epic proportions would be the obvious deduction here. But as that's not the case...who knows? It seems odd that The Powers That Be (both the fictitious and Joss & co.) would allow two HUGE evil powers arising in southern California at the same time. It will be interesting to see how this all plays out.

Lilah & Wesley are in bed once again. Lilah says that everyone knows about them now, even Angel. Wesley claims he doesn't care what Angel thinks. Wesley slips up and refers to his relationship with Lilah as a relationship. As part of their bet, he pays her a dollar. It appears that Wesley has let his guard down and has developed feelings for Lilah.

Cordy is storming through the hotel searching for Angel. Instead she finds Lorne's client, who just happens to be a man-eating demon who is hungry at the moment. Luckily for Cordy, Connor makes his reappearance and fatally stabs the demon. Connor offers her a way out of the hotel and Cordy gladly accepts. The Fang Gang regroup and discuss Lorne's reading of Cordy, before they realize that Cordy is nowhere to be found.

Connor & Cordy are in a natural museum. Connor lives in an abandoned room there. A step up from the roof he was living on a few episodes ago. Cordy deduces that Connor is Angel's son. Connor is surprised Angel didn't tell her himself. Connor apologizes for trying to kill Cordy last season. After the lies of the Fang Gang, Cordy appreciates Connor's blunt honesty. She sees in Connor someone who is as lonely and alone as she is. One wonders how Cordy regaining her memories (I hope it doesn't happen myself, but it will) will effect this new found relationship.

Wolfram & Hart inform Lilah that Cordy is back and currently with Connor. She allows Wesley to overhear this information. As Lilah leaves, the dollar Wesley paid her falls to the floor. Connor & Cordy share a short scene that has them bonding over their shared loneliness. As Cordy wonders about her lost past, Connor informs her that she likes shoes, donuts and is very brave. Back at the hotel the Angel, Fred & Gunn are still scratching their heads wondering where Cordy ran off to. Wesley appears and tells of the information he overheard from Lilah. Angel surmises the source of this information but Wesley doesn't bite. They rush off to the museum, hoping to get there before Wolfram & Hart.

At the museum, Connor & Cordy are sleeping side by side. We see that Cordy is significantly more than a handful ;) Connor is alerted by various booby traps that someone is trying to break in to the museum. It's a lot more than just someone, as multitudes of Wolfram & Hart henchmen storm the museum. Connor & Cordy do their best to fight them off but the numbers are too great. The cavalry arrive, as the Fang Gang show up to even the score. The henchmen run away, but we are shown that they are told to retreat by Lilah. Methinks this was all a set up, a diversion if you will. As the dust settles at the museum, a relieved Angel thanks Connor for looking after Cordy, but that it's time for Cordy to return to the hotel. Cordy adamantly refuses and chooses to stay with Connor. Connor told her the truth, whereas the Fang Gang told only lies. Angel reluctantly gives in.

Wesley is alone at his apartment. He picks up the dollar Lilah dropped. He realizes that Lilah used him. He thinks private thoughts about the nature of their relationship, and just what that dollar symbolizes. Back at the hotel, the gang arrive to find Lorne gagged and tied up to a chair. There's a wound on his forehead. Lorne recounts how Wolfram & Hart extracted his Cordy reading from his head via a special thought retrieval demon. The gang realize the fight at the museum was a decoy to isolate Lorne. Gunn holds Wesley personally responsible. Wesley arrives at Lilah's apartment and confronts her about how she used him. She replies that it's just her job, and that she went easy on Lorne. Wesley looks hurt and asks, "It's never simple, is it?" Cordy is asleep with Connor watching over her. Angel is awake staring at his empty bed.

What I liked: Finally the entire cast is used throughout. This show is at its best when all cast members are given equal time. Finally Cordelia is a major character again. Finally Cordy is an interesting character again. She's my favorite character once more. I realize now that the reason this season of Angel has been so lackluster is due to Cordy's absence. Thank god she's back. Now if only she could grow her hair longer...Connor shows that when he's used, he's an effective character. His scenes with Cordy had more spark than anything Cordy & Angel have done. Though I admit, I'm kinda spooked by a Cordy-Connor relationship as Cordy was changing his diapers just last season. And I don't think anyone believes for one moment that Cordy will end up with Connor. Especially after her memories are restored. Cordy's future rejection of Connor for Angel may be just the thing that sets Connor off the deep end. Wesley and Lilah's complicated relationship is further explored, and we see evidence that Wesley may not be as cold-hearted and uncaring as he would like to project. I enjoyed the references to those wondrous early seasons of Buffy. And I like the reference to W.B. Yeats poem 'The Second Coming', in the title, "Slouching Towards Bethlehem."

What I didn't like: What did having Cordy 'raised to a higher level' accomplish? That entire storyline made no sense. If they wanted to separate Cordy from everyone else and give her amnesia, there are SO many more interesting ways they could have done this. Amnesia itself is a poor plot device, but as it's rejuvenated her character, I can accept this. We still don't know the status of Cordy's demon powers. Hopefully they won't resurface to save the day, just in the nick of time. Gunn whining about his 'sidekick' status made me realize how underwritten his character is. No Gwen this episode. I hope we haven't seen the last of her.

Rating: (out of six) 4 It deserves a 3, but Cordy's comeback gives it a higher grade.

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

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