Tyranist and I fully intended to do a quick one-two punch of one "Angel" and one "Buffy" this week. For some reason (he may have to remind me), I was punishing tyranist for something he had done or said,* and told him there would be no Buffy on Buffy Wednesday. Instead, we would be watching "Veronica Mars" and/or "Sarah Conner." He told me there was no further point in watching "SC Chronicles," as it had been canceled by Fox. I shouldn't find that surprising, really, but with the great ratings it got when it premiered (not to mention that the last two episodes were better than the first two episodes), I wouldn't think they would axe it so fast.
I convinced him to let us watch it, and afterward, I was the captain for some reason. I got up to put in the last "Veronica Mars" disc in, but changed my mind at the last second and put in "Angel."
This episode was called "Belonging," written by Shawn Ryan.
Cordelia is happy because she got a part on a national television commercial, and Angel seems to be losing his mind. Wesley calls his father to wish him a happy birthday, and though we only hear half the conversation, he may have dialed my father's number by mistake. Apparently, Wesley's dad is very disapproving and critical, and it bums him out.
So, Cordelia goes to shoot her commercial, and they deck her out in a tiny bikini and verbally abuse her. Angel shows up to cheer her on, and ends up clashing with the director, who (big surprise) is a giant knob. Cordelia is mortified by this (and the Powers That Be must've stepped in to keep her from getting fired) and makes Angel leave so she can continue to be belittled and yelled at by the director.
A couple of Gunn's homeys show up at Angel Investigations, and tell him about a vampire hideout they discovered. He tells them to wait for him to finish a demon-hunting job with Wesley, but they ain't havin' none of dat. When Gunn finally joins them, he discovers one of his buddies didn't make it, and blames himself.
Lorne comes to Angel Investigations, telling them about a demon that burst through a portal on his stage at the karaoke bar.
Cordelia is bummed out because she was treated like a slab of meat. She also has a vision about a hot chick with glasses in a library getting sucked into a similar portal. The demon likes to eat people, so it must be stopped.
They go to the library, and are told that the woman in Cordelia's vision was a physics student named Fred, who disappeared five years before. In the area where she disappeared, they find a magical book. When Cordelia reads from it, another portal opens up, spitting a bearded version of Lorne's race into our world.
Lorne recognises the demon as his cousin, Landok, who remembers him as "Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan," which he has shortened to "Lorne" in this world. I realised then that I'd been calling him Lorne all this time because that's what they call him at conventions (dude, Andy Hallett's at every single one), but I shouldn't have known that. Whoops, spoilers. And eventually, Spike becomes a cast member of this show too.
Lorne came from his world to ours and loves it here, as his is a warlike clan with no concept of music. Landok, naturally, volunteers to help hunt down the demon (a Drokken demon, if the internet is to be trusted) with his new friends.
They track the Drokken demon, which is feral and quick, and in saving a woman fron it, Landok gets bitten. Wesley summons up his courage to fight it, and Angel ends up throwing a sword at it, puncturing it in the neck, killing the Drokken demon.
A Drokken's bite is fatal to Lorne's race, so the only way to save Landok is to open up another portal and send him home.
Gunn, meanwhile, gives his dead buddy a Viking funeral, staring at it while X-wing fighters shoot fireworks overhead.
The whole gang minus him go to Caritas with the magic book Cordelia found. Landok reads from the book and the portal opens, taking him back to his world. The portal closes and everyone sighs in relief. Except Cordelia, who isn't there.
Cordelia is in the woods, confused. She looks up and sees two suns shining in the sky. The end.
I quite enjoyed this episode, though it was clear they were setting things up for a continuation, so we naturally popped in the next episode, called "Over the Rainbow," written by Mere Smith. I noticed, with a bit of dread, that the other two episodes left in the season seemed to have similar titles, so I was more than a little convinced we'd still end on a cliffhanger.
This episode begins where the last one left off. Cordelia realises she is in another world, especially when a hellhound-type demon comes snarling after her. She runs.
We also find out (if we didn't already) that Lorne's world is called Pylea, so I'll refer to it as that from now on. He explains how he came through a portal to our world and turned the abandoned building we arrived in into a karaoke bar. Angel tries to open the portal again with the magic book, but it doesn't work. Apparently, there are certain hot spots where portals are prevalent, and this one has gone cold. No idea why they don't try the library.
At Angel Investigations, a couple of stuffed shirts come into the hotel, announcing themselves as Wolfram & Hart lawyers. The evil lawfirm wants to buy the hotel when Angel's lease expires in six months, and suck even more than ordinary lawyers.
Elsewhere, Lorne talks to a friend at a psychic hotline to find out where there's another hot spot. She tells him that she'll help him
out if he goes back to Pylea too and takes care of his unfinished business.
Cordelia is rescued by an old man of Lorne's race, and is called a cow. Apparently, human beings are slaves in Pylea, and Cordelia is treated no differently, taken to market and sold to a crone to clean the stables. She is fitted with a shock collar that jolts her when her masters are displeased with her attitude.While Cordelia is cleaning up dung and such, a woman whispers to her from the barn, trying to give her advice. When Cordelia's owner comes in, the other woman, a runaway "cow," is captured.
Angel calls somebody and leaves a message telling them where he's going and what to take care of if he doesn't return. Tyranist and I should've paused it to discuss who he was talking to ('cause really, there were a couple of options), but both of us figured it was Buffy.
Cordelia has a vision at the most inopportune time, drawing the attention of all the demon villagers around her. She sees another of those Drokken critters attacking somebody, and when she tells them about it, they call her "cursed," which, in my estimation, is slightly better than "cow." They take her before the magistrate, who is not unfamiliar with her prophetic kind.
So, apparently, there is a hot spot at the entrance to Paramount Studios, and Angel, Wesley, and Lorne go there in Angel's convertible. Gunn shows up, having been the one Angel left the message with, and decides to join them. Wesley reads from the magic book and a portal opens up. Paramount is in a pretty crappy neighbourhood, so I was worried that Angel was just gonna leave his car there, but they just drive the car right on through. Unfortunately, the book stays behind.
The sun is shining in Pylea, but Angel is not burned by it. In fact, it feels real nice. They hide the car in the woods and realise they don't have the book anymore. Lorne warns them that humans are cows, but he is not treated much better, as he abandoned his home and is known as a coward. All four of them get captured and taken to a dungeon. Angel hears guards talking about the one with the second sight, and knows that Cordelia is nearby. In fact, as all four are taken to be executed, they are presented to the princess of the land . . . Cordelia, decked out in jewels and sitting on a throne. The end.
Tyranist and I should have called it a night, since he had to get up the next morning to go to work and I had to get up . . . well, I probably had something going within the next two or three months that would require a good night's sleep. But we wanted to know what happened (nice work, Whedon and Co.), and watched on.
To Be Continued . . .
*It may be that he started to put on "Naruto" or "Signing Time" or some other unchristly programme, and I said, "Okay, that's it, no Buffy for you tonight. And if you don't turn that off, there will be no Angel either."
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