Look who's come to dinner.
The episode picks up with Gunn carrying the semi-conscious Angel into his office. Angel's barely coherent, but eventually his associates pick up that Drusilla has worked that old vamp magic on Darla. Wesley and Cordelia investigate Wolfram & Hart's plans for the duo while Angel races to prevent Darla' from becoming a vampire again. He tracks them down to a rooftop greenhouse, where he attempts to stake Darla's prone body, but Drusilla interrupts him. Darla revives as Angel and Drusilla struggle; she leaps several stories to the ground and vanishes, along with Drusilla.Darla and Drusilla brawl in the street for a while, with Darla furious at being turned against her will. Dru begins to cry and Darla comforts her in her arms. A frustrated driver walks up to them to clear the street, but instead Darla's vamp face greets him. She feeds off him, her old personality restored. Time to go shopping! Holland calls them up and encourages them to upgrade their "spree" to a massacre.
At W&H, Holland and Lindsey are glowing over the latest development when Angel rappel-wires his way through the window and demands to know where the girls are. Holland is serene in his knowledge that Angel won't harm him, because Holland is human and Angel cares too much about life, unlike himself. The police escort Angel out and put him into a patrol car with Kate. ("Perfect.") To his surprise, Kate gives Angel a tip on where the vampire girls might go and unlocks his cuffs. He's free to go.
Holland hosts a wine-tasting party for his staff in his home's wine cellar. As he praises Lindsey and Lilah for their great work, Darla and Drusilla show up unexpectedly. (Fashionably late?) They tell Holland they're following up on his suggestion for a massacre. Oops. Holland attempts to convince the duo that he and his associates are their allies, to little effect. Angel finds a survivor at the clothing store and learns where Darla and Drusilla have gone. When he arrives at Holland's home, however, he refuses to stop Darla and Drusilla, instead locking the wine cellar to prevent the lawyers from escaping.
When Angel tells his associates what he has done, they object, fearing that Angel is descending into "darkness." Angel agrees, then fires them and leaves.
Tropes in this episode:
- Acceptable Breaks from Reality: After Kate takes Angel's handcuffs off in her car, he opens the door and walks away. Real cop cars have a child lock so people in the backseat cannot leave under their own steam. Another cop would've needed to open the door from the outside.
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: The lawyers in general, but especially Lilah's "For God's sake, help us."
- Artistic License – Physics: When Angel crashes through the window of Wolfram & Hart, we don't see so much as a breeze. All large buildings are pressurizednote , if not always intentionally; in addition to things blowing about, those security guards would have found the office doors quite difficult to open.
- Are We There Yet?: The Angelmobile races down the city street. Cordy starts having a vision in the back seat, and Wesley tells Angel to pull over. "We're almost there!" he whines. Gunn and Wes are angered by Angel's callousness and insist on turning around. Cordy keeps groaning, and Angel adds, "She should have done this before we left the hotel!"
- Ask a Stupid Question...: While Drusilla is cooing over Darla's impending "rebirth", Lindsey asks if Darla can hear her. Drusilla turns to him with a "duh" look and very patiently explains, "She's dead."
- Asshole Victim:
- Darla takes Dru into her arms for a loving hug in the middle of the road. An SUV driver finally steps out and asks if they're going to move. The girls look up at the boor who's interrupting their special moment. But the driver is unmoved, and suggests that they "take the make-out session on home. The rest of us have lives." Darla walks over to him and predictably responds, "Not for long," as she vamps out. She slurps on him and then smiles at Drusilla, her rebirth complete.
- The lawyers of Wolfram & Hart, who willingly serve evil, and who are at least partially responsible for most of the crimes and murders that Angel gets involved with. Later, Darla and Drusilla decide to kill a whole group of them. When Angel sees them, he doesn't help them but leaves them to the two vampires. Inverted by the fact that Angel's friends are horrified because he simply left the lawyers to the two vampires.
- Being Watched: Angel wanders around outside the boutique as police inspect the murder scene. A cop kneels in front of a set of mirrors to examine evidence. He sits up and looks around at the mirrors, almost as if he feels he's being watched. He bends down again, and as he does so, we can see Angel behind him. So sneaky with the mirrors.
- Big Fancy House: Manners Manor.
- Blood Knight: Gunn. "You had me at 'everyone gear up.'"
- Bond Breaker
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Angel arrives at the open door of Holland's residence. He sees a blood trail on the carpet that leads to Catherine's body. Oh, wait, Darla and Dru didn't kill her. ...For some reason. Catherine moans, "Help us!" Close enough to an invitation for Angel. In he goes!
-
Maybe they wanted Angel to join the party? If they wanted him evil again, they might've thought it was a good idea to start by having him choose between them and W&H? And since they knew he hated W&H even more than he did them...
-
- Break the Haughty: There's something so satisfying watching the cool, arrogant, always in control Holland realize too late that all his schemes are coming undone by his own words and actions coming back to (literally) bite him.
- Breaking the Fellowship: Angel fires Wesley, Cordelia, and Gunn at the end of the episode, effectively severing his ties with them.
- Call-Back: Angel recalls that Dru has a thing for stars, as she used to spend hours in his garden in Sunnydale, "communing" with the night sky. Angelus moved into a mansion during S2 Buffy after he, Drusilla and Spike were uprooted by Giles, who set fire to their old lair.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Holland's comely wife, Catherine, is seen buzzing around this episode, greeting party guests and fussing over how many crab puffs to order.
- Continuity Nod: Drusilla sings "Run and Catch" while standing over Darla's body, the same little tune she sang to the little boy in the Buffy episode "Lie to Me".
- Death by Irony: Darla tells Holland that she feels like her old self again, which he's happy to hear. Holland says that he's heard that they've been on a spree. Darla asks whether that's a problem, as she strolls over to the body of one of the store's salesgirls. "On the contrary," Holland reassures her, "why settle for a spree when you could have, say, a massacre?" Darla and Dru are, naturally, keen on massacres, and Holland says that they'll have "the full weight and support of Wolfram & Hart" behind them. He eats his words when Darla and Dru arrive fashionably late at his wine-tasting — which Dru overheard them talking about at his office.
- Didn't Think This Through: Holland, Holland, Holland. Bringing back a vampire infamous for her ruthless killing ways, then suggesting she embark on a massacre and it never occurred to you that she might not feel any loyalty to you?
- Entitled Bastard: Even after everything they've done to him, the Wolfram & Hart lawyers, particularly Lilah, still expect Angel to save them.
- Evil Is Not a Toy: Darla is less than pleased at being resurrected in a dying mortal body and then forcibly turned into a vampire again. Wolfram & Hart really should have known better.
- Evil Makeover: Darla seems to be channeling Madonna with her new wardrobe.
- Eviler than Thou
- Face Death with Dignity: Darla and Dru promenade around the wine cellar, menacing the lawyers. Lindsey catches Darla's eye; he doesn't seem to be sweating at all. She growls by his neck and asks why he isn't afraid. Lindsey doesn't know. She points out that he may die, and asks if he cares. Lindsey clarifies, "I care. ..I guess I just don't mind."
- A Glass of Chianti: Holland has a thing for wine, as shown by the luxurious wine cellar in his basement. Lindsey mentions that it was converted out of a bomb shelter — Nice and quiet down there.
- Good Is Not Nice: In a gas station, a kid is holding a gun against his chest in front of an altar to the demon Morgog as he mumbles "I will throw out my worthless life for you!" The crew walks in just in time, but Angel instead of dealing with the situation with care, lobs the boombox into the altar and snatches the gun out of the devotee's hands. Angel brusquely delivers an unconvincing speech, then tells his teammates to take over with the kid because he's got more important things to do.Angel: Morgog's not the way. Morgog couldn't find his way to his hairy spine-hump without a road map. So don't go killing yourself, it's not worth it. You've got, y'know... [glances at surroundings] —a million reasons. ...To live. I bet."
- Gone Horribly Right: The good news for Wolfram and Hart is that their campaign to corrupt Angel and drive him off the path of heroism has finally borne fruit. The bad news for them is that it happens at the worst possible time, as Darla and Drusilla go rogue and massacre Holland Manners and associates — and the now-apathetic and once-heroic Angel will not lift a finger or fang to save any of them.
- Half-Truth: Angel sweet-talks his way past Lindsey's realtor, saying he needs to contact him; it's an emergency. "It's regarding a... a mutual friend who's in need of some immediate medical attention."
- Darla approaches Holland and expresses some bitterness about the way he let her "wallow with a soul" and sent her "crawling back to Angel." Holland ratchets up his sincerity as he says that he expected Angel to re-vamp her, but he miscalculated; "I thought he cared more than he did." Dru makes talky gestures with her hands and sneers, "Grandmum won't eat the double speak!"
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Wolfram and Hart's campaign to tempt and corrupt Angel off the path of heroism finally bears fruit...and proceeds to catastrophically backfire. It leads to Darla and Drusilla going rogue and massacring Holland Manners and countless W&H personnel and associates — and Angel, who would've normally stopped them, not lifting a finger or fang to save any of the victims. It's best exemplified by Lindsey, who has a quiet, resigned smile on his face once it becomes clear Angel is going to leave them all to die. He clearly recognizes, can appreciate — and is even a little amused — that W&H played with fire, they're now all about to (figuratively) get burned to death, and they did it to themselves.
- Hope Spot: Down in the cellar, Darla stands before her intended victims and taunts, "C'mon, love. I never did get that goodbye kiss." Angel says that she will. Lilah perks up a little at that, until Angel adds, "...but not tonight."
- Human Sacrifice / Suicide Is Painless: A punk rocker, apparently suffering from deep-seated mental issues, plans to take his own life as an offering to "Morgog."
- I Need a Freaking Drink: Props to the extra behind Lindsey, who isn't letting homicidal vampires keep him from enjoying Holland's wine.
- If I Wanted You Dead...: Angel eyes the guards and suspiciously asks whether Holland's really going to let him leave. Holland assures Angel that he's got it all wrong: "We don't want you dead! ...Yet. If we did," he says, patting Angel on the arm, "you wouldn't be standing here."
- Improvised Weapon: Angel steps inside a plant nursery beneath a starry night. Inside is a raised flower bed filled with dirt that Angel immediately begins to comb through with his hands. He finds Darla's human face and readies the stake above her chest. But Angel hesitates a moment too long, and Dru surprises him with a shovel to his back.
- Inadvertent Entrance Cue / Tempting Fate: Back at the office, Lilah says that D&D should keep Angel busy for a while. Holland concurs, and is just about finished saying that they "won't have to worry about Angel anymore" when Angel smashes through their office window.
- Ironic Echo:Darla: I believe you said something about — [vamps out] ...a massacre?
- And lest we forget:
Holland: People are going to die.Angel: And yet, somehow, I can't seem to care. - It Was Here, I Swear!: Angel pulls on his coat, dismisses the idea that Lindsey is at the Wolfram & Hart building, and declares that he's headed for Lindsey's apartment. Cordy points out that Angel can't get into Lindsey's apartment uninvited. Angel huffily responds, "He already invited me in once. This time when I kick that door down, I go through it. Alone." True to his word, Angel kicks in the door to Lindsey's apartment (again) — and goes through it very alone, since the apartment is empty with all the furniture moved out. Not even a mouse was a stirring.
- Knight Templar: What Angel is becoming in his crusade against W&H
- Laser-Guided Karma: Killed by the vampire you just brought back, by the very method you suggested, after the hero leave you to die with the very words you just mocked him with? It's hard to find a better example than this.
- Linked List Clue Methodology: Lindsey's realtor comments about Lindsey's visiting "cousin", the "sweet but very odd English girl". She mentioned to the realtor that she's about to give birth and is very excited about preparing the nursery, preferably near the stars. Angel is starting to get the picture now. Cut to a plant nursery above the city Lindsey is with Drusilla and Darla's dead form. Dru's face is triumphant at her future little daughter.
- Angel enters the dressing room, perhaps wondering what it is that girls do back there. He opens a booth and finds a girl cowering inside. He reassures her that the cops are there, and that she's okay. The girl whimpers about how she was looking for a dress for her office party when D&D arrived. "I guess I was lucky 'cause of the party." Angel doesn't quite roll his eyes as he says, "You'll be okay, you'll make your party." The girl clarifies that the girls left because they were in a hurry to get to a "tasting."
- Look Both Ways: Outside a coffee shop, Darla begins clobbering Drusilla for bringing her back to life. "Did I do something to displease you?" Dru wonders before being thrown out into oncoming traffic. A car plows into her, sending Dru airborne.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone in the wine cellar who's not a vampire - several times over.Drusilla: I hear the sirens. They don't know if the world will be there in the morning.Lilah: Do you hear the sirens? Are-are the police coming?Lindsey: No. She senses what this place was built for.Holland: Ah, yes. Drusilla, you're quite right. This was originally a bomb shelter in the fifties. We had it converted. Wine has always been my passion.Drusilla: People huddled together, crouching in fear.Holland: Yes, yes. I imagine that's what it would have been like in a war.Darla: No. Now. She means now.
- Mercy Kill: Angel decides that he has to "save" Darla by pre-emptively staking her before she can become a vampire. Unfortunately, he fails to find her body before she rises again.
- My Own Grampa: Gunn is suitably squicked out by the idea of Drusilla giving birth to her own 'grandmother', so to speak.
- Neck Lift: Angel and Dru fight, and Angel is finally giving as good as he gets, breaks the handle off Dru's shovel and knocking her down. Angel rushes over to the burial site with the broken wooden handle raised, ready to stake Darla, only to see the empty indentation of her body in the dirt. Eh?? He looks around for a second, then is suddenly grabbed by his throat and lifted about a foot off the ground — by Darla.
- Neck Snap: Inside a clothing shop, Darla and Dru are going on a spree, literally, while trying on hats and clothes. Darla walks over a dead salesgirl and stalks after a live one because they need some shoes. As she tries to crawl away, Darla puts her bare foot on her back and reaches down and snaps her neck. Eek.
- Needle in a Stack of Needles: Angel guesses that Drusilla would want to bury Darla in the ground, as she's a "classicist." He suggests that they focus their attention on cemeteries that have "a view of the night sky."Cordelia: So, just outside cemeteries, then?
- Wesley helpfully notes that if it's dirt Dru's after, she wouldn't need a cemetery. "Just dirt, really."
Cordelia: Still not narrowing. Whole planet: pretty much made up of dirt. - Nerves of Steel: Angel rushes right for Lindsey and demands to know where the vampires girls are. Holland interrupts the perp sweating to hold out his hand and introduce himself. The man is positively unflappable.
- Well, not quite...
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Holland's plan to bring Angel over to the Dark Side works a little too well.
- No Escape but Down: Darla runs for the edge of the rooftop and takes the plunge. By time Angel can peer over the edge, she's vanished. And so has Drusilla.
- Oh, Crap!: Wolfram & Hart, the evil corporation that has been trying to make Angel's life Hell and profits on people's misery, being trapped by Darla and Drusilla. Angel enters in an expected Big Damn Heroes moment, only to subvert it by saying he won't save them. The look on Holland Manners' face is brilliant. He pleads "People are going to die!", only for Angel to echo his earlier comments: "And yet, somehow, I just can't seem to care." It's the first major sign of Angel's descent, but it's hard not to cheer for the Laser-Guided Karma the lawyers, particularly Holland, received.
- Original Position Fallacy: Holland is perfectly fine with Darla and Drusilla committing a massacre...as long as it isn't against him.
- Paint the Town Red: Holland predicts L.A. will be reduced to this by the time Darla & Drusilla are finished.
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Angel goes down the stairs to the cellar where he is greeted by Darla and Dru's vampy faces and the rest of the W & H party's frightened ones. Angel remarks, "I'm sorry I didn't get to you in time." But Darla only smiles, "I'm not." Angel is standing quietly at the threshold of the cellar doors. He doesn't seem intent on saving anyone.
- Race Against the Clock: Wes notes that sundown was six minutes ago, which leaves them approximately 12 hours to find Darla's corpse before sunrise. But Angel points out that Darla can rise at any time before then.
- Refuse to Rescue the Disliked: Angel simply lets Darla and Drusilla massacre the members of Wolfram & Hart.
- Sole Survivor: At the clothing store, Angel opens a dressing room and finds a traumatized female customer huddled inside. She was hiding inside while Dru and Darla had their little spree. She overheard everything and mentions she was lucky because they left to a party, a "tasting" as it was described.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Holland goes on about the wine he's going to serve. Drusilla enters to announce that she's sampled that very vintage. Yikes. Holland does his "humor the crazy vampire" thing for a minute, apologizes to Dru for not realizing she was there, and glares at Lindsey.
- Stunned Silence: The reaction of Angel's teammates at receiving their pink slips.
- Super-Stoic Shopkeeper: Averted when Darla, after slaughtering most of the occupants of a clothing store, tries to enlist an employee's aid in selecting shoes. Since she does nothing but whimper and try to crawl away, Darla kills her and complains about the service.
- This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself
- Trophy Wife: Catherine, Holland's wife
- Two Roads Before You: Wesley suggests that there was a reason for a vision hitting Cordy when it did, and Gunn suggests that maybe the reason was to keep Angel from going to Wolfram & Hart.
- Victoria's Secret Compartment: Darla and Dru check out the wares in a boutique. As Dru tries on a hat, a phone rings, and Dru gasps, "I'm ringing! D'ya hear it? I'm ringing all over." She starts to do a little cell-phone dance, until Darla wearily reaches into Dru's cleavage and pulls out the phone. Dru stops dancing and says, "Oh yeah. Fo'got about that."
- Good thing the phone wasn't set on vibrate.
- Vigilante Man: Cordy asks if Angel intends to stop Darla and Drusilla when they've finished eating all the people he doesn't like.
- Villain Team-Up: Subverted. It looks like Darla and Drusilla will be working with Wolfram & Hart, but they'd rather eat them instead.
- Wham Episode: Darla and Drusilla are not only reunited as a deadly vampire duo, they also end up massacring several members of Wolfram & Hart (including Holland Manners, the closest thing the show had had to a Big Bad up until that point). Angel, fed up, allows it to happen, sliding further into darkness. Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn raise objections to this and are fired by Angel as a result.
- Wham Line: "You're all fired."
- What the Hell, Hero?: Angel's teammates have formed their own Tribunal as they finish listening to his recount of what happened.Cordelia: When? After they've wiped out all the people you don't like?
