Recap / Angel S 03 E 10 Dad

The gang returns with the baby to find the hotel a mess. Lorne announces he'll be moving in on account of Caritas being destroyed yet again. Although everyone wants to hold the baby, Angel holds his son protectively and keeps everyone at bay. Angel struggles with the father role when he cleans a cut on his son's face while the rest of the gang plan to keep the baby safe from the inevitable attackers looking to steal and kill him. A demon barges into the hotel but is quickly killed by Gunn and Wesley. Angel realizes his son is crying because he needs to be changed and attempts to change the diaper on Wesley's desk. Back at the underground lair, Sahjhan complains about Holtz's refusal to kill Angel, but Holtz is content with his behavior. They discuss Darla's pregnancy and suicide, and Holtz goes on about his plans despite Sahjhan's insistence that Angel just be staked quickly to stick with the prophecies. Sahjhan's temper rises as he discovers that Holtz poisoned all of his demon minions, as Holtz explains that he doesn't want paid lackeys but dedicated soldiers to follow him into his coming battles.

While the Furies set up a mystical barrier around the Hyperion Hotel, Angel continues to care for his fussy child and Cordelia and Fred investigate the demon websites offering bounties for the baby. Cordelia informs Angel that the newborn needs to see a doctor, and that he can't do everything for his child - for example, be outside in the sun - and needs to accept their help.

While watching the hotel via their spy cameras, the lawyers at Wolfram & Hart ponder how Angel's baby could have been born despite the prophecy's translation stating it would not happen. Meanwhile, Angel can't get his son to stop crying until he changes to his vampire visage, which fascinates the baby enough to stop him from crying. In attempts to discover Holtz's identity, Lilah has "Files and Records" retrieve information about how Angelus and Darla killed Holtz's entire family back in the 18th century. Holtz tracks a young woman named Justine, whose twin sister was recently killed by a vampire. She had been killing vampires on her own since then, and Holtz offers to be her mentor.

Gunn returns with weapons and news of the crowd forming outside waiting to break the barrier and claim the child. The vampire cult has returned, as well as a gang of human bikers who are into kidnapping and extortion, and four Lilliad demons who make magical broth with childrens' bones. The Lilliad demons outside chant and break down the barrier around the hotel while inside, the gang prepares to defend themselves and retreat if necessary. Angel decides to leave with the baby, as Wolfram & Hart watch on television screens. They send their teams out to get the baby from him. The gang ready themselves for the attack as the barrier is broken down and demons are free to enter. Angel escapes through the sewers and drives away in his car. While the gang disposes of the demons and vampires who enter the hotel with a flame-thrower, Angel drives to an abandoned mine shaft. His pursuers demand the child, and surprisingly Angel throws it to them as he escapes to the surface. The demons unwrap the child to find that it's actually a teddy bear with a ticking time bomb strapped to it - the bomb destroys them and the mine shaft, as Cordelia, Wesley and Fred take the baby to the hospital for care.

At Wolfram & Hart, Linwood examines footage from the hotel and discovers a moment when Lorne slipped Angel a note into his coat and in the conversation, identifies a location where Angel could read the note without being seen by the cameras. Earlier, Lorne heard a humming noise and concluded that the gang was being spied upon. The vampire alarm goes off, and Angel barges in and attacks Linwood with a knife, giving him a cut equal to the one on his child's cheek. Angel promises that any harm that comes to his son will be equally repaid to Linwood. As appointed "godfather," Linwood is given the job of keeping everyone and everything away from the vampire's child unless he looks forward to revenge at Angel's hands. At the hospital, the doctors report that the baby is healthy, and Angel shows up in time to announce the name of his son, Connor. Gunn arrives with a stroller, and the gang head home where they hope to be safe for a while.

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Tropes

• Ambiguously Gay:
  Cordy: "You (Angel) don't have a woman's touch...whatever your taste in clothing may indicate."
• Ascended Fanboy: Wesley and Gunn discuss what action hero they feel like imitating. Wes is John Wayne in Rio Bravo. Gunn is Austin Stoker in Assault on Precinct 13 (1976) (the same premise updated to modern times). Cordy tells them to sell their DVD players and get a life.
• Attack Hello: The gang greeting Lorne.
• Bad Ass Normal: Holtz killed 378 vampires over nine years while pursuing Darla and Angelus.
• Bad Boss: Holtz poisons his Grapplar demons because he's not willing to trust mooks who fight for the highest bidder.
• Baby Talk: Angel and Linwood.
  Linwood: (watching baby on the bug cam) That's a cute little baby. Yes, you are. And your daddy is a vampire with a soul. And sometimes he reverts to a creature of pure, malevolent evil, who could rip your tiny throat out. Yes, he does.
• Bait-and-Switch Comment:
  Gunn: "We need a plan."
  Angel: "Ah-ha! I think I figured it out. (Everyone looks at Angel expectantly. He pulls a diaper out of his coat pocket) He wet himself."
• Beard of Evil: Holtz
  Justine: "Nice goatee. Kind of rounds out the whole creepy stalker look."
• The Big Board: The trusty whiteboard is brought out again, to list everyone who's likely to be after Angel's child.
• Bluff the Eavesdropper: The Fang Gang pretend to argue over Angel running off with the baby, leaving them behind to fight as a mere distraction. In truth Lorne has picked up the humming of the bugs planted by Wolfram & Hart, and the entire conversation is for their benefit. The baby is actually back at the Hyperion, and Angel is leading his pursuers into a trap.
• Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Linwood as usual.
  "I like kids. The Senior Partners took mine before I really got to know them."
• Call-Back:
  • To the original premise of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Holtz watching Justine fight a vampire in a graveyard.
  • The Big Board lists "The Scourge" as possible antagonists.
  • Wesley finds Angel changing the baby's nappy on his desk, and snarks that as he's already had sex on that desk it's only appropriate that he has a child on it too.
• Captain Obvious:
  Gavin: "We have to get that baby."
  Lilah: "He has a knack for stating the obvious, sir."
• Car Chase: The Wolfram & Hart Hummers, the biker gang, and the vampire cult all go chasing after the Angelmobile. The usual rapid-fire scene-cut montage gets them out of the city and into the boondocks.
• Casual Danger Dialogue: Angel talking to the baby while being rammed by a Wolfram & Hart Spec Ops Hummer.
• Censorship by Spelling: Angel would like Wesley to "keep the S E X talk away from the baby".
• Chekhov's Gun: The piece of paper Lorne tucks in Angel's pocket. The teddy bear.
• Circling Monologue: Holtz and Justine in the graveyard.
• Deflector Shield: A magical 'forcefield' is placed around the Hyperion.
• Description Cut: From Holtz's name on the whiteboard to the man himself. Later Lilah comments regarding Holtz: "So what we're dealing with is a single-minded vengeance machine with a bloodlust to match. That's just...awesome." Cut to Holtz watching Justine fighting a vampire.
• Doorstopper: Lilah asks for all the information Wolfram & Hart has on Angel. The records clerk hands over a huge ring binder. As Lilah staggers off with it, the clerk points out that it's only the reference key to the full Angel file — which takes up 35 filing cabinets.
• Double Meaning: When Lilah asks how the records clerk knows about the baby already, she replies, "I'm Files and Records. It's my job." It turns out to be literally true — she has the entire contents of Files and Records stored in her head.
• Electronic Eyes: The eyes of the records clerk flicker and chatter like a card-sorting machine when she's looking up something in her Photographic Memory.
• Fighting Irish: Angel has his heart set on Connor going to Notre Dame.
• Five-Second Foreshadowing: "Could be worse. At least you're not crying." Cue Angel throwing the baby to the bad guys and booking.
• Foreshadowing
  • Holtz recruits the first of his team of vampire hunters.
  • Angel threatens to come after Linwood if anything happens to Connor. He carries out his threat in "Forgiving".
  • Fred asks if anyone else is going to come after Connor. Angel replies, "We're safe for the time being." There will be several breather episodes before Holtz makes his move.
• Fire-Breathing Weapon: Wesley makes good use of the flamethrower Gunn provides. It's about time.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: If you know what you're looking for, you can see Lorne slipping a note in Angel's pocket.
• Game Face: Having tried milk, lullabies, teddy bears and pulling faces to get his son to stop crying, Angel finally morphs into his vampire face. The kid stops instantly, staring fascinated at him.
• Hey, Catch!: Angel tosses the baby to his pursuers, then escapes up an elevator shaft. A mook grabs the child, only to find the teddy bear clutching an Incredibly Obvious Bomb which is ticking down from 002, 001...
• In the Hood: Lilliad demons, along with the requisite Ominous Latin Chanting.
• Improvised Weapon: Gunn picks up a surgical saw left behind by the Clean Up Crew.
  Gunn: "I don't even wanna know."
  Fred: "You think you could throw it?"
  Gunn: "I guess. Why?"
  Fred: (points past him) "There!"
  (Demon charges in waving a scimitar. Gunn throws the saw and kills it.)
• Ironic Echo: Lampshaded.
  Angel: "I promised his mother. No one is gonna put their hands on this child. No one."
  Linwood: (watching Angel on a surveillance monitor) "'No one is going to put their hands on this child.' Is this meant to be ironic?"
• Kill It with Fire: Wesley repels vampires with a flamethrower.
• Last-Minute Baby Naming: Angel announces his son's name "Connor" when the doctor asks for his name.
• Let's You and Him Fight: The factions chasing the baby spend just as much time fighting each other.
• Literal-Minded: Fred begins to erase the whiteboard list of enemies when Angel declares they have to wipe them out.
• MacGuffin Melee
• Macho Masochism: Angel has been hogging the baby, refusing to let anyone else help him. Cordelia takes Angel out to the nice sunny garden, pointing out there's some things he can't do. What if he had to take the baby to hospital now? Angel holds his hand out in the sunlight and lets it smoulder.
  Angel: If he has to get to the hospital at noon on the sunniest day of the year, he'll get there (looks at Cordy, his hand still smoldering in the sunlight) even if I don't."
  • Although being carried by a Man on Fire is likely to give the kid some serious burns, as well as possible head (and other) injuries when he hits the ground as said flame-y guy collapses into a pile of ash.
• More Dakka: Angel asks Gunn to get more firepower for them.
• Oblivious Mockery: After seeing how the Hyperion has been trashed, Wesley gripes about the bastard who blew a hole in the lift. Angel admits that the bastard is him.
  Wesley: "Oh. Well...not like we ever use it."
• Offhand Backhand: One of the Grapplar demons proves resistant to poisoning and charges at Holtz, who stabs him without taking his eyes off Sahjahn.
• Oh, Crap!: The vampire cult member rushing in to warn his master that Angel is getting away, only to find his master's charred body and a smiling Wesley toting a flamethrower. The mook who unwraps the baby only to find a teddy bear clutching an Incredibly Obvious Bomb.
• Once More, with Clarity: At the end, the Wolfram & Hart lawyers zoom in on the cameras they were using to spy on the hotel, revealing that during a seemingly normal conversation earlier, Lorne slipped a note to Angel telling him they were being watched. For the rest of the episode, the team were Bluffing The Eavesdropper, without even the viewers knowing.
• Only One Name: The boy's father is Geraldo Angel, pet psychiatrist.
• Papa Wolf: Aside from Angel spending the whole episode protecting his son, at the end he storms in Wolfram & Hart gives Linwood a cut across the cheek before slamming his head down on the conference table.
  "My son has a tiny scratch on his cheek, and now, by extraordinary coincidence so do you. I'm holding you personally responsible for anything that happens to him whether it's your fault or not. Cold, sunburn, scratched knee, what ever happens to him, happens to you, and then some. (pulls Linwood back up, pushes him back into his chair and leans over him) For not only are you not coming after him, you gonna make sure that he lives a long, healthy life. You just became his godfather, understand?
  Linwood: I believe I do.
• Prophecy Twist:
  Linwood: "Clever loophole. We could use some of those Nyazian Scroll writers in Contracts and Negotiations."
• Pun: Lorne tries to calm the baby with song, but it doesn't work.
  Lorne: "He doesn't like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles? I thought you said this kid had a soul."
• Punch Catch: Holtz does this when he first meets Justine — she's not impressed and follows it up by headbutting him.
  Holtz: Your punch is slow. Not helped by all the drink.
  Justine: But I need the drink. Makes this hurt less. {headbutt}.
• Red Shirt: The Fang Gang accuse Angel of using them as an expendable distraction to slow down his enemies so he can escape with his child. It's for show.
• Shadow Archetype: Staid English mentor teaches snarky California girl how to fight vampires, while not understanding her popular culture references. Sound familiar?
• Shout-Out to Shakespeare:
  Gavin: It was a technicality, sir. Darla died during childbirth.
  Lilah: Dusted during childbirth is more like it. According to our sources she staked herself, leaving the baby alive and kicking but never actually born. MacDuff was from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd.
• Sink or Swim Mentor: Holtz only intervenes when Justine is about to be killed by the vampire, because he wants to get an idea of her fighting style, or lack of same.
• Stealth Pun: Baby Boomer.
• Teach Me How To Fight:
  Holtz: "You fight well but lack strategy. Your passion works against you."
  Justine: "And you're here to teach me about passion."
  Holtz: "I'm here to teach you how to fight."
  Justine: "What are we talking about; some kind of Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi groove thing? Wax On, Wax Off?"
  Holtz: "You'll find your references to modern popular culture tend to be lost on me."
• Team Power Walk: The Fang Gang walking out the hospital at the end...pushing a baby carriage.
• Training from Hell
  Holtz: "Your life has been ruined. You can't sleep. Instead you wander the streets, making others pay for what happened to your sister. That's where I can help. I see your talent. And I see your hate. And I know that I can shape and hone you into an instrument of vengeance."
  Justine: "Sounds like fun."
  Holtz: "It won't be."
• Use Your Head: Justine does an Attack Hello on Holtz, who catches her punch in his hand.
  Holtz: "Your punch could have been quicker...without so much to drink."
  Justine: "It's kind of a trade-off, because without that much to drink (head-butts Holtz) hurts a lot more."
• Villains Out Shopping: The Grapplar demons eating junk food.
• Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?
  Sahjahn: We don't need some deep, dark plan for Angel. You put a stake in him, you watch him go poof! It's a classic.
  Holtz: Step one is getting rid of these minions.
  Sahjahn: No. Step one is poof. And then there are no more steps.
• Would Hurt a Child: Gavin declares they'll get the baby dead or alive. When Lilah protests, he snarks over her squeamishness re harming a baby. Lilah replies that it would be better if they captured it alive for dissection. Linwood smiles in approval at her correct corporate attitude.

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