Line #60 Recap/AngelS04E22Home


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/angel_home.jpg]]
2
3	Angel has returned to the hotel following the death of Jasmine to find none other than Lilah Morgan waiting for him. Wesley refuses to believe that it is actually her, but Angel confirms that she is indeed Lilah but is also still dead as her contract with Wolfram & Hart extends long after her death. Lilah explains that once she's finished with the gang she'll be returning to hell, but for now is there to make them an offer on behalf of the Senior Partners.
4
5	After a few minutes, the gang are still unable to believe what Lilah has offered them, and ask her to repeat it. She explains that the Senior Partners have decided to offer Angel Investigations control of Wolfram & Hart's LA branch (now restaffed and rebuilt). It is a reward to them, Lilah explains, for ending world peace. The gang argue this viewpoint, as Jasmine was creating a world where no-one had free will as well as eating people. Lilah reminds them that in this world, all suffering would have ended and everyone would have been happy for the simple cost of a couple of dozen people a day. But instead, chaos and destruction still abound for which Lilah thanks them. Although Angel and the others struggle with the idea they may have caused more harm than good, Lilah tells them that limo will be waiting outside the hotel before dawn the next morning to take them on a grand tour to help them make up their minds.
6
7	Meanwhile, Connor wanders the streets of LA (which is still filled with riots following the breaking of Jasmine's spell) having never felt so lost disconnected from the world. He then spots a cop on a roof planning to kill himself. Although Connor initially tries to help talk the man down, when he learns that he had a family he would have left behind he instead gets angry and starts to savagely beat him.
8
9	At the hotel, the gang work on locating Cordelia and Connor but come up with nothing. Lilah's offer is weighing hard on everyone's minds, knowing what they could do with the massive resources that are being offered to them. When Gunn brings up the idea of at least taking the tour, Angel angrily tells the others that he can't stop them from going but warns them that even before the limo ride is over they'll be corrupted. Angel then leaves to look for Connor. Everyone else decides to head to bed,
10
11	The next morning, Fred wakes up and decides to take the tour being careful not to wake anyone else up. When she gets outside she finds the limo is already there while Wesley is deciding if he should enter. Fred tells him she thought she'd be the only one, while Wesley responds he knew he wouldn't be but didn't expect her to go along too. Just then Gunn appears as well, reasoning that they should go along to at least see what Wolfram & Hart are up to. Wesley muses that it seems that humans are indeed the most corruptible seconds before Angel reveals himself having decided, despite his words the previous night, to also check out what Wolfram & Hart are offering. He opens the limo door to find Lorne has been there for a while enjoying the amenities.
12
13	Arriving at Wolfram & Hart, the gang are overwhelmed to walk into a huge lobby with the workers all welcoming Angel to the building (and calling him 'Mr'). Lilah then arrives with four guides who will show them each around a relevant part of the firm. The gang object to being split up, but Lilah points out they could have blown up the limo if they were intending to kill them, and offers them all guns if they want extra protection. The gang accept the reasoning, with Wesley pointing out the firm has never tried to deceive them, and leave (with Fred picking up a semi-automatic). Lorne is sent away to tour the entertainment department, Wesley is partnered with a fellow Englishman, Gunn is assigned to a beautiful woman, Fred gets the company of a fellow scientist called Knox and Angel will be escorted by Lilah herself.
14
15	Gunn speaks to his guide, unable to understand why he is being offered a job too since his special skill is only muscle which he knows the firm will likely have plenty of. They briefly stop outside the security office, and Gunn assumes this is why he's here but his guide explains they have bigger plans for him.
16
17	Fred converses with Knox, who she assumes to be the head of the science division. Knox explains that he just reports to the head, who would be Fred if she takes the job. Fred is barely able to believe that she's being offered such a job, and is left even more amazed to find the lab she'd be running is completely staffed and filled with state-of-the-art equipment.
18
19	Wesley's guide, Rutherford Sirk, takes him to the firm's collection of books. Wesley is unimpressed to find a small looking collection, but Sirk explains that the books can call upon any text in the firm's archive and proves it by summoning up the text of an obscure codex. Wesley knows that Sirk is a former Watcher and stole from the now-destroyed council, and (although very impressed) cuts his tour short by knocking him out.
20
21	Lilah shows Angel what could be his office, complete with its own private elevator and access to a motor pool. Angel is unimpressed, and decides he's seen enough when Lilah shows him another feature by opening the blinds exposing the vampire to direct sunlight. Angel instinctively raises his hands to protect himself, but then notices he's not bursting into flames. Lilah explains that all the glass in the building is necro-tempered to prevent Angel from bursting into flames during the day, and Angel allows himself to enjoy it for a few seconds before asking Lilah to close the blinds and again makes to leave, refusing to allow himself to become part of the problem. Lilah argues that with Wolfram & Hart's resources Angel could make much more of a difference and make the world like he wants it to be. In the end, she argues, the world doesn't need an unyielding champion but someone who knows the value of compromise. She then hands Angel a file on the upcoming Sunnydale apocalypse as well as an amulet that is supposed to be crucial in the final battle. Angel still isn't interested, until Lilah points out that with the firm's help he could find Cordelia and Connor in ten seconds. Angel tells Lilah that he's truly sorry for what happened to her, but he intends to leave with his friends. As he goes to exit, Lilah gets a call from the Senior Partners before switching on the TV for Angel where a news report is playing about a hostage situation involving explosives in progress at a sporting goods store. Angel is horrified to see that the person responsible for it is none other than Connor.
22
23	Angel grabs Lilah by the throat and accuses her and the Senior Partners of setting him up, but she insists that they have nothing to do with Connor's actions. He demands that they make Connor stop what he's doing, but Lilah reminds him they have no control over him and reminds Angel that he raised... or rather, didn't, raise him. She then warns Angel that if he leaves now, the offer will be rescinded. Angel tells Lilah that she and the other workers are everything that's wrong with the world, before beginning to make his own offer.
24
25	Gunn's tour guide takes him to the next part of his tour, and he is unnerved when he realizes that they are going to the White Room. Despite his protests, he finds himself in the mysterious space and meets the the little girl's replacement... a mysterious large black cat. Gunn's initial fear is replaced by curiosity as he looks into the cats eyes.
26
27	At the sporting goods store, numerous hostages are all wired to the main explosive. Connor orders a man to hold his scared daughter properly despite the fact his arm is broken. Connor then realizes his father has arrived, and isn't surprised as Angel leaps down to face his son.
28
29	In Wolfram & Hart's records room, Wesley punches out the guard and starts searching through the firm's files. Lilah appears, not in the least surprised that Wesley headed here, and admits she is surprised he took so long to make it. Although Lilah thinks that Wesley has come to plunder the Senior Partner's secrets he instead reveals what he came for... Lilah's eternal contract with Wolfram & Hart. He burns it, telling his former lover that deserves to rest in peace however Lilah responds that she knew what she signed on for and tells Wesley to look in the drawer again. Wesley finds the contract has been returned completely unharmed. Lilah thanks him for the thought, but points out that such a contract is not so easily done away with. Wesley is left saddened that Lilah will forever belong to the Senior Partners and will never know peace.
30
31	In the store, Angel tries to talk Connor down but its clear that the boy has now lost all reason. He shows Angel that everyone is wired, including himself... and the still-comatose Cordelia. Angel tries to assure Connor that he will get over losing Jasmine like the rest of the gang had to, but Connor protests that it has nothing to do with her. He doesn't feel pain or sadness or anything, and as far as Connor is concerned this means he's as dead as Angel. Angel, as his heart breaks to see his son in such pain, tries to apologize for not being there for him growing up and assures Connor that no matter what he loves him and so did Darla which is why she sacrificed herself so he could live. Connor accepts that Angel tried to love him, but not enough to stop Holtz from taking him away. He then asks Cordelia's unconscious form why she stopped loving him too. The two then talk about Jasmine's hold, and how she knew that Angel would turn against her when he knew the truth. Angel promises Connor that he's going to take back all his mistakes and help him start again, but Connor assumes this to be just another lie and decides to end his pain by killing everyone before then making to set off his bomb. Angel leaps to action, disconnecting Connor and beating him back before releasing all the hostages. Father and son then begin to fight, with Connor trying to set off Cordelia's explosive before being disabled with a hunting knife to the leg. Angel forces Connor to the ground, and promises his son that he truly does love him and is about to prove it before swinging the knife down to Connor's neck...
32
33	Back at Wolfram & Hart's lobby, the gang start to reconvene. All have been left very impressed by what they've seen, with Gunn telling the others that he intends to take the job even if the others don't. Wesley concurs that they could do a great deal of good with what they could gain by accepting what the Senior Partners are offering. Fred asks if they're seriously considering accepting the offer, when Angel appears and tells everyone he's already accepted on behalf of all of them. The others are shocked at his 'executive decision', but aren't angry since they were going to make the same one anyway. Lilah compliments Angel on his decision, and confirms that Cordelia is safe and being cared for by the firm as well as assuring that they'll do what they can to wake her up. Angel then asks to see 'him', and although Lilah initially protests that it wasn't part of the deal she soon acquiesces... after all, he's the boss. She hands Angel the file on Sunnydale and the amulet, telling him a limo is waiting to take him to Connor. As he leaves, the rest of the gang are left wondering who Connor is.
34
35	A family sit down to dinner, with Connor among them. Unlike the psychotic, disturbed young man who Angel previously fought with, this version of Connor is happy and healthy with a perfect family life and bright future ahead of him. As the family prepare to eat in celebration of Connor getting in the top tenth percentile with the pick of any college he wants to go to, the boy makes to family. From outside, Angel silently watches both saddened that he's lost his son while happy to see Connor finally has the love and happiness he never knew with him.
36	----
37	* ArsonMurderAndAdmiration:
38	-->'''Angel:''' She was eating people!
39	-->'''Lilah:''' They knew what they were getting into.
40	-->'''Lorne:''' Her stomach?
41	-->'''Lilah:''' World peace comes at a price. Jasmine understood that. She consumed, what? Couple dozen souls a day? Now weigh that against ending the suffering of millions, (grins widely) but you fixed that.
42	-->'''Fred:''' No, we didn't. I—I mean, we did, we—we fixed it, but not in the way that you're trying to make it sound.
43	-->'''Lilah:''' Jeez, it's not like it was a criticism.
44	* BackFromTheDead: Lilah's MagicallyBindingContract with Wolfram & Hart extends even past her death.
45	-->'''Lilah:''' (to Angel) What's the matter, ace? Didn't think you were the only one that ever got to come back from hell around here, did ya? (clears throat) Speaking of which, could I possibly get some ice water?
46	* BadassAdorable: Fred eagerly helps herself to a Heckler & Koch submachine gun with sound suppressor which she carries like a teddy bear for the entire tour.
47	* BarbellBeating: During their fight in the sporting goods store, Connor grabs a dumbbell and uses it to hit Angel in the head.
48	* BerserkButton: Connor talks a cop out of shooting himself. But when he realises the man had a family he was going to leave behind, Connor beats him unconscious. Issues, anyone?
49	* BetterLivingThroughEvil: Fred is offered a multi-million dollar state of the art lab, Wesley has access to Wolfram & Hart's extensive library, Lorne is offered the Entertainment Division and Gunn is offered a brain upgrade. Angel gets an office with a view and his son gets a lifetime of trauma wiped away.
50	* BittersweetEnding: Angel looks through the window into Connor's new home, where he's happily sharing dinner with his family.
51	* BlatantLies: Gunn tries to offer Wesley some comfort about seeing Lilah again as an undead servant of Wolfram & Hart.
52	-->'''Wesley:''' When you decapitate a loved one you don't expect them to visit you.\
53	'''Gun:''' ... loved one?\
54	'''Wesley:''' It's a figure of speech.
55	* BookEnds: The dinner scene with Connor's new family is like the family gathering meal Angel dreamed of in the season premiere.
56	* BrokeYourArmPunchingOutCthulhu: Good job defeating Jasmine, Angel! Now you have to deal with your mentally disturbed son, the comatose woman you love, the elimination of any possibility of world peace and the return of Wolfram & Hart.
57	* CallBack: To [=BtVS=] Season 5, in which reality was changed so that Buffy suddenly had a little sister, Dawn.
58	* CessationOfExistence: Wesley burns Lilah's contract with W&H to at least give her this. It doesn't work.
59	-->'''Lilah:''' [[{{Hell}} Flames]] wouldn't be eternal if they actually consumed anything.
60	* ChekhovsGun: The locket plays an important role in the ''Series/{{Buffy\|the Vampire Slayer}}'' GrandFinale "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS7E22Chosen Chosen]]" and the Season 5 premiere of ''Angel''.
61	* ChekhovsGunman: Knox plays an important role in Season 5. Sirk will reappear in "Destiny".
62	* ContinuityNod:
63	** Wesley is introduced to Sirk, a [[EvilCounterpart former Watcher working for Wolfram & Hart]] after the destruction of the Council in Season 7 ''Series/{{Buffy\|The Vampire Slayer}}''.
64	** W&H's practice of [[Recap/AngelS02E15Reprise keeping their top employees in their service even after death]].
65	* DamselInDistress: Wesley agrees to take the tour of Wolfram & Hart in hopes of saving Lilah from eternal servitude. He knocks out his guide, infiltrates the records department, and burns her contract... only to learn it can't be destroyed that easily.
66	* DeadPersonConversation: Lilah returns to offer the Angel team Wolfram and Hart. She had a scarf tied around her neck, concealing the mark where Wesley decapitated her, and repeated a comment she made at the time, implying it was her ghost Wes was talking to. Similarly, Holland Manners made a brief reappearance after his death. It is made known that Wolfram and Hart contracts extend beyond death.
67	* DealWithTheDevil: Angel accepts a deal wherein they will erase the memories of Connor, and set the boy up in a good life. In exchange, Angel and his team will fold their heroic organization and transfer their activities over to the firm's L.A. branch, effectively neutralizing them.
68	* DenouementEpisode: Jasmine was defeated in the previous episode, and in this episode Angel Investigations must decide if they join Wolfram & Hart. But there's still Connor...
69	* DoubleEntendre:
70	** Lilah tries to tempt Angel with the latest intel from Sunnydale.
71	-->'''Angel:''' Series/{{Buffy\|the Vampire Slayer}} can handle herself.\
72	'''Lilah:''' But isn't it more fun when you handle her?
73	** Lilah explaining she's not a vampire. "Angelus drank from me, it's true, but like with most men, it was a one-way street."
74	* DrivenToSuicide: Connor has rigged [[TakingYouWithMe his hostages, Cordelia's body]] and [[SuicideAttack himself with explosives]] so they will all die when Angel shows up to do his BigDamnHeroes thing.
75	* ElevatorGoingDown: Gunn clearly is hoping for this, and is shocked when his attractive guide takes him to see the Conduit instead.
76	-->'''Gunn:''' Already rubbed elbows with Little Miss Muffet once. Don't need a repeat with her replacement, and here I am thinking I'm getting seduced. Well, I'm getting screwed all-- (enter the Panther...)
77	* FelonyMisdemeanor
78	-->'''Lorne:''' So it's an evil limo. I get that, but does that mean we don't restock the cherries?
79	* GiveHimANormalLife: Angel sells himself to Wolfram and Hart so that Connor can be placed with a new family and new memories, to be safe and happy. It doesn't quite last - the kid's memories are restored a few months later - but while he gets the memories back, he keeps his new, much more stable, personality, so it's still an improvement.
80	* GreatBigBookOfEverything: Wolfram & Hart's source books, which can display text from any book in their archive. Not even Kindle has access to [[TomeOfEldritchLore every book of Demonic knowledge, every unwritten masterpiece, every book of Occult knowledge]] from [[AnotherDimension across time and space...]]
81	* HypocriticalHumor: Lorne is taken on a tour by a member of Wolfram & Hart's Entertainment Division.
82	-->'''Preston:''' I had this prepared. Confidential list. Peepers only. Thought you might want to take a gander at our roster. (opens the book) Just a rundown of some of the talent we represent here.
83	-->'''Lorne:''' Uh, no, no, no, no. I don't think you have to tell me what you represent here, young man. I know. Evil. Pure evil in the— (Preston flips through the pages of the book, catching Lorne's attention) Huh. Which is [[HorribleHollywood also apparently everyone I've always wanted to meet!]]
84	* ImprovisedWeapon: Inevitable when you have a fight in a sporting goods store.
85	* InterruptedSuicide: Connor stops a cop from killing himself out of Jasmine-withdrawal, only to learn that he has a family. ParentalAbandonment being a...sore spot for Connor, he demands to know what the guy was thinking. "I don't know." Wrong answer.
86	* IronicEcho: Lilah repeats back Angel's speech from the season premiere. "Nothing in this world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh, and it's cruel, but that's why there's you, Angel. You live as if the world were as it should be."
87	* ItDoesntMeanAnything: Lilah shows the neck scar where Wes chopped off her head.
88	-->'''Lilah:''' It's OK, lover. I never felt a thing.\
89	'''Wesley:''' [[StealthInsult I'm sure that's true.]]
90	* ItMeantSomethingToMe: Wesley's efforts to free Lilah from eternal damnation are futile, but she appreciates the effort.
91	* KarmaHoudini: Connor beats a suicidal man up and takes several innocent people hostage with the intent of killing them even though some of them are children and one is the woman his father loves. This results in Angel altering everyone's memories and giving him a clean slate despite him having done nothing to make up for his actions and continuing to blame everyone else. To be fair though, his actions were the result of a lifetime of trauma, abondenment issues, and indoctrinated dependency, so all's well that ends well.
92	* KillItWithFire: Wesley, in one last sentimental gesture, attempts this on Lilah's employee contract (which binds her to the firm for eternity). [[IMadeCopies A duplicate contract immediately appears]] in the drawer.
93	* MarionetteMotion: Lilah appears to have some difficulty in walking when she first appears at the Hyperion, [[FridgeHorror as if she's not quite used to moving around in her reassembled body]].
94	* MeaningfulEcho: "There's a signed dollar in your wallet that says different." Lilah repeats the words that Imaginary Lilah spoke to Wes while he was working himself up to dismember her, implying it was her ghost he was speaking to, rather than a figment of his imagination.
95	* NavelDeepNeckline: Lilah wears an outfit with a plunging neckline. Just because she is dead doesn't mean she can't look sexy.
96	* NotMeThisTime: Angel blames Lilah and the Senior Partners for Connor going postal and taking hostages at the mall. She insists that this actually wasn't their doing, and is completely truthful.
97	* NothingUpMySleeve except a GrapplingHookPistol: Go Wes!
98	* PantheraAwesome: The new Conduit to the Senior Partners takes the form of a black panther.
99	* PleaseKeepYourHatOn: Lilah wears a neck scarf to hide the scar from her beheading. When Angel grabs her by the throat, she tells him to be careful as her head comes off easy.
100	* ProphecyTwist: An ironic variation. While Sahjhan altered Angel and Connor's Prophecy last Season, the False Prophecy ultimately ''does'' still end up coming true this episode. The Father ''does'' kill the Son...but it's a metaphorical death rather than physical, as Angel has Connor's original memory wiped.
101	* {{Pun}}:
102	** Wes refuses to believe [[BackFromTheDead the woman in front of him is Lilah Morgan]].
103	-->'''Wes:''' It's a lie.\
104	'''Lilah:''' Lah. It's a Lilah.
105	** Also Lilah's "ice water" comment is a riff on the popular retort, "And people in Hell want ice water."
106	* PutOnABus: This marked Stephanie Romanov's final appearance as a recurring character, and Creator/CharismaCarpenter's last as a regular cast member.
107	* ReflectiveEyes: Gunn is reflected in the eyes of the panther.
108	* ReplacementGoldfish: The panther in the White Room is Mesekthet's replacement.
109	* RippleEffectProofMemory: Only Angel remembers Connor.
110	* SayingTooMuch: Wesley slips up and refers to [[FoeRomanceSubtext Lilah]] as a "loved one."
111	-->'''Wes:''' ...Figure of speech.
112	* ShipTease: Even in an episode that makes it clear Wesley did feel something for Lilah, we get a moment of Fred spinning out from Lorne...and bumping straight into Wes, where they linger just a second too long.
113	* ShoutOut: to ''Film/TradingPlaces'' with his new employees all greeting "Mr. Angel".
114	* StunnedSilence: For several long moments at the start of the episode, absolutely no-one speaks. The camera pans around all six characters as each one shifts position or opens their mouth as though about to speak, but no-one does. It's clear the entire cast is absolutely stunned by whatever Lilah has just said. Lilah herself doesn't speak just waits, smug and amused, as Angel's team try and gather their wits and find their voices. WordOfGod reveals that it was deliberately timed to coincide with the length of time it takes for the credits to scroll across the screen as they'd once observed how long it takes and thought it would be funny to have absolutely no talking for that long if they could ever think of a plot. They thought of one.
115	* SuggestiveCollision: Lorne starts to HappyDance with Fred in the middle of the lobby. She spins out and [[ShipTease bumps into Wesley]].
116	* SwordOverHead: Angel finds himself raising a knife over Connor's neck. Against all expectations, however, Angel brings the knife down with full force.
117	* TheUnreveal: We don't discover what Gunn was offered by the Senior Partners until next season.
118	* VerbalBackspace: Lilah tells the Fang Gang she's got the offer of a lifetime! (MusicalisInterruptus) "...Just not, you know...mine."
119	* VillainHasAPoint: The crew are forced to question whether they did the right thing regarding Jasmine when they are offered control of the L.A. branch of Wolfram & Hart. According to Lilah, the Senior Partners are making the offer out of gratitude to them for stopping the world peace Jasmine promised via her planet-spanning MindControl (and a couple dozen lives a day). Angel and the gang are disturbed at the prospect of being thanked by the Senior Partners and while they insist that Jasmine needed to be stopped, Lilah handily shoots down all of their arguments.
120	* WalkInChimeIn: The Fang Gang turning up one by one to take the ride in Wolfram & Hart's limo.
121	%%* WhamLine: "Who's Connor?"
122	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Lacey Shepherd (Gunn's guide) and Preston (Lorne's guide) won't return next season. Neither will Lilah. Their whereabouts are not mentioned either.
123	* WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds: Connor's trip to the mall doesn't end well.
124	* YouCantFightFate: [[OffingTheOffspring Angel symbolically "kills" Connor]] before the reality reset takes effect, fulfilling the false prophecy responsible for Connor's messed-up life in the first place. The writers of the episode confirmed this was a reference to "the father will kill the son". So it turns out even false prophecies come true in the Buffyverse.
125	* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: The staff of Angel Investigations aren't too pleased with the congratulations coming from Lilah and the Senior Partners for having ended world peace.

Context Recap / AngelS04E22Home